Flood Recovery, Big Bird, Big Burp

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.]

11/29/25

Aloha Folks!

 

My pool man and I spent last weekend euthanizing my old pool pump and installing the new replacement unit.  We ran into a few unanticipated problems, as happens with all home repair projects, including a stuck fitting that called for some specialized tools -- "hammer," "drill," "saw", and "chisel." Another issue was that the 30-something year-old valves that were part of the overall system wouldn't shut off completely, leading to dripping pipe ends where we needed to glue new fittings.  This was a problem because pvc cement doesn't work well on wet surfaces.  A highly pressurized system like this one would likely cause leaky joints or even joints that would fail completely.  After considering several ways to keep the pipe ends dry enough, we finally settled on one that used the theory of hydraulic homeostasis equalatum -- i.e., we lowered the water level in the pool to a point just lower than the pipe ends. Voila! No more drips.  Lowering the water level isn't just a matter of pulling the plug at the bottom of the pool, however.  It is usually done by using a pump that sucks out the water and dumps it outside.  We didn't have a pump handy, so we resorted to a method that took me back to my teenage delinquency skill set -- we siphoned it out with a hose. (Back in my wild youth we used this technique to steal gasoline from other people's cars.)  After that problem was solved things went pretty smoothly, though I still had to make about 4 trips to the hardware store for various pieces and parts. We finished on Sunday afternoon but waited until Monday to turn on the system  This was to give the new joints time to set completely before we put them under pressure.  Also, I needed time to refill the pool. On Monday the moment of truth came and -- IT WORKED!  No drips, pump jumped into life and did its job perfectly for the rest of the day.  The only problem I've encountered since then was in programming the pump start and stop time -- something that was solved by re-reading the manual and this time paying attention.

 

To This

From This 

Our Thanksgiving was very pleasant.  We invited some close friends to share a turkey dinner.  It's been years since we cooked a turkey, but it turned out great, thanks in part to a lot of garlic, garlic salt, and butter.  We also had a tasty carrot soup that Karen made, plus a balsamic kale salad with purple sweet potatoes, green beans in cream sauce, and of course fresh cranberry relish.  Our friends brought a dessert that was a perfect ending, an apple tart. The weather cooperated, and we were able to have appetizers out by the pool.  All in all, it brought home how fortunate we are and how much we have to be thankful for.....

 

Pele decided to join the holiday festivities with a nine-hour fountain of lava earlier in the week.  The timing of this episode (#37) means that the next one will likely be very close to the date a year ago when the first fountaining episode occurred.  Maybe we can re-write the classic Bing Crosby song to: "I'm dreaming if a red hot Christmas, with lots of lava fountains all-a-glow...."

 

Just a few more tidbits.  My new eyeglasses finally arrived after a total of  12 days in transit. They help a nano-smidge.  Also delivered was a new solar pool cover that I ordered, which I'll try to wrestle into place this coming week.  I got my first Christmas decorations up yesterday, with more to come as I have time.  This is much earlier than last year, because we were traveling in Cambodia until early December.  I'm determined to enjoy the holiday season this year, partly as an act of defiance of the current dark times and our amoral autocratic leaders.....

 

Ok, enough,  Take care and keep watching for those reindeer.