A Taste of Texas

Jake and I arrived in Houston last week to typical hot and humid summertime weather. We continually whine about the southern heat, but enjoy swimming in our pool, which boasts lovely 86 degree water. Even though that may seem too warm for some people, it is the perfect pool temperature, in my opinion. It is, after all, almost 20 degrees below the air temp, and I actually feel chilly when the 105 degree breeze hits me as I emerge from the water. The relentless heat does wear thin after a while, though, and both Jacob and I usually look forward to getting back up north to cooler weather after spending an extended period of time in Texas. But - whoa - now the temperatures in Michigan have also been at the century mark and above. What is going on with this heatwave? We do plan to head to the U.P. around the 4th of July, so hopefully we will find a reprieve from 90 and 100 degree temperatures up there.

Texas in the shade - temperatures that only Norm could appreciate.

I'm Sirius

After searching for a new SUV for a few months, Jim and I finally decided to purchase a Jeep Grand Cherokee. It has tons of room and I was delighted to find that it got over 25 miles to the gallon on my recent drive from Michigan to Texas. Even though we didn't buy the fancy-schmancy model, our version has many awesome standard features that typically cost extra in other vehicles. Besides things like 4-wheel-drive and rear seat air/heat vents, our Jeep came with free Sirius satellite radio for a year. I must admit that not only was I underwhelmed when our sales guy informed us about this service, I also did not really know what it entailed. When Jake and I were cruising through the boonies of Kentucky the other day, we were annoyed that we couldn't find a radio station without static. I clicked on the Sirius button and things have not been the same since then.  I scanned through many of the available channels - including music from the 40s, 50s, 60s, every kind of rock or talk, weather, traffic, show tunes, country, etc. - and became "siriusly" transfixed. I fell in love with the songs from the 70s station and reminisced for hours while listening to familiar tune after tune after tune. I hadn't heard "Chick a Boom" for decades! I am now a sucker for Sirius and only time will tell if this is just a phase I am going through or if I am hopelessly hooked on satellite radio.

Plumbing 101

I was sitting at Jacob's computer the other night and began to smell a disgusting sewer stench permeating the air. I walked into the adjacent bathroom, but could not pinpoint exactly where the odor was coming from. Retreating back to the computer, I hoped that the smell would just go away. Unfortunately, it only became worse. I sniffed around the bathroom again and discovered that the offensive odor was coming from the bathtub drain. This seemed odd to me because we never even use that particular tub - everyone at the condo always uses the shower in the master bathroom. I assumed that I would have to call a plumber in the morning to assess the issue. Puzzled and annoyed, I went to the internet and looked up "sewer smells coming from bathtubs." It surprised me to find numerous articles all recommending the same quick fix to my stinky dilemma. The solution? Simply run a quart of water into the drain. Apparently, the curvy pipe underneath sinks and tubs actually has a purpose. After you use water, some of it stays in the curvy part, thus forming a seal that keeps sewer gases and crawling vermin from coming up through the pipe. When a fixture goes unused for a month or more, the water seal evaporates, allowing a gross stench to enter your room. They say that this phenomenon is most common in guest bathrooms and other seldom-used areas.

I couldn't really believe that the solution to this mess would be as easy as a quart of water, but I decided to give it a try. I overcompensated and ran a few gallons of H2O down the drain. Thirty minutes later, the odor was indeed dissipating. After an hour had gone by, any remaining sewer-y smells had pretty much disappeared. When two hours had passed, the bathroom was fresh and clean with no remaining hint of the putrid problem. (Okay, it wasn't really fresh and clean because it is, after all, the bathroom that a 15-year-old boy uses.) I went to sleep that night patting myself on the back for a job well done. Now I just have to remember to run water in the tub - and every other unused drain - every month or so to avoid a repeat of the matter.

Angry Birds

When Jake and I were getting ready for school early one morning, we noticed a plethora of geese outside the condo window. The critters occasionally wander around our little court area, but typically they stay in the pond across the street. I am not fond of them, mostly because they peck around in the neighborhood flowers and leave behind icky goose droppings. When Jake and I went outside to leave for school, I told him to stomp his feet to shoo the feathered fiends away, assuring him that they would just scamper off. On this particular day, the adults were obviously teaching the youngsters how to be intimidating & annoying because as soon as we stepped onto the driveway, the geese all ran towards us. Fast. Jake and I freaked out and jumped into the CRV with dozens of the birds uncomfortably close behind. The flock moved aside as we backed into the street, but I was concerned that they would still be mingling when I returned home after dropping Jake off. It was garbage day and I had no intention of tangling with the varmints while I hauled my trash to the curb. Thankfully, they were gone when I got back, and I brought my bags & recycling out without being attacked. They did leave eleven piles of poop in our driveway, which I cleaned up and deposited into a trash bag. So gross. I have been wondering ever since that day why we need geese in the world. They brought down Sully's airplane, for goodness sake. Decades ago, Canadian geese were near extinction, but they made an incredible comeback due to conservation programs. Experts today admit that efforts to save the huge birds have been too successful and the results are not good. I don't have any answers to this dilemma. I only know that I don't really like geese.

Twenty-seven or so trouble-makers were on the prowl at 6:00 a.m. (That is our neighbor's trash. I hadn't put ours out yet.)