Good News?

This week was somewhat sad reading about the spread of COVID-19. It will make the holidays a very different experience this year, and not in a good way. But then I remembered a plaque a former boss had in his office. It read: “Not all the bad things happen.”

In the past, when something annoying, problematic, or unexpected happened to me or someone close to me, my usual knee jerk reaction was to panic. Maybe it is maturity or maybe just exhaustion, but now I’m not going crazy about the little things. The past few months have had some potential issues but no catastrophes.

When I was doing the dishes during our kitchen remodel, I noticed there wasn’t any hot water. While others were busy trying other faucets, guessing what the problem could be, and looking at the water heater like it would either announce its failure or immediately start heating the water. I called the plumber.

It was the thermostat, under warranty, and by the way, the hissing sound in the guest house was a burst pipe, which was immediately repaired. So, two birds, one stone, and all is good.

Yesterday, while making coffee and toast for breakfast, the appliances died, no power. I reset the GFI outlet, which didn’t work. Went outside to the circuit breaker, nothing was tripped, but I reset it anyway. No dice, still dead. I reset the GFI, reset the circuit again, and voila’ power. I still have no idea why, but it worked the second time around, and all is good.

Last night I finally had to turn on the heater in the kitchen; it died. No heat. Luckily, I just bought a portable heater at Cascade. At least I have a temporary fix and some additional heat, so again, all is good.

Until this morning, while sitting at my dining room table, freezing, I realized my new (less than a year old) mini-split heater wasn’t lit up or producing any heat. Surprise, it wasn’t working; evidently, the circuit breaker tripped. Or, possibly, when I was trying to reset the kitchen breaker, I mistakenly tripped this one. Now the heat is on, and I can take my gloves and scarf off. Heat is good when the temperature drops to under 20 degrees.

When I went to Cascade to buy the heater, I made a few stops along the way. In the process, I lost my prescription glasses. I hunted every inch of the parking lot, retraced all my steps, went into every store I visited that day, all to no avail. Yesterday, I made a “Hail Mary” stop at Cascade. They had my glasses, see it’s true; not all the bad things happen. And, while there I saw (now that I had my glasses again), the great tome; “The Farmers Almanac.” I bought it as a gift for Daniel. Now, he has all the tools he needs to plan our next garden. However, with me and Mother Nature working alongside him, he may see his plans evolve into a whole new plan.

I am ready for next year, thanks to Barnes & Noble. I just purchased a new cookbook, “Zucchini Unleashed.” Thankfully, I only have two zucchini left, but I know next year I will be ready for the onslaught of the green monsters. I have figured out that zucchini, flies, and cockroaches are alike; they defy destruction. They will outlive us all, and we just need to learn to accept the bugs and cook the zucchini. The good news is: I can cook, and even better—I live with a chef.