July 29, 2010
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Drippy Faucet And My Rain Barrel
My kitchen faucet has been driving me nuts for a couple weeks because it drips all the time and that drip hits our stainless steel sink. Do you have any idea how that sound just seems to echo through the house late at night? It’s one of those single arm faucets and, try as we might, there was no position we could put it in that would stop the dripping. I hate the very idea of wasting water and a drip is a waste.There are no gaskets you can replace. So you either replace it or live with it. We decided it needed to be replaced. So, off to Lowe’s goes the Beast (of course!) and he found a really elegant one with two handles (Hurrah!) and gaskets if a drip starts. He starts to put it together (it was in many pieces that had to be put together) and guess what? Pieces were missing. After some rudimentary cussing, he gathers it all up and heads back to Lowe’s. Wouldn’t you know it but they didn’t have another set like it? All the rest were either very cheap and cheaply made OR it was get another single lever faucet. So now we have a single lever faucet (again) but it’s truly nice. It means, however, that if IT starts dripping, it will have to be replaced AGAIN! **Sigh** I’m sure they offered to send for another faucet like the first one he had selected from one of their other stores but the Beast is impatient once he decides to do something. That is why we have a single lever once more.
It had to be put together also but had fewer pieces. It’s all ready to be installed tomorrow. I guess that will be his big accomplishment for the day. He always has to have at least one. He finished doing the trimming of the lawn and then set out to build the stand for my rain barrel. He used pressure treated wood, of course, and I had to give him a hand for a bit but it’s finished and in place now. He trimmed up the down spout and it IS placed where I wanted it. Now all we need is rain.
Today was hotter than we had been led to expect (of course!) but the humidity was lower than *I* expected it to be with the rain we had the day before. No rain, which would have been nice but the Beast is also hoping to get out early tomorrow morning to get his trees sprayed. He hasn’t been able to do that for two weeks because the weather was just too damn hot. Even the mornings were. And, with no clouding, he didn’t dare take a chance of burning the trees with the spray. It has a kind of oily base (that’s the way it feels to me….like a very light oil) and that would just fry those leaves and delicate new branches.
Chewlee was hungry when I picked her up and spent the whole way home discussing what she was going to eat when we got here. She was a little disturbed that Papa (the Beast) took the car as soon as we pulled in the garage. He was leaving to go to Lowe’s to take back the faucet with missing parts. She wanted to take the ride with him but I told her NO! There is no way he would take her anyway but better she is upset with me than him. I can say NO to her without hurting her feelings but not the Beast. When he does that, she cries like her heart is broken.
As soon as we got home, I fed her. When she was done, she grabbed Papa’s chair and asked for a popsicle. That is where she was when her mother got here to pick her up. Did I tell you the Princess is in the running for the assistant manager’s job at the AT&T office in Huntsville. She will be going for her interview with the manager up there on Sunday so I will have Chewlee for a few hours. She is really hoping she gets it even though it means commute time for her (and me). I will have to plan on getting Chewlee bathed and ready for bed every day I have her then. But, we shall see. The job isn’t hers yet.
Tomorrow is another busy day for me. I need to change my linens and I think I am going to put the pillows out on the line for some airing and sun to kill off any mites. Damn things. Every since I watched the Discovery program about them, it makes my skin crawl to think they are everywhere and there is no getting rid of them.
I will probably hang on the sheets on the line, too, even though they don’t predict much wind. With my luck, it will probably rain. Time to get this posted for you. Love you all and I really wish you a wonderful day. Keep cool if you are in hot weather. Protect your skin and your eyes. If you are in rainy weather, stay dry. I will say a prayer that there are no tornadoes that pop up to destroy property and lives. We are still in the recovery stages here from the one that hit us a couple months back. If you drive through the areas affected, you can see the homes still under repair or being replaced, the trees that were uprooted (and then cut up to be hauled away but are still waiting for that to be done) and, of course, the businesses that may or may not ever reopen. Sad, sad, sad. I count our blessings that we weren’t affected but it sure came very close to us. I’m hoping our luck continues during all this unsettled weather we are having all over the country. Say a little prayer, won’t you?
