Down In The Gutters

Digging around in the gutters isn't my favorite thing to do, but it's a necessary evil if you're a homeowner.  The more junk that fills them up, the more problems you have with drainage and dry rot, not to mention too much water around the foundation.  I wasn't looking forward at all to climbing up and down my ladder fifty times, even if it IS good exercise.

The Contractor mentioned the front gutter was full of dirt and sand and should be cleaned.  But WAIT ... I just cleaned them last year, did I not?  There's no trees close to the house, so leaves is not a problem ... what's it full OF??

That was easy to figure out when I took a look ... this is an agricultural area, full to the brim with tractors discing fields and almond orchard sweeping equipment, throwing tons of dust into the air.  Day after day, it lands on your roof until finally it rains, depositing all that dirt in the gutter, along with a good amount of grit from the roofing material.  I gathered my tools.

The trowel didn't work, thus the big spoon that I drug through the muck.  Up the ladder, down the ladder, up the ladder ... you get the picture.  I should probably hire this done, but the handymen around here are pretty scary.  They look a little worse for wear and tear, more like the panhandlers in town.  I assume they are allergic to water.

I'm VERY careful about ladder climbing, both up and down.  After seeing so many pictures of Jan Mains broken foot bones, that's something I don't want to experience.  It helps that my 150 feet of gutters have solid concrete walkways underneath, keeping the ladder stable.

I dug out the muck, the worms, bird feathers and dead lizards, then dumped the bucket in my back pasture.  I should have treated it like one of my casseroles and buried it.  In no time, Cooper and Jessie found the pile, which resulted in another dreaded FOOT WASHING!  

I used the hammer to fix a leak where two pieces met ... or were supposed to meet, but due to the forces of nature, had come apart.  I have one whole section that tilts the wrong direction and holds water, so gutter braces are again on my list.  Hopefully two will do the trick.  The contractor has promised to clean the front gutter when he fixes the section he bent, but I won't hold my breath.  

On a completely different note, I went online to see what I could do about the beautiful but horribly made cake stand from Magnolia Farms, Chip and Joanna Gaines new company.  I finally found the return page, filled out the information and sent it off, never to hear from them.  Well that's disappointing!!

Back on their website yesterday, I found ANOTHER return page, filled out THAT information and was pleasantly surprised when it said I would be refunded the cost immediately.  When I clicked on the "print shipping label" button, it said they were sorry about the product, I would get the refund on my bank account and I could KEEP the item free of charge.  That was a shock.  

I printed out everything just to be sure I wasn't reading it wrong and will check my account in the next couple of days.  I imagine it's based on the dollar amount and not worth the cost of the return for them.  In the meantime, I'll take a hammer to the cake stand and see if I can fix it.  If it breaks, at least I'm not out anything.  Too bad, because I LOVE the design.  

I'm still checking on the Good Sam Roadside Assistance policy and hopefully will have an answer soon about the increase in cost.  In the meantime, I'm ready to gear up for the Indio Rally, which will include the gathering of all items "ice cream" and "Golden Spike".  The next step is figuring out how to fit it all in the rig!!