October 26, 2009: Things are Heating Up!

The Sears repairman was supposed to be here between 8 and noon today to fix the water heater. By three this afternoon, I was sitting in a lovely tub full of warm water.....because I boiled four big pots of it on the stove and took them into the bathroom to add to the cold water in the tub! I was feeling so clean and good smelly in that bath when the repairman finally arrived. But now the water heater is temporarily fixed.....the igniter was defective, and he didn't have a replacement in stock, so it will be a week to ten days to have it shipped. The heater was installed new last January, and used less than two months. They sure don't make things like they used to. This time the part was under warranty, so it didn't cost us anything for the replacement. Next time we might not be so lucky.

When I looked out my bedroom window Saturday morning, I was greeted with this lovely surprise. The cacti around my house usually blossom while I'm gone through the summer, so I was excited to see a bud on this cactus when we arrived last week. As beautiful as it is, it blessed us for less than a day. It was gone by noon.






The weeds aren't too bad this year, evidently we didn't get much rain through the summer. I've begun the clean up on lot #1 (shown here), just six more lots to go. Yep......seven lots of nothing....LOL! That area of vegetation is the east boundary of our property, the other six lots are to the south of this one. It's always a bit of a shock to go from the green of Washington to the tan of the desert.


The tree we cut down has been removed to the local landfill.

I'm only getting internet sporadically, so I'm not answering the comments as well as I should be. I hope all of you understand. I've checked out the library, and they didn't have their internet up and running at all, so I have to make do with this occasional connection for now. No work has been done on the WIFI tower in this entire first week we've been here, so I'm not holding my breath it will be finished anytime soon.




12 comments:

  1. Granny, that is an amazing bloom on that cacti! So pretty! I can't believe that you had such problems on your return to AZ. I hope everything is resolved soon.

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  2. Rachel, we're quite used to the problems we run into after leaving a house empty through 120 degree summers. It always takes us a week or two to get everything under control, then it's easy living for the rest of the winter! My biggest problem this year will be the lack of a reliable internet connection, but that means I'll get more housework, gardening and visiting done ;-)

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  3. Cactus flowers just don't last that long. Really more special because of that, I guess.

    Your lot shot reminds me a bit of "Raising Arizona." Hee.

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  4. Glad you got the bath managed despite the lateness of the repairman. There's only so long you can do without some warm water!

    The cactus bloom is enchanting. It's amazing how the desert bloomers are so beautiful. I think they have to make up for their short flowering period by being extra "wow!" in quality.

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  5. That is a beautiful cactus bloom. Glade to hear your fixes are getting done. So this tower will broadcast free wifi? Who pays for the service, the state?

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  6. Stefaneener, I find I appreciate those cactus blossoms more than my long bloomers! Long bloomers....that sounds like something a granny might wear, LOL!

    ********
    KitsapFG, I've actually had a few of those water-heated-on-the-stove baths in the past week. Mr. H probably couldn't stand to sit by me if I didn't, after sweating out in the yard each day! It was a real luxury to wash the dishes with hot tap water tonight though.

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  7. Dan, the WIFI tower is a private undertaking, and they plan on charging $29.99 a month for the service. These are the same people that provide this lousy WIFI service I have right now....that they charge $10 a month for. They don't seem to be in any hurry to finish the tower and provide the service, as they have done nothing with it in the week we've been here.

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  8. What a gorgeous bloom! And you're right, the brown is quite the contrast!

    Sorry about your water heater and WiFi connection. We recently had our microwave fixed, took them 2 weeks to get the right parts and get the repair man out here to do the job. Hate it when our modern comforts go awry!

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  9. the bloom is wonderful! some of us with succulent houseplants can only dream of getting a bloom, lol!

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  10. I love the cactus bloom. Whenever I see them I always find them so enthralling.

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  11. Hi, AG! Sorry i've been away so long. My job is over and I'm back blogging again. That is one of the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen. I've never seen a flowering cactus. I wonder why their flowers don't stay that long. I've missed reading your blog! I'm catching up on all my faves. Ttyl!

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  12. Kalena Michele, you must have seen me reading your blog this week and wondering how your garden was doing! I'm sure glad to see you are back.

    You can see my other cacti in bloom on my blog at

    http://tinyurl.com/yf9t4uc

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