We have an old house with a crappy hot water tank that the previous owners put in with the "whatever is cheapest to sell the house" logic.

To avoid the issue that we have had come winter (not having enough hot water to fill a big porcelain coated steel tub that just happens to be on an exterior wall) we decided to upgrade to tankless.

Endless hot water. So long as we do not want to run too many things needing hot water all at the same time. We can fill the bathtub and do dishes, but if someone wanted to take a hot shower at the same time, someone might get some cool water. However, someone could take a 2 hour shower and not run out of hot water. Sounds blissful....

We can get 30% back on our taxes and a rebate from National Fuel, which help offset the higher cost of tankless. Plus, it will end up using less energy. Yay!

Part one was done today. Part two is tomorrow. Hertel Hardware and Plumbing are doing the work. So far, no complaints about them (how <i>can</i> we complain about a worker who likes the Ramones & The Donnas?!). We'll keep ya'll posted.

In the meantime, enjoy the oh so exiting photo op....

Does anyone at my work see my bright orange bumper magnet and think about looking up what (e:strip).org would be?

Do they ever accidentally put in estrip.com and become confused thinking i am selling a domain?

I don't talk about estrip to coworkers so i can continue to complain about them and the job; most of them already think i am off my nut..

But i have to say that i often wish Brandon really was my brother, not just my coworker. That said, my mother probably would have been insane by the time one of us was 5. I did, after all, spend a few hours with one of those mini chip clip things in my pocket so i could sneak up on him and clamp it onto one of his nipples....

As you all enjoy your day with picnics and grills and fun laying on a blanket on the grass in the sun, think of me, stuck at work for 16 hours with some individuals that hate holidays and how much they mess up the routine of daily life. Wish me luck?

We have had 3 renters living in the small house next door to us since we purchased this house.

First, was Rosa. I liked her. She was friendly, talkative sometimes, her dog was a bit loud, but she was nice and knew he was annoying.

Rosa had bbq's on her side porch and that first summer i had a few sleepless and smokey nights since our bedroom window is right across our driveway from said porch. Last we heard, she bought a house on Hoyt somewhere. The landlord didn't like her and thought she was messy.

Then, there was Casey and Charles. Nice younger couple. They had a cute little mutt that i cannot remember the name of, which surprises me. That dog would bark for about a minute in sharp, deep loud barks, but once she got to know us and settled in she barked less.

They were rarely home, but when they were, they were friendly and mostly quiet neighbours. They moved to Rochester for her work.

Currently, the couple that live beside us are, for all i know, very nice people. I just don't see that nice side of them much. I attempted to have some friendly words with them, but neither seemed keen, and that's cool, not everyone is chittychatty like me.

They have or had 2 dogs. A bigger, friendly one and another small barkey min-pin.One morning, at about 6, perhaps 6:30am, the little one began his barking and barking and barking. Those that have or know of little dogs and their insessant barking know how much it can freeze the brain. This was not the first morning of bark, but i had stayed quiet, hoping the dog would settle in time and get used to his new digs. No luck. This one morning, it seemed to go on forever and ever. So, i knocked on their front door. No answer. So, i rang the bell... and rang it and rang it and rang it. And when they answered, furious, i was polite. For about 5 seconds. It let to a shouting match. I attempted to stay on subject, but she let it stray all over the damn place, insulting many things about me, calling me a cracker bitch. Then, the dog was gone. No matter what she may or may not think, i like dogs and it saddens me she felt i may do the poor barker harm.

Shortly before this i was on my way home from work and was following a slow moving car. It signaled and pulled up in front of their house, blocking both their driveway pad and the entrance to our driveway. It sat there. I hit the horn. That is when and how i found out the horn on my old Saturn Blue Bitch did not work. So, i got out. Now, here is where the recollection of my neighbour's varies from my own, which i have to say is rather odd since she was never there in the first place. I walked up to the driver's window and asked him to move please. He would not roll down his window. So, i tapped it and he ignored me. So, i yelled through his window, "you're in my way, can you move?" He called me some name and moved. I got back in my car and pulled into my driveway.

During the incident with the dog in the morning, she told me that i was a rude racist bitch to her cousin.

Not too long ago, my husband politely requested that they park on their side of the driveway because he leaves for work early in the morning and wants to clear both cars easily. That exchange with the dude went well. He does seem to be a reasonable sorta person.

Today, they were fixing or adjusting something with the gate on the shared fence and standing on our property to do so. No one made any comments to each other, but (e:Uncutsaniflush) did notice that the ragged edges of the hand tied metal wires (the ones that Casey and Charles put up to keep their dog from running and that ripped my winter coat last winter) are turned back on our side. She did, however, make a comment under her breath that she is surprised the racists next door did not call the cops for being on their property.

Seriously? How does any of this define us as racists? Must be that all white folk are, huh?

Linus



We got him on Thursday from the Tonawanda SPCA. He's about 7 months, and a big, friendly, inquisitive boy. :o)

What i forgot to tell you in my last post is how amazing the food experiences were in Detroit and how lame i am for not taking more food pictures. In one of those "here's what we have to offer!!!" magazines about Detroit, i saw a food ad and we loved the place so much we ate there 3 times. Sweet Loraine's a place we never would have gone to had i not seen the menu -- Vegetarian Meatloaf?!? Amazing. And, i have to say - the best veggie burger. Ever.



Went to the Botanical Gardens. How could i not take a few pictures?







This one represents my extreme fear of bees... and how i needed to try to take some pictures of a big fat one.





I called 911 last night when the crakling of a fire woke me up after i had just gone to sleep... at about 2:15am. Kinda scary. The house behind us and over one had a fire in it's garage/carriage house.

It's been close to a month since we got back. And just now, i got round to getting a coupla snaps up...




Isn't this what comes to mind when we think of Detroit?




This is what an empty urban neighborhood looks like. This one was once called Poletown.




View of downtown from Belle Island, with the landmark "Ren Cen" in all its glory...




Ceiling of the Belle Island Conservatory.




A cherry in the Belle Island Conservatory.




More plantlife in the Belle Island Conservatory.




Excellent mexican food in the Mexicantown neighborhood, not too far from downtown and the massive construction around the Ambassador Bridge. Old train station in the background...




Aren't cows cute? How can humans eat them? This one was a loud heifer in the working farm section of the Henry Ford Greenfield Village.




Wee baby lamby, just a few days old...




View from a bubble in a pane of glass in a historical house in the Henry Ford Greenfield Village.




Dark shot of an old plane in the Henry Ford Museum...




Bus that made Rosa Parks, well, a hero to many. I have to admit, i am a sap. Sitting there in that bus made me cry.




Young male elephant at the Toledo Zoo... mom is in the background.




A meerkat in the Toledo Zoo.

Looking at them all now, i realize i don't take what one could call traditional holiday snaps....

Look away, work again.

Refresher SCIP-R class tonight. Scheduled to be done with my boss and a long time staffer. While there, boss' iphone tells her that an individual is making accusations against me. I was expecting it because i used planned ignoring for Monday's attention seeking behaviors. Still stings a bit, though.

Friday, i "drop my t" and go from being a DAT (developmental aide trainee) to a DA (developmental aide). It's a big deal. And, apparently, the biggest single raise in pay i will probably ever get. I made it a whole year.

But has it been worth it all?

We got back late last night. Had a lovely time in Detroit. Yes, i said lovely. Hard to believe one could have a lovely time there, huh?

I will probably post a few pictures once i get all the upacking and laundry done, squeezed in before i go back to work... But, in the meantime, a few observations.

Detroit, bad reputation that it has, is surpisingly free of litter. Driving around, good neighborhoods and bad, there was hardly a scrap of litter.

Detroiters take pedestrians having the right of way seriously. Cars always stopped, no matter the neighborhood.

Detroit's child population has the same good manners their parents have. Please, excuse me and thank you were used.

Lots of streets that a driver is unable to make a left turn onto. Instead, there were these weird turnaround u-turn thingies. One would, for example, be driving down 9 mile and want to make a left onto Woodward. Instead, one would have to make a right, quickly zip over to the 3 lanes to the left one and wait inbetween the medians at a uturn thingie... that had a light. Very odd.