Today's Forecast: Chance of Hot Showers

My shower finally got to the point where I had to fix it. The hot water valve was spewing straight out at me. Not good. Now, you must realize my house is 57 years old. And whoever owned it before me was not a handyman by any stretch of the imagination. So every time I go to fix my plumbing or electrical stuff, I usually get some sort of little surprise. Or big project. Or both.

As luck has it, the guy that used to live across the street is a plumber and grew up in the neighborhood, so he is familiar with all the issues of these houses. He sent me right to these guys for my solution.

So I made the crosstown trek to this outfit. Not only did they have what I needed, I actually had a choice of weather to replace or rebuild the faucets! The guy spent 20 minutes with me. They probably made $7 profit off my purchase. But they made a customer for life. I love vendors like this.

Try finding that at the Big Box retailers.

BP and The Tarballs...

...didn't keep the masses from descending upon Galveston Island this weekend. My wife and I ran down there to check out the 'damage'. The only damage we could find was left over from Hurricane Ike from 3 years ago, or however long it has been. In fact, the water was cleaner than I have ever seen. The beaches were even clean! More pics here.

I have never seen it this crowded either. Of course, I usually travel in September/ October after most kiddos are safely back in school. After all, I am allergic to anyone under 28.

No oil slicks, no tar balls. Only unheard of crystal clear water. Amazing.

Photo by wife. Those are her feet, not mine.

Our Backyard...

...does not have one of these. But ironically, it kind of sounds the same around here. The difference is our white noise is comprised of two interstates that run within a few miles of the house.

This is Cascades Falls near Mount Princeton, Colorado. I just got back from a great kayak trip with some of my buddies. Highs of 78, lows into the upper 30s. You can check out some more pics here.

Meanwhile I'll be sitting in the living room, listening to the gentle babbling of the central a/c unit, as it is 103º outside today.