LEAKY FAUCET

 I don't think we've ever lived in a place that has had more problems than our current abode.

The latest irritation is a front outside faucet that leaked awhile back and that a plumber easily fixed by replacing a grommet.

Now I'd never heard of a grommet before but was shown that it was a tiny little washer.    

The old one had worn itself out and the new one stopped the leak pronto.

A very easy fix.

Except.

It began leaking again, first just a few drops and finally a somewhat steady plop-plop-plop.

Nothing I tried with the faucet would stop it.

(Photo showing ineffectual attempt to collect the water from the turned off but still-dripping faucet.)

So this morning I went into the back yard and reached down far into a tube to turn a faucet and shut off the water.

To the ENTIRE DUPLEX!

Fortunately the other side is presently unoccupied so it will be no problem there.

But for us, it means we have no water until we either get a plumber to solve our problem (and they all seem to be overwhelmed) or I turn it back on.

Gadfrey!

Fortunately we have a caring and cooperative owner/landlord who pays the bills on the property.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

I was just thinking it's a great day to play the lottery: 8/16/24!

See 8 times 2 is 16 and 8 times 3 is 24.

Oh, forget it.

Let's see what else we've got.

I'm just about finished with a book SWMBO got from the library recently: "Ascent to Power".

It's about Harry Truman's struggle to get out from under the shadow of the President that he succeeded: Franklin D. Roosevelt; and how he then remade the world.

Not exactly light reading but for a political junkie like me it's fascinating.

This year's presidential race has evolved into one of fascination also.

But enough about politics.

Oh! Brownie Report!

We tasted them and agreed.

They are sensational and fudgy!

Who cares what they look like!

And now let me introduce a few friends of mine to brighten your day.

After all, it's Friday, you know.

And that is what I selected from the Humor Bank to entertain you this Friday!

Now let's all plan something scrumptious for this weekend so as to feel totally enervated when we have to go back to work on Monday.

(well, some of you)

But whatever you do or wherever you go, always remember to keep laughing!

It will entertain you and give those not in on the joke reasons to point and sneer at you.

Ta-ta!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . oops, sorry . . . )

BROWNIES?

I made another batch of brownies this morning, just like the batch I made a couple of weeks ago.

But this batch had a problem.

Here's how they came out.

The edges crisped up but the center, while done according to the toothpick test, looks almost liquid and sunken.

I don't know what went wrong because I followed the recipe exactly the same as the last time.

One difference: the recipe calls for an 8x8 inch square pan and mine is 9x9.

I seem to have a memory from last time that I might have crumpled up some foil to reduce the size of my pan but I really can't remember.

So this is what I'm left with today.

On the upside, SWMBO said the house smelled heavenly while they were baking and I had to agree.

The real test will come down to the eating!

I know you're all saying "How can you resist?", but we just haven't gotten around to it yet.

I'll let you know.

(DA-DUM, DA-DUM)

In the parking lot at a medical lab I visited this morning sat this ugly monster close to our car.

SWMBO asked me to photograph it but there didn't appear to be a name on the rear and neither one of us has any idea what it is.

But I'll bet some car freak in my vast blogosphere can tell us.

It sort of reminds me of the 50's Studebakers that looked like they were going two directions at once.

SKY CHANGES

 Riding shotgun into Prescott today with SWMBO at the wheel I couldn't resist taking this picture of the pretty clouds in the bright blue sky.

But coming home an hour or so later, it had all changed.

How's that old refrain go?

"What a difference a day makes."

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Wella, wella, wella, here we are again.

It's been a week of searing heat and violent thunderstorms here.

It looks like the temperature is settling into the high 80's for the next 10 days or so.

That may sound hot to you but after weeks of highs in the 90's it feels like a cold wave.

Well . . . . maybe a cool wave.

We here in Arizona can handle hotter "cool" temperatures than the rest of you, I guess.

At any rate we can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

Or is that an oncoming train?

But enough of my prattle.

We all know why you're here so why delay any longer.

Hit the maracas, baby!

I hope you're laughing.

Elsewise what would be the point of all this?

Now buckle up for an Olympic weekend and enjoy it to the fullest.

And never, never, never . .  forget to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . oh, yeah . . . )

RAIN

We've been hit by a couple of thunderstorms yesterday and today.

The power was out here yesterday for exactly 30 minutes due to the storm.

But as luck would have it, we were in Prescott at a doctor's office and missed the whole thing.

We have a ditch in front of our property that handles water runoff but one side of it was clogged up and I had to clear it to get the water running.

We also have a channel across our front yard that takes what drains out of our eaves into that ditch and I cleaned a huge amount of debris out of it before the storm hit today.

I don't know if this is truly the monsoon since it doesn't appear to be coming up from Mexico but whatever it is it's welcome.

I'm hoping it soaks into the ground around my struggling tree.

So it goes in my part of the world.

I'm healing.

My wife and I are controlling my drinking.

I'm doing my exercises and visiting doctors.

I've NOT been paying attention to this blog so here's a little preview of Friday.

Tada!  That's all, folks!