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Leaving Howe

Lets start by quickly finishing up my Go To Howe Saga, then we’ll get to some current stuff. I think that’s part of my sporadic posting syndrome; I get weary writing about a large event, so I write it in sections…......to be continued…..............then other stuff happens, but I feel like I’ve got to finish up the …........to be continued….......before posting new stuff, and I don’t want to do it, so I just don’t post at all!
I promised you that I would actually get to work cleaning up that house in Howe, and on Tuesday of our Idaho week, that is exactly what we did. UltraDad and I were as busy as beavers, and hauled an entire pickup load of stuff to the dump, as well as sorting some more boxes of stuff we wanted to bring back to Nevada with us. The disheartening thing is that it barely made a dent. But we were slated to leave the next day. I had to work on Thursday, and UDad wanted a day or two to rest up.
That evening I noticed something not good. Water was seeping out from under the hot water heater cupboard. As the evening progressed, the seep turned into a small stream, which had to be sopped up with old towels, many of which I had fortunately left. The course of events was plain. We would be staying an extra day and replacing the hot water heater.
Those type of projects are never easy and straightforward, and this one was no exception. The first step was to get the old, rusty HWH out of there. UDad decided to attach a hose to it to drain out the water that had stubbornly resisted streaming out on its own. He couldn’t get it connected, and scoffed at me when I offered to try. “If I can’t do it, you certainly can’t. It’s a matter of strength,” he informed me. He set off to look for a smaller, more flexible hose, and I had a go at it. Turns out it wasn’t a matter of strength after all, just maneuverability.

We located a new HWH to buy at Simmons Equip in Mud Lake, a much shorter trip than the one we expected to make to Idaho Falls. The salesperson seemed knowlegeable and helpful. I’m sure her intentions were good; her advice certainly wasn’t, as we later discovered. For one thing, the new HWH was larger than the old one. Much larger. The hookups were also in different places, but this we had known. It also turns out that the connection fittings she sold us weren’t what we needed for the job.
I thought we were going to have to make an exchange trip, but Udad had other ideas. Before I knew it, the hammer was out, and he was enlarging the “closet”. All of his efforts were accompanied with much sweating and swearing. Somehow this seems to lend impetus to his efforts, but I’ve never really enjoyed being around it. I was really glad when Jim and Chuck arrived in time to help lift the new heater into its space. UDad was making valiant efforts, but he had just about had it. The installation couldn’t be completed, but Chuck and Jim said they would finish it when Chuck had picked up the lacking parts.
So, it was back to Nevada on Thursday morning, ostensibly early enough to enable UltraMom to go to work at 1 pm Nevada time. We made it back by 2, but I made up for it by staying late.
Okay, this is all I’m writing today, but at least I finished up the Howe trip, right? Next time current events, I promise.
UltraMom