Copperheads! Nope never coming to your pool party. At 3 years old living briefly, in Baytown, Texas I picked up baby copperheads thinking they were worms. My mother freaked knocking them out of my hands and skidded me across the lawn ripping my diaper off, stopping only when she had me on the porch. That is my first memory. Before we moved back to Colorado I had to wake up from a nap to see a giant bull snake hanging off the roof sharing at me through my bedroom window. I still have nightmares over my Texas trauma. All through my life when I complained about anything, I was reminded how lucky I was to be alive. I am told the little copperheads are as deadly as the big ones.
Yep, plenty of copperheads around here. We also had 'em when we lived in Baton Rouge. Once when we lived there, I hit a small copperhead when weed-eating around the raised garden bed. He flew by my head, and I felt the "breeze" as he barely missed my face. Freaked me the hell out. I'm pretty sure he wasn't too happy, either.
Beautiful all over the 4 corners area. Did you travel across the highway bordered by bean fields passing Dove Creek? It is a nice trip from there up through the arches in Utah. The highway from Cortez past Mesa Verde down to Durango is also a nice journey or it was 48 years ago.
We traveled up through New Mexico. Once settled in a campground, we made the Durango "loop" (Skyway trail) in the Jeep. So beautiful.
Wasn't that stretch from Albuquerque to Farmington across the Apache reservation a real trip? Once across the state line into Colorado, you passed property that was once ranch land and belonged to my family. I bet it is all expensive houses now. There was once a trading post on the state line owned by a Ute named Tony. He supposedly rescued me when my grandmas brain dead dog that was sent with me to protect me while fishing on the Animas got spooked by a squirrel and took off back home and she knew the dog returning was a sign from God that I was in trouble and called Tony to go find my body while she called all the relatives. He found me standing in the river fishing and took me back to my grannies where no one questioned her vision. Everyone knew the dog was brain dead, but she insisted otherwise so we all played along and let the dog and Tony become heroes.
LOL. I was just re-reading this and realize how dumb I am. Thanks to @Bobby Cole and Faye for not pointing out that the water heater is plumbed to the house so of course it's easy to drain. (What a dolt I am sometimes. I must have chemo-brain.)
Well, I didn't point that out because mine isn't. You have to hook up a garden hose to the bottom and open the valve. Instructions say to do this once a year to avoid sludge buildup. With our water quality, draining is a waste of time. The calcite sticks to the tank and builds with each heating. Last time it was so full of calcite that it wouldn't drain. I had to wrestle it on a dolly, strap it down, and then get it down a couple of steps and outside. I tore a few muscles, hurt my back, and my language was all the shades of the rainbow with tones in-between. Then I had to pay some unkempt young con man $40 to haul it off. $10 dumping fee, $10 environmental impact fee, $20 inconvenience fee for the lazy bum living on welfare SSI to haul it 3 miles to the transfer station. He said he had to charge extra because of the difficultly of unloading. "What difficulty," I asked? "You get about 50 feet from the dump pile. drop your tailgate, get back in, put it in reverse, floor it, and slam on your brakes 15 feet from the pile and it slides right out." Kids know nothing these days.
I'm sure ours has that type of drain option, too. But if you turn off the WH, turn off the water supply to the heater, then open a few hot water faucets you'll drain it (mostly) in no time. Sometimes I totally miss the obvious. (Kind of like the SSI guy you described.) It's like having a top-down convertible with the doors locked, then walking back in the house to get the key.
It is the most beautiful day today; pleasant temperature, sunny and breezy. I'm not supposed to get much sun exposure while on chemo which stymies my sitting by the pool to read. I usually spend a lot of time outside in the spring before the summer heat makes it impossible, but this year I'm mostly a window-seat observer. I was dusting the den yesterday and saw the Macbook on the end table, where it has been since we bought it a couple of years ago. I have been having some REALLY ANNOYING PROBLEMS with my newest Dell laptop, causing me to have to reload the OS twice in the last couple of weeks. Somehow a bios upgrade from Dell hosed the entire thing, causing me to almost use my favorite "repair" method of tossing it from the second floor window onto the concrete driveway, then running over it with my car about 21 times. A tried-and-true method with an extreme measure of personal satisfaction, but I digress. I scoped out the Macbook and brought it upstairs. It also needed an OS update, so I plugged it in and let it do its thing. I am hereby announcing my formal move to Apple products, leaving Microsoft and Dell in the dust. "Dear Michael, I have purchased my last in a long line of infuriating crap from your Chinese facility. Please take your bios update and shove it, along with this laptop that is the biggest POS I have ever wasted money on. Sincerely, BG."
Very nice here also, but after a patio grilled beef hot dog and grilled zuccuni lunch, I am inside now with AC. Triple digits here starting tomorrow. Couldn't you set up an umbrella so you could enjoy some outdoor time?
Yes, we have a covered patio so I sit out there for a bit. I've just always loved the sun on my skin (and have the wrinkles to prove it.) Sounds like a nice day you're having, Faye.