I Fixed A Thing!

 Which is hard because I don't know how ...

(there is a scene in the movie "Happy Texas" that would be perfect here but I can't find a clip)

I had a twin window fan.  Then, at thrift I bought a "new" one. I tested it in the outlet at the store BEFORE I bought it.  Then stuck it in storage and got rid of the old one that was starting to malfunction and smell funny.

A couple weeks ago things got HOT so I dug out the 'new' used fan.

ALAS it didn't run!  Didn't click.  Not slow.  NOTHING.

So, crap.  I put it in the car to throw out rather than have a dead fan taking up room.

There were no fans at thrift so I checked stores thinking it was late in the season and the fans would be marked down.  They were.  To 30$!!!  Uh, no.  I got the thrift fans for a max of 5$ each.  

So, fortunately I'm forgetful and had forgotten to chuck the 'new' fan.  I got it back out of the car and took a look at it while a video ran in the wee shed one evening.  After taking out about 2 dozen tiny screws (and wisely putting them in a bag) I saw a wire just hanging in space by the switch and the switch dealie also hanging in space.

I stuck the wire in the obvious empty hole and plugged the fan into the solar inverter. IT WORKED!!!  WOOT WOOT.

Dug out the glue.  Picked one that looked like it would work with plastic (could not find electrical tape, may not have any).  Using toothpicks as wedges I glued the switch dealie into the receptical that seemed meant for it.  Then jammed the dangly wire in the obvious hole (I had unplugged the fan) and used a couple of toothpicks as wedges to hold things in place for a couple of days while it dried.  And I was busy.

Tested again...still worked.  

Removed toothpick wedges.  Put all the screws back (no left over parts!! That's a first) and voila.  For about 15 minutes of hands on repair, I saved 30$ on a crap discounted fan from Rite-Aid (the cheapest one I saw...I boycott walmart and amazon so I do concede there may be cheaper new fans, but I won't by them).  

The hourly wage for that repair would extrapolate to 120$/hour.  That's worth the fix.

Saladify July

 I like my monthly themes even when I fail at them a bit.

This month is salad every day.  Yesterday, I had 2.

I don't like to cook a ton in the summer in the wee shed because it heats up.

Alas this summer, the weather is working against solar cooking most days I am home.  The garden is late but greens are coming on.   This morning I spent about 2 minutes picking some greens including wild greens like clover and golden rod.  FYI: old mature golden rod leaves are TOUGH.  I got tired of chewing.  I threw in some catmint (really mild mint), walking onion leaf, and good king henry leaves from the raised bed.  2 minutes.  Easy. 

I had left over dressing from a trip to the Edgy Veggie salad truck yesterday (those salads are big and good...and no more costly than any other lunch out).  A friend with me went to a cheese steak food truck.  They are delicious, but we were on the way to give a talk in the heat outside...salad worked better.  I wasn't bogged down with half a pound of salty meat.

Anyway, it's going fine.  Need to pick younger wild greens or get stronger jaw muscles though!