DIY: Kitchen Faucet Replacement

Notice the hard water build-up

 Old kitchen sink faucet.

Parts for installation of new faucet

 New faucet, putty knife, plumbers putty, teflon tape, basin wrench

So pretty, no leaks, easy to adjust temperature and water flow!

New sink faucet.  What you don't see is that I also replaced some of the plumbing underneath since a pipe was a bit too short and jiggled loose, causing leaking fairly frequently.  We'd tighten the plastic nut a bit and call it temporarily good-the temporarily really meant "I can't be bothered to fix this right now because I can't afford a plumber and I'm scared to do it myself and I don't want to bother anyone about a repair that is merely an annoyance and not a true household emergency."

For years we kept a pitcher under the leak and emptied it weekly.  At the encouragement of my cousins (you know who you are-visit them at www.homehinges.com) I got some replacement pvc pipe from my dad (who also helpfully loaned me his hacksaw) and cut the pipe to the right length to be a replacement.  Yes, I had to cut a couple of times and yes, the cut wasn't exactly even but...drum roll please....it's now been a couple of months and there's been ne'er a sign of leakage with the new pipe!

So, a win-win with a new faucet and new drainage. No more emptying a pitcher weekly from under the sink or trying to get exactly the right water pressure or temperature which was a bit tricky with the old faucet once it started to age.  Once again, DIY has saved the day!

May Bountiful Basket

May Bountiful Basket $15 got us onions, cucumbers, corn, honeydew, cauliflower, carrots, apricots, green peppers, tomatoes, pears, lemons, bananas and blackberries.

Sunday Randomness #54: Punch and Games

Mica won this delightful gallon of Kiwi-Strawberry Tampico Punch helping out with some after-school games a few months ago. We let it sit at the back of the fridge so it could freeze some and turn into a slushy warm weather refresher and it's surprisingly not as sweet as most of these punches. Thanks Mica for winning and sharing your treat!

Check out that cool lime green color-all thanks to the wonders of artificial food dyes.  Which, I should add, we typically try to avoid but there are exceptions to many things in life.  Including the occasional win-our family does not win things often but we feel happy when we do and we feel happy for others when they win occasionally too!

Mother's Day Flowers

My sweet children (notice the sugar bowl in the picture!) picked flowers for me from our yard.  This is just a small sampling-we have more roses coming on and several flowers have already bloomed for the season such as our tulips and many of the flowers on the fruit trees.  We also have irises blooming right now with spectacular purple column blossoms on tall green stalks.  It's been a great day to be a mom!

Bountiful Baskets again in March

(This is a late post-we got this order over a month ago-I just haven't posted in awhile except for posts that were already scheduled.)  Bountiful Baskets $15 share with pears, asparagus, beans, tomatoes, cauliflower, green onions, Granny Smith apples, pineapple, bananas, romaine lettuce and a melon.

 Mexican pack $8.50 contained tomatillos, key limes, many peppers, onions, garlic, avocados, onions and cliantro.  (Made homemade guacamole with a recipe Hedgehog got from a school activity.)

Tortilla pack  $10.50 had 3 dozen of the 12-inch flour tortillas, 2 dozen of the 6-inch flour tortillas and 2 dozen of the 6-inch corn tortillas.  These were fantastic!  We went through the 2 dozen corn tortillas in a couple of days.  I did freeze some of the flour tortillas for future use.  They are cooked but only lightly so they warm up quickly-kind of like brown and serve rolls only with tortillas.

Sunday Randomness #154 Nerdy Notes

The note reads: "Dear Eva,
Since you don't seem to be eating your nerds very quickly, I helped you out a bit. Thank you and you're welcome! Love, Jessica."

Certain categories of candies are not safe if left out in the open-scavengers move in quickly and take advantage. Some scavengers acknowledge the breach and offer thanks to the hoodwinked party. Most of the time the scavengers merely leave either a lightened container or, more injurious (and insulting to the party but complimentary to the candy corporation), leave an empty package with no clue as to the identity of the candy consumer. If you want to protect your candy, share! No really, share. Scavengers are likely to show leniency on parties that share; the assuaging of temptation goes far in restraining candy thieving tendencies.