I Love My Plumber - Jack Is a Treasure!

My amazing plumber, Jack, apparently finished his morning job sooner than expected and phoned me around 12:30 pm to ask if he would be able to come over and handle my sink clog. After checking with DH, I gave Jack the go-ahead and he went over to deal with my sink. It didn't take long until everything was working properly once again (thank goodness). Jim then asked about a new kitchen faucet. 

This is very similar to what Jack found for us. The  
hot and cold handles are slightly different, but the basic 
configuration is identical. It's not brushed nickle, and 
it has that large, high base which is a problem for 
us as well. DH wanted an adjustable tip on the end 
of the faucet to direct the stream of water, and it 
doesn't have that feature either. But it will work 
fine until we can find one that's perfect for us. 

We've been wanting one with a high, curved spigot for quite a while. Jim requested one in brushed nickle, but I guess there's a shortage of faucets also, because it took Jack more than 90 minutes until he returned with a faucet that was bright chrome - the right configuration, but on a mounting platform that stands above the sink level higher than we had hoped. Still, he got it in, and added some additional fittings onto the pipes to allow us to turn off the water below the sink (handy thing, that!). Now, however, I need to find a new dish drainer since our current one blocks the hot water spigot. 

So, here's the new faucet installed. The next item on 
the agenda is a new kitchen sink and faucet, hopefully 
this summer sometime. But this will do for the 
time being. I need to get a new dish drainer, though. Our 
current one gets in the way of the left-hand water 
control so that we can't turn it off and on. I'll check 
Target today. Hopefully I can find one to fit our 
dimensions. 

I'll be adding "finding a dish drainer" onto my shopping list today. At least, although it's plenty cold today, it's not the constant sub-zero temps we'll have tomorrow. I'm grateful. I'll be out in the weather both days, of course, just to get to the swimming pool and errands today, and to swim and get to work tomorrow. But tomorrow will be the bone-chilling day. Ugh! Today, though, I'll be at Target, and the grocery store, and I want to drop a box of books off at Half-Price Books. The books themselves are worthless, I'm quite sure, but they'll recycle them for me so that's a total win. 

I'd like something similar to this, but if you take a close 
look at the photo and then look at the sink above, you'll 
see that high base for the faucet controls won't allow 
a width like this. So I'll have to find one that will 
fit into the bottom of the sink on legs, which cuts down 
on my dimensions a lot. This will take some hunting, and 
maybe buying a couple of choices and returning the 
one(s) that don't work in my kitchen. 

All of these errands are going to take some careful scheduling. Ideally, I want to be the first or second person in the door for Half Price Books. It's a lot faster if I don't have to wait for them to handle someone else's books ahead of mine. So I'll start my day out at Target, then Half Price, then the grocery store, and finally home to make ogre juice and enjoy my beautiful new faucet. It may not be 100% what we wanted, but we can take our time finding one that will be exactly what we envision, and I can use my kitchen sink again - Hallelujah! A plumber like Jack is worth everything. He's one in a million. Have an awesome day and I'll be back in time to freeze tomorrow. LOL Happy Groundhog Day. 

Good Inbolc and Happy Groundhog Day

Today is the beginning of Inbolc - the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. It's also Groundhog Day, so let's hope that furry critter forecasts an early Spring. In a specific Tarot spread of the Celtic Calendar, Inbolc is IX - The Veiled Lamp. The reading of the man passing through non-physical worlds silently, his lamp showing him the way. He seeks wisdom and walks through with detached perception. 

I'm not fond of the Rider Waite Smith
deck, but have many other Tarot decks
I prefer. Here, The Vailed Lamp is from
 an Egyptian-styled deck and the lamp 
is an ancient-styled oil lamp. 

In the Standard Calendar Tarot spread, February is VIII - Justice - The Balance and the Sword. It denotes the search for truth and justice without prejudice and works towards  balanced interpersonal relationships with harmony as the ultimate goal. So either way you look at it, it should be a pretty good month. 

In a different Egyptian-influenced Tarot 
deck, this is VIII Justice - Ma-at, who 
was associated with justice at the final 
weighing of the heart. I don't own 
this deck, but the pictures are stunning. 

One of the (many) problems that go along with setting up a new piece of computer equipment is getting things set up the way I want and remembering which programs I have linked to each other. That failed me yesterday and will probably cause ripples for a while, when I accidentally ended up changing my Google log-in while searching for a program I forgot I had linked to Google. I had to set up a new password, and I'm probably going to be stumbling over log-in blockades for a while until I've caught all of them. Ick! 

Windows 10 and I are coming to a grudging understanding. I 
do love the variety and photography of the wallpapers I 
can have flashing on my screen. Yesterday's choice was 
Colors of Autumn - stunning and enjoyable. I'll pick a 
different screen saver grouping for today. 

Yesterday was also the first day of "trial by fire" of the new laptop, and I have concluded that I do love it. The screen is quite a bit smaller than my old laptop, but I'm getting used to that because the resolution of the monitor is stunning. I didn't get a chance to pair my wireless earbuds with it yet, but the actual soundbar of the computer is awesome! I've been hitting my Spotify playlists in the early morning - great fun, good music. 

One of the really awesome things about my new 
computer is the cover - it's real leather in a deep black 
tone, textured the way leather should be. It makes it 
tactile and warm instead of aloof and cold the way 
a metal casing would. I was trying out names yesterday 
and "VooDoo" seems to be one it likes. I'll try it 
for a while and see if it sticks. Otherwise, "Anubis" 
is another possibility. 

The new laptop backpack is great. It is smaller than my old carryall, but that's good in a lot of respects. It means I can't stuff it full of paperwork - I actually have to deal with the paperwork I generate and put it away properly. Shock! I'm liking the entire package though, and it came just in the nick of time since I don't think Franken-Smaug will start up any more. I'm not destroying Franken-Smaug quite yet, I may still need something on there that didn't get transferred properly, but after a couple of months, I'll pull the hard drive and smash it to bits. Then I can get rid of the casing. 

On that note, I'm out of here. I hope all of you have a fabulous first day of Inbolc and that you are treated kindly by any and all you interact with today. I'm hoping my friends on the East Coast didn't get too pounded by this latest snowstorm. It sounds like it was a doozy! Have a good day, be kind, stay safe and please wear your mask. I'll be back tomorrow.