And a Couple More Back Steps

If we were doing the two-step, I'd trip and fall.

What a run of stuff not fitting, breaking, falling apart, etc. First it's the new bathroom cabinet not quite fitting, then the kitchen sink leaking everywhere, then the coffee maker dies, then the Isuzu A/C not working (it was only charged half-way, and now - wait for it...

The swimming pool. Yes, folks, the damn pool has now developed a crack under the skimmer, causing water to leak out of the pool. I'm almost afraid to stick my head out from under the covers in the morning, except it's warm enough that we're sleeping without using any covers.

Fortunately, everything so far has been an easy fix. The bathroom cabinet is trimmed down, installed and works great; the kitchen sink has been thoroughly re-caulked, Teflon-taped and fittings tightened, thanks in no small part to Dianna's assistance with that project; the coffee maker made it to the trash (after I toyed with the idea of repairing it) and a replacement procured from the pool house; the Isuzu A/C has been completely charged and has the capability to freeze occupants in place; and John Harris, our pool-builder, is on tap to bring his crew in Wednesday morning to not only fix the crack and strengthen the area around and over the skimmer, but he's going to re-do some areas around the lip of the pool where the Diamond Brite wasn't looking quite as sparkly as it should. And, it should be only a one day project - Drain the pool Tuesday afternoon or evening, work on the pool Wednesday morning and afternoon, and fill it Wednesday evening.

What happened to the 'it comes in three's' thing? I think that's just a crock. I think it comes how it comes and you just have to deal with it. Well, I'm tired of it and want to go back to the 'three thing' rule.

So, can we take the day off?

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Wouldn't you just know it... We (well, Dianna actually) spent a good part of the day yesterday reorganizing the bathroom after we completed the installation of our new bathroom medicine cabinets and shelving.

Bathroom Cabinet From the Doorway

Today, was supposed to be easy. We were going to do up the dishes (that is a team effort) and sweep and put all the remaining debris away - like the old and rusty over-the-toilet shelf, and our little three drawer thing that we've had for ages, stuff like that. Then, we were planning on relaxing for the rest of the day. Maybe spend some time in the pool and just kick back and take it easy.

Bathroom Cabinet From the Shower

Nope. Not us. Nosiree! We had something else to do. For some unknown reason we were both looking in the under-sink cabinet and I mentioned to Dianna that I thought we should put something under our 'Tupperware' containers (actually, our collection of margarine and yogurt containers) as it seemed kind of oily and wet.

Well, one thing led to another, as it does in these situations and before we knew what had hit us we had everything hauled out of the under-sink cabinets and found that we had a bona fide leak from the hot water line and sink shut-off valve.

Kitchen Blown Apart

The very next thing, I was rooting around found myself enroute to Lano's Hardware (trip #1, for those who count such things) to buy a new valve. Got that installed and, sumbeach, the press fitting of the line was leaking too. Back to Lano's (trip #2). This time, I bought two replacement lines, figuring that if I didn't also change out the cold water side... Well, you can guess.

Kitchen's A Wreck

Anyway, I got back and Dianna and I began scraping all the putty tape off the sink and the countertop. Now it was time to get some putty tape (Trip #3). And, I thought, brilliantly, that when we originally installed the sink, there were no sink clips, which actually hold the sink in place to the counter top and draw the sink down close to the counter, thus minimizing opportunities for leakage from the counter top.

Since by now, it was almost lunch time, I thought I'd stop at Mario's and pick up a couple orders of rice and beans and stew chicken for lunch. That part was fine. The part that didn't work out too well was the sink clips and the putty tape.

I stopped at Lano's again and asked Kim if he had any sink clips and putty tape. He immediately dove under the counter and came up with a plastic bag full of metal bits. We managed to untie the bag and examined the contents. I asked him if he knew how the pieces were supposed to work. His answer was a giggled "No." As far as the putty tape (I know I've bought it there before, but that doesn't mean anything) there as a "No" for that as well.

I continued playing with the clips for a couple more minutes and decided something must be missing. So, I didn't buy them. I figured I'd scoot over to Villa's Imports and see if they had my sink clips.

Mysterious Sink Clip

Villa's, short and sweet, no on both counts. Ok, what now? Still a couple minutes till twelve noon. Shoot for it, go over to National Hardware and see if Andy knows what's what.

Well, I get over to National and manage to talk to Andy. He didn't have any putty tape either. I asked him what everyone used to secure their sinks to the counter top. They use adhesive acrylic caulk. This was the same answer I'd gotten from each of the other stores as well. Ok, I'd buy a couple of tubes of that. Now for the clips. Andy went back to one of his shelves and also came up with a tied plastic bag. By the time I'd gotten it opened, Andy had slipped out onto his motorcycle and left for lunch. I asked the other sales folks if they knew how the clips were supposed to be used. Again "No". Well, by this time, I figured they were probably the correct clips. I was just too dumb to figure them out, so I bought the bag (it held eight clips).

On to Mario's. I was getting hungry. Rice and beans - true fast food. I had the two meals bagged and on the road in about three minutes. Dianna and I took a well-deserved break for lunch.

She looked at the clips and couldn't figure them out either. By then, it was time for her to take a nap. So, I got on the computer and searched for the clips on the Intertubes. They have all sorts, just not the ones I was looking for.

Shortly thereafter, Denis called, saying he needed a ride home from Rick Magana's, our mechanic. While ferrying Denis back, I had him look at a set of the clips as well. He couldn't make sense of them either. He did look under his kitchen sink after we got back home. No dice. His sink doesn't have clips either. Apparently his installers couldn't figure it out either.

Ok. That meant I was going to use the caulk to  hold everything together and screw the clips. Reassembly of everything went quite well. We only had one minor leak that was easily solved. The caulking went down equally easy, and then we were done. Not bad. Four O'clock in the afternoon and we were at exactly the place we'd been at eight in the morning. A whole day shot. Oh, well, we actually did stop a potentially bad leak, and the sink got re-caulked - something I'd been wanting to do, just really not right now.

I do plan to make it back down to National (would that trip count?) and see if Andy knows how the clips are supposed to work. Just not today. It's time for a beer.