*cough*

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Nothing like swallowing flame and soot and whatever the heck else comes off pipes.  I have, with the mapp torch, been able to part the parts as I've been dismantling the old piping.  *cough*  I did set the fire alarm in the bedroom off.  But it seems to know what's what, and just let me know to shut the en suite door.  One peep of that was enough.  Getting the dryfit together, for the inlet side, was a... the first four or five connections were fine.  The last one was an absolute monster.  I have finally busted a knuckle.  I know, innit?  Who would have thought a faucet, a water heater, and a toilet would all have gone in without busting a knuckle so far?  All those bolts and nuts and screws and tight places already.  Ah well, it had to happen.  At least it waited until near the end.

One load of laundry was still in the dryer.  I gave it a whirl while I put the sheets into the wash.  Before long, when I needed a little break, I took those out and folded and put them away.  I have since put a washed load into the dryer and am about to do another switch, putting the clean sheets right on the various beds, and right away.  Hmm... best wash my hands before messing with those.  I'm trying to keep going, but I do have to take breaks once in a while.  At least my back isn't hurting from standing, as it did the other day.  Why one day and not the other I have no clue.  Perhaps I broke the rust free?  Bleh.

Well... back to the races.  And they are off!

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That stung just a bit.  I doubt if I am actually fireproof.  But I do seem a bit resistant to burns.  By the way, those pipes get a bit warm to the touch.  Doing what I shouldn't, all in the process of doing what I should, and without exception mostly the only way to do things, I had just finished soldering a joint and laid the pipe right across my arm.  Still stings, actually.  But I can't find the exact area, or I'd... hmm, cold water might help.  But for as much as that hurt specifically, and burns now, you would think there would be a hole, a blister, or at least a red mark.  It takes a bit between joints.  At least, I am finding that to be true.  I guess I had this idea that you could just solder, add, braze, add, and so forth.  But when the pipes get hot they don't fit together.  I suppose you could flux, fit, and then go on?  I am just not sure I trust the flux not to burn off?  I don't know, I'm just a pup!  I won't slap a wet rag right on them.  I want to give them about five minutes to generally cool off a bit on their own before adding the cool of wet.  I have heard shocking them can break the seal, one I'm not even sure I am producing as is.  I want to eliminate as many of the unknowns as possible.

Before I got back to it last time, the laundry was ready, I got the sheets on the beds, changed a load over, put away the towels that were folded, and took the comforter in to be washed.  It is too big to be spun dry, so it will go out and air dry.  As it warms, my guess is I can put that up for the year, to be taken to Burning Man is my guess.  I didn't think, at first, that 40 was all that bad.  After a little thinking though, yeah... 40 is pretty darned cool.  I don't know what I'm thinking sometimes.  Now, 60, that's not too bad.  But even that would slow me down until I could get some blood pumping again.  Good sleeping temp though.  Oh, a trick I am going to start doing with laundry?  Smaller, more varied, loads.  I can put a lot in, but I burn out folding so much.  Two pair of jeans, six to eight shirts, half a dozen unders, you know, mix and match too.  Some t's, which I fold, some hanger bound shirts.  That way I don't burn out too much on any one thing, or too much in general.  I'm not healthy, I need smaller loads of this sort of thing.  It's not weight, it's... something else.  A lack of patience with some things, I think, is the issue.

I'm going to have to look over my list.  I'm trying to fit bits and pieces between bits and pieces.  Luckily, today, I can work.  I truly feared pulling up lame this day.  It happens, it isn't a choice, and I am done.  Not like this week-long job that has turned into more like three weeks hasn't seen me lame, or too tired.  And, by rights, my body has every right to be quite unhappy with the pace.  It hasn't run this kind of race since my mother was here last, and before that since the Navy.  At least under it's own steam.

Back to the mines.  Later.

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There is almost a pattern to it.  Braze the cold water inlet side, sweat the hot outlet side, wait or check the laundry, a cycle or two then sit for a bit.  The first set of blankets has been put on the beds, a new load cycled through, the piping is slowing being built to a place where it can be useful.  One new fitting was bent beyond repair.  Lucky for me, I hope, that one of the fittings I de-soldered fits perfectly and seemed in good enough repair to use.  What do you do with deformed bits?  Finding the receipt would be a bear, I bought this particular part a very long time ago.  Turn it into an impromptu baseball?  As long as I'm not the catcher or receiver.  This is when I wish I had a son... "Go long"... and "This is going to hurt!". 

The news cycle seems to have gone with the economy.  Oh, people still write stuff, they just avoid the truth, so as not to offend their principles, owners, political affiliates, or... whoever.  So we get tons of coverage of things that can usually be summed up in moments.  All the scandals are being convoluted into toss-worthy stuff, while they truly aren't.  All the real headlines are stricken before written.  It doesn't matter where you get the news.  The word is out, no news is all that is allowed.  And we are getting it.  I'd be happier if I thought that was the calm before the storm.  It isn't.  It's the calm of the caving in.  Oh, I understand to a degree.  For people who still think it 'can be saved', the notion of just how thin it is has them all holding on with their toes, and being good little boys and girls, hoping that by clenching their feet the Titanic will not sink.  There aren't enough lifeboats, fewer than the Titanic had.  The extreme upper-crusty gents, since they can do so invisibly, have taken the boats.  Little did they know, the lifeboats were developed by their boards, built by unions or in China (same-same), and every nickle was spared in their production, thus they are less safe than the ship itself.  Hubris and greed, all around.  Still, I can scan.  You never know when someone will send a signal through all the smoke.

I am hungry.  Like a bear.  I just don't have any way to get to cooking, let alone cleaning in order to cook in the first place!  I might... figure out some pasta and a cheese sauce anyway, somehow.  Toss in some tuna and call her done.  A little heat to top it off.  Yeah.  Hungry...  And I still have some break time coming, enough to get it started before hitting another round of sweating.  Hungry, boy, I say boy.