Marie Grace

Thanks for all the sources of wheat berries!

I've been running tankless propane water heaters about 15 years now. I get mine off ebay from a guy in Alaska. I first found him searching for off-grid tankless water heaters. There is a 9-volt battery that runs the ignitor. The 2nd one I bought didn't drain the water out of it when it shut off and I didn't realize it until it froze one year. I checked that when I replaced it.

Nicole Alderman wrote:How does one cut these without a spiffy tool like you have pictured? Could I do it with a bow saw?

I'd just use a circular saw. But would probably have to raise the end a bit to get the part close to the ground.

We just bury ours near trees and shrubs. Bury them a couple of feet deep and don't let the dogs watch. I try to dump the water I use to rinse out the bucket somewhere else to distract them.

I don't know about getting rid of it but for the reaction, I keep jewelweed soap and salve. If I know I've been exposed I'll take a cool shower and use the soap liberaly. The salve gets used if I have any itches a few hours after the shower.

How did your project turn out?

We grew up with a dad that was a firm believer in "if you're gonna be stupid, you better be tough." Not only would he laugh while he made the bleeding stop, he'd repeat the story at the coffee shop the next morning. We learned quick. The bed turned out great. I gave it to my grandson this year for his first place of his own.

I always wanted a brass bedstead. I was in probably 7th grade and Dad brought home an iron bedstead that was really rusty but the design was really cool. He said if I sanded it down we could paint it with brass colored paint. It wouldn't be as shiny but at that point I didn't care. Went out every afternoon after school and sanded and sanded and sanded, for about 2 weeks. I was just about done except for some little detail stuff. Went in the garage to get the sandpaper and Dad had nicely set out the electric sander for me.

That's basically how I do it. I'm not known for measuring much.

We grew up with book smart and common sense. Dad's phrase to teach common sense was "If you're gonna be stupid you better be tough". Tended to make us think things through. I did get a few spankings while I was still bleeding and produced a lot of laughter. On the other hand, I've never broken a bone.

Dad was that guy in town who could fix anything, usually without buying parts. He never explained how things worked. Our job was to pay attention and figure it out. Mom, on the other hand, was a stickler for instructions. As a result, all of us, brother and sisters alike, can cook, preserve food, clean anything, garden, rebuild an engine, etc. I do try to share the technique of figuring things out.

Quick story...When I was in 5th grade, I wanted a brass bed. Dad brought home an old iron bedstead and said if I liked it, I could sand it down and we could paint it brass. It wouldn't be as shiny, but... I sanded on that thing every evening after supper for about 3 weeks. I was on what I figured would be the last day before we could paint. I went to the workbench to get some sandpaper and Dad had set out the electric sander. I hadn't even thought about it. Guess I'm pretty tough.  :)

What goes vrooom uurrchh vroom uurrchh vroom uurchh?

A light-haired person driving through a blinking red light.

by the way, I am a light-haired person.