The water fountain, ⚽ and 💸

 Yes, YAM, Crumbly Acres. It is always something. The water fountain stopped working on Saturday. I unplugged it and tested the extension cord. The cord is fine. I found a little caterpillar crawling around it. It is a Giant Tiger Moth caterpigly. 

I drained the fountain, and took it apart. The pump didn't look too healthy. It started for a minute and stopped. Sitting the pump in a bucket of vinegar and water, it just didn't take all the deposits off. We have really hard water and it does a number on the equipment. I scraped it and sat it in the vinegar again. No joy.

I'd gone back and forth several times, fetching tools, and the hose. I was walking back to the fountain, and twisted my ankle in a divot. It was where I had removed a large weed. How dumb is that? I have tripped on it several times, groaned each time, and forgot to fill it. 😖<SIGH>

Back indoors, with ice on my foot, I ordered a new pump. 

The ankle is a little swollen. I usually take photos of any injuries just to be able to see if it is getting better or worse. It is better Sunday, as I wrote this. I did get a free lunch out of it!

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Women's World Soccer in Australia and New Zealand

We've been enjoying the women's soccer. I love seeing the different cultures, and people dressed to cheer on their teams. 

At the beginning of one game, there were two commentators rambling on, while they showed a ceremony. I would have liked to just listen and watch. When I was an occasional teacher, there was a teacher at the school on an exchange between Ottawa and New Zealand. She taught the students the haka, and they were thrilled. It is a great memory for me.

New Zealand ceremony from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

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Personal Finances

OK, this article stumps me, as I sit with my foot up and have too much thinking time. I recall our modest mortgage came due in 1981, and the interest rates hovered around 22%. I was going to Teacher's College, in order to upgrade from being a day care teacher to working JK - gr. 8. I knew we'd need the income. It was worrisome, but a good lesson in economics for us. 

This family built a custom home two years ago. She says her monthly mortgage payment went from $2850 to $6200. With many people homeless, in shelters and on the streets, I find it tough feeling sorry for her. She says they've been having garage sales, and sold furniture to get enough cash to pay the mortgage. 

She is an esthetician, and her husband a contractor with two jobs.

I went online to a mortgage calculator website and a mortgage of $400,000 will cost you $2600+ a month. 

To get to a monthly mortgage of, say $5600, you have to have borrowed $850,000. Her story doesn't make sense. A year and a half ago, Prime Interest rates were 0.25%. That would have been the time for a fixed-rate, rather than doing a variable rate mortgage. I do not understand how her bankers did not 

OK, rant over. Garbage is out. Today is a holiday in Canada. It is pouring rain!