Towels.... Why Is It Always Towels?

Midnight In The Back Bathroom

"Why is the washing machine still full of water?" Uh... guess it can't find the Rinse cycle or the pump is busted.

These things always happen on weekends. Called Bekins in Grand Haven MI at 9am when they opened. The woman on the other end agreed that it was "always the towels". The KitchenAid machines were bought in 2002, replacing the 18-year old Whirlpools we bought with the money gifts from our wedding in 1984. Nice to know the store still had our records -- I am tired of outfits which purge records too quick or lose them all when they change computers -- and they'll be here on Wednesday on my day off.

Meanwhile, I'll take the towels to the Crystal Flash laundromat and wash the soap out of them, then bring them home to the dryer. Wonder what a wash load costs these days? Should I even bother with quarters? (grin)

On A Clear Day, You Can Hear The Generator Hum

Actually it was pretty windy and stormy on Friday. Gusts up to 70mph, which knocked down some power lines around West Michigan. Which would in turn explain why when Mrs. Dr. Phil came home early at around 1pm to work on her grad class paper that the backup generator was running. Guess the power failed around 12:16pm and the generator ran for not quite two hours.

Mrs. Dr. Phil didn't even know the power was out at first -- having the garage door opener work at a touch of a button is no longer a clue. (grin) But when she saw the clocks blinking in the kitchen, she peeked into the garage and saw the LEDs on the automatic switch were double-red and not double-green, indicating the power was still out and the generator was running properly.

Go tech!

Maybe the power fault caused a glitch or spike which fried the controller on the washer. Or not.

None of that matters -- Friday was a good day. I was charged with bringing a stuffed Chicago pizza home from Joe Chicago's Pizza...and it was very, very good. Mushrooms, black olives, roasted red peppers and sausage.

Yes, you are jealous, aren't you?

Dr. Phil

A Special Locus Magazine Offer

Hey, It's A Deal

In my posting the other day about June magazines, I mentioned the Jeffrey Ford 14theditch interview in the June 2008 issue of Locus. Now Jeff mentions that he's got a deal with Locus magazine for either just the June 2008 issue or a subscription with the June 2008 issue thrown in for free. I'm leaving the links and the details of the deal on Jeff's site, 'cause it's his deal, so link there.

Locus magazine always seems to arrive right around the first of the month -- it's gotten to be a joke around here, it must be the First because Locus is here! And then I disappear for a while reading the thing from cover to cover on the spot. About the only magazine that I do take the time to read cover to cover the moment I get it, which tells you something about my opinion about the magazine. (grin)

If you're a SF/F/H fan, it's a good source for what's coming, along with interviews and news & photos from the big conventions and events -- you get to see what a lot of authors look like.

If you're a SF/F/H writer, especially one who has never submitted anything anywhere, you'll learn some stuff about how the business works. And who's who.

To me, it's a perfect confluence -- and a necessary part of my writerly "pre-lab". (double-trouble-grin)

Anyway, you're welcome.

Dr. Phil

The Towels (Part II)

When Last We Left You...

... I was talking about venturing forth to the Crystal Flash laundromat. Uh, been living here in Allendale too long. Forgot that Crystal Flash sold that station to Speedway a couple of years ago. But it still has the laundromat -- it's where we did laundry before we got the washer & dryer hooked up when we moved down here.

Anyway, the trip was done after lunch and it went pretty well.

The Pending Question From The Previous Post:

Meanwhile, I'll take the towels to the Crystal Flash laundromat and wash the soap out of them, then bring them home to the dryer. Wonder what a wash load costs these days? Should I even bother with quarters? (grin)

The answer is $2.25. Nine quarters. And yes, it takes quarters.

Fortunately I picked up a handful of quarters from a dish in the back bathroom -- where I sometimes dump change from my pockets -- and when I counted them out, I had nine. For the win!

Wow. $2.25 a load. $5.75 for the huge high capacity washers. Man, I remember when washers were... well, what the hell does it matter what the dorm charged in 1976? Or the laundromat in Calumet MI in the U.P. in 1984? Or Crystal Flash in 1991? Anyway, my sympathies to anyone who is using a laundromat in 2008. Seems that prorated for inflation, buying a washer and dryer is much cheaper today than twenty, thirty years ago. Just saying.

Still, we're grateful that there still are laundromats!

Things You Really Know

Lugged the wet towels in using the bottom part of a clear plastic Rubbermaid storage bin. It was really heavy. Amazing how efficient a spin cycle is -- those suckers were much less than half the weight afterward. Piece of cake to bring them home, where the dryer was still working.

Those who know me or who've read this blog for a while know that I am a big believer in serendipity. And while it is annoying that we won't do laundry this weekend, we can wait until Wednesday. Especially as I have a shopping bag from Roger's Big & Tall store in the bedroom with two new packages of underwear and several days worth of new shirts... Had to take advantage of a sale back in the end of May, but didn't need the new clothes just yet. I guess I was waiting for this weekend, when the washer would break.

Or something like that. (double-clutch-grin)

Dr. Phil