Two steps forward, two steps back

Anyway, the thing I needed was the chain that links the toilet handle to the flapper. After I finished at Frager's, I was going to walk to the bank, but that would have meant walking straight into a stiff wind for about a mile, and I decided that wasn't the best idea I'd ever had so I walked home.

I did manage to install the new chain even though I was unable to shut off the water intake valve due to a bad angle and significant lack of upper body strength on my part. Instead I propped up the float ball using a chopstick, which had the same effect for this fairly insignificant operation.

After some tight maneuvering with a pair of pliers and both my hands, done while holding a mini Mag Light in my teeth, I reattached the chain. The most interesting part was when I had to loosen up the pliers using some sunflower scented hand lotion. Well, it worked.

Later I determined that the real problem with the toilet in the upstairs bathroom is that it needs a new rubber thing. The seal isn't as tight as it should be, and I wondered if I'd be able to change it myself.

I feel additionally capable because batch number seven, Molasses Cookies with Candied Ginger, turned out exceptionally well--so well that I'm going to send out the recipe with my holiday cards. (I altered it from one found in the December 1991 issue of Bon Appetit, but the alterations are significant enough that I don't have a problem with sending it out.) Of course, I didn't get to finish baking those cookies, which is where the two steps back part comes in.

I was standing in front of the oven about 6:45, about to take a pan out when I felt a sharp pain on the left side of my lower back. This almost surely means a kidney infection, but it's my kidney, not the transplanted one. I don't have a fever, and I'm not sure how we're supposed to detect an infection in a kidney that no longer works, but I'm in intense pain. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, and I've taken all my vital signs, which are perfectly normal at this point.

Anyway, I won't go out there without packing a bag, just in case. I'll leave it in the car, but I'll have it with me. Now I wish I could get the rest of those cookies baked, but I'm not going to push my luck any further. Frankly, I'd prefer my luck to hold.

before - after