What did you do today?

[Tom King]

Yes.  She had a partial sac exposed but not broken and made no progress for a half hour.  We ended up taking her to a vet who was not our normal vet who was on vacation this week. The new vet wanted to do a C-section for $2700.  She either had to have a c-section or hope that .3ml of Oxytocin would start her contractions per Pam's instructions (arguing).  Some progress with one shot, but not quite there.  Vet wanted to do the C-section.  Pam convinced them to try a second shot of Oxy, and that worked in about 10 minutes producing the first puppy.

She had two more on the way home, the fourth soon after arriving back at home, and the last one about a half hour later.  All the ones after the first one came easily.

Without Pam's insistence and experience, we would have been out a chunk of change and Stella would be undergoing a recovery from surgery instead of being her normal happy self.

The pups all gained 1/8 oz. over night.  They're all doing fine.

We have another girl due this weekend.

This is why I don't try to work on days we're having puppies.  Often, it takes both of us to manage.

The one time we did to have a C-section was about 20 years ago, 3 o'clock in the morning after Thanksgiving night.  The only vet who would answer a phone was three counties over.

 

 

[Coop]

Between shower tiling and puppy birthing, you’re staying busy! 

[Tom King]

I did manage to slip out and get a little something done today.  Hooked up the valve to the waterline going under the road.  I used this oversized jog method to avoid having to dig up 6 or 10 feet of the old waterline.  It made no noticeable difference in water flow to the house.  Will put down another paver and lay bricks up to hold up the cover box.

[Tom King]

I finished the box install this afternoon.  Two pavers on the hard red clay base, laid bricks to put the top of the box a half inch above the ground level.  The ground builds up over the years just from cutting grass, so hopefully this will be good for a long time but still be low enough for mower blades not to hit it.  Any such box I've ever seen just put in with no support ends up getting pushed down from anything, like a lawnmower, rolling over it.

I didn't pack the ends where the pipe goes through so tightly, but closed in around it pretty good with a thin layer of loose mortar.  I think the mortar will crack  where the pipe goes through both ends before the pipe breaks

Rain is expected on Friday.  I'll let the mortar cure overnight and fill the ditch in tomorrow to beat the rain.

 

[Tom King]

The new puppies are doing fine.  The first time Mom is like an old hand at it already.  It's amazing that they know what to do to start with, both the mothers and the babies.  All spoken for, so not advertising.

 

 

[Coop]

Mother Nature is pretty darn cool! 

[Tom King]

Spent most of the day making sure the little girl puppy nursed and didn't get pushed off.  Four boys each weigh between 7 and 8 ounces.  The one girl weighed 5 ounces at birth.  She lost a quarter ounce last night, so we made sure she got the best spot today every time.  The little ones can get pushed off a nipple by larger puppies.

They get along fine after the first few days even if there is a noticeable difference in size. We had one boy a couple of years ago that weighed 2-7/8 oz. at birth.  He's in the top five Havanese agility dogs now and will get ranked higher, no doubt.

Pam had Yoga and needed to go shopping today, so I managed the puppies.  She weighs almost 6 ounces tonight and is very strong.

I did manage to get that ditch wrapped up and spread fertilizer on the point when Pam was here for a little while in the middle of the day, both to beat the rain coming tomorrow.

It's a good thing I'm retired or I wouldn't have time to work.

[Tom King]

She weighs 6-1/4 oz. this morning, so she did good on her own last night.  Neither one of use woke up last night, so she was on her own.  She was nursing hard when we woke up.  I can probably get some work done today.

[JohnG]

Fixed the knob for locking the angle on my horizontal belt sander. The post was originally held on with two pitifully small tack welds, and it broke off the second time I adjusted the angle. I ground off the remains of the welds and had the maintenance guy at my work weld it back up. Good to go now.

I miss having a welder at home, but I am glad to still have access to one when needed.
 

[wtnhighlander]

In case anyone wondered what the life expectancy of pvc plumbing is, I can verify that 30 years is about it. What should have been a simple leak repair turned into 4 days of driving to the park for a restroom, a new washing machine, a new toilet, 2 new shower valves, and an entire new water supply with PEX. The bright side is that my wallet requires far less effort to lift, now. 

[JohnG]

My polybutylene turns 30 this year 

[Mark J]

@wtnhighlander, that's terrible.  What happens to the PVC, how does it fail?

[wtnhighlander]

@Mark J, the CPVC hot water lines become brittle with age and repeated thermal cycling. In my case, a musty smell that we couldn't isolate from inside led to calling the plumber. At the time, I had a virus and was strongly encouraged to stay out of the crawl space. He found multiple glue joints that were seeping, one was dripping onto the insulation around an HVAC duct, which caused the smell. The pipes were so brittle that he recommended a complete re-piping. Also had to replace some of the HVAC duct to eliminate the mildew.

 

[Tom King]

I thought maybe someone here would enjoy seeing the little girl.  This is the definition of fat and happy.  She was sleeping by herself, so I grabbed this picture just now.  She weighs 7-3/4 oz. now and is gaining as much a day as any of the boys.

[JohnG]

Time to start preparing for next winter

The stack was starting to lean out over time, so I added some chain across to keep it from leaning too far. 

[drzaius]

On 3/22/2024 at 9:09 PM, JohnG said:

My polybutylene turns 30 this year 

Mine turned 32 this year

[JohnG]

On 3/24/2024 at 12:30 PM, drzaius said:

Mine turned 32 this year

Any issues? Though from talking to a couple plumbers I know around here, the main issue with PB plumbing was the plastic fittings. We only have two fittings that are plastic (and luckily easily accessible if they ever fail).

I’ve spliced into the PB piping in a few places and it hasn’t been brittle or fragile at all, so I’m not too worried about it right now. 

[Tom King]

I think the main trouble with PB was putting female fittings too close to the water heater.  I have one house I put it in.  I never used female plastic threaded fittings for anything anywhere.  I think it was built in 1993 but the dates all get jumbled up in my memory.  That house was resold not long ago for something around a million.  I'm sure I sold it for well less than 300.

I did a number of houses with CPVC, including redoing this one we live in, for some years after having issues with acidic ground water and copper pipes.  I don't remember when I stopped using it, but never heard anything about any problems with it.  I know the copper topped house I built in 1991 still has it.  We were in that one not too long ago.  

I can't remember when I switched to PEX.

In my houses, all the pipes of any kind were all fully supported on horizontal runs and sloped so the whole house could drain down with no water left in the pipes.  Most were just bought as vacation homes and no real need to keep heat in them over the Winter other than for water in pipes.  All plumbing was accessible too with usually unfinished utility rooms under bathrooms and kitchen since all had daylight basements on sloping waterfront lots.  All supply lines went up through the floor rather than being closed into walls.

I never got called to fix any plumbing, but have been thanked quite a number of times for making it all easily accessible.

The copper problem was in our personal house, which for over 25 years has been the only one on well water.  All the others were changed to county water when the first water pump played out.  No issues with pipes on county water, but we like the well water.

[wtnhighlander]

You guys should also consider that I may have just been taken to the cleaner's, since I was not able to go under and verify things for myself. Not saying I suspect that, but anything is possible.

Tom's right on about supply lines through the floor. When we built our house I was able to design the pipe rough-in to avoid being in the walls except for the clothes washer and one shower. Those were the drywall repairs I had to make after the plumbers left. Everything else dropped right through the floor holes.

[Mark J]

Another good reason to prefer supplies come through the floor rather than the wall is to keep the pipes from freezing.  After our in the wall kitchen pipes froze we rerouted the supplies to come through the floor into the undersink cabinet.  No more problems. 

[drzaius]

22 hours ago, JohnG said:

Any issues? Though from talking to a couple plumbers I know around here, the main issue with PB plumbing was the plastic fittings. We only have two fittings that are plastic (and luckily easily accessible if they ever fail).

I’ve spliced into the PB piping in a few places and it hasn’t been brittle or fragile at all, so I’m not too worried about it right now. 

None at all. I keep a good eye on it for signs of stress. We have no fittings between the manifold in the basement and the final connection at the tap, so there's that. I'm planning on changing it all out when we do a major bathroom reno next year.

[wtnhighlander]

10 hours ago, Mark J said:

Another good reason to prefer supplies come through the floor rather than the wall is to keep the pipes from freezing.  

Good point. I failed to mention the 2 walls I did have pipes in were interior walls, not exterior. Even here in the sunny South,freezing pipes are a yearly risk.

[gee-dub]

Many of you know I am lucky enough to be able to exhaust my DC outside. 

I was out back fooling around and passed by the DC bump-out on the way back to the house.  I noticed the tell tale saw dust on the ground. 

 

This means only one thing.

Oops!

Back in the day this would have meant a full stop in the shop, removal of the cyclone filter and some serious vacuuming.  In the current shop it just means I am a bonehead and should have checked the bin a week ago.

[gee-dub]

Dropped a couple of goats off for the neighbors.  After the rains, we in the desert basin get to experience how fast desert flora can react to the limited rainfall we get.

In a few weeks his yard will be nibbled down to the nub.

[legenddc]

Enjoyed the last 4 days down in the Blue Ridge mountains with the family. Stopped at JMU and brought the kids to the planetarium on the way down. Spent the next few days enjoying the views, going for hikes, visited some breweries and watched some sunrises and sunsets. Nice to avoid the real world for a few days.

Got home yesterday and finished a cutting board. Still seems a bit rough. I'm afraid I didn't let it dry enough after spraying it with water before I put a coat of finish on it. Hoping to get it done by Sunday when we see my in-laws.