Refrigerator Troubles

You may recall I was planning to have a new refrigerator delivered tomorrow.   The deal was that I would have the new one in the kitchen, the old one moved to the basement, and the ancient basement one removed.  

The new one comes with an ice-maker (not-optional).  That seemed OK.  I use more ice than I used to (I've become fond of cocktails).  But that required a water-line tapped from the basement to the kitchen spot.

There is a cold water pipe in the basement directly below the kitchen refrigerator.  So, the plumber would have to cut the pipe, add a "TEE", drill one hole through the floor, add 4' of pipe and a shut-off valve at the top.  No big deal.  I guessed $300.

Well, apparently I am bad at estimating.  The plumber did some work on his office calculator app and announced $1,175!  I couldn't believe it.  I asked what special problem he saw.  "None".  Is the job going to take hours?  "About 2-3".  Are the parts expensive?  "Not really".  

So what was it?  "The company charges by the job, not hours.  That's what the office app says to charge".  My job was simple, but the company averages the total cost of similar jobs.  He suggested calling another company, one that charges per hour plus parts instead.  I thanked him for the estimate, paid the $60 visit fee and he left.  We were friendly about it; the charges aren't up to him.

I called a company with just hourly rates.  $150 per hour, which includes travel time.  So maybe that would have been $750.

I don't want an ice-maker THAT much!  I can make ice on my own for the rest of my life for less than that.   About 5 minutes per week... WOW!  Fortunately, the ice-maker doesn't HAVE to be hooked up.

But that's not the end of it.  I always thought all refrigerators were the same height.  Well, there is always a standard shaped space for them with a cabinet above.  So I had checked the width (which DOES vary) and had an inch to spare.  But I looked at the dimensions again and noticed the height.  I measured the space again.  The new refrigerator is a 1/2" too tall!

I could fix that.  The cabinet above has a 1" (unnecessary) bottom front frame.  I could remove the cabinet, cut off the 1", reinstall it, and the new refrigerator would fit.  I have the equipment to do a clean job of it.  But it would be a few hours of work.  And I'm old enough that when I start twisting and turning while removing screws  at the back and sides, I get some serious muscle cramps.  I could hire a carpenter to do it, but I bet that would end up costing the same as the plumber.

So I rethought the situation.  The whole purpose was to get rid of the small ancient basement refrigerator (37 years old).  It is so old, it must cost $300/year to run (modern ones are about $50).  It is SO bad, I have to chip off 2" of ice in the fridge section every few months!  But it has one thing I like in a BASEMENT refrigerator; a top-freezer.  I use it for long-term storage of meats and bags of frozen veggies.  

The basement fridge part is really more of a root-cellar.  I store bulk veggies (potatoes, onions, carrots, etc), fruits, my garden seeds, and some odd stuff that wants "cool but not necessarily cold" (like bird suet packs).

So I cancelled the new refrigerator order.  The Home Depot store was very nice about that.  Their website says cancellations require 72 hours notice and I was giving only 36, but they allowed a full refund.  I was expected some charge for that.

The current kitchen refrigerator works just fine.  I just automatically thought I should move the current one to the basement.  And I like the bottom freezer in the kitchen.  I am in and out of the fridge part a lot more than the bottom freezer part.  But I am in and out of the top freezer of the basement fridge more often.  So why not just buy a modern energy-efficient top freezer fridge for the basement?

Cheaper and a lot less movement of appliances.  And the store wants $50 to haul the ancient one away.  Guess what?  My electric company will PAY me $50 to have them haul it away!  So THERE is $100 in savings.  

So I went to the Consumer Reports website, found the top-rated top freezer model.  More energy-efficient, larger freezer section, and less-complicated delivery (straight through garage into the basement).  And no concerns about it fitting into a space.  

All in all, I think buying a new top freezer model for the basement is actually a better decision.  I really should have thought it through more carefully.  But I think it will all work out better.

I would post pictures, but I'm pretty sure everyone knows what a standard refrigerator looks like.  LOL!

Quest For Wine

 I have been trying to find a decent inexpensive replacement for a Old Vine Zinfandel I have bought for a decade.  The winery shut down.  Some research suggested other Old Vine Zin (or course) but also Malbec and Merlot.  Visiting my regular local meat/deli/liquor store (weird combination, I know), I bought 3 Zinfandels, a Malbec, and a Merlot.

The first thing I noticed was that the price had nothing to do with how much or little I enjoyed the wines.  The 2 most familiar and drinkable were 1.5 L bottles and the cheapest.  And neither was a Zin!  Of the 2 most expensive Zins, 1 tasted "acidic" and the other "dusty".  I don't actually know the "wine terms" for that, but that was my impression.

One Zin was "OK", but at $17 for a 750 bottle, I wasn't very impressed.  Why is it that I liked the cheap Zin but not "better ones?  LOL!  The Frontera Malbec (Argentina) at $10 for 1.5L  was closest to the Twisted Zin I can't get anymore.  The Mondavi (Private Selection) Merlot 1.5L at $17 was better.

I'm obviously not a wine-snob.  I like what I like.  And the foods I cook probably have a lot to do with the wines I like.  So what wine I drink with dinner has a lot to do with my choice.  I mean, I cook a lot of different foods, but I do tend to use the same spices and such.  Regardless of whether I cook chicken, pork, shrimp, or beef, there is garlic, oregano, and sometime ginger involved.

So, after tasting a variety of other Zins, some Merlot, and some Malbec, I'm probably going with the Malbec for regular dinner and Merlot on occasion.  The local meat store will special order as many cases of either as I want.  It is easier just to order 6 or so at a time (so that I don't have to bother them to do it often).

I am sure you were all just waiting anxiously to see what I decided...  LOL!

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BTW, is there a difficulty commenting on this blog?  I get lots of visitors but no comments lately.  Has something gone wrong with my blog settings?  Or am I just boring everyone to death?

cavebear2118@verizon.net

More Computer Woes

I feel like a broken record sometimes...  computer, computer, computer.   I'm almost surprised anyone reads this blog lately.

I mentioned previously that the HD was backed up, so I erased the HD to try and try to restore the most likely "OK" apps a few at a time to see where the frequent restart problem was.  Great in theory, but it is not ( have learned) easy to restore some apps selectively.

I am probably misunderstanding some things, but it seems that some apps won't restore directly, but need to be re-installed via the original download installer packages.  I can't find some of them.  Maybe some kinds of files don't get included in the backup program or I need to change settings to cause them to backup.

They say "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing".  True.  I know enough to think I can fix things, but that same knowledge is "just enough" to get me wading in computer fixes that turn out to be too deep.

So I decided the better part of valor was just to restore the whole HD, and think of something else to try.  Eliminating all apps I could do without and or re-download free was one.  Getting the computer to a repair place was another.

I restored the HD successfully.  It took 9 hours.  Not that I had to do anything those 9 hours, but I had to stick around because sometimes the computer asks a question.  It didn't, so I spent the time cleaning windows and finishing my existing Civilization 2 game  (I won).

As an aside, I cleaned the windows using balled-up newspaper and home-made "windex".  Worked well, but finished with more "windex" and lint-free cloth.  And since the outside of the bottom half can be swiveled inwards, I was able to do the outside too. The Civ 2 game got my colonists to Alpha Centuri successfully in spite of all the opposing civs allying against me.  Well, I needed something to be successful!

So the HD was restored about 10 am (yes I stayed up all night).  There was some minor success in that (aside that it worked at all).  While it did that auto-restart upon turning it on, it didn't crash while I used it the next day.  Sounds great, right?

Nope.  The computer case became very hot!  That means death to the HD.  There is no point is trying to have it repaired.  I've gone through hot case issues before and it is never really fixable.  So I am just going to replace the Mac Mini.  It wasn't expensive itself (a renewed 2018 model from Amazon).  I should stop buying "cheap"...

"Cheap" is an old family habit.  My parents lived through The Great Depression and my Dad's side of the family were struggling farmers and small merchants.  As the eldest child, I was taught to be cheap.  Childhood training dies hard even though I don't have to be.

But I still have a dilemma.  Apple tends to release a new Mac Mini every couple years.  I have a 2018, there is a 2020, and I found some discussion that there will be a new one in 2023.  So rather than buy a factory-issued 2020, it might make sense to buy a renewed 2020 to last a year or 2.  Amazon sells them for around $400.  

That's not "going cheap".  It's more like buying a used car to just last 2 years while waiting for one of the good new all-electric cars expected to become available in 2024.  I won't bother you right now about all-electric cars, but one would suit my needs just fine (I do short errands frequently).

OK, I've talked myself into a renewed 2020 Mac Mini.  Will order one tonight.  I have to make these constant computer problems go away!

Frozen Indecisively

Have you ever hit a decision where you kept changing your mind?  I had that problem the past week and that sort of thing really gets me locked-up internally and I can't really get anythng else done until I resolve the issue. 

It doesn't have to be a really serious problem like a decision about medical treatment or a big financial decision.  Just something where you can't make up your mind.  Military training teaches you (I have read) to deal with a 50-50 decision by just choosing one.  But my profession was an an analyst and the thought there is that nothing is "50-50".  That there has to be some additional information that will make it at least 51-49...

My issue this past 2 weeks was my riding lawn mower.  A little background...  I mowed the family lawn starting at age 12 (and hated it).  I got several summer jobs at 15-16 (and hated it).  My first serious Summer job was mowing lawns at an army base during Summer Vacation (and I hated it).  And I still had to mow the family lawn (1/2 acre) until I left for college.

Not-very-fun story:  The month I left for college, Dad bought a riding lawn mower because my brother (who was only 2 years younger) simply refused to mow the lawn, and Dad sure didn't want to use the push mower). 

At my first 2 rental houses (with other people), part of my contribution to the general maintenance was (naturally) mowing the lawn.  When I bought my house, I had to mow the lawn.  When I bought the house, I was broke and owed my parents money for the down-payment.  When I paid that off in a year, I had to replace the old car. 

So, don't be surprised that my first voluntary purchase was a Riding Lawn Mower!  I was thrilled.  It was a rather cheap model but I kept it going for 11 years.  By that time, I could buy a GOOD One.  It is 18 years old and needs serious maintenance.  I can do the basics, but this time it is suddenly hesitating, then stalling.  If I let it sit for about 15 minutes, it starts right up again and runs well for another 10 minutes, then hesitates and stalls again.

I decided it was time for a new riding mower, and equipment always gets better, right?  I am a True Believer in Consumer Reports magazine ratings.  They never steer me wrong.  So when I looked and saw that Jogn Deere riding mowers were the top 4 rated ones, I felt certain that I should choose one of them.  I found 2 that seems to suit me.

But, as I've mentioned, I'm an analyst, and I read the negative reviews of those mowers on other sites.  I was shocked by what I read.  Apparently "new" is not always better.

The first thing I learned was that virtually all riding mowers made in the US are made by a single company with minor differences (according to brand names) about the engine and deck construction.  Like major brands and store brands of canned beans etc all mostly coming from the same producer.

The complaints I saw involved 3 problems.  Most new riding mowers use "hydrostatic transmissions".  I won't pretend to understand the details, but it seems that they are cheaper to build.  The cons are that they lack durability and require frequent maintenance. and are not good under load (hauling a trailer or mowing up even mild slopes.

The 2nd problem was that most of the newer engines are damaged by ethanol gasoline (the routine gas at gas stations).  You can by premixed gas at auto shops or a stabilizer yo add yourself.  Either way, it doubles the cost of fuel.  That adds up.

The 3rd problem is they are more expensive to maintain and repair. 

I didn't just look at one site about this.  I searched several.  They all said about the same thing.  And some were so technically detailed about the problems (many by repair-persons), that I had to accept their negative opinions about the newer riding mowers. 

So my option was to have the current one repaired again, hoping that in a few years, the current problems would be solved.  Basically, up to $400 for the current one this year vs $2,000 for a new one that would be more expensive to run and maintain and could well be expected to last only 5-6 years.

So tht has been keeping me uncertain in the day and worrying at night.  I had "bad lawn mower dreams" 2 nights.

To make it worse, "Angies List", a site that collects user ratings of business and denies business postings gave the only local repair shop I have used for lawn mower repair a C rating.  But I looked at that closely. On the lawn mower repair only, they got seventeen 5 ratings, seven 4 ratings, one 2 rating, and one 1 rating.  And the bad ratings were for "promptness".  And they got a good rating for price. 

So I delivered the riding mower to them Tuesday.  Sure enough, they said it would be a week before they got it up on their bench to provide a detailed estimate and a week after that before the work was completed if I accepted their quote. 

The good parts were that the desk clerk you writes the repair ticket seems to know exactly what I was describing about the hesitations and stalls.  And the guy "around the back" where I actually turned over the mower  asked a few good question and wrote down my answers.

So...  I bet it will take 3 weeks and the mower will be working great for a few more years.

Meanwhile, I'll have to use the battery-powered push mower a couple of times.  A battery lasts 20 minutes on that (but there are 2 of them).  So I'll have to mow the lawn in pieces. 

But at least I finally made a decision about whether to replace the current mower.  I slept well that night and got busy outside the next day.  Nothing like having a weight off your shoulders...

I'm going to send Consumer Reports a letter asking about their ratings.  But I suspect they will say they rate existing products and are not really in the business of comparing then to older ones.  Seems fair.

Recent Posts and Comments

First, thank you to everyone who commented about my recent house searches. The comments all made good sense (and they were easy to agree with since I was coming to that understanding myself).  I have MUCH to like about my current house and LESS than I imagined to dislike.  After enough years, you have everything where you want it.  Minor problems seem larger than they really are.  Sometimes it seems easier to escape them than just fix them.

I argue with myself about many things.  I see both sides of issues and that can really make decision-making difficult.  I've had friends for whom any question gave them an immediate answer which they acted upon with no further concerns.  Personally, I thought they tended to make bad decisions sometimes, but at least they were never tortured by doubt. 

But thinking too much about everything can lead to "analysis-paralysis" and that can be just as big a problem.  You get to a close decision and you are STUCK in between.  I recently saw a TV ad that used the term "FOBO" (Fear Of Better Options).  I get that.

2 years ago, I looked at houses with County water and sewage and cable and large open yards with sunlight for gardening.  Last year, I looked at rural lots of converted farmland that I could build a new home on.  Starting from scratch in the yard and a new house that would outlast me seemed good.  But all the lots I could find were surrounded by working farmland with overpowering fertilizer smells and I never found the open house structure I could afford (like 100'x50' for one-level living and a workshop attached and a garage.   This year, I looked at large Ramblers about the size of my current size  over a large open basement large enough for my woodworking equipment, and had a 2 car garage (one car, one boat).

The good house was on a lawn dome that fell off into ravines in back and the large side, the house with the good yard had crumbling foundations and obvious water problems in the basement, and the last one had a good yard but was smaller than my current house and, even filtered and softened, the water tasted bad.  And was $150,000 more than my house is estimated

So I have decided to remain here for a while.  Perhaps in a few years County water and sewage will be installed in more rural areas, the cable companies will expand, solar panels will become cheaper and more efficient, etc.  But that time is not now.

There isn't a whole lot I can do about my lack of gardening sunlight, though some ideas occur to me.  Putting up silver-painted sheet metal on the shady side would reflect a fair amount of sunlight back into the garden, for example. 

There isn't much I can do about the trees.  They are tall and narrow.  It's not the overhanging branches; it is their sheer height.  And it has been years since I asked about removing them.  Perhaps paying to have them professionally removed and replacing them with flowering trees like dogwoods would work.  I'll at least ask again.

And if that doesn't work, I do have the right to cut out all roots invading my soil.  Since they are so close to the property line, that might kill them.  And THEN I can offer them lower growing flowering trees that won't cause me problems.  From the shade angles, all I need is that trees be not more than 20' high.  The current ones are 50 to 75'.

As far as the house itself goes, most of the things that bother me are fixable through my own or contractor efforts.  The basement bathroom I installed myself 20 years ago was a mistake, but it can also be removed.  I've never used it except for storage.  It goes back to when I paneled 3/4 of the basement and carpeted the area thinking I would have parties.  I didn't throw parties and tore out the carpet in favor of a wood-working area, but the bathroom remains as dead space.  The ancient refrigerator can go, in favor of a medium chest freezer in the cat room upstairs.

I have 3 rooms with original 30 year old carpeting.  The master bedroom carpet is still oddly good (it gets so little use), but the other 2 are trashable and I'm thinking linoleum for the computer room (getting rid of the annoying chair mats) and tight pile carpet for the cat room).

I have new shingles on the roof, a new deck, new siding, and I have raised the front lawn to solve  drainage problems.  The asphalt driveway is deteriorating gradually; that can be removed and replaced with concrete. 

My 25 year old perennial beds have less in them than my pictures show these days (which is why you have been seeing more pictures of potted deck plants this year).  I can dig up the good plants, rototill the areas, replant the good ones and add more.  But that is what I would be doing in a new place anyway, and with greater effort. 

I could go on, but you get the idea.  I was desiring to escape redoing and fixing things and just starting over.  Starting over is neat and clean.  Summer's Mom mentioned that HER passion was big beautiful houses  and those are what she wants to spend her time and effort on.    I when I lie in bed at night, thinking about what's not perfect about my house, my thoughts are on doing work to make it better.

I have reasons to want to move, but less than I thought a month ago.  I'm staying.  And if you are the kind of person who remembers things like this and I mention moving again next year, remind me about the past 3 years of searches.  LOL!

Computer Games - Risk

This will only make much sense if you play strategic computer games...

I'm either getting better at playing Risk (against real people, not the computer robots) or I am lucky.  Tonight, when I signed in, Pogo.com was offerring 2,000 free tokens (good for something, I'm sure - I'll have to look into that) for winning 2 games in 2 weeks.  That may seem easy, but with many obsessed players with multi-millions of points, that's hard for us more ocassional players.

But I'm willing to put my mind (game sense) against almost anyone (seriously, after a million points, how much better can anyone get?)

I needed to win 2 games in 2 weeks.  I played 4 games tonight and won 2!  I was stunned.  Thrilled too, but stunned.  The lowest rated player (other than me)  had 3 times my points.  Some of them had so many points you couldn't even read them because of the allowed space for their names.

So I had a really good night playing Risk.  Everyone should have a good day or night at SOMETHING, once in a while.

I'm not sure what to do with these tokens I've won.  I think you just make your displayed profile fancier.  I already have my avatar dressed in camo and an animated orange/white cat (Marley) licking his paws at my feet.  What could be better than that?  That's my life.

Maybe I can add more cats (Ayla and Iza).  And some background.  I bet they don't offer gardens as backgrounds.

I play Trivial Pursuit there too.  Kill it.  As long as it is not "Actors & Actresses".  I don't watch movies.

Should I try try out for 'Jeopardy'?

Living With Dad, 10

I wonder how long it takes before I realize that asking Dad to make simple decisions is just wrong?  I really try to allow him to make as many decisions as he wants to.  He has preferences.  I eat my dinner in several bowls, Dad likes his food all in one large plate.  I like to eat dinner watching TV,  he likes to eat at a "proper table".  So I always try to ask him what he whats.

It never occurred to me that he doesn't WANT to (or really can't) make decisions.  I thought I was being considerate; I was making things hard for him.

He doesn't want to make decisions, and I have had a hard time grasping that.  I thought "deciding" small things for himself would be the last thing he would give up.  I was wrong...

Today, I was making the lunch sandwiches and Dad asked if he could help.  Of course I said "yes"!  Anything to make him feel useful (and, yes, I recognize a patronization about that).  But, for almost 2 months, we have had sandwiches for lunch on medium size plates.  One half a sandwich, with some pickle, carrot sticks, pickle, etc.  So Dad decided to get out the plates.  Coffee saucers...  Then said "How will we fit the potato chips on this"?  I said they wouldn't fit, so he brought out bowls.  I mentioned that he likes plates for his sandwich.

I should have shut up.  He got upset and said "I don't know what to use, I'll use whatever you tell me to use"!!!

He was right.  He is depending on me now to make even simple decisions for him.  And I didn't quite realize to what degree he was expecting/needing that.

He's my Dad.  I want him to make decisions for himself even if they are very minor decisions.  I guess I had in mind that it was GOOD for him to make some decisions.  Thinking back over the past few weeks, I realize he doesn't WANT me to ask him whether he wants green beans or broccoli with his dinner.  Even that decision is too challenging.

It's ironic.  I've lived my life making my own decisions, and deliberately NOT trying to influence other peoples' decisions (except in a few ways like politics I'll avoid here).  And now I'm being asked to do just that.

I mean all this just as an example.  I could have used towels in the bathroom, or which shoes to wear.

I guess I have to learn to JUST DO IT around Dad and trust to my judgement...