Oven Success, An Old Friend, and a New Phone Game

Yesterday was oven repair day. The repair guy was over early in the morning, pulling the oven from the wall and doing this and that. He came back with a quote of between $550 and $1000, and we said to go ahead and get the repair done. So he said he would try to be back later in the day for the repair, put everything back into place, and headed out. 

When you have a built-in oven like we do, there are only a 
few ovens that will actually fit the space. When we replaced the 
old oven during the Covid shut-down, this GE oven was the 
only one that actually fit our space correctly. It's been a great 
oven, and after it was fixed today, it's still a great oven. 

In the meanwhile I got back to work on a myriad of other things that I had piled up for my "day off". One lovely thing. I took a later-then-usual trip to the grocery store and happened to run into my friend Justin. I had been looking for him for months. His wife died several months ago and I hadn't had a chance to tell him how sorry I was. She had been fighting colorectal cancer for more than two years and it was a very hard slog for everyone in the extended family. 

Hydrocephalus is usually caught when the person 
is young. For some reason, however, Justin wasn't 
diagnosed until he was middle-aged. The treatment 
procedure is the same, though. The insertion of a 
shunt to drain the fluid. Kind of scary, really! 

But it was marvelous to see him again and catch up a little bit while he was placing cans into the endcap display. Apparently he's got hydrocephalus, and will be going in for a shunt and drainage in a short time, to reduce the fluid on his brain. I'm going to assume that will also help with the horrible headaches he's been dealing with for years. He said he had no idea he had hydrocephalus, but he finally had a doctor who totally understood everything he was complaining about and who had a viable solution. He's looking forward to the procedure, although it sounds a bit frightening to me - LOL. If he feels better after he's got it done, that's what's important. 

Later in the day the oven guy returned with a new dual, enclosed fan. Within 30 minutes he had it installed and the oven back into the wall where it sits. The final bill? Less than the lowest estimate he had given me. Whoot! A total win on all sides. The oven works perfectly now and looks lovely, as usual, in its' appointed location. 

The goal in "Arrows" is to clear out all of 
the arrows cleanly, no barriers. I'm finding 
it highly addictive. It's available on Google 
Play if you're inclined to take a closer look. 

Oh, and I've become addicted to a game on my phone called "Arrows". In a way it's rather like a maze game, but it's a visual treat for me and I'm totally addicted. It's also an easy game to set aside if needed, and just pick up again when I can. I've played more than 200 of these over the past two days. It's relaxing and challenging at the same time. Highly recommended, if you're into that sort of game. So, I'm out of here. Time for breakfast and tea. Have an excellent Saturday and weekend and I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

The Blog Was Delayed By The Oven Repair Guy

It's a very late blog today because the oven repair guy was at my door shortly after 7:00 am, and subsequently tore my oven apart, pulling it partially out of its' wall setting. After running some diagnostics and looking up a bunch of things on his laptop, the conclusion is that two things are wrong with it. The first thing is more mechanical and fairly easy to fix. Cost $500+. The second thing is in the electronics, a bit more difficult to fix, and closer to $600. *sigh* I'm hoping fix #1 will resolve the issue because I really would rather not spend over a thousand dollars on the repair. 

If the oven ends up only needing one thing (which won't be 
determined until after it's been installed and tested), then 
that'll only be about $500. If the circuitry is also needing 
to be replaced, it'll be an additional $500. It's like the 
world has determined that we'll be spending money like 
there's no tomorrow! *sigh*

But that was a solid hour out of my early morning, and then I had to discuss all of this with DH who had understood maybe one of ten words. Apparently both I and the service tech were very soft spoken, and DH just didn't understand what had been decided. Now we're waiting for Step Two. I can continue using my bypass routine which will allow me to still use the oven, just without the safety feature of an automatic shut-down and a functional cooling fan. 

We do a lot of shop expenses on American Express because 
it's really designed to be a corporate card. I have one, and 
I use it for ordering some supplies, but I really don't use it 
for anything else. 

The other thing I have to do today is get in touch with American Express to get a new card sent to DH. His card is set to expire at the end of the month, and I've already received MY replacement card from them, but his hasn't been delivered yet. We use that card a lot for the shop and for orders that we place, so it has to be current. I'll be attempting to get that expedited today. 

I don't have much for salad fixings in the 'fridge right now, 
so I need to get that taken care of today. I'm not going to 
be cooking today, though.

Oh, and of course there will be grocery shopping and a bit of cooking. I don't need much - salad stuff more than anything else. I've got plenty of everything else already in the refrigerator or on the countertop. 

I was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Disorder when 
I took the various memory and brain tests in early 
March. I get occasional bouts of brain fog, and sometimes 
things just aren't quite at the tip of my finger the way 
they used to be. Right now it's a mild inconvenience, but 
if I can learn coping mechanisms and what options are 
out there, that's all for the good. 

Oh ... and yesterday's first class of the "Improving Your Brain Health" class was quite interesting. It's a very varied group of people. All of us have been diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Decline/Disorder. As I recall, I was the first person to register for the class when it opened up. Claire (Chickie Mama) is attending the class along with me. I think we'll both enjoy it - it's eight weeks of learning about ourselves and ways to cope with MCD. 

So, I think I should probably get moving. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up this week. Slava Ukraini. 

It Was a Good "Day Off" and I Feel Progress (For a Change!)

I called about the oven repair and will be on the schedule for Friday with the repair company recommended to me by my appliance store. I've dealt with my appliance store since I moved up here in the late 1970's so I'm trusting them to not lead me too far astray. It has to get fixed. It's driving both DH and I a bit crazy by now. 

I have a GE wall oven similar to this one. It's been acting 
up, and I use it A LOT, so it needs to be fixed. My appliance 
company recommended me to a business they work with for 
the repair, and they can come out tomorrow to take a look and 
give me an estimate. We need it fixed, so whatever it takes 
will be less than buying another oven. 

I cooked up four bone-in pork chops for my dinners for the coming week. I prefer the boneless, but they didn't have any and the price was right. I can manage the bones - LOL. 

I love making my Bar-B-Que pork chops. They're 
very easy to make and very tasty. I use onions 
over my chops, so they're a bit different than the 
picture, but they're a perfect meal. 

Our call with Travis, the retail liquidator I've been wanting to hire, actually went REALLY well. I felt 1000% better after the call was over. DH had his questions answered. I had to shut DH down a bit during the call - he kept interrupting, and I told him to just be silent, he'd have his turn after Travis was finished explaining the process to him. But, in the end, DH was just as impressed by Travis as I am. It's not going to be inexpensive, and it's still going to be a serious challenge, but I think we'll be able to pull it off. When we combine the huge liquidation sale period alongside using the auction house for some more specific items, I think we'll do well. Will we be following Travis' book to the letter? No. We don't have the floor space to be able to do that. But, he thinks we'll be successful nonetheless, and I'm going to trust him (and call him again, if necessary. 

Our phone call with Travis went really well. He even had 
the notes from our last conversation in 2023 to refer to! 
That's one organized man! Once I got DH to stop talking 
over him and just listen for a bit, things went really well and 
I think DH was also very impressed with him. It's NOT 
going to be inexpensive, but I think it will work well. We'll 
have to do a lot of work on our end (namely, me - I'll have 
to do a lot of work on our end), but that's very do-able. 

Travis gave me hope that I'll be out of the business by mid-year next year, and that made me quite happy through the rest of the day. I'm quite sure reality will kick me down once again, but I'm seeing a potential light at the end of the tunnel. That means a LOT to me. 

For the first time in a long time, I'm seeing signs of a 
light at the end of the tunnel and that's really making 
me hopeful. 

So, I'm dressed for the swimming pool. I've done my daily meditation and puzzles, and I'm ready to hit the swimming pool for my final swim of the week. If I have a bit of extra time, I'll get some bills paid on-line and get one more thing crossed off my "To Do" list. I hope you have an excellent Thursday and I'll be here to wish you a fabulous Friday tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

As Usual, It's Going to be a Busy "Day Off"

I got all of the banking stuff done yesterday, and DH was able to work on the computer with a large order that we had sold at auction and get all of that taken care of. We now have a bit more money in the bank, and less merchandise to sell. Not a major, or even much of a minor dent, but a good first try for selling some things that simply aren't selling up here in the Frozen Northlands. 

You might recall our sending a large box to Santa Fe Art 
Auction in the early Spring. That auction did end up with 
several of our items sold, and we received the check earlier 
this week. Yesterday DH had to actually run the sales 
through into the store sales, so we had a REALLY nice 
day of sales numbers, even if it was from a distance. LOL

I hate my replacement snorkel, it's quite painful against my forehead. I ordered a different one last night which should be here within a few days, and I'll do an internet hunt for a replacement strap for my old one because I adore my old snorkel. It's no longer being made, and there aren't any unsold backstock available for it either. The last time I found and purchased it was from a sporting goods store in Canada. They had two of them and I bought both of them. But snorkels die - they simply wear out. I'll look into ways I might be able to fix this one, but I can't spend time on it this morning, so I'm back to the painful replacement one. *sigh*

I adore my Michael Phelps snorkle, but it isn't 
made any more. The replacement I purchased 
is hurting my forehead, so I'm still looking for a 
good replacement. I might be able to just replace 
the strap on my Phelps. It's the strap that broke. 

We have two phone calls set up with our Retail Sales person - Travis. A short 10-minute conversation set for 8:30 am, and a longer more in-depth examination set for 9:00 am. I'm really hoping we won't have connection problems this time. We did on Monday and that was a total PITA. I know this works, I've spoken with him once before, several years ago. 

This is what I need - I need a thorough liquidation sale, 
and Travis is an expert in the field. Hopefully we'll 
connect today and get some solid information from him. 

Then, after we're done with all of that, I can leave and start a "day off" of laundry and some cooking. I don't have any dinners on standby at all. I might do another few pork chops - they're so tasty and so very easy to cook. Oh, and that makes me think of the oven. 

I'd better get something cooked today, I have nothing 
to eat for my dinners. 

The oven has been acting up. I'm going to have to phone the appliance store and/or the manufacturer and get someone lined up to get it fixed. We think it might be the cooling fan, but that's really just a guess. As it is now, however, it's tricky to get the oven to stay on long enough to actually do it's thing with the meals. Just one more little "glitch" in my life - LOL. So, on that note, have a "glitchless" day and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

 

At Least It's a Swimming Day - LOL

We were supposed to have a conversation with a retail expert yesterday morning, but got caught up in discussing a variety of things and ended up phoning slightly late. That was all it took for that appointment to be cancelled. However, we were able to reschedule for tomorrow, and to fill out the form for an extended conversation at the same time. So it wasn't a total loss, just a bit annoying. LOL In the main, yesterday went relatively smoothly, which isn't always the case. 

I doubt we'll actually hire him (although I think he could 
do quite well for us). But we'll both talk with him and 
see what he can offer us. Our appointment is scheduled for 
tomorrow morning and we'll try our best not to miss the 
time zone this time. 

Today I hit the swimming pool for the first time this week. I'm dressed in my swim gear and ready to hit the door running (or driving, in this instance) to the YMCA. I do enjoy my swimming days. I made sure to top off the battery of my audio book last night, so I'm good on power. I don't recall how close I am to the end of the book, but I don't think I'm super close - still a few hours left before this one is over and the last one of the series will be loaded onto my headset. 

I love my Shokz underwater headphones. They fit 
comfortably and snugly, and I can happily listen to 
my book while swimming my laps. Laps without a 
book is WAY too boring. 

I always listen to audio books in the swimming pool, and to music on the treadmill. I've found that if I listen to music in the pool, my strokes change to match the rhythm of the tune(s) I'm listening to. That really doesn't work well for me. So I listen to books in the pool. For the treadmill, however, I'm looking at scenery on the screen, and music works really well to keep me on pace. That's what works for me, at least. Everyone is different and you might approach these two types of exercise differently. 

We're getting colder up here in the "Frozen Northlands", but 
I'm not quite to parka weather yet. I'm wearing my leather 
jacket though - I'm not a total idiot. It is in the low 40's, so 
not many more degrees until we're into freezing temps. 

We're getting colder up here in the "Frozen Northlands". Today isn't too bad - mid 40's F. But it's raining, so it will be a wet wait for the gym doors to be unlocked. Still it's way better than it will be later in the season when we will be bundled in our cold weather gear and turning into icicles while waiting for Sabrina to unlock the doors. 

Boring can be good sometimes - LOL. 

So, as you can tell from above, I don't really have a lot to report today. Sometimes boring can be a very good thing, though. Have a wonderful day and I'll be back tomorrow for a little more hectic morning. Slava Ukraini. 

It's Monday - A Very Busy Day Ahead Filled With Arguments, I'm Sure

I'm supposed to be on my treadmill right now, but obviously, am not. I'm stressed (of course - that's a natural course of events for me these days), and I'm also scheduled for a phone conversation with Travis early this morning at the shop. It's a 15 minute conversation, and as I recall, he's extremely prompt and time conscious, which will be great for keeping on schedule, and not so great with inserting additional questions. The more I concentrate on getting the store closed and the stock sold, the more it's apparent to me that we simply CAN'T make this happen in our current location and that we HAVE to move everything to a secondary location. DH is adamantly against this, thinking we can do fine in our current space. He's so wrong, and I can't get through that thick German/Scottish head of his. 

I'm trying to land on my feet, but I suspect I'm more 
likely to face-plant the landing. Much more 
uncomfortable, dangerous and painful. 

I'm not on the treadmill for my physical body, but I'm on my mental treadmill of "what if we do this?" and "what if we do that?", and that's running full speed ahead. Eventually the treadmill will toss me off - I won't be able to keep up the pace any more. The only question is when, where and how I'll land. Will I break lots of bones from a really poor landing and a flinging tread? Or will I land on my feet and walk away with my head held high, if a bit dizzy from the journey. At this point there's absolutely no telling. 

There are too many "What If's" in my life right now. Too 
many choices, too many decisions, and all of them having 
serious repercussions. Closing the way DH is envisioning 
it could be a complete and total disaster! 

I'm going to try to relax as much as possible this morning, my stress levels are already through the roof and I don't want to add to them. I'm regretting my decision to skip the treadmill, but I'll be in the swimming pool tomorrow and back on track once again. Taking a single day off isn't the end of the world. Oh, by the way, my virtual runs are back up and accessible once again, so at least that's one really good thing. Maybe I'll run with penguins on Friday - LOL. 

Getting the store closed isn't doing great things for my 
blood pressure, although I've always had great numbers 
for that. Still, the stress is factoring in, I'm quite sure. 

So, I'm going to pay a bill, maybe play a game or two on my phone, and generally try to kick back and lower my blood pressure before heading into the pressure cooker of what my Monday will be like. I hope you all have an excellent start to your week and I'll be back tomorrow - hopefully at a bit more even keel. Slava Ukraini.