Good thing I waited. I filled up my gas tank Sunday afternoon because I had to. The car doesn't run on batteries or water. I paid $1.07. I'm not complaining about the drop in price, but how do the oil companies explain that? One day up, the next day down. I don't know what gas sells for today, haven't been outside. We are actually having a bit of a snowstorm. Not so bad north of Winnipeg, but I hear on the radio it is quite bad in the southern part of Manitoba. Many cars in the ditch, a number of accidents. Doesn't surprise me either. The idiots are on the road. They insist on speeding even when road conditions are treacherous, but Mother Nature takes care of them.
That is the nice thing about being retired. There are not many because it means you're usually old, but there are some. I don't have to leave the house if I don't have to or want to. It doesn't mean I'm sitting around watching the snow coming down or twiddling my thumbs out of boredom, because I'm busy anyway. We are doing a bit of re-modelling in the kitchen. We're putting a granite counter top on, which meant I had to rip off the old top. What a job and a half! Just to disconnect the sink and garburator took forever. Then the electric cook top, it had to be disconnected. I had to do disconnect the Dishwasher so I could remove the screws that held the old counter top secured to the bottom cabinets. After the top came off I discovered I had to put in some pieces of plywood at the top of the counter to strengthen the cabinet walls. Then I needed a piece of plywood to put in screws for the Dishwasher. You can't put any screws into the granite. It also meant doing some staining and varnishing. That is the thing when you do re-modelling. It is never straightforward. There always are those little time-consuming jobs that pop up. It also means going shopping and buying the pieces you need.
They're coming Friday to install the granite counter top. After that I have to hook up the new sink and I hope the drain pipes are in the right place. Also the new faucets need to be connected. I'm glad I'm not a plumber, because it is so cramped under that sink. Of course, I'm doing everything myself, so I'm the one with his head and arms twisted into pretzels wedged into the cavity under the sink wearing one of those LED headlamps than never aim at the spot where you need the light. I'll also have to connect the new cook top It is lucky, I am a retired Electrician. At least that job is not difficult for me...I hope.
It is funny how we are so spoiled and take everything for granted. We don't realize it until we have to do without certain things...like having no sink and running water in the kitchen. It is a nuisance to do dishes in the bathroom sink or in the laundry room in the basement. At least we still have hot and cold water, so it is not as bad as it sounds.
Since we live in the country we have our own well, which means hard water. We do have a water softener but we have a separate tap in the kitchen (not at the moment!) for drinking water, which doesn't run through the softener. There was no shut-off valve on the supply pipe so I installed one. Otherwise we would have had no water throughout the whole house. I bought one of those solder-less ones.Well, what fun! I tightened the pressure-nut as much as I could and then I turned on the water. The shut-off is in the back of the basement. My wife was watching the new valve in case it leaked, but I didn't hear her screaming when the valve shot against the ceiling from the water pressure. By the time I was aware that something was wrong, water dripped all over the place in the basement...right through the ceiling tiles. Luckily we don't have drywall down there.
After mopping everything up I went and bought another valve...one that needs to be soldered onto the pipe. It held and now everything is fine.
I'm looking forward to next week when I have to hook up everything. There is still that little 'garage' that sits in the corner on top of the counter between the upper and lower cabinets. I already know it won't fit after the granite counter has been installed, because of the thickness of the stone. But I won't worry about that yet...
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