Old Obnoxious Water Meter

I was woken around 2:00am to the sound of our old obnoxious water meter whirling seemingly out of control in an attempt to feed our thirsty new irrigation system. Chris had warned as much, but this is something I already knew having lived in the house for 14.5 years. But hearing it clank in the middle of the night was something entirely new. It’s LOUD. 

Once awake, I couldn’t let go of the worry associated with our brand new irrigation system. There were a handful of things I wasn’t thrilled about: the cut electrical wiring, a leaking sprinkler head, and two areas not being hit by any water at all. Just one time I want to buy something and have it exceed my expectations out of the shoot. No fuss no muss! I feel confident that Chris will ultimately fix everything, but don’t like the idea of having to chase him down. I want to write the check and be done. That’s the way it should be. 

 I must’ve slept on the couch for about 4 hours finally waking around 8:10am. My body ached from sleeping there. I took some ibuprofen almost immediately. I went upstairs to brush my teeth where Mindy asked that I bring her coffee in a little while. I agreed, of course. With my exercise now complete and the coffee started, I headed out on a walk with Ykraps. It was a nice autumn like morning – sunny & cool. 

Not long after getting back from a walk with Ykraps Mindy was up. I was a bit surprised. We hung out for a while sipping coffee and talking before I even thought of heading off on my daily run. Come 10am I finally dressed appropriately and headed out. I ran along Trabue & Hague, eventually stopping by my dad’s after spotting him out in the driveway. We talked for about 20 minutes or so, catching up on his projects as well as my own. We discussed the logistics for Sunday breakfast, which Mindy & I suggested moving to 10am versus the old 9am. He agreed.

 I finished my run then headed in for more coffee. I wasted little time for wanting to head to Home Depot to pick-up supplies to make the outdoor electrical repairs. I left for H.D. in my running clothes. There, I picked up electrical tape, wire nuts, and bi-seal (a stretchy-rubbery tape). I also picked up some more grass seed and a hand spreader for smaller jobs. This time I bought a blend (fescue, rye, and blue grass) that germinates much faster than pure blue grass. With October already here, time is of the essence. Lastly, I picked up a cover for my new grill.

 As I was pulling way, I gave some thought to picking up Chipotle for Mindy & I, but in the end the thought better of it. I was home in short order. During my drive home I listened to Adam Bold, founder of the The Mutual Fund Store, and a successful financial planner. It was interesting to hear his take on the looming financial crisis and the associated bail out plan. I felt good about what he had to say. 

Finally back home, I went right to work at repairing the cut electrical circuits. In total, I had three cut lines to repair in two different holes. In each case I had to cut in a small piece, meaning I had to prep 12 wire ends for splicing. It took about two hours to get the wires spliced fully. Before sealing everything up for direct bury, I tested the lights and then the shed circuit. All systems go. Cool! 

After finishing up the electrical repairs, I got busy elsewhere. Even though I now had a real irrigation system, I went ahead and finished the wall/step project which provides easier access to the pond when running my pump. I may use it for spot watering in the future. Besides, all I had left to do was to pin the 4”X6” stair treads. I drilled the holes in all six of the treads then drove two eighteen inch sections of  ½” rebar through each tread and into the earth securing them nicely. Turned out just as I had envisioned.  That’s good! 

Next, I seeded & fertilized the areas of my yard that were roughed up by the irrigation guys. I expected this work. That’s pretty much unavoidable. Before heading in, I spent about an hour gathering large rocks from the pond’s bank to place in a strategic location out front to help prevent erosion. By then, Mindy was home from the grocery. I helped her carry in the Wal-Mart haul. After all that work, I was pretty well beat and needed a shower badly.  

After a shower I took Ykraps on his evening walk. We spotted Pat Shultz out tending to his yard so we paid him a visit. He invited us over to catch the Buckeye game. Up to that point, Mindy and I had nothing special planned for the game. But we were sort of looking forward to staying in watching the game from the sofa while dressed in our PJs. Back home I poured myself a CBC IPA. Boy did it ever taste good! 

As a lead up to the Buckeye game, we watched quite a bit of the Illinois/Michigan game. Illinois beat ‘em. The Buckeye game didn’t kickoff until sometime after 8pm. Many Buckeye fans don’t care for the night games, but I for one like them plenty. Those games enable me to accomplish everything I need/should get done in the yard without missing any of the action. Before and during the early stages of the Buckeye game, Mindy decorated the living area of our home for Bella’s big birthday bash. 

The Buckeyes scored quickly and on their first possession, but after that they flat lined. It’s fair to say that I used up my entire repertoire of swear words during most of the first half and early into the second.  Wisconsin eventually took a lead late in the 4^th quarter. Like plenty others, I am sure, I figured we were toast, but that wasn’t the case. No sir! Our latest freshman phenom, Terrell Pryor marched us 80 yards for the winning TD. Even that drive was filled dramatic moments. And by the way, dramatic moments are almost always filled with swear words. J It seems to help the cause. 

Exhausted from all the football theatrics, we headed off to bed.