Hey, yeah, well... Light a fire and there you go.

.
.
Can't say if it was just the memories, the memory and the coffee, or if it was just time?  I certainly didn't feel like pushing anything through today.  I couldn't, actually.  I was stuck, dead to rights.  I had a kink in my neck, I was nursing a headache, I was cold in spite of turning the heat up.  Nothing felt good, or right, and still doesn't.  That flash of memory, from a song I haven't listened to in a decade or more, was definitely the catalyst.  *whoosh!*  Wonderful.

The first thing I did was collected trash and recycling.  Oh, well, there was a bit of it here.  As well, boxes of boxes!  I broke about half of them down, decided to keep a handful of them, and left the rest for the next cycle, in two weeks.  Out, all of it.  I clean out this, I cleaned out that.  My refrigerator is nearly bare.  Tossing, tearing down, stuffing, and hauling.  It was as if I still had some life in me.  Cans were everywhere, food, soda, cat food...  Gone, all of it.  And I didn't stop just in the kitchen, or just in the living room.  Gone.  Nice start, now to do some real cleaning if I can get to it.

I wasn't sure I wanted to do more.  Well, one side of me.  The other side ramrodded more on through.  I went to the basement to mess with the sump pump.  I tried taking the hose downstairs, with a bucket.  Nope.  So I pulled the thing out.  The hose simply wasn't attached.  No wonder.  I opened the new sump pump, but then...  I decided to try to find a plug close by, to get rid of the drop cord.  Done.  I have to set the pump in such a way that it could reach, but it was doable.  Then I grabbed the new hose for the sump pump, before abandoning the old sump pump.  With the right fitting in place it worked like a charm.  I can take the new one back.  That's $77 back on the charge, plus Uncle Sam and everyone else's cut.  I checked to see if it would run on it's own, it seemed to.  And I have heard it kick over twice since then.  It is about time to check it though.

And, yes, I did remember to turn off the water.  That sure made opening the water heater vent more practical.  I'm not sure how long it will take to drain though.  Technically it is a 50 gallon tank.  My guess is, though, that it doesn't hold that much.  It is old.  I have to guess there is at least some sediment.  Then again, it looks like they really worked on the thing.  They might have kept it rather prime, as it flowed very easily, save a bit of a lick due to the plastic nib being so well used.  Difficult to know.

Something I realize is that the softener is hooked through both hot and cold.  Once I get the new water heater in I am going to have to find the right elements so as to prevent the higher rate of corrosion, at the wrong places, that standard rods offer.  Yes, yes, more and more.  But well worth the effort.  Plus, with all the room down there, I will be able to figure out just how to maintain a water heater.  The one in the bathroom... I don't know... just too tight to work in correctly.  At least to learn on.  This one makes the process much smoother.  Big, roomy, new, easy to access...

Time to check the basement.  Later.

The tank is empty and disconnected.  However, it looks like both water valves are shot.  There is a bit of a leak on the water inlet side.  Gah!  But it looks like the old copper shardbite type fittings are fine.  I will check the gaskets and buy new ones the next time I am in town.  On the good side, a wash won't be so cold, with the water containers at room temp.  It might not be a shower but it will work.  Perhaps tomorrow, if I can get going again, a "bath" and to town?

A tuna sandwich and a glass of milk, then it's bedtime I do believe.  Good night.