We’re having a heat wave…

It was 67 degrees F. when I woke up on Friday morning! And it only went up from there.

I spent most of the day asking myself why I hadn’t taken it off as a vacation day. That would have given me four days to get the stuff done I will now have to try and cram into three. But, until this morning at work, it never occurred to me. Dumb.

I finally got in touch with my mortgage lady and found the exact amount of money I need to bring in as a cashier’s check Saturday morning. So, at lunch, the first thing I did was to go to my bank and withdraw the money from my savings (where it’s been sitting since this whole re-mortgage thing first came up). I stuck the cashier’s check in my glove box so I wouldn’t forget it in the morning.

Next, I went and bought myself a present (its payday), since I won’t have to make a mortgage payment on June 1. I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond (where I had a 20% off coupon) and bought a Keurig single serve coffee maker. I also bought the little basket they make that will allow you to use your own coffee.

Why? Well, if you remember all the crap I took about reheating coffee in the past, I try not to do that. But, even though I make just four cups at a time, I still end up throwing away a lot of coffee. This way, I’ll make one cup of coffee and if I want another, I’ll make another.

I still had time, so I stopped at the nearest Big Boy (I figured that would be the fastest service) and ordered a Slim Jim and onion rings. The waiter brought my food and the bill (I told him I was in a hurry). But it wasn’t a Slim Jim (an old school favorite: ham and cheese on a pressed bun – I was pannini when pannini wasn’t cool) but a Big Boy hamburger. Damn! I just had a burger last night! But, I didn’t have time to correct the order, so I just ate it (the onion rings were great, BTW). Then I went back to work.

I went out around 2:30 PM and walked up and down the parking lot (I do that most days as it hurts if I sit too long – its either take a walk or take a pain pill). It was even hotter and the air was thick and hard to breathe.

Our Director let most of the people go home at 3:30 PM, but some had to stay at their post, just in case. I volunteered, so Michelle could go home to her family. I figured the cats weren’t waiting for me, anyway. So, Fred who was still working on a problem we have with a phone switch, Vicky, who’s on the Help Desk, Mike in case we needed a technician to go out, and I were all that remained.

I left at 5:00 PM and it was so hot in the car you couldn’t really feel the A/C until about halfway home. When I got there, I turned on the TV after treating the cats, and the weatherman said it was 89 degrees!

Jake had sent me a text earlier in the day, letting me know he’d found a used gasoline-powered golf-cart-like snack truck he thought I might want to use if and when I retire (I’ve been looking at food trucks, but they are pretty damn expensive). He Photoshopped it it for me and had sent me a picture. I told him I was definitely interested, but had to figure out the business case first. He sent me several pictures of the one he found for sale near him, but I’ll post the one he worked up for me.

Anyway, I sent him a text telling him I’d bought the Keurig. Since he has one, he sent me detailed instructions to prepare it before using it so you don’t have a “plastic” taste in the first few pots.

So, I washed out the water reservoir and let it dry. Then I refilled it with tap water and two tablespoons of distilled white vinegar, turned it on (so the water would flow into the heating chamber) and set the stove timer for two hours. Then I went outside in my shorts, tee shirt and brace to finalize the leveling of the four pads the raised bed garden will sit on (I got an email that it had finally shipped).

I was pleasantly surprised that I only had to add or subtract leveling sand from two of the blocks. I used two pieces of 2x4’s so my 78-inch level wouldn’t touch anything else. Now, I learned my lesson from that arbor. I set that in concrete perfectly level, but since the fence posts aren’t level, the arbor looks wrong. This time, I leveled the blocks to the patio. So, the planter won’t be level on the long sides, but neither is the patio (I assume its so the water runs off and doesn’t pool). But, it should look perfect!

I dug out all the dirt so it wouldn’t interfere with the placement of the cedar boards and put it on the patio. I’ll use it to fill the bottom of the planter and then a good soil mix (one bag of potting soil to two bags of top soil) to fill it the rest of the way. I took a picture, but won’t post it until everything is finished, so I can show you each step of the way.

Back inside, the stove timer had gone off, so I ran the vinegar water through the machine. When the “add water” light came on, I washed the tank again, rinsed it and filled it with regular tap water. I heated that up and ran it through again. I did that twice (still following Jake’s recommendations). Finally, I filled it with purified water and left it off and ready for the morning cup of coffee.

While I was doing all this, I was also watching Bullitt with Steve McQueen on the PBS channel. I finally had the time to notice I was hungry so, even though it was almost 9:30 PM, I heated up a chicken pot pie (I’ve had enough hamburger). I ate that and took my evening pills. Just for something different, I sliced up a tomato and ate that, too, seasoned with just salt.

When the movie was over, they ran a show about Steve McQueen’s life. I watched a little of it, but turned it off and went to bed.