Pants’R’Us…

Last month I bitched about having to patch yet another pair of everyday pants. Shortly afterward I got an email from a regular reader, bragging that his wife had an uncanny ability to find like-new pants at the local thrift store and that she had just brought home more than he would ever wear, and would I like some?


This morning I was overwhelmed with a huge box filled with cargo pants, some of which look like they’ll fit as-is. I’ll have to throw a fashion show for Tobie this evening to see what fits and what will need to be hemmed up, but it does look like there are some winners in that stack.

There was a bunch of other stuff in the huge box, odds and ends many of which will be of use in the fullness of time. I appreciate the gift!

It’s that time of year: Do you close the windows at bedtime or leave them open? Pajamas or commando? Place your bets. This morning I bet wrong and woke up cold. Yeah, the temps would be back into the eighties before noon but at five ayem it’s a bit chilly in here. I looked up at the thermostat and saw the temperature was only a couple of degrees above triggering the bedroom heater, and I took that opportunity to reassure myself – I cranked up the temperature to 60o just so I could enjoy listening to the quiet “foop” of the heater lighting up. Yup, still works. Hoorah! But it’s going to be a while before I really trust it again.


Yeah, I turned the pilot off after repairing the heater early last month. Then a mouse tried to build a nest inside the firebox – again – and I was faced with the choice of covering the outside vent with plastic and duct tape for a short time or just keeping the pilot lit till winter, and I went for the simplicity of that second thing.

Man these things are small…


It’s a testimony to the efficiency of disc brake design that you can stop well over 200 pounds of ebike and rider with tiny little brake pads you could hide in your fist. I got these in the mail today, and though I was supposed to be working on something else I really wanted to play with the bike because I’ve never actually had – or maintained – a bicycle with disc brakes. So I went ahead and replaced the front pads, those being the easy ones, and considering how much adjustment I’ve had to do to keep the front brakes working I was surprised to see that there was still a fair bit of pad material left on the old ones.

I’ll replace the rear ones at the same time I replace the worn rear tire, which will of course be a rather more involved process. But at least now I’m confident I know what I’m doing.

Finally – look what else I got this week…


That’s Neighbor L’s old dryer. Yeah, I know, the gas doesn’t work. That’s okay, I never planned to connect it to gas. The important thing is that the air fluff setting still works. So when I take my rough board-like towels down off the clothesline I can toss them into this gadget, and half an hour later my towels are all soft and fluffy like a normal person’s. Works nice! Life gets more luxurious by the month here at the Secret Lair.

About Joel

You shouldn't ask these questions of a paranoid recluse, you know.
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3 Responses to Pants’R’Us…

  1. Ben says:

    On low humidity days, just the air fluff might do the whole drying job. Some newer dryers use a dehumidifier rather than a gas or electric heater. The neat thing about them is they work off of a regular outlet!

  2. Tree Mike: eff bee eye code name, Foghorn Leghorn says:

    Well, yer keeping busy, that’s fer sure. Myself, here in the lap of luxury and electricity, don’t have “board hard” towels registering on my radar, makes me appreciate “luxury”.
    Bonus that the lektryk bike is doing so well (aside from one “minor” wiring issue).
    Had a big deal disaster last week, a giant doe committed suicide on the front of our main family car. Still have a ’93 GMC Suburban 4×4 and a 04 Ford Focus (hurts the wife’s back and dead AC), so not stranded. Totaled, gonna hafta sell some valuable stool to generate cash. I have piles of hoarded “good shit” to sell. Interesting times ‘n sheeit. Hope “the troubles” hold off a bit longer.

  3. Mark Matis says:

    Do you also use fabric softener sheets in the dryer? Or would that confuse Tobie too much?

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