Know when to quit...

HEN ONE THINGS LEADS TO ANOTHER?

Not me apparently!  So it was that the small fountain I made in a pot long ago was only to bring the sound of water into the area...trickling water.  When I sit out back and relax and just be still and quiet...I can hear the trickle....ahhh bliss.

That never happens, okay!!  I am not the sit still type when it's nice enough to be outside Im in motion. I rarely sit down during the day unless I am heavily depressed, not feeling well or just plain unable to move for some reason. 

The fountain does make a nice little sound of moving water, works very well...the pot is large and filled with various rocks I've accumulated over the years...so I enjoy hearing it while I WORK in the back yard. 

There is one little problem...the dogs think it's an artesian well or something so they drink out of it.  And every day I have to add water to the fountain. 

Over winter it got yukky in summer I over fill a few times to wash out accumulated gunk...but in winter I don't...So it's warm enough to unroll the  hose turn it on and wash out the fountain...I took all the rocks out scrubbed the pot, cleaned up all the rocks and during this time using the hose I noticed it had a leak  up near where the brass thing attaches, great.  It made a fine spray and I was getting soaked...So I have another hose...

This one tho is a very heavy no kink hose, the other is a cheap pos....but now it sprays me so I decided to take it off and put the other hose on, Unfortunately i noticed squirrels have damaged the other hose, it has a leak now too but farther away from the area where you have to hold it...so I took the old hose off the faucet and that's when I remembered the faucet has a pretty good drip...it's more of a fine continuous stream now, and with the old hose attached and the Sprayer attached to that there is no water escaping but NOW there will be...a leak in both hoses.  

So Its a sunny day I have some time, I turned the main water off and took the faucet off after fumbling with the large pipe wrench, and after a couple times of trying with all my might it finally moved.  I inspected and its the washer...no good--- so I  tried to find a larger rubber washer.  Didn't have one, so I attempted to fashion one using an O ring on top of the old washer,,,,and put it back on Still it drips...so turned it off again tried again and this time it was a slower drip..............................drip.....................drip.......................

So I can live with that.  I  decided to find a new faucet on my next trip to Lowes. 

 Meanwhile the little voice, the evil one, reminded me I have another leak in my bathroom.  It's coming from the supply line connection behind the  toilet.  It's a slow little bead of water forms around the connection and then it drips over the edge, and it makes a tiny puddle.  This old pipe under the floor that comes UP thru the floor and the supply line screws onto is the problem...its old galvanized iron pipe..and it's original to this OLD HOUSE.  

My other voice is the voice of reason, she said..."you don't want to worry with that today just one thing at a time, it's not that bad." 

BUT I did not listen to her...the evil voice is a very blunt very judgemental person who will nag me till I get things done....so to stop that witch from hassling me, I go inside and take a look.  

The threads have worn down and even tho I used Teflon tape last time I tried to solve this, still it leaks...So I took it loose, on  hands n knees head behind the toilet, and put more Teflon tape on...reconnected it, turned the water back on to see it beading up still.......darn.   I took the wrench  to make a half turn tighter...should not have----- NOW it began to flow out pretty good...tried to back it off to no avail and a good look showed me it's coming from the top of the nut where it attaches to the supply line...NOT under the lip as before and it's making a big puddle!!!!!!!!!OH MY HEAVENS.  

Run out of the house, turned the main back off, back inside mopped up all the water, then took the supply hose off and noticed the rubber inside there was all denigrated and no good...SO I cleaned myself up a little, grabbed the old line, my keys  and to Lowes I went...

Got a new supply line, a guy helped me figure out the right one, and looked for a new outside faucet it has to be a 1 inch screw on type...But they don't have that...So anyways I will try Ace for that on Monday they are closed on Saturday.  I also got some thread sealer...but back at home in my haste when I put the supply line on I forgot to add the thread sealer...Darn...anyways I tighten it up and turned the water back on. 

I starred at it using a flashlight to see it as best I could, and it took about 40 seconds for a small bead to began to form in the same old spot.  I turned the nut with the wrench a wee bit, it slowed the bead but it's still coming every so slowly.  It's like a nagging little itch that you can't reach just irritating you and spoiling  your inner peace of mind...each little bead began to look like a penny then a dime, and as I starred at it I swear I could see a dollar bill floating thru the cracks of the floor....as the bead formed on the edge of the nut right before it ever so slowly trickled down.....
DAMMMIT!

I've had enough by now to call it quits, pack up all the tools, clean up all the mess I made...I put a washcloth around the bottom of the supply line to catch the water as it gently beads up and then drips onto the floor!! 

I guess tomorrow I will turn it off and try putting the thread sealer on.  And as I do that I have to wonder, what will THAT lead to??  Will I begin to rip up the floor to get at that pipe?  Will I decide having indoor plumbing is a luxury I can't afford? Will I sell this house and move into town like my X did?  All that remains to be seen, as one thing leads to another. 

So because the dogs drank the fountain dry I spent my whole day trouble shooting these damn plumbing issues!! I'm really almost too old now to do a lot of these DIY projects I used to tackle with no issue, just kneeling on my knees made them bruise and hurt, and my back was aching from trying to bend over the fountain to wash  the rocks, and I almost could not turn that wrench on the outdoor faucet to get it off.  

This is exactly why MY X decided in the end to sell out and move out of the house, he was much older than me...so I may have 5 more years where I can do these DIY projects or less.  WHAT needs to happen is when I had the floor open I should have had a plumber come and cut out the galvanized pipe and put in copper or Pex or whatever they call it, because that is the issue...all the joints are rusty and corroded.  

Anyways when one things leads to someplace you don't want to go, Turn Around.  Lately I've been ignoring my little voice, and I think she has a point...

"Now be a smart cookie, and just let it go."