In case you were wondering...

In case you were wondering...

This blog exists to encourage all those who have ever wanted--and needed!--a tiny getaway close to home. A workshop, playhouse, garden shed, sanctuary, mini-greenhouse, studio, home office; whatever it is you need, it IS doable, with some sacrifice, imagination, and compromise.

It helps if you're handy, too.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Water supply



Still trying to find a different spigot for the water jug--this one is NOT good for arthritic hands.




I did really like the way it looked. and the "reservoir" was an old glass jar that cider came in--easy to carry a gallon of water, if not a whole crock!

The spigot was slow and awkward to use, though--had to push down on the top while pulling up on the hook thingie--and did I mention it was sloooow?

I could have replaced the spigot, of course...I found this one on Amazon, and since its the same kind we had at the cabin, I knew it would work.





But.  Trying NOT to spend unneccessarily, and remembered that years ago a friend built a copper cistern for me that has a nice spigot.

I wasn't sure about long term water storage. So of course, I Googled it!  Here's what I found--not only is it a good idea, but it's a REALLY good idea.  Copper kills or inhibits E. coli!



So!  We went out the cabin, brought it home, and J. brought it over full of water this morning.  The spigot works better than our faucets at home!


Handsome thing, isn't it!






And of COURSE I had fun sketching it at the shed this morning.  I'd taken my Pelikan Gouache paints over the other day, and since the page was on black paper, just had to try it out.  (They're not as rich or opaque as my professional gouache paints, but they're fun and portable!)

17 comments:

  1. LOVE Joseph's reading choice . . . I was just thinking it might be time to revisit it myself.

    Bill says there is a small amount of lead in copper -- but water pipes can be copper, so must not be bad enough to harm. Your copper illustration is gorgeous!

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  2. OH! Love it! I would think if you change the water in it fairly regularly that not as much lead would seep into the water, you know?

    You're really getting set up out there. I see the little hot plate to heat water, too. Nice! This is such vicarious fun!! ;)

    Now you just need your big hanging bug screen across the door--and a small screen for your little window! :)

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  3. Thanks, all! And Vicky, thanks for the heads up from Bill. I did think about water pipes being copper, so probably won't worry about it unduly, but an occasional freshening, as Rita suggests, is probably a good idea.

    Yep, Rita, the little hot plate is one of the few things we've bought "new" for the shed--and it actually was, most everything else was recycled or found in junk or thrift or antiques stores...I'm going to enjoy it. I love cooking soups and such as I work, out at the cabin, and figured I'd love it there too.

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  4. I have the Pelikan Gouache set, but I'm having trouble finding a good professional set that doesn't get grainy and will rewet. Is there such a thing? What brand of professional gouache do you use.
    Love the shed, by the way ;-)

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  5. Hi Deborah (and thanks Timaree!)--I don't actually have a gouache SET besides that...I bought professional grade tube paints from Schmincke, M. Graham, Holbein, Daniel Smith and W & N. Sometimes they still crumble a little...

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  6. How I love that copper painting on that black background. You do such a good job, so talented. I think "shed" is a very lowly name for such a cozy little place...how about Play House? If you lived out here in the west it would be called a "Casita" It's looking so good and I know you'll enjoy it.

    J

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  7. Thank you, Joan! Shed is humble but that's fine...I was going by the size, which is 10 x 10!

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  8. I'm doing a "re-read" of one of my most fave books, To Kill a Mockingbird, which I read back in the time the dinosaurs roamed the earth...I know you're familiar with those days, HAHA. It's amazing, this is the 50th (gasp!) anniversary of the book and at my now advanced age, it seems like I'm reading it for the first time...that's how much our/my perspective has changed what with more life experiences, birth, raising those kids, divorce, remarriage, changing customs and what's acceptable/unacceptable, what really matters. It's good to go back and re-think things. Hope Joseph finds his re-read as eye-opening as mine has been.

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  9. Jessie/Joan, I know casita means "little house" but to me it conjures up images of a tiny little fiberglass travel trailer, which is something else I've been in the market for for years!

    Joan, re-reading LotR is not an eye-opener for me - I've read it so many times - but rather, it's like visiting a much-beloved vacation home.

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  10. Joseph, how I love those little camping trailers and have longed for one to pull behind my SUV on my birding and painting trips. A friend in UT had one of the old "teardrops", only room to sleep and store a few things, couldn't stand up in it. I'd love to have a gussied up Airstream (small) I love all the vintage things, guess because I'm "vintage." HA I love the old classic cars and if I won the lottery I would buy myself a 40 Ford coupe...I'd be zipping all around the town in that baby!

    Glad you're enjoying LOTR again, some books are like that...just like visiting old friends.

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  11. Joan - I love my teardrop but unfortunately it's in need of some serious restoration! :(

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  12. You have one? Please post a picture of it. Are you going to restore it? What kind do you want, you said fiberglass, but what brand/model?

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  13. Joan - I built one from plans in a Mar-Apr 1939 copy of Popular Homecraft. Unfortunately it's suffering from benign neglect, but I will restore it as soon as I can borrow or rent a garage to work on it in. Pictures of it (along with some others) are in my PhotoBucket - http://s63.photobucket.com/albums/h157/JosephRuckman/Teardrops/

    As for the "fiberglass egg" - Scamp, Casita, Burro - anything but the U-Haul model will do.

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  14. I jsut saw a little "scamp" going down the road the other day! Very nice little rig.

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  15. We pass one every time we go out old 10 Highway...keep hoping for a for sale sign!

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