The rest of the weekend

There was still weekend left over after the Balloon Fest event ended.  There was also a lot of stuff that needed doing around the house.  DH hasn't been able to help out as much as he normally would, since his hip/pelvis is still very painful after the bike crashes, and this restricts his mobility.

Nevertheless, we started tackling the jobs around home after Sunday worship.  There was a plumbing job that needed doing, and an auto repair too.  To wit, one toilet was out of commission, and in a house of 5, being down to one working toilet is a bit of a crisis...just saying.  And the van desperately needed new rear shocks, which would improve handling and towing.

Now, I am the house-plumber in the family, while DH is normally the electrician.  We both work on cars, provided the job isn't too major.  Rear shocks on a Toyota Sienna are relatively simple.  Fixing a toilet usually isn't a major repair either...until you bust something you need.

We ended up starting in on the van before I tackled the plumbing.  I had intended to be the one working under the van to make it easier for DH.  But sometimes there is no substitute for muscle, so DH ended up under the van and doing most of the grunt work in spite of the pain.

It did take loading all three Monkeys and DH into the back of the van though, to compress one spring enough to get the shock seated properly.  Not a big deal, and after than it all went like clockwork.  A quick drive around the subdivision confirmed everything was reassembled ok, and that was enough to level the rear shocks to normal ride height.

Onto the plumbing.  All was going well until I encountered a fitting I couldn't loosen.  DH wedged himself between the plumbing and the sink cabinet and managed to loosen it for me.  Unfortunately for him, getting UP from there proved problematic, and irritated things internally.  During this, one of the internal bits in the tank I had not intended on replacing, broke.  Great.  I tried to Southern Engineer a fix with gutter sealant, but no joy.  It refused to set up firm enough to hold, but leaked slow enough to make the unit useable, at least in the short term.

Monday was DH's orthopedic consult.  This isn't as bad as it could be, since we both really like our ortho surgeon.  He's done quite a few repairs on us both (getting old sucks, but it beats the alternative!).  Once in, and the Xrays examined, Doc came in and began to poke and prod DH.  "Show me where it hurts.  What does it hurt like?  Here?"  as he pushes a thumb into DH's hip.  "No,that doesn't hurt."  "Oh?  How about here?" as he sticks his thumb higher up and more to the side.  I watch as DH suppresses a howl of agony, and restrains himself from decking the doctor he actually likes.  I note that the painful point is NOT DH's main point of contact with the ground.  After this, Doc simply says, "MRI time."

Monday evening saw me back doing the plumbing gig.  We had purchased the needed part after the Ortho doc appointment, and there was time between dinner and the MRI to get it done.  This time it went off without issue, and the Monkeys are happy to have a working toilet again, and so am I.  I'm not sure why so many folks think household plumbing repairs are hard/awful.  I understand copper pipe to be more difficult, but here, it's all PVC tinker toy stuff.  I might not 'enjoy' resetting a toilet on a new wax ring, but having seen it done, I could do it if needed.  And any other toilet repairs have no 'yuck' factor.

So Monday night, late, found us both sitting in the MRI office waiting room. At least they have a Keurig knockoff, and lots of tasty cookies for folks to raid.  It took an hour or so to finish up and then we left with a disc of DH's finely sectioned innards.  MRI's are kinda cool, especially if you once entertained ideas of becoming a body mechanic (aka doctor/surgeon).  We now just wait for the radiology report, and to hear from the Ortho again on what all is going on in there.

So, what level of household repairs do you tackle?


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YAY!  The good news is there are NO fractures in DH!  However he is badly bruised, and it will take a fair bit of time to heal him.  He will be out from work for a bit longer,