Sagas

In the continuing saga of #2 Son's bicycle, I bought him yet another inner tube. No problem, he said, about getting it on.

Lots of problems. He borrowed the wrong wrench from the neighbor, who had to come over and get the stripped bolt off (Son stripped it himself using the wrong wrench, of course).

Then it was time to pack the bike back into the van and go to the filling station to air it up. Comedy of errors. First, he pulls the hose around, and puts in his quarters. At this point, he is trying to do it while leaving the bike in the vehicle. The nozzle wouldn't get onto the valve stem. The stem itself was so close to a wheel spoke that the nozzle just didn't fit without forcing.

So he pulls the bike out of the van to get more leverage to force it. He finally gets the nozzle on, puts in some air, checks it. Not enough. Force it back on.

Naturally, it starts raining. He moves the bike to get a better grip, with me trying to help hold it steady. Gets it on, a bit more air. Still not enough, and raining harder.

Gets the nozzle back on again, the machine quits. We ran out of time.

Home again, he realizes that not only did it not quite get enough air in, he also put the tire back on wrong. He will have to let all of the air out, reposition the tire, and try again.

Oh, and the rain shower was short. It was over by the time we got back in the van.

The day, however, is not over. I burned myself really, really well on the crock pot making chili. Nice, arcing second degree burn on my left forearm. So, imagine being mommy all day long, driving, cooking, cleaning, folding, etc., while holding ice packs on the forearm. No, don't imagine it. It isn't pretty.

Finally, Sweetie has been given a toy. It is an analog meter for reading how much electricity your outlets are actually giving you. It does lots of other neat stuff, too, but that is the main thing. He needs it so he can accurately use his Variac to lower the voltage so he can use his amplifiers, which are old and meant to work on lower volts. Too much voltage will fry their delicate innards, and it will be further thousands of dollars to repair them, after all we have put into them.

Problem is, the friend who gave him the toy found it in his attic. The guy was a tv repair person for years, and has tons of old stuff around. He did not, however, find the electric cord to make the thing work. So Sweetie has been on a quest for a cord, as he doesn't want the bother of taking the thing apart and putting in Nine 9v batteries, which would have to be replaced frequently.

The quest for a cord has been long and hard and he has had a couple of false leads, including a friend of this friend who has a cord, but wants close to $100 smackers for it. That is something we can ill afford.

Then, finally, a couple of weeks ago he found a place that has what might fit. It's only $7.50, but the guy has a minimum order of $15. Okay, we order two, and pay shipping.

A red letter day, a day for sagas, the cords arrive. Sweetie was asleep, and I told Bigger Girl to bring them up to him. She didn't know he had fallen asleep on the bed reading. She just opened our door and tossed the cords on the bed, where they landed square on Sweetie. I heard the yelp from all the way across the house. That man is loud when he is startled.

Anyway, the moment of truth. Yes, a saga that ends well. The cords work.

#2 Son's bike will go back to the shop soon.


Today is

32nd Annual Gilroy Garlic Festival -- Gilroy, California, through the 26th (always the last full weekend in July) Gilroy is where 90% of the country's garlic is grown. Someone, and I cannot find out who, once said that Gilroy is the only place in the world where you can marinate a steak by hanging it out on the clothesline!

Feast of Sulis -- Ancient Celtic Calendar, goddess of the springs at Bath

Gorgeous Grandma Day

Hot Enough For Ya Day

National Hot Dog Day

Neptunalia and Salcia -- Ancient Roman Calendar, god and goddess of the
ocean and wide seas

Private Eye Day

Remembrance Day -- Papua New Guinea

Revolution Day -- Egypt

St. Apollinaris' Feast

St. Bridget's Day (patron of scholars, Sweden)

UFO Days -- Elmwood, Wisconsin, through the 25th (Wisconsin's UFO capital, visit the petting zoo, shop at the community wide thrift sale, take part in the fun run, softball games, medallion
hunts, bed races, and dances; watch the crowning of Miss Elmwood, the tractorcade, the car and truck show, the nightly fireworks, and stage bands; let the kids have a ball in the greased pig race and kiddie water fight; enjoy the Knights of Columbus pancake breakfast and the bake
sale; and no need to miss church Sunday morning, bring a lawn chair for the ecumenical service so you don't miss a moment of the fun and excitement!)

Vanilla Ice Cream Day


Anniversaries Today

Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson, 1986


Birthdays Today

Daniel Radcliffe, 1989
Michelle Williams, 1980
Nomar Garciapara, 1973
Marlon Wayans, 1972
Charisma Carpenter, 1970
Philip Seymour Hoffman, 1967
Woody Harrelson, 1961
Lamont "ShowBoat" Robinson, 1961
Don Imus, 1940
Don Drysdale, 1936
Bert Convy, 1933
Amalia Rodrigues, 1920
Harold "Pee Wee" Reese, 1918
Arthur Treacher, 1894
Haile Selassie I, 1892
Raymond Chandler, 1888


Today in History

William Austin Burt patents the Typographer, a precursor to the typewriter, 1829
The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union, 1840
The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, the world's oldest international sport federation, is founded, 1881
The Ford Motor Company sells its first car, 1903
Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film, 1926
Telstar relays the first publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program, featuring Walter Cronkite, 1962
The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling within 4 years, 1982 *
Air Canada Flight 143 runs out of fuel and makes a deadstick landing at Gimli, Manitoba, 1983
Comet Hale-Bopp is discovered, 1995
Cape Verde becomes the 153rd member of the World Trade Organization, 2008


*Don't I wish that had worked!