Saturday, October 17, 2015

Don't Bother Me This Afternoon

There are three really good college pigskin games on the schedule.  In my own backyard, Oklahoma comes to K-State.  Then there's Michigan versus Michigan State.  If those two weren't enough we have Alabama playing at Texas A&M.  

Note to self:  Check the batteries in the remote control.  

Major League Baseball?  Since the Astros are out, so am I.  Sure, I can root for the Royals if I choose but I won't be rearranging my schedule to catch the games.  I will admit it was gratifying to NOT see the Astros be the laughingstock of the MLB this season.  

How dd my tub spout replacement go?  I pulled a muscle (literally) trying to loosen the thing with regular Vise-Grips and then an adjustable wrench.  No go.  I wound up borrowing a pipe wrench from  the maintenance department at work.  

There's no beating the right tool for the job.  Clamp down, turn counter-clockwise (gently) and off came the spout.  Clean the threads, apply Teflon tape, then screw on the new piece.  

Mama's happy again.  

No complaints about the weather right now.  All this week temps were alternating between chilly and balmy.  Leaves are still falling but a quick look up tells me there's much more where those came from.  Don't get out the rakes just yet.  

Most of my acquaintances like fall over all the other seasons.  I sure don't mind it right now.  Warm but not hot.  Cool but not cold.  I don't need to run either the A/C or the furnace right now.  

Sweet.  

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Boring? Not So Fast.....

Earlier in the week I took a glance at Saturday's college football schedule.  

None of the contests appeared too interesting.  Easy to predict the winners, right?

Maybe not...

I chose to watch some of the Red River Rivalry but sure didn't expect Texas to play so well.  It's nice to be surprised along with nearly every resident of Texas and Oklahoma.  

The Nebraska-Wisconsin game seemed largely mundane, lot of punts back and forth.  But in the last three minutes or so?  No one sits down and no one leaves the stadium early.  Another heartbreaker for the Huskers.  

TCU versus K-State?  I figured it would be another blowout win for the Horned Frogs.  Not so.  I got sleepy late in the fourth quarter but was determined to watch this thing to the end.  I'm glad I did.  Despite my geographical location I will still root for the Texas schools.    

And surprising football upsets are known to happen in Manhattan, Kansas.

My alma mater?  Another money game and another big loss.  I took solace in the fact Kansas lost by a bigger margin to another Top-25 opponent.  A 59-point loss is worse a 49-point loss.  Take that, Rock Chalk!!

All of the day games shared my time and energy with cutting the grass and then going to exercise.  

Speaking of yard work, while I lamented in my last post that the temps aren't quite so cool I noticed yesterday there were more than a few dead leaves on the ground.  

Almost as if the trees know something...

Thursday, October 08, 2015

Is it fall?

According to the calendar it is.

Yet looking outside one would think twice.

It is October.  Many parts of the U.S. already have the leaves changing, harvests happening, or gentry getting out the warmer wear.

Here in NW Kansas we got a taste of it last Saturday.  Geoana had a tennis tournament (these things are day-long) and the night before a storm system came through.

Dropped just a little bit of the wet stuff on us.  However 30 miles to the east, in the town where they were competing, a whole lotta more precipitation.

It also lowered the temps and once the court action commenced us spectators were treated to gray skies, wind, and temperatures that hovered in the 50s.  It builds character, right?

Fast forward to the present and it's another dry mild day.  Plus the forecast calls for a high of 90 or 91 on Sunday!

While this is good weather to take the camper out to the lake I believe we are in for a repeat of the last few years.

Indian summer followed by harsh winter.  No real fall.  No real autumn.

__________________________________

What am I currently doing?  Found a home improvement project just yesterday.

A few weeks ago the main floor bathroom tub spout decided to stop diverting water to the shower head.  This means Geogal now has to walk downstairs to the basement bathroom shower each morning.

Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

So, I called in my plumbing guru to take a look at the situation.  Turns out replacing a tub spout is very easy.  So easy even I could do it.

However....

The old spout isn't coming off without a fight!

I might have to borrow a pipe wrench or something else more hardcore than what is in my toolbox.  So far I've tried a regular wrench, a screwdriver (up the spout) and vise grips but that thing refuses to budge.

My consultant yesterday also told me of an inexpensive way to spruce up the bath/shower area.  FRP board to replace the old, rotting-out bath board.  That, plus a new faucet and a permanent shower head should do the trick.

Should be within my skill level, too.

I'm sure I'll post my trials and tribulations right here for the world to see.  It's called being a leisure writer...