Our household ‘snake’ got it, after Jane disassembled the plumbing. Not one clog, but three. The sink now runs and dishes are being washed. Dunno but what 8 days of really cold weather helped create the situation. But it is now dealt with. Got bottles of weird stuff sitting all over the kitchen counters, from undersink, but at least—we saved a plumbing bill.
I, meanwhile, am gimping about. Day before Christmas, I backed up, caught the edge of my robe with my heel, and went backwards onto my backside…really a pretty good fall, dislodging a chair, a table, and breaking a glass, but no damage done. Backside is fine, but I apparently turned my foot weird and pulled a muscle in the backside of upper leg, go figure.
Fortunately my prezzie from Jane this year was a new pair of muffies—remember I said they help sciatica—and I knew instantly the old ones had gotten pretty worn. So I had been getting some aches from the hip—but the new muffies, with a new, properly positioned inset, cured that. So I traded one ache for another. 😉
Cold here, today: bitter cold. The rest of the country’s got warm, but the icebox door is open up here in the PNW. 10 inches of snow on the ground.
Holidays are THE time of the year for plumbers. People put more grease, more potato, more STUFF down their sinks/disposer (known as a “garburator” here in Canada) than at any other time of the year. And when you add in the cold weather, the tendency of said stuff to congeal and clog goes up accordingly. Glad Jane was able to clear it.
And as for falling – I’m very glad to hear all is well after. Falls are scary at our age.
Many attagirls to Jane for her plumbing acumen! Is any of the stuff you pulled out of the undersink black hole tossable? I try to keep on top of my clutter, but there are a few mystery items down there, back where the spiders play.
I made my ‘sandworm’ last night, because today the oven will be occupado with roasts. It came out, well, let’s just say I hope it tastes better than it appears; Shai-Halud looks like it gorged on several spice processing facilities before baking.
Sending virtual Tiger Balm and Satohap patches for your bruises!
Weather in SE Arizona took a turn for the cold. Overnight temps were below freezing with windchill taking the apparent temp into the mid-20s. High today is supposed to reach 40 degrees F, and we got snow on the mountains. Our LA based family left for home this morning, not because they weren’t welcome, but because of competing parental unit arriving from Florida at their new home later in the coming week. One gets the impression that a thorough home cleaning is in their future. I think that is the saddest part of holidays.. the inevitable departure of cherished guests back to distant homes.
Thank heavens for canine kisses and feline stroke therapy.
Ouch, ouch, glad you’re OK, though. I marvel at anyone who’s handy. Eyesight prevents me from many such things, even if I know some of what to do.
That sandworm sounds good, even if it looks like it was caught in a sandstorm. The spice must flow! (Note: If your spice jar’s holes are too big, the spice may flow more than you wished! Haha.)
High today predicted at 80 like yesterday, low of 72. Two days from now, the forecast is a high of 59 and a low around 47, then inching upward through until New Year’s. It’s been blustery here and cloudy, but not really rainy or bad.
Even a short sleeved shirt felt too hot yesterday and last night. But it’ll get cold at some point before winter’s over here.
I’ve had a couple of days where my newly-fixed heater hasn’t needed to run, thus saving gas and electricity, which I appreciate.
The neighborhood’s been very quiet. Even the few kids out playing down the street went back in before lunch. Not sure if they’r eresidents or visitors, but they weren’t really causing a lot of ruckus.
Here in Los Angeles it’s chilly and quite windy. (Around 50 degrees F at 10am., and Van Nuys airport is currently reporting gusts to 26 knots – they’re not as windy as here.) Chance of precipitation: it is to laugh; the relative humidity is under 15%.
HAPPY BOXING DAY!
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and wishing all a festive New Year.
Sorry to hear about your fall. Good to hear about saving a plumbing bill.
We actually exchange christmas cards with our plumber. I think that tells you how often they come out for us. In our defense we are remodeling the house, but it certainly hasn’t all be planned work!
A belated Happy Solstice, Gladlig Yul, Merry Christmas or whatever holiday of choice you might celebrate this time of year. I’m enjoying a day of relaxation after not having since Thanksgiving weekend a month ago.
Weather in New England on Christmas Day yesterday was atrociously warm (I was out in shirtsleeves by the water in seacoast New Hampshire) but a good time was had by all in my family. The temp is in the 40’s today and snow is tentatively predicted for Tuesday. I’m looking forward to seasonable cold… And more relaxation!
Glad to hear the plumbing clog(s) are fixed… May I recommend some… relaxation to go along with the muffins?
I’ve been putting off getting under the “master suite” bathroom vanity to clean out that trap for a few years, but it can’t be delayed all that much longer. Besides the trap, I expect there to be hair hanging on the pop-up stopper’s lever.
Jane is a rare gem. Would a soak in a hot tub help your aches, CJ? Both of you bundle up and stay warm.
Here in the rectangular bit at the top of TX, we were in the 60’s for the week of Christmas, but now at a quarter of Sunday it’s 33F and heading for an overnight low of 22F. Winds are from the NNE at 32 mph, gusting to 45. We are supposed to get a “wintry mix” of precip tonight — I haven’t looked outside to see if it’s here yet. The low pressure swirly thing that’s driving “Winter Storm Goliath” is due east of us, straddling the AZ/NM border at the moment and heading straight for TX. Our “high” tomorrow is forecast to soar all the way up to 27F with snow predicted. In fact, we are under a “blizzard” warning with accumulations of 3-5 inches Sunday night will be a balmy 18F. Monday will be sunny and warm with a high of 32F, cooling down to a brisk 15F Monday night.
Highs/lows predicted for Tues of 36F/11F and Wed of 33F/6F, at which point it will officially be colder than a wedge. Whatever snow accumulation we get Sunday will probably be with us for the rest of the week.
Since we are officially “semi-arid” in these parts, the local wet-weather driving skills leave much to be desired, so whenever we get snow or freezing precipitation, it is automatically a Demolition Derby Day. In view of the current weather forecast, I think I’ll stay off the streets for the rest of the week. I’ve got a full pantry, shawls, an electric kettle, lap robes, a cat, knitting to do, TV to watch and here directly I’ll go dribble the kitchen faucet. (My town is at the same latitude as Casablanca, Morocco (33.5667° N), so needless to say, we do not insulate houses or pipes with the same foresight as those farther north.)
At the moment, I’m wearing fleece everything, a thermos pot of Earl Grey hot to hand, I’ve got a lap robe on, the recliner rared back and a fat black cat sleeping between my knees, which is just fine with both of us.
@WOL You’re right, climate/weather seriously misleads peoples judgemt of latitudes. Here, a bit north of 45°N, with the North Pacific Gyre pushing cold water into our offshore waters, I think most people would think us at a comparable latitude to, say, Copenhagen or Stockholm? Actually it’s about spot on Milan!
There’s more on how the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic currents affect European climate, and what happens when fresh water from Canadian Arctic and Greenland melting shutsdown “thermo-haline” circulation. Europe should be very concerned about global warming!
Hey, WOL, I think your compass got frozen. AZ/NM should be due west of you….
Here on the far side of that low, we have cold and wind and the usual lack of humidity. (I turned the heater at my place on as low as it will go. It was 66 inside and trying to go lower.)
I swear, a soak in ANY tub might have helped, but it was occupied by dishes pending restoration of the kitchen.
Y’all stay safe down there! There were epic blizzards back in the 40’s that my dad told me about, where you could drive right off the road and take a mile afore knowing you were in cow pasture instead of highway.
I’m glad that the fall happened after your eye was cleared for ‘activity’ and before the next one was done. Glad the plumbing was resolved.
Yep, I did think of that on the way to the floor. It was weird. I began to fall, and covered about 6 feet of floor on my way to a landing spot, backward. It was much more like a skating fall—in which you know you’re going to, but you’re looking for a good spot, and know you have to touch down before you hit the hockey barriers—in this case, it was a glass coffee table I wanted not to hit. But I covered so much lateral distance that it dissipated much of the impact. I’ve been off the ice for years, now, but ‘skater’s butt’ still has muscle enough to cushion a landing, so I didn’t even get a bruise from it. Just one leg rather painfully sore from outraged muscles, at no point an impact there. Next surgery is Wednesday after this, and Jane thinks we can get the hall planks laid and maybe my room. This is going to be interesting. But if she wants to try—and if we can get a snow-free, ice-free route to the table saw in the garage, we might make it.
Go-go-Gadget Jane! She really is attacking the household projects full bore.
Many good thoughts to the salads in the southern tier, which if it’s not getting snowed on, is under tornado alert (I have NO IDEA how that works). Stay safe, all!
The Great Maker was duly disassembled after admiration, pieces dispatched home with various visitors, and the last of the worm was turned into French toast this morning, complete with built-in spice. I think the crowning touch was the gummy bear Fremen one of my friends posed riding on top of the sandworm before it was hacked apart and devoured.
Lord! We hope there were photos!
My basement walls seep when we have excessive rain. My weather station indicates that we’ve had 1.6 inches of rainfall in the past 24 hours. The ground is saturated, and apparently, the cinder blocks in my house are old enough that they’re somewhat porous and allow water to collect in the hollow spaces. I was told to take a masonry drill and bore a small hole in one of the blocks about 6 inches above the floor. That should allow most of the water to drain out of the wall in that particular area and down into the sump where it can be pumped out of the house. If I could find the drill, and enough plastic tubing to route the water over to the sump, that would be great. I’ve misplaced my drill, though. I believe it’s out in the garage, but I haven’t found it, seeing as it’s probably buried under a bunch of other stuff. Had I known the walls weep, I might not have purchased this house, but it’s kind of too late. I guess I could sell it, I’ve got about 20% of it paid on the mortgage, but I really don’t want to go through another move.
Well, I’ve got a 12 gallon wet/dry vacuum with a drain that allows me to wheel the body over to the sump or one of the other drains in the basement and drain the vac that way without lifting it up. Not as bad as when I lived out on the farm and the sump pump would stop working until I jostled the discharge pipe. I guess the float switch would get stuck, and I’d end up with about 6 – 10 inches of water in the basement. I’m glad I’m out of there, though.
More rain in the forecast for the rest of the afternoon, tonight, tomorrow, and tomorrow night. It does not bode well for people who live by the river, which is at flood stage when it gets to 9.0 feet. It was just over that point this morning at 11:00AM, and with all of the tributaries draining into the river overflowing, the river is going to be over its banks by this afternoon or tonight.
THere is waterproofing paint, which might stop the weeping. We used it to coat the inside of an old 1950’s style indoor planter, of concrete—and turned it into a top-view fish tank and fountain, so I know it can stop water. It’s kind of cement-looking stuff.
I know there’s a formula called UGL, (is that what you mean?) but my concern would be that the pressure of the water, especially lower on the walls would cause the paint to “blister”. If I had the money and the inclination, I’d have a contractor come in and dig a trench around the foundation, coat the outside walls with impermeable sheathing, install drainage tile around the house, and then back fill it to route the water down to the easement at the back of the lot. However, the EPA would probably tell me that I can’t do that any longer. Supposedly, my roof spoutings are “grandfathered” so that water running off my roof and going down the downspouts can be channeled out to the street and then down the storm drains. I was told that new construction rules don’t allow that, although I don’t know if that’s true. The cinder blocks in the basement look like someone hit them with glass beads, they’re kind of crumbly on the surface. Well, I might try that stuff, though, and see if it works…..
It may be, though what we used was decades ago, so I don’ tknow what company… I would think it would bond with the concrete and set up its own surface. It’s gritty, at least whatw we used was—like painting with soupy concrete. And if the wall is already wet, I’m not sure how it would work. Read online is all I can suggest, see what their site says.
Edit: THIS may be the one we used. https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=drylok+masonry+water+proofer&ei=UTF-8&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001
I’ve seen that advertised, too. I think I did visit their site, but now, I’ve got so many other issues that it’s a back burner thing. Damned furnace is out…..
Quiet day yesterday, calm before the storm. Around 4:30 or so, it started to feel a bit chilly in the house and I checked the thermostat. It was 60 degrees and the furnace should have been running. I did some checking and found that the furnace was NOT running, and that the electronic control unit was indicating a problem with the blower. There were flames, there was heat, but there was nothing to push the warm air around through the ducts. At first, I thought maybe the filter was so clogged that it had created a problem, but after pulling the filter out, I could see light through it, but changed filters, anyway. Went through all of the troubleshooting steps in the owner’s manual, and still nothing.
I ran into a friend of mine this afternoon and he called one of his friends who works for an HVAC company, and he came over and took a look at it. Apparently, it’s the electronic control unit that’s bad, and it will need to be replaced. It’s a single motherboard and it’s impossible to tell which component is bad. The guy says if he can find a used unit at his house, he will verify that he can swap it out and use that, and it should cost a significantly lower amount.
While I have the money, I also have a root canal procedure coming up on Tuesday and I’d just as soon have the money for that, too.
Chilly last night…it got down to 26F outdoors, about 54F indoors. I stacked a quilt between the blanket and the comforter on the bed and cranked the mattress pad thermostats up to maximum. Needless to say, it was a warm night, except for those middle-of-the-night excursions to the bathroom.
Since the furnace guy is doing this as a moonlighting job (he works for a commercial HVAC company) and his mother-in-law is visiting for the weekend, he’s got priorities. So, it looks like tomorrow is the earliest he’ll be able to get the furnace working…..
furnace guy calls, says that he thinks it’s the blower control module and it’s an integrated part of the motor….since the motor also has a DC backup (not that I’ve seen), and it’s generally used in commercial applications, not residential, the cost just kicked up 1000%. Where a conventional blower would run about $80, this one is $800.
Okay, I don’t know that much about HVAC, the furnace is apparently 14 years old, it’s in pretty good shape, having been put up on a concrete pad in the basement and apparently never flooded. Still, he recommends rather than replacing just the blower, replace the whole furnace and get the 5-year “peace of mind” warranty that comes with it.
I checked on Consumer Reports to see what they recommend, and they state that if the furnace is over 11 years old or so, that it’s usually better to replace it. Argh! Well, a new residential 96% efficiency furnace is going to run me about $2,500 or so. I’ve asked my credit union for a recommendation on which type of loan I should apply for….. 🙁
@Joe, be aware that the high efficiency furnaces produce liquid condensate that needs a place to drain. That may or may not be an issue in specific circumstances. (It was for me. I went with the 85% efficient ones. Also had your experience with fan motors!)
Thanks, I kind of figured that, since my current furnace, the one that’s on the fritz, is a 96% AFUA efficiency rating. It has a drain for condensate that goes to the sump and then overboard. This furnace that he’s looking at putting in doesn’t have the fancy motor that the current unit has, and it will have a manufacturer’s 5-year warranty and he’s putting in a 1-year free labor warranty.
Old furnace has been slid out, new furnace has been slid into its place. Duct work has been pretty much done, he made an adapter to fit in between the humidifier and the furnace top, first time in fit very nicely (it’ll be sealed with silicone after he finishes up).
He needs to finish the PVC pipe work for combustion and exhaust pipes, as well as the condensate drain tubes, and reroute the electrical, and hook the whole thing up to the gas pipe, and then we start testing.
Since I’ve got dance class tomorrow, I’m going to ask my father to watch the house while I’m gone, and I should be back by the time the guy finishes up.
All day long, Jimmy Buffett’s song, “Boat Drinks” has been playing in my head…..”I gotta go where it’s WARM!” (Remind me again why I moved back to Ohio? I lived on Guam for 4 years…it NEVER got below 75 degrees there.)
If you like brown snakes and spiders, so I’ve read.
Joe, good news getting your furnace installed quickly! Only one more cold night before you get heat, right? As long as the electricity keeps working and you can use the heating pad, or make hot water bottles, it should be possible to keep warm at least in bed. Maybe your dad can tuck up warm that way too, tomorrow.
Maybe the next heatwave will remind you why a temperate climate can be preferable to the tropics… I find it easier to find ways to keep warm than to keep cool when it’s hot, and can’t sleep when it’s hot at night; and aircos make too much noise to sleep either.
I have heat! It’s a luxury, I tell you, but it’s nice to have…..
No, not a luxury! Even in this day and age in America people die in their homes because they don’t have heat.
I felt bad for my dad last night, when I got home, he was sitting on the living room couch all bundled up, the ceiling fan was spinning on high, and the space heater that I kept under the fan was off. Well, I don’t leave the space heater on, and I didn’t think to call him and tell him how to turn it on…although it was pretty obvious, just push the “Power” button. Then, I found that he’d apparently used the light switches next to the front door to try to turn on the room lights, but ended up turning off the outlet that the space heater was using…. So, it was cold in the house.
Finished up the major portion at 9:30 PM, he fired up the furnace, and after the initial puff of smoke from the oil film on the heat exchanger, things started working just fine. I went ahead and left the fan on continuous run all night just to get air circulating and to make sure that the air in the house got filtered.
This morning, it was nice to get up in a house that was relatively warm. I have the thermostat set to 60 F at night, and a maximum of 68 during the day when I’m home. If I’m gone, it’s set to 64. Summertime is usually around 82 F, and very seldom below 80 F, because I can open windows and let the breezes do most of the cooling. If it’s too hot or humid, then the air conditioner gets used.
I’ve also set up a contract with the local heating and air conditioning company to do a spring and fall check on my systems. The guy who did the work on my furnace isn’t associated with them, but that’s okay. I had sent in the contract to the local company before I contacted this guy, so he really shouldn’t be upset about it.