Did you ever have one of these days.......................?

[Bob Wright]

I reckon every man has at one time or another:

I got up before my wife yesterday morning. Had a cup,or two, of coffee and read my Bible. Then out into the yard got out the lawn mower and gassed it up. By then Nita was up as breakfast was ready.

Then out to the yard. Mowed front and back yards, edged and trimmed. Mowing had mulched up the leaves that had already fallen, so vacuumed them up and dumped them into the compost pile. Nita notified me lunch was ready.

After lunch back out into the yard to finish vacuuming. Then fork over the compost pile. The day was mild and bright, so barely worked up a sweat. Finishing up, came into the house and took out our garbage and recycling, as Tuesday is pick-up day.

Mid-afternoon I've finished all my chores, and feeling good! You know the type of feeling when you've worked and everything went well. (Though the lawn mower was balky at start-up. Had to clean a fouled plug.) Pleasantly tired, took a hot shower and let the hot water just flow over me. Dried my hair and shaved, splashed on my aftershave.

I kicked back in my recliner and just relished life in general. Nita prepared a Mexican rice and chicken dinner. After dinner, back into the recliner.

About six fifteen p.m. Nita announced: "The commode won't flush."

Well, the flush valve wouldn't let water in except as a trickle. So, off to Home Depot and buy a new one. Took maybe half hour to replace. Bathrooms aren't the most spacious places to work in to begin with, and that last fitting requires one to lie flat on the floor..............



Bob Wright

 

[coach]

Sounds like a good day, except for the toilet, although you got it fixed. Working from home today I finished up by 1:00 or so as the the shadow from my house started to creep across the deck I was finally able to stain and seal it. Not a hard job, but tough to get to with all the rain and wind we’ve had lately. It has been two weeks since I pressure washed and cleaned it. A beautiful fall day and it was nice forgetting about work for a while, getting outside and getting a chore done that required good weather.

 

[exavid]

Yes indeed, I've had a few of them. Last week putting up 300' of gutter guard around my house. Rebuilt knee working well now, lots of up and down moving the ladder about every six feet. Dog tired by evening but one of those days well spent and a job done. Today watching the leaves fall from our two big maples that are too close to the house made me feel good since I won't have to clean all those gutters twice a year from now on.

 

[graygun]

No,no wife,but I have worked on mowers and toilets.

I removed a 5' (vented) natural gas wall heater from this 1948 house. I need to get a fitting/line for the new unvented heater.

 

[314Chevy]

Like my uncle used to say "If its not one thing then its two". One the bright side it was only one!

 

[coach]

It’s funny but this topic brought back an old memory that happened 40 some years ago. I was working part time as line service at an airport while going to school. It was a beautiful day and I was feeling good and even remember thinking that before what happened. I was refueling a high wing Cessna and apparently my head wasn’t in the game because I walked into the trailing edge of the wing. It hit the bridge of my nose, my head bounced back then my forehead hit the wing again. I remember the owner of the plane felt so bad even though he had nothing to do with it. After looking in a mirror and seeing the cartilage of my nose as I opened up the wound, that and all the blood, a trip to the ER was in order. As I recall about 17 stitches fixed me up. The doc was good as there was not much scarring. That and my glasses cover the nose scar. I don’t think there’s much a moral here except I learned to pay attention when your around things that can hurt you. I’ll keep my sailboat boom story for another day. Apparently I’m a slow learner.

 

[blackhawknj]

Home Depot was open and you were able to find the parts you needed. It could have been on Christmas Night or January 1. Putting up signs that state that a commode is not working make people illiterate.
Pedaling home the other night, front light on my bike quits. New bulb-no go. Get home, try another bulb-no go.
Had another old block generator-installed it-no go. Ended up taking the block generator off a bike that's in drydock.

 

[exavid]

Hey coach, don't feel too bad about your accident. Most Cessna high wing owners have a "row of diamonds" mark on their foreheads. I didn't own my first Cessna, a C170, for more than a month before I got mine. It eventually went away even though I renewed it a couple times. Those wing trailing edges are definitely sharp. With the diehedral angle of the wing both short and tall people can manage to get that free tattoo.

 

[Mobuck]

I have those frequently only mine often start at first light with a revolting discovery of some sort.
Yesterday, I went down @ 8AM to hook up the generator to the combine engine heater, check/refill the oil/hydro fluid, and do a walk around to make sure stuff hadn't developed during the previous day's running.
TA-DAH!!! Right hand drive tire is 1/2 flat. These old Gleaners had clearance issues between valve stems and final drive housings so the "fix" involves adding air beyond the target PSI and removing the valve stem to replace with a simple plug. The plug is on the inside and unreachable except when the tire is rotated to a specific spot. Well of course it wasn't in THAT spot. Back to the house for jack pads and blocking. Back to the field to jack the monster up and spin the tire to the proper location. Tom showed up about the time I was ready to add the air and finished the task. I sure hope it isn't squishy again this morning.
On the other hand, we're over 25% through our soybean harvest with yields about 2X what my pessimistic guesstimates had predicted. Today is probably going to be an "off day" as rain is expected until mid-morning so we may not get anything cut. We have a barn full of wagons to drag to town and I have a short work run if time allows.
When I was younger, I ran 20 hours a day this time of year but I just can't do that anymore.

 

[Bob Wright]

So, with all of my foregoing post, all was well?

Well, not exactly. Went out to my shop Tuesday morning and browsed around doing a few things, when - DARKNESS!- all power went out.

Tried to reset my breaker, but it was not tripped. Checked the GFI and no power. Sooooooooooooooo...... call to the electrical folks, who rewired my shop in July.

They were out the next day, seems I had a defective GFI, and this soon replaced and I'm back in the saddle again, and at no charge. WHEW!

So, all's Wright with the world now.



For now.


Bob Wright

 

[graygun]

Well,this house had four NG heaters...none of them are working now. The new one I bought Monday is hooked-up and working(I bought a 18" line to do this). I also have a few electric space heaters.

The four: (all are/were very old)

One was removed for a defective valve by the guys who did the pressure test.
The two bedroom ones were working,although hard to get going,but now get no gas to the pilots.
The large one in the l.r. has been replaced with the new one.

EDIT: The two bedroom ones work. I had to push-down (longer) on the ctrl while in the Pilot position for gas to emit from the orifice.

 

[Rancher Will]

One that my wife never lets me forget.

In 1954, just out of the USAF, signed up for college on the GI Bill, rented a farm 8 miles south of the college to work and live to earn a living while in college. About the second week, my wife came into the house, mad as a wet hen.

It seems that as she sat on the seat in the two holler outhouse, she heard a
strange noise" down below. Jumping up she looked down below and saw a Skunk in the outhouse pit.

At first I couldn't believe it. So I went out to look. She was right.

I went out to the scrap pile, selected a 2 by 6 board about 10 or 12 feet long. I put the board down into the pit, though one seat, leaning it as gentle angle as possible, and left it there with the outhouse door left open.

We both went back into our house until I went out about 30 minutes later. By that time, when I checked, the Skunk was gone and I put the board back in the scrap pile.

My wife said that the next few times she went to the outhouse she checked below the seat before anything else.

 

[bogus bill]

Many years ago my folks and my mothers sister that was visiting decided to go up to canada on a fishing trip. They rented a cabin that had a outhouse. My folks went fishing for the day but my aunt didn't go. Folks came in from the days fishing and my aunt was locked in the outhouse. The latch had fell shut. I guess it was a long day for her.

 

[exavid]

Hey Rancher Will, I hope you wiped off the end of that plank before putting it back on the pile.

 

[Coop]

Well, DUH!!!

 

[Bob Wright]

My wife said that the next few times she went to the outhouse she checked below the seat before anything else.

With blackwidow spiders, hornets, and several kinds of wasps, always a good idea.

And, while on the subject, you ever think those outhouses with store bought seats and lids look sort of "uppity?"

And been puzzled by multi-holed outhouses? Like a social gathering?


Bob Wright

 

[Rick Courtright]

And been puzzled by multi-holed outhouses? Like a social gathering?

Hi,

And here I thought they were made that way so when one side filled up, you just went to the other... :lol:

Rick S

 

[coach]

The closest thing to an outhouse I’ve used in years is a portapotty. Generally at construction sites and they are usually pretty disgusting. I’d have to be is a world of hurt to actually sit in one. I don’t know how the lady construction workers do it.

 

[exavid]

At our 13 Public county ranges we have a Porta-Potty at each one. They aren't too bad for a whiz and I hear the ladies use the "hover" method. Beyond that not so nice. For a more serious need there's a clean, plumbed pair of restrooms back by the gate shack.

 

[Bob Wright]

As an old Infantry soldier, the day's issue of toilet paper was carried in the webbing of our steel helmets. And the entrenching tool was a necessity.

So, when a soldier grabbed his steel helmet and entrenching tool and ran around to the backside of the hill, well........................



Bob Wright

 

[coach]

This thread sure went in the crapper quick. :)

 

[exavid]

As an old Infantry soldier, the day's issue of toilet paper was carried in the webbing of our steel helmets. And the entrenching tool was a necessity.

So, when a soldier grabbed his steel helmet and entrenching tool and ran around to the backside of the hill, well........................



Bob Wright

Of course that brings up the inadequacy of TP in C rats. On the other hand eating Cs kinda eliminated a lot of need for that anyway.

 

[bogus bill]

When I worked for the NPS we worked in the woods all day. We carried small rolls of toilet paper. One of my buddies came in one evening and said he was sitting up out of sight on a road cut eating lunch. A car skidded to a stop, guy got out and ran in some brush below him. He done his business and then was looking around for leaves or whatever. My friend out of sight above him, threw a small roll of toilet paper down on him and stayed hidden.
Get in the groove. Use northern tissue.

 

[Armybrat]

My wife said that the next few times she went to the outhouse she checked below the seat before anything else.

With blackwidow spiders, hornets, and several kinds of wasps, always a good idea.

And, while on the subject, you ever think those outhouses with store bought seats and lids look sort of "uppity?"

And been puzzled by multi-holed outhouses? Like a social gathering?


Bob Wright

Visiting my grandparents’ small Missouri hometown in the ‘40s, they had no indoor bathroom. I was very happy when they finally had one built in the early ‘50s. Sure hated sitting on that wood plank with scary looking cobwebs around inside the hole. It was a two-holer, but no company was ever welcome when I was using it.

In July my wife had a very bad start of what was to be a fun first day of out long-planned one month European vacation. That first morning we were touring the great edifice of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
While walking around down in the vast crypt marveling at the tombs of many famous great British heroes, she missed seeing a short flight of three steps, and proceeded to launch herself forward to face plant hard on the stone floor. Broke her nose, fractured her wrist badly, and sustained heavy bruises & several contusions on both legs.

Of course we had to cancel the remainder of the vacation so as to return home ASAP to schedule orthopedic surgery on the wrist to put it back together. Not to mention that she couldn’t walk for two weeks. Three months later she is about halfway through the rehabilitation process to regain use of that arm.

Pretty much of a bummer for her after flying over to England for the first time and having great expectations for a trip to celebrate our 2017 50th wedding anniversary.
To alleviate her disappointment we are going to rebook the trip in the spring to finish what we started.