Plumbing 911

A couple of nights ago I encounter a clogged drain in the bathtub. This is a fairly common problem in our home. We're talking about original plumbing that's over 50 years old and it's living on borrowed time. Normally, we will try to clear the drain by forcing water through the system with a hose. For the 6 years we've owned the house, it's worked every time. Make that every time but one.

After trying to clean out the clog for an hour I figured it was time to go downstairs and see what I could do with the pipes. Our plumbing was set up with an interesting twist, a drum trap. Basically, it's a large cylinder where the drains empties originally, before going out through the main waste pipe. I don't know the wisdom in this system, since it goes against gravity and common sense.

I decided that I would try to empty the trap by loosening the cap with my giant plumbing wrench. After torquing the cap for a few minutes I thought I was making headway. That is until the leak started. The pipes were so old and corroded that I caused a leak by separating the pipes. Big problem.

You know you're in trouble when you call your plumber cousin at 9 o'clock at night and ask him what he's doing tomorrow. Fortunately, Chrys was able to come over the next day and two hours later the drum trap was gone and a new drain was in place. It would have gone faster if I hadn't bugged him with a ton of questions about what I could do to fix the plumbing problems in my house. He gave me some great tips and now it's time to see to see if I can become a do-it-yourself-er.

Book Club for Men

I can't believe it, but I am actually in a book club. For the past several years I've wanted to get into a club, I've even tried to beg my way into one or two, but each time I was rebuffed because the groups were "ladies only'". Why can't men join with a book club? Are the women discussing books, or is it more of a social activity? Regardless, the only way I could get into a book club was to start one myself.

A few months ago I mentioned how I was in an online discussion forum. Nothing major, just some friends I made through Jared Fawson. In one of the threads the topic of books came up and I saw this as my chance, I quickly suggested that we should pick one book a month and discuss it. I didn't use the term, "book club" for fear of being rejected by the female members of the group. Somehow everyone agreed, and a book was selected.

The first book we read was Speaking of Vegetables, I have Cancer by Stephanie Doyle. The best part about picking this one first is that Stephanie is a member of our group. How often does a book club get to read a selection and discuss it with the author? The book is an autobiographical look at Steph's bout with breast cancer in 2004. It is a funny book, examining how someone deals with "their cancer" and all the framework surrounding a major illness. Since the book is about 60 pages long, it's a quick read and well worth the time.

So, I guess that since I've started this book club, I better start reading a little more. Anyone know of a good book for next month?

Haircuts for Two

Monday brought another trip to Char's house and haircuts for the kids. Alex has been looking like an orphan lately with his hair and Kennedy screams so loud when I comb her hair I'm afraid DCFS will be calling soon. So I asked Cari to give the kids their first haircut.

Alex went first since Kennedy thought it was going to hurt to have her hair cut. Alex did pretty well for his first haircut. He squirmed and wiggled a lot, but we made it through with the help of Dakota and Char keeping him entertained. His hair is pretty short and Jared keeps calling him Butch, but I think he looks pretty dang cute.


After Char showed Kennedy several times that it didn't hurt to cut hair by randomly snipping pieces of her own hair and Ca's hair, she was ready. Kennedy sat on my lap and did a great job sitting still for Cari. She actually loved getting her hair cut even though you can't tell by the look on her face. She has told me several times that she wants another haircut. I might consider it, since she still screams at the top of her lungs when I comb it.


Thanks, Cari, for the haircuts and doing such a great job!

Peace and Quiet

One of my favorite aspects to riding the bus to work is the chance to read a book for about an hour a day. Some may ask how you can read with other people around you? It's actually pretty easy. Most people riding the bus are trying to do the same thing you are. It's almost as if there's an unwritten code that you leave people alone to do what they want to do on their trip.

Occasionally, you'll find that there is a person who breaks the rule, but you can quickly resolve the situation by putting in your ear buds, regardless if you have music playing or not - that's my favorite trick. What do you do when it's the driver who wants to chat?

Over the past month I've had a couple of eccentric drivers who think the ride is all about them. On the ride home we had the Song Bird, who chimed in about each stop in a lyrical fashion. He also complained about everyone else on the road, so the singing was a welcome change of pace. For the past two days I've had a morning driver who has given himself the title of the Trivia Driver. He insists on boring us with useless facts about whatever he heard on NPR that morning. Now, I like trivia more than most, but I don't want to be forced to listen to someone drone on and on whether you like it or not. It's hard to believe but there are days when I think I'd rather drive - at least then I can travel home in silence.

I'm a Partial Geek

I came across a fun site today at work that let's you take quizzes on various topics (My favorites were: how many 5 year olds could you take in a fight, how addicted are you to your Mac, and what are your chances of surviving a zombie apocalypse). I chose one about being a geek. After taking the quiz, I've learned that I am no where near as "geeky" as I had originally thought.


51% Geek