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| Oops! |
So, I had set up the old trash bin (bought 30+ years ago, when I first bought this house, because, at the time, there were no city issued trash bins), in the side yard the other day, to collect whatever rain water it could. When I checked it, yesterday (Monday), I noticed that it had a few inches of water in the bottom and felt quite pleased. Then, I dragged it from there to the cemented area under the patio overhang to fill it up with the water I had collected in the buckets. I dumped in the water that I had collected in the big blue and white vase with the chipped top, first. And then I noticed that there was water flowing down the cemented area. At first, I thought that maybe I spilled some water when I was pouring it in, and pulled the bin away a bit, but, no, the water was still dribbling out from the bottom of the trash can!
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| Well, that didn't work, did it? |
All together now:
"There's a hole in the bucket trash bin, dear Liza Bless, dear Liza Bless
There's a hole in the bucket trash bin, dear Liza Bless, a hole!"
I don't know if the hole was already there (if so, I didn't notice it) or if the bottom of the bin scraped against a stone or something when I dragged it over and that wore a hole in it. This morning, I looked inside and there's a fine layer of dried up sediment at the bottom of the bin and no visible hole. But, obviously, I can't use this bin to collect any rainwater!
I covered three of the buckets that were full and found another bucket I had stored in the garage and emptied out some water from each of the other buckets into it, so that they are all partially filled with water. This way, if it rains on Thursday according to the forecast, then, the partially filled buckets can get topped up with more rain water and I will cover them to keep mosquitoes from laying eggs in the water. At least, that's the plan and we all know how plans go, don't we? LOL!
Yesterday was mostly dry (there was a little drizzle in the early morning, friend R told me, but, I guess I was still asleep when that happened) but very cloudy and grey. Around 4:00 p.m., however, the clouds parted and there was some sunshine.
My daughter had the day off from work, so I was able to vacuum the family room and my bedroom without worrying about disturbing her. Later in the evening, after dinner, I ran the dishwasher. That was all the housework I did, though.
We had leftovers for brunch (I had the last coconut roti and some pork curry; daughter had some of the leftover ham and pasta casserole). Dinner was chicken curry (from the freezer), leftover rice, cucumber salad, and peach chutney. Snacks included almonds (me), potato chips (me), cereal (daughter), apple (both of us).
Today (Tuesday), has been a sunny day! A bit windy and a high of 57F. I brought in the emptied trash cans, took the kitchen composting out to the yard, checked on the plants, emptied the dishwasher, dusted my bedroom, and handwashed one of my wool sweaters (it is now laid out flat on a towel near the heater to dry).
This week's cleaning area is the dining room, which, in my house, is an extension of the living room and leads to the family room. I usually dust and vacuum it when I do the living room, so, the only cleaning that needs to be done in this area this time around is the shelving unit where I store some of the table linen in the lower cupboard and some decorative items on the upper shelves, along with my cookbooks. More recently, I've been using the upper shelves to hold pantry items, which is fine, but I didn't remove the decorative items first, so everything is mixed together. I need to tidy it (and decide if I want to continue to store the pantry items mixed in with the decorative items or make it one or the other).
The box of file folders I ordered was delivered today, as well as a bag of Epsom salt for the garden and one of the boxes of kitty litter; the second box of kitty litter was damaged in shipment, apparently, and was returned to the manufacturer and the money will be refunded. I will need to reorder a second box of the litter, later. I think the boxes being damaged in shipping was one of the reasons we switched to the buckets!
For brunch, today, I ate a scrambled egg and a slice of toast. Much later, daughter ate bread sandwiched with the last of the pork curry and the rest of the cucumber salad. For dinner, I cooked dhal (lentils), green beans curry, and a fresh pot of rice, and we ate them with leftover chicken curry and peach chutney. Daughter was very happy and thanked me for "a home cooked yummy Sri Lankan meal"; she loves her rice and curries!
Today, I am grateful for:
- A sunny day
- Being able to order items online and having them delivered to the house
- Daughter being here to help with carrying in the heavy box of litter
- Dancer seems to have perked up, again
- Daughter truly enjoying the meal I prepared
Today's joyful activity was enjoying the garden on a sunny day.
Plans for tomorrow include tending to the garden with M in the morning.
Daughter has several back to back meetings, tomorrow, so I will do some quiet work - maybe tidy my desk!
How was your Tuesday? What are your plans for tomorrow?
At least you spotted the leak quickly. I'd probably have dashed round emptying ALL my small buckets into the big can before I spotted the leak!
ReplyDeleteYes, at least I spotted the leak early! And since the water leaked into the ground, eventually, it was not wasted, as such; just added to the saturated ground! :)
DeleteWhat a shame the big old barrel was leaking water and you discovered the hole, maybe you can use it to store something else other than water of course. The freezing weather we are having here has cracked one of my planters, it collected watered which froze but maybe I should have put compost in it instead of leaving it empty. It was -3ºc in the car yesterday when I took Tilly to the groomers, she is now wearing a jumper to keep her warm. I'm glad Dancer is OK as I didn't know he'd been off colour.
ReplyDeleteYes, I was disappointed to find the big trash bin had a hole. I used to keep some long handled garden tool in it, but, today, I decided to just dispose of the trash bins.
DeleteSorry to hear that one of your planters cracked because water collected and froze in it. Brr! That is cold! I'm sure Tilly is appreciating her jumper! Dancer was feeling a little under the weather and was not as vocal as usual, but, he was eating and drinking and eliminating as usual; if he had stopped eating, etc., I would have taken him to the vet; he's back to being quite vocal, again, so I know he's feeling fine!
Oh dear about the larger bin for water collecting. Thankfully you still have lots of the smaller, manageable buckets to collect water. Glad to read the Dancer is feeling better. Good luck with the sorting of the cupboard/shelving in the dining room.
ReplyDeleteYes, the smaller containers will work just as well. The water that was collected would be used up by next week or the week after, as there's no rain in the forecast, now, until mid February! Thursday's possible rain has now been changed to cloudy!
DeleteDancer is well on his way to being his feisty self, "talking" away this morning to make up for being so quiet earlier. :D
Thank you; I took a "before" picture of the shelves and will take an "after" picture when I'm done. :)
Too bad about the hole in your trashcan. At least you discovered it before you had it full.
ReplyDeleteYes; I was disappointed to discover that it leaked, but, at least I still have most of the rest of the water I collected! :)
DeleteWhat a pity about the trash bin. Now you have two which won't hold water! I like your storage mixed up with decorative items. It reminds me of people growing veggies among flowers, and why not?
ReplyDeleteI have realized that I have a massive amount of tidying of drawers and closets to do. Somehow it has all gotten ahead of me. It's so easy to shove things into drawers when tidying up! This happens especially when DS is coming and I have to tidy the bedroom which is also my office/sewing room. Then I have to hunt for things after they have left.
I was disappointed that the 2nd trash bin, too, had a hole! I had been storing some long handled garden tools in it, earlier (but, those tools have found a new home in the shed). I just put both holey trash bins in the recycling bin, today, when M was here to help me.
DeleteWell, I do sometimes store some items in decorative containers, but, this time, various packages and containers are mixed in with the decorative items and it just looks cluttered! But, it's a matter of first organizing the pantry shelves and drawers to accommodate the items and that becomes a big job!
Good luck with sorting out the drawers and closets! I'm notorious for shoving things into bags and boxes for temporary storage when I have to do a quick tidy up before people visit! I generally can't stuff things into drawers because the drawers are already very full! I usually put the bags and boxes in the spare bedroom which is now quite a dump and close the door! It's a bad habit of mine and one that I keep trying to change!
That must be hard to find a leak that way. What a nuisance! I'm glad that Dancer is feeling better.
ReplyDeleteI was disappointed, but, I guess I was not meant to be collecting the water that way! I will store the water in the smaller buckets and it'll work out ok because there isn't much rain in the forecast to collect more.
DeleteThank you; Dancer is feeling much better now and being as vocal as ever! :)
That's frustrating about the trash cans. Will you get rid of them now you know they both leak? Good luck with sorting the shelving in the dining room. What did you decide in the end ... pantry items and decorative or just decorative?
ReplyDeleteI've been finishing off some odd jobs today and will do the same tomorrow if I have time ... a couple of friends have said they may call in to see me, which will be much better than organising the house! xx
Yes, I was disappointed that both trash bins were leaking. I decided to toss them - they are now in the recycling bin to be collected, next week. I'll count them as 2 items decluttered this month!
DeleteI started sorting out the shelves (but, had to stop when my daughter had her zoom meetings as she works in the dining room). I am still deciding if I want decorative items only or some storage, as well. Maybe some decorative storage containers might be the answer.
Sounds like you've had a productive day. Hope you get to visit with your friends tomorrow; much better than organizing the house, I agree! :D
That's a real shame about the leak, but glad you noticed it before tipping too much of that precious water into the dustbin. I look forward to hearing how you repair the hole. I believe straw is the recommended option, and if it is too long I am sure you have sharp scissors, so no need to worry about sharpening an axe... But even so I will be interested to know how the repair works as I have often wondered... :o)
ReplyDeleteLOL, I couldn't find any straw to repair the hole! :D (M did wonder if a big trash bin liner might work). My solution was to dump both leaky trash bins in the recycling bin (with M's help) and bid goodbye to them! They were used to store long handled garden tools at one time and the holes didn't matter. The tools have been relocated to the shed and a different container (hm, that container might be repurposed to collect more water if it rains again!). I'm sorry, but, you'll have to continue to wonder how the hole in the bucket was repaired! :D
DeleteOh that's too bad about the barrel having a hole and not worthy of water storage. Thank goodness you hadn't poured all of your other collected water into it and still have some saved up.
ReplyDeleteYou are accomplishing a lot of tasks recently around your house.
I think you are probably right to decide on a mission-at least for now- for the bookshelf - decorative or pantry.
Hope for some pictures when it's done.
What a nice compliment from your daughter on the meals you've been making. It all sounds delicious.
57 for a high is cold for you!
I was very disappointed that I couldn't use the trash bin as a water barrel, but, I'll manage without it. I'll using up the collected rain water in the next week or so as we have no more rain in the forecast until the 31st of Jan. The buckets will then be empty to catch any rain we might get. :)
DeleteI'm getting a few things done, aren't I? I finished tidying the shelf unit and I have taken some pictures. Just need to post them.
It was a nice compliment from my daughter, wasn't it? :) She loves it when I make a typical Sri Lankan meal.
57F is a bit cold for me! I've been bundling up and it's not too bad. :)
Oh drats, some days those little annoyances feel very big!
ReplyDeleteYes, but, you know, it usually doesn't rain that much here to collect a whole barrelful, anyway. I used the water that had collected and kept them out, again, to collect more if and when it rains. :)
Delete