So I called dad up yesterday for Father's Day. He was having a tough time. He told me he'd screwed up by putting potato skins down his garbage disposal. Why is that a problem I asked. Because it created a clog that resulted in water flooding under the sink and also on the kitchen floor. He was stultified as to what to do.
What? This man is a friggin' doctor (gastroenterologist) who'd spent his entire career teaching medicine and doing medical research. He got his picture in TIME Magazine in 1967 in the Medical section for having discovered lactose intolerance. He started The Rocky Mountain Gut Club (a club for gastroenterologists in Denver). How does this kitchen sink blockage result in his complete shut down?
I helped him analyze the situation. I told him if there's water leaking from under the sink there has to be a nut down there on a slip-joint that needed tightening. I asked if he had any Drano. He did. I asked him if he'd tried using it. Nope. Why not? Because he didn't know if it was safe to use. What? The guy's a scientist. Has he at age 88 years old forgotten the most basic organic chemistry? I told him NaOH (Drano) won't hurt either PVC pipes or metal pipes. It doesn't react with either. He said he wasn't sure about that. What?
I finally got him to agree Drano won't hurt his pipes. I know this man fairly well. He has an anxiety problem which he drains (pun on purpose) into doing things in an extremely controlled way. He channels it into OCD behavior that results in calming him. After spending a good 15 minutes "diagnosing" the problem and getting him to understand he can't hurt his pipes with Drano, I realized that wasn't going to do a thing about his anxiety. Finally I said, "I think the best thing to do is leave it alone and call a plumber tomorrow." He sighed with relief. That was the solution for him that would cause the least anxiety.
So I'm here in California and he's in Denver and I realize he's becoming more fragile. He was never a fix it type of guy, but a clogged sink sinking him (pun intended) just floored me. If I were there and had a friggin' pipe wrench I'd had fixed it in 15 minutes tops. Oh well...
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So our local water district, PID, finally came out with their water use enforcement plan. The town of Paradise saved a grand total of 26% (somehow it was changed from 27%) of the water used in 2014 compared to 2013. Paradise Lake (our water source) is currently 84% full. It topped out at 85% full from the winter rains. We've only used 1% of our total water source to this point. This is one time being a "1%er" is really good for everyone.
Their grand plan is to give written warnings to people who clearly aren't even trying to save water. Since only 20% of the folks here use 47% of all the water, they are truly targeting only those folks. They said they've agreed to a $500 fine for non-compliance. Asked if there was going to be any smaller initial fines they said "no." Asked what it would take to get fined at all they said non-compliance and disregard for "several written warnings." Asked how many times they anticipate they'll have to fine folks, the answer was, "never." There attitude is if folks basically do what they did last summer it will be just fine.
Well, glad that got cleared up.
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I wrote a little diary in CUA a couple weeks back about neighbors. I let folks know we have a new neighbor who just moved here. I'd spoken with him once. In that conversation he told me a lot about himself including the fact he was a retired teacher and that he collected silent films. He quizzed me as he spoke by using big words. I not only understood what he was doing, I also played right back using other big words to poke fun at the words he was using.
After a while I felt I should tell him just a little about smileycreek and me. As soon as I started to do that, he let me know he had to leave right then. And he was gone. I wondered what to make of him.
He's been here almost a month. He put his house on the market already. I know this because he told me so. I asked him why. He said he's old and can't deal with the stairs in the house. WTF? He wanted that house for months before he bought it. He knew all about it. He had to wait until he sold his other house first before he could buy it. Can't handle the stairs? The place has a full HVAC system. The upstairs has everything. He doesn't need to go downstairs.
He told other neighbors he's leaving because his neighbors to either side are "too noisy." WTF. It's really quiet here. He's got 3 acres of wooded and a year-round creek. All the properties here have 3-ish acres and we live on a dead end road = no traffic. Why did he tell me one excuse for selling, but told an entirely different reason to another neighbor? Odd.
Well smileycreek told me what she thinks of him. "Capricious.".
The previous owners bought the place for $389,000. They cleared the brush and fixed the place. The interior was all redone. The decks are new. The roof is new. The HVAC is new. They built a two story work shed that doubles as a place to stow vehicles or boats or whatever for $60,000. They bought the year before the housing market collapsed. They were into it for $450,000. They tried to sell it for a couple years but were unsuccessful. The new guy bought it for $335,000. A total steal. A great place. It has everything you'd need. It's got three pellet stoves and central HVAC. What's wrong with this new guy?
If anyone wants a fantastic home that is in perfect shape on a dead end road with 3 acres of wooded land with a year-round creek for a steal, here's your opportunity.
BTW, Dave (this new guy) didn't like the cabinets in the place so he replaced them. Now he's selling. I guess I chased away another neighbor. This is a record time in getting rid of neighbors. I know I have that power because these houses have each turned over at least three times since we've lived here. I only spoke with him twice, well actually he spoke to me twice. And that's all it took ;) .
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate. Readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
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