Odd Jobs

I need to get back to chronicling my boring life and putting the big stuff I can’t control on the back burner. The past week has been doing catch up on nagging small jobs that have piled up.

Before Billy arrived in June I was doing a much needed cleaning. Underneath a record cabinet I spied piles of “pellets” meaning the worms were back to work. Hundreds of records are piled up on the floor as I have been working on remedying the situation. The bottom of the cabinet was removed and put out to the trash. Term-Out termite killer was pumped into all the holes I could find. A skinny hose with a needle end is attached to the nozzle. You insert the needle end into the “exit hole” the bugs defecate from and squirt in the killer mixture. This really makes a mess. There are channels in the wood left by the bugs. These fill up with the poison and can erupt out anyplace on the wood. This stuff destroys the finish. There are a lot of drips and runs that will have to be blended in.

I covered the infested wood with black plastic and kept it in the direct sun for a few day baking those little bastards! The bun feet and small pieces of wood were placed in plastic bags and stored in the freezer for a few weeks freezing out any bugs present.

I have had the cabinet raised off the floor on plain white paper. There has been no evidence of droppings since this treatment. This afternoon I cut fresh wood to fabricate the new bottom pieces. That was glued up this afternoon.

The faucet on the kitchen sink started to leak. I don’t even know what the brand is. My kitchen cabinets, sink and faucet were used as model displays in the Buffalo Chase Pitkin Home Improvement Store. Back in 1997 Homo Depot and Blowes were opening in the market. Chase Pitkin was an offshoot of the Wegman’s Supermarket chain. Rather than compete they just closed up. A friend worked for them and got me a steal of a deal on the display.

Once I was able to tear into it, I realized it was a Delta faucet so it was a pretty straightforward repair. It is so nice to not hear the drip of water into the sink.

I was finally able to locate the Hunter Fan Oil at Blowes. There were three tubes in stock. God knows how long they have had it. Two of the tubes were only ¾ full and the blister packs were drenched with leaked oil.

The heavy ceiling fan was torn into and cleaned up. The oil bath was replenished and it has been running 24/7 ever since. The left over oil topped off the other Hunter ceiling fan and the 45 year old box fan in my bedroom window. I was saying my mantra… “Never buy new, mend and make do!!”

There have been some good buys on E-bay lately for me. I was thrilled in being able to replace a broken Deldare Plate at a very reasonable price. The broken plate was the result of a horrible, amateurish packing job by an E-bay seller. I was sick when I opened that box and saw the beautiful pottery plate in pieces. The seller made good and replaced it with another plate of another scene. She did not want the broken plate returned. I could not throw it out, and was able to glue it back together. From a distance it looks acceptable.

Deldare pottery was the high end product line of Buffalo Pottery that was produced for only a few years. The color on the plates was painted on by hand. The painters had to adhere to strict color schemes. Kind of like a paint by number picture. The only opportunity for the artist to show individuality was painting in the clouds. Compare the two plates and there is a distinct difference in the cloud cover of the identical scenes. The artist who painted the good plate must have enjoyed painting clouds!

The rowing club is having a “Learn to Row” clinic this week. Monday night was orientation at the boat house. If some of the guys who showed up are competitive I think we might have enough to make a mens masters racing team. That would be so awesome!!!

Next week the “newbies” will be out on the water every day to learn the basics. I’ll be out helping. I always pick up so much from these clinics. I tried to open their eyes as how it is so advantageous to learn to row both sides of the sweep. Being able to do that usually gets me a spot for filling in on the days I’m not scheduled to row.

The weather is still wonderfully cool. I’ve finally given up and am letting Stumpy stay outside all night long. He has worn me down, that goober! I lock the back gate and screen door to the back yard. That door has the cat entrance. The French door is propped open so Stump can get into the house if needed.

His favourite spots are under the truck or on one of the wicker rocking chairs on the porch.

Sunday I was working around the house trimming the ratty trees and vines that separate my driveway from my neighbor Michelle. True to form I was wearing just my Utilikilt, do-rag, shoes and socks. There is a house down the street from me that has been getting a new roof for the past few weeks. It turned out to be a major undertaking. They have been working seven days a week to finish this job. As I was wheeling the clippings to the curb I could see the roofers who were taking a break staring at me! LOL!

Monday night as I was leaving for the boathouse I noticed the headliner in my truck was coming loose. At first I thought it was just coming unglued. After researching the topic on line and checking it out I realized it was the foam disintegrating. Great, I’m going to have to take out the headliner, clean it all off and reinstall it with new fabric.

I’ve never been able to keep a vehicle for as long as I’ve had this truck. I’m trying to get used to this kind of aggravation! LOL! I have some wild Art-Deco upholstery material I plan on using. That way I’ll just have to buy the spray adhesive. There is never a dull moment here.