Takin' the Blog for a Walk
Join Waukesha resident Brien Lee and his blog, Sir Fido, as they explore the city and report on the interesting things they find.
Email Brien at howlinblog@yahoo.com.
throne out of the House
This weekend was the opposite. If, as I've said, the most exciting thing for me from the previous weekend was the Packer game, this past weekend was so full I didn't even watch yesterday's game.
Our toilet recently started leaking from the flapper valve, made much worse by Thursday night after I fiddled with it. I realized we had a dinosaur when I picked up a "universal" valve that didn't fit, didn't see a replacement on the manufacturer's website, nor could I find one in Menards. Thanks to our 1983 model water waster, when I called the manufacturer even they couldn't identify it and wanted a picture of it.
Even though we were way overdue for a more efficient unit, we were moving my mother, cat and dog-in-laws in on Saturday morning and couldn't be spending half the day in the bathroom replacing a fixture. Never having replaced a toilet before, I was a little nervous about all the things that could go wrong.
Still trying to avoid complete replacement, another trip to Menards for a new flush valve assembly. Then back again for the tank to bowl bolts now that I realized I'd need those too. No, the porcelain tank doesn't hold up too well when hammering on 30 year old seized bolts. Fourth and final time to Menards. This time for a new 1.6 gallon throne.
Complete replacement didn't go as bad as I thought, and was far easier than the alternative. Was done by 10:30 Friday night. Really looking forward to the water we'll be saving.
Moving the in-laws in went well, though the cat-in-law disappeared into the basement and I haven't seen it since. Bailey now has a couple new playmates, so I'm sure he's happy.
Though tired, I'd been looking forward to the neighbor's Halloween party Saturday night. You could say I'd been working on the costume for two weeks. I've been known to have a slight resemblance to Dr. House from the now-cancelled series "House", especially when I hadn't shaved for a while. All I needed for this outfit was a t-shirt, sport coat, cane and two week growth on my face. Oh, and a bottle of "Vicodin" and the Dr. House cynical attitude. I actually didn't need the attitude for people to know me at the party, but practicing on the family earlier was quite a bit of fun.
I didn't stay long because I knew the phone would be ringing early for hot air ballooning. (I later heard police showed up to tell them to turn it down.)
I hadn't been balloon crewing in a month or more, so I was happy when the phone rang at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. The trees are just too beautiful this year. I'm glad someone gets to see them from the air.
As I had time to kill before meeting I stepped outside to try to catch the Orionids, a meteor shower associated with Halley's Comet. Thought I saw a few, but didn't see any really good ones until the two I saw early this morning.
The balloon passengers, a young, soon to be engaged couple, were there thanks to an elaborate plan by Jake to surprise Jackie with a proposal in the basket, probably somewhere over Lake Keesus or thereabouts.
She had no idea. It was a perfect morning for the special occasion and I was proud to be part of it.
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