Toilet Maintenance and Support

There has been water on the floor near the upstairs toilet for a few days. It’s kind of come and gone but in the last couple of days, it’s been pretty persistent.

I had assumed that I needed to replace the wax ring but upon further investigation today, I discovered the water was dripping from the tank. 

So I called Mark to come over and give me a hand. I knew what I needed to do but I wanted extra hands to help lift. Plus, a second set of eyes wouldn’t hurt.

I ended up making several trips to the General Store but I finally got everything working again. Well, almost mostly working again. I need a couple of small washers, but the toilet is working and useable again.

The struggle involves my declining ability to do stuff. I just get worn out so quickly. Kneeling down and angling under the back of the toilet really took it out of me.

This kind of goes back to the issues I had with skiing the other day.  All the preparation leading up to the actual skiing really wears me out.

I have to come to grips with the reality that my ski days are numbered.

Ski Day Three

My friend John called yesterday and said he was planning on skiing today.

Initially, I told him I was going to pass. Then I got up this morning and the first thing I did was check the webcams on the Mt. Spokane website.

This is what I saw.

Well, I couldn’t very well ignore that. Then I saw this.

Now I have to go skiing.

So, I showered, got dressed, and drove to Mt Spokane. 

Thanks to my handicap placard, I got great parking. However, there is still the matter of getting me and my equipment up to the lodge.

I carried my skis up to the lodge and got my ski pass. I went back down to the truck and put on my gear. It was quite an ordeal to get my boots on and properly buckled up.

Then I walked back up to the lodge. When I got up there, I had to sit and catch my breath for a bit.

I finally got on the lift and connected with John and his friend, Rob at the top of Chair Three. 

When I first started skiing down the hill, I quickly came to the conclusion that all the struggle I dealt with to get my gear on and get up the mountain was worth it.

The skiing was great. The skies remained clear and the temperature was pretty pleasant.

We skied four runs and then took a beer break. If I skied one more run, my ski cost would be $10.00 a run. As it was at four runs, my cost was $12.50 per run. 

I finally decided that I had skied enough. I finished my beer, said my good byes and skied down to the car.

Another struggle to get my boots off and then I needed to catch my breath again before driving home.

I got home and immediately sacked out on the bed for about an hour and a half.

Once again, I really have to consider how much longer I can keep skiing. This recovery period I’m going through is pretty tough, and even worse when I consider how much of a wimp I am.

Skunk Alert

I was out in the backyard the other night when I noticed some movement coming at me from the front yard. It turned out to be a fat little puff ball with black fur and two white stripes down its back. It ran past me to the east side of the Carriage House and disappeared.

Today I wanted to investigate that disappearance, as I had my suspicions that were later confirmed.

That damn skunk has managed to burrow under the Carriage House and establish a residence.

This picture doesn’t make it very clear, but if you look closely, you can see she has dug under the chicken wire I anchored years ago to keep skunks out. They are very good and very persistent diggers.

And yes, I am calling her a she because that has been my experience in the past. She burrows in, establishes a residence and then proceeds to give birth to five, six or seven of the cutest little stinkers you’ve ever seen.

So, for now, we’re stuck with another pet.

Ski Day Number Two

My friend Geoff invited me for a ski day at Schweitzer today. I generally don’t ski Schweitzer because they have priced me out of the market.

I went today because I was able to get a half priced ticket due to Geoff’s Icon Pass. Even at half price, the ticket cost $67.00. That’s more than any of the other areas are charging. The half price cost is MORE than the regular price being charged by any of the other ski resorts in the area. 

To make matters worse, this has been a horrible ski season for all the resorts. There has been a major lack of snow. Lots of Schweitzer is not even open.

They have pretty good coverage but you have to watch where you’re going in many places on the hill. Rocks and weeds are abundant.

The snow was wet and sloppy, the kind of snow you would expect in the Spring.

The weather was the best part. Clear with high clouds, and occasional sunniness.

The bad part of the day was the way I responded to the activity of skiing. As always, the walk from the car to the lift is the worst part of my day. It felt particularly bad today. It took a while to recover.

We got in seven runs, the last three I skied with my oxygen generator. I can’t say it made a huge difference. Perhaps my stamina improved a bit but by that time, I was pretty skied out and ready to end the day. The last run in particular was rough on me. It was a very long run and I stopped a lot on the way down to catch my breath.

This is my first time skiing where I am seriously wondering how much more I can ski. It was a rough day and I am dead tired right now. I can barely type this post.

Gnocchi

I’m not sure how long this has been going on and I have not done a good job of chronicling it here.

We have another cat. His name is Gnocchi. (Pronounced: No-Kee) He really belongs to some people who live across the park.

We first met “the Gnokes” a couple years ago. We would be out on the front porch on a nice warm day and he would show up. He was very friendly and loooooooved to get rubbed on and scratched.

He is a familiar personality in the neighborhood. Many of our neighbors know about Gnocchi and have enjoyed his company. Some have even fed him.

We have not fed him knowing that once we did, he would think he lived here.

Since the weather turned cold, since the first of the year, we have taken him in. He spends the nights in the Carriage House. And yes, we have started to feed him. In fact, we are now on our second bag of Purina Cat Chow, a much larger bag from the first. That is kind of how we are gaging the length of time since taking him in.

We wonder if he has any contact with the couple across the park. I let him out daily and sometimes for quite a while. But he always shows back up and wants to be warm and indoors.

So, for now, Gnocchi is living in the Carriage House. Judging by the smell inside the Carriage House, and other visual evidence, there are two skunks living under there as well.

We have not named the skunks (yet) and have no plans to feed them.