This Year's Potatoes

My wife planted potatoes this year: an experiment, to see how well growing produce in the back yard works.

We've been eating the results since late summer/early fall. The individual potatoes aren't as large as what's sold in groceries: but they're at least as good.

We're going through the last of the potato harvest now, so my wife's experimental plot lasted nearly until December. I think that's pretty good for a first attempt.

Furnace Trouble

First, the good news.

We've deployed heaters in occupied rooms of the house, and my wife's called the repair tech.

Now, the not-so-good news.

Our furnace is on the fritz. Again.

It stopped working the night of December 29, during below-zero weather. That's hardly unusual: the weather, not our furnace failing.

The repair tech came, spotted the problem, made some calls: and arranged for the special fan motor to be driven up to our place. By the evening of December 30, we had central heat again.

The furnace is something like 20 years old. At the time, we thought having a high-efficiency furnace was a good idea. Just one problem: the thing uses a special fan motor — that's not at all easy to find these days. We're definitely going to keep that in mind when we replace the furnace: whenever that will be.

The repair tech was here yesterday, and fixed some sort of blockage issue in the furnace. Obviously, there's something else going on, too, since it got down to about 57 degrees at my desk last night: with a space heater less than 20 feet away.

Finally, more good news.

We're getting another opportunity to practice patience, while the latest furnace problem gets solved. I am, anyway.

Getting the Furnace Fixed

Our furnace is getting repaired. That's very good news, since it's about 19 below zero, Fahrenheit, outside. The wind chill is about minus 30. That's cold, even for central Minnesota in January.

We noticed that the furnace was getting temperamental on Friday. The house was alternately warmer and cooler than expected. Sure enough, a particular sequence of indicator lights was flashing on the furnace and there was a pool of water around it.

Today was the earliest a technician could come: we're probably not the only folks with balky systems. Happily, we've got procedures for dealing with this sort of thing. Even so, a circuit breaker tripped - I think that was Friday night. That was an easy fix, and now #3 daughter knows how to check and re-set the circuit breaker panel.

The obvious problem with the furnace is gunk that's collected in one of the pipes involved in the humidifying machinery. That's easy to deal with, I gather, but the tech is still here.

Related posts:

• "Cold Weather: Lots of It"
  Sauk Centre Journal Blog (January 6, 2014)
• "Break Time"
  (January 5, 2014)
• "Just Touching Base"
  (January 4, 2014)
• "Cold Weather and Me"
  Sauk Centre Journal Blog (January 5, 2014)

The Furnace is Fixed: a Day Early

'The furnace guy' had a break in his schedule, we had already received the needed parts, and so he came today: a day early.

Our furnace is now safe to operate, which makes me a happy camper.

A warmer one, too.

Related post:

• "The Furnace Broke: But It Could Be Worse"
  (October 14, 2013)

The Furnace Broke: But It Could Be Worse

It's a gray, damp, chilly, drizzling day.

My cold, or whatever has been ailing me, isn't doing well at all: but I'm feeling much better. I suppose someone could work up an ethical concern over massive casualties in the rhinovirus population, but I won't bother.

Oddly enough, I can't remember any protests as smallpox was heartlessly driven to extinction: and that's another topic.

I've been getting some work done, more of which won't happen if I keep writing this post.

We've had someone look at the furnace/heating system. Good news: the situation showed up in our yearly maintenance check of machinery that keeps the house warm during winter. Not-so-good news: there isn't just one malfunction. A whole mess of parts either aren't working, or aren't working properly. Sort-of-good news: we found out before the serious heating season started; and the parts can be replaced. More precisely, the parts can be replaced: once they arrive. There's a fair-sized order being, I hope, processed correctly.

Meanwhile, our main heating system is offline, and the household is setting up space heaters to keep conditions inside somewhat comfortable.

One of the benefits of higher energy costs, compared to what householders paid in my youth, is that it's been decades since the start of heating season was punctuated by news reports of exploding houses. In some sorts of stories, it would have been a funny situation. The reality wasn't amusing. Folks whose furnaces failed catastrophically didn't always survive.

Considering some of the alternatives, spending money on this year's repairs doesn't seem like such a bad thing, after all.

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Fogbound Streets of my Mind"
  (October 3, 2013)
• "I Got What I Asked For"
  (September 29, 2013)
• "Minnesota Winter, and the Furnace is Fixed!"
  (January 5, 2009)
• "I'm Sick, the Furnace is Kaput, There's a Storm Coming: but Other Than That, Things are Fine!"
  (December 29, 2008)
• "Thursday: Furnace, Glasses, and a Violin Bow"
  (January 25, 2008)

Popping a Lens: Twice

I've been short-changing myself on sleep this week: far from a good idea.

That might be part of the reason that I dropped my 'task' glasses today. Twice. Actually, the first time I brushed against them, tried to stop them from falling by pushing on them with my arm: at which point the right lens popped out and bounced - - - elsewhere.

I tried to get the lens back in, using tools we have on hand: without success. A few minutes at the eye doctor's fixed the situation, though.

An hour or so later, I managed to slide the glasses off some papers and onto the floor. This time the left lens popped off. Back to the shop, where I learned that these frames don't play well with the lenses. Not with my prescription. The solution is for me to be really careful about flexing the frames.

That, I can do.

#1 daughter and I made a trip down to Cold Spring, near St. Cloud, to drop off a state-government-agency-related document. That was fun: nice weather, no road construction to speak of, and about two hours to talk. That was between the two 'fix the glasses' jaunts.

My son had questions about high-definition programming through our cable provider: and wound up saving the household a tidy sum in reduced rates. In the process I gave the provider authorization to talk with him about technical issues: he's the best techie in the family.

Now, I need to get some sleep.

Related post:

• "New Glasses: For Me, a Big Deal"
  (May 2, 2013)

Living in Central Minnesota with Central Air

We got central air conditioning installed late last week. My wife set it to keep temperatures inside at 74 degrees Fahrenheit or less. That's a little warmish: but we like seasonal variations, and it's fun to wear summer clothing in summer.

Then came storms, and highs in the 50s. A few minutes ago the heating part of the system kicked in.

I like living in Minnesota: the weather isn't boring.

Related post:

• "Central Air: After Only Three Decades!"
  (May 17, 2013)
• "Sin, Death, Tornadoes, and Getting a Grip"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (May 21, 2013)

Central Air: After Only Three Decades!

When I got back from seeing a demonstration of Universal Robots's UR-5 in Fargo yesterday, the house was cooler than I expected. As of Thursday afternoon, we have central air: something my wife has been waiting for since we moved in, about three decades back. Me, too.

Roof repairs are done, and we're still looking forward to wrapping up some long-awaited maintenance and replacement. It's nice to be able to get this done.

Related post:

• "Meditation and Power Tools"
  (May 15, 2013)

Meditation and Power Tools

I put in an hour at the St. Faustina Meditation Chapel earlier this afternoon. Meditation hasn't been one of my strong suits, probably never will be, and that's another topic. (A Catholic Citizen in America (May 3, 2013))

When I got home again, the sounds from power tools were added to the rattling, pounding, and scraping I've been hearing overhead. We're getting some (long-overdue) work done on part of the house.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that the symphony for circular saws and hammers doesn't help my concentration: and I've got a 24 hours less that I'd planned for, to get Fridays post finished.

Make that "posts." There's one I'd forgotten about.

Other than that, the week's been fairly uneventful: except for the reason I'm coming up a day short, and that's yet another topic.

Father's Day - and the Freezer Gave Up

I've had a nice Father's Day - spend largely in going to church, grilling burgers, and goofing off.

Then, in the afternoon, my wife noticed that our freezer was kaput. Defunct. No longer among the functional. And only a quarter-century or so after we bought it.

Then she disappeared.

A few hours later she was back, with an assortment of my nieces, nephews, and in-laws. Also a (huge) new freezer. She'd found one in Alexandria, down the road. With the help of the extended family, the new freezer is in - and has been stocked with the undamaged (I trust) food that had been in the old one.

The old freezer is now sitting on the floor behind where I sit - temporarily, I assume.

Busted Water Pipe, Day 32: Plumbing Progress and Regress

When this Monday dawned, the house had a working bathroom: two, if you count a lavatory. Then, briefly, we had two: or three.

Now it's back to one: or, like I said, two.

We're doing fine, really: No porta potties, and no plans to excavate for an outhouse: which is probably illegal inside Sauk Centre. I'd have to check zoning and other regulations.

The good news is that it isn't the same one that's out of commission at the moment. We're getting some overdue maintenance/repair word done upstairs.

On an unrelated topic, my wife's got a cold now. They say that it's a good idea for couples to do things together - but this probably isn't what that anonymous "they" had in mind. She says that I seem to be on the mend - which may be true. I don't feel sick, or tired, or much of anything else: and thinking isn't as easy to do as I'd like.

Oh well, as we say in Minnesota: It could be worse.

Related posts:

• "Busted Water Pipe, Day 26: Tiles Grouted, Burgers Grilled"
  (October 12, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Day 25: Kitchen's Back Online"
  (October 11, 2010)
• "Living in a Construction Site"
  (October 8, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Day Nine: Getting Back to Normal"
  (September 25, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Day Seven: Flooring, Gas Pipe, and Sparks"
  (September 23, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Day Five: Bathroom's in the Kitchen, and a Mouse Condominium?!"
  (September 21, 2010)
• "Hammers, Fans, Dehumidifiers, and Maybe Some Good News"
  (September 20, 2010)
• "Wet Albums, Loud Fans, and Grilled Burgers"
  (September 19, 2010)
• "Not So Much Water on the Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Standing Water on Two Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)

Busted Water Pipe, Day 26: Tiles Grouted, Burgers Grilled

Thanks to a reminder from #3 daughter and my son, I grilled burgers for supper tonight. Work in the house hasn't directly affected the outdoor grill, but we're in the habit of having fries (which we bake) with the burgers - and that wasn't happening with the oven in storage.

Also, there's now grout between the new tiles.

On an unrelated matter, the local Culligan service called this afternoon. I'd said something nice about them last year, I think it was, and they wanted to know if I was okay with their using my remark in their advertising. I said 'yes,' of course. First, they're an okay outfit. Second, I don't mind the publicity, myself.

Related posts:

• "Busted Water Pipe, Day 25: Kitchen's Back Online"
  (October 11, 2010)
• "Living in a Construction Site"
  (October 8, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Day Nine: Getting Back to Normal"
  (September 25, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Day Seven: Flooring, Gas Pipe, and Sparks"
  (September 23, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Day Five: Bathroom's in the Kitchen, and a Mouse Condominium?!"
  (September 21, 2010)
• "Hammers, Fans, Dehumidifiers, and Maybe Some Good News"
  (September 20, 2010)
• "Wet Albums, Loud Fans, and Grilled Burgers"
  (September 19, 2010)
• "Not So Much Water on the Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Standing Water on Two Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)

Busted Water Pipe, Day 25: Kitchen's Back Online

As of this evening, the oven, the washing machine and the dryer are where they belong and plugged in.

This household is another - big - step closer to getting back to our usual routines. Like preparing most of our food in the kitchen.

This has been an interesting experience: and I'm not at all sorry to see it winding down.

Related posts:

• "Living in a Construction Site"
  (October 8, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Day Nine: Getting Back to Normal"
  (September 25, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Day Seven: Flooring, Gas Pipe, and Sparks"
  (September 23, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Day Five: Bathroom's in the Kitchen, and a Mouse Condominium?!"
  (September 21, 2010)
• "Hammers, Fans, Dehumidifiers, and Maybe Some Good News"
  (September 20, 2010)
• "Wet Albums, Loud Fans, and Grilled Burgers"
  (September 19, 2010)
• "Not So Much Water on the Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Standing Water on Two Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)

My Son, the Techie

My son set up and launched his website yesterday evening. 'First' website, I suspect. It's still a work in process, but what I've seen looks good. Granted, I'm biased.

Today he's tweaking the WordPress-powered blog on the website. I told him that I'd be using him as a technical consultant when/if I start hosting my blogs myself - which I might, although Blogger's served me very well.

And you can't beat the price.

In other developments, the flooring project is in process again this morning - and still going well.

I located the stove - also the washer and dryer. They're in an arc, starting west and a little south of my desk, mostly in the west part of the north room. Happily, it's a big room: although with the movable contents of the kitchen and laundry room in here, it doesn't feel like it so much.

Living in a Construction Site

There are much worse things than having a water pipe burst in the house. But that's been enough to disrupt things for this household.

We've been in the rebuilding stage for a while here. And, since my desk and computer are in the north room, just off the kitchen, I have a sort of front-row seat.

As I wrote in another blog, earlier today:

"It's quiet at the moment, but pretty soon this area will be suffused with the rhythms of a staple gun, the shrill sonority of a rotary saw, anon hammerings and scrapings.

"Tranquil it ain't."
(Apathetic Lemming of the North (October 8, 2010))

I took some photos on Wednesday, while the floor was mostly taken apart in three (or four, depending on how you count them) rooms:


Tearing the floors up uncovered a few things that needed fixing. (October 6, 2010)

I'm not going to say that having an indoor water feature in the house was a good thing - but taking up flooring, and what the flooring was sitting on, showed a few spots that needed attention - and made it possible to get the fixing done.


Here's the floor at the foot of the stairs going from the ground to the second floor: or, rather, the floor joists and old subfloor. (October 6, 2010)

If you look closely, the gaps between the old subfloor planks aren't very dark. There's a reason for that. You're looking straight down into the basement, where a light's on.


I'm going to miss being able to see into the basement from the first floor. But not much. (October 6, 2010)

There's smooth flooring in the rooms that needed work now, for the first time in - quite a while. There's going to be a finished surface that goes over that - but I'm glad not to be walking on rough planks and the occasional screw or nail any more.

Just to keep things interesting: as of - early today, I think it was - the refrigerator is in the north room, behind me and to my left as I sit at the desk. It's plugged in, so our food supply is okay. The stove? It's somewhere else. And not plugged in.

I'm going to be glad when the various repair/reconstruction jobs are over.

For the season.

There's quite a lot of work that needs to be done on the east wall of the house - but happily that can wait until spring.

One more thing: My wife and #3 daughter have been off with the Soo Bahk Do class, down in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul to non-Minnesotans). Some sort of test. I expect them back in an hour or so.

Busted Water Pipe, Day Nine: Getting Back to Normal

Possibly the last of the Servicemaster fellows was here yesterday, cleaning and - sanitizing, I suppose you'd call it - the ductwork that got water in it. I took a few photos, but that'll wait until another day.

The duct cleaning is important, I think: dust builds up in those things, and water got into over a dozen feet of them a week ago yesterday. One of the last things I'd want is mold getting a foothold there and spreading spores through the house. Not healthy.

Good news: the ducts were more airtight than the technician expected them to be.

There are going to be 'next steps' well into next year - but at this point the house is dry, and ready to get flooring replaced.

#1 daughter arrived Friday afternoon, and is here for the weekend - and glad that the fans are out of here. This place was noisy for a while.

The ladies have been sorting through stuff that was taken up from storage and has been getting dried. We'll be discarding some, passing some along to #2 daughter and her husband - and keeping some.

Related posts:

• "Busted Water Pipe, Day Seven: Flooring, Gas Pipe, and Sparks"
  (September 23, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Day Five: Bathroom's in the Kitchen, and a Mouse Condominium?!"
  (September 21, 2010)
• "Hammers, Fans, Dehumidifiers, and Maybe Some Good News"
  (September 20, 2010)
• "Wet Albums, Loud Fans, and Grilled Burgers"
  (September 2010)
• "Not So Much Water on the Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Standing Water on Two Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)

Busted Water Pipe, Day Seven: Flooring, Gas Pipe, and Sparks

I can't work up much enthusiasm for the idea, yet, but it's probably a good thing that a pipe broke in the laundry room last Friday morning. One of the fellows who's been over here, sorting out what needs to be done now that Servicemaster has dried the structure out, noticed that he got sparks around the circuit breaker panel.

That is not a good thing.

When an electrician came to evaluate the sparks, he found that one wire wasn't quite insulated properly. It's hard to tell what happened: years of slight movements might have cracked the insulation, it might have been nicked when the system was installed - or maybe something else.

Good news: It wasn't the water, so we aren't looking at tearing apart the walls and floors and tracing the wires. And, the faulty wire has been replaced.

Like I said, I don't feel all warm and wonderful about that busted pipe and the water damage. But between discovering a dryer vent that could have caught fire, learning about a small-but-dangerous flaw in the wiring, and getting a look at some repairs in the outside walls that can - thank God - wait until next summer: It looks like it's a good thing we had our attention focused on the workings of this house.

Oh, right. One more thing. We discovered that the insulation over our living room needs replacing and that the airspace over the room isn't adequately ventilated. That area wasn't affected by the flooding: but my wife had one of the fellows who was over here looking at needed repairs take a look at that area too.

I'm not surprised about the insulation situation. That area's one that we figured needed attention - but could wait. Now, it's getting attention.

One last thing: Servicemaster took its fans and heavy-duty dehumidifiers out of the house yesterday afternoon. It's really quite, now that they're gone.

Related posts:

• "Busted Water Pipe, Day Five: Bathroom's in the Kitchen, and a Mouse Condominium?!"
  (September 21, 2010)
• "Hammers, Fans, Dehumidifiers, and Maybe Some Good News"
  (September 20, 2010)
• "Wet Albums, Loud Fans, and Grilled Burgers"
  (September 2010)
• "Not So Much Water on the Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Standing Water on Two Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)

Busted Water Pipe, Day Five: Bathroom's in the Kitchen, and a Mouse Condominium?!

This could have been a lot worse. It still looks like we won't have to replace the drywall. Most of it, anyway. There's part of the laundry room that may need work done on the walls.


You know it's going to be one of those days, when you come downstairs and find part of the bathroom in the kitchen. September 21, 2010.

Floors in the ground floor bathroom, kitchen, and front entry, on the other hand: Those are stripped down to the old country-farmhouse floorboards. We'd use that as the 'new' floor surface: but there was too much damage done over the generations, before we got this place. So, after some repairs and yet more drying out, we'll be getting those floors resurfaced.


The Servicemaster crew has done this before: That's an impressive tool kit. September 21, 2010.

The fans and dehumidifiers are on again. They were off while the Servicemaster crew was here: good thing, too, since they kick up quite a breeze. I was right, by the way: the house did seem awfully quiet. Apart from the hammering, drilling, and tearing up of flooring, of course.


Good news: We're getting new flooring in three rooms. Bad news: We need new flooring in three rooms. September 21, 2010.


My wife saw those holes in the cabinet base and said to the fellow, in a pleased tone: "You're making mouse condominiums!" September 21, 2010.

If those holes do their job of ventilation, we may be able to keep the existing cabinets. Which is to be hoped for: the things are nailed to the walls, not screwed in place.

As for 'mouse condominiums,' the first thing I thought of when I saw those holes was something like 'pre-drilled mouse access?' It would make a good story, maybe.

Related posts:

• "Hammers, Fans, Dehumidifiers, and Maybe Some Good News"
  (September 20, 2010)
• "Wet Albums, Loud Fans, and Grilled Burgers"
  (September 2010)
• "Not So Much Water on the Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Standing Water on Two Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)

Hammers, Fans, Dehumidifiers, and Maybe Some Good News

A crew - two men - from Servicemaster came today. I understand that they usually have more people on a job like this, but St. Cloud Servicemaster's territory extends up to the Canadian border - and apparently there's a rather major job that needs attention in a hospital up in International Falls. It's probably connected with this news item:

"Hospital in full diversionary status after waterline break"
Laurel Beager, International Falls Journal (September 20, 2010)

"ER, clinic campus remain in operation

"A major waterline break Sunday evening at the hospital campus of the Rainy Lake Medical Center has caused the hospital to divert its inpatients to other facilities, according to CEO Brian Long.

"Long reported this morning that the water line break that occurred at 7 p.m. Sunday caused the concrete floor in the basement to lift and the lower level to flood with about 7 inches of water...."

Under the circumstances, I'm glad that Servicemaster, St. Cloud, sent anybody to a residence in Sauk Centre, Minnesota.

The crew did a good job, too, stripping floor coverings from the ground-floor rooms. They also made quite a lot of noise, between hammers and other tools.

We got some tentatively-good news. We may not need to replace the drywall.

Once again, I'm really glad I was up at a crazy-late hour Friday morning, and (eventually) noticed the running water. This could have been a lot worse.

Actually, it may be just as well that we had to pull the washer and dryer out and inspect all the hoses and ducts. There was quite a lot of lint in the dryer's vent. Note to self: inspect that system more often. Lint makes good kindling - and that's not something you want near something hot, like parts of a dryer.

Bear in mind: After Friday and the weekend, I'm just a bit jumpy.

This house is going to seem very quiet, once those fans and dehumidifiers are out of here.

Related posts:

• "Wet Albums, Loud Fans, and Grilled Burgers"
  (September 2010)
• "Not So Much Water on the Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Standing Water on Two Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)

Wet Albums, Loud Fans, and Grilled Burgers

I spend about two hours this afternoon, cutting foam plastic squares in half, taking the records (vinyl albums) out of their jackets and inserting a half-square of the plastic, to keep the two sides apart.

I wasn't able to get the job done with all of them: but did process the lot that had been put in the garage, instead of being set up in the basement where Servicemaster's fans and dehumidifier are. The jackets were not damp: They were wet. I rather hope that I got to them in time - and that we can hang on to the drying system long enough to keep the collection from molding.

Other than that, it's been a fairly normal day: high-volume fans and a humidifier pumping water out of the air - and so, indirectly, out of the walls and floor on the first floor and basement; grilling burgers - actually, #1 daughter did that today (thanks!). I was talking with a fellow from Servicemaster when it was time to fix lunch.

I'm not complaining: but those fans are rather loud. I like the sound, actually: but it makes a certain amount of concentration necessary when I want to talk with someone.

Related posts:

• "Not So Much Water on the Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Standing Water on Two Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)