Dishwasher Repaired

August 17, 2022 by Adam in Family

I do a lot of dishes.

Last week when it stopped working I wasn't sure what to do.  Finances are getting tight, so I didn't really want to spent more money, let alone wait to get it delivered.  Still, we were resigned to doing so and as I was checking one last thing before clicking the buy button, Joanna opened the door and the lights turned on.  We ran it and noticed a bit of melty smell afterwards.

That kicked off a "I don't know what I'm doing" diagnostic session with my favorite flashlight.  As I followed the main wire into the dishwasher, I noticed some blackened wires.  Opening it all up, I found the melted pieces, cleaned things up and ordered a new part to replace the most melted one.  Last night while we were making sushi, I wired it all up, turned it on, and nothing happened.

I wasn't up for anything last night, but this morning I opened it up again, found the wire that wasn't fully connected, put it back together and it turned on.  The acid test will be when we run the next load, but I'm pretty confident that was the issue.  Take that, stressful life event!  Now to deal with the rest of them.

At least this motivated me to finally fix the bit of plastic on the handle with a 3D printed part.

Pied Piper for Chickens

August 16, 2022 by Adam in Family

This morning the neighbors are playing the flute and the chickens became strangely silent.

Too Many Teenagers

August 15, 2022 by Adam in Family

It's been a somewhat challenging week or two, with all sorts of problems popping up at once.  Our savings have been going down, so Joanna and I are going through all our expenses and trying to find ways to get things more in balance.  I suspect dropping some subscription services and cutting back on cleaning services are in our future.  Joanna did find the bank screwed up with a check, turning a $270 check into $2,700, so that'll be nice.  We could also turn some of our non-liquid things into cash if we had to, but cutting back on expenses seems most reasonable.  Mostly we have a $7,500 roof replacement in a couple months and we're trying to still have some buffer money after that.

I'm also trying hard to get the refrigerator fixed - hopefully the new part arrives tomorrow.  Doing dishes by hand is quite motivating.  There's also a long-broken handle part that's mostly cosmetic.  Emma and I played around and modeled a new part that's slowly printing away.  We couldn't help ourselves and added a fun anchor logo while we were at it.

My friend D&D group also got together, somewhat last minute.  I think they had a good time fending off cultists and escaping a giant octopus.  Fortunately I have four weeks to prep until the next game.  I think all the minis are printed but there are maps and traps to get ready.

I also forgot to mention that our cat Leia turned 13 this last week.  Joanna went out and got her a doughnut which she developed a taste for when I'd put a doughnut on Duncan's desk for dessert.  That means we technically have four teenagers in the house, making us outnumbered  two-to-one.

Melting Dishwasher

August 13, 2022 by Adam in Family

The dishwasher has been working on and off the last few days.  After some foul smells and disassembling things this morning, I think I pieced together the series of events that's led to me washing dishes by hand since Wednesday or so.  There was a brief lightning storm and the voltage spiked.  This led to the power wire melting things, perhaps in part because the ground wire had fallen off.  The end result was a poor connection and the dishwasher only turning on if I pulled it out of the counter and tipped it a little.

I ordered the most melted part, stripped off the melted part of the power cable, and cleaned the rest as best I can.  Hopefully I'll only be washing dishes until Tuesday and then I can get it working again once the part arrives.

Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

August 12, 2022 by Adam in Family

I watched and enjoyed Everything, Everywhere, All At Once which is kind of a scifi superhero family dramatic comedy.  I've also been feeling overwhelmed this last week in between all the stressors in my life that seemed to appear at at once.  Fortunately some are being sorted out - we deployed a hotfix at work that should cleanup a tricky problem and the Subaru's air conditioner should be repaired.  Still need get the dishwasher replaced and I've been spending way too long doing dishes by hand.  Duncan starts an IOP program next week which hopefully eases the transition to school.  I arranged a beach trip with Joanna the weekend after next, with wonderful Seraph watching the kids.  Still not sure what's going on with Jason and my nautical D&D group.  I'm getting back into lifting weights again, thanks in part to stickers Joanna gave me.

Needless to say, it sometimes feels like a lot.  At least I had a mocha this morning.

D&D Weekend

August 08, 2022 by Adam in Family

I muddled through all the chicken feeding and garden watering with Joanna away at a writer's conference.  They had a good time hanging out with like-minded people, including an impromptu ukelele open mic jam session.  As for me, I had a good time playing D&D with the family session.  They managed some heroic saves including using a stampede of brotosauruses to trample a horde of zombies, with the monk leading them along with a bunch of tasty food.  Emma's character had mounted a bronto and threw a rope down to Frankie's character to swing to safety at the last moment.  I like these zany solutions the party comes up with.

I'm trying hard to manage the various stresses in my life, which seem to bubble up from time to time.  Lifting weights, running, meditating, and spending time with people I love sure does help.

Mocha Friday

August 05, 2022 by Adam in Family

Joanna's off at a writer's conference, so I've been running around taking care of extra chores.  I'll head inside in an hour or two to make breakfast, pill the cat and I've still got to check the chickens for eggs.  Whew!

It's been an otherwise uneventful week.  Work carries on - Jonathan's on vacation so I find myself doing more manager-like things.  Joanna and I had our date night at Cornbread Cafe along with a stroll around Yayoe's old neighborhood on Polk street.  I continue printing and painting miniatures.  I started playing Banners of Ruin, which is a new deckbuilder game like Slay the Spire.  I started after dinner and didn't really stop until it was time for bed.  Funny how that happens.

Tomb of Annihilation

July 30, 2022 by Adam in Adam's Games

Seraph, Robbie, Frankie, Jordan, Emma and I had a great first "real" session of Tomb of Annihilation.  It began by fending off pirates in which Seraph got the MVP award for setting fire to the most pirates at once.  The next big event was a dinosaur race through the streets of Port Nyanzaru.  It ended up being surprisingly fun for everyone.  Emma's character rode Jungle Princess over the finish line after a tense first part of the race.  Fortunately a touch of magic and Robbie's character foiling the other team's plans to sabotage the race all managed a win for the party.  Next up is getting together an expedition into the jungle - so many exciting places to visit!

Impending Nerdy Weekend

July 29, 2022 by Adam in Family

It's been a hot week where Joanna's been feeding chickens veggies and fruit embedded in a block of ice.  It's funny the things one does in times of crisis.  Otherwise it's been a relatively uneventful week, if full of appointments and such.  Ben's last day of summer school is today, so he'll have to do science on his own now.  I've been working away in the shed - so far the air conditioning is keeping up with the weather but we'll see how today goes.

It's also another big D&D weekend, with a game both Saturday and Sunday.  I think I'm all ready to go, with maps, notes and miniatures all ready to go.  I'm so caught up on miniatures that I'm printing things that I probably won't break out for a couple months or more.  Nice to feel prepared, though.

Fun-filled Weekend

July 25, 2022 by Adam in Family

It was a fairly full weekend in between projects and rushing around to various events.  Saturday Emma and I made soap with some of the oils and callendula petals she'd collected.  Joanna and I went to see The Trouble with Tribbles performed in the park, which was beautiful on so many levels.  I love watching people who are really into something share it with the world.

Sunday morning had Joanna, Emma, and I go to the fair to see the baby animals and crafts.  I ran into my old high school English teacher at the Society for Creative Anachronism booth.  We oohed and aahed at the various flowers and handmade items.  Eventually we wandered back home to escape the heat.  I helped Joanna make soap with lavender oil they'd collected.  Somewhere between all those things I managed to cook meals, do dishes and laundry, paint some miniatures, 3D print a dice tower for Emma, watch Emma play games, and do a little more D&D prep.  Whew!

I forgot I have tomorrow off work - another quirky Health Catalyst holiday.  Ben starts summer school today.  We're still waiting to hear about Duncan's program - theoretically it starts today but I suspect there's a delay.  It seems crazy that August is right around the corner.