What's been going on (the non-medical version) part 4 of ??

We had a long term leak in the basement that we only discovered after there was a deep pool under the stairs. That's apparently the low point for the entire basement floor. We misidentified the problem at first as an extremely corroded y-join in the line from the kitchen to the sewer. We had that replaced but were still accumulating water. I dumped a container of green food coloring down the kitchen sink in hopes that it would show the location for the actual leak.

It turns out that the problem was our whole-house humidifier. The line taking clean water to that had started to disintegrate and had multiple holes. It just wasn't leaking fast or in places we could easily spot. The line in question isn't even as big around as one of my fingers. Scott attempted to replace it himself but, even after three hardware store runs, couldn't find the right connectors. We ended up getting someone in to do it, and that took about ten minutes.

We're still running the dehumidifier on a higher setting than usual and keeping the AC on because the wood at the base of the stair got soaked over a period of weeks. We're pretty sure the leak had been ongoing for at least a month before the water got out to parts of the floor that we actually could see. We didn't lose anything stored down there because most of what got hit was in plastic bins that kept the water out. There's still a lot of stuff out of place, and moving around down there is awkward because of it, but I think we're getting close to dry enough.

Scott built a ramp to replace the steps to the back porch which were rotting from the inside. I didn't realize that concrete blocks could do that. At any rate, it's an okay ramp, but he skimped by using long boards that run the length of the ramp instead of short boards running the width. The latter would have taken him about ten times as long and a lot more wood, so I get why he didn't. I just don't think this one will last more than five years.

We can't put a ramp out front unless we pave part of the lawn. The current walk is only about 2 feet wide and runs from steps to driveway at a right angle instead of straight on from steps to sidewalk. Hiring someone to replace the ramp Scott has built would likely run into issues about it needing to be 2-4 feet longer than it is, relative to the drop in height. That added length would block enough of the driveway to make the garage inaccessible; I think Scott could still get the lawnmower in and out, but the car would be impossible. We could probably get the ratio if we ran it from the porch into the backyard, but, again, we'd have to add pavement.

Adding pavement would alter our taxes because those laws currently discourage anything that will increase stormwater runoff. Lawns, gardens, and rain barrels are Good. Pavement is Bad.

What's been going on (the non-medical version) part 5 of 7

Scott just bought an electric lawnmower that runs on a chargeable battery. He got tired of having to go out and buy gas to run the old lawnmower but hadn't wanted an electric mower that needed a cord. The leaf blower and snow thrower both use cords, but neither of them are designed specifically to chop up things that get underneath them.

We finally managed to repot the Christmas cactus that Scott's mother gave Cordelia more than a decade ago. It's needed repotting for at least five years, but my hands weren't up to the task. I also had a moderate sized chunk of the plant in water after the cleaning lady knocked it off the plant in January 2020. It flourished in that glass of water in spite of getting no sun whatsoever.

At any rate, I melted down over the damned plant about six months ago because nobody else would water it unless I stood over them and watched and because I couldn't safely move through the dining room to get to the plant on the window sill. I have always resented the plant but have been unwilling to abandon it because it's a living thing (I have no idea why I didn't throw out the piece I ended up rooting. No, I know. It was such a large part of the plant, maybe a third of it).

At this point, Scott's actually clearing the path back to the plant occasionally. I still have to ask, but he no understands that I can't walk through bags and boxes and can't move them without help. He also bought me two large pots and twice as much potting soil as we needed. We had that for about four months before I managed to catch him when he could help. I could do most of the work, but I couldn't get the plant out of the old pot or open the bag of soil.

I set up with a large box in the living room and put the empty pot and the bag of soil in the box. That let me sit on the couch and bend down to work which was about the only way I could have done it without injuring myself and without making a huge mess. The whole process took about 15 minutes with most of that dedicated to slowly water the repotted plants. The original plant looks so much healthier now that it's no longer root bound, and the rooted fragment seems to be happy.

I'm still looking for someone to take one or both plants. Cordelia says she doesn't want them, and I really don't either. I also don't think I can keep taking care of them even at the water once a week level. The dining room is a tight space, and it holds a lot of things that Scott really wants to keep but that don't have other homes. Since we don't eat out there, the area around and under the table ends up as storage for things like empty boxes that won't fit in that week's recycling and books that we can't currently donate and board games Scott wants to play but doesn't have opportunities to play.

Our local niece has said she's willing to take the plants, but she's still in college in a dorm room a ten hour drive from here. Well, she's half an hour away right now. I just don't think she wants to give up that much carrying space for plants, and if she's leaving them with her parents, I want their consent first. I'd feel better about giving her just one of them.