One Shovel Full at a Time

Yesterday when Barb got the water bill ready to pay again, she noticed the bill was at least double what we had paid most of last year.  I had narrowed the leak down to the new yard faucet out by the garden.  When the water was turned off in the house, I could still hear water running when I put my ear up to the faucet.  It is one of those yard faucet that is supposed to have a "Drain Down" feature so it doesn't freeze.  Well, it just leaked out of the weep hole all the time.  

Guess who's job it is to fix such things?  Yep, I got the shovel out and while I was waiting for the excavating company to call I just dug one shovel full at a time.  Got down to the drain hole and water was spurting out.  I shut the water off at the meter and pulled the faucet.  Put a pipe cap over the end of the connecting hose and all's well until the plumber can come out on Thursday next week.    I really like having the yard faucet but hate the fact this one failed.  

I kind of thing that digging that hole is kind of like an analogy for life.  I could have hired the hole dug but by taking it easy and digging one shovel full at a time it got done.   I could have waited for the plumber to come over next week and have him dig the hole but I don't want a plumber to dig at plumber's wages.  I dug the hole in the first place so I knew where the hole should be and where the faucet was attached.  It didn't take a lot of training, only a lot of perseverance.  I guess I just day dreamed my way through that project and got it done.   Having opened the hole just last year,  it didn't take a pick axe or mattox to dig it out.  The only thing I did then that I won't do again is put rocks back in the hole.  Especially that great big one that almost was more than I could lift out of the hole.  Next time just plain old dirt.

I am excited that the WSU Shockers play in the final four today.  The have a tough draw in Louisville but at this stage in the season, no one is easy.     I really did enjoy my time at WSU and if barb could have found a job near Wichita I might have graduated from there not KU.  At WSU, you could take almost every class day or night and they really tried to work it out so you could work and go to school.  At KU you went on their schedule or you didn't go.  It was a royal pain in the butt as they has almost no parking anywhere near the classes and back then the only place a student not living in a dorm could eat was in the student union.  It was almost clear across the campus (and up a big assed hill) from the Business school.  Now when I go to KU games, I see that they covered about half of the parking lot with tennis courts.  Oh well,  I will root for the Shockers.  They just might make a good addition for the BIG XII if they had a football team.

Oh well, enough of this.  It was warm enough to ride yesterday but I was too tired after digging a hole.  Isn't this where I started?

Riding in Rogers, AR

MUD