Just like last Tuesday, the water is back on. Last week the old pump and tank died. We replaced them. Just like last Sunday, the water system died again. Monday I had to teach so we only got a few hours of troubleshooting. Nothing made sense: the capacitor in the control box died, the motor would run intermittently, it was drawing WAY too much ( Read more... )

The water is back on now. This morning Dan and I installed the new pump. It was somewhat of a long process. I unboxed everything. Dan prepared all the electrical connections (he's an electrician which is very handy) and I worked on the plumbing parts of the job. I assembled the various pipe nipples, elbows and other parts that make up the top ( Read more... )

We got the pump out of the well. Then I went around to various places to find a new pump and pressure tank. Here's how I rolled ( Read more... )

...and now I'm on the phone on hold with Sears. Sears is run by morons now. They used to be a good outfit where you could get what you needed and everything worked together. Nowadays they're a loose collective of people who just can't work together. I've gone back and forth between parts and sales twice now ( Read more... )

The water is out again. For the last couple weeks the pump has been pulling silt from the well and the pressure has been surging. I knew there was something going on but not being a trained plumber or well technician I didn't know how to troubleshoot the problem. I checked the pressure gauge last week and it was bouncing around and the pump was ( Read more... )

Today I heard part of the Spring Training game between the Rockies and the Mariners. I heard Dave Niehaus' voice. There are two things that make me excited about spring: cherry blossoms and baseball. I now have both.

Yay.

One of my favorite jokes is about a heart surgeon who takes his sports car to a mechanic to have the engine rebuilt. Upon his return to reclaim his car the two started talking about their respective jobs. The mechanic asks the cardiac surgeon why he makes $300,000 a year for doing the same job that the mechanic does for $50,000. After all, the ( Read more... )

Today I helped my cousin clean up Grandma's yard. We trimmed trees and weeded flowerbeds. The highlight was me chopping a co-dominant stem off a vine maple tree in one of the flowerbeds. I got the old ax out of the garage, sharpened it and chopped the stem off. Chopping the tree was an amazing amount of fun. I love cutting down trees. When I ( Read more... )

Rachel Finley and I spent today at my Aunt & Uncle's house hauling away scrap metal. I had expected to make a good amount of money today. Uncle George has been hanging onto things his whole life. Rachel and I unearthed the rusting hulk of his scooter. The one he got when he was eight years old. The handle was rusted off. The wheels were ( Read more... )

http://www.flickr.com/photos/heber-f/sets/72157623198803887/

There's even a picture of me!