I have the TV on all the time now, but during the daytime, I'm usually in another room, at the computer in the kitchen or downstairs setting mousetraps and coaxing my washer into action, or in and out to the car,walking to the mailbox, tending the cat-care station, etc. So daytime television is usually background sound for me.
I hear the guest singers on the various stations, and usually I don't pay much attention. But on the Today Show this morning, a voice was so compelling it actually drew me in to the living room to see who it was and listen to the song. It was Tom Jones. (We saw him once, long ago, at the Colonie Theater.)
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Psycho Cycle
My new, well fairly new, washer is on the fritz. The button that I push to start it has been temperamental for some time, I realize, now that the one-year warranty has expired. Sometimes I would push the button to start it, and since there is quite a delay while the computer genius it possesses would sense the volume of the load of laundry, I would be upstairs before the process even began. When I'd go to the basement to put the clothes in the dryer, I'd find nothing had happened and would assume that either I hadn't pushed the start button firm;y enough or had forgotten altogether. Just another brick in the wall of my self doubt.
When the washer wouldn't start at all, I was told by Customer Service to reboot it. So I did and it worked. Once. So I tried rebooting again, and again, for longer and longer times with no results. Since the Whirlpool rep had said the next step would be to schedule a repair visit, I tried another option. I went on the internet and contacted an appliance question service where you interact with a repair technician, and you pay what you think the service is worth, if you're satisfied.
I stated my problem. His reply was to ask me if I had recalibrated the washer. I told him that I didn't know what that meant, and even if I did, I wouldn't know how to do it. Here's how, he told me:
"Rotate the knob, slowly, 2 full revolutions counterclockwise, stopping at 12. Then slowly (1/2 second between clicks) rotate the dial 3 clicks forward, 1 click back and 1 more click back. All lights should light up if done correctly. Then rotate forward until only Rinse is lit and press Start. See if it completes a calibration and try it." And oh, the washer should be empty.
So I removed the load of laundry and tried it, several times. It didn't work. So I combined the calibration with the rebooting and eventually it worked, or at least it completed the Rinse cycle on an empty tub. I dumped the laundry back in and tried again, pressing the start button several times before it made a struggling sound and I could hear the water slowly entering the tub. By this time, I'd made several trips upstairs to communicate my progress to the tech. After a while we agreed to wait and check back to find out how the process worked out and if I'm satisfied enough to pay him.
Caught between the Rebooting and the Recalibration, I'm reluctant to ask the washer to perform. If it does work, I don't know how to tell which procedure is effective and how often will I need to employ them? Every time? Dirty laundry is taking on new meaning.
When the washer wouldn't start at all, I was told by Customer Service to reboot it. So I did and it worked. Once. So I tried rebooting again, and again, for longer and longer times with no results. Since the Whirlpool rep had said the next step would be to schedule a repair visit, I tried another option. I went on the internet and contacted an appliance question service where you interact with a repair technician, and you pay what you think the service is worth, if you're satisfied.
I stated my problem. His reply was to ask me if I had recalibrated the washer. I told him that I didn't know what that meant, and even if I did, I wouldn't know how to do it. Here's how, he told me:
"Rotate the knob, slowly, 2 full revolutions counterclockwise, stopping at 12. Then slowly (1/2 second between clicks) rotate the dial 3 clicks forward, 1 click back and 1 more click back. All lights should light up if done correctly. Then rotate forward until only Rinse is lit and press Start. See if it completes a calibration and try it." And oh, the washer should be empty.
So I removed the load of laundry and tried it, several times. It didn't work. So I combined the calibration with the rebooting and eventually it worked, or at least it completed the Rinse cycle on an empty tub. I dumped the laundry back in and tried again, pressing the start button several times before it made a struggling sound and I could hear the water slowly entering the tub. By this time, I'd made several trips upstairs to communicate my progress to the tech. After a while we agreed to wait and check back to find out how the process worked out and if I'm satisfied enough to pay him.
Caught between the Rebooting and the Recalibration, I'm reluctant to ask the washer to perform. If it does work, I don't know how to tell which procedure is effective and how often will I need to employ them? Every time? Dirty laundry is taking on new meaning.
Thanksgiving Turkey #48
Beginning with Thanksgiving Day 1968 in our Schaghticoke apartment, I have cooked, if my count is correct, 48 Thanksgiving turkeys. Fresh, frozen, injected, not injected, about as many different brands as there are, or were, all of them over 20 lbs., as there were many people
at the table and a few take-out dinners for homebodies.
This year's is from Market 32---Grade A Shady Brook Farm Fresh Young Turkey weighing in at 21.28 lbs. and at $1.29 a pound costing $27.45. I wasn't committed to buying a fresh bird as the frozen Butterballs were .99 a pound, and others .59 or less, but my shopping time was delayed by an unexpected interlude, and I didn't think a 20+ pounder would have time to thaw.
I plan to do most of the cooking, as usual, and since I have only one stove and oven, start preparations early. I made the cranberry sauce, so we'll have the whole berry as well as the "Canberry" sauce, the kind with the markings from the can. A certain guest used to mock that, but the year I omitted it, he asked for it. Kids! I baked a shell for the lemon meringue pie, which I'll fill later.
Today I turned the oven on to bake the mincemeat and pumpkin pies. I remembered too late that I had laid the bread out to dry for the stuffing and had put it in the oven for safekeeping. I'll need to buy more bread. Before I reconstituted the mincemeat mix, I read the list of ingredients I'd need and laid them out on the counter. I hadn't recalled there being an egg in the recipe, but it has been a whole year since the last time I made a mince pie, so I added the egg to the mincemeat mix. Then I realized the egg was for brushing on top to make a nice brown crust. Oh, well, the egg will provide added nutrients, and the top actually got a little too brown anyway, especially around the edges, although I protected it with an aluminum crust protector that Dorothy gave me. Now I have to make room for them in the space-limited refrigerator. And then on to chopping the celery and onions.
at the table and a few take-out dinners for homebodies.
This year's is from Market 32---Grade A Shady Brook Farm Fresh Young Turkey weighing in at 21.28 lbs. and at $1.29 a pound costing $27.45. I wasn't committed to buying a fresh bird as the frozen Butterballs were .99 a pound, and others .59 or less, but my shopping time was delayed by an unexpected interlude, and I didn't think a 20+ pounder would have time to thaw.
I plan to do most of the cooking, as usual, and since I have only one stove and oven, start preparations early. I made the cranberry sauce, so we'll have the whole berry as well as the "Canberry" sauce, the kind with the markings from the can. A certain guest used to mock that, but the year I omitted it, he asked for it. Kids! I baked a shell for the lemon meringue pie, which I'll fill later.
Today I turned the oven on to bake the mincemeat and pumpkin pies. I remembered too late that I had laid the bread out to dry for the stuffing and had put it in the oven for safekeeping. I'll need to buy more bread. Before I reconstituted the mincemeat mix, I read the list of ingredients I'd need and laid them out on the counter. I hadn't recalled there being an egg in the recipe, but it has been a whole year since the last time I made a mince pie, so I added the egg to the mincemeat mix. Then I realized the egg was for brushing on top to make a nice brown crust. Oh, well, the egg will provide added nutrients, and the top actually got a little too brown anyway, especially around the edges, although I protected it with an aluminum crust protector that Dorothy gave me. Now I have to make room for them in the space-limited refrigerator. And then on to chopping the celery and onions.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Same Thing
I ordered the Beef on Weck and asked the waitress what weck means. "Oh," she said, "That's the kind of roll they use in Boston. All the restaurants around there have them. " When I pointed out that the menu described the weck sandwich as from the Buffalo area, she blithely answered, " Boston. Buffalo. Po-tay-toe. Po-tah-toe, it's all the same."
Reboot this!
My 16 month WHIRLPOOL washing machine is failing to start. The warranty was for 1 year, and I did not buy the extended warranty. I don't like the washer anyway because it lacks an agitator, which results in rolled up clumps of the washed articles. I would gladly replace it if need be after 5 years or so. But 14 months seem rather insulting for a new washer that hasn't seen much use for just 2 people, and no heavy use at all.
So I called Customer Service and eventually spoke to Gary. He suggested I REBOOT the washer. Something about all the electricity gets stored up in there, a surfeit of technical jargon. The washer contains a computer. "Unplug it for 20 minutes or so and try again to restart it."
I agreed and asked what my options were if that doesn't work. He said to call and schedule a repair service call. I said I thought that it seemed like an awful short time for a service call. He said, "Yes, it does."
So I called Customer Service and eventually spoke to Gary. He suggested I REBOOT the washer. Something about all the electricity gets stored up in there, a surfeit of technical jargon. The washer contains a computer. "Unplug it for 20 minutes or so and try again to restart it."
I agreed and asked what my options were if that doesn't work. He said to call and schedule a repair service call. I said I thought that it seemed like an awful short time for a service call. He said, "Yes, it does."
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Mouses and Houses
Off I went a few weeks ago to Country Living Store in Mechanicville in an attempt to thwart the influx of mice into our house. My goal was to buy some caulk to apply to the crevices in the foundation of our house. The clerk was a man who looked and sounded a little like Jerry Van Dyke. He was most helpful, found me some caulk and asked if I had a caulking gun. I knew we did; there are at least 3 in our basement. I'd noticed them earlier in the year among our cache of 5 lawn sprinklers. I bought 2 tubes or canisters of caulk; the nice man told me I could return the extra one if I didn't need it.
I've never actually caulked anything before. Spackled, yes, but never caulked. But I've seen it done and it looked easy--and almost fun, or at least satisfying. I loaded the canister into the gun; I did need a little in-house advice for that, but then I was ready to go. It was nice weather, a good day to be outside. I'd already scraped out the old loose caulk and brushed it away with a wire brush. I had come prepared, armed even with the metal scraper thing to smooth it out after the application.
I pressed the nozzle of the gun into the crevice and pulled the trigger, but nothing much happened. I tried several times, my thumb getting sore from the pressure, and only a few drops or blobs of caulk squiggling out. I had expected it to be kind of like toothpaste smoothly inserting itself into the space and filling it up. Instead it was more like trying to fill a crack with crumbly cookie dough. It wasn't working and my fingers were hurting. I stopped.
But I didn't give up--not then. I went back down into the basement and retrieved a second caulking gun, a newer model. It worked a little better, but only a little--not well enough. I came up with another plan: I would cut open the tube of caulk and dab the caulk into the crevices with a putty knife. The tube turned out to be made of impenetrable steel though, so that approach didn't work either; not even an Exacto knife could slice into the metal.
My final strategy was to squish all the caulk out of the tube into a bucket and then spackle it into the crevices. The weather turned cold, so that hasn't happened yet, though the possibility is there.
Anyway, the mouse invasion seemed to have ceased. The lone trap in the basement has seen no action the last few weeks, Maybe no longer stares under the oven door, I still see no signs of mouse presence. I'm feeling relieved. Surely the season has ended.
When we came home this evening, I turned on the oven to cook a small roast. After it was in the oven about 40 minutes or so, I was checking it for doneness when a mouse ran directly in front of my feet, across the floor from one side of the oven door to the other. Of course I screamed(though I'm not really afraid of mice), though evidently not very loud as it never woke the cat who was sleeping on the couch.
I feel I must take action. I had already looked, admittedly half-heartedly, in Yankee Dollar and Rite Aid for mousetraps, and could find none. I didn't ask because who wants to admit they have a rodent infestation. My only recourse was to go outside and retrieve the trap I'd thrown away a few weeks ago with a mouse corpse in it, the trap in the bag which had mysteriously been torn open and its victim's body removed.
The trap has been outside in the rain and presumably stripped of all traces of mouse remnants but I spray it with antibacterial cleaner and dab peanut butter on the business part before nestling it on the counter behind the toaster.
A short time ago, while I was working on the computer, I hear that familiar snap, familiar but still surprisingly loud. It's followed by a brief spasmodic thrashing sound. I reach into my supply of plastic grocery bags (I hope they don't do away with them) and put one bag over my hand, slide the trap and carcass into a second bag, drop the first bag into the second, knot it and drop it into the darkness outside my front door.
I've never actually caulked anything before. Spackled, yes, but never caulked. But I've seen it done and it looked easy--and almost fun, or at least satisfying. I loaded the canister into the gun; I did need a little in-house advice for that, but then I was ready to go. It was nice weather, a good day to be outside. I'd already scraped out the old loose caulk and brushed it away with a wire brush. I had come prepared, armed even with the metal scraper thing to smooth it out after the application.
I pressed the nozzle of the gun into the crevice and pulled the trigger, but nothing much happened. I tried several times, my thumb getting sore from the pressure, and only a few drops or blobs of caulk squiggling out. I had expected it to be kind of like toothpaste smoothly inserting itself into the space and filling it up. Instead it was more like trying to fill a crack with crumbly cookie dough. It wasn't working and my fingers were hurting. I stopped.
But I didn't give up--not then. I went back down into the basement and retrieved a second caulking gun, a newer model. It worked a little better, but only a little--not well enough. I came up with another plan: I would cut open the tube of caulk and dab the caulk into the crevices with a putty knife. The tube turned out to be made of impenetrable steel though, so that approach didn't work either; not even an Exacto knife could slice into the metal.
My final strategy was to squish all the caulk out of the tube into a bucket and then spackle it into the crevices. The weather turned cold, so that hasn't happened yet, though the possibility is there.
Anyway, the mouse invasion seemed to have ceased. The lone trap in the basement has seen no action the last few weeks, Maybe no longer stares under the oven door, I still see no signs of mouse presence. I'm feeling relieved. Surely the season has ended.
When we came home this evening, I turned on the oven to cook a small roast. After it was in the oven about 40 minutes or so, I was checking it for doneness when a mouse ran directly in front of my feet, across the floor from one side of the oven door to the other. Of course I screamed(though I'm not really afraid of mice), though evidently not very loud as it never woke the cat who was sleeping on the couch.
I feel I must take action. I had already looked, admittedly half-heartedly, in Yankee Dollar and Rite Aid for mousetraps, and could find none. I didn't ask because who wants to admit they have a rodent infestation. My only recourse was to go outside and retrieve the trap I'd thrown away a few weeks ago with a mouse corpse in it, the trap in the bag which had mysteriously been torn open and its victim's body removed.
The trap has been outside in the rain and presumably stripped of all traces of mouse remnants but I spray it with antibacterial cleaner and dab peanut butter on the business part before nestling it on the counter behind the toaster.
A short time ago, while I was working on the computer, I hear that familiar snap, familiar but still surprisingly loud. It's followed by a brief spasmodic thrashing sound. I reach into my supply of plastic grocery bags (I hope they don't do away with them) and put one bag over my hand, slide the trap and carcass into a second bag, drop the first bag into the second, knot it and drop it into the darkness outside my front door.
Chip
I was in the area today, on my way back from a medical transport, so I stopped to fill my tank at the station where I ordinarily get gas, where gas is priced about 13 to 15 cents a gallon lower than the gas station in our area. It is so easy to pay at the pump, just by inserting my credit card, or so I thought. Today I tried, and the process didn't go through. I tried again with no success. I'd just gotten gas there last week, no problem; I was even using the same credit card. I tried again, and again. Then I gave up and walked into the store, to prepay for the gas. When I told the clerk I'd been unable to pay outside, she asked if my credit card had a chip. I said it did. She said that only the day before, they had "updated" the system at the pumps, and it would no longer function with cards that had a chip. So much for progress.
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