July 22, 2022

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 22, 2021, a stop at the Limestone.
Five years ago today: July 22, 2017, sunny, they said.
Nine years ago today: July 22, 2013, leave my computer alone.
Random years ago today: July 22, 2009, strolling Key West.
           Out at first light and it was a full eight hours fixing the water pipes. Why eight hours? Because the water had to be turn off at the meter. That means no breakfast, no coffee, no laundry, no shower, no birdbath, and no flushing for the whole day. It was the usual comedy, the first pipe broke, the second one bent, the third one was seized so bad that neither oil or heat could loosen it. This means I had to cut a galvanized steel pipe. Nobody has ever invented a coupling to connect steep pipe to anything else. And since the pipe must be loose to be threaded, repairs are virtually impossible.

           Here’s the array of tools and pieces as the work progressed. I found out the water supply coming out of the ground does not have to be CPVC, but this just presented the problem of transitioning from one to the other. This regularly requires fitting that the local supply houses are always out of. I made three trips by scooter, purchasing $27 worth of fittings and adapters.

           You see, that lack of a piece to connect steel to plastic means I had to improvise. I rigged up a piece of 1” hose and clamped it as tight as I dared. This gave me a water supply before it got dark or rainy and I have actually full service except cold water in the kitchen. The insides of the steel pipe is as corroded as the bathroom was. Now I’ll be glad instead of elbows, I made every corner from a capped off tee fitting. It means I can replace (bypass actually) the metal piping with around sixty feet of CPVC. The reason it isn’t done is because that involves raising the kitchen floor. That project has been all talk and no action for six years running.
           This work puts me in the front yard, where everybody stops to talk. Subtract an hour of work on that count. At least I must have an interest yard and to think I actually looked at artificial turf. That’s a no, it is only suitable for places that are wide open and not prone to deadfall. Where was I? Oh yes, the kitchen. This repair is temporary and we know how often that becomes permanent, so time to at least make the kitchen ready. The entire floor does not have to come up at once and I’ve walked on planks around here before. This house was a goner if I had not showed and news confirms Blackstone has paused buying. It means they expect a major price drop, which still means in the hundreds of thousands but I’ll be watching.

Picture of the day.
Metal window mesh.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Breakfast was at 5:30PM. I had an odd favorite, spaghetti without sauce. Just butter, salt, and pepper. Try it, makes a great quick snack. I’m on my third coffee and all the water joints are holding. But I still don’t trust my repair. If it worked, somebody would have made the pieces into a kit. Horatio is going after the French again, this round is with Napoleon. Or his brother, I wasn’t paying strict attention. His bride hasn’t announced the baby yet and I missed my siesta.

           I cannot find my PVC cutters, meaning they have fallen behind something or are lying rusting in the yard somewhere. Maybe I won’t buy a new pair, as this day’s entire repair required only three cuts. Five, including y’day. Cancel my bass practice, since lying on the ground working wrenches, saws, and tools all day involved just the muscle groups I’m trying to relax. Lying flat and getting up twenty times, you can guess it did not tickle. At least twenty times as any tool I need means a stroll to the far back yard and back.

           From history I know my back pains are last to go. But try living without water and you’ll push the envelope. Speaking of that, here’s the only picture I have for you. Four letters out this week. Ah, two internationals. It was smart deciding to keep up with letters no matter what came up on the Internet. I’ve know one of the recipients now for nearly forty years and another forty-six years. You don’t get that much staying power any more.
           Later, the repair did not hold. It spritzed after a couple of hours. Mind you, that was plenty of time for me to lift the bedroom and bathroom access panels and see that a single length of pipe may do the job, and that pipe is leaning up against the silo at a third the price of a new one. Said panels don’t quite expose the ends of the pipes, so I’ll stillt need to raise some floorboards all along the path. This isn’t the ideal time for such exercise. Well, this is major work I’ve been putting off and now is the time to get off my tush.

ADDENDUM
           It being too dark to procede, I hopped into town for a brew. And who should I see up on stage but our pal from Winter Haven. We jammed on Easter Sunday, I believe I nicknamed the guy Kram. Anyway, he canceled out for the usual reason—guitar players do not like having to learn new material. I was suspicious anyway in that for the audition, he was quite unfamiliar with his acoustic. Sure enough, there he was in his dream band, shredding guitar and singing. He never at all wanted to form the duo described in my blurb.
           He had a keyboard player. The problem with those is sooner or later every song sounds like the lounge version, though the man was truly talented. Also, when you have keyboards filling in, every bass line becomes the walking version. I got Kram’s new contact info since he usually knows which bands (sad to say) have somebody who’s become incapacitated by age or died. It’a factor in my demographics, so no glossing it over.

Last Laugh