helpful is as helpful does
I went up to Fort Collins today, mom asked if I could help change the timer on her old irrigation controller. Not a problem, just kind of a long drive. I also had a suspicion that I thought important to run down.
There have been some structural issues at her house which have become more pronounced over the last several years, presenting as cracks in the drywall and the half of the house where the basement doesn't extend having a noticeably sunken subfloor. Not by a lot mind you, but by more than enough to cause me concern. There was a surprising amount of washout along the backyard's irrigation controller box so I suspected a leak between the shut-off and backflow preventer.
Sure enough, I got to her place and knowing no other water was running, checked the meter to see the dial spinning just a bit. This wasn't a huge leak but it was steady, so we went out front to check and there was clearly water running from one of the very old valve assemblies right up against the house, right at the point where the basement stops. Hooray.
We shut off the irrigation system, it had only been running for a few weeks this season but the leak has likely been persistent for several years now, and with my stepfather's declining health and eventual passing last summer, I just don't think he had the ability to mind the system or the house like he used to. She'll need to get the valve repaired for starters, but we'll have to find a structural engineer to come take a look under the crawl space. I doubt she'll be in that house for more than a few more years before downsizing but it's something that needs taken care of regardless.
I helped her with a few other home tasks, namely clearing a clogged drain (clear our your p-traps twice a year, people!) and installing a new wasp attractant cone in the trap out front. I'm glad I can help her with these things, and she's trying to learn what she can about home maintenance but I know there's a lot to keep up with. I'm looking forward to her finding something smaller without a yard. Seems like even finding decent help is hard; someone from the lawn company had noticed a leak elsewhere in the system and was meant to come back on Sunday but was a no-show. It's enough to make me understand why there are so many small businesses and networks who handle these little tasks.
We had a nice enough weekend otherwise; Friday night was drinks and dinner with a friend, we biked to downtown Littleton and back for that but I had one too many sangrias (2 is the right number) and ended up with a hangover+migraine on Saturday morning instead of paddleboarding like I'd hoped. I also missed two pages from work, though I wasn't on-call I'm part of some escalation paths, so I had to spend part of the day running that down and will need to address the inconsistency with my team as well.
I am very eager with anticipation for my new Skid Loader. The bike shop called me on Saturday to let me know the build is basically done, but the light they had ordered isn't compatible with the Bosch motor on the bike. Oops! Rather than take it on Saturday then have to bring it back and wait for an install, I'll just wait a few more days for them to finish the build 100%. I have a little bit of regret over the SKS Bluemels STYLE fenders I had them put on because that'll make transporting the bike on a rack much harder and might limit my off-trail usage somewhat, though probably not much and it's not like I can't remove them on my own for the summer. I'm not riding much dirt or mud of course, they were intended to help all-weather the bike a bit further especially in the winter. I'll be glad they are there, I'm sure, but she'll need some tweaks if I plan to do some e-bikepacking. Which I do.
Nice to get my thoughts out today; traffic along the highway and feeling some "loss" of my weekend had me frustrated and tired when I got home so it's a good exercise. A canned margarita and homemade carnitas have certainly helped, too.