This time it's my body that's going in for a little repair.

I'm putting my current experience onto this site not to garner sympathy but to let any woman out there, facing yet another bout with metastic breast cancer, that chemotherapy can help, be a good thing and not devastate one's life as I had always believed. I have had breast cancer since 1993 with ten years of great health. Six years ago I dealt with bone involvement that looked like I might not leave the hospital. Last November I had my spleen removed as it housed a tumor positive for breast cancer. I'd say it's a darn pesky disease. Now it's appeared in my abdomen and since I've never had chemo like this before I'm a good candidate. I won't be losing my hair and will work to stay on top of the nausea and other side effects. So far so good. Since I had a port placed in my chest that goes directly into the superior venae cavae, I just get plugged in and save my veins. Chemotherapy has had some improvements made to it and I'm confident that this will knock out whatever is going on in my digestive system. My doc says he can't cure me....dah...I think we all have gotten that message but I feel strongly that I can heal with the prayers, alternative therapies I do and the loving support of my family and friends.

So we left for Spokane early with it raining at home to find it a blizzard by the time we got to Sprague and all the way into the clinic. Eric's an excellent driver and the lux car did wonderfully!

Here's a picture of my port. It's called a Power Port. It's about the size of a silver dollar under the skin and looks a little like I've got the Staples "EASY" button sitting on my chest. I keep pushing it but so far no new laptops or flat screens have fallen out of the sky. It's a short stay surgical procedure under local anesthetic. It was completely healed in ten days and only a bit uncomfortable for four of them. It's worth doing.

So I entered the Chemotherapy Suite, took a seat and started the first round of CMF. I was the only healthy person in there so made an effort to beam out healing light to the really sick patients around me. I had an excellent nurse who also provided me with a chemo class so I'd know all about what was happening, why and how to deal with the after effects. Got lots of prescriptions for some very good drugs too. So no pain, no nausea, no problem.

So dear readers, if you think of me, think positive healing thoughts and see me rebounding to remodel, reconstruct and repair lots more in the coming years. I received, for Christmas from my sister, all the parts and pieces for starting a garden in the Goat Shed green house given to me as a present from Eric. He's still modifying it but it's looking great! What a wonderful guy.

For now I'm going to kick back, relax and enjoy the fruits of my labors on the house and property. It's in the teens outside, snowy and the pellet stove feels so good to curled up in front of with some new books.

Today it warmed way up to a balmy 14 degrees above zero so I announced to Eric that I had a yard hydrant repair kit. The look he gave me was priceless so I went on to explain that I was tired of thawing out the leaking hydrant in order to fill the stock tank and that was that. He'd been gone for a week and I had had to deal with minus 5 degree temperatures, worry about the thing bursting and mucking around with hot water and pliers in the dark. I had a case for going out into the cold snowy day to work. No big deal...just take it apart and put in the new plunger and O ring.

He had gotten a new set of Carhart coveralls from his mother for Christmas so this was the test to see if he was going to still be smiling at me at the end of the day. Nothing goes well in the cold when it comes to unthreading metal fittings...especially old corroded metal fittings. We decided that the whole thing was going to have to be removed from the ground in order to employ the vice in the shop. The ground is frozen, of course, so even that plan was a major undertaking.

After getting it out of the ground and into the vice, it was obvious to both of us that between the cold and our exhaustion, a trip to the hardware store and a new hydrant was the only sane way to satisfy this insane woman. He's still smiling at me.

I'd read nothing but doom and gloom about Ford Escorts and timing belts. Having purchased this car used with 117,000 miles on it and not knowing any of its history prompted a constant concern that the belt could go at any minute. I rely on this car now more than ever as it gets 40 mpg (with very conscientious driving) and it makes long trips to Spokane fairly regularly. I convinced Eric that he must help to break bolts loose (at least) and to be moral support (at best). We started early on Saturday and found that, without throwing tools, the job is tough the first time. We left it in the shop after dark and returned to the house feeling a little defeated. I researched a Chilton manual and internet forums with the idea that we could start again in the morning and fix it for sure before going riding Sunday afternoon.

Since there is no timing that can be done after the belt is replaced then the exact timing has to be done with the crankshaft and camshaft in perfect alignment. The Chilton book doesn't really help and when a step is indicated there isn't much elaboration. This is when two heads are better than one. We finally got it aligned, belt  installed and running like a top. All with only one ratchet handle being thrown and a few choice words.....mine.

I told Eric he helped save me $300.00+ and contributed to my peace of mind to travel unimpeded a few thousand more miles.

A New Year but with the same old house and the same old problems lending to new learning experiences. That is, after all, the point of Doing It Like A Woman. So why does it sound like a whine? Frankly, it is. The hot water tank stopped making the precious stuff one morning. It's winter, it's cold outside and a long hot shower is one of the small pleasures I give myself a couple times a day. The world looks and feels more manageable after standing under my new rain shower shower head pounding hot droplets on my hard working body. When that stops happening, I stop being happy and turn into a cranky defeated wimp. I work a job now and need my showers to recuperate. So pay attention anyone with a hot water tank, especially those living in highly mineralized locales. This is important.

This is a bucket full of crud (technical term for minerals and dirt) that came out of the bottom of my water tank rendering the lower element unworkable long ago. When the top element went out there wasn't anything to heat water. This sludge is also what eats out the bottom of water tanks.

Not being able to take the day off from work to deal with the problem, my brother-in-law Mike and my sister appeared on the scene to assess the situation and do a fix. He used a shop vac to suck this muck out. By putting a short piece of lawn hose on the end of the vacuum hose, he was able to reach into the far "corners" of the tank to get it really clean.

There aren't many things that can go wrong with a water
heater but the elements or thermostat so I tested the heating elements for continuity. I started at the source to find
the fuses where good and that power was entering the tank. By using a
volt meter set to ohm1, the power to the tank turned off and the wires
unhooked from the element screws, I could see no movement of the
meter's needle when touching a lead to each of the two screws on the element.
No reading means no continuity and no current flowing. No current no hot water. Simple. No, not really. Finding replacements for such an old unit is challenging. Doing the best we could with what was available in the hardware store, he replaced the top one to get me back up and running hot water.

So why not replace the bottom element as well? My electrical service isn't up to a standard to handle anything more than two 2000 watt elements of this tank and we had one new 3500 watt. Finding two matching elements might not be possible and I'd rather change out my panel to accommodate a new tank-less heater than sink any more money into the old one. It's on my list of to-dos for 2007. Time to update for 2008.

Again, I am blessed with an expert in the family who was relentless in his pursuit of fixing my problem. After braving the blistering cold winds today to pump heating oil into the furnace tank, I will be found standing under a shower of hot water once again.

The little mower seized up. I had put a quart of oil in during it's initial tune-up but it had been sitting unused without oil for quite a long time so it's not a surprise. Someone told me if I could get the fly wheel turning there was a possibility that it could still mow. That sounded like it would take some strength and was the job for a man so I let it sit to attract one. "A man magnet" I told my sister who felt badly her gift wasn't still cutting grass. Well, it worked. A man showed up, without me even asking, and got it going. The power of intention works again! Next time I'll say "a single man magnet" because this one is James and he's very married.

After chasing out two mice, one baby rabbit and removing a nest, James took off the housing cover of the fly wheel, removed the spark plug and using the shaft of a screwdriver, turned the flywheel until it moved freely. He sprayed some WD-40 into the spark plug opening, installed the plug and started it up.

When it cools off and the fire danger isn't as high, I'll go out for the grass and weeds. Yah, let's git 'em.

I'm still working on it. I brought out the remainder of the starter cord and put a new handle on the end, lubed all the moving parts and cleaned the spark plug. I got it started but only for five seconds. A new plug is certainly in order. The throttle cable reconnected but the handle is broken. Still looking for a replacement wheel. I'm not giving up just yet.

We have a saying in our family of eternal optimists. When confronted with something that seems beyond repair we just say, "All it needs is the front, back and the works." It was first stated to my great grandmother by Claude Knight, age 8, when asked about the retaining band of an old pocket watch he had found in the barn. He happily carried it around in his pocket with the vision of it so easily being made whole.

I'm Claude Knight's incarnate. I find a lawnmower abandoned in the barn and I see myself happily mowing down weeds in the yard. This, despite the fact I can't stand yard work. Doesn't matter. The challenge of making something work; something that is seemingly beyond repair, is a thrown gaunlet that gets my attention.

A cursory glance says it needs a new wheel, the clutch cable replace, the pull rope replace and probably a new spark plug. Do I dare take this challenge? Oh, why not?! It might actually work afterall all it needs is the front, back and the works.

There are lots of rabbits here on the ranch. Wild rabbits that like to crawl up into the engine compartment to hide. I gave one a ride into town one day and found him huddled on the top of my battery when I popped the hood to prop it open. The hoods are always propped open to discourage rabbit retreats. While they sit there they tend to gnaw on the wires. All three vehicles have had new wire sets replaced. Today I repaired all the other broken wires that had been bitten in two by bunnies. I now have a working cruise control, water temperature gauge and temperature sensor. The check engine light is no longer on and the idle isn't racing due to broken sensor wires. I encourage anyone visiting for any length of time to follow the same procedure or risk a dead car killed by bunnies.

The last 24 hours have been troublesome. The water pressure pump in the basement wouldn't stop running. I'd noticed that its running time had gotten longer so I knew something was up but until it broke down completely all I could do was stare down at it. From the picture it's obvious that there could be a failure at any of several points so I started at the cistern to see if it was empty due to my failure to run the well pump. It was lower than I had ever seen it as we'd been using more than the usual amount of water in the last few days. I turned on the well pump to replenish the water level but the system had gotten air into it so the trouble was compounded.

So where to start with the troubleshooting? I checked the pressure level of the pressure tank with a tire guage. At 35 lbs it was a little low but not empty of pressure. The water pressure guage was erratic and not registering a consistent pressure when the pump was on. The pressure switch didn't turn the pump off no matter how long it ran or what the guage was reading. I called a friend, Jim. He suggested the pump had air in it and needed to be primed with water. He also advised that it could take a lot of water. My daughter melted ice cubes, scooped water out of the toilet tank and we finally went to my sister's to fill containers. By the end of the night it still wasn't running but my brother-in-law had heard the tale and said he'd be over in the morning. He has lots of pump and priming experience so I had faith that the problem would be resolved.

In the morning we made coffee and waited for Mike. He removed both plugs off the top of the pump, added water and returned both plugs. I went into the bath and ran the tub water while he turned on the pump manually. As the air was expelled and there was a good supply of water flowing the pressure came up on the guage but the switch still failed to turn off the pump. We decided to try adjusting the switch as we discovered that it would turn off with a sharp rap to the side of it.

We adjusted the switch to turn on the pump at a drop to 35 lbs and to charge up and quit pumping at 45 lbs. It worked. The switch may need to be replaced in the future but for now it's good.

Mike was good enough to help me set the timer on the well pump so it will go on and off each day to fill the cistern. A big thank you!!

This light switch in the kitchen is a mystery. It doesn't do anything. I tested the wires and they are without electricity. Since it's in a handy place for turning on a light, I'm going to fix it. This means finding where the wires go and since I haven't found it going down into the basement then I'm going up into the attic to see what I can find.

I'll be back at the end of the day to let you know what I found.

Followup - I found the wires coiled in the attic above the switch so it was never connected to a light or device. There are two ways I can do this. Bring the electricity to the light fixture, over to the switch and back to the fixture or wire the switch from the basement then continue over to the fixture. I've decided to bring a hot wire up to the switch from the basement and then over to the fixture. It means a trip to the hardware store for parts. I need:
1 fixture - recessed pot light for 6" opening that is already cut
1 square junction box for the connections in the basement
wire nuts and wire