What did you do today?

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

If I needed frost proof hose bibbs, I would connect with ample Pex pipe, where I could unscrew the bibb, pull the entire Bibb with the Pex outside, replace, then push it all back in and screw it down. That sounds way easier.

Exactly. I set it up now for my friend so that it can simply be replaced by unscrewing… I lost enough frost proofs when I lived in Michigan by getting caught with a hose attached to them when it freezes. As soon as you do that it’s toast. I don’t know what was the problem on this particular one but I told him he needs to be careful to remove the hose certainly by the end of September. You never know when the first deep freeze is going to come here in northern Michigan. It could easily snow in October.

 

[havasu]

Can't you just replace the small rubber washer at the back of the frost free?

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

Can't you just replace the small rubber washer at the back of the frost free?

Perhaps? Requires disassembly if that was the issue. Could have been the integral vacuum breaker. Easier to just replace the whole thing.

 

[Zanne]

Reminds me that I need to get some working hose bibbs outside.

Got up early to prime the front door and casing. Hoping the fresh paint smell will repel wasps, but the door needed it. Looks super sloppy right now. I'll be using a roller for the final coat. The primer I got goes on pretty thin and I had trouble reaching the top. Had to sit down to prime the lower part. I thought I'd spilled paint down my legs bc I could feel it dripping, then looked and realized it was sweat. I was sweating from behind the knees and was drenched by the time I finished. I took a brief break after getting the casing done. Probably won't be painting anymore today as it is only getting hotter.

Painting it the same color as the back door-- Behr Deep River blue. Mom wants the casing blue too but I think that will be too much. I'll have to see what she says about it if I paint the door first and leave the casing white. If she still wants it blue I'll do it. Pretty sure I need a 2nd coat of primer though. Dark wood is still showing through the primer and I want to make sure it is 100% covered. It's an oooold door with lots of gouges, scrapes, a few chips, pinholes, etc. The wood putty that was used did not take stain and really stood out.

 

[Zanne]

Put a 2nd coat of primer on the door and trim. Went to the post office because I have a package that was supposed to be there but they apparently lost it. They told me to tell the seller it never arrived. Really getting tired of all the problems with my packages not making it to me.

Went to Walmart to grab more salads, some sandpaper, & some paintable wood filler. I'm going to try to smooth out some of the holes, gouges, etc on the door & trim.

 

[BlueSkyHigh]

Put a 2nd coat of primer on the door and trim. Went to the post office because I have a package that was supposed to be there but they apparently lost it. They told me to tell the seller it never arrived. Really getting tired of all the problems with my packages not making it to me.

Went to Walmart to grab more salads, some sandpaper, & some paintable wood filler. I'm going to try to smooth out some of the holes, gouges, etc on the door & trim.

I’d be up in arms speaking to the Postmaster demanding an explanation of what’s going on. Talk to your neighbors and seeing if they are experiencing similar problems, indicating a possible problem with the carrier, or if it’s only you indicating that you are being targeted possibly.

1) I received a new Dell computer that was being built and I am in the process of setting it up. This new one really screams!

2) I provided moral support for the better half as she tried her hand at making bread for the first time.

3) As I am a house husband for all intents and porpoises, cleans the kitchen, did the dishes, did two loads of laundry and cleaned the toilets.

4) Started on the first of “x” number of beers before the day is nigh.

Enjoy your weekend!

 

[Zanne]

Blueskyhigh, I think its just bad luck because I've had problems with different carriers. Amazon's facility in Humble TX (which ships over to Louisiana) seems to have problems with losing stuff or not sending stuff out. Fedex has a problem with delivering to me and I don't know what their deal is. Even when I had them set to deliver to my friend's house instead they messed it up. Might be retaliation for my complaints, but I don't know. But they misdelivered a few packages and then refused to acknowledge that they had misdelivered. I'm not on speaking terms with the neighbors. I very rarely ever see them as they are 1/4 mile down the road. The other nearest neighbor that shares a fenceline with me (he has 60 acres) has his house out of view of mine and I only see him when he's driving the school bus. Nice guy, but I don't have any of their numbers to contact them anymore.

Man, I do a load or two of laundry and I get exhausted. LOL. I don't have the capacity to do that much stuff in one day. Damn chronic fatigue.

Yesterday after priming the door with 2nd coat I decided to do some cleaning in the living room. Got dizzy from bending down so I stopped after I filled almost a full bag with empty food containers & water bottles. Lots and lots of salad containers and water bottles. Mom just throws her stuff on the floor when she's done and keeps saying she expects my brother to clean it up but she knows he won't. He argued with her the last time she asked him to and he said he thinks I should have to do it because he thinks I don't do enough around the house. She apparently chewed him out and he stomped off to his room after swearing at her.

At least he sprayed the wasps when he saw them near the door. I need to get more wasp spray. Already used up 2 cans on these buggers. I went out with a regular house broom and swept off the siding some. Tried to get in the crevices and it looks better. There's a part that juts out higher up above the door and I didn't sweep that because I wasn't confident in my balance while standing on a stool and reaching up that high. I also don't want to destroy all of the spider webs since they catch wasps.

Today I slept in. Got up around 8 something and ate the rest of a salad I didn't finish the other night, had a breakfast bowl, and then took a nap until afternoon. Body is sore and stiff today so I'm having a day of rest. I might go out to clean the siding a bit more once it cools down and wasps aren't around.

Got a new plastic drawer thingy to put on my night stand on top of the other drawer thingy. New one has a single drawer and can fit larger stuff. I was able to fit my vitamins and antacids in it. Was hoping I could fit my box of tissues, but it won't go. Bummer. That's OK though. Now I don't have bottles on my bed rolling around. LOL.

I hope everyone is having a good week thus far.

 

[Zanne]

Took a shower last night and was planning to get a full night's rest. Woke up to burning smell around 3:30am. Brother re-used parchment paper that had sauce on it and the sauce was burning (but not causing a fire). Smelled awful. Went back to sleep and woke up at 8:30am. Was too hot out already to work on anything outside.

Went to post office late afternoon-- they still haven't found my package they got on the 2nd and aren't even looking for it so I told the seller it is lost. Seller previously said if it didn't turn up by today they'd send another. Met my friend at Walmart & got him some groceries and gas. Was picking up RX and some other stuff. Practically melted in the heat. Truck's thermometer said it was 105° around 4:45pm as I was driving home. Was 103 in the shade. The short time I was outside I was sweating so much I could smell my own armpits while walking into Walmart. So much for that 72hr deodorant I used last night.

Stupid red wasps were still buzzing around near the door but weren't on it. If it wasn't so hot, I'd get a picture.

Got a new larger single drawer (plastic) to put on my nightstand. Cats love sleeping no it. Just watched Biscuits fall asleep and have his head drop off and then woke up and curled up. He's curling his back feet in his sleep.

Saw a friend who works at Walmart sitting on a bench inside looking sad. He recently lost his older brother to cancer. Brother wasn't 58 yet (was going to be 58 this year). Never smoked, used drugs, or drank. But he was around nuclear stuff in the air force in his 20s. He's lost his grandmother and both parents to cancer already. His little sister has had cancer a few times but survived. I imagine he's wondering if it will claim her next or if he'll get it too. Cancer sucks. I missed the funeral bc I was sick but he told me it was rough. It seems to have hit him harder than when he lost his parents.

Meanwhile, I had the fastest Amazon delivery ever. Ordered it yesterday and it already arrived at the post office this morning and I picked it up this afternoon.

Ooh, I see the processor I want has a coupon! LOL. I'm going to build a computer.

I forgot to ask, blueskyhigh, what are the specs of your new computer?

 

[BlueSkyHigh]

I forgot to ask, blueskyhigh, what are the specs of your new computer?

The computer I got, from your nemesis Dell as I recall, is an Alienware Aurora R15 with an Intel Core i9 13900KF processor, an Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics card, a 1TB NVMe M.2 PCIe SSD to which I added another 4TB NVMe M.2 SSD for data storage, 1350W PSU, Windows 11 Pro, and, naturally, in keeping with the theme of this forum, the processor is plumbed and liquid cooled. Pink Floyd would be happy because it is a "Dark Side of the Moon" themed computer. It's pretty fast and does quite a good job of heating up the room when it's working hard. I used to enjoy purchasing components and "rolling my own" as it were but decided to buy one that was ready to go right out of the box.

Good luck with your build and keep us posted!

 

[Zanne]

Ooh, that is a nice build! How many gb is the video card? 8? My computer's parts are not as fancy. I won't touch liquid cooling. My BIL has had the liquid cooling leak and ruin his computer 2x now and I don't trust it. Murphy's Law. If it can leak, it will happen if I get it. LOL. Going to use the old wall panels from my previous shower as protection for my new setup so cats can't get on it. It will be on a shelf that will be so tempting to kitties, but I will make it so the can't climb on it-- angled panels that the can't get a purchase on should help. I'm debating leaving my old case where it is so they can still sit on it, moving it somewhere else so they can sit on it, or tossing it out.

I was sick yesterday. Think it was something I ate. Couldn't keep medicine down. Threw up so hard I saw stars. Stomach was hurting all the way through to my back and I felt miserable. One of the cats heard me throwing up and started freaking out and hollering at me through the door. My oldest female cat knew I wasn't feeling well so she licked my forehead and cuddled me. I ended up curling up in a ball with cats piled on me and finally got to sleep and napped most of the day. Had to get up to cook. Cooked for Mom and also cooked something for myself that I split with my brother. Too tired to go to the store right now, but need to go get some stuff.

 

[BlueSkyHigh]

Ooh, that is a nice build! How many gb is the video card? 8?

24GB for the video card

 

[Zanne]

Wow. I didn't know they made 24gb video cards! That is very nice! I still haven't purchased the one I picked, but it's actually gone up in price so I'm waiting for it to go back down. Or I might go with a different one.

I'm feeling a little better. Stomach isn't so bad, but I've been dizzy and the heat is not agreeing with me. Got up to 105° in late afternoon and I do not take heat well. My friend told me he felt cold air blowing inside the wall when he was working on the electrical and there is a spot on the side of the house where I can feel cold air blowing out from under it. So there is some sort of AC leak somewhere. Just not sure where and it needs to cool off in the attic before we can have someone look.

I want to replace my kitchen sink setup. I want a small dedicated faucet just for hot water for the portable/freestanding dishwsaher. I found a faucet that would work (it is specifically for dishwasher hookup) but it is in chrome. Which means that in order to appease Mom, the main faucet would have to be switched out to chrome as well. Need single hole ones with single handles. I currently have a side sprayer and the handle is in a separate hole (which I don't like). I want to consolidate. I'm actually open to getting a pull-down so long as it is sturdy, only takes up one hole (can stay steady without a large deckplate) and doesn't have the spring looking thing going around the hose/arc.

I've narrowed it down to a couple of options, but am still trying to decide.

This is the dishwasher one. Wish I could find it in stainless steel.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X9GSJGP/
Anyone have suggestions? Trying to keep the costs low.

Edit, could a cold-water-only faucet be used with only hot water? So long as the aerator can be removed and there is a way to attach the washing machine hookup, I'm thinking one of those might work. Trying to find one under $100 though.

 

[BlueSkyHigh]

Wow. I didn't know they made 24gb video cards! That is very nice! I still haven't purchased the one I picked, but it's actually gone up in price so I'm waiting for it to go back down. Or I might go with a different one.

I'm feeling a little better. Stomach isn't so bad, but I've been dizzy and the heat is not agreeing with me. Got up to 105° in late afternoon and I do not take heat well. My friend told me he felt cold air blowing inside the wall when he was working on the electrical and there is a spot on the side of the house where I can feel cold air blowing out from under it. So there is some sort of AC leak somewhere. Just not sure where and it needs to cool off in the attic before we can have someone look.

I want to replace my kitchen sink setup. I want a small dedicated faucet just for hot water for the portable/freestanding dishwsaher. I found a faucet that would work (it is specifically for dishwasher hookup) but it is in chrome. Which means that in order to appease Mom, the main faucet would have to be switched out to chrome as well. Need single hole ones with single handles. I currently have a side sprayer
This is the dishwasher one. Wish I could find it in stainless steel.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B... work. Trying to find one under $100 though.

A cold water only faucet could be used with hot water if, and only if, the “C” could be replaced with an “H” and the direction of turn could be dealt with. Seriously, I don’t think the faucet cares one way or the other. Try as I might, I couldn’t find a stainless steel version of the faucet you linked to. Possibly the chrome finish could be lightly brushed/burnished to mimic stainless but, all thing considered, SS and chrome go pretty well together.

 

[Zanne]

My mother said she doesn't care if the faucets match color because she never has to look at it. LOL.

Do you think that dishwasher faucet I linked is OK? Debating whether or not to buy it and then later upgrade the main faucet. I've got the 4 holes widespread thing going and plan to put the dishwasher faucet on the far left hole. Need to check and measure to make sure it would have enough space for dishwasher hookup. At least i know it is designed specifically for the purpose of hooking up a portable dishwasher. Only one I could find like it. The faucet does not swivel at all, so I will have to ensure that the hookup for the dishwasher will have enough clearance to not hit any edges of the sink.

Any recommendations on the pulldown style gooseneck faucets for the center? Chrome would match the other one so that is fine. No "touch to activate" ones bc I have cats. I want something durable but with no deck plate that would interfere with holes. I know some have optional deck plates. Although, a small deckplate would be ok if it doesn't cover holes. Wanting it to be under $200. I was leaning toward a Delta one that was in the $150 range. Something that has smooth operation of the hose and doesn't get stuck trying to push it back up. Alternatively, I could go with another one that has a side sprayer. I still want single handle mounted on the actual faucet and not a separate handle in another hole. The one I have now is a Delta but it wobbles all around and still runs with the sidesprayer is on and it drips.

Speaking of drips, there seems to be a leak under the sink somewhere but my fat behind can't fit in there to see.

Editing to add, my concern with the cold rated ones is that they might not be designed to handle higher temperatures.

 

[BlueSkyHigh]

Editing to add, my concern with the cold rated ones is that they might not be designed to handle higher temperatures.

I had no idea that faucets could be rated only for cold water and not hot. Thanks for teaching this old dawg something new.

 

[Zanne]

Probably have PVC or low heat threshold internal parts is my guess. I saw some where they said their parts could not withstand high water temps but could handle cold.

I'm still debating if I should get that faucet or not. Really need to look at my sink and do some measurements but the heat has me again. I went to the post office and it was 103 out and I nearly melted. Took a shower last night but sweated so much my hair looks like I haven't showered in days. Got my mail, stopped by TSC for cow feed. Cows have been hollering at me because the can only graze in the shade and I think the grass is drying up. I wish I could set up some sort of air conditioned space for them- or at least somewhere cooler with fans blowing and a wading pool or something. I've seen cows out in fields sitting or standing in ponds to cool off. Pretty sure my cows would love something like that about now. I wish I could restore my old pond, but the deadbeat tenants ruined it. Not sure what they did to it, but it was no longer holding water when we came back. Think they tried to dig or something and broke the clay layer.

When I was cutting open the feed sack, the cow was impatient and hooked her horn up under my armpit. I don't think she did it on purpose, she's not aware of her horns most of the time.

Before coming home I popped in to check on my friend. He's on 7 different meds for kidney issues and not feeling well at all. The heat has him feeling horrible. He can't be in heat or sun with the meds he's on and its been way too hot.

Just the few minutes I was out have me exhausted. And the AC isn't reaching all of the rooms well so my room got too hot even at night. I took a shower last night and have sweated so much my hair looks like I haven't showered in days. Woke up drenched in sweat. I can feel the heat coming from my west side window of my room. It is only partially covered. Might need to get another moving blanket and staple it up to cover the lower part or get some kind of sun shield to put up there. The tenants had taped aluminium foil over the windows at some point. Really need new windows but that is not in the budget. Replacing these huge windows would suck. I think they are 6' x 5'.

 

[Ludington]

Need to sleep where it's the coolest. Bunk there until this heat passes, and set up a fan, even a little one would help.

 

[Zanne]

There's no comfortable way to sleep in the coolest room, but I do have a couple of fans blowing on me in here. Need to get my ceiling fan working again.

Took out trash and didn't really do much today. Still exhausted and overheated.

 

[BlueSkyHigh]

There's no comfortable way to sleep in the coolest room, but I do have a couple of fans blowing on me in here. Need to get my ceiling fan working again.

Took out trash and didn't really do much today. Still exhausted and overheated.

Sleep on a bed of cats. Free massages, kneading (no claws please) and a steady stream of background noise.

 

[Zanne]

They would just be instantly squished. They do climb on me and give massages on my back but they use claws.

Was doing some cleaning earlier and discovered that my brother had been dropping food/sauce whatever into one of the drawers that doesn't shut properly (tenants messed it up) and it was FULL of roaches. From tiny to monster size. Its a breeding ground. He'd also been stuffing food items in it instead of putting the stuff in the pantry. Found some mouse-chewed stuff. I was about to go to bed so I didn't mess with it too much-- other than to empty almost an entire jar of diatomaceous earth into it. I'll have to come back later and clean it out. Also need to fix the track.

I scrubbed the counters, then went around dousing everything with diatomaceous earth. One drawer over near the sink was stuck so I had to take the drawer above out to remove the thing that was preventing it from opening. Unfortunately, when I tried to put it back in, the old monorail track broke. The track on the drawer above broke too. I'm going to have to figure out how to replace the track systems and fix the drawers. Used some old thing with a metal piece off the back with a wheel that went off to the side into a weird metal track. I want to change out to a different type. Maybe those wood rails with the plastic or metal glider thing at back that fits on. Will have to measure all of the drawers to make sure I get the right length. Need some heavy duty ones though bc the drawers themselves weigh more than 20lbs.