7/16/2011

More fun than...

I have a new blog favorite. Young House Love with all of it's DIY charm and intrigue. Inspiring and depressing as all good websites tend to be.

Clicking around the site I found a post in which the couple learned to make their own rain barrel. I've wanted one but never thought of looking into workshops. Behold, I did a search and there was one within reasonable driving distance.

Ethan was going to accompany me but sadly gave in to the lure of video games and stayed behind. Probably for the best since I got turned around about a hundred times on my trip, anxiety climbing almost to driving-in-Boston levels. Almost.

My biggest surprise, upon arriving five minutes late, was that no one even noticed. People were milling around, moving freely from one station to the next. No one was tapping their foot, pointing at a watch, sighing at my tardiness. Such are the fears of the neurotically punctual.

Armed with the world's worst cell phone camera, I managed to document the work of my helper who did virtually everything for me.

I picked out a barrel and put my initials on it. That's it. I overheard rumors that the barrels originally housed pickles or olives. Or both? Either way, for $20, they were a steal.

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My young helper first covered the top with a screen.

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Then he covered the back of a spigot (listen to my jargon!) with caulking (again!) and screwed it into a pre-drilled hole.

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Too bad you can't actually see it. Just use your imagination.

Next, he asked where I would like the overflow hole to go, depending on where I planned to put it in the yard. Um, just put it...there. Whatever.

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That was it. Done!

And then I was accosted by an inquisitive couple on the way to my car asking why I had that barrel and what I planned to use it for. DUH.

At home, Keith promptly hooked it right up to its final resting place.

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Some statistics that might make you jealous of my new acquisition:

"After just one inch of rainfall, the average roof will collect more than 500 gallons of fresh, naturally softened water."

"An average family can collect 45,000 gallons of rainwater a year."

"Rainwater runoff can carry harmful chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides into our city sewers. By collecting rainwater and distributing it on dry, summer days (when plants need it most) you are helping to keep our rivers and lakes clean."

Happy, Al?

2 comments:

gretchen said...

Brilliant!

To the Inquisitive Couple: Duh, moonshine obviously!

: )

Heidi said...

My mom calls you an earth mother :) Te hee hee Please take that as the highest compliment from Lady Pat. It doesn't get much better than that, you know how hard I try to please this woman and you go and earn "Earth Mother from her. :) Amazing again, dear friend!