Chit Chat in VOLTVILLE Thread #2 :)

[Qew]

Q, how are the grandbabies? How old are they now? What kind of cute baby stuff are they doing?

The twins are coming up on their first birthday in a few weeks, that flew by, right? I haven't seen them since Christmas, but they are growing and teething and drooling and getting into all kinds of mischief. Their big brother turned 3 at the end of October. It is still a crazy house over there! Now that the weather seems to be turning towards Spring (please!), I should be able to see them weekly again. It has worked out consistently that every day that would work for a visit, we had terrible road conditions, so I wouldn't chance it.

Good news, I saw a blue bird yesterday!

I'm glad the dogs are recovering nicely for you, and they are all getting along.

 

[Renolizzie]

Lizzie, how did the session with the trainer go yesterday?

Nevada is doing really well with his lessons. He was turning with the reins on the halter. He is getting the hang of the trainer walking behind him. He was really calm in the round pen. Hoping to have him driving before you know it. I wheeled the cart behind him and next to him on the way to and from the round pen yesterday. He needs to get used to the noise and sight of it. He did great when it was behind him but not so good when he was following the cart. Go figure.

Steve says he thinks he has a small pony harness somewhere around his place. Hope he finds it.

 

[SandySu]

That's great about Nevada. Yes, it is strange that he's more comfortable with the cart following him than in front of him.

How is his leading? Have you taken him on walks around the neighborhood so he can get used to the sights and sounds he'll encounter when you drive him out in the big, bad world? Maybe if he hasn't seen the neighborhood, going out with him and Wiseguy together would be good. Wiseguy is used to everything, so he can give Nevada confidence. Horses feel more secure with a buddy. Eventually, though, you'll want to take him out alone so he gets used to that, too. I remember you used to walk Wiseguy to get him used to the neighborhood.

 

[SandySu]

Time to say good night. Here are more flowers from that orchid show.

 

[cindycated]

Wow, where'd everybody go?

 

[3mg Meniere]

I don't know. This is wierd!!

 

[tmcase]

Wow, where'd everybody go?

I was wondering the same thing. I got some flavoring in the mail today so I'll be making juice. I should work on my drawing but I'm nervous about it now that I've screwed up 2. I just started on detailing so I need some liquid courage.

What are you up to?

 

[SandySu]

I just got back from tutoring and then shopping. The kids' aunt is visiting, and they were all excited. After their lessons, they were headed to the Sciencecenter. See Sciencenter, Ithaca NY for more about it. Part of their homework is to write about their visit there.

They weren't into doing lessons much, so I cut my visit short.

First, the boy did a word search. As usual, after finding about 3 words fairly easily, he said he wanted to quit, that it was too hard. I gave him a gentle lecture about how he needs to work at things more. I said he was smart and could learn things easily, but he needs to work harder at what he doesn't know, not give up so easily. I helped him find some of the words, and he managed to find them all.

Then we called his sister and we looked at the alphabet book, the letter C. We found a few things, but the kids lost interest easily. I'm not sure if they're tiring of it or if it was just the excitement of their aunt and the Sciencecenter.

I have long lists of words that the kids didn't know and were past homework. Some of them they learned, and some they didn't. And new words get added every time, so the lists grow longer. So after getting the lists up to date, I'm making up fill-in-the-blanks of 10 words that they'll have to work on each lesson -- at least for a while.

The girl did one today, and she seemed OK with that. She would rather do that than read. Of course, she has to read the 10 sentences and the 10 words, but that's short, compared to even a short book.

Then she did a word search. She is really good at them! I try to help, but she finds the words faster than I do! We have different methods, and maybe hers is better. I pick a word in the list and look for the first letter of that word, then, when I find one, I see if the 2nd letter is next to it in the 4 directions. She looks for groups of letters, maybe 2 or 3, maybe not even the first 3 letters in the word. I think that would be too complicated and confusing for my poor mentality.

So then I let her go, even though there was still about 1/2 hour. But I stay longer sometimes, so it all works out. Today was not a day for a long session.

 

[celticluvr]

I don't really have a method for word searches. Sometimes I just look at it as a whole and bam, bam, bam, I find word after word. I can finish a word search book in about a week. Lol, I think i have a problem. I have an addiction to words.

I am serious, you all must have seen how thick the last three Harry Potter books are or the Twilight books. I can read those in 3 or 4 hours.
Kids would even quiz me in school and I would end up tricking them because I had to correct their questions. I used to spend nearly my whole paycheck on books. I should be in a speedy ready's anonymous group.

 

[SandySu]

Celtic, save your money on word search books and use this site to make your own: Make your own Word Search with Discovery Education's Puzzlemaker! I use the kids' vocab words, about 10 at a time, and then bam! the computer sets them into a puzzle. The first few, I solved them at home just in case there was a problem, but we've been using this for a while, and so far, every word is there. I find it really handy.

 

[Renolizzie]

I can tell you where I have been.

Weeded...straightened out the sprinklers on the back been....

On the long runs of 1/4 inch tubing for the sprinklers, I slipped the tubing through old hose so they will not get cut when I am cleaning up the garden beds.

Sugar pod peas, planted....snap peas, leaf lettuce, purple plum rads planted.

Horses and goats petted.

It,s been a normal spring day

Sent from my Venue 8 3830 using Tapatalk

 

[Renolizzie]

Sounds like you are a speed reader, celt

Sent from my Venue 8 3830 using Tapatalk

 

[SandySu]

More orchids to say good night.

 

[cindycated]

I was wondering the same thing. I got some flavoring in the mail today so I'll be making juice. I should work on my drawing but I'm nervous about it now that I've screwed up 2. I just started on detailing so I need some liquid courage.

What are you up to?

haha spent the afternoon with my nephew, filling in mouse holes around the foundation in the garage (their man cave) with concrete.

The cabinet's in, in the bathroom. Hooked up all the plumbing; no leaks...except for a tiny, tiny drip on the hot water shutoff valve (the valve itself, not the connector). Dang. Thought I was done in there.

Oh, snap, you just reminded me that I'm out of 4mg base (I premix 750ml base into a wine bottle to add flavors into as I go). Guess I gotta do that too.

So still wondering why you get so nervous about drawing. It's 'sposed to be fun! And screw-ups are merely lessons for next time. But liquid courage can be fun too. Somebody just turned me on to Patron XO Cafe + Baileys. (ah, Baby Guinness. That's what it's called.)

 

[tmcase]

I'm still wondering myself. I guess I'm just afraid that I'm going to screw up and all my work will be wasted. I know it's a learning experience but that doesn't seem to help me be less nervous. It is fun, especially the detailing but it's nerve wrecking too. On the positive side, my nervousness keeps me warm.

 

[tmcase]

haha spent the afternoon with my nephew, filling in mouse holes around the foundation in the garage (their man cave) with concrete.

The cabinet's in, in the bathroom. Hooked up all the plumbing; no leaks...except for a tiny, tiny drip on the hot water shutoff valve (the valve itself, not the connector). Dang. Thought I was done in there.

Oh, snap, you just reminded me that I'm out of 4mg base (I premix 750ml base into a wine bottle to add flavors into as I go). Guess I gotta do that too.

So still wondering why you get so nervous about drawing. It's 'sposed to be fun! And screw-ups are merely lessons for next time. But liquid courage can be fun too. Somebody just turned me on to Patron XO Cafe + Baileys. (ah, Baby Guinness. That's what it's called.)

You got a lot done today. I really admire that you can do those things. Me...I just call the manager to fix stuff or Andy if it's something I don't want the managers to now about, like replacing all the electric outlets in my trailer. They were so old none of my plugs would stay in them. They kept falling out.

 

[cindycated]

You got a lot done today. I really admire that you can do those things. Me...I just call the manager to fix stuff or Andy if it's something I don't want the managers to now about, like replacing all the electric outlets in my trailer. They were so old none of my plugs would stay in them. They kept falling out.

Yeah, electrical's been a lot of fun in this house. Nothing was grounded, none of them had 3-prong, and stuff was falling out too. So whenever I redo a room, I end up updating all the electrical too. Dad was really big on those cheapo ceramic lightbulb holders too (that screw into the electrical box, usually with a pull chain), so I've been having fun picking out all new light fixtures (not too much fun - tight budget). 3 more rooms to go. I love being able to do all this stuff, cuz I've been taken by so many baaaaad contractors in the past. Now, if I have to pay for something, they'd better damn well do it better than I can.

This is the light I want for the hallway:

or this one:

I love globe pendants in hallways. My sister's into those boob ceiling lights (haha these below - they look like boobs), and I relented for the bedrooms, but I put my foot down for the other rooms!

But not looking forward to replacing that shutoff valve. I'd have to turn off the water to the whole house AND empty out the water heater (no other shutoff valves in between - sucks)...hopefully into the tub, so I can take a nice long bath afterwards. With my Baby Guinness. Hmmm...just might work out after all.

 

[tmcase]

Yeah, electrical's been a lot of fun in this house. Nothing was grounded, none of them had 3-prong, and stuff was falling out too. So whenever I redo a room, I end up updating all the electrical too. Dad was really big on those cheapo ceramic lightbulb holders too (that screw into the electrical box, usually with a pull chain), so I've been having fun picking out all new light fixtures (not too much fun - tight budget). 3 more rooms to go. I love being able to do all this stuff, cuz I've been taken by so many baaaaad contractors in the past. Now, if I have to pay for something, they'd better damn well do it better than I can.

This is the light I want for the hallway:

or this one:

I love globe pendants in hallways.

But not looking forward to replacing that shutoff valve. I'd have to turn off the water to the whole house AND empty out the water heater (no other shutoff valves in between - sucks)...hopefully into the tub, so I can take a nice long bath afterwards. With my Baby Guinness. Hmmm...just might work out after all.

Where did you learn how to do all that stuff?

It's time for me to get some sleep so I'll catch your reply tomorrow. Goodnight.

 

[cindycated]

Where did you learn how to do all that stuff?

It's time for me to get some sleep so I'll catch your reply tomorrow. Goodnight.

Being broke, living alone, being with a really UN-handy guy for 17 years, and wanting cool stuff are big motivators.

When I first started (before Google), I had a lot of Sunset How-To books, to help me fix all the stuff baaad contractors screwed up. Then I worked at Home Depot for about 7 months and asked a lot of questions (what's this for? what's that for? I was kinda cute back then and guys love answering questions when they're at Home Depot). Then I sold kitchens at IKEA for about 4 years and asked a bunch more questions (I was really tight with the installers and appliance reps). I've also taken some classes on building codes, project management, and green interior design/construction. Now, there's Google and YouTube. And Harbor Freight. Sometimes you can just look at something and figure out how it's supposed to be. I think it's genetic too. My dad was really handy.

And it's a little bit like your drawing. You keep doing it long enough, screw up enough times, and eventually you get really good at doing things right.

 

[Wuzznt Me]

Yeah, electrical's been a lot of fun in this house. Nothing was grounded, none of them had 3-prong, and stuff was falling out too. So whenever I redo a room, I end up updating all the electrical too. Dad was really big on those cheapo ceramic lightbulb holders too (that screw into the electrical box, usually with a pull chain), so I've been having fun picking out all new light fixtures (not too much fun - tight budget). 3 more rooms to go. I love being able to do all this stuff, cuz I've been taken by so many baaaaad contractors in the past. Now, if I have to pay for something, they'd better damn well do it better than I can.

This is the light I want for the hallway:

or this one:

I love globe pendants in hallways. My sister's into those boob ceiling lights (haha these below - they look like boobs), and I relented for the bedrooms, but I put my foot down for the other rooms!

But not looking forward to replacing that shutoff valve. I'd have to turn off the water to the whole house AND empty out the water heater (no other shutoff valves in between - sucks)...hopefully into the tub, so I can take a nice long bath afterwards. With my Baby Guinness. Hmmm...just might work out after all.

Guess you've already tried tightening the packing nut on the supply valve? On the off chance you haven't, open the valve halfway. There's a nut on the body where the stem goes into the valve and turns. Tighten it 1/8 to 1/4 turn and open the valve fully, then back off just a little so it doesn't get stuck. If it still leaks repeat. I've seen people try to tighten that nut while the valve is all the way open or close and it doesn't work that way. You probably already know this but sometimes people overlook the simple so on the off chance you didn't already know, now you do.

Oh, and I'm with you on the globe. That boob globe is so 50s.


Sure wish ECF would get the first unread button working. Bet it drives folks on fast moving threads nutz.