What did you do today? 2018 version

[misshathaway]

+1 A french drain inside and sump pump seems to be addressing symptoms rather than the cause.... sealing the foundation so the water doesn't get in to begin with and fixing drainage around the foundation.

Do you have gutters on the eaves? At our old house gutters did a world of goo in diverting water away from the foundation.

I have gutters and drain pipes but the drainpipes only extend 3 feet from the house. Neighbor with same setup had foundation sealed, but her cracks and leaks were above ground. Then she had drain spouts redirected to one drainage pipe that runs out to the street underground, connected to an external french drain. Basement's been dry over since.

 

[misshathaway]

When houses are built,they dig a big hole and install a foundation, then back fill in around the perimeter with loose fill dirt. Initially, the dirt near the house is higher than the yard, then over time it settles and settles until it is either level with the yard or slightly below. Once the settling occurs, water sinks next to the foundation and wants to leak in. Often, merely building up the dirt around the foundation is enough to fix the problem, sometimes you need to extend the gutters out away from the foundation. If the downspouts are plugged with debris, the gutters overflow and water falls right next to the foundation, again going down the wall and leaking. The internal drain and a new sump will achieve the same result as the easy fixes but will also send the contractor's kids to college.

https://www.familyhandyman.com/basement/how-to-cure-a-wet-basement/view-all/

Thank you for the info and link. It doesn't help that the house is at the bottom of a huge hill.Based on all of this I obviously need a second assessment. Hard to get a non-biased one even from a structural engineer since I'm sure they have their referral network lined up. But at least I would know how much damage has already taken place.

 

[misshathaway]

Broccoli seeds came today from Amazon and I started 2 mason jars for sprouts. We'll see what kind of kitchen farmer I am.

Buying broccoli sprouts in markets is so hit or miss. Sometimes they are fine and sometimes they already have rotting sprouts at the bottom. How much sulforaphane could possibly be left?

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We saw the pre-Broadway premiere of a play called Head Over Heals at the Curran Theater in San Francisco yesterday. It is an 16th century Elizabethan farce mashed up with music from the Go-Go's. It got a standing ovation here so I hope theater goers on Broadway like it, too. We really enjoyed it. It was pretty witty, high energy and clever how the Go-Goes music was weaved into the plot line.

Today was more low key. I made some arrangements from flowers in the garden, we worked in the yard, took the dog to a small lake for a walk and enjoyed the the second episode of the new season of Westworld. My head is exploding at some of the plot twists on Westworld but in a good way.

 

[Nemo2]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tâmpa,_Brașov

Walked the 'Red' trail*, (hesitate to say 'hiked', since that evokes images of sturdy boots and liederhosen), up, and the 'Yellow', (ostensibly easier), trail down..........(got directions at the top from a couple young girls who ran all the way up and arrived just minutes after we got there).

Arrived back to the studio just before 10:30 a.m.....in time for coffee.

(*Since the signs at the start of the trail mentioned bears I 'let' DW lead the way.......just so's in case of an attack I could run for help, y'understand.)

 

[Ronstar]

Made a hiking stick from an oak stick that I found in the yard. Started making a burial flag case for a friend whose father was a WWII vet. 2 days ago delivered my boat to the new owners and did another controlled burn.

 

[aja8888]

Heading to clinic for my scheduled colonoscopy this morning.

DD and new hubby are arriving back from their honeymoon in Maui about the time I have to arrive at the clinic. A good friend of mine is picking them up at the airport as I drove them there last Sunday morning.

May is checkup month for me and I have my annual wellness exam set for the 15th. I need to set up an appointment with the skin doc as I have new things growing here and there on the surface of my body.

Also need to set an appointment with my dentist to get my annual cleaning and discuss another possible implant.

 

[pb4uski]

I have gutters and drain pipes but the drainpipes only extend 3 feet from the house. Neighbor with same setup had foundation sealed, but her cracks and leaks were above ground. Then she had drain spouts redirected to one drainage pipe that runs out to the street underground, connected to an external french drain. Basement's been dry over since.

That works for her because she diverts water away from the foundation and has good drainage and she has sealed the foundation so any residual water wanting to get into the house can't get in. Follow her recipe.

 

[jjquantz]

Played a round of golf this morning and then went to the grocery. Picked up lunch for DW who is working from home today. When I got home I had a corrected tax statement from Fidelity in the mail. My first thought was, "Oh crap, here comes an amended return." But the correction simply changed the interest reported from $106.64 to $107.04. Thank goodness the 1040 is rounded to the nearest dollar.

 

[dirt_dobber]

finished 2 new Aidrondack chairs

I make a few of these Adirondack chairs every year. I just finished these and put them on our local craigslist. Not making much money on these at all but it covers the cost of the hobby

 

[aja8888]

^^^^^ Beautiful work!

 

[harley]

I make a few of these Adirondack chairs every year. I just finished these and put them on our local craigslist. Not making much money on these at all but it covers the cost of the hobby

Very nice! We have a little beach on the bay back behind our neighborhood. People (including us) have been putting cheap plastic Adirondack chairs back there for general use, but after one summer's weather they're pretty shot. I was thinking about making some wooden ones out of found lumber and putting them out there. I figure even if they only last the one year it will be good practice, and should only cost me whatever the hardware runs. It's on my to do list, but not at the top.

 

[dirt_dobber]

Very nice! We have a little beach on the bay back behind our neighborhood. People (including us) have been putting cheap plastic Adirondack chairs back there for general use, but after one summer's weather they're pretty shot. I was thinking about making some wooden ones out of found lumber and putting them out there. I figure even if they only last the one year it will be good practice, and should only cost me whatever the hardware runs. It's on my to do list, but not at the top.

Thanks! I use a plan made by Norm Abram and I use Cypress or Western Red Cedar. These are 30 year chairs - I glue and screw every piece and use 10 stainless bolts (at $1 each) and stainless wood screws. I got an order from a resort down in Houston area to make 20 of them but I'm not really set up for that kind of production but it was flattering to get the order.

 

[Walt34]

Gym day, then a visit to the dermatologist to get checked over for suspicious growing things. Nothing found, that's always good news.

The truck thermometer said 72° so perhaps we really are going to get a spring this year.

 

[Hermit]

Gym day, then a visit to the dermatologist to get checked over for suspicious growing things. Nothing found, that's always good news.

The truck thermometer said 72° so perhaps we really are going to get a spring this year.

I'm thinking the same thing. I opened up the stairwell to the basement today. It has been blocked since the house was enclosed a couple of years ago. I am doing the lower level framing and need to get the stairwell framed. It is getting late enough and (hopefully) warm enough that I won't want to run the furnace downstairs anymore this season.

 

[aja8888]

Colonoscopy today.

All is good! Doc said "I will live to 130". I wonder if he is running for office somewhere in town?

 

[bbbamI]

Colonoscopy today.

All is good! Doc said "I will live to 130". I wonder if he is running for office somewhere in town?

Congratulations!

=======================

DH and I applied for a loan today; it's been 24 years since we've borrowed money. He was considering buying a car, so we thought, what the heck. We weren't sure if we would be approved or not since we're both retired. I gave the banker a spreadsheet of our assets and yearly income. She only seemed interested in the money we received from social security, his pension and the dividends we receive.

Lo and behold we were approved for an unsecured loan. She said another option was a HELOC if we owned our home. Well yes indeed we do. We are considering the HELOC.

As far as the car purchase goes, DH changed his mind.

 

[NW-Bound]

Some years ago, we went to our bank with the intention of helping our daughter buy a car with us cosigning. That would help her establish some credit record.

The banker appeared not to know what to do, and admitted that he had not done this. He suggested that we obtained the loan at a car dealer as they got the process down flat.

So, that's what we did.

 

[Nemo2]

Got up at 04:00 a.m., showered, grabbed a bite to eat, and strolled down to the nearby bus terminal to catch the first bus to the train station.........oops....it's still part of the long weekend, and the holiday schedule is in effect.........Duh.

Sprang for a $4.00 cab fare.....purchased our train tickets, and boarded the first train to Fagaras, about a 90 minute trip, with at least three minutes to spare.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Făgăraș

Wandered around the Citadel, and in keeping with our previous experiences didn't hear or encounter anyone who appeared to be non-Romanian.

Tomorrow it's almost a rinse & repeat as we leave Brasov in the wee hours and head to our next stop........Sighisoara.

 

[misshathaway]

I make a few of these Adirondack chairs every year. I just finished these and put them on our local craigslist. Not making much money on these at all but it covers the cost of the hobby

Man those are beautiful

 

[misshathaway]

Growing broccoli sprouts is fun!

Started these Saturday night. By Sunday morning they already had tiny green root tips. They live in the kitchen cabinet until they get leaves.

 

[redduck]

Wished the Duchess of redduck a Happy April Fool's Day this morning. She said, "Thank you."

 

[Ronstar]

Celebrated our anniversary in the podiatrist's office getting new orthotics for both of us.

Need to set up our deep 3 car garage to fit 3 cars, truck, atv, riding mower, kayak, 3 bikes, and deck furniture. I came up with a shelving design to allow the car to fit under the shelving unit so that another car can fit behind it. Then I found a shelving unit at the big box store that saved me a lot of work.

 

[Ronstar]

I make a few of these Adirondack chairs every year. I just finished these and put them on our local craigslist. Not making much money on these at all but it covers the cost of the hobby
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Nice chairs!

 

[target2019]

Woke up, went to the balcony, and saw waves at Waikiki Beach. It's a great day!