The dryer in our new home reports cycle completion with a brief capriccio, instead of the usual ding-ding-ding. It repeats this until you enter the laundry room and formally acknowledge its success. A dryer with an ego, nice. In another example of modernity: I receive an alert on my phone if the refrigerator door is left open. Outside, we have a seven-zone irrigation system on the property paired to a programmable controller mounted on the side of the house. Talk about your old-school – programming this thing is similar to programming an 80’s VCR. The first night I set it to “Run,” the next morning I awoke early to discover zone 1 had run for over an hour (I wanted 15 minutes), and the other zones had messed up time settings too. WTF? I quickly switched off the controller while it was still mid-cycle on zone 3, then glared at it: “This is not what I commanded you to do.” 🤨 There’s at least one wall switch in the house that controls I don’t know what. I find myself still flipping it on and off now and then, hoping to see or hear something activate, or stop working. No difference. Maybe I have early onset insanity? In HW’s office I spotted a mysterious black cube plugged into an outlet. Unplug it and the Internet stops working. What’s this? Can’t be for the modem, I located that in one of the guest bedrooms which is half a house away. 🤔 So I pointed my phone at it, snapped a photo and asked Google. Ah, a signal amplifier. Strange, never needed one of those in any other house with a WiFi modem. Someday I’ll have to venture into the crawlspace to review the wiring network down there. Until then, note to HW: “Don’t unplug that.” There’s a bonus room in the house – formerly the “yoga room” – that we’ve configured as our entertainment space. It’s the only upstairs space in an otherwise single-story home. It has four skylights providing views of the bay, which is nice, but the room is also plumbed (supposedly a former owner/artist had a sink installed to clean her brushes?). Obviously, we want to configure a wet bar here, but so far we’ve installed a new OLED TV, a low-rise cabinet to set it on, revived a vintage audio system unused in our former home, and brought in a new love seat & oversized chair (w/ottoman). HW hung some pictures on the walls. I can already tell that when it’s done it’s going to be one of my favorite spaces in the house. Black Dog loves it up there, too. He can spy rabbits and deer on the front lawn below. Speaking of my office, whatya think
Still a work in progress but the lion’s share of customization is done. Praise me us please. I did not enjoy a “proper” office in our former home. Now, after fourteen years of dreaming, I have one! And I love the privacy. You cannot segue to my office from any room inside the home. It’s kind of a secret space. Never mind quiet, like pin drop quiet!, and comfortable. HW has yet to apply her flourish onto the only entry door: Dr. Rod.
We’ve not been all work and no play, though. It’s been warm, dry and pleasant the past several weeks. I think I can get used to this
And, as always, I am grateful for each and every breakfast HW prepares me
That’s right, a greenish egg shell. Bunch of chicken raisers in the area, eking out a living. We’re happy to help them do so. And just look at the color of that yolk. Same orange as the orange. Take that Whole Foods.