Why Central A/C Units (Or Anything That Can Leak) Do Not Belong in Attics (Wordless Wednesday) and Tuesday Saga (Words for Wednesday)

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.) 

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday and Sandee's Comedy Plus.

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Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts that encourages us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.    

This month, the prompts are being provided by River at Drifting Through Life.    

This week's words are:

1. atonement

2. banishment

3. cavalier

4. wheeled

5. empirical

6. fondness

and/or:

1. gently

2. hats

3. irksome

4. janitorial

5. kindness

6. laughed

Anyone who knows me knows that i have a JANITORIAL business cleaning homes and small offices for several clients.  It's one of the many HATS i wear, along with Sunday school volunteer, cat shelter volunteer, and chief cook and bottle washer here at home.

Yesterday was a rather IRKSOME day in the life of me and Sweetie.  There is never a moment for a CAVALIER attitude around here that everything will go smoothly.  In fact, we have a great deal of EMPIRICAL evidence to back up the conclusion that smoothly is most certainly not the way things will go.

Sweetie is taking care of The Big Boss' house again this week while the Boss and his wife are on a vacation.  Anyone who knows my Sweetie knows that his FONDNESS for coffee is legendary.  He'd had a couple of cups before leaving home to do his work at their house, but on the way home passed our mechanics' shop.

Kevin and Lenny's KINDNESS to us during our many mishaps of an automotive nature is legendary, and they have told us to stop by at any time just for a chat and to have a cup.  While i do not usually take them up on the offer (i know i will be there often enough), Sweetie, because of the fact that we have paid them enormous sums of money for numerous repairs over the years, enjoys stopping by for a visit.  He figures we've paid them so much we are worth a free cup once in a while.

As he turned the Jalopy to enter their parking lot, he suddenly lost the power steering.  He GENTLY WHEELED her in and coasted to a stop in a parking spot.  Upon exiting, he noted the ground was wet, and he bent over to investigate.  Petrol.  Jalopy was leaking gas from her new tank, installed perhaps a month ago.

One thing Kevin and Lenny do in this age of computers is keep clients up to date on the status of their vehicles through technology.  Because i am the one who most often drops off vehicles, and because mine is the phone number on record, every time one of our vehicles ends up there, i get a text message with a link to a website so i can "follow the status of your vehicle."

So i got the text, and immediately called Sweetie to inquire what in the world was going on this time.  He was shocked and wanted to know how i knew already that Jalopy was there, and i told him mommies are magic, because we are.  He clued me in, and i was very dejected when we hung up.

Is there no end? i thought.  No method of BANISHMENT of vehicle troubles from our lives?  Do i need to make ATONEMENT for some sin of omission or commission that is bringing these constant difficulties to us?

By the time i finished work and got home, Sweetie had gotten a ride back to the house from Kevin.  (We only live a few blocks from the place, and the fact that they know where we live makes them willing to let us make payments on repairs.)  He and i got back in Lunceford the Land Yacht and went up there to see what was going on, and retrieve the watermelon and tomatoes Sweetie had left in Jalopy.

Lenny told us that the tech who had installed the new gas tank was not in on Tuesdays, but they would put him on it first thing in the morning.  No way to know what was wrong until then, and the loaner vehicle was already spoken for.  Sweetie and i would have to figure out how to work our separate jobs with one vehicle.  Again.

Arriving home, i got out of my work clothes and tackled getting the watermelon cut and into the fridge.  Just as i'd finished and was sitting to read blogs, we got a phone call -- Jalopy was ready, we could come pick her up.

What!?!  Turned out one of the other techs had some time on his hands and decided to dig around.  The fuel line had come loose from the new tank, and that was all.  They'd reconnected it, no charge, of course.

As we drove back up there to retrieve our beloved minivan, i LAUGHED with relief.  It won't be the last time i see the inside of Kevin and Lenny's place, but i pray we get a break for a few months or at least until the last batch of repairs are paid off.

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Today is:

Anjin Matsuri -- Ito City, Japan (commemorations William Adams (1564-1620), a naturalized British shipwright, called "Anjin Miura" in Japan, a great contributor to the early development of Japanese ship-building industry; through the 10th)

BaBa Day -- Taiwan (ba ba is Mandarin for both "father" and "8-8")

Bonza Bottler Day™

Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship -- Shelburne, ON, Canada (through Saturday)

Crayfish Premiere -- Sweden (although they are now available year 'round, it used to be that crayfish could only be sold and served in restaurants the day after the season opens; the actual premiere date is often still celebrated with crayfish parties and lots of schnapps)

Dalek Day -- on the birth anniversary of the creator of these Scifi baddies, Terry Nation

Festival for Venus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (sunset to sunset)

Festival Wednesday/East End Parade -- British Virgin Islands

Finest Fairy Finals -- Fairy Calendar (Do only the finest fairies take finals? How do the others get a final grade? :D )

Fourteen Holy Helpers' Day (Patrons against diseases)

Happiness Happens Day -- sponsored by the Secret Society of Happy People, to encourage sharing happiness and discourage parade raining; on the anniversary of their founding in 1997    

Kranti Diwas -- Mumbai (former Bombay), India (a/k/a Freedom Day or Quit India Day; anniversary of Gandhi's Quit India speech to the British authorities in 1942)

Namesday of the Queen -- Sweden (Queen Sylvia; an official Flag Day)

National Frozen Custard Day

Odie Day -- Garfield's pal Odie, who first appeared in the strip on this day in 1978

Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, and i love the stuff but can't grow plants to save my life, i'll leave the porch light on for you if you will bring me some!

St. Cyriacus' Day (Patron of the eyes; Altidona, Italy; against diabolical possession, eye disease, and temptations, especially temptations at the time of death)

St. Dominic's Day (Founder of the Dominican Order[Friars]; Patron of astronomers and astronomy, falsely accused people, scientists; Batanes-Babuyanes, Philippines; Bayombong, Philippines; Dominican Republic; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Santo Domingo Indian Pueblo; Valletta, Malta)

St. Mary MacKillop's Day (First native-born Australian saint; Patron of Australia; Wagga Wagga, Australia)

The Date To Create -- can't find anything on this one, just listed at a couple of sites, but go have fun creating something!

Wakulima ya Nane Nane -- Tanzania (Peasants' Day/Farmers' Day)

World Cat Day / International Cat Day -- begun in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and other animal rights groups    

Birthdays Today:

Roger Federer, 1981

Michael Urie, 1980

Drew Lachey, 1976

The Edge, 1961

Deborah Norville, 1958

Randy Shilts, 1951

Roberta Cooper Ramo, 1942

Keith Carradine, 1949

Connie Stevens, 1938

Dustin Hoffman, 1937

Mel Tillis, 1932

Esther Williams, 1923

Rory Calhoun, 1922

Dino De Laurentis, 1919

Russell Markert, 1899

Fredric March, 1897

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, 1896

Emiliano Zapata Salazar, 1879

Matthew Henson, 1866

Emperor Horikawa of Japan, 1079

Today in History:

The Romans destroy the Tower of Antonia, 70

Otto I (The Great) crowned German king, 936

Vijayanagara Empire is rebegun with the crowning of emperor Krishnadeva Raya, 1509

The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on Hven, 1576

John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage, 1585

The first known ascent (indoors) of a hot-air ballon by Bartolomeu de Gusamao, 1709

Jacques Balmat and Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard become the first to ascend Mont Blanc, 1786

Metal bullet cartridges are patented by Smith and Wesson, 1854

Mimeograph is patented by Thomas Edison, 1876

Wilbur Wright makes the brother's first public flight, at a racecourse in Le Mans, France, 1908

The millionth patent is filed in the United States Patent Office by Francis Holton for a tubeless vehicle tire, 1911

The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight, 1929

The United Nations Charter is signed by the United States, the 3rd nation to join, 1945

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, 1967

Richard Nixon announces his resignation as President of the United States, effective the next day, 1974

The lights go on at Wrigley Field for the first time, making it the last staduim in the majors to host a night game (which was subsequently rained out!), 1988

Iraq occupies and annexes Kuwait, leading to the Gulf War to liberate Kuwait within a couple of weeks, 1990

Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor, 2000

Archeologist excavating the Templo Mayor, one of the Aztec's main temples in their capital city of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City), make an unprecedented find - the skeleton of a young woman surrounded by piles of 1,789 human bones, 2012

The Walt Disney Company announces plans to create its own streaming service, cancelling ties with Netflix, 2017