Gaillardia and that OTHER JOB

Here's the blanketflower you've seen for the past several years. It's still going strong. This one is Gaillardia aristata, 'Arizona Sun.' It's so happy in the rock garden, in fact, that I decided last year that I wanted another one, but a different variety.

The blanketflowers start blooming in June and they just keep going the whole rest of the summer.

The one I selected to add was 'SpinTop Red,' for having nearly solid red flowers. It was in an online shopping cart. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to cruise the garden center at Meijer, not expecting they would have anything I haven't seen there already. And, wow, this exact plant was there at half the online price. I've been waiting to share it with you until it had several flowers open at the right angle to show up well.

The OTHER JOB:

Are we the only people that seem to need a toilet repair incredibly often?

This time, I needed to pull the entire downstairs toilet and replace the wax ring.

At least the PVC flange wasn't damaged. Had to cut one of the bolts to remove it, but at least I have the tool for that. Got it all cleaned up and the new bolts await the ring and the toilet. (First trip to the store)

But, I'm sorry to tell you, I'm no longer strong enough to lift the whole toilet and set it onto the bolts. Cathy came to the rescue, and the two of us easily did it. Got it back together today, and then the stupid bolts that hold the tank to the base were seeping (Second trip to the store).

Replaced the gaskets. I'm not sure it's fixed yet. The porcelain is weeping with condensation, and it's difficult to be certain if the extra moisture is that or if one gasket didn't seat well. However, if I have to take that apart again, it's not such a big deal or such a big mess.

I did all the usuals, too. The temperature was down a few degrees today, but I didn't have much time outside due to laundry, and some housecleaning. There will be real people here this weekend. I need the place to be a tiny bit better than my hermitage mess.

See No category

No Category

 There is no category for this post. I have two pictures left over from yesterday that are fun, and a not-so-fun job I did today.

These are horse nettle berries I saw yesterday left over from last fall. Link below to a post about the plant in flower. Lots of these grow in Leitch Bayou. These are toxic to eat. Related to tomato and nightshade... and as you (should) know, some of the plants in that family are edibile and others are not. They are about 3/8 inch in diameter.

I just thought this was fun. Beetle bark galleries on a dead tree. Since there is not a particular pattern, I can't tell you what kind of beetle. Some types of beetles leave a distinctive pattern. I always think they look like some kind of foreign writing.

Now for the project of the day. I shouldn't complain too much. Haven't had to fix a toilet for two years. But that doesn't really change how much I hate plumbing. The good news is that it turned out to be less serious than I thought.

I thought it was leaking at the base and that I would need to pull out the whole toilet and replace the wax ring. However... I leaned on it and heard a clunk. One of the bolts that hold the tank to the base broke and fell on the floor! Of course, then all the water rushed out of the tank.

Well! I decided to replace those bolts and the seal first and see if that had been the problem all along. All three bolts were broken, but only one had fallen out so far!

And! It looks like that was indeed the extent of the problem. I'm watching for seepage, but so far, so good. It only took 3 trips to the store. Well, there will be one more to return the things I didn't use.

That means I can go for a hike tomorrow. It looks like the weather is going to be perfect. I'm going to shoot for 10 miles. Need to do that at least once before next week.

I also did some editing and miscellaneous other stuff. Slept late because I was awake part of the night.

See Horse Nettle See Ain't It Fun?

Close Enough!

 I'm starting with the trailer loaded to go to the township cleanup day last Saturday. That's because the long-term solution to my house cleaning problem is that a lot of stuff has to GO. Well, we made another little dent in it.

One big issue on my list was the sink I was unable to unclog very well last summer. The reason there are so many links at the end of this post is that although this iteration of "the big sort" is nothing like really cleaned up, it's light-years better than the previous working status events shared at various times over the last year.

Got the fitting apart without much trouble. I guess I was just too frustrated after the big toilet fix in July to apply myself to the problem. The assembly that holds the stopper under the sink is just a little too long to fit nicely between the pipe and the wall, and it's a pain in the you-know-what. But I got it apart. Here's the culprit.

A video would have shown this better, but I think you can get the idea that the water is gushing, and not collecting in a pool. Just because it's mandatory, I have to tell you again that I hate plumbing.

One big piece of cleaning up the house was to open the trailer for the summer. I can't leave cushions or fabrics in it over the winter because I've had problems with mold. So the cushions and all kinds of stuff have also been piled in the dining room. Long term, I have no good storage options unless I do serious cleaning in our one good outbuilding. Not happening soon.

So, I uncovered and started airing Sunny out a couple of days ago.

I'd been getting the cushion covers washed over the winter, so I did the final two. Put everything back together and did a moderate cleaning. No immediate plans for us to go traveling, but I want Steve to be able to see my Sunny.

Now for the inside spaces. Here's the living room. Still stuff piled behind where I am, but this is an amazing amount of usable space given what it was. I still have to run the vacuum cleaner, but I'll get that done.

And I saved the stunning transformation for last. OK, there are still piles you can't see in the picture off to the left, and not everything got dusted, but I am rather amazed that I was able to sort and condense what was there enough to basically clear the necessary space to use the table.

I still also have to clean the upstairs bathroom, but that's not a huge project. It just needs a quick cleanup.

Steve will be here about 2 pm tomorrow. I have a car full of stuff to recycle in the morning, and a trip to the store to do.

Let's not talk about all I did not get done. I know this still isn't anything like CLEAN. But little by little it's getting done. Maybe I'll live long enough to sort it all. The next crisis will be to get the lawnmower going.

No writing happened except to edit a couple of files in response to some emails that gave me up-to-date info on some places.

I'm whipped, but I do hope to run the vacuum yet, and maybe start on the bathroom.

See My Little Sausage See Acountability 101 See Dining Room and Trailer Tetris See Ain't It Fun?

Ain't It Fun?

No. the answer is NO.

Today was one of those organizational puzzles. I needed ice cream and bread before I could have lunch. But I needed to go to Lowe's on the same trip as the grocery store. But I needed to take the downstairs toilet apart before I went to Lowe's to make sure I got the right size innards. And I needed to do a load of laundry, but not until the toilet is done because there are sure to be wet icky rags and towels. Did I want to do any of that?

No. the answer is NO.

Could I get the part I needed?

No. the answer is NO.

It turns out that the way the float valve attaches on this toilet is no longer the standard, and the part has been discontinued. I thought it was worth trying to jerry-rig a fix, but that isn't going to work. So now I have to go back to Lowe's and get the complete kit with the overflow pipe, take the tank off the toilet, yada, yada.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd fix the slow sink. It was also on the list. Took off the trap and cleaned it. Usually, I can just loosen the drain plug and pull it up far enough to clean out. The clog must be below that assembly. But I couldn't get that nut to loosen. I cleaned what I could, put it back together and am treating it with drain cleaner.

Did I do the laundry?

No. the answer is NO.

I will have to do that tomorrow whether the plumbing mess is ready or not.

Loretta comes on Tuesday, and I'll be hosting thru-hiker Bernie later in the week.

Yikes! I need to figure out even where 3 people can sit at one time. Sigh.

See The Only Plumbing Job that Ever Went Well