Ups and Downs

Our Internet service was out for several days last week and unfortunately, the repair only made it three days and the next thing you know, it was down again.  Ugh!

During the short time period that it was working, we discovered a problem with our refrigerator.  There was a lot of water on the bottom shelf and in one of the crisper's.  I did some searching on the net and found out that the problem might be a drain hose that had either frozen or was blocked by something.  Yes, access to the Internet is very useful.

We do have a manual for our refrigerator, but after looking over all 315 parts on the list, we had no idea if it had a drain hose or if it did, where it located.  We had to resort to YouTube and yep, there is was.  Someone had posted a video of how to repair a frozen drain hose on a Whirlpool refrigerator, which looked exactly like ours, even though it is a Kenmore. 

Retired Mountain was after it - immediately.  A repair job.  All he had to do was remove the bottom shelf of the freezer, remove the fan, and remove the back panel inside the freezer compartment. 
Piece of cake.

There it was.  Ice.  Lots of ice, and what looked liked a possible drain hole, filled with ice.  We decided the quickest way to thaw it was my hair dryer.  It took about ten minutes and the problem was solved.  The water was draining into the drain pan at the bottom of the refrigerator.

What caused the problem in the first place?  A piece of cardboard that we had placed next to the fan because it was vibrating and making a lot of noise every time the motor ran.   It had fallen down where we couldn't see it and it blocked the drain.  Oops!

Retired Mountain Man is one of those "guy-guys.  You know, guys with skills?  You can send them into the wilderness with a pocketknife and a Q-tip and they build you a shopping mall."(Six Days and Seven Nights)

He has repaired my vacuum cleaner, food processor, roto-tiller, range and oven (several times until we finally gave in and bought a new one), light fixtures, switches, the cable to our DirectTV dish....and yes, I appreciate it very much.

I really like being married to one of those "guy-guys".  I don't mind knowing which tool is a socket wrench or being the assistant on the repair jobs, but I really don't want to do them myself.  I am more than happy to have someone who really does know what he's doing to take on the job. 

Thanks, Retired Mountain Man! 

There are a few more Lobster Mushrooms dried and ready to store. 
How did we get so lucky to have a few rain showers(necessary for the mushrooms) and then sunshine and blue skies every morning? 

I'm behind schedule, but I think I read somewhere that it was National Dog Day, maybe yesterday?   Here's a photo of Maggie watching Ben play in the fountain.   Plus, today is Ben's tenth birthday and first day of school.  He's a fourth grader now.  Happy Birthday Ben! 

The school year is starting either this week or next in most places so watch out for all those kiddos and school buses.  It's an exciting time for the kids, teachers and all of the staff at the schools.  I hope they all have a great year.