Part 3

May 31, 2007 (4:50am).
57º F, Foggy, no wind.

Good morning,

We got a bit of rain last night and it sure is humid out this morning. Hope the fog lifts before we head southeast this morning. The weatherman is talking of rain off and on for the next few days. The truck can use a washing, so I guess the rain is a good thing.

Hopefully we will be able to get an early start this morning. We have the Synod Assembly in Green Bay Friday and Saturday, so will be a busy time this trip. Can’t wait to sit through all of the meetings and speeches! I really do like to go to these things as I get a chance to catch up on some of the old friends I have made over the years. We probably will stay until Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning. It will give us a chance to go to church at Grace and get the truck really full for the return trip. I also will be able to lead the Bible study on Tuesday morning, then leave if we are up to it. Otherwise, Wednesday.

I finally did get the hot water heater emptied yesterday. The shower drain leaked where it attached to the shower base. After cutting out the grate on the drain and pushing the end of the hose down into the drain a bit - no more leaks! At least now I know what the problem is. I have no idea of how to repair it though. I suspect it was put together before the shower base was put in place. I really don’t want to dig a crawl space under the house to get at it, even if it would only be 3-4 feet. There is a rubber gasket in the joint, which I think failed, so probably will need to remove it and find some kind of flexible goo to put in and glue the parts together. Also have to make a new grate for the shower drain too!

Moving the water heater, even though it was only about 4", made it possible to get my hand in and fasten the pipe clips to the wall. I got all of them in yesterday before quitting for supper last night. When we get back, I will be able to string the pipping and hook up the water heater. Then I can finish hooking up the shower and kitchen sink water supplies. Sure do hope the water heater works! Still need to finish running the gas line to the Hobbit Hus and close up the hole at the old supply valve too. More important things to take care of first.

The tail piece for the bathroom sink is also leak proof for the moment. Took the old one back and the new one works perfectly - after some fussing to get my paws into close quarters. While at the hardware store the other day, I discovered they carry some of the fittings for PEX piping. They don’t seem to carry any of the pipe, tools, or compression rings though. Not too sure they really know what the fittings are for, but found them in their catalog, so ordered them. Next time I get a chance, I will see if they would consider ordering and keeping on the shelf enough to actually do some plumbing or heating. Would be nice to have that locally. In the next period of time, I will be using a lot of it too!

Margriet’s pension fund companies need the electronic fund transfer numbers, so we went into Crystal Falls to get them. The local bank had never done any of that before, so they are learning. Seems we taught the last bank the same thing! The folks at the bank are very friendly and eager to help. Even though the company is pretty large, the office at least doesn’t seem to be big city at all. Hope that stays that way. Since Fob’s restaurant is across the road, we stopped and had lunch. Their portions are too large and I think it would be better if one of us ordered half a meal and then split the potatoes or what ever. We always seem to leave some food behind on the plate.

Margriet made a couple of the mock chicken legs for supper last night and they are very good. Will get more of those for future consumption! They are supposed to be baked in an oven, but having none working here at the moment, she put a rack in the frying pan and put them, along with some potato wedges - we had a fine meal! They have a flavor of pork sausage, being made from pork, but am not too sure why they go through the bother of putting a stick in them and shaping them as chicken drumsticks. Suppose it is to sell them, but seems like a waste of time and sticks to me. Maybe we can start a collection of mock chicken leg bones or some such.

So it is time to bring this tome to an end for this trip. It should take a long time to publish, so may break it down into several parts. Will do that at FISKLAND on a real keyboard. Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris ><>