Revenge of the Toilet

When most people take vacations from work they go somewhere...else in the world, away from their everyday life and home.

Not this guy.

I took a week off work and spent almost the entire time here at my house fiddling with things. Guess it comes with the territory when you are madly in love with your house.
The first thing I tackled was that damn peach toilet. It’s been plaguing me since I moved in. Constantly running and full of crusted over original equipment, I cringe every time someone used it. 

With one failed attempt to repair it looming over me, this was my chance to regain my honor. This time, my strategy was simple. I was going to replace every single part inside the tank. That way I would be positive to knock out all possible scenarios of failure.

I’m proud to say the plan worked and after replacing all of the crusty vintage internal parts I now have a fully functioning toilet. Thanks to my local ReStore I was even able to upgrade to a brand new never used dual flush system. You know, the kind where it’s up on the handle for liquids and down on the handle for solids. I have to say so far I’m impressed with the system...but the true test will be the next party I have.

The General and Me

The GE

I’m coming to discover a difficulty with writing a blog about one’s house is that, from time to time, nothing interesting is going on. Seriously, not a thing has broken and nothing is in dire need of change. Hopefully I don't curse myself by saying this, but my house is great. 

And there’s more to this great house than the things I fix and acquire. Lets talk about some of the wonders I’ve already surrounded myself with. For instance, anybody know what it’s like to live with a late 40’s GE refrigerator? I do and let me tell you, its not for everyone. 

Cons

Size. I get the distinct feeling people in the 40‘s ate much more fresh food than I do. This GE, a gleaming white beacon of times past, is barely large enough for a child to trap himself in. Distasteful jokes aside, it is really small. Only about 5 feet in height and 3 feet in width. It’s not bad for just me and my girlfriend but if I had a family of any size I would need something much bigger. 

Freezer. As it is I’ve picked up a cheapo deep freeze to compensate for the world’s most adorable freezer cube thats nestled in the corner of the GE. It’s perfect if all you need to freeze is two ice cube trays and one bag of pizza rolls. Don't even consider fitting a frozen pizza in there. The GE strictly forbids it. 

Pros

Strangely Efficient. Honestly though, size seems to be the only draw back. Everything else is great. It looks incredible, it keeps my food super cold, it’s surprisingly quiet and really not that expensive to run. 

Sweet Sci-Fi Noises. When you open and close the door it makes some of the coolest noises ever heard. It’s like something out of an old sci-fi movie, right when the frosty horrors are sealed safely shut with a WHOOMP and a CLACK of the door.

Party Pleaser.  It's always a good time when someone sees it in your house, too. My favorite experience so far was from when I first moved in. The HVAC guy stopped dead in his tracks and stared at it. After mumbling an unidentifiable curse word, he turned around, looked at me, and said “don’t tell me that thing actually still works. I just had to throw out a 6-year old fridge and you have one older than my father.”