Plumbing: Fixing the Trailer Drain

The drain in our trailer slowed to a stop and was dripping out the bottom after our most recent guests departed (not so recently). It's been on my list for that whole time but hasn't made it to the top until our friend Phoenix called and said he'd be passing through L.A.

Plumbing is not my forte but this project went very well; I was able to fix the problem with a spare part we had on hand and only had to buy a single rubber washer and a drain snake (a missing staple of the tool box which we have needed in the past). In the picture above you can see the removed piece that was leaking. It had been patched with some kind of goo that was no longer holding.

We had a rubber boot like thing that I had bought for another project where professionals were ultimately called in to save the day. You can see it in the top of the picture (taken by our 4 year old son) on the stump where I cut the two pieces of plastic pipe apart with a hacksaw.

I guess the original idea was that the white pipe would fit into the black one and it would just drain down which probably worked fine until the pipe backed up. Then they needed put the goo patch on.

Once the pipes were cut apart I had to knock the remaining end of the black pipe off the white one with a hammer. Then I used a hatchet to scrape te rest of the goo off the pipes so they were smooth.

Here it is reassembled. Once I snaked out the drain a few times it almost worked but then I found that the connection at the bottom of the shower needed to be cleaned and have a new gasket installed.

click to enlarge if you dare!

While I was under the trailer reaching up into the very cramped space trying to wrench the pipes back on wihout cutting my arms on the sheetmetal, I had the exciting experience of this mummified squirel dropping out on me. It was straight out of a horror film. My best guess is that the area under the tub had been left open for long enough for it to make a home in there and then was closed up with the poor critter still inside.

Now it's back to the nightstands.

Cooper's Hawk & Crow Fighter Pilots

In the park next to my son's preschool, I noticed a bit of bird excitement in a towering sycamore. A small flock of crows were in a thither. As I walked closer, I saw the source of their consternation: a perched Cooper's Hawk most likely in search of food in the form of crow fledgling. About six crows dive bombed the Cooper's Hawk in a sortie-like attack. The Cooper's Hawk flew like a jet fighter master, drop descending and and making sharp breaks and turns that easily sloughed off the more cumbersome crow.

The power of the crows was in their numbers. Although the Cooper's Hawk easily outflew them, the successive attacks kept the Cooper's Hawk on the run. But the swift hawk would often dodge a darting crow and turn his/her defense into an attack by flying closely on the tail of the crow. The crow would abort the mission and pull away from the Cooper's Hawk. The crows would team up and return to confront the tireless hawk. The avian scene played like a World War II film filled with dramatic Air Force fight scenes.

Breathtaking to the grounded observer.

Homemade Nightstands

The nightstands are coming along. The drawers are fitted and working. I just need to add legs, do a little more sanding and finish them. I'm thinking beeswax polish over a dark stain.

One Dollar Wardrobe Enhancement

Introducing the "100% pure silk Tri-Tie made in Japan" scarf. I picked it up at the Sierra Madre Woman's Wistaria Thrift Shop.

Making Drawers

I'm trying to finish a year long project of building nightstands. This morning I am getting ready to stain the drawers.

Stumped Love

School is back in session. The night time cool hits us late in the evening, which is appearing earlier and earlier. Fall is scratching at the door. Although I'm always sad to say good bye to summer, I've always loved fall.

After school, the boys and I set out for an impromptu local hike to balance the changes. We scamper up a canyon near school to catch frogs, traverse a river in flip flops, smell water on rocks, observe and experience.

A portion of the creek is cleared of trees. Nearby, the remnants of long trunks and limbs lay portioned into neat stacks. One stump speaks clearly to us, "I love you". I wonder about the hand that carved it; the person who inspired the carving. The longing looks at each other. The touch of the knife on the tree with the carver's mind wandering to the love interest who inspired the desecration of the bark. A bit of love lingers etched on the tree long after the sharp cut.

I wonder about the circumstances that felled the tree. I think about the person that took the time to cut the inscription so thoughtfully. All these possibilities bundle together, an emotional maelstrom lived in the past, and I feel the sentiment so thoroughly in my own way.

Building Steps

Our house is built on a hillside which makes some areas of the yard difficult to traverse. I've wanted to build some kind of steps in one particular area up in back for a long time. The slope has been getting more and more eroded and slippery from the dogs running up and down.

I made the first step by hauling a log up from the lower yard. It had been down there since before we moved in nine years ago. I moved it while clearing weeds and realized that it was now hollow and light enough (80 lbs.?) that I could move it myself by tipping it end over end to get it up the hill.

In the picture above you can see it in place. I was pleased enough that I decided to keep going looking for other logs and pieces of wood that might be used for other steps. You can get a sense of how slippery this particular area was from the area above the log (sorry no before pics - btw the pipe sticking out of the ground was from a long gone wooden terrace wall). The next thing I did was add the cross section of trunk we kept from a removed eucalyptus tree you can see in the first picture.

The top step was made from a wedge of the same tree. It fit perfectly but wouldn't have stayed put without pinning it in. The same was true of the logs I used at the bottom of the short stairway.

To hold those pieces in place I used a two foot long piece of half inch rebar. I have a long drill bit that I bought just for this purpose. The picture above shows the rebar hammered in so that it is just poking out the bottom of the log. It gives you a sense of how much gets hammered in below the surface - about a foot and a half.

Hammering the rebar is a workout. There is quite a bit of friction as it moves through the wood and into the ground. The sledge hammer will begin to mushroom the top of the rebar as it goes in creating kind of a nail-head that grabs and holds the wood in place as it goes in flush.

The dappled light made pictures difficult but this is the best view I could get of the finished steps. The bottom log and the the top wedge-like piece were both pinned with rebar (5 pieces total) but other than that everything was as local as it gets - grown in our own yard.

Celebrating Seven

Seven years ago, this great guy made his introduction to this world on Labor Day. I remember the day so clearly. I never imagined how much my life would change. Not in the way so many people had warned me...often speaking in terms of loss. When this guy entered my life, my life became so much richer.

He has taught me (and continues to teach me) the limitless depths of love with his beauty and grace.

As a new parent, I was also told that the journey of parenting just gets better. I thought it was pretty spectacular from the get-go. I am amazed that it does get even better.

Happy birthday, dear son. Being with you on this journey is one of life's greatest pleasures.

Newest Lizard Catcher Turns Four

The youngest Ramshackler nabs his second lizard in an unassisted catch.

The catch happens at the tail end of his third year. The Lizard Catcher says he hopes to catch a dragon lizard this year.

I remember fondly his first day when this sweet soul entered our family. Although we lacked nothing, he made our family complete. Happy birthday, sweet son.

Refillable Pen and Ink

Noodler's Ink & promotional pen

I love a good pen. Long, long ago in a job a million mind-miles away from where I am now, my former boss gifted each of her reports, me being one of them, a nice pen. A Tombo rollerball. Through her gift, I learned I liked nice pens.

I used that pen daily until, like an expensive pair of sunglasses, I lost it...where? I do not know. What I do know is I had become accustomed to writing with a good pen and removed myself from the irritating waste of disposable pens. I realized that one good pen was all I really needed. I replaced the pen with another Tombo rollerball that I used for nine years before losing that one. I hope whoever found it loves it as much as I did.

As I had become particularly attached to that pen, I found it difficult to replace. The style I used was no longer made, and I didn't particularly like the "upgrade" model. My replacement search would be in fits and starts. I didn't buy disposable pens, I merely used the flotsam that floated my way.

fountain pen nib

Until one day, I was incredibly moved by a post on The Tangled Nest to join the fountain pen revolution. With myopic clarity, I sent out on my quest to find a fountain pen. I went to Vroman's fine writing store and made the ill-fated choice to buy a Pilot Knight fountain pen. My hesitation was allayed by the one-year money back guarantee from Pilot pens (don't believe it...but that's another story). I sent my pen back to Pilot when I realized it really wasn't up to snuff and headed back to Vroman's (thinking then that my Pilot pen was guaranteed for a year and I'd be reimbursed for the faulty merchandise...silly me. I just believed what Pilot pens wrote in their paper work that accompanied their product) to find a new pen.

rollerball nib

Am I glad I gave fountain pens a second chance. I ended up buying the Noodler's Ink promotional pen that is included with a bottle of ink after spying a Vroman's clerk writing with one. The pen comes with a fountain pen tip nib (that I prefer) and a roller ball with a hand made ebonite feed. I paid $24 for 4.5 ounces of ink and the pen came with it. Eric liked it so much that I got one for him too.

A great investment. Unlike my former beloved Tombo pen, my Noodler's Ink promotional pen doesn't use ink cartridges. You simply use a dropper to fill the ink. Waste be damned. I'm hoping that I'm going to break my nine year record with this pen. I'm hoping to double it or more.

Making Raisins

We made a bunch of raisins with some of the grapes we got last week. I would guess it's a couple of pounds worth - sweet and delicious. Now we can eat them over the next several weeks. We were just starting to get sick of eating them fresh so our timing worked out pretty well.

We learned something about dehydrating grapes into raisins though - blanch them for a few seconds before putting them in the dehydrator. It makes the dehydration much quicker by causing tiny fissures in the skins.

Sidewalk Score

We always keep our eyes peeled on the side of the road around our neighborhood for free stuff people are discarding. When someone has something that they think is worth keeping but that they no longer have a use for they put it out on the curb near but not in the trash.

Such was the case with this small haul of quality items: 3 Ikea boxes, a plate with a stylish map of Manhattan and a cross section slice of a log.

You may be surprised to hear that the log is the best of the score because it perfectly fits beneath the bell-jar I keep my Shiitake log under. The log is not pictured here because it was being soaked in ice water. The extra cool thing about the log slice is that it has a split which I expect will act as a perfect vent to let in air.

Not sure what we'll do with the Manhattan plate but it's in great condition and quirky enough to be at home in our place. I think it's kind of the stray dog principle applied to a plates: the right ones seem to find you.

Grape Bounty

We were at my mom's place last week to celebrate her birthday when I noticed some beautiful grapes hanging from here trellis. These were the remainders of the harvest that she couldn't reach - the rest had been cleared our recently to prevent a mess. So much fruit goes to waste in peoples backyards just because they can't handle the bounty.

I gladly volunteered to harvest what was left with a ladder. I would estimate the haul at about ten pounds and it was just a fraction of what the vine produced. I don't know which variety these are but they were seedless and delicious.

We washed the grapes well, then gave about half of the haul to some of our nearest neighbors ( 4 houses at a little over a pound each). Kept about 2 pounds for ourselves to eat fresh and made raisins with the rest.

We are considering planting our own vine once we figure out which varietal these are but we will definitely be checking in with my mom on the grapes from her vine a little earlier next year.

Summer Lizard Rescue

Our youngest boy's first lizard rescue. Our place is crawling with baby lizards right now - buckets and the like are major hazards. This one was rescued from our outdoor bath tub.

Alaskan Driftwood Scavenging

Within minutes of our arrival to Pennock Island across the Narrows of Ketchikan, my eight year old nephew eagerly set out with as many compatriots as he could corral together on an expedition to scavenge driftwood for a bonfire. He is captain of his own scavenged ship, The Log.

As I understand it, The Log was obtained through salvage rights after it was found floating past my nephew's house partially submerged in water. He cajoled my brother (his dad) into helping him retrieve the boat. My brother worried it was another project that would add time to the ever growing list of projects. However, The Log is sturdy. Pulled from the water, she was righted & in action ever since. The seaworthy vessel brings freedom of discovery to an eight year old captain and his crew. The Log just may be my nephew's greatest childhood acquisition.

The Log helps make bonfires like this possible. All the wood used was harvested using The Log, gathered by an eight year old, six year old, five year old & three year old. No adult collected wood.

In between roasting hot dogs, seaweed and marshmallows, we walked down to the shoreline to observe this fine purple starfish.

Driftwood fires are smokey. The AK Posey's have adopted tools, namely goggles, for dealing with the smoke.

Thank you to Clark, Katy, our beautiful nieces and nephew for the spectacular time.

Humpback Whales from our Alaska Trip

We saw this whale bubble feeding while on our way to the Alaska Posey's favorite beach. Although I wasn't able to catch it with it's mouth out of the water this is still a pretty cool view of it diving after the fact. I have had a great month for viewing sea mammals up close.

Julia here to add a bit to Eric's post. A day or so later, my sister-in-law, her friend Becca, Becca's lovely mother Nancy, my kids, Becca's kids, a nephew and I followed a humpback down the Narrows between Ketchikan and Pennock Island. We were treated to a beautiful sunset and some spectacular whale watching with a vantage point so close, we could see into the whale's mouth as it burst through the surface, mouth wide open to swallow the rewards of bubble feeding.

the circle of bubbles forms

the humpback emerges mouth wide open

the whale's mouth snaps shut & retreats into the water

another dive & the bubble feeding starts again.

Crawlspace Door Fix

One of the crawlspace doors always had a flimsy wire tie to keep it shut. Finally the nail that the wire was tied to came out and we needed to create a more permanent closure.

We used one of our favorite techniques: a primitive latch made from a small piece of Toyon. In this case it required two.

The Toyon is very hard wood, beautiful and very durable but it could never be commercially harvested. We get just enough around our place from pruning to do small projects like this one with. No trip to the store, natural, effective, made in America (except for the screws probably) and done. Next project!

related links:

Screen Clips

Cabinet Fix

Handmade Silk Thread

Here's a pic of the silk thread I made from our own home raised silk worms. I boiled two cocoons for about 5 min. after the moths emerged and stretched out the silk so that it looked like what is showing in my hand. As I metered out the fluff I twisted it and wrapped it onto the half of a cork. I wanted to try to add another cocoon to see if I could make the thread continuous. It worked pretty well. I ended up with two yards of thread and it took about 2 hours to do.