The Great Wall continues.... Tier 2

Thankfully, the upper tier is proving easier to dig than the lower, due to not having to dig through the hardpan. Still, A long way to go.....

In which it takes 12 hours to change out a toilet.....

Take it from one who has learned her lesson. 7pm on a sunday night is NOT the time to decide to tackle the removal and replacement of the ONLY TOILET IN THE HOUSE.

Old Nasty

SO, the tiny batcave bathroom came with what looks like a REALLY old toilet complete with microbes and bacteria that look to have been thriving for the last 40 years or so. I have avoided looking too closely or tampering with it in any way (aside from dumping numerous bleach and cleaner products within) because, well, it's a toilet.  But since I have a bit of free time on my hands this week, I've been compiling a list of "need to do" projects that are inexpensive. Swapping out the old toilet is inexpensive because I've been intending to put the larger, higher toilet from the master bath in its place. And so. Last night I had an impulse to just do it.

Which led to the discovery that my water main does NOT shut off all the way. I thought it was just the water in the pipes that needed to be bled off, so I started dismantling the old toilet. 15 minutes later, with the tank already thrown in the trash and the shutoff valve at the tank completely frozen, I realized my error. 10 minutes too late. The tank cracked when I chucked it in the trash. So now it's 8pm and I figure I'll just keep a bucket under the valve until I can do a quick swap of the toilet bases. Except the old toilet has FOUR bolts. And 2 are so rusted they do not want to budge an inch. I use a penetrant and keep dinking away at them (emptying the 5 gallon bucket of overflow water every 45 minutes). And then, magic, the old toilet gives up the ghost and comes off. I rejoice. I scrape all the old wax off the flange and install a new waxless ring on the new toilet.

Water off, dismantling begins.

And then. I can't get the waxless ring to allow the toilet to sit flush on the tile. Without the ring, it sat perfectly. With the ring, it sits about a half inch high and my body weight is not enough to force the waxless ring all the way down. And then I realize my goof.  While perusing the various toilet replacement reccommendations on the internets, somehow none of them mentioned that instead of just scraping off the old wax, you also have to REMOVE the reinforcement ring that the old wax ring sat upon. It came out. On the end of the waxless seal, which I also managed to tear. So now I have to way to seal the toilet until lowes opens at 6am. NICE.  and my water main is dripping at the rate of One 5-gallon bucket per hour.  I cover the sewer hole, empty the bucket and set my alarm for an hour.  And I repeat all night until all curses have been used and my eyeballs feel like sandpaper.

new wax ring. and new bolts.

The old wax ring, and steadily leaking water valve

At 6am I go get a WAX ring and come home to install it flawlessly. SCORE!  and then I realise that the old toilet was small. The new toilet is larger and taller. Thus the 12 inch connector line from the toilet to the water line is now about 1 inch short. Fuck.  Empty bucket and run back to Lowes. Lowes does not have a 1/2 to 7/8 line in any length greater than 12 inches. Fuck. Debate running home to empty bucket. Run to OSH instead. Victory. They have the line and I am racing home to beat the bucket deadline. At this point it is neccessity. I've been holding it for 12 hours. I need to go.



 I make it home in time to empty the bucket and tighten up the new toilet installation. Then I risk turning the water main back on. The new low-flow toilet fills, it holds water, it flushes beautifully and finally, relief.  and I do mean RELIEF.

Who knew toilets were so simple parts wise, but such a pain in the arse to dial in?  Next time, I will be better prepared.

The Great Wall of Fresno

The time has come to tackle my eroding slope at the back of the canal bank. Since the rear of my property backs onto a large canal bank, there is roughly a 6 foot difference between the flat of my backyard and the shoulder of the canal bank. And so, a tier system must be built to contain the erosion. Oh how I love to dig post holes in hardpan.....

Still to be excavated...

 

The first section of posts

Lets hope I can finish it in time for spring planting......

The Veggie Garden - Update

as bought

Although it has been a prodigious first year for the veggie garden, the spring/summer crops had begun to fade into oblivion (plus, who needs that much eggplant when most of your neighbors hate eggplant?).  So, last weekend I dug out all the fading/non productive stuff and tilled up the beds for replanting with FALL and WINTER veggies!!  I know, I know, it's still 100 degrees and yadda yadda, but seriously, I am jonesing for fall and reviving the veggie garden will help save my sanity. Which is in precious need of saving due to the amount of work I've put in this summer in my *cough* corporate (ugh) job...... Thank goodness for chickens and cherry tomatoes.

prepping the space

 So far the following have been torn out (either because they were unproductive or I was just sick of eating nothing but eggplant for 3 months straight) - eggplant (one lone shrub survived the purge - you are welcome Pat); radishes (fungus and wilt problems lately); cantaloupe (only 1 plant survived), carrots and corn (damn you rodents!).  And now the following are getting an early start on fall......  Spinach, arugula, yellow onions, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, more curled parsley (because I like it in my omelettes), and w more thornless blackberries (because, yum.).  These join the standards that made the cut to stay which include - green beans, orange and green bell peppers, fresno chilies, basil, honeydew, cherry tomatoes, raspberries, blueberries, grape tomatoes, old german heirloom tomatoes, pineapple tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, asparagus and the necatarine and lime trees.

as of today, scraggly

cucmbers

hot hot chilies

beans

previously eggplant, now spinach starts

Lets face it, these girls get more of the goods than I do. Ingrates.

The Payoff.....

That's right. My cute little chirping peeps have turned into floofy, waddling 4-month old chickens. And now my three little redheads have started making me breakfast every morning!

Top: first egg, Bottom: store bought

The golf ball is to help the chicks
learn where to lay

the haul from the first 2 days....

Nothing better......

Courtyard drainage.....

So half my front yard is absolutely gorgeous. Low water, no mowing, minimal weeding and blooming away like a champ. The OTHER half has been, well........ bleh.

Granted, the torn up driveway doesn't help, but my biggest issue has been trying to solve a drainage issue stemming from the first incompetent contractor who worked on the courtyard and poured the slab 4 inches lower than planned. Thus, the drainage for the courtyard is a little outlet that was just below level with the yard. doh.

SO. The long stretch of wall visible above at the right side presented some issues. How to incorporate drainage without it looking like a giant drainage ditch. oh good,  a puzzle.

First we re-route some of the courtyard plumbing....

Then we start building concrete molds for curbing.....

The general idea was to try and make the drainage look like a dry desert wash or creek bed to fit in with my general garden theme from the other side of the yard. How it turns out.... still unknown.

I did discover that it is not easy for one person to do concrete work solo. I mixed the first section myself... pressed some river rock into the top as it set....

 
and then I wised up and asked my neighbors for help with the second and third sections....  This allowed me to finish the back curb and start planting some succulents in the dirt strip along the courtyard wall. To soften the edge and because I like succulents. alot.

I still have one more section of curb to pour and then gravel and cobble to place. Should be able to finish it up by the weekend.

Top of the drainage. Run-off from the courtyard comes out a small hole at the top right of the gravel section.