Category Archives: Uncategorized

Out with the old.

January 4, 2025 Rivergirl 30 Comments

On a rainy afternoon that melted all our snow…

(Boo to that!)

Our plumber removed our (not so) old, fancy schmantsy, heat pump equipped, dead water heater from the now extremely soggy basement.

And in the only good piece of news, replaced it with a brand new one for free.

Turns out the previous water heater experienced compressor failure and since the damn thing wasn’t that old, it was still under warranty. Yay for small miracles.

The funny part is the compressor probably failed due to a dirty and clogged filter, which … yeah. Was pretty much our fault because we forgot it had one and never cleaned it. My bad.

So when the new tank was installed?

Our plumber left us a none too subtle reminder.

Snarky.

But very much appreciated.

Oh, and when I said the replacement was free? The new unit didn’t cost us anything…

But it wasn’t “free” free.

Our master plumber gets $168 an hour, his assistant $128.

Thankfully we have hot water now, but $296 an hour isn’t my idea of free.

Uncategorized

Let’s play.

January 3, 2025 Rivergirl 40 Comments

Because it’s time to reflect.

Kale.

After the window installations disaster, roof leaks, the loss of a toenail, my husband’s eye surgery debacle, numerous home remodeling nightmares, the erection of view busting greenhouses across the street, crazy property tax increases, catching Covid, a cancelled holiday trip, a non existent Christmas and a dead water heater? I cry uncle!

Kale.

My 2024 was wall to wall 🥬 .

Now you. What food represents your year?

Uncategorized

New Year’s celebrations?

January 2, 2025 Rivergirl 14 Comments

If you’re like me your New Year’s Eve went something like this –

Cook dinner, eat, do dishes and clean up kitchen.

Wash face, brush teeth, change into pajamas with plans of watching a movie and ringing in the New Year with spouse and a nice bottle of wine.

Have one glass of wine, watch half the movie, fall asleep.

Oh, how times change.

We were going to meet two other couples for a New Year’s Day boozy brunch but I got a text yesterday morning saying a good friend was in the hospital with bacterial pneumonia that had spread to her bloodstream.

So off to the hospital we went. With New Year’s themed flowers.

Thankfully she’s on the mend, getting strong IV antibiotics and breathing more easily.

We spent a few hours cheering her up and then laughed at the sticker on the car next to us in the parking lot.

Hope your New Year’s Eve and Day were more fun than ours.

However you chose to celebrate.

🤣

Uncategorized

How drunk are you?

January 1, 2025 Rivergirl 36 Comments

In honor of all the hangovers being suffered this morning, let’s see how your state ranks in alcohol consumption.

Hard to believe Dubuque, Iowa won the prize …

But I’ve never been there, so what do I know?

Uncategorized

And the hits just keep on coming.

December 31, 2024 Rivergirl 26 Comments

It’s bad enough I caught Covid.

And my husband caught Covid.

And it ruined my birthday.

And we had to cancel a trip.

And we were too sick to celebrate Christmas.

But now…

On New Years Eve?

Yup.

Our wicked expensive, wish we’d never bought it, heat pump equipped, fancy schmantsy water heater decided to die and we’ve been taking cold showers. This year is going out with a bang.

Literally… because I heard one.

Thank God for our always friendly, consistently reliable, there when you need them plumbers. They showed up 5 hours after I called and went right to work.

With no visible ass cracks. You have to love that.

Unfortunately the problem couldn’t be solved without talking to the water heater mothership and of course the manufacturer is closed for the holiday. But our guys gave us a temporary fix, and though we may have to go downstairs and flick the circuit back on ( it trips after running for a while ) … it’s better than cold showering.

They’ll be back at the end of the week.

And I’ll be ready for a cocktail.

Or two.