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Praetorium Honoris

Monday, May 13, 2024

What a Week!

 So....There I was*...Last Monday early evening,  post is posted, comments are commented, a pre-prandial Rose' in hand,  BBQ is heating, with the exception of all the Bovine Excrement going on in DC, all is right in my World.  Mrs J is down to her last few radiation treatments and both her doctors are very upbeat about the results.  They're not saying she's in the clear, but their voices are lilting when they talk about her progress.  So fast forward to tomorrow, she'll have her last treatment, then six weeks off before surgery to remove the remains of the tumor.

Thank you, Lord!

In any case, it's later last Monday evening and Mrs. J and I are sitting on the front porch watching the grass blow in the breeze in Rancho Juvat's pasture.  Life is good!

I'm taking a sip of wine when Mrs. J announces that MBD (My Beautiful Daughter), MG, my Eldest Granddaughter, and My Grandson, León, will be arriving in the morn. My brain was trying to decide on the order of swallowing the wine or yelling "Yay".  

Unfortunately, in the enthusiasm of the moment, it just said, "Yes"!  I got a short lesson on what drowning might feel like, but I recovered.

Apparently, the Docs had given permission for visitation as long as the visitors showed no signs of colds, flu, barfing, loose poops, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. 


MBD and crew passed the test. Given that we hadn't seen that threesome since the episode began, Mrs. J was pretty excited.

As was I.

Arrival was uneventful and I got my first in person view of our Grandson.  He's now 6 months old.  I think he's going to be a pro football linebacker.  I was so enthused about meeting him I carried him around on my hip for the better part of the evening.



 

I wouldn't recommend that.  The following morning getting out of bed was torturous.   But one must persevere.  Rather than lug the big lug around, we introduced him to one of his older cousin's vehicles from when she was his age.


 


Worked like a champ.  He took off with afterburners at full blast, laughing his head off.  Unfortunately, another Fighter Pilot adage took over.

"All velocity, no vector".  Never applied to me, well...not that often.  But, in this case, was completely appropriate.  While my back received no further misuse, the same could not be said of my shins.  And, he's perfected the "Bwah-Hah-Hah" laugh of a pirate and used it with great glee.

We also had another bit of excitement that evening.  LJW and Miss B came over for dinner and to meet their niece/nephew/cousins (depending on generation).  Introductions went quite well.

Then Miss B stunned the crowd.

"Look, Mrs. J (I need to find a Gramma nickname, suggestions welcome) no hands."  She'd made her first no support steps at her therapy session that morning.  This was about 5 times further, AKA 10 steps.  So...Big time and exciting progress.


We settle in for a bit of dinner (Beans, the menu was "Make your own pizza).  MG likes Pepperoni, Grape jelly rolls, cheese cubes and banana's. 


Hey, who am I to criticize?

 At least dinner included wine!

And after ruling over the festivities, León decided he needed a nap (at the table).



 Apparently, my rock hard chest (RRRIIIGGGHHHTTT) is quite comfortable for the little guy.  But did you know that having a Grandchild sleep in your arms is one of the most powerful sedatives known to man?  Yes,  I indulged in a postprandial sleep session also.

The following morning, we get a call from Guests in one of our cabins saying that water for the kitchen sink was only coming through the sprayer, not the faucet.  They said they were headed into town and would we fix it while they're gone.  

Well, crap! I'm not a plumber nor have I played one on TV.  I go down to the cabin, turn the door knob and the door's locked.  WTF?  We live at the end of a 1.5 mile road with only one way out, our property is gated and nobody's around.  You need to lock the door?

Anyhow, I go back up to the house and get the spare key.  Come back down and stick it in the lock.  Doesn't work.  Bad words were spoken.  Meanwhile the cleaning lady arrives, walks up and asks what's up.  I explain the issue to her, she goes back to her vehicle, returns with a playing card and opens the door.

I'm not sure if I'm relieved or scared stiff.  In any case, I enter and take a look at the faucet.  It does, in fact, only work in spray.  I look underneath and am in another "What the heck do I do now?" moment.




The sprayer connections are the top and the bottom.  I try turning them, but only end up turning the sprayer itself.  Nothing seems obvious to me.  Looks like, rather than screw something up badly, it's time to "Call the Plumber".  Before I leave to do that, I figure I'd better check to see that I didn't loosen something enough to cause a leak.  Turn it on, still sprays water.  Start to put it back into the slot, when I remembered a lesson I learned from a Crew Chief on my F-4.  

Sarge knows this one.

"Hit it with a hammer"

Well, I didn't have a hammer, but it's a steel sink with a divider between the two basins.  I give it a brisk rap on the divider and feel a kerchunk in my hand.  Turn on the water and Voila'.

Does this make me a master plumber?  Sure could use the money.

Since this is being written on Sunday and this particular Sunday is referred to as Mother's Day and I had 3 Mother's on the property at the time, I figured my continued life depended on getting that day right.

I took them out for Sunday Brunch with the 3 grandkids at a nice little restaurant called the Hill Country Herb Garden.  Very nice place, nice staff, good food, a little pricey but not horrible.  I can heartily recommend the Steak Filet Egg's Benedict.  


Well...I was the only guy, above the physical age of 6 months (other forms of measure could be in doubt).  Little J was "there" in spirit to keep an eye on things.

Afterwords, Mother's day gifts were presented.


MG did a great job of delivering them.

Speaking of gift delivery.

4 weeks into a planned 3 day job.


C'est enfin terminé ! 

The solution to the glue problem was soak it in paint thinner for about 5 minutes, scrape off as much glue as possible, then use Goof Off glue removal on any remnants. Took quite a while, but it worked. Just an FYI in case any of you are caught in a similar situation.

 Oh, yeah, one more picture. Or not! Thanks Google.

 *It's been a while, but this is the standard opening phraseology of a Fighter Pilot War Story, and the truth of the story is absolute. (In the mind of the Teller.)

32 comments:

  1. Monday.
    Monday the 13th.
    It was a Monday the 13th about 40 years ago upon which I managed to break one of the forks on the forklift at work.

    Congratulations to Mrs. J on her progress.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joe,
      Now that takes some skills!
      Thanks
      juvat

      Delete
  2. I have no idea what the gargle is doing to blogposts, but I wish it would stop.
    Except for the plumbing lessons it sounds like a grand week in the scheme of things.
    My grandson, at 15, is as tall (almost) as I; also a track and cross country champ.
    That doesn’t mean he outshines yours, or any other grandchildren.
    Enjoy yours!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Skip,
      Yeah, that was a bit puzzling/irritating. Added one pic after it had been published for an hour or two. Garbaged everything up. .
      Having all three Grand Kids together and getting along was fabulous. Took a bit of weight off MBD's shoulders for a while.
      Great fun!
      juvat

      Delete
  3. I had to remove your last photo, somehow the formatting at the end of your post is terribly broken and the photo was "flowing" into the comments, as was your footnote.

    Good news on Mrs. J.

    The little one has made amazing progress, gladdens the heart to see that.

    I will endeavor to repair the post at some point.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sarge,
      Removing the last photo and associated text seems to have fixed it. Post length limit, perhaps? I added that pic later in the day when I got it from LJW. Looked fine in the working screen, all screwed up in the preview/posted one.
      juvat

      Delete
    2. I'm with Skip, I'm sure some goon of a Gargle programmer hosed something up. We've had posts a lot longer than this one.

      Delete
    3. Yeah, something happened outside my programming. I don't know if you ever look at the HTML view, but there sure is a lot of extra crap code in there. I didn't see anything related to Blogger's end post controls in the code view, but mixing the two code sections sure screwed things up.

      Delete
    4. First thing I did was to look at the end of the post's HTML. lots of extra crap in there which looked like it had nothing to do with that last photo. But when I took the photo out, stuff stopped overlapping into the comments section. Which is very odd as the comments section is controlled by the main blog template's HTML, i.e. a whole separate area. I'm guessing Blogger did something funky (not Blogger itself but one of the minions doing the programming). Between you finishing the post, then adding the photo later.

      Something to keep an eye on in the days ahead. (I've seen this kind of one-time-good-deal from Blogger before. They usually fix it within a day or so. If it happens again, I'll get a screenshot and forward it to their "help" department.)

      Delete
    5. It could be due to juvat being terribly broken but I'd never mention that.

      Delete
    6. Beans,
      Bent! Not Broken! Never give Up! Never Surrender!
      juvat

      Delete
    7. Sarge,
      Yeah, there's been a bit of minor quirkishness going on recently. Think I'm going to start writing the draft in Notepad then cut and paste it into Blogger before "prettying" it up and posting. Then, worst case, and it's lost, I'm not totally screwed.
      juvat

      Delete
    8. I realize that I working with a handicap by writing posts on my iPhone, but if I want to include more than two in a post, and keep them in any kind of order, it must be done one at a time.
      Talk about a pain in the @$$.

      Delete
    9. Skip,
      Well, I guess the old saying is still true. Free...Isn't.
      But you're right about PITA.
      juvat

      Delete
  4. Adventures in plumbing! Such joys, not. Well, sometimes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HTom,
      Yeah, and crawling under the sink to see what's what (and take pictures so I could show the experts to help them figure out what was wrong) was a bit trying on the old bod. I was just glad my Guardian Angel said "Just give it a whack and see what happens". Hopefully, it stays fixed for a while.
      juvat

      Delete
  5. What a wonderful way to start my day and week! Thanks Juvat!

    (Ugh. Plumbing. Although I will keep your technique in mind. Seems simple enough. I wonder if whatever functions as a diverter valve got stuck?)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. THBB,
      Yeah, it was a great day.
      I would say that was the case, I couldn't see any thing that looked like anything other than a hose underneath, but that didn't trigger the impulse. The handle just felt like it was in the spray position. But...I was frustrated and a bit sore from crawling into cabinets, so I may have taken out some of that frustration on the sprayer itself. Fortunately, that technique worked both to fix it and settle me down.
      juvat

      Delete
    2. The technique works on other devices. At work in the 80's we had three temperamental scientific instruments on the same high-vacuum chamber. The service tech was almost a member of the staff he was there so often. With yet another problem described over the phone, he suggested that the operator perform an impact modulation test. "???". "Kick it!!!"

      Delete
    3. Don,
      Glad to hear I might have used the proper repair technique. Seemed to work on an F-4, and was transferable to a simple spray unit.
      juvat

      Delete
  6. Aha! Family Time! Especially on Mom's Day juvat. As an ex-federal employee four weeks into a three day job sounds about right........ :) Very encouraging to hear the doc's views on Mrs. J's progress, most excellent!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nylon,
      Yeah, that's probably par for the course. The Tyvek removal process was a solid PITA (and No, I'm not talking about Greek Bread). That took about a week.
      Yep, we're pretty happy about it. Just got back from her daily zapping session and meet with the Surgeon. He's very happy. He's happy, I'm happy!
      juvat

      Delete
  7. Replies
    1. WSF,
      Yeah. Got kinda tired of it. Took longer to get ready in the morning with it than shaving. Besides, gotta keep all the camera's puzzled about who they're photographing.
      juvat

      Delete
    2. Beards in the South work okay for winter, but not so much for the summer.

      Delete
    3. Beans,
      True, We've had a very wet spring, (It's rained every day for a couple of weeks). Heat and Humidity are both high which also added to the get rid of the fur decision.
      juvat

      Delete
  8. A very full week. Surprised you didn't crash more often.

    As to the sink, sounds like you may have some mineral deposits going on with your water supply. Or not. Oh well, you'll find out one day.

    And very glad everything is looking good on your family.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beans,
      As am I. Naps are getting a bit more common in my daily schedule. Not that that's a bad thing, just a new(ish) thing.

      Mineral deposits? In Texas Water? Say it ain't so! I actually looked for that, but the sprayer and the faucet didn't look like they had a lot of build up. Now, the cleaning service may have used some vinegar on them, so still a possibility. But, that could explain why the handle was stuck. Thanks
      juvat

      Delete
  9. Dang, I think I've been home for like 5-6 Mother's Days in the past 30 years. Posts like this remind me of what I missed. Sounds like a truly fine day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PD!
      Yeah it was a great day lots of smiles, laughter and story telling. As you said, a "truly fine day".
      Cheers
      juvat

      Delete
  10. That is so very cool about Miss B walking for Grammy J!! Or whatever handle you all decide.
    And, yes, those scooters (as we called them) can be tough on the shins, but the kiddos all seem to love them. The dog and cats were never crazy about them, and ya had to be sure the door to the cellar stairs was closed, but otherwise, lots of fun.

    Looks like you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!! I'm thinking all your moms deserved one this year after everything they have all been through!! Did MBD get her flood cleared up??

    Sometimes, all ya need is a good whack to get things back in line! Glad it saved you a plumber's call!
    I just went through having to call the appliance store to service my less-than-3-year-old dryer...I advised them that 1) it was less than 3 years old, and 2. I was only one person so it maybe does 3-4 loads a week...maybe?? Which is nothing compared to when the kids were home.
    They sent out a very nice young guy, who after poking around a bit said the little round plastic piece that was the button cover cracked, so it wasn't exerting the proper pressure on the proper metal piece. So he removed the plastic piece, and told me to be gentle when pushing the metal piece, but at least I was able to use it until they could order in the "$1" replacement part. "$1" for the part, $140 to diagnose it. Then today another fellow shows up, wasn't in the driveway for 10 minutes, waved the labor fee so the part cost $10.69, and he popped it right on.
    My son had gone to Lowe's looking to see if they had one of those umbrella type clothes lines...or any other type of clothes line...nope. It can be ordered, but not kept in stock. :( Well, for now, the dryer at least is working.

    Glad you were able to get all the glue off. The finished piece looks awesome!!

    Suz

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Suz,
      I'll start with the tough question, re: Flooding. Unfortunately, the great State of Texas is, in fact, calling it flooding AKA an Act of God. Therefore, their homeowner's insurance doesn't cover it. What about Flood Insurance? They were assured they weren't in a Flood Plain so not needed. In fact they are not in a flood plain but the city's drainage system stopped up. Right now they're letting the underflooring dry up and then they'll be able to repair. We'll have to see what we'll see about cost to repair. Since they're not the only ones in this situation in College Station, I suspect Lawyers will get involved very soon.
      Thanks,
      juvat

      Delete

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