Well, THAT Was Quick!

I got around to using my new pressure washer for the first time yesterday. 
My old pressure washer used an adjustable tip to select the spray pattern, but the new one - like almost all washers available today - uses a series of removable tips which are attached by the use of a quick connect fitting like this...

Before starting the engine, I attached the 25° nozzle to the wand.  

I hooked the machine up to the water hose, filled it with fuel and gave it a crank.  I was very pleased to see that the Honda engine started as advertised on the very first crank.  
I pointed the wand down the driveway and when I pulled the trigger, I sent the tip into orbit!  
I say into orbit because over a half hour of searching produced no results.  
I tried looking.  
I tried raking.  
I tried going over the area with a magnet.  
I even got Honey out to help. 
Nothing.
Oh well, they do sell replacement tips. 
I installed the next larger tip and washed the lawnmower.  It did an acceptable job, but it would have been faster and easier with the right tip. 
It might make a better post to leave this as written, but I have to report that I found the wayward tip early this morning.  As the sun was rising, I saw a glint in the yard that proved to be sunlight reflecting off the missing tip. It was a good 25 feet further away than I would have thought possible.

Texans-Dodgers

If you watched both the Texans-Seahawks game and the World Series Game 5 yesterday, you are probably  certainly exhausted this morning, and you probably noticed some eerie similarities that almost make you feel sympathy for the Dodgers.

• Like L.A., the Texans went into one of the loudest stadiums in the country. 
• Like the Dodgers, they grabbed an early lead.
• Our Quarterback, Deshaun Watson, connected for 19 of 30 passes for 402 yards and four scores while gaining 67 yards on eight carries - more than enough to win a typical NFL contest, and the Texans still came up short.
• The lead continued to change hands right up  to the final seconds of the contest.
• The Texans lost 38 to 41 in what sportswriters are calling the most entertaining game of the NFL season, and a few hours later, the Dodgers fell 13 to 12 in a 5 plus hour marathon to the Astros.

Don't get me wrong - I'm ecstatic over the Astros win.  I really didn't want to see them headed back to Los Angeles with the series tied. But when anyone plays that hard for that long and loses - you have to feel a little sympathy for a moment or two, then move on and savor the victory. 
 

Halloween

Today may only be the 29th, but if history holds true, we have already had Halloween here at the Boggy Thicket.  

The annual Halloween Hayride was held yesterday, and we probably gave out all the candy we'll be asked for this year.

This year, there were three tractors pulling trailers containing 20 to 30 goblins apiece (along with their mommies) and escorted by a dozen or so Gators, Rangers and other four-wheel drive vehicles.

Costumes were varied, with your typical pirates, princesses and cowboys.  Honey's favorite was a little girl - probably not quite a year old - dressed as a little lamb. I'll admit she took the cuteness factor to a whole new level.  Personally, I couldn't decide between a 10 year old who looked exactly like Olivia Newton John in the final scenes of Grease, and a teenager who couldn't yell trick-or-treat because her lips were sewn shut.

P-I-T-A

I mentioned back on April First that, at my age, whenever I do strenuous exercise I find muscles I didn't know (or had forgotten) I had.  

Back then, doing a brake job while on my knees caused a serious strain on my gluteous maximus resulting in a very sore butt.  It happened again yesterday when I was working on a sink drain under the kitchen counter.  I spent some time on my back with my head inside the counter, but I did most of the job on my knees, stretching to reach the pipes.

I can now confirm that plumbing, like brake jobs, can be a real pain in the ass.

My Wife Left Me

My wife left me this morning!

That's OK.  She leaves four or five days a week, and so far, she has always come back after four or five miles. 
I've only had to go pick her up a couple of times in the last five years - once when she was attacked by a neighbor's dog, and a few times when she got caught in the rain.

The Check(s) In the Mail

I mentioned back on the last day of September that our Flood Insurance company had set up a way to check the status of Hurricane Harvey claims by using the texting feature on your cell phone. At the time, it showed the claim as Open and said the "getting started" check had been sent.

I have been checking the site every day or so since, and there was no change until yesterday.  

Yesterday the site showed the claim as Closed and said the last check (for about $500) had been cut on the 24th. 

The site also had a number to call if there were any questions.  I called it and was amazed when it was actually answered by a real person.  

He told me they had sent not just one, but a total of three checks on the 24th. We added up the totals, and it was still only about half of what the adjuster had authorized for payment.

He had no idea why there were three checks, or why they didn't add up to what we were expecting to receive.  His best advice was to cash the checks when they arrive and wait to see what happens next. 

I guess we will do that - don't have much choice at this point - but the frustration level from Harvey just keeps on keeping on.

Owls

There is an old superstition that says that if you hear an owl in daylight it means someone is going to die.  
If there was any truth to that, the old Boggy Thicket would be hip deep in cadavers.
We have several owls who live here, and they are not shy about sharing their opinions at any  time of day or night.  They are just as likely to get together and gossip mid afternoon as they are at midnight.
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