I Bought A Box

With the freezing temperatures and constant Hard Freeze Warnings around here, you better have your pipes wrapped.  Although levis are good enough for us human varieties, they don't work so well for outdoor water pipes.  I've tried.  I know, not a good solution, but it worked in a pinch.

While re-duct-taping the well waterworks, it dawned on me that none of my sprinkler control banks are covered.  Could that be the reason they are always spouting geysers and requiring repair?  I contemplated a trip to Home Depot, one of my least favorite places on the planet.  Oh I love it for the tools, but there's never anyone around to help you find things.  If you require help, you're out of luck.

I walked the aisles from one end to the other, keeping an eye out for hunky contractors, before finally spotting an orange apron.  Aisle 31 (which I passed about 20 minutes earlier) on the bottom.  It's a fake rock.  What??  Nah .... that's not for me, but these much less expensive boxes might do the trick.  So I bought a box.

At $26 each, they aren't cheap boxes, but neither is the repair bill.  It barely, by the skin of it's teeth, fit over the first bank of valves.  There's no way it will work on the other two since they are much wider.  You know what that means ... another trip to Home Depot for the fake rock which is the only other option width wise.

I'm really trying to watch the budget since I did spend a little (way too much actually) for Christmas presents, so when I received that 50% off one item card from Joanns fabric and craft store, I was a happy camper.  These mats, used for cutting up all that quilt fabric I have, are VERY expensive at $70.  They never go on sale, so the "regular priced item" condition on the card wasn't a problem.  I walked out with a half price mat for Lost Horse Ranch.  Yay for me!!

I stopped at the grocery store on the way home for eggs (one of Jonathan's favorites), and noticed brussel sprouts are in vogue.  After my last disaster, I thought I might try out a new Instant Pot recipe.  Trouble was, I didn't write down all the ingredients, and even though I knew what they were going in the store, I quickly got sidetracked by cookies and chicken tenders.  Darn .... I forgot the bacon.  

A quick scan of Paprika ... not the spice but the app on my phone where I save recipes ... resulted in another weird recipe to try.  Sometimes weird is good.  I'll show you the results tomorrow since I'm off to Home Depot to buy a rock.