Possibly better than a poke in the eye, although your mileage may vary, no guarantees implied.™

After Sue mentioned that I shouldn't say "better than a poke in the eye," because it really wasn't and I could go to jail for false advertising, I decided to give you all some high-quality content today. It was going to be all artsy with birds I stuffed photographed myself, but when real quality comes along, a good blogger knows how to be flexible.

"I'm in a rut.  Meow, they let me in.  Meow, they let me out.  In.  Out.  In.  Out.  In.  Is that all there is?  IS THAT ALL THERE IS?"

"Curse you, existential angst!"

"I feel remorse."

"Why didn't I just meow??"

Animals help us focus on life's Big Issues.  Do people serve me quickly enough?  Is this meat bad?  Does this fur make my butt look big?  I admitted to Annie that there are things I do every day, and one day I think Is this how I always do this?  It seems hard today.  Now I'll shrug and think Some days you're the screen door, some days you're the cat.

The One Where They Fix The Fresh Water Tank (by Annie)

Take one upstate NY winter, add a well-intentioned but inadequately insulated water tank fitting, freeze repeatedly, thaw, fill then wait for the fun.

What started as a slow drip turned into a repair that took weeks to get right.  The cracked piece was actually part of the molded water tank, a collar of sorts that lived on the outside of the tank, with a small elbow piece in the center to connect to the water line.  This orifice is the point of entry to fill the tank from the city water valve and also the exit point to the pump and into the Duck.  So yeah, pretty important.

I tried a hose clamp around the collar (lame, I know), some Water Weld, some Water Weld with a hose clamp, and even a plastic weld (where you melt plastic rods with a soldering iron - fun but ineffective).  None of it worked and the tank kept on laughing at me.  It was at that point I knew I had to drill out that whole piece and start from scratch.

After drilling out the old, cracked, leaky part

I used a 1.25" hole saw to drill out the old piece then cleaned up the cut with sandpaper to make a nice smooth surface for the new seal.

The new rubber seal, called a Slip Seal

New tubing and elbow

all together now

At this point, we filled the tank to see if the new seal would hold as-is.  Nope!  So we waited a few days for the arrival of a tube of food grade silicon adhesive.

That sealed 'er up tight!

The tank has been sitting full for nearly two weeks now.

Can you believe it?  No leaks!

All that's left is to drain, sanitize and fill then we're back in fresh water business for boondocking.

And now for something completely different

Here's Ellen, our polydactyl kitty.

How's about them toes?!

She has the bone structure for two back-left feet.  I bet she'd be a great swimmer!

She's responsible for the Chupacabra footprints found in the sand here

Her front feet come complete with opposable thumbs.  We had to start hiding the Q-tip box because she likes to grab handfuls.  Awesome or creepy?  I vote for awesome!