That Man and the Garbage Disposer

That Man had knee replacement surgery 5 weeks ago.  The day after he came home from the hospital, I turned on the garbage disposer after cleaning up from dinner (yes, I DO cook), and water sprayed all over under the sink like a fire hose.  Why THEN?!?!??!!?  Why not 5 days earlier, BEFORE the surgery?!?!??!?  So typical of houses and cars.  Things just have to break when it's most inconvenient.

I said nothing.  I can live without the GD (interesting initials that machine has!) for a few weeks.  I put a strainer in the sink and emptied it into the trash every day.  UGH.  To actually TOUCH garbage is so YUCKY (that's a scientific term).

But late last week, The Man was making plans to change the oil in one of our cars  Hmmmmmm....  If he feels up to doing THAT...!  

So I fessed up - the GD was hosing down the sink's nether regions. I thought it was a seal.  

He got down on the floor (WITHOUT getting on his knee - how is that possible?), removed the trap and handed me the fitting.  I dug out the seal, and it was split.  So he went to Home Depot, spent about $3.00, came home, got back down on the floor, and put everything back together - my hero!!!

After he was done was the best part - he was all smiles the rest of the evening!  Back to feeling useful and needed.

I'm Ba-a-a-a-ack!!!

Be afraid - be VERY afraid!

Long story short - life happened.  And death, too, which is, of course, part of LIFE.

The last Elderly Parent passed last year, and The Girl had a baby, so maybe we're back in balance again.  But, now, with The Baby, I'm officially OLD - I'm a GRANDPARENT.  Oh my.  She's awfully cute, though.  I don't think we'll try to put her back.  The Girl might have some objections.

I drove to Branson, Missouri, for a vacation, and boy, I had a blast!  Along Interstate 70 there are loads of motels and restaurants with "66" in their names, since it parallels old Route 66 for quite a while.  Route 66 brings back the summer road trips we took in the era B.I. (before interstates).   We got excited when we saw farm windmills (as opposed to windmill farms) and oil well pumps (rocking horses). From the interstate, I saw one windmill and eight rocking horses.  I got excited, of course!  I also saw some interesting billboards (one of my favorite things about road trips):

Mule Trading  Post - Good golly, I remember billboards for the Mule Trading Post when I was a kid.  They're kind of like the See Rock City signs and barns when you're traveling east, but not quite as bad.  Plenty of them, though!  The Mule must do pretty well - the billboards are in good shape.  It's just hard to believe it's been in business for 40+ years.

World's Largest Rocking Chair - Wow.  Giant furniture!

Got Bra Problems? - This took me by completely by surprise, mainly because the letters on the billboard were ginormous!  I mean, you're driving along, minding your own business and BAM!  GOT BRA PROBLEMS? right in your face!  For some reason, I found this immensely funny.  Maybe I was overly tired, but I laughed until I thought I'd be sick.

Got Chicks? - Also in ginormous letters.  You expect it to be some XXX-rated truck stop (there are plenty f those along the interstate), but no, the "chicks" are literally CHICKS.  It's a billboard for a hatchery

Lambert's Cafe, the Only Home of "Throwed Rolls" - Yes, that's "throwed," NOT "thrown."  I've eaten there - it's just a few miles south of Springfield, Missouri.  They throw the dinner rolls at you.  It's a hoot!

and my favorite,

Vacuum Cleaner Museum - Their tagline:  "It will suck you in!"  I thought I was going to run off the road laughing.

I just love road trips!  You see so much STUFF, if you just pay a little attention, even on the interstate.  Cross country driving is the way to go.  Everyone should take at least one good long road trip - it's the all-American way to travel.  Like the vacuum cleaner museum, "It Will Suck You In!"

Rain, Backyard Chickens, and Sustainability

Rain, rain, and more rain.

It's all my fault.

I went out to work in The Garden Saturday morning, and a rogue thought came to me - "Oh, I don't want to water the garden.  Maybe it will rain and I won't have to."

And it did later that day.  And every day since.

Ugh.

The front yard is flooded, and still it rains.

I got out this morning and ran.  At least it didn't start raining until after the house was nearly in view at the end of my run.  It rained last time I ran, too. I'm tired of trying to run around thunderstorms.

I'm just tired of rain.

But a low pressure system has been sitting over the midwest for a week.  The forecast is gloomy.  No end in sight for now.

So I lost myself on the Internet looking up information on Backyard Chickens.

Yes, Backyard Chickens.  And Urban Chickens.  And Pet Chickens.  And Chicken Coops.  A garden and backyard chickens would go together so well!

Then I found that we can't have chickens inside the city limits.  Curses, foiled!!!

Believe it or not, there is sort of a chicken...movement.  A groundswell.  People in Indianapolis are putting up chicken coops in their backyards, at schools and workplaces!  There's even a Tour de Coop bicycle ride/tour of several urban chicken coops in the fall.  Crazy!  But oddly compelling.

My great uncle Earnest (yes, spelled with an "a") lived in Orange County, California - NOT in the country, and he and my great aunt Edith had chickens and a garden, and fruit trees.  I clearly remember the chickens, and  "picking eggs" for Aunt Edith.

Maybe I just want to relive my childhood.

Or maybe I want to pretend I live on a farm..

Or maybe I'll give it a politcally correct label - an Experiment in Sustainability.

Yeah, that's it - Sustainability.

Maybe next I'll look up goats.

King of the 2-Cycle Engine

Eureka! - Archimedes

In the previous post, I ranted on about trying to start a garden - taking apart the compost heap, digging dirt, digging out bricks (done mainly by That Man and The Boy), then digging some more, and then trying to get the little Mantis tiller running (FAIL).

That Man worked and worked on that tiller.  He drained the old gas from the tank (yes, there was 22-year-old gasoline in there, I'm embarrassed to admit), yanked on the cord a few hundred times, took the carburetor off, shot Gum Out into every crevice, cleaned the fuel filter, took the carburetor apart, put it back on, adjusted the idle and high screws, and frankly, spent most of the day fighting with the infernal machine.  He could get it to start (with starter fluid), but it just would not continue to run.  Stubborn.

We decided to give it a rest, put the tiller in the garage, and think about it for a while.

I did some research on the Web, and some people said it's basically a "disposable tiller" and that the best thing to do is to junk it and buy something better.  Oooooooooh, that just rubs me the wrong way!  When it was working, it was wonderful!  The tilling width is only about 8 inches wide, it weighs less than 20 pounds, and it did a great job of tilling, weeding, and digging holes.  Brand new, the tiller cost only about $150.00, and a new one now costs about $300.00. So, where's the break even point?  A carburetor rebuild kit costs about $12.00.  A pack of six air filters costs about $10.00.  A new fuel filter costs about $5.00.  Plus about $5.00 shipping.  I think $32.00 is getting off pretty easy!

So I ordered the parts from Mantis, and they should arrive this week.

In the meantime, I did my Santa Claus impression and hoe-hoe-hoed to break up the worst of the clods, spread the compost around and get everything relatively level.  FUN.

I bought some tomato plants and put them in the ground.

I bought some garden seeds.

I dusted my plants with Dipel.

Just biding my time, waiting for parts to be delivered.

Until TODAY.

That Man got a wild hair and decided to work on the Mantis some more.  He yanked the cord.  He choked it.  He yanked some more.  Over and over.  He rubbed a spot raw on a finger pulling the cord.  It started and ALMOST ran a little.  He played with the set screws on the carburetor.  He came in and asked me which screw was which.  I read to him from the manual.  He went back outside and messed around some more.  He fiddled and fiddled with those screws quite a bit, and finally, he pulled the cord, the tiller started, and IT DID NOT STOP!

MY HERO!

He also works magic on my boat's outboard motor every year.  After it sits over the winter, it needs some encouragement to start, but once it starts, it goes.  Then I have to make sure to run it once a week so that it continues to cooperate.  It usually takes just one or two pulls to start.  Unless I neglect it a couple of weeks - but that's another story!

This year, however, he noticed gas leaking from the motor.  He popped off the cover and found gas dripping, but from where?  He poked and prodded and squinted and stared.  Finally, he narrowed it down and sent me off to buy some fuel line.  He replaced it (all one and a half inches of it!), I started the motor, and, voila!  No more leaks!

It took two and a half hours of concentrated troubleshooting to accomplish.  He's more stubborn than the machines!

Anyway, I've decided to crown him King of the 2-Cycle Engine.  Or Wizard. Or Wizard King!

Now, the only 2-cycle motor left is the chain saw.

Oh my!

P.S. - After writing this, the parts arrived later the same day - of course!