clean clothes and cold beer

Toñio the fix-it man came to the house to give a diagnosis on the washing machine and the fridge. He decided both could be fixed and set about doing so. First the washer. It was some sort of gear problem; it wouldn't "shift" into wash mode. Yes, he could buy and install a new one, no problem. Then upstairs to check out the refrigerator. Since it was under warranty he suggested we take it back for repairs. Are you kidding? First, how are we going to get it downstairs? Once there, what will we carry it in to go to Tecoman where we bought it? Third, what will we do for a fridge in the meantime? True, we should have gone to the store and told them we wanted a replacement. But I was not prepared to drive over there lugging my big Oxford Spanish dictionary and spend an hour haggling. The diagnosis was not so serious, actually. New infusion of Freon and we should be back in business. Toñio went away, said he'd be right back, and was at the front door in about half an hour. He took the washer apart, put in the new gear/timer, demonstrated that it was now running again, and was ready to tackle the fridge. It took several hours while the Freon recharged. Finally, about 6 o'clock he packed up his tools, handed us a bill, parts and labor, for 1600 pesos ($130) and everyone was happy. I did two loads this morning. Perfect. And there are now solid ice cubes and cold beer.

Two other items of note.

First, the death of the stalwart Elizabeth Edwards. Way too young. The first time i learned about her in 2004 I liked her immediately. The first time I learned about him in 2004 I didn't like him at all. Smarmy. She kept her cool, remained a gracious, graceful woman to the end.

Second, remember the birthday of the delightful grandson, Andrew? His mother sent me this photo taken of him on his 22nd birthday. Take a look.



And now it's time to don long pants to foil the bugs and head on down to the beach for dinner with friends at Dago's. I'll take the camera in case there's a good sunset.