October 31 2019

Getting Into Hot Water

How to get the hot water back on when you have a tankless hot water heater. To be fair I am mostly writing this post so that I can remember how to do this the next time it happens, especially if Hubby isn’t there to help me “fix” it. Note, we are not plumbers or professionals, so try this at your own risk.

The last couple of times the water wouldn’t get hot, Hubby just ran downstairs and did exactly what I did in the brief video shown above. That worked a couple of times but it wasn’t the right way to solve the problem, and we both knew it. It worked until it didn’t and then we had to do it right.

 

This is the top of the water heater and you have to take the screws out of the two spots on the top of the water heater. See the left pipe sticking out of the top? Well, that is where the trouble comes in.

 

Now this is the the bottom, and there are two more screws down there that need to be removed. We didn’t unplug it first, and nothing bad happened.

 

So, this is the inside after the cover is removed. See that white thing just under the left pipe we talked about earlier? Well you need to take out the screw next to it, yes, there on the right. Take the screw out then pay attention to how it comes out so you can put it back together in a few minutes. There is a screen filter on this thing and it is likely covered with spider webs and debris. Clear it off and consider rinsing and drying it before you put it all back together.

For convenience, the cover has a lip on top so it kind of hangs in place while you put the screws back in. Put all the screws back in, the one on the inside is the obvious screw to put back in first. Then all you have to do is push the reset button like I did in the video above. That’s it. It is that easy. So now the next time it happens, I will know what to do.

Category: Confidence, Depth Year, Money Saving, Reclaiming Our Home | 1 Comment on Getting Into Hot Water
October 24 2019

Review: Laptop Bag (for acrobatic computers)

Today I tested my laptop bag, quite by accident. Twice. This morning I bagged my laptop and had everything zipped securely in place and resting on my desk. I went back into the kitchen to pack my lunch and out of the corner of my eye, I spied movement coming from my office. By the time I realized it was my laptop bag about to dive off the desk, it was too late to actually catch it. I didn’t hear anything break and decided that I would wait to see if all was well until it actually came time to use the laptop this evening lest my whole day be ruined and went to work.

This afternoon I grabbed my laptop bag and hoisted it up onto the desktop so I wouldn’t walk off and forget it when somehow I turned around suddenly and my laptop had once again turned a somersault off the desktop and landed unceremoniously on the floor. I commented at the time that it would be a wonder if the computer actually still worked after the day it had already had. I told my coworker that if the computer still worked when I got to my writing group, I just might have to write up a review on the laptop bag that saved it not once, but twice in the same day.

Well folks, guess what. I am writing this review on the acrobatic laptop and it seems none the worse for wear. So, I am thrilled that I chose THIS bag. It lives up to the shockproof claim.

So, for those of you who are wondering what this wel-padded bag is, here is the one I got for myself. (Yes, these are affiliate links)

CoolBELL Shoulder Bag 17.3 Inch Laptop Bag Messenger Bag Large Capacity Business Briefcase Multi-Compartment Handbag for Men/Women/College (New Black)

I also bought Hubby one of his own since we have matching laptops, and he chose the dark blue one. Same bag, different color.

CoolBELL 17.3 inch Laptop Messenger Bag Multi-Functional Briefcase Multi-Compartment Handbag Include Shoulder Strap for MacBook/Acer/HP/Dell Alienware/Lenovo/Men/Women (Blue)

If you look up the bag on Amazon, there are several photos of the features in the bag. I could take my own, but they wouldn’t be half as good as those that already exist. There are three different compartments and a special Velcro closure for the laptop sleeve space. This bag has so much space I have to be careful not to load it completely full or I can barely lift it. I could likely carry three laptops in this bag if I had to. It is that roomy. I would buy this bag again and Hubby has had no complaints about his either. This bag also comes in a really pretty shade of purple, but I was afraid it wouldn’t look very professional, so I opted for boring basic black instead. My only complaint with this bag so far is that one of the strap hooks lost its spring and doesn’t stay closed. I solved this problem by jamming a piece of an eraser into the spot where the spring would have been so now it won’t open at all. I don’t take the strap off my bags, ever, so this is not an issue.


Two dives off the desk and it still it works! Click To Tweet

I am so happy this bag protected my new laptop so well. I had to buy a new bag when I got this laptop because it is too large for any of the other bags I already owned. I am sure it would NOT have fared so well in the less padded tote bags I carried it in before deciding to get an actual laptop bag.

Category: Review | Comments Off on Review: Laptop Bag (for acrobatic computers)
October 17 2019

Master Bedroom Update

This week I wanted to share some of the progress we have made on the master bedroom. For those who didn’t get to read the previous post, and see what it looked like before we let a bunch of young people tear it apart for us, you can read about our Master Bedroom Project and then come back and read where we are now if you like. Go ahead, we will wait until you get back here.

See that cute little door to what used to be called a dust porch? Well we lost the skeleton key over twenty years ago before we could even get moved into the house, so we never opened the door. Then the homeowner’s insurance decided they would drop us if we didn’t either put up railing on the dust porch, or nail the door shut permanently. So Hubby had to install molding around the door to effectively render it useless and keep the insurance company happy. We had to take photos showing that we had done the work as requested. Since we didn’t want to have to repeat the process at some point in the future and we wanted to open the room up a bit and let in more light, we chose to replace the door with a window.

See how much more light we were able to let in? You can see the old door leaning against the wall. I had the window guys save them for some reason. What do we do with them now?

Before we get too much further, let me show you the rest of the photos of the old windows.

   

I realize the room looks so much larger BEFORE the new windows were installed, but that is mainly due to the old windows still being in the room and taking up previously open space. For some reason I thought we should hang onto the old ones because they are the same size as about twenty other windows in our house and I hated to get rid of them, because you just never know when we might need to swap one of them out, right? Was this dumb? Could Hubby perhaps repurpose the wood and make picture frames or something from the old windows? We kept the old storm windows and screens too because we really do need to switch a few of them out and use them for spare parts, but the question is, what do we DO with them until we need them?

 

The door in the corner is the closet door which we fully intend to turn into a pocket door very soon, I hope. Right now we are working on getting all wiring replaced and putting in the outlets and light fixtures. During this long project, we have completely changed our minds about how the bedroom furniture will be arranged when the room is finished. Once it is in place, we won’t be rearranging it. We wanted to install reading lights above both sides of the bed, so we needed to know where the bed would be to make the final decisions.

Since we took the walls down after we had the house insulated, we are taking the time to make sure to fill any gaps in the insulation before we put the drywall up. The white stuff on the outside walls is the insulation. We are also insulating the ceiling before putting the drywall up over it. Hopefully between the outside insulation and the new windows, the room will be nice and cozy when it is finished. We are also adding insulation to the inside walls to help sound proof it a little bit.

So, what do you think about the new windows? We could only afford to do the one room and it just made sense to do it while the room was torn apart. Did we make the right decision on the door being replaced by a window? I feel like it really brings the light in and makes the room seem larger. Please feel free to leave your comments or suggestions below.

Category: Reclaiming Our Home | 1 Comment on Master Bedroom Update
October 10 2019

Recipe: 7 Layer Dip

One of my favorite things to bring to a pitch-in is seven layer dip. I tried to find a photo of the finished product to share with you, but once it is completely assembled and set out for the masses, it simply disappears. This photo is the make-ahead part with the first five ingredients, all that is left is to add shredded lettuce and then top with shredded cheese. There is really no wrong way to do it and if you Google to find a recipe you will find many different variations of the recipes to choose from. There is really no wrong way to do it, and it doesn’t have to have exactly seven layers, but it works out nicely that way. The layers shown below break one of my own personal rules, and that is not to put two like-colored layers right next to each other. In the photo, the five layers are re-fried beans (vegan), green onions, guacamole (or maybe just avocado), sour cream (usually low-fat or fat-free) and salsa.

A few of the variations we found called for seasoning the re-fried beans with taco seasoning mix, or using black olives as one of the layers. I also saw where one recipe said in order to make it gluten-free, you should shred the cheese fresh as pre-shredded packaged cheeses often include gluten to keep the cheese from clumping. I figure you can be creative. I usually make enough to fill two of these large rectangle containers. I like these because they are deep enough to give a little definition to the various layers.

 

This recipe is good as a tortilla chip dip or as filling for a wrap or on top of baked potatoes. It is really a balanced meal in itself. Do you make a version of this? How is yours different?

Category: Uncategorized | 1 Comment on Recipe: 7 Layer Dip
October 3 2019

Where is the world was Thomas?

For those of you who are visiting for the first time or two and might have missed it, this is a followup to a post from just after Labor Day. I did some quick research and got excited thinking that perhaps I had found a connection that would tie into my family tree. In case you want to go back and read it before reading this one, the link is both above and below for your convenience.

I left off last time with the premise that the Thomas SOLON who lived out the rest of his life as a shoemaker in Washington, Daviess County, Indiana was the eldest son of John SOLON of Champaign, Illinois.

Since then, I located this couple (Thomas, the shoemaker, and his wife Mary) in the 1910 census:

1910 US Thomas and Mary SOLON Washington, Daviess County, IN

By this time I am seriously beginning to suspect that the shoemaker is not the same person who died in Oklahoma in 1915, because that Thomas SOLON bought land in Lawton, Oklahoma in May 1909. But by now, I really want to see this through and find out what happened to the shoemaker, just because I can and it might help another researcher.

I found the marriage record for Thomas SOLON and Mary Ann REDMOND, but convinced myself it couldn’t be the correct record because it was so far from Daviess County, Indiana where they lived after they were married and where Thomas had lived before. I knew it was the correct one after I found their headstone photo. It turns out that Thomas and Mary were buried in Saint John Cemetery, in Washington, Daviess County, Indiana.

So, there you have it. One Thomas SOLON story neatly tied up. This obviously is not either of the Thomas SOLONs I have been trying to track down, but it was fun learning what I could and now I know this one has been eliminated from the search. Who knows? Maybe one day when I find my great-great grandfather Thomas SOLON’s siblings and parents, this Thomas might turn out to be his nephew or cousin, in which case I will be that much further ahead with my research.

If by any chance you have SOLON or SOLAN ancestors in your family tree or just happen to know where I can find either of the Thomas SOLONs I am searching for, for heaven’s sake, PLEASE contact me!

Labor Day Research

Category: Genealogy, Learning | Comments Off on Where is the world was Thomas?