I got the utility bill for Roseville, and our water use is way down even though we were leaking water for a while at the beginning of the month.
As I was wrapping up at work, John called to say he was in the area and came over. After chatting for a while, we were just heading out to get something to eat when Vic got home, so we took her with us.
I went to the airport and flew to Auburn to met Chris, Perry, Shane and Liza for lunch.
After lunch, I flew back. Luckily the 2 planes flying circuits and landing downwind left and landed and stopped so I could land into wind :o)
I sat and waited for the engine to cool down a bit, then started the oil draining. That usually takes 10 minutes or so, so then I get everything ready to change the filter - I was testing using using a diesel exhaust fluid funnel that I'd bought on Amazon for less than $2 to catch the oil from the filter, but I couldn't find my damned oil filter wrench anywhere. I looked several times, and eventually resolved to go home and get my strap wrench that barely fits behind the exhaust to try and get the filter off. I also got Vic to come back with me in case I had to hammer a screwdriver through it - you're time limited as the oil runs out of the engine into the external oil tank - too much and you have to re-prime the oil system.
We managed to get the strap wrench on and get the filter off - the funnel worked fine other than a slight leak at the end where I'd put electrical tape over it. I put the new filter on as tight as I could get it by hand (until the gasket touches then 3/4 of a turn,) drained more oil out of the previously empty tank, which was concerning, put 2 litres in the tank and fired the engine up. It took longer than usual, but the pressure came up within 10 seconds so I shut the engine down and called it good - hopefully the filter's tight enough, otherwise I'll have to try and get the strap wrench back on, tighten it a little and get it back off again.
In the evening, we sat in the hot tub for the first time in ages.
It seemed Randy had taken the wrench over to Cameron Park :o(
After knocking around the house for a while, I went to the airport and took the plane out for a couple of laps of Camp Far West Lake reservoir.
Today was Black Friday when Americans work off their turkey hangovers by going shopping. Once it had warmed up a bit, I set myself the task of getting the hot tub all cleaned up, and hoped the wind would have died down by the time that was finished.
I got the hot tub cleaned and left it filling to go to the airport and try to fly. Remember the shopping holiday? It took me an hour to get to Costco to get gas for the plane. When I got to the airport, I ran into our A&P, Randy, and when I'd finished chatting with him it didn't seem worth getting the plane out and taxying the 3/4 of a mile to the threshold of 33, so I just filled it up with gas and left.
Today was Thanksgiving, when Americans eat turkey. I was on call so couldn't leave the house, but I got some work done in the garden. As the afternoon wound on and the Australians came online, I did think about going flying but there was a wind advisory until tomorrow afternoon.
It was a lovely day, but being on call and still not being 100% over my cold meant I didn't go and fly. I thought about it though.
I'm on call again, so I need to carry my damn laptop with me everywhere I go. So I don't go many places.
It was throwing it down with rain, so I went and met Chris and Perry for lunch.
I've got a cold, so I decided not to go to the EAA breakfast at the airport, and instead just stayed in.
The plumber came out and while the pressure relief valve seems fine, we discovered that the humming noise goes away when the irrigation valve is open. But I'd wanted to leave it closed for the winter. We agreed it's annoying, and he's gone away to think about it.
The water's working, but there's a loud humming noise when it's flowing. My Google Fu tells me that it's probably a pressure problem. Luckily we cut out the pressure relief valve that's been working for almost 30 years and replaced it with a new one that's plumbed in to be easily replaced. So we get to wait for them to come out and look at it on Wednesday.
We got up early and walked Tilly, and when it started to get light, we turned the water back on. The water to the house was fine, but there's a slight leak where it heads off to the irrigation system, so they needed to come back.
I went and dropped the recently updated GPS at the airport and saw an L-39 in SpaceX colours.
I then went and met Shane, Randy, Chris and Perry for brunch, but we all drove because of the rain that started and stopped.
In the evening, a plumber came and replaced the PVC elbow with copper, so that's all (hopefully) fixed now :o)
While waiting for the plumber to show up and fix the water leak, I headed out to the airport to kill some time with my November Far West Lake flyby.
Vic was working early, so when she got home she dug out the hole in the front garden a little deeper and found the cracked elbow joint. The hole filled up as soon as I turned the water back on, and we took showers and filled the kettle before turning it off again for the night. Now we just wait for the plumber to show up.
The guy from the city Water Wise department came out and looked at the leak in the front - he thinks it's in the same place I do, and he tested a couple of things.
After I'd cut the grass, I dug out the wet soil and the hole quickly filled up with water. I couldn't get much deeper, but the water was flowing, so I knew I was close.
Vic called because the van wouldn't start - it'd been sitting in the garage for a few weeks without starting or charging, so this isn't unexpected :o( I went and jumped it from the car - just leave the car "running" so the big battery'll top up the little 12v one.
When we got home we agreed to turn the water off (it's leaking almost a gallon a minute now) overnight to stop pissing water into the ground, and to hopefully dry out the hole.
We took Tilly for her evening walk while all the kids were out trick or treating. We got to meet the cat lady who lives up the road and her family and talk about the neighbourhood cats, and Tilly stopped in at Jim and Kathy's to get some treats.
