Thankful For Green Lizards With Blue Eye-Shadow

Last Sunday morning, I woke up and took a shower.

Nothing too weird about that, but as the shower progressed, the water pressure began dropping, dropping, trickling, dripping, done.

Oh lovely.

When you get your water from your own well, everything pivots around a pump that works every second of every day ... and mine wasn't.

I was hoping that it was just another case of ants in the pressure switch ... you see, they clamber up into the switch and get between two contacts, thus breaking the circuit.

I can fix that pretty easily.

So off I went with a screw driver and some bug spray.

I fiddled and diddled with the pressure switch, but there were no visible ants to clear out and the pump was still not pumping.

I called some of the well fixers who advertised 24 hour emergency service, but no one returned my calls until the evening and then they only gave advice.

"It's probably your capacitor."

And then they proceeded to tell me how to fix it in the dark,cramped, confines of my pumphouse... at night.

I had to get this thing fixed, because I was due to head out of town for two days of Common Bore training in St. Augustine on Tuesday.

It wouldn't be good to leave Mrs. FC with no water for two days while I stayed in a motel.

Nope, not good at all.

So I called our school secretary (who also lives in the sticks and is empathetic to well pump issues) and told her I needed a sub for Monday, since I would be waiting for a pump repair person to show.

I was feeling kind of grouchy at that point, when Mrs. FC mentioned that the lawnmower had a problem. She couldn't start it and the pull rope would not recoil.

Arrgghh.

The well guy did show up in the afternoon Monday and fixed the pump.

It was the capacitor.

As soon as he left, I left for the training in St. Augustine.

Two days later, as I was passing through Gainesville on my way home to PFHQ, I get a text from Mrs. FC, "Have we angered the appliance gods? Now the dryer won't come on."

Arrrggghhhh x 1000!

She was at work and couldn't check the model number. Since I was not far from the one appliance place in Gainesville that has real experts who understand appliances rather than just SELLING appliances, I decided to give it a shot.

I pulled into Martins Appliances and armed with minimal info, described the situation. The Martins guy asked a series of questions to narrow down my model, gave me a packet of fuses and told me how to install them, and sent me on my way.

He was awesome in his patience and knowledge.

When I got home, I saw this as I walked towards the front door.

I DID not kick it into the upper branches of the giant live oak that shades our front porch.

Instead, I fixed the dryer, took a hot shower, and ignored the limp pull rope on the mower.

Then I took a walk in the too tall grass and looked around me.

I needed to quit whining and recharge my outlook.

I'm thankful for native swamp sunflowers bigger than my house.

And I'm thankful for the friends they attract.

I'm really thankful for datil pepper plants that don't know when to quit and keep blooming into the fall.

Blue curls make me giddy with thankfulness.
I'm even thankful for the tiny flies that rest on their petals.

I'm grateful for green lizards who wear blue eye-shadow too.


My level of ARRRGGGHHHHXASPERATION has dropped considerably since last Sunday.

I just needed to take stock.

Life is good.