Family Mellmann

Today, after three weeks of weather delays, Patrick took to the skies...SOLO.  While he has been flying with his instructor every week (usually twice per week, despite the weather) when flight students solo for the first time the weather must be pristine; calm winds, visibility greater than 5 miles, and a "ceiling" (cloud cover) no lower than 3,500 feet.  While Vermont decides if it is autumn or winter, pristine weather has been scarce. The first flight of the day was a test run with his instructor.  Then the instructor leaves the plane and Patrick flies the same sequence on his own. After a few "touch-and-go" maneuvers it was time for a final landing.  Over the radio, he hears "nice job", then "we're hiring".  A fun ending to a first solo. In his flight log, Patrick now has a line that shows him as Pilot in Command and the entire line is written in his handwriting for the first time.  In the back of the log are several pages for end...

Life is full of routine and often mundane tasks. While replacing appliances is neither routine nor mundane, it is pretty...pedestrian. Sometimes, finding joy in the boring is a real challenge, however, we are celebrating the arrival of this dishwasher. For most of its life, the out-going dishwasher has brought one frustration after another. From repeatedly broken drawer parts to several silverware basket replacements, we have poured more money into The maintenance of this machine than it was probably worth. Add to that the general frustration of drawers that fall off their track and unexplained (and sporadically unpredictable) puddles of water on the floor, and you have the makings for a real love/hate relationship...heavy on the hate. The new dishwasher has great expectations to fulfill. It's German engineering and manufacturing set it should last a long time. The manufacturer's claim is that it is engineered to last for 20 years. We haven't had a single appliance ...