My sunroof is stuck open.
I washed my car. For the first time in more than a year. There’s a leak in the roof, so I can’t drive it through the drive-through car wash. The leak doesn’t come all the way into the car unless there’s a very hard rain, and then it’s only an annoying drip right over the driver’s seat.
But I’m taking it in for some small work, and I suspect repair shops do a better job when it looks like the car is kept clean.
The sunroof was closed. I’m not such an idiot that I’d accidentally wash it with the stupid sunroof open. I mean I’m not such an idiot that I’d do it twice.
As I was giving it a last rinse, I saw that the sunroof was almost all the way open! I know it was closed because the roof is the first thing I washed. I started up the car and the stupid thing wouldn’t close. Ugggggh.
I did the best toweling off the car even though it began to drizzle. Of course. As I was cleaning up and returning a couple of text messages, I looked again and it was nearly all the way closed! I mean, it’s not shut enough to make me feel okay — it’s leaving like a three-inch opening.
I suspect water got into the wiring where the sunroof controls are. In fact, I know water got into it. I didn’t think such a thing could open and shut the stupid sunroof on its own and not otherwise, but that seems to be what happened. Ugh. I’m going to try to air the whole thing out Sunday and hope simply drying will take care of things. Otherwise I guess I add another thing to the small list of things I’m asking for when I take it in.
Geez.
I woke up at 4:30 and got to the beach at 5. There was still a lot of good parking. Walked around the park, and there were more walkers there than I was comfy with, but we all managed to avoid each other. It was mostly a nice walk.
The swim was nice. By the time I got out and back to my car, the park was a teeming mass of moving people. I was happy to get out of there. I was super happy to have been there at all.
I stopped at Pancakes and Waffles for breakfast and lunch takeout. Breakfast was chicken and waffles, something I’ve always wanted to try there. It was reeeally good. The waffles wasn’t at all crispy when I got home, but dang it was tasty. And the fried chicken thighs were far better than I expected. Crispy and juicy. I usually get one or the other around here. These were both. Yum.
Lunch was a vinha d’alhos omelet with fried rice. Also quite good but if I thought a Denver omelet would keep better, I’d have preferred something with a few veggies.
I drove down to the strip mall to get takeout from somewhere, then had second thoughts. So instead what did I do? I had a scoop of jamocha and a scoop of Snickers ice cream in a cup. Sinful and terrible but so, so good.
What I did next isn’t to surprising, but I was still surprised. I went to the supermarket. I mean, it’s right there next to the ice cream shop. I didn’t need a thing. Yet I spent a hundred bucks. On stuff I don’t even really have room for in the pantry. A six-pack of some vanilla porter. Half a pound of fresh strawberries. Some brown sugar (which I use a lot of in my cooking, so that one’s okay), a package of hoagie rolls, two trays of mushrooms, a jar of chili sauce, a gallon of milk, a couple of six-packs of Diet Pepsi, a two-pound fish filet, and a pound of uncured hot dogs. The hot dogs are part of the regular rotation, but I’d rotated them out lately, and the store was out of hot dog buns anyway so I can’t even really enjoy them properly.
If I don’t waste any of it (which I can’t guarantee), nothing in there is frivolous, at least. Some of it is experimental — I made the mistake of going into a little deep-dive on a Polish sandwich dish I’d never heard of until this past week and I can’t wait to mess around with it — but kitchen experiments are part of my life anyway.
It’s just that I seriously didn’t need either the trip to the market or the stuff I bought. I think I’m getting a little more stir-crazy than I’ll admit.
I did mostly stay out of bed once I was up from my nap. A wonderful, heavenly little nap after breakfast and before lunch. It wasn’t the feel-nothing sleep I’ve been sorta trapped in. Just a nice, warm sleep. I didn’t wake up smiling but I was close.
I’m having my real dinner now: a bottle of the vanilla porter and most of the strawberries. They’re both rather nice.
If not for the stupid sunroof situation, which I’m still hoping will work itself out, I’d feel so good about the two hours cleaning my car, inside and out. It’s one of those things I always feel like I don’t have enough time for, and I did a pretty good job. And it was nice to labor over something physical. So much of my personal tasks involve banging on this keyboard. It’s a different kind of strenuous and honestly it takes its toll.
Okay contacts. There was a text from Julie to the rest of the engineering firm friends about Downton Abbey, the movie. We saw it together. Sylvia sent me a photo of some Cheetos popcorn and another of a bread recipe she’s about to try.
Crush Girl responded to my happy weekend text from Friday night. She tried a third dish from that spot we’ve been talking about and said it was also meh. It happened to be while I was dealing with the sunroof, so I vented a little. Then we talked a little about the book she just finished.
I sent Ali in Boston one of the photos I’m sharing here, and a couple of short videos I shot for her. Just 30-second clips of the water breaking against the jetty in the moonlight. It’s pretty.
It’s Sunday morning as I wrap this up. Mothers Day. Happy Mothers Day to any moms reading this. Mother or not, if you’re in need of someone to connect with, please reach out. I got itchy texting fingers and all the time in the world, for real.
I’m going to polish off the rest of the strawberries and try to get to bed before dawn.