This Moment

I’ve been stewing on what to post. I feel like my dear readers expect a certain amount of bitching and moaning from me. I mean why read this if you can’t look at your own life and say, “Well, at least that’s not my life!” and maybe feel better about your lot.

OK, yep, that was your snark.

As for me, I’m at peace in this moment.

Do I expect it will last?

Nope

So I’m enjoying it while it’s here.

Yesterday I emptied the last box, washed the last glass, painted the last of the construction dings, and declared my kitchen complete.

Well, except for the ways it isn’t.

My garage is back to being a garage and not a storage unit. The last of the trash got taken away this morning. I do have a donation box that is being filled, but that’s a constant around here.

I’ve even been cooking. A lot. Like a 15-pound turkey’s worth. Tomorrow I’m using the last bit to make pot pies. I picked up a tube of biscuits to make some pot pie cupcakes. Don’t make that face, they are the bomb! And you can eat them in the car! Yes, a tube of biscuits, I’m a Northern gal, I don’t normally do biscuits.

I’m including the address because I know secretly you’re curious:

https://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/chicken-pot-pie-cupcakes/88c3fb89-0b08-466d-bb26-27c50aac24fd

I had lunch with Dominique today. I think I told you we’re doing a Mexican restaurant tour of town. Every month we pick a different place to try and I keep notes on how we liked it. Today’s was her favorite so far.

Yesterday while I was weeding, I saw this:

It’s my first nasturtium! The greens are looking pretty rough, but maybe it will best the elements and cover the whole bed!

Yeah, right. It’s probably only blooming because the hibiscus in front of it is finally providing some shade.

My newly moved petunias are getting some legs under them, so that’s hopeful. Potted tomatoes are still holding their own, and some catnip got harvested and dehydrated this week. It’s not much, comparatively speaking, but it’s what we’ve got. The only thing really thriving here is my rosemary.

Tomorrow is June. I think I need to get a handle on my trip north. I’ve been looking for places to stop on the route and I’m coming up blank. We may just drive the 2 days, stop for a friend visit, drive again and stay with the Kraken for a few days, move to another visit spot, and then blow town. I want to stop at Oakes Daylilies on the way home and maybe get a few unusual ones for the yard. Maybe stop again in Alabama before going home. So far, that’s all I have planned. I need to get logistics nailed down before too long.

And I need to find a pet sitter. Ugh.

In knitting news, I’m still plugging away at my purple shawl. It’s SO boring though. I have halted the tumbling blocks blanket in favor of this blanket:

So far it’s going well. It’s a cool knit, not too hard, but interesting. I’m using a wool/silk blend that was supposed to be a sweater.

Finally, here’s your dose of cute for today:

Amazing Day

The Hubs told me to write about what a perfect day I had with him.

But I don’t want you guys to be jealous, so…

Oh, before I forget, today is our 1-year anniversary!

It seems like about 50 years, but it’s actually only been one whole year that we have been in this house.

I am honestly a little surprised we survived it. So, so, so many things have caught us off guard this year.

One year ago today, we were moving ourselves. It took about 10 trips, and while we were hauling, there was a team of 3 working on the quarter round moldings all over the house. It was barely controlled chaos and looking back, I can’t say there weren’t warning signs.

But here we are, 1 year into this journey. In some ways we are further along the road than I thought we’d be. We were hoping to put some of the updates off, but that didn’t work out so well. There were so many cascading failures, one thing pretty much rolled into the next.

Enough of that.

Last night we put up the last 2 shelves. The upper part of the kitchen is pretty much done.

The pipes are out of whack, and there was a load of swearing to get them up. We were not able to block this wall, so we took what we could get. Look how neat it all looks. That will NOT last!

Not sure what I’m gonna put on this top shelf yet, but it’s up!

That junction box cover is barely noticeable once the Hubs got it back on the wall.

The Hubs set up some knife intimidation:

Which makes me wonder where the heck all my other knives got to!

Today was a chore day, some mowing, some yard planning and cleanup. The Hubs got the sprinkler system up and running.

Tomorrow we’ll be installing the AC unit in the shed. I’m really not looking forward to that. I have this thing about cutting holes in my house, and it’s transferring itself to the shed. We have to cut a hole in the wall to get the unit installed. It just seems like a disaster waiting to happen. But the Hubs is confident he can make it happen.

I’m sure it’ll be fine.

I’d like to not look and work on my side garden, but I think it’s gonna be necessary for me to stand around and offer unwanted suggestions. Maybe help, too.

My cabinets were supposed to be loaded for delivery yesterday. I’m cautiously optimistic, you know because everything is running so tight these days.

I texted that miserable little twerp from Terminix on Thursday to ask about the claim. In true asshat fashion, he responded (eventually) like it was someone else’s fault and if they didn’t contact me Friday, to let him know.

They didn’t.

I let him know.

Crickets.

I also called about my screens and window weight. Anisha was as bitchy as ever with her standard, “They won’t respond to me.” I told her I’d call again next week.

I’m sure she looks forward to our little chats.

I had reason to email Scott about the AC unit in our bedroom maybe having a thermostat issue. Crickets there as well.

I cannot for the life of me understand why people just don’t get it. Do what you promise and I won’t bother you anymore.

OK, something REALLY funny happened yesterday. You might not appreciate it, but we are STILL laughing about it! And yes, I bought a LOT.

Watch it and laugh!

Whole Lotta Nada

Christmas is officially over here. Well, except the lights on the bridge to nowhere, the music, and the candy. But other than that, it’s over. Oh, and the sparkles. There are sparkles all over the house! Every so often I look at a cat and see a sparkle in their fur. I’ve vacuumed 50 times and still, they sparkle.

In case you’re wondering, I did, in fact, neatly put away Christmas. I even labeled the boxes. And just now, the Hubs and I stowed them in the attic.

Before:

After:

So neat and tidy, it’s like a work of art!

OK, not really, it’s an attic.

See those lovely black boxes with the red tops? I bought 6 of them to store Christmas in so I would know which ones I needed without having to open every bin. As I was filling them the other day, I got to one that was dirty and had debris in it. OK, not ideal, but as I was wiping it out, I noticed I could see daylight. Upon closer inspection, the bottom had been broken. And the one beneath it, same dirt, same damage. Someone probably returned these broken bins, and when I ordered them, they just got rolled up with the others.

Today, we went to Home Depot and returned the broken ones. I wasn’t sure they would take them back, but they were kind about it – of course I had the Hubs tell the tale. He is MUCH better at stuff like that. Where I would go in and say, “Broken. Refund.” He goes out of his way to make sure the person is having a nice day, then launch into an amusing anecdote and charm the person to death. He always gets his money back. So I let him do the returns.

Anyway

We also took a jaunt to a stone yard for counter ideas. Again, the charm, the questions, the anecdotes. And I’m like, “Can I just go look at your rocks?”

But of course, his way is better, he got some pricing, information on finishes, and some ideas. And he suggested we start on the cheap side of the row. I just wanted to wander around and find what was already in the finish I want and pick from that stock. But he found out we could leather a sample to see if we liked it.

Good information

Sure, for laughs, we can look at the cheap stuff, but I won’t like any of it.

Except I did

We found 2 I like and 1 I can live with.

This is the one I can live with:

It’s already leathered, and they have about 10 slabs I can choose from. It’s a little pedestrian, but for $50/foot, I can learn to like it.

This is one I like:

It’s marble and I’d have to pay extra to leather it. But I would really need to see it with the cabinets, floor, and paint before I fall in love. If it looks at all brown in my house, it might kill me. I do like way it looks like sand sifting down.

I know my pics aren’t great, it was difficult to get good shots because the slabs were all packed in together.

This is another one I liked:

This is a stock pic, but you get the idea. There’s really no going wrong with this one, no matter what I do in the kitchen.

We did see some really spectacular slabs that we loved, but with the angles in the kitchen, and the relatively small amount of counters, it would be a waste to use something like this:

But it would be the coolest on a large island!

Next week, shoulder permitting, I’m going to paint the hall. Last night we took the doorbell guts off the wall:

OK, I was not expecting that. A big hole, yes, but for some reason I convinced myself that we could just cap off the power and drywall over it. But this is actual power. Like I could put a sconce right here kind of power. Yes, it would look stupid, but the point is, I can’t just drywall over it.

Dammit

We kicked around some ideas, but the winner was to get a cover, snot it up, paint it, and try to make this less obvious. While paint was drying elsewhere, I primed and snotted this:

I’ll paint it wall color and hope camouflage actually works. Stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, I fixed all the damage and painted around the thermostat:

Tomorrow the Hubs can stick it back on the wall – correctly so it doesn’t wobble like it has been doing. Then Monday I’ll work around it and get this tiny hallway, with 5 doors to cut-in, painted.

I probably won’t have a good time, and it’ll take me hours to finish this small area, but it has to be done if I want to get rid of the ugly color on these walls.

Believe me, I definitely do!

And with that, I will leave you with kitten joy. At one point, the bird was right under those bricks, and they both had their ears mashed against the glass!

Mish Mash

I hope you liked the guest post about the shed/shop the other day!

It’s the 11th Day of Christmas today. I’m sitting at my desk listening to TSO, eating Christmas candy, and mooning over properties not purchased.

Why do I do this to myself? I do not have an answer. However, when I am mooning, I am not paying attention to the abysmal information found on Daily Wire.

So mooning is not all bad.

Tomorrow I will undecorate the house. It’s a mixed emotion day for me. On the one hand I am about over cats in the tree. On the other, I will miss the lights. But once the decorations are neatly put away (or stuffed carelessly into boxes), I plan on turning my attention to something fun.

Unlike painting trim.

Which I did yesterday:

I know, it’s super anti-climactic. Sort of like trim painting. During the 2-coats, there was only one cat accident. Havoc somehow managed to get her left whiskers covered in paint. I have to say, she was not pleased with the removal of said paint. I didn’t think she had the sass in her. But who are we kidding? If you grow up in this house, you get a little “salty” as the Kraken refers to it.

Speaking of kittens, they left this for us the other day:

My kitties are artists!

I’ll bet you thought I had a litter pan pic for you, didn’t you?!

I finally finished my sugar cane scarf:

I wasn’t gonna block it because I was really not happy with the way it felt, it was a little stiff and crunchy (not squeaky, Auntie!). I was dreading making anything with the other ball I have of the same yarn. But then I did a freeform blocking on it just to see if I could get more length out of it. After soaking it, the yarn became more soft. By the time this was dry I couldn’t wait to cast on the next project! It’s so soft and lovely! Because it’s more like a cotton, I made it lacey and more of an accessory than something to keep you toasty.

If it weren’t 75, and I wasn’t in shorts, I might have worn it on my errands this morning!

Over the weekend, or maybe Monday, the Hubs made butter. He is probably going to post about it, but I’m stealing his thunder.

He used this, Auntie gave it to us back in RI (I think maybe she hates us). It resurfaced a couple weeks ago and the Hubs wanted to give it a go. I’ll let him tell you all about it. Suffice to say there was cream and butter all over the place during the process! But there is actual butter as a result.

And last, but certainly not least, I went outside between raindrops yesterday and look what is happening in my new garden:

That, my friends, is a red potato! Well, not yet. We had given up on this because of the freeze last week. I guess this little guy has got a will to live! If the weather holds, it might yet produce.

This HOUSE – Again

Let’s start with something positive, shall we?

WordPress is celebrating the fact I got 6 likes in one day!

I’m not saying that is not exciting, but the penchant for celebrating every little thing these days is a little like this:

I know not everyone gets my point. But let’s just say if you’re old enough to know what merit-based praise is, celebrating remembering to wake up is a little weird.

Damn. I was supposed to say something positive.

Oh well.

Saturday we had another setback. When the Hubs asked, “Do you by chance have a warm feeling about the house?” I knew something was wrong.

This happened:

The tub spout shed a vital part. There was no water being directed to the showerhead. And of course these things are 20 years old, so finding a replacement is not all that easy. But we were gonna try.

We headed off to Home Depot with a list. We had a lovely chat with the plumbing guy who told us he doesn’t have that part, but there is a plumbing supply house that would. But it’s closed on weekends.

Really? For the love of…

So we headed to the new faucet aisle. And chose a new shower faucet package based on the recommendation we got.

We picked up the rest of the list and headed home.

Opened the box, and discovered the new faucet set is not compatible with the old one.

Of course it isn’t.

The Hubs called the neighbor (plumber) to see if maybe he has one hanging around. He still has not gotten back to us.

I ordered one off Amazon. The reviews say it’ll match. I have my doubts. It’ll be here Tuesday.

Sunday after church we did a little wiring and insulating in the shed. When we came in, I got in the hall bath shower. The Hubs came in and I asked, “Hey, can we use this spout?”

Of course it’s a perfect match. Joy ensued because we don’t have to shower in the hall bath until Tuesday!

Take that, house!

We also mostly finished up the foyer. The light is hung, the art is in place, and some hooks are back. Not sure when the rug will arrive, but here is the light:

It was a booger to get wired up, but the Hubs bested it and it looks just like I had hoped! I’m gonna save the big reveal for the rug arrival. Stay tuned for that!

While the Hubs was doing some wiring, I raked up the pine needles and used some to give my little fig a blanket:

I don’t know if it’ll do a damned bit of good, but we’ll see in April. I think I’m supposed to pick off the figs and new leaves, but I just can’t bear to do it!

Here is where we are so far on the shed:

And wiring:

Of course once it’s all insulated, in the winter it will remain freezing inside. But in the summer, when it matters, it’ll stay cool. At least that is the hope. And since it’s not attached to this house, it might be a reality.

If I decide I need a project this week, I might go do some insulating while the Hubs is at work.

I’m still trying to pick the best paint-the-door day. Right now it’s looking like tomorrow.

Election Day

This morning I smacked myself in the nose with my hairdryer. And now I’m hoping that was not a little premonitory warning of how today is going to shake out.

Whatever way you lean, get out there and vote. It’s what makes this country great! You get to fill in that bubble and then watch as people who have no interest in your opinion do exactly what they please.

Anyway

I’m sitting here waiting for the sprinkler guys to arrive. Yesterday we discovered one of the heads does this:

I sent this to Dale and he said, “Oh, that’s not good. We’ll be out tomorrow at 10.” So I wait.

Yesterday I installed the last downspout basin:

Now I have to wait til it rains to see if it’s long enough. There is going to one day be a garden all over here, but until then, I am hopeful this ends the digging.

I’m still trying to figure out what to do under the well pump. Sure it’s a pretty blue, but the platform it’s on looks like poop. I was thinking I would just paint it, but it really looks bad so I need to hide it or feature it. Or maybe it needs a proper platform. We’ll call this a WIP for now.

I don’t know if I told you, but my project is done! It’s blocked and it just needs to be packed and shipped, which will get done next week. Here is the last peek for you:

It’s not perfect, but overall I am happy with the outcome.

I’ve started a new project. This one is a blanket for my neighbor, She liked the one I gave her daughter so much, I told her I would make her one:

I hope she likes the color. And I hope this doesn’t make me seem creepy!

I will leave you with this final thought:

If you don’t love the way this country is headed, think about the fact the left has had complete control for the last 2 years. Before that, we had $2 gas, energy independence, affordable prices at the grocery store, 3-4% interest on homes. Now, the interest rate is at 7+%, butter costs $5 a pound, gas is all over the map, and we’re begging countries who HATE us for energy. Oh, and we DON’T have reliable wind or solar solutions.

As bleak and criminal as I find all this, I’m going to vote and you should as well.

Go on, I’ll wait.

From Our Sponsors

The Hubs has been going to work the last 2 days. It’s kinda boring around here when he’s gone. I know, it’s silly, I hardly see him all day when he’s here, so why is it different?

I dunno, Just is.

Anyway.

I have cleared my schedule so I can finish my project. And I did. Well, except binding off, which will take a while. But here is a sneak peek of the border done:

The lifeline is still in it. I didn’t have to use it, thank God! But I fear it’ll be a booger getting it out.

Tomorrow we’re having a shed installed. I called earlier to make sure we’re actually on the schedule. We are.

I went out to prep the area… which included pulling out my tomato plant. And that sucks because after all summer of nothing, it’s finally started to produce! I marked the area so they know where abouts to place this thing.

Other than emptying out the garage, the best part of this is the blocking of the view.

Speaking of calling, I called the stylist to try to make an appointment to get my hair cut after Thanksgiving. The barely English-speaking receptionist told me she didn’t have anything available today. So I said, again, “How about anytime the week of the 28th?” She explained that they are closed on the 28th because it’s a Monday. OK. Anything else that week? She offered a 6:15 slot on the 22nd. I asked if she had any day slots, so she offered a 6:00pm on the 3rd.

WTF? No daytime apointments? Normally they are trying to fill day spots and leave eveinings for people with jobs.

Whatever. I told her, “You know what? It seems like you already have enough clients. I’ll call another salon.”

And I did. I got a 10am appointment on the 29th. There, was that so hard?

My little fig tree is going to town:

It’s got a new leaf and a couple of figs!

This afternoon I got some pics of the kittens in action.

They were just being lazy, but then Havoc saw something:

Mayhem snoozes on while she finally gets rewarded for her vigilance:

I’m not sure the squirrel can see in because there is a coating on the glass, but Havoc can sure see out! They were like that for a few seconds, then:

She stumbles over Mayhem while trying to get the squirrel. He’s seen her at this point and can’t get away fast enough.

Or can he?

The cheeky little bugger stops for a photo op while Mayhem tries to figure out why he got trampled. I think at this point the squirrel realizes what’s inside, because he jetted off a second later.

Mayhem finally clues in:

The squirrel ran across the patio about 5 more times, pretty sure these guys were no threat. They watched him do squirrel things in the yard for a while and then went back to sleep.

And that, my friends, is what passes for excitement around here!

Last Bit

There’s been a flurry of activity here at the homestead these past few days.

The garage painting is unofficially finished!

From this:

To this:

I was going to do touchup this morning, but quite frankly, I needed to unplug from this for a day. It’s on tomorrow’s schedule. Some touchup painting, and a lot of re-jigging so the car can come back.

I forgot to do the floor cleaning test, so maybe that will happen as well.

Last night we had a cold snap. It went all the way down to 58 overnight! This morning the sprinkler guys showed up in down vests and gloves. It was in the high 60s. I went out to talk to them in shorts.

Come on people!

All day I’ve been seeing people bundled against the chill. I guess no one around here has any anti-freeze in their blood anymore. I suspect mine will wear out eventually, but until then, I’m kinda digging the brisk weather. I only wish I had a ton of yard work to do!

OK, the sprinklers…

It’s been a trip. I guess yesterday was the big day.

The dad showed up at the crack of 10:15. They struggled to get the panel open to turn on the breaker. I went into the garage and painted. They came in to let me know the pump was dead. And to tell me they were going to go get one. They’d be back in an hour.

At 12:15 they came back.

Let me just interject some thoughts. This is the old pump:

Imagine you’re a sprinkler guy and you see this. Do you think, “It’ll be fine.”? Or do you think, “Hmm. This might not work. I’ll bring one just in case.”? I love the optimism, who wants to drop cash on something new when the old one works? But really?

After a bunch of drama I was not privvy to, this happened:

See? That wasn’t so hard. Except that green cap thingee leaks when the sprinklers are on. But whatever.

So all afternoon, I had dudes running around the yard in bathing trunks. They were adjusting, replacing, checking and rechecking. We were optimistic there would be water. They set it up to run starting at 5 this morning.

But there’s a chance the timer is broken.

A chance? Knowing what I do about this place, I’ll take that bet.

This morning, the place was dry. I’m positive it didn’t run. The Hubs is positive it did.

Except while he slept through the (non)event, I was up. I guarantee you those sprinklers did not come on. The Hubs remains unconvinced.

Spin forward to down vests and gloves.

And a new timer. So that all got installed and maybe even tested. They are set to go off at 5am tomorrow. I am unconvinced.

We’ll see tomorrow.

Oh, and I got a dozen eggs from the neighbor this morning. The Hubs is gonna have a couple tonight to see if they are as yummy as fresh eggs are supposed to be.

No, we will not be getting chickens no matter how great these eggs are.

Because I love nothing more than an upside down cat:

You get to enjoy Mayhem taking up space!

So Far, So Good

Banner day today!

I ordered a new stove a few weeks ago, and it arrived today – an hour before my allotted time!

This is what we had:

Yes, that is rust across the bottom. And when they lifted it to take it outside, a freaking palmetto bug dropped out! First the fridge with the fly gravy, now I find out my stove has bugs.

GROSS!

Is there no limit to the nasty that is this house?!

Anyway, it’s gone. Good riddance!

This is my new stove:

And this is why I don’t love stainless:

But whatever. I cleaned it up and it’s all shiny and pretty. I’m reasonably sure there are no bugs inside it.

It looks weird right now because of the backsplash, but once a different countertop comes along, it will be normal.

It’s gonna get its first workout: bacon! And then for dinner it will be pot roast. I usually do a crockpot/steam combination for pot roast, but in order to break in the oven, I’ll do a Dutch oven roasting. This puppy has convection (never had that before), and air fryer. I just might cook more!

Ha! Just kidding!

We did a lot of little stuff today. Like the electric panel:

Before

During

Improved with a bit of paint

Not perfect, but better.

I relocated the rosemary:

If it keeps growing like it has been, this should totally hide the AC octopus. I still need to do a border for it.

I planted my fig tree:

Looks huge, right?! It’s about a foot tall! It has a lot of new growth on it, so maybe by next year we’ll have a few figs from it.

And that brings us to now.

The bacon is gonna be a learning curve. Normally, it takes about an hour, low and slow. Today, it was ready too soon, so we had to shut it off and let the rest of breakfast catch up! It’ll get there! Or maybe I should air fry it…

After church we went to the beach. The weather is getting just perfect and the water is still in the high 70s. We swam, we walked, we found sandbars to walk on, and we lounged in the sun. Just spectacular.

And then we got home and it was a frenzy of activity showering, doing laundry, making dinner, etc.

I did the pot roast in the Dutch oven, I added some tomatoes to it this time and let it cook for about 2.5 hours.

Oh my, it was good! So good! Everything was cooked just perfectly. I have some leftover that I am actually looking forward to eating!

Tomorrow the sprinkler guys may or may not show up. The Hubs put in the breaker and labeled it all nice and neatly. I hope a little bit they won’t show. But I also want it off the plate.

I’m going to finish up the garage wall in the morning. I am NOT looking forward to it, but I’ll be really glad when it is done. Then comes the craptastic chore of putting it all back together. I am currently debating if I really can wait 2 weeks for paint to cure before I reload the shelves.

Of course when it’s all done I’ll have to decide what to do about the floor. Can I clean it enough for epoxy to succeed? Will I have to hire this part out? I might test out the stuff I bought to clean the floor tomorrow. If I can get a clean spot, that will give me the courage to continue. If not, well…

It’s All About The Paint

Yep, I’m still slogging through the garage. But I gotta say, it’s not half bad so far.

I finished the long wall and the door wall.

We started here:

And traveled here:

It was a bit of a booger getting around the rail and the spring, trying not to paint them, or get grease off them. I’m undecided about the wood above the door. I sort of want it painted, but it’s splintery and dirty and has some weather stripping attached to it. I guess I’ll leave it raw. I’ll eventually forget about it!

I also started the trim:

Just beyond needing a paint job. So much neglect this poor little house has suffered, so many indignities, so not loved.

I can almost get my head around feeling bad for it.

OK, there, I said it. I showed a little pity for this house. So mark my words, it’s gonna reach out and screw me again.

But in the meanwhile, the trim got some love:

Yeah, I’m really gonna have to repaint this door.

What do you think of charcoal? I don’t really want it dark, but I can’t think of a color that will look good. But, I’ve got my paint deck, I’ll keep looking.

I started the shelves this morning.

A little rearranging had to be done first:

Then some cutting in:

Eventually the first coat was done:

At first glance, I was thinking it was a job well done. I went in, washed my equipment, and then came back out to set it all in the sun to dry.

I turned around and saw this:

As I was running low on paint, I was thinking I didn’t want to go too far, so I retouched the bottom shelf, did the wall a little, and finally emptied the tray. I guess it never even occurred to me to check ALL the brackets!

Have I mentioned attention to detail is one of my virtues?

Yeah, I thought not.

Well, that’ll get done first when I next open the paint!

I nearly forgot 2 things!

First… not a squeak from Scott this week. I guess the tech won’t be coming to investigate the stinky AC smell.

Second… The dad came out to get the breaker into the box to test the sprinklers. This is how it went:

A phone call at 8, “we’ll be there within the hour. Dad went to Lowe’s to get a breaker. [more words]”

The Hubs and I discuss how he knows which breaker to get (we have learned this lesson the hard way).

At 9:20, the dad shows up. About 10 minutes later the other 2 show up. There’s some caucusing. The Hubs gets involved, I stay out of it.

At 9:30 all three leave because they have the wrong breaker.

At 10:40, the Hubs come out of his office and is confident the sprinklers are on their way to working. I say, “Nope, they left right after you went into your meeting to get another breaker.”

[We have a not-Christian exchange about them]

About 10 minutes later, they return. Seems they went to Ace, it was closer. But they only had one kind. The wrong kind, but were assured it would work. The Hubs goes out. I don’t ask.

The three of them leave.

The Hubs leaves to go into the office.

I paint.

This evening we went to Home Depot and bought a breaker. The Hubs will install it tomorrow. The sprinkler people may or may not return Monday morning.

I’m wondering why this is a thing. Oh, and why I didn’t call another company.

Riddle me this: If someone recommends a company, do they do it because they had a really good experience? Or because they got screwed and don’t want to be the only ones?

I used to think A, but after a couple of really lackluster experiences based on recommendations, I’m now thinking B and will no longer be seeking recommendations.