I like making things: March 2021

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Yay, we have water!

Our well guy came on Monday to trench in the pipework, drop the pump in the well and connect it all up. We now have a tap by the wellhead too. It took him into the early evening to get it all done. Tuesday we had to connect up the hose to the new tap and let it run all day to settle the well.

Wednesday we were out all day, a trip to the VA hospital for my husband to get his port flushed.

Thursday we had to let the water run in the house and drain the hot water tank to get as much of the orange stuff out of the pipes and tank. I cleaned out the cisterns too as they were orange inside. I even filled up the whirlpool bathtub and let it pulsate for quite a while to clear out the pipes. We haven't been able to fill that for years. Personally, I can't get in and out of it any more but my husband, for all his disabilities, can. And the shower is now sheer bliss! Before it was not more than a trickle and it took me ages to get my hair washed in it. Now it is a full spray. Such joy!

Friday, as the water is now running nice and clear, I spent catching up with laundry and being able to wash and clean things I couldn't before because of low water flow. Things like the dish drainer and the tray the dog bowls sit in. Before, the washer would not complete a full cycle because the water flow into it was so slow it just used to stop. I had to push the switch in and out to get the water running into it again, sometimes many times to get a full cycle done now it just breezes through the whole thing. And best of all I can use the dishwasher again! I ran a cleaning solution through the washer, dishwasher and water softener before I started using them again so any residue from the old water would get cleared out.

We will now be able to use the power washer to clean the car and do a host of things we couldn't before.

Now maybe next week I will be able to get back to my knitting machines. I did the the back done on the baby jacket but haven't been able to get back to them since.

Today I am trying to slow down a bit, it has been a hectic few weeks for sure!

Thursday, March 18, 2021

March is turning into quite the month!

In my last post I told of our water problems, it is still not fully sorted. The well has been drilled this week before the weather turned really nasty but now we can't get the pipework laid from the well to the pump house until it has settled down.

The drilling created quite the mess.

They couldn't drill where they planned because the ground was too soft.

The rig in action

The aftermath

I have been collecting rain water to do washing but I put my back and right leg out carrying in the buckets of water and am in a lot of pain and not able to get around very well. But I consider myself to be a true pioneer woman now!

My husband has had some symptoms return of his heart problems and then to top it all we lost our home phone service for a day. That, thankfully is back working now.

Hoping it is going to be all uphill from here!

Friday, March 5, 2021

Our deep well gave up on us!

We have had erratic water flow for as long as I can remember here and we have had the well pump and pressure tank and switches changed in our time here. Finally last Sunday the deep well finally gave in. We thought we would have to get a new pump but it is much, much worse. We have to get a new well drilled, seal up the old one and get a new pressure tank and fittings. Looking at probably $10k. Ouch!!!!

What is worse that we can't get anyone to drill a new well for weeks.

Our well pump repair man has managed to fix it so we can draw enough water from it to flush the toilets but the water is not usable for washing, drinking or doing dishes etc. It has collapsed into a sand hole so the water is brown! Yuk!

We are investigating if it is possible to get rural water piped in but so far no one has got back to us.

So we are buying water and begging some from a neighbour. Using the washer or dishwasher or shower are out and we are trying to eke out the water as much as possible. Not fun but we are surviving.

I did edge the blanket and I love how it looks now. I am very happy with it. Haven't done anything else in the 'making things' category though this week, been running around like a headless chicken trying to get the water thing sorted.

Hoping next week will be better, at least I get my first Covid shot on Thursday so that is a positive thing.

Glad you stopped by

I started this blog in 2011: Ever since my Mum taught me to knit at the age of about six or seven I have made things. Back then it was doll clothes. I was also inspired by Mrs Levitt an elderly lady who had a sewing room in a conservatory type room on the back of her house. I would sit and watch her in awe as she sewed.

When I was a child living in England the school system was such that you started at 5 years, did two years in Infant School, then four years in Primary School then five to seven years in Secondary School, depending on whether you chose to stay on after fifth form to get qualifications to go to University. I can't remember much of the Infant school other than making the standard square doily thingy from fabric that had holes in it so you could embroider patterns into it. A bit like the modern day cross stitch fabric but with bigger holes and spaces to make it easy for small hands to use. I also remember with great joy getting a toy sewing machine one Christmas which sewed only chain stitch but I did make doll clothes on it and that was before I started Primary school. I do have very vivid recollections of Primary school and having sewing and knitting lessons. In Primary school I knitted gloves and made a dress from scratch hand sewing it all.

Secondary school continued on with sewing by which time I had progressed to using full sized sewing machines and was making more intricate skirts and dresses. My parents bought me a proper sewing machine when I was thirteen. I used that same machine right up until I emigrated to Canada at age forty six years.

I have always had a fascination for sewing machines and knitting machines. I bought my first knitting machine at around age twenty one from an ad in a newspaper for twelve pounds. I had absolutely no idea what one was just that I wanted one. I trundled on the bus to the address in the advert and handed over my twelve pounds having absolutely no idea what I had really bought. Fortunately it came with a manual. It was an aged Knitmaster, very basic and I loved it. I wore it out. Next was a Brother push button one which I didn't keep because it was at a time in my life when things were difficult. Later on in my life, around forty, when things were better I bought a brand new Brother punchard machine with a ribber attachment. I loved it and made many things. Life took a different turn, I moved countries twice and along the way, regrettably I sold it.

Now, through the universe's blessing I now have another machine. It is a vintage one because they stopped making them early 90's but works perfectly and I love it. So I decided to make this blog to document my knitting progress and include sewing projects.

In 2013: we embarked on a new hobby, leather-work. My husband got started with it and it drew me in. It is something we can do together. We have a workshop so have plenty of room to work. We added another workbench for me to work on in 2013. We already had one but we were tripping over each other both trying to work at it. We only make things we want to make. It is strictly a hobby. We made some things for our good neighbours who help us out a lot. I am also working on Christmas presents. So this blog now incorporates the leather-work. Knitting and sewing will always be my first love though.

Fast forward to 2023 and now age almost 75 years. I have seven sewing machines, four knitting machines, several ribber attachments and a garter carriage for one of the machines. I am blessed beyond words, but I know that I have more than enough machines to keep me going in my lifetime so I don’t think I will be adding to my collection any time soon……….unless a nice embroidery machine manifests itself very cheaply.

I am a Brit living in the USA, sometimes I spell like a Brit and sometimes like an American. Sometimes I use slang and even make grammatical errors. I blog for the pleasure of it and to record my endeavours in the event that my memory fades, as I am sure it will with more age. I will be able to look back and remind myself of the things I have made along the way. So please forgive my mistakes when reading about my life making things here in the hinterlands and I hope you get as much enjoyment from my blog as I do from reading the blogs I follow.