Apologies for absence it's been a super busy few weeks. My parents came to stay with us for nearly 3 weeks and we were so busy out and about that all things computery got pushed to the backburner. We went to Silver Glen Springs one day and I got massively sunburnt on my shoulders! No suncream and snorkelling for a couple of hours does that to my white English skin.
The upstairs AC unit broke down while my parents were over, and it couldn't have happened at a worse time. The temperature were up in the high 80s with high humiidty too. Luckily it was still under warranty and we got it fixed within a week, however it still cost $800 to get repaired as labour and freon aren't covered! We'd have been looking at a $2000 repair bill if we had to pay for parts too. Having got it fixed I then decided to set about moving the thermostat. Unfortunately I neglected to turn off the power, thinking that's it's only low voltage (24V) what could go wrong. I blew the 3 amp fuse on the main circuit board and were without AC upstairs for most of the day while I figured this all out. A trip to the local auto parts store bagged me a new fuse and we were back in business, although the thermostat remains in its old position. Mrs P was none too impressed with my handiwork. On the plus side I've fixed the ice maker in the refridgerator which was icing up as the solenoid was all rusty and preventing the flap from shutting. A quick wirebrushing and $40 was saved and now it all works. We celebrated having working crushed ice by drinking mojitos and margaritas!
The two big girls took part in the largest kids triathlon in the US where 1000 kids aged 5-15 took part.. Strangely enough both Raina (who's 9) and Sofie (who's 5) had to complete the same course consisting of a 100m swim, 3 mile bike and then 1/2 mile run. Raina did really well and finished 23 out of 400 in her age group while Sofie finished 2nd in her age group in her first ever Triathlon! She even got to collect a trophy too. Their next event is June 12th, which so happens to be the same day that England kick off their 2010 World Cup campaign.
World Cup fever is starting to take a hold in our house. Well to be honest it's just me that's excited and I managed to hook the PC up to the TV so I can watch some of the games. Most of the games are being shown on ESPN (which we don't have) so I'll have to make do with some blocky, blurry internet feed but it's better than nothing. Here's hoping I can find a link to a English commentary rather than the more common Korean/Chinese/Thai ones. I'll be watching the England games at a local bar http://www.annomalleys.com/ which unfortunately for me is an Irish themed bar, however this one's pretty good. To be sure, to be sure...
Charlotte is a real handful now and is into EVERTHING. I've had to put a lock on the pantry door to stop her from opening it as she get's in there and then pulls everything out. My Dad and I built a gate for the back porch as Charlotte can now open the front and back doors. If she gets out into the back yard she'll be off down the garden and headed straight for the marsh. She's safe for now until she learns how to climb over it! I've been schooling Charlotte well on music theory as this picture shows.
Mrs P needs some new meaning to her life as 'Lost' has finished. I suggested the housework but that went down like the proverbial lead balloon. I never got into that series, so I can't understand all the hype. But I was banned from being the room while Mrs P watched the finale as my 'smart ass' comments weren't appreciated. Huh. Still, there were not-zombies to be shot in Resident Evil 4... My PS3 seems to be used for just about everythiing except playing games at the moment. Whether it's watching Blu-ray discs, DVDs, streaming Netflix movies or even renting movies via the online Playstation store, it really does do it all.
I need a new cell phone as my Razr took a trip through the washing machine and didn't fair too well. Since then I've been using Raina's Samsung which is basic to say the least. No camera, no MMS, no internet, nada. I'm on pay as you go as I really don't use it that often but the selection of phones here is dire. Doesn't help that of the 4 main providers, 2 of them use a competing technology to GSM and the phones aren't compatible on each other's networks. I'm thinking about buying one of the ebay UK and shipping it over, but I have a feeling that's going to be a royal PITA.
Hurricane season starts today and last until the end of November. It's predicted to be an above average season this year so I guess I ought to start thinking about taking some precautions. There are steel hurricane shutters in the garage but lord knows how I'm going to fit all of them. I suspect that by the time I've installed them all the storm will have passed. At least I know where the bolts are which is a start, right?
