This and That

Well, not much of significance happened this past week, but here are a few things that occupied our time.

First, Pam is working steadily on our Solstice (as opposed to Christmas) cards this year. We drove to Grand Junction to a hobby store and picked up card supplies last month. Pam’s in full production mode now:

Solstice cards in production

Most cards have already been mailed. This is probably the earliest we’ve mailed cards; Pam’s retirement has its advantages!

Speaking of retirement, Pam received her first retirement pension deposit on Friday. This is a new milestone for her, and will help determine the household budget going forward.

With cold weather here, our furnace started to act up (Murphy’s Law). There’s a relay sticking, causing a small motor to run continuously. (The motor creates a draft when the furnace burner first lights up.) I have a new relay on order; I could not find one locally. Part should be in tomorrow and it will be about a 10 minute job to install it. For now we have to smack the side of the furnace to un-stick the relay to shut off the motor. Ah, well…….

Light snow fell this past week but not enough to cover the roads. High temp yesterday was in the 40s, so sidewalks and drives are clear, but some snow remains in the shadows and on grassy areas. I took the mower deck and bagger off the John Deere tractor and installed the snow blade, wheel weights, and cable chains so the tractor is ready for the snow season. Forecast is for about an inch of snow tonight  and colder temperatures – highs in the low 30s – for the upcoming week. Normal high temps are in the low 40s this time of year.

John Deere set for winter snow plowing

Last Tuesday I had to make an emergency trip to the dentist; the tooth that will need a new crown (and a root canal) was giving me pain. The dentist prescribed some antibiotics and sent me off to see a specialist. The latter will be doing the root canal (if needed) and he determined an older root canal in a nearby tooth would have to be re-done as well. The antibiotics helped reduce the discomfort although I cannot chew on that side of my mouth. I go in this next Thursday, first to the specialist, followed by the dentist, to do the crown prep work. Thursday is not going to be a good day.

(Internet artwork)

In my last post I mentioned my ‘gallery conversion’ project; this is going well with 27 galleries converted so far. I consolidated a few (had 3 Lead King Basins, for example) into single collections so the total number of converted collections will be less than I originally had. There are 17 more galleries to go, enough to keep me busy for the next few weeks.

The rest of today will be quiet; snow is supposed to be coming in later and there are always Solstice card notes to complete. (And whacking the side of the furnace from time to time…)

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny:

Always a plus when one’s first electronic pension deposit actually arrives in the account, as scheduled.  Saves having to hassle a clerk somewhere.

Happy Trails.