Have you ever had one of those days when things just keep going awry? Today started out badly because I hadn't slept well. Still, I managed to get several small tasks done around the house before I decided to lie down for a nap at noon. And then I couldn't fall asleep.
So I got up and took a comforter to the laundromat. Seems to me it used to cost $3 to use the biggest machine in our little laundromat; now it's $5. I kept feeding quarters into it until I realized the machine had quit subtracting from the amount due. Pushing the coin return button proved to be ineffective.
I went to the adjacent convenience store for help, and soon a maintenance man came to the rescue. He used a pointy tool to pry some of the quarters out. Next, he tried to open the top of the machine with a key, but none of the many keys on his key ring worked. So he kept plugging away with the pointy tool until he couldn't get any more coins to come out.
With the maintenance man watching, I tried putting the quarters in again, more slowly, and it worked that time. "See?" I said to the maintenance man. "You don't have to go to Las Vegas to gamble. You can do it right here in the slot on the washing machine." He wasn't properly amused.
I walked to the nearby grocery store/pharmacy to pick up a prescription, and to buy a snack. I was very thirsty, so paid for a medium size cup and filled it with iced tea. But it didn't taste like iced tea. It tasted like Cherry Dr. Pepper, which wasn't even an option on the machine. I reported the discrepancy to the young cashier, who said he'd look into it. But he was very busy, so presently I just asked if he could dump it out into a sink and I'd get something else to drink. He did so, but first he sniffed the contents and agreed that's what it smelled like.
I don't really care for soda any more, but I decided on a lemon-lime variety and settled down for my snack and beverage. When he had time, the young employee opened the cupboard below the soda dispenser and fiddled with a few knobs. Then I watched him dispense a little iced tea into a cup and sample it. He made a terrible face! Obviously, that still wasn't exactly iced tea coming out of the spigot.
Returning to the laundromat, I transferred my comforter to a dryer, adding half a dozen tennis balls and an old, clean pair of tennis shoes, all of which were intended to help move the comforter around and dry more efficiently. Then I drove to the nearby library to work on the jigsaw puzzle in progress. It was a pleasant way to pass some time, and the library is air conditioned, while the laundromat is not.
When the timer went off on my phone, I reluctantly dragged myself away from the puzzle and returned to the laundromat. Upon my arrival, another laundromat customer told me the door to my dryer had kept popping open in my absence, and tennis balls had been bouncing around the room! She said she had closed it at least 8 times. One of the balls had bounced right into her and startled her very much! I thanked her and apologized. Fortunately, she had found it amusing.
Then I remembered that had happened once before, a long time ago, and it was the fault of the tennis shoes! They are heavy enough to knock open some dryer doors. So I removed them before giving the comforter another half hour of time, and returned to the jigsaw puzzle at the library. I made a good bit of progress on it before the timer went off again. The comforter was about 95% dry, so I brought it home and hung it on the clothes line, where it should quickly finish drying in the 86 degrees weather.
I still need to make supper, and am hoping the series of mishaps is over for the day.