The Rest of the Story

So, after fretting most of the night about the water problem in the guest bathroom, 

My plastic bag wrap was not effective in controlling the leak.

I had an idea of for a solution but as you can see, it was -25 degrees this morning.

I wasn't sure my car would even start.

I waited until about 2pm before I tried the car, only -10 by then, and it fired right up.

So, off to Menards I went, with a photo of my problem and a vague idea of the fix.

I got some good help at Menards and quickly found what I needed.

A quick connect fitting with shutoff valve.

$7.50 each at Menards.

I also needed a PEX cutter, another $7.00.

I came home and watched a couple of videos on YouTube that explained how the fittings went on, and then I went for it.

Before, these fittings were installed when the house was manufactured.

Hot water done.

 The hot side was the first and that was the one that was actually leaking.  It leaked around the seal when I turned on the water, but then I pushed the PEX in again and could feel the grab in the fitting.  No more leaks.

The hardest part was getting my old body down into that space under the sink and getting in a position that I could effective use my arms to press the fittings onto the PEX.

Oh yea, and then getting up again, ha!

The cold side went together easier, but I forgot the little stabilizers required for PEX.  I pulled apart one side and slipped that in, but the other side was tight enough I could not pull it apart, so I left it.

In my mind, those stabilizers are more important on the hot line anyway.

I've had a light shining on some paper towels under the valves for an hour, 

no leaks, 

we are good to go.

These old valves are just a mess.

The incompatibility of my well water with this metal is amazing, a Chemistry experiment for sure.

So, now I have 6 more of these valves to replace, 2 under each remaining sink, then, maybe, we will have all the brass fittings out of this house...yea right, I thought that before.

I missed playing cards today, but I feel pretty proud of what I got done.

Now I'm back to fretting about frozen water lines in the master bath, but with 40 degrees predicted for the weekend, maybe that will soon be a fading memory too.

Old Fashioned in Dad's glass.

It's happy hour!

Water is a problem

I've been managing okay with the frozen water lines in the master bath, just keep running the shower every hour to keep it from freezing. 

Last night, I got up and started the dishwasher about midnight, just to move water around so I could sleep more than a couple of hours. While I was up, I used the guest bathroom. As I was at the sink, I noticed a little shine on the floor at the baseboard. I opened the cupboard, and everything under the sink was wet.  I grabbed towels and started sopping up water.  Then, I could hear, and feel, hot water spraying. So, totally unrelated to the cold, another one of those brass fittings decided to leak.  We replaced all the ones under the house, didn't think about the ones under the sinks!  It is a pinhole leak. I tried to tie a plastic bag around the fitting leak, packed a bunch of towels around it, and thought I would leave the water on until morning. So, I went to bed, but after laying there for about a half hour, I went to check, and there was a puddle on the floor. So, then I turned off the well.  I was nervous that the shower would freeze up, but this morning I turned on the well long enough to flush the guest toilet, and the shower ran okay. 

So, the well is off and I've been using Google to figure out what I need to do. 

I'm going to wait until 9 to try to start the car, if that starts, I'll go to Menards and see if I can get the parts to fix it.  🤞 - 29° right now. 

I'm betting my plumber has his hands full, so maybe I can get by without him this time. I'll let you know. 

A little bit of improvement

It is a bit warmer, & the sun is out.  

My brother has a frozen main water line to his house,

 so that's much worse than what I have. 

A neighboring town had a power pole break,  so many are without electricity.

Another town is having trouble with natural gas supply, residents are asked to set their thermostat at 60°. Brrr.  

All in all,  the kitties and I

 consider ourselves very lucky to be snuggled into our warm home.

Weather Kitty App

Yup, it is cold.

Less than forecast

The snow slipped a little South of us,  most of the schools 40 miles South and West of Rice Lake are closed.  We probably have 4 inches of new, light, fluffy stuff. 

But, it is cold and the cold water lines to the sinks in the master bathroom are frozen. Luckily the shower lines did not freeze...yet.

I don't suppose anything will thaw for quite sometime since the temperature is predicted to drop into the -20° or-30° range tomorrow.

The sun is out now and feels surprisingly warm.
I started the shoveling, but think I'll let the plow guy finish it.

  

These lines froze last year too and the problem was insulation pulled off the lines by a rodent. There has been a red squirrel hanging around,  I think he's responsible. I suppose I'll have to invite the plumber over again. 

I'm thankful to have a second bathroom. 

Basketball or ?

I was sitting next to brother Glenn during the 3rd and last game of 7th grade boys basketball today.  Great nephew Jackson was on the court; his brother Jake, Dad   Dana, and Mom Erin, 

all are looking at Glenn as if to say, 

"you are ALWAYS on your phone! "

Fun day with family,  basketball photos later,  

I'm still behind on the editing. 

Gage William

It's been fun watching great nephew Gage play ball this year.  He's taller than last year and the game is different with Jack & the other seniors out of the mix. If they can stay healthy, it could be a real good year of tournament action.  But in the meantime, I'm enjoying the regular season play.

Here's a sampling of some of the action so far.

 Gage is a good 3 point shooter, and it's a thrilling part of the game.

 Nice smile after a big win.

It's fun to watch and I enjoy the challenge of catching some of the action on film.

The season got away from me this year, and I'm quite far behind on the editing and posting of photos on Facebook.  So, I'm slowly catching up and vowing to never let my photos get the best of me again!

Go Cardinals!

18 minutes, no fouls, no score, all hustle

Last weekend I got to see Great Nephew Anders play basketball at Barron.  The games were 18 minutes long, no referees, no scoring, just playing ball.  It was really fun to watch and Anders did great.

It was nice to spend some time visiting with Anders' Mom Lora and his Dad, Kris.  And we were done by noon, even better.

Anders loves sports.  He's rarely without a ball in his hand.

He's a good hustler and I'm looking forward to watching more hoops with him on the court.

Charlotte

When Charlotte was born, Glenn called to tell me and somehow in the conversation he told me that Charlotte was going to be called Charli, with no e.  Somewhere in that chat, I got that it was Charlott with no e, which I thought was pretty odd.  So, I called her the Princess NoE from time to time when she was a baby.  Well, that little baby is taller than I am now!

Recently, I got to see her play a couple of games of basketball in Elmwood, WI.

Charli is tall and when she jumps, she's heads above the rest.

  

The girls are all still learning the game at this age, but it is sure fun to watch them.

They are fearless about going for the ball, but of course not many fouls are called at this level.

I'm hoping to see at least one more of Charli's games before her season is over.

Spring Valley

I made it to a non conference game that the Spring Valley girls played at Stanley-Boyd.  This is a much bigger school and just by looking at the number of players on the opposing bench, that was clear.

Our girls didn't have much of a chance but in the 2nd quarter, when they were down by about 40, they rallied and brought the score closer.  I'd say that takes a lot of heart.

#32 is my great niece Alyxis.

I'm a proud fan.

Spring Valley and Luck games are often on the same nights.

It's tricky to decide which game to attend.

Usually I go to the closest, but that means I don't see as many of Lexi's games.

Occasionally, I just stay home and watch both on live streaming.

It's really fun to be there and I'm always so impressed with how hard these high school kids work.

I'm lucky to have these kids in my life.

Life is Good.

Catching up is hard to do

Well, perhaps you have noticed, my blogging has really taken a digger.

For 11 years, I have been pretty reliable here, but lately, things have fallen to the wayside.

But...I am back!

Let's get started on Year 12 of blogging.

I'm very behind on basketball photo editing, and I have had a terrible time sitting down and devoting the time to reliving the games in slo-mo, frame by frame.  

But then, 

today, 

I got a text from my great niece Alyxis.

I needed a kick in the butt, this got me off square one.

Tonight I got one game done and uploaded.

Lexi jumps

#32 but #1 in our hearts!

These photos are from the Elmwood-Plum City game in Spring Valley on January 3, 2019.

It was an exciting game, close score the whole way, with a win to the Spring Valley Cardinals.

Tomorrow I'll get back to editing, now I am motivated,

thanks to a little encouragement from #32.

Wash

It seems like it's been a crazy two months here in Rice Lake. Washing machine problems, plumbing problems, the holidays, and whatever else has been in the way of blogging, editing photos and writing a Christmas letter.

I'm hoping to get back into my normal groove and today, the new washing machine was delivered and installed, so that's a good start.  

I've learned that I would never buy the pedestals for under a washer and dryer ever again. They are attached to the unit and one size does not fit another size. So, out the door with the broken washing machine, went a perfectly good pedestal drawer that will just go to where ever dead appliances go.  So now I have a high-low look until,the dryer croaks and has to be replaced. 

No big deal, I am only a little concerned that a cat might think they should get behind there now though. Time will tell. 

Well I hear the washing machine on its final spin for the very first time so it's time for me to go start the laundry

Milli

Each of the great nephews and great nieces, in their own way, delight me with their personalities, likes and dislikes.  I don't get to see some of the kids that often, and Milli is one of those.  She's very unique.  I remember visiting Kaija and Mike's house about 5 years ago.  4 of the kids were busy with toys and noise, and over in the corner of the living room, little Milli was quietly focused on constructing a jigsaw puzzle.  

She's the little girl that hugs back, and for a nice long hug, whenever I see her. 

I feel a special connection to her in some hard to describe way.

On Saturday, I went to watch her big sister, Charli, play basketball.  

Milli sat by me and while we had a little conversation, it was mostly just quiet.  

Off and on, Milli worked on some artwork.

Milli was prepared with her drawing supplies.

Milli started drawing a sweet scene with tree & tire swing.

It's hard to see, but an owl is in the knothole of the tree
and another little white bird is flying in just to the left of Milli's thumb.

I reminded Milli that Saturday was the very last day that she would ever be 10 years old, 

and I was glad we were spending it together.

Happy 11th birthday Milli!

Google Timeline

I like this feature in Google maps called Timeline.  

Here was my day today. 
3 basketball games, 
2 gyms, 
190 miles.