Unlucky

This was not my week for appliances. First I turned on the ice maker in the fridge freezer day before yesterday wanting it to make ice for me. When I woke up yesterday it was making groaning noises but no ice was forthcoming. So I got out the hair dryer thinking that maybe a chunk of ice was preventing something from moving. No luck. So I pushed the switch/bar to the OFF position and left it alone thinking I'd get it taken care of after I got back from the watercolor workshop. Well, when I woke up today it was still making the groaning noise even though it was switched off so I thought that maybe leaving it until I get back was a bad idea so I called the appliance fixit place and they're sending a guy tomorrow. Meanwhile I noticed that it was rather chilly in here, checked the thermostat and it said 67, not 70 like it was supposed to. So I pushed the UP button, the furnace hummed a bit, but didn't blow any heat. Called the heating company where I have a "care club" membership so I got a break on the trip charge. That guy, my favorite furnace/AC guy, came just after lunch and spent an hour examining the furnace only to discover that the drain line was clogged so the furnace kept turning off. He cleared the drain line and now I have heat but less money.

I had Orioles all day, males and females. The females are very skittish and don't stay for long. This female hopped around from the crook to another crook to the orange half and finally made it to the jelly dish. Then the female flew away from the jelly when the male arrived. I don't know if he wasn't her mate but she took off like a shot.

Then much to my pleasure I saw a nice Bluejay up on the retaining wall. I took a chance and snapped a few shots and got a couple that aren't too blurry. I like the Bluejays, I just wish they'd hold still longer. Or maybe came closer for a bath or a drink.

This rabbit spent quite a bit of time on the patio step this afternoon. First it was looking in the patio door but hopped off when I lifted the camera. A bit later it was back on the step facing the other way so I got this picture of it scratching its face. Probably has fleas, but I thought it was kinda cute.

I decided to try my hand at painting the tulips I got from DS for Mother's Day. I've been thinking about doing it since Monday and figured out a way to paint them without making a mess of it. I used some of my notes from previous watercolor workshops and took my time. I'm very pleased with the results. I also started gathering supplies to take along. Packing is part of the fun.

I spent most of the afternoon finishing a book by LL who is the facilitator of my Novel critique group. It was pretty good, easy reading. It's her first published book so I'm anxious to read a later one to see how she's grown as a writer. I'll have to ask her for a recommendation.

And not knowing that I was going to be spending money on appliances this week, I splurged on a Zoom license today so that we can Zoom for our critique group without having to limit ourselves to 40 minute chunks.

--Barbara