Wednesday, July 27, 2022

no kiln, no rain, no worms, and other miscellania of my life


We've determined that getting the newer kiln fixed is really our only option. The old kiln is old, rusting out old, door falling off old, really no point in trying to replace the controller, a $600+ part, even if that part is still available. The problem with the newer kiln is a wire became disconnected from the harness that is attached to the motherboard. I've got the names and numbers of two people in Houston that do kiln repair and it turns out we knew one of them from way back. So now not sure what happens next. Marc may go over and take another try at getting the wire in the notch to hook it back up but it's so hot in that part of the shop especially with the high temps we're having. I'm for just calling those guys and hauling it in to Houston. I have to empty the truck bed of downed limbs and branches first though which I guess I'll do tomorrow if the truck starts. We don't use it much so the battery tends to go dead. Marc had it hooked up to a battery charger the other day. We've sort of been putting off unloading the tree debris until we burn what's already there but it doesn't look like the burn ban will be lifted anytime soon. Still dry dry dry.

So dry the cotton is shriveling in the fields. It perked up after that inch of rain we got weeks ago but looks even worse now.


I took Lily, for want of a better name, to the vet Monday for a general check-up. She was not happy being shoved into the cat carrier and yowled and tried to claw her way out practically the whole time in the car and while we were waiting. I thought this is not good, she's not going to be at all cooperative with the vet but when he opened the door to the cat carrier she came out and was fine, let him examine her. She's less than a year old, not pregnant yay, she has ear mites which they will flush out when they spay her. I thought she was going into heat because Monday, she was a demon to get out, yowling now and then, so I scheduled the spay for the 17th but yesterday and today she's just been her laid back self, not a peep out of her, no fighting her back from the door every time someone went in or out so I'm going to call and see if I can get her in sooner.

The other thing I accomplished so far this week was finally getting my email accounts on the desktop squared away. You might remember that I updated some things weeks ago and one of the results was that to make my mail accounts active I had to enter the password which I ignored hoping it would just fix itself. Well, it didn't and fuck all if I could remember what it was and of course it was one of the few I don't have written down so I tried the current, nope, I tried the one before, nope, and the one before that, nope. Well, fuck. So then I googled how to find passwords stored on your computer which ultimately led me to a window that listed the account and a box that said 'show password' and when I clicked on it the box it opened another window that wanted the password to show me the password. Really? Went through that rigamarole over and over, went through system preferences over and over. After about three hours of frustration I had managed to somehow at least download the mail from the business account but it wouldn't let me send. One last try, I opened the internet accounts window in system preferences one more time and typed in the current password we're using and...it worked! Unfuckingbelievable. I bet I typed that password in over a dozen times for each account to no avail. Well, whatever, the computer gods got tired of fucking with me I guess and let me have access to both my email accounts though it wasn't like I didn't have access at all as I could get it through the mail function on my phone. Anyway, glad that's been dealt with.

Sunday, I cleaned the filter to the turtle pond. I admit it had been way too long but when I cleaned the muck off the charcoal fiber layer and the foam layer both were just filled with little red worms about 1/2” long. Ick, never seen that before not in all the years we've had that filter so I set them out in the sun to roast their little hides. 

Went out later to see if they were shriveling up and ants were crawling all over both pieces. Monday morning I went out and those ants had cleaned out every single speck of those little red worms. Good job!

So, I had to go to Walmart to get dog food since the grocery store hasn't had it in weeks, supply chain problems I guess, and I walked through the women's clothing section to get to the dog food and saw this.

What decade is this? In the women's section no less.

A few garden shots...

Spider lily



Gulf fritillary on the Mexican bird of paradise aka pride of Barbados




23 comments:

  1. Those pants are the ugliest things I've seen since the seventies. Well, at least in women's apparel.
    It's so damn frustrating when our things won't work for us whether kilns or computers.
    That shriveled cotton makes me sad. I'm with you- haul that thing to Houston and get it fixed. That's your tool and you need it to be working.
    That Bird of Paradise is stunning. The Gulf Fritillary has good taste.

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    1. There were equally ugly skirts and dresses on display but I didn't take a picture of those. Whoever their buyer is needs to be fired. Do they really think people will buy those? Well, maybe Walmart shoppers of which I am one only when it's my only choice. Though I suppose I could shop online like my across the street neighbor who gets at least one delivery every day.

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  2. Wonderful nature shots. And yes, probably taking the kiln is is best, though a real pain. You just have to have a working kiln one way or another.

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    1. The newer kiln will get fixed and maybe Marc can do it.

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  3. Those pants are VERY retro. I kind of like them (for someone else to wear, obviously) but then I am always attracted to retro.

    I agree with you about the kiln. Sometimes it's just better to have someone else fix things.

    Good for you getting that password sorted out! Passwords are such a nightmare.

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    1. I don't know Steve, they'd look pretty snazzy on you. Marc's still messing around with both kilns. Turns out not a wire like he thought but maybe some bad switches.

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  4. I feel like you really need the pants - they will be perfect to wear on the drive to Houston!

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    1. I don't think I'd have been caught dead in those pants even in the 60s or 70s.

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  5. I've been following your neighborhood and your weather. The heat there is truly an awful thing.

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  6. I hate trying to remember passwords! At least the ants were good for something! I am not wearing bell bottoms again, I don't care how trendy it might get to be.

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    1. I have a list with all the things that require username and password but didn't have this particular one on there. It is now.

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  7. This pants have a certain something but I imagine the material is of that swishy acrylic kind, yuk. I hope you get your kiln repaired or replaced and also that the truck will start and rain will come during the night and may you never forget your passwords ever again.

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    1. Oh, yeah, totally synthetic. Truck started and it's been unloaded and Marc is dicking around with the new and old kilns. Making another stab at fixing it himself.

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  8. I'm hoping that Marc can fix the kiln. That would be great. Passwords can be such a bummer. I have my browsers set to erase all history and passwords when I shut it down. It's my paranoia. So, I have to remember everything. It's a good test for my fading brain. So glad that Lily is young, not pregnant and getting spayed. Yay! She really found the very best home. Beautiful flowers and butterflies there.

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    1. I have a piece of tape over the camera on my computer. That's my paranoia. I have a list of all the sites that require usernames and passwords but this one wasn't on it. It is now.

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  9. Hope the new kiln gets fixed soon so you can get back to your glass work.
    Enjoyed the butterfly photo! Thanks!

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    1. Me too as I would really like to get this piece finished for the show.

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  10. Those pants are really and truly hideous. What are the buyers thinking?

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  11. I read Walliemart is reducing clothing prices drastically in order to move old inventory. Were they cheap, too, in addition to being "old".
    I hope you get te newer kiln fixed and running. It has work to do.

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    1. I didn't look at the price but I did notice some tanks and tees were really cheap.

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  12. Good luck with the kiln. I hope it can be repaired and then remain trouble-free. Passwords can be frustrating and as you have found out navigating through the maze is not always easy. Stay cool down there - physically and mentally!

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  13. Never seen a Spider lily before.

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I opened my big mouth, now it's your turn.