Have you seen Raising Hope? Does it strike a chord? Is this more reality than anyother show we've seen for a long time?
They have a whole episode called "Dream Hoarders".
Hitting way too close to home...........
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Weekend Project Tip of the Week #2
Have you ever been to the "Instructables" website? I personally love it!
So, this week's Weekend Project Tip is how to make a Center Pull Ball of Yarn; By Hand (with No Tools At All). Actually, this was supposed to be posted last Friday, and I guess I hit Save instead of Post.
I have wanted a "ball winder" for years. Drooled over them in catalogs and in yarn shops. They seem so magical. But, they're expensive.
The other option is a Nostpine, Nostepin, Nostepinne - How is it supposed to be spelled anyway? Which can be a beautifully carved piece of exotic wood - or a stick.
So, when I found this instructable and started using this technique, it solved so many problems.
So, this week's Weekend Project Tip is how to make a Center Pull Ball of Yarn; By Hand (with No Tools At All). Actually, this was supposed to be posted last Friday, and I guess I hit Save instead of Post.
I have wanted a "ball winder" for years. Drooled over them in catalogs and in yarn shops. They seem so magical. But, they're expensive.
The other option is a Nostpine, Nostepin, Nostepinne - How is it supposed to be spelled anyway? Which can be a beautifully carved piece of exotic wood - or a stick.
So, when I found this instructable and started using this technique, it solved so many problems.
- It's free! God gave me the fingers and they still work
- I can't loose it, or pack it away, or forget it at home. Fingers are always with me (so far).
- The parts won't wear out, get jammed up, or chewed by the dog. Well, the fingers will do all of those things, but, you know what I mean.
- I can make the ball of yarn any size that I want to. All the storebought ball winders that I have ever seen have a specific size ball in mind with their design. What if I've got a tiny bit of yarn that I want in a ball? What if I want to wind a whole pound of yarn into one huge ball?
- I can use even my own lumpy home spun yarn that I did myself. The mechanical ball winders can be very finicky on what weight of yarn and the texture of the yarn they will handle.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Scrape Windshields Carefully
Just so you know, in case you didn't, don't scrape your vehicle windows with things that will scratch the glass.
An aluminum can makes a good emergency ice scraper, but it can leave marks that may never come off.
It probably doesn't matter if it was a pop can or a beer can, except it's much more difficult to explain empty beer cans in your vehicle.
They look kind of like scratches in the glass, but they're really probably bits of aluminum left behind. We've been trying to get these darned marks off the windshield for a couple of years now.
Just Sayin'
An aluminum can makes a good emergency ice scraper, but it can leave marks that may never come off.
It probably doesn't matter if it was a pop can or a beer can, except it's much more difficult to explain empty beer cans in your vehicle.
They look kind of like scratches in the glass, but they're really probably bits of aluminum left behind. We've been trying to get these darned marks off the windshield for a couple of years now.
Just Sayin'
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Frozen Pipes
Have you ever tried to explain Frozen Pipes to City People? Especially 20 something City People? Just one of the many times that I personally witness the irony of City People portraying Country People as the less intelligent of the species.
The farmhouse has frozen pipes, again. Snow Days for the kids to be out of school are great, especially when the pipes are frozen.
Yesterday morning, the Shower Drain was the most urgent. That was thawed by noon for the teen to shower (which the rest of the family really appreciated). Hours of shoveling snow and building snow forts make for a smelly teen. And the scent of damp socks in snow boots was overwhelming.
By yesterday evening, the clothes washer drain was spewing soapy water all over the kitchen. Being the handy-family we are, we were able to find a 5 gallon Dry Wall Compound bucket to drain it into, so that load of jeans finally got washed and rinsed. We are now all more fully aware of exactly how much water it takes to do a load of laundry. And how heavy a 5 gallon bucket of soapy water is. And how the shower drain, if not frozen, will drain out faster than the vanity sink that only holds about 1 gallon of water before overflowing.
All of these are lessons that city kids miss the chance of learning on snow days!
This morning, the shower was draining, and there was hot water, but a few minutes into the shower it was discovered there was no cold water to the showerhead. Did you know that means that the water was too hot? The first idea that might come up is to let the water run until most of the hot is used up and then the water will be cool. That really only works for a few seconds of nice warm water, and then it gets progressively cooler until it's too cold to shower in. We found that out last year. But, on the other hand, a tub filled with only hot water until the hot runs out will eventually become tepid enough to bathe in. Once, just for a few minutes. And it is a chance to have a steam sauna spa experience without the expense of installing the expensive sauna.
Next week we will look at how Problem Condensation can lead to home damage and Black Mold........
The farmhouse has frozen pipes, again. Snow Days for the kids to be out of school are great, especially when the pipes are frozen.
Yesterday morning, the Shower Drain was the most urgent. That was thawed by noon for the teen to shower (which the rest of the family really appreciated). Hours of shoveling snow and building snow forts make for a smelly teen. And the scent of damp socks in snow boots was overwhelming.
By yesterday evening, the clothes washer drain was spewing soapy water all over the kitchen. Being the handy-family we are, we were able to find a 5 gallon Dry Wall Compound bucket to drain it into, so that load of jeans finally got washed and rinsed. We are now all more fully aware of exactly how much water it takes to do a load of laundry. And how heavy a 5 gallon bucket of soapy water is. And how the shower drain, if not frozen, will drain out faster than the vanity sink that only holds about 1 gallon of water before overflowing.
All of these are lessons that city kids miss the chance of learning on snow days!
This morning, the shower was draining, and there was hot water, but a few minutes into the shower it was discovered there was no cold water to the showerhead. Did you know that means that the water was too hot? The first idea that might come up is to let the water run until most of the hot is used up and then the water will be cool. That really only works for a few seconds of nice warm water, and then it gets progressively cooler until it's too cold to shower in. We found that out last year. But, on the other hand, a tub filled with only hot water until the hot runs out will eventually become tepid enough to bathe in. Once, just for a few minutes. And it is a chance to have a steam sauna spa experience without the expense of installing the expensive sauna.
Next week we will look at how Problem Condensation can lead to home damage and Black Mold........
Friday, February 4, 2011
Snow Drifts and Carbon Monoxide
Watch out for Drifting Snow covering your gas or propane fueled furnace's exhaust vent.
There are reports everywhere from New York to Massachusetts to Arizona about Carbon Monoxide poisonings caused by snow blocking furnace exhaust vents. There can be similar problems with gas clothes dryer vents, gas water heater vents, area heater stoves, pretty much any appliance that uses a flame to produce heat.
This isn't a new thing. Boston problems were in the news in 2006. Blocked exhaust vents have always been a potential problem. It's just that old style furnaces had "smoke stack" like vent flues on the roof while new high efficiency furnaces might just have a PVC pipe run out the sidewall of the house or foundation. It's always been possible for a vent to get clogged up with a bird's nest, or insects like wasps. But now it can be ground dwellers like mice or rabbits too. Garden plants, weeds, grasses, all kinds of things can grow up into the turned down rainhood of a vent. Even piles of leaves or mulch.
Notes to the DIYers out there: When installing a gas appliance exhaust vent,
Keep it up off the ground to avoid debris piled against it.
Don't caulk the opening closed. Caulk around it, but don't seal it shut.
Don't use the vent as a sleeve to run a garden hose out to the yard through.
Don't turn the end of the vent "up" to catch rain water for the humidifier.
Don't use the warm vent air to heat the dog's house.
Don't combine HVAC vent with plumbing vent - not even if the furnace vent pvc pipe does look just like the sink vent pvc pipe.
Don't cut the end of the vent off, not even to keep it from sticking out away from the wall. If you hit the end of the vent with the mower or break it off accidentally, replace it properly.
Problems are Compounded by the weather; more places are getting snow drifts this winter that usually don't have any drifts at all for years at a time. Added to that is the trend for more people to move around between regions of the US (or the world for that matter). Your new neighbor that grew up in Louisiana may have never had to deal with a 3' snow drift. And finally, more people than ever before are renting instead of homeowning. A renter may not know who's responsibility it is to keep the snow drift off the balcony of the apartment.
On the other hand, if you have an all electric house with an electric furnace, it probably doesn't produce Carbon Monoxide. But, yes, a gas furnace does often use electricity for the fan, thermostat, and igniters.
There are reports everywhere from New York to Massachusetts to Arizona about Carbon Monoxide poisonings caused by snow blocking furnace exhaust vents. There can be similar problems with gas clothes dryer vents, gas water heater vents, area heater stoves, pretty much any appliance that uses a flame to produce heat.
This isn't a new thing. Boston problems were in the news in 2006. Blocked exhaust vents have always been a potential problem. It's just that old style furnaces had "smoke stack" like vent flues on the roof while new high efficiency furnaces might just have a PVC pipe run out the sidewall of the house or foundation. It's always been possible for a vent to get clogged up with a bird's nest, or insects like wasps. But now it can be ground dwellers like mice or rabbits too. Garden plants, weeds, grasses, all kinds of things can grow up into the turned down rainhood of a vent. Even piles of leaves or mulch.
Notes to the DIYers out there: When installing a gas appliance exhaust vent,
Keep it up off the ground to avoid debris piled against it.
Don't caulk the opening closed. Caulk around it, but don't seal it shut.
Don't use the vent as a sleeve to run a garden hose out to the yard through.
Don't turn the end of the vent "up" to catch rain water for the humidifier.
Don't use the warm vent air to heat the dog's house.
Don't combine HVAC vent with plumbing vent - not even if the furnace vent pvc pipe does look just like the sink vent pvc pipe.
Don't cut the end of the vent off, not even to keep it from sticking out away from the wall. If you hit the end of the vent with the mower or break it off accidentally, replace it properly.
Problems are Compounded by the weather; more places are getting snow drifts this winter that usually don't have any drifts at all for years at a time. Added to that is the trend for more people to move around between regions of the US (or the world for that matter). Your new neighbor that grew up in Louisiana may have never had to deal with a 3' snow drift. And finally, more people than ever before are renting instead of homeowning. A renter may not know who's responsibility it is to keep the snow drift off the balcony of the apartment.
On the other hand, if you have an all electric house with an electric furnace, it probably doesn't produce Carbon Monoxide. But, yes, a gas furnace does often use electricity for the fan, thermostat, and igniters.
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