27 March 2010

After a couple of weeks of temperatures in the 60s and a few days in the 70s, this weekend finds us pushed back into the 30s and 40s, and the wood stove is lit again.

Daylight saving time took effect a couple of weeks ago --- I have not posted here in a while. For shame! --- and that has always been a welcome event, by my reckoning. Sure, it means the loss of an hour of sleep that Sunday, but it means gaining an hour of useful sun toward evening. For the last several years, we fall back later, and spring ahead earlier. Shortening the clock change period by a few weeks was one of the few good ideas implemented by the Bush (II) Administration. Anyway, I am glad to be escaping the winter doldrums.

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We installed a new water softener/conditioner system on the 15th. A little behind my original schedule, but all well and good. Sweated copper tubing right up to the system rather than using C-PVC, which I just don't like. God bless the person who invented Teflon tape! Also installed a whole-house filter to the line before the system, so it is now filtering out a good deal of the iron deposits before it reaches the tank's resin bed. That should help increase the life of the system. Water tastes better, there is a marked decrease in water-marks on dried dishes and we don't need to use as much soap to get a good lather.

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We are also discussing more and more about getting a puppy. Set a time to see a liver & white German shorthaired pointer on Monday. But my thoughts are on a cream-color standard poodle (note: not the toy breed) that is due in May. There's just too many ghosts with the GSP. And I'm keen on the hypo-allergenic qualities of the poodles --- they are non-shedding. I think we're due for a bit of a change.