Three Beautiful Things 07-13-2022: Not Quite a Journeyman Electrician, Fun Trip to Worley, Hammerhead on Its Way

 1. I'm not particularly handy around the house, but in recent weeks I have stopped the toilet from humming, and gurgling before that, and it seems like there was some other small problem I fixed. Overnight, we had a booming thunder storm with intense blue flashes of lightning. When I got out of bed around 5:30 this morning, I noticed that the digital clock on our gas range was blank and when I tried out the burners, they didn't work. After checking the breaker box in the basement, I pulled out the stove to make sure it was plugged in and seized the opportunity to sweep years of old popcorn, rice, and other debris out from the space the gas range occupies. (I should do this more often.)

Then I remembered that we have wall outlets that click off if things I don't really understand happen, so I checked the outlet near the gas range and, sure enough, all I had to do was push a rectangular button and click the green light back on and we had an operating gas range again. 

It was a good start to the day.

2. I fired up the Camry and blasted out to Kingston and picked up Ed and we made our first trip to the CdA Casino together in many many months. In fact, the last time I was even in a casino was back in April when Ed, Mike, and I spent a couple of nights at the Wild Horse Resort in Pendleton. 

I almost never have any luck playing machines. I plan on that and budget accordingly. Today was no different, but with my sparkling new FitBit on, I walked around a lot and accumulated nearly 3,000 steps! Ed's luck was much better and he kept at it, wanting to keep his hot streak going. Early in the afternoon, though, we went to the Red Tail Bar and Grill and I enjoyed a tender and fresh prime rib sandwich. 

As always, the drive down and back was really fun. Ed and I had a lot to yak about, got in a lot of laughs, and had a really good outing.

3. In a text, Terry Turner asked me if I'd like me to bring him any beer from Oregon. My favorite of all Oregon beers, both for how it tastes and for the countless great memories I have attached to it, is the Hammerhead Pale Ale from McMenamins. Terry is going to bring me a growler of Hammerhead and until today I never imagined that I would ever have a chance to enjoy some fresh Hammerhead right here in Kellogg, Idaho!