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September 22, 2007
Speaking of things where they don't belong...
Well, apparently we weren't speaking of that at all. I guess I didn't mention the leak under our sink with "water where it doesn't belong" last weekend. I hate that - I live in fear of water where it doesn't belong. It was Sunday and we got it under control but we decided to have a real plumber look at it since the pipes under there are a little unconventional - sitting on the floor of cabinet and hard to get at. Some short woman wanted her counters 3 inches lower than the norm, doncha know.
Anyway...since we got the real plumber over, we decided ti have him go ahead and replace the faucets and such in the apartment. It's enough to know I CAN replace those things myself...I just didn't have the tolerance to deal with it. The kitchen faucet had been there for a good 30 years now and I just didn't want to tackle it. I was right even the plumber said it put up a fight.
My car was acting loud and funky so dropped it off for what I thought would be an exhaust pipe...then Fran, you need your 90K tune up and then - not good, Fran...we found anti-freeze in your engine. Nooooooooooo that's another thing that shouldn't be where it doesn't belong - head gasket time! They don't give those boys away.
The good news is, I've been complaining about the little message from my car that says "Fill coolant fluid" for 3 years now - guess it's been leaking into my engine but not into the crankshaft...(don't I sound knowledgeable?) Anyway, no further serious damage to my car and I got 3 more years out of my head gasket. Whooppee....
We are still enjoying some summer like weather...high 70s and 80s, very pleasant, indeed. However my internal clock says it's autumn so I've been making things like stuffed peppers and corn chowder and today I think I will make a run to the cider mill for some donuts. Yum...
Make yourself a fine weekend, all.
Posted by frani at 08:58 AM | Comments (2)
September 21, 2007
Frames and toys....
I decided to repair/replace the plastic on the frames that cover the screens on the porch over the winter this week. This in itself is pretty cool since we probably won't even want the plastic covers on the screens for at least a month yet. Oooooh preparation beforehand, what a concept.
FIRST we see how much new plastic is needed for the seven frames. (atleast 23 feet of at least 40" wide clear plastic/vinyl.
THEN we had to find said plastic/vinyl...Home Depot, Ace hardware, Aubuchon Hardware ( a woman I met at home depot suggested the fabric store where they have rolls of clear plastic/vinyl) Yes it was a better deal at Wal-mart so I went there and ended up with a better grade of vinyl than what is used for most window coverings.
THEN we have to set up the work space in the basement - saw horses, plywood, lights...
THEN we have to find the staple gun and appropriate staples...thank goodness I cleaned the laundryroom and all 3 staple guns were in their proper places...with staples...well the light duty stapler didn't have staples.
THEN after repairing 2 of the 7 frames we realize to get a really good seating of the staple I need to use two hands to depress the lever of the staple gun. This is just not going to work - my hands were already sore and half the staples were lopsided.
My father always told me to use the right tool for the job. Today I bought a handy dandy electric staple gun and all my frames are done and ready to hang.
There is a problem though..I haven't got the stapling bug out of my system as yet...I NEED to do more stapling...got anything you want stapled? I'm your man..er I mean woman.
on some related but not really note: I think I mentioned the apartment was getting some new fixtures this week...bathroom faucets, kitchen faucet and sprayer and garbage disposal. Our tenant just dropped off a nice "Thank you" note...yes, I'm sure we made the right decision renting to her...and she'll probably get more "perks" as time goes on. ;-D
Posted by frani at 05:19 PM | Comments (3)
September 08, 2007
Further adventures ...
Summer is still here and/or back in Vermont. It may have been in the 90s yesterday, I didn't need to know for sure; I felt no pressure to check the thermometers but I did turn on the AC.
So, yes, we are still alive and kicking. There really isn't a whole lot exciting to report considering all the the time since my last entry.
In the quest for the best red curry dishes at our disposal, we decided to try to make our own red curry paste. That was good for some fun adventuring to Asian food markets in Vermont. Yeah yeah, Lemon grass is easy but just try hunting down galanga and shrimp paste. We have yet to match or even come close to creating the prawn and pineapple Red Curry from our favorite restaurant in Seattle but even MY home made attempts were better than the take out we tried last night.
Side tidbit we learned while hunting ingredients: Did you know that Cilantro and coriander come from the same plant? News to me...the leaves and stems are referred to as cilantro whereas the "fruit" of the plant are coriander seeds.
I trimmed the hedges out by the sidewalk so people could walk without being attacked by cedar branches. My arms became all rubbery by the time I needed to clean up after myself - it wouldn't do to leave all the cut branches all over the sidewalk for people to trip over. ..and by the way, I didn't get out a ladder or anything so you would be well advised to walk closer to the road than the hedges unless you are under 5'5" - any taller than that is where my trimmer didn't reach and you'll still get attacked. Hey, it's better than it was - for some people.
Stupid label printer..it died. I really really dislike printers in general but our coffee bags have had to go nearly naked because the label printer died. Of course the new one is on order - I hope I don't have to install it. Just how can that happen with no warning - one day it works, the next day it doesn't. Stupid label printers.
I went for a walk in the woods next to our house - sleuthing with the neighbors. Seems we had been hearing a lot of noise from chain saws and wood chippers down the street for the last month. I discovered the source and was told they were tired of the trees that were shading their pool rendering their water too cold to swim in. Hmmm...I looked at their pool in full westerly sun with no trees around it as they were having trees cut in the woods on the north side of their property. Ummm....aren't those trees on the city own property side of the fence? Did you know that one could be fined and required to replant if one were to clear cut on city owned property? The state even gets involved if you start mucking with their "wetlands". Fancy that. What makes people think they can just do as they please when it's not even their property? Geesh.
So our School Board in it's infinite wisdom has decided to build a wood chip burning facility with which to heat the high school and the middle school. Never mind that alternative fuels does not necessarily mean going back to labor intensive wood - how many times does one have to cart that wood around before it gets burned and then again after? Anyway..hey geee I bet my neighbor can sell the School some wood chips from the trees he cut - would be just like them to pay for their own wood chips. anyway.........just so we are clear, a few items concerning the wood chip facility have changed including the pay back time frame...like 15 years from 4 years by their own recalculations. The latest is they finally announced where they are going to build it and it's 60 to 75 foot smoke stack; on the north side of the middle school...yeah isn't that right next to the only residential neighborhood that it borders? Oh, isn't that OUR neighborhood? There is a meeting with the neighbors Wed night.
I'm still playing my internet game...Kingdom of Loathing. I found the Money Making Game in the Kingdom's casino. Hello, my name is Pinkie Flamingo and I have a gambling problem. We knew that anyway but at least we aren't talking real money.
So today is Saturday, huh? Have a fine weekend all........
Posted by frani at 08:45 AM | Comments (2)