03/22/2022
I did not know it, but I had a busy day ahead of me. We started in the usual fashion, a fast walk around the park followed by an even quicker breakfast. I took a quick glance at the mail to see if anything needed my immediate attention which I quickly took care of. Mostly junk anyway.
I drove into Dripping Springs to the Fed-Ex office there to return the lock and as usual, nothing was straightforward. For various and different reasons, I ended up paying $20.00 to return it but at least, it is no longer in my possession. From there, I went across the street to HEB to see if they had a new coffee maker as mine quit this morning but as I wanted a machine that would make a latte and they did not have anything, I had no choice but to drive into Austin… again and made a beeline for the Walmart’s closest to me. To my dismay, they did not have what I wanted in the way of coffee makers. I did buy a portable grill to cook the chicken and pork chops that I occasionally eat as I was tired of cleaning up the mess caused by an ill-fitting fry pan lid which allowed cooking fat to drip everywhere. I figured that I could probably use it for other things and broaden my horizon on the food that I consume.
I could have lived without the portable grill but not, unfortunately, the coffee maker or in my case Latte maker. I made a beeline for the Home Depot next door to see if they had anything. I needed a packing crate anyway so even though they were out of coffee makers, it was not a wasted trip.
There was a Bed, Bath and Beyond in the same lot and I headed over. Luckily for me, they had just what I wanted. Well not just what I wanted as this one has more bells and whistles than I will ever use and consequently was a bit more expensive, but as I could not see facing the next couple of days without my morning Latte, I went ahead and made the purchase. While I was in Walmart’s, I had bought the few groceries that I needed so except for a stop at Starbucks, where else? I made the drive home. Incidentally, the lady that helped me in Walmart’s with the latte maker told me that they had a lot of goods on back order and had been for a month or more.
I drove back to Henly and that is when my troubles really started as when I entered the pin for Mr. George, I heard the lock work, but the door would not open. I messed around with it trying this and that and even though I had the key, it would not budge. I could hear the lock open and figured that something was binding stopping the door from functioning properly.
In the end, I had to use a large screwdriver to pry the door open without damaging the door itself which I finally did. I had an idea of what the problem might be and removed a couple of pieces of the lock which immediately freed up the movement and enabled the lock to work properly. It looks like, the original owners may have changed out the lock before me and added an extra strike plate doubling the thickness which is now causing my lock to bind. Something else needing my attention tomorrow as by now, it was late in the evening. We still had to take a walk albeit a short one because it was much later than I had anticipated because of the lock problem.
Following the walk, we had our evening meal and sat and watched television which included the glass of wine. The end of a very busy and somewhat frustrating day.
Written 03/23/2022. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com