What did you do today?

[Zanne]

Generator blew the breaker on the switch for the power. Trees in the way so I bought a chainsaw yesterday. Kobalt 80v 18". Friend tested it on a stump in his yard & it's good.
I removed an indoor style junction box that was outside on the lean-to over the pump shed. Tin roof got blown off so it rained ilon the box. I replaced it with a weatherproof box. Had to beat the old one off with a shovel bc I couldn't find a hammer. I hooked up the wires in the new box. Joked to myself that I was practicing segregation. I noticed some holes in the shed roof over some electrical outlets so I got t-Rex tape and just patched it.
I also finally got through to a live person from my power company to tell them the location of a downed pole on the road.
Mom is sick & I'm waiting for her to wake up so I can take her to the doctor.
Hope everyone is doing ok.
Photos are of downed pole on flooded road before someone cut the pole up and the water drained.

 

[Zanne]

Water receded, new pole has been installed & we finally got power back Wednesday evening. Woohoo!
While the power was out I scrubbed out the freezer-- figured out how to remove some shelves I couldn't get out when it was too hot. Discovered I missed a bag of blueberries in the top shelf on the door the first time I cleaned it (it was above my eyeline). I also scrubbed out the fridge again. Still need to spray out the ice maker compartment that detached. I did the cleaning while the power & water were out so some things had to wait.
I still need to transfer Mom's insulin out of the cooler & to the fridge. I need to see if any of the stuff in the cooler is any good or if it all has to be tossed. I was bummed about losing all that food but then I talked to some people who lost their homes to flooding. Their houses are still underwater & they lost everything.
Puts things in perspective. I still have a home. And one of the people was an employee at a local food place who was carrying on doing her job like nothing happened while she was homeless. It's heartbreaking.

 

[Zanne]

Aaaand, looks like another hurricane/storm may be coming our way. I'm not allowed to use the language here that I want to use to describe my feelings on the matter.
I saw some poor guy at the post office the other day trying to figure out where his mail has been going. His house was destroyed by the last hurricane so he bought a trailer that he's fixing up & found that the post office put a band around his mailbox & aren't delivering. He's in the process of putting in a new slab & moving a trailer to the plot so he can resume living there but post office won't deliver there until there is a trailer or some livable structure. They gave him a form to fill out but also wouldn't give him his mail over the counter. That has got to suck. People are still trying to recover & the governor said we need to prepare for yet another one.
I'm going to fill my freezer with ice this time & eat as much food as possible out of the fridge. We never fully restocked.

 

[Zanne]

This time the storm steered clear & we didn't even get rain. Lucked out on that one.
Called my power company to AGAIN request a repair on the security light. Last time I called they said they put in a repair order. Woman on the phone this time was pretty rude & said there was no order in the system. I told her I'd already reported it & requested repair 3x & that it has been down since August. She asked where the light was & I said "Hanging from a tree next to the pole" and then said where the pole was in the yard. I also said the wires on the meter pole are loose & that some of the lights in the house aren't working, microwave isn't heating evenly/consistently, & it seems to be drawing more power. I told her I'd already checked the breaker box & everything was OK in there.
I'm tempted to get a solar powered security light, get on a ladder, and put it up on the pole. Lady on the phone said someone *had* to be home when they came to repair but they never came by.
Took Mom for a doctor's appointment. Went in with her to remind her of stuff she'd forgotten. It was good to see the doctor. He's a nice guy, although he seemed a bit more tired than usual. Mom found out she gained back all the weight she'd lost while she was sick.
Went to Walmart after to wait on her RX & to get some groceries. Going to take a nap before I make dinner.
Last night the heat didn't come on & it was 51°. So I was buried under a pile of cats (7 cats) plus 1 dog. My winter slippers are missing so they are probably in the dog's nest where she keeps dragging stuff.
I got really bored but was too tired physically to do anything productive so I played around with my sketches. I updated & fixed a sketch I did of the proposed layout for the guest bathroom.
Original pic had the tub perspective all wrong & the outlet/switch were too yellow. Tub looks a little better in fixed pic.

Then I updated it to have the right lamp (or close to it- we got a 2 light vanity lamp), removed the side shelves for the space saver bc there probably won't be enough room, added a toilet paper holder & some shelves, & added the mirror that came with the vanity (that has a shelf).

Zoomed out view:

Now if I could channel that energy into actually cleaning. LOL.

 

[Zanne]

This thread has been too quiet.
Some updates:

Power company replaced my security light with a much brighter and nicer LED lamp. It illuminates a larger area so it's great.

Floor in the kitchen was absolutely ruined by the condensation dripping from the fridge and freezer. We were using 2 fridges and a freezer because we had issues with my brother eating food he wasn't supposed to eat. He now has his own small fridge in his room and has been respecting the food boundaries more so I unplugged one of the fridges and am trying to figure out where to move it to get it out of the way. I never fully cleaned that one so it is full of dead flies.
We got rid of a ton of old food-- some of which was nearly 20 years old- so in some ways it was a good thing because we're starting out fresh with new food and we are only buying what we are actually going to use.

I put a latch on the pantry door to keep the raccoons out.

I put a latch on the front room door to keep the doors from getting bumped open as the kittens are now running loose in there. Temjin (the female) has been spayed.

My best friend (who is only about 30yrs old) had a stroke caused by a blood clot in his head that made him go blind in his left eye (a few days before Thanksgiving). His fiance just left him for another guy a couple days ago. After she left he admitted to me that he had the blood clot because she busted his head with a blunt object in one of her bipolar rages. She left the baby with him even though he can't lift more than 15lbs and the baby is 17lbs. But he has someone there helping him. He got a new phone and did not give the new number to his grandfather. His grandfather still rolls by and lays on the horn. When I spoke to him, he's actually concerned but doesn't get that my friend can't go do things for him anymore. He did report that he's starting to be able to see light and color again in his left eye but he needs to see a neurologist and he can't see one without insurance or an insurance accepted by the neurologists and not a single neurologist in the state accepts the insurance he has. He had someone throw away a bunch of my friend's stuff (including some stuff that he'd borrowed from us) without giving my friend any warning or asking him to come get it. Stuff was dumped in the trash where it got rained on and ruined. He owes my friend a few thousand $ for stuff my friend did for him and bought him but he refuses to even help him out.

My friend is unable to return to work for 3 reasons: He can't drive in the dark and has difficulty driving even in the day, he can't lift or bend and has a tendency to black out if he stands up too quickly, and he was falsely accused of a crime at the casino so the tribal police put out a warrant for his arrest. Someone with a key went in through an unguarded back door at the casino arcade, unlocked the bins and stole ALL of the arcade prizes. Person wore a hat and a mask and hid his face from all of the cameras. Casino employees claimed it looked just like my brother and accused my friend of having put him up to the theft. At the time of the theft, my friend was with me at the time of the crime-- I was driving him home from the ER. He didn't find out about it until about a week later when his boss called him. He looked at the security footage and the perp looked nothing like my brother but looked just like one of the casino employees who is the son of a cop in that town. My friend had no income at all last month so we paid some of his bills for him to keep his power and water on but he has qualified for unemployment and is trying to get disability until he can get his blood clot situation resolved (he still has multiple clots).

I've been sick the past week, got tested for Covid, had a day of being able to breathe great because they cleaned my nostrils out thoroughly, but I had a fever and turns out I have a sinus infection. It's bad enough to make me light-headed and off-balance. So, I've been told to take it easy, rest, and get plenty of fluids. My medication will last 2 weeks so I hope it clears up by then. For now it's medicine, nasal cleansing, and drinking a bunch of water.

Between my friend's stroke and me getting sick, haven't gotten much done other than sketching and planning for the bathroom reno.

 

[Zanne]

Been watching more leatherworking videos. Did some cleaning. Fed the cats. Made dinner. Still wishing my thyroid meds would work but I'm exhausted all the time so I may need my dosage upped again.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Got paid for correcting this mess......


The guy who installed this said that someone on a plumbing forum said sharkbites can be installed in floors and walls..........it lasted 4 years.

 

[Matt30]

I put my two weeks notice into my employer yesterday. Kind of an odd feeling. I’ve worked for this guy for almost 10 years, still have a lot of respect for the guy and love the atmosphere and the crew. I needed a change though. I’m only 35 and my body is beat to **** from service work the “hard way” most times. So I took a job with a friend of mine with a company who plumbs new condo buildings. I’ve never done it before so I’m looking forward to a new experience and new challenges.
Part of me feels bad for leaving, but at the end of the day I gotta do what I gotta do to make sure I can work steady for the next 20 years

 

[Twowaxhack]

I put my two weeks notice into my employer yesterday. Kind of an odd feeling. I’ve worked for this guy for almost 10 years, still have a lot of respect for the guy and love the atmosphere and the crew. I needed a change though. I’m only 35 and my body is beat to **** from service work the “hard way” most times. So I took a job with a friend of mine with a company who plumbs new condo buildings. I’ve never done it before so I’m looking forward to a new experience and new challenges.
Part of me feels bad for leaving, but at the end of the day I gotta do what I gotta do to make sure I can work steady for the next 20 years

If you didn’t like service you’re gonna hate piping condos.....

 

[Twowaxhack]

I installed 4 lavatory faucets, 3 toilets, kitchen sink, disposal, kitchen sink faucet and two water heaters.
I had a helper.......

 

[Matt30]

If you didn’t like service you’re gonna hate piping condos.....

I like service work, just not a fan of pulling well pumps by hand, crawling in septic tanks without proper safety equipment and thawing pipes under mini homes on my stomach. It makes the body sore! I’ve plumbed hundreds of residential homes. Condos can’t be too bad!

 

[Zanne]

Looks like a mess, twowaxhack.

Matt, those sound like famous last words. LOL. Seriously though, I hope the new job works out for you.

Took Mom for her first dose of vaccine today. Picked up a friend while Mom watched his baby, and he helped me insulate the well shed as well as the kitchen hallway & cover the sliding glass door in the front room. I couldn't get the door to shut all the way but he got it (it was hanging up on the bottom & I couldn't lift it). Kitchen is noticeably warmer. Hope the reflectix and moving blanket will keep stuff from freezing in the well house.

I'd gotten the same setup for my friend to use in his house to seal up a cold room.

All the pets are accounted for. Still feel bad for my cows. They don't want to go into the barn but I hope they will if it gets cold enough. They will huddle up for warmth. I really need to get some sort of proper shelter set up for them, but they've survived colder weather.

Cats are all piled on me right now & I'm about to take a nap.

 

[Twowaxhack]

I’m building a heater for my worm bed.

Using a porcelain lightbulb socket and a reptile heat bulb. Going to bury a 4” single wall vent pipe 3’ long with the bulb in it. I have a thermostat wired into the circuit set at 65 degrees.

Im almost finished with it.

 

[Zanne]

My kidney stones are back. It snowed last night. Cows went into the barn and huddled up for warmth. I found a heater buried under trash on my brother's bedroom floor and used it to keep the kittens warm in the front room. Gave my brother an electric blanket I found still unopened in Mom's room. It was sized for his bed so I know it was for him. She has one for hers. Mine got ruined so I may get one of my heating pads back from my brother. Cats kept me warm last night.
Since we got about 2" of snow, a state of emergency was declared (not even joking). Stay home order in effect. All businesses closed.
Supposed to get even colder tonight. Hope power doesn't go out.
My friend's waterlines froze (I told him not to leave them exposed the way they were but he said "It never gets cold enough to freeze here"). He should know by now to listen to me. LOL.

 

[Twowaxhack]

I also just made a super large hose Bibb cover out of old styrofoam ice chests and the drawstring clasp off of some camping gear to hook it to the handle and pull it tight to the wall.

Then I put some fiberglass insulation in making a small pocket for the hose Bibb. Tossed in a couple hand warmers and secured it.
My hose bibbs come out of the brick and are not frost proof.

 

[Zanne]

That's a good idea, twowaxhack.
It stayed too cold for the snow to melt. First time I can remember ever since living here that the snow didn't melt within 24 hours.
My pipes froze, but then it was the coldest it's gotten in 100 years here. Lots of power outages and pipe freezing. I checked my well shed & found that it was warm enough to not freeze, but the pipes are leaking in there. At least there wasn't any ice. Not sure if pipes outside or under the house ruptured. I couldn't hear over the horrible sounds my air conditioning unit was making. Sounded like it was churning ice.
It's supposed to get back down in the 20s later this week, which is not good. My friend may have to cancel his dental appointment if the roads are still icy. I've driven on ice before, but a lot of drivers here haven't and they tend to be morons in good weather.
Unfortunately, I'm out of milk & we don't have running water for washing dishes. I do have some water in buckets for flushing the toilet at least. I may go collect some ice/snow in a bucket later and let it melt because we're running low.
I don't like it being this cold, but it's better than being too hot.
One of my cats followed me outside & she clearly hated the cold and ice but she wanted to be near me. She was following me around with her tail straight in the air and puffed up like a bottle brush. Her back was arched & she had her fur standing up & she was walking like that. It was pretty funny looking. I took pity on her & picked her up to carry her back inside.
One upside is that it looks like there is no heat leaking in my attic because the roof was evenly coated in snow.
I tried to get back on a normal sleep cycle but Mom woke me up after 1am the other night & I haven't been able to get to sleep at decent hour since. I'd been doing pretty good for a bit.

 

[Zanne]

Power went out after I posted that. Snow still hasn't fully melted. Went to friend's house to bbq since we couldn't cook here. Freezer was still cold enough today that the stuff in it was still frozen. Took some of it over to friend's house so Mom could eat it. Some fish & shrimp. Took my friend's ex to some stores to get more food & I got some warm socks from the clearance bin. Wearing a pair of them now and they are cozy.
We got Mom out of the house and over to friend's house. She's sleeping on his couch tonight. Power came back on tonight but it was already dark & still cold AF. So mom is over there with her medicines and the TV remote to watch her stuff on his unlimited internet.
I was planning to sleep here to keep my pets warm anyway. Discovered the dog had been sleeping in my spot while I was gone so it was warmer. Got a heating pad on now. My back needed that.
Mom's dog was shivering and fussing. I pulled him under the covers & he growled incessantly. I petted him and he started grunting instead and then gave one final fuss-mudgeon sound before he curled up in my lap.
Water isn't working right but it did fill the water heater somewhat and the toilet. I turned it off for fear the pump would burn out (bc i'm not going out to check it tonight- too dark & too cold). I turned it back on though and am hoping the toilet will fill at least. Might just leave it on and hope it doesn't have an issues before morning. I wonder if the pressure tank is frozen up or waterlogged. I'll have to check. I hope there aren't any leaks under the house. Might see about getting a friend to check it tomorrow.
Right now I'm under the covers and a bunch of cats. This morning the cats were piled on & my body was so stiff I couldn't move. I called out to my brother when I heard him and asked him to feed them so they would let me get up.
It's supposed to warm up these next few days.
Hope everyone else is staying warm and safe.

The cows say Hi

 

[Jeff Handy]

Hah, cute pic!
You can get some water from the heater drain valve to flush the toilet.
For number two only, of course.
You can also melt snow for that.

 

[frodo]

I made 6 wallets yesterday and my hands are sore this morning
I have a john Wayne fast draw replica holster and belt to start on.
I will get the layout done and most of the pieces cut
here is a pic. of the last one I did.


I sent a box of ostrich and elk leather over to Zanne, along with some tools, needle etc.
lets see if I can get her started in doing leather work. and maybe get her selling on esty

here is an ostrich wallet and a flower looking thing

a ladies wallet



Zanne. Do not be concerned with what your first project looks like,,
You are learning and if you are not f====up then you are not working.
My first project. looks like your cow stepped on it then took a dump

 

[Twowaxhack]

Nice brother . Why you mess around with plumbing ?