Maintenance

     I spent my week fixing a few things. The boys and I had moved a fridge a month back. (When I say the boys and I, it was more me saying hey, guys put that fridge on the back of the pickup cause that looks like it could take some effort). It was a heavy fridge and when we took it off the pickup it came down hard. (OK here when I say we I mean I thought I could roll it to the edge of the pickup and slowly let it slide to ground level while the boys watched. Oops mistake there it didn't)The wheels were rated for 400 pound load, but I don't believe that rating was for dropping 400 pounds the last 2 feet. 

     As you can see it was a bit damaging to the bearing race. The bearing on the outside was still seated so the cart would roll but its days were definitely numbered. I went around to the local stores and no one had the wheel I needed. I could get plenty of 6 inch wheels but I needed one with a 5/8 inch arbor and everyone carried wheels with 1/2 inch arbor. Then I started searching on-line. No luck I could find 8 inch wheels but they would not fit the cart.

     I remembered there were a couple of dolly wheels in the garage of a house we had bought. I had brought them out to Sharon's dad and asked him if he wanted them. "Sure I will just put them with the ones I have. Don't like to throw stuff away." Well I feel kind of guilty because I went and got them back. I was so excited when I measured them. They were 6 inch by 2 inch wheels just what I needed. 

     Then I tried to put them on the cart. I pulled out the bushing that was 1/2 arbor. Oh, Oh, outside of the bushing was 3/4 inch not 5/8. Piece of cake I will just get a thinner bushing. Not in Oskaloosa, I might have wasted the time of some parts men while they searched diligently through their inventory. Started looking on-line. Was not finding anything, then I remembered McGriffs. McGriffs had everything when I was farming. You needed it McGriffs had it. I drove up to New Sharon thinking to myself, I am wasting gas here but low and behold, they had the bushing. They had steel ones and brass ones and bearings that would have fit. More choices than I knew what to do with.

    All is well with our appliance cart again for a total cost of $4.53 and about 10 hours time searching on line and scouring stores. That shows my time is not worth a whole lot right now that I can throw away 10 hours to fix a $99.00 appliance cart.

     Next I decided to do some preventative maintenance. Tenants seem to want running water in their houses and if water goes into a house it has to go back out. I checked some sewer lines for root growth this week. Most of the lines coming out of our houses are the older bell tiles. They work great until a tree starts searching for moisture. Tree roots will move right into those bell tile and fill the line right up. We have put in several clean outs so we can get equipment down the lines without going into the houses. We put one in on a house December 2016 when there was snow on the ground and it was cold. Cody had checked a plugged drain and needed a clean out to get it completely clear. Irv came out and dug one in. It was such a great feeling when the snow melted to find we had put a new clean out in about 2 foot from an existing one that had been hidden under the snow. Now every time I check for roots I ask myself shall I open the new one or the old one. It is so worth the $350 I paid for the new one to be able to ask that question because we all want choices in life don't we?

     This line ran under 4 houses before it connected to the city line and it was always filling up with tree roots. Irv came in last summer and put in a new one. When your house is the only house with a basement out of 4 houses on the same line it is not a pretty sight when the line backs up. But the new line is PVC all the way. Now that maple tree can hunt for water all it wants to, it is shut out of our line.

      While he had the trench open Irv put in new water lines as well. Water in water out. I think on everyone of these jobs about half the cost is fees to the city not that they don't deserve all those fees. It takes a lot of effort to lean over a hole in the ground and say "Yea that looks right."

     One house I checked for roots in the line this morning has no trees on the property, but this lovely old maple tree on the neighbor. Those babies will reach out a long ways to infiltrate a sewer line. If anyone tells you they will just put out roots to the drip line, don't believe a word of it. They will find water a long way off in a dry year and I hate those calls from a tenant telling me sewage is rising in the basement.

     My week was spent keeping the wheels rolling and the lines running. Making sure things are turning and flowing smoothly. If I do that for "mechanical" things I should do that for relationships as well. I took the time to fix what was partially broken and partially blocked this week. The appliance cart wheel would have turned for a while yet before it failed. The drains might have been slowing down but they were all still running. They were Ok for now but bound to fail if left untended. 

                   Sometimes I don't put the time into relationships because they are still OK but maybe not great. If you don't tend your relationships they will fail. If you don't put in some effort before there is a total breakdown that breakdown will come and then it will be a lot tougher to fix. Make sure your spouse knows you care. Make sure your children know you are there for them. Make sure you are keeping in communication with your friends. Make sure you have an open channel to God and are giving a part of every day to spend in His presence.