Sprucing up

You could look at these photos and imagine that I was motivated to start painting the barbacoa (which would be a parrillera if still open-sided, but we closed it in) simply because it needed to be spruced up a bit. Just a bit.

In fact, a major motivation was the need to use paint. I bought 20 liters to do the interior of our little house in the country (for sale!), and discovered I could get by with touching-up, leaving me a lot of interior paint in search of a purpose.

We’re in an odd stretch of almost-summery weather, when pressure-washed walls—yes, they need it—dry relatively quickly. So, next: the complete dismantling of everything on the right side (ugh).

And I hate storing almost-empty almost-dried-up paint buckets from jobs done years before.

Bunbun & Betty

Our new old dog Betty has decided she doesn’t want to get in the car, or walk with us in the trashlands north of the Ruta Interbalnearia, so after I get back from walking with Syd and dogs in the afternoon, I take her around the neighborhood for 20 minutes or so, preferably without the other dog, Mocha, an inveterate chaser of all that moves, who would have loved to scare the bejeezus out of this critter.

Betty, however, of an entirely more mellow temperament, probably would have cuddled with the rabbit given a chance.

Bunbun, however, was thinking that distance makes the heart grow fonder. Or something.

How the pros do it (paint)

After struggling with a paint tray—where do you put it so you won’t step in it or knock it over? How do you get paint on the whole roller, instead of just one side?—I consulted the guys painting the front of our house.

Simple, if not exactly easy (bit of a learning curve): use 20-liter can and a piece of wood.

Armed with that knowledge, I tackled the next part of our cochera (carport).

Definitely more efficient. As for my work, the usual: not perfect, but not bad.

Maybe, finally…?

In the Faceborg Uruguay “Experts” (Expats) Community group, people complain bitterly about substandard crap sold here. And they’re right. Recently it was vacuum cleaners that last two years before burning out.

However, that is not us in this case: our Electrolux has been going strong for 15 years—with one exception: the filter cartridge, with three little plastic tabs/flanges that secure it in place. One by one they broke. Only belatedly did I discover the reason: my slamming the thing against the top of the trash bucket to shake dust loose.

My original solution involved epoxy and metal washers, but eventually they fall off. I don’t know why I avoided a more invasive approach, but I woke up one morning recently realizing that a mechanical attachment was the answer. A screw. Because there are a gazillion types of plastic, it’s unlikely I’d find a glue that will actually keep everything together. The screw will, and a little epoxy will prevent shear, i.e. twisting.

What to use for material? See top center of the photo above. This is why I don’t automatically get rid of things like a cheap plastic kitchen spatula that was left in the house when we bought it.

Its thickness turns out to be perfect. So, now to replace the other two?

Nah—if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Overdue (plumbing)

For years, I have wondered about rectifying the horrible plumbing we inherited in our back yard. It always seemed a little silly, since it would involve breaking up part of the patio we had installed. The exact tiles we used are no longer available, so the new ones wouldn’t match perfectly.

But recently I asked our contractor about it, and he said no problem! And when he says that, he means it.

Not only did the drain include a zigzag design, it also had a buried (inaccessible) elbow and substandard pipe, some of which turned out to have been broken.

I don’t find most construction projects particularly gratifying, but this improvement is actually exciting. Because, you see, three or four times a year I had to pry up all the junction box covers, put on long rubber gloves, and force a stiff plastic tube through the pipes connecting them—and yes, the one with the elbow was a bitch—when they got clogged up with grease that shouldn’t have, but somehow got beyond the grease trap.

Nasty job. No more!

BTW the gray square on the garage floor is a closed-off junction box. From four to two—so delightfully uncomplicated!

Another wheeled monster

Outside Tienda Inglesa. Late in the season. From Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg.

The day before, in exactly the same location, were two, equally if not more imposing, in a matching drab green military-type color. I didn’t have my phone to take a picture. It was quite a sight.

Here’s to lightweight travel, German style!