Plumbing and Poisoning

 

Saturday was a day full of plumbing and a full day of plumbing.  At both houses.  We started at House #2. Last month when it got cold only got the boiler up and running.  We never finished replacing the stolen copper that supplied the radiators in the living room.  It wasn't freezing in the living room, but it was noticeably cooler than the rest of the house.

 

 
Couple fittings, couple of pipes, a couple of valves, and a trip back to the hardware store, solder, solder, torch, torch.  Heat! Walt Kowalski makes it look so simple. 

House #1 wasn't as easy.  The main water line onto the house had a drip on the other side of the water meter.  It was a small drip that was easily controlled with a small bucket placed under the pipe. Last week Walt Kowalski hooked up a hose bib for me to get water.  The water pressure is great.  So great that turning the water on and off turned the drip into a geyser!

A call to the water authority shut the water off at the curb.  Now we had the opportunity to fix the pipe, but why stop there.   We had the opportunity to fix the entire pipe. 

The main water supply runs through a hole in the block foundation under the front porch, through the old unheated coal cellar, through the stone foundation of the house, and into the basement.  None of it was insulated. None of it was heated. 

Walt Kowalski fixed all of it.  He added a new main shut off valve, insulated the entire pipe, and added a self-regulating heat cable. 

The coal cellar looks dark and scary.  It is dark.  The previous owners partitioned the room to keep the coal on one side.  It wasn't support, just a divider.  Removing the divider made the room less scary. 

Walt Kowalski made it all look so easy.  

 

 
   The shadows were cool, but it confused my camera and I had a difficult time getting it to focus.

 
It was a long day.  We were both dressed in multiple layers and I didn't have a problem with the cold until the very end of the day.  Walt Kowalski just wanted to finish.  I just wanted to go home.  I was cold and tired and hungry.  I can deal with cold and tired or cold and hungry or tired and hungry, but cold and tired and hungry was too much.   

When we left House #2 at 1pm, Walt Kowalski asked if I was ok and if I needed a snack.  I was fine.  At 7pm, I joked 'could I have that snack now?' 

I know there are going to be some rough days.  I'll be better prepared next time. 

Here's a cute picture of Oreo.  She loves baskets.  She doesn't like rides in the baskets.  I even make car noises, but that doesn't help.  Pepper doesn't mind the rides. 

Sunday morning we did a few neglected chores around the Cat Ranch.  Walt Kowalski took all of the clothes to the laundry room and I washed the shower curtain and liner.  How can soap be so dirty?

Then we attended a benefit for the local K-9 unit.  It was a lot of fun.  They had a DJ, the football game was on a big screen TV,  there was a little gambling on the side, and lots of food catered by the restaurant.

It was a nice afternoon and evening.  Walt Kowalski got to catch up with an old friend and we even got to know our neighbors a little.  They also approved of our improvements around the Cat Ranch.

And then it went downhill fast. 

I'm blaming the meatballs.  They were good.  Larger than golf balls.  Baked in sauce.  Tasty. 
I should know better than to eat ground beef.  Forget should, I know better.   I didn't think. 

I made it home.  I didn't make it inside. I did make it out of the truck.  I have to find some positive in the situation. 

We pulled in the driveway and when the cold air hit me after I opened the truck door, I knew I was in trouble.  My coat is going to need a good washing. So is the bathroom.

Walt Kowalski blamed the chicken.  He wasn't feeling so great either.

Fudge was the only one that benefitted from the situation.  After everything, I just wanted to lay down and sleep.  I forgot to close the bedroom door.  He took advantage and sucked up the free heat by sleeping between us.  Something he hasn't been allowed to do since we got the new bedroom furniture last year. 

My guts are still yucky today.  The worst part is that I had planned to do a few things when we got home, before bed.  Lunches were not packed. Coffee wasn't ready.  There wasn't even coffee in the fridge upstairs.  The shower curtain was still in the washing machine (at least it was clean!) Gym bags weren't packed.  Calling off sick was very tempting. 

It's not my first case of food poisoning.  I hope it will be my last. 

Don't eat the meatballs.  We are not going back to that restaurant.