Urban water stories

Today I’m thinking about water, sometimes too much, sometimes too little. In December of last year it got really cold which is not surprising for this part of the country. Our house is old and, despite new triple-pane windows, it’s still leaky. We have to turn down the humidity in the winter so we don’t get frost on the windows that haven’t been replaced. What was surprising this year is that we noticed condensation on the inside of the light tubes that we have in the kitchen and bathroom. Why condensation now when there had never been any before?

We were puzzled but wiped the condensation off and waited to see what would happen. We didn’t think of looking in the attic until I got hit by a couple drips from the bathroom fan. Ok, we have a problem. I got the ladder, lifted the hatch to the attic and had a look around with a flashlight. There was a layer of ice on the inside of the roof and, instead of being distributed evenly, the insulation was in mounds in some places and non-existent in others.

We considered getting up into the attic and evening it out but we didn’t really want to be crawling around up there in the cold. Richard to the rescue. He got online and found a company called Attic Rain. Yup, that’s what we’d be in for if we didn’t do something before the temperature warmed up and all the ice on the inside of the roof melted.

Sucking out old insulation

They came quite quickly. The guy thought, when he looked at the house from the outside,  it would be a straightforward job. Then he got into the house and had a look in the attic. We have renovated this house so many times I’ve lost count but I think the most recent one was #5. In the course of these renos we have drastically changed the roofline and there are some spots so tight that only a small person can crawl from one part of the house to another in the attic.

The good news was that the problem was fixable. The bad news was that it would be expensive. Apparently when we had the pot lights (all 25 of them) put in they weren’t properly sealed. Perhaps the electrician thought the contractor was going to do that and the contractor thought the electrician was going to do it but, whatever the cause, it didn’t get done. We were in for rain not only in the attic but in all the rooms where condensation could drip from the pot lights.

When we told friends about the situation they advised us to go back to the contractor and negotiate to get it fixed. That was a good idea but we were more concerned with getting the job done quickly so we decided to go with Attic Rain. They came the next week. It took a day but they sucked out as much of the old insulation as they could. Some of it was wood chips, sealed the pot lights and then blew in new cellulose. For the last week or so temperatures have again been in the deepfreeze and the only indoor showers we have had are the ones we have taken intentionally which brings me to the next story.

Old insulation waiting for pick-up

In the early hours of Tuesday morning a fire in the next block to us burned a garage to the ground. We didn’t know anything about it until we were texting with a neighbour who was walking her dog and saw the sheet of ice made by water from the fire hydrant at the end of our block. Apparently the hydrant didn’t shut off properly and Wednesday we got a notice saying that our water would be shut off but that there would be water trailers available so that we could get water. 

That morning I was running the hot water for some reason when I thought that I was probably wasting water and I could have used less if I’d heated the kettle. ‘Oh well,’ I thought, ‘I know how to conserve water if I have too and this once won’t hurt.’ Then in the afternoon we got notice that the water would be shut off.

We ran around and got the various coolers, jugs and thermoses we use for camping and filled them with water. I intended to have a shower after I had finished in the shop for the day but by supper time other things had interfered. Luckily we still had water so I managed to take a quick shower before the water went off. We were pleasantly surprised when the water was back on by the next morning. 'Well,' we thought. 'that wasn't too bad.' The fact that the water trailers hadn't moved should have been a clue.

When Richard was coming home that afternoon he saw some guys from the city on the neighbour’s property trying to find the water shut off. He talked to them and found that the water was going to be shut off again, this time for several days. Meanwhile all sorts of equipment started to show up near our house. There was a truck with a load of plywood and other bits and pieces used to shore up a trench while guys are working in it. A backhoe was parked at the other end of the street and both ends of the block now sported No Through Traffic signs.

We hadn’t yet finished using the water we collected on the first go round so we filled everything up again and, sure enough, part way through the afternoon the water was turned off. We aren’t sure how long the water will be off and we’ll probably have to get more water from the trailer sometime today. It’s a bit inconvenient but we are used to conserving water when we go camping and can take a shower using a bike bottle. We are being careful with how many dishes we use and can manage to wash them using a minimum amount of water for washing and rinsing. We have a dedicated jug that we set on the picnic table and use for hand washing when we’re camping. We got by with that during the latest renovation when, for a month, our only source of water was the shop sink. At that time we had a working toilet. This time we need to fill the tank manually and that is the thing that takes the most water.

It’s much warmer today so fetching water won’t be such a chore. All of this has made me acutely aware of how much we depend on the technology and infrastructure that surrounds us in cities. I know that when the water comes back on, using the dishwasher and having a shower will be pure delight, for a while until I fall back into complacency. In the meantime, I’m going to hold off on that shower in the hope that the water will be back on soon. Just because I know how to take a shower by heating water and using a bike bottle doesn't mean I really want to.

In praise of kale chips

It’s been a while since my last blog post. I’ve had a few ideas but haven’t applied the butt to the chair to get them down and I’m now behind at least two posts according to my self-imposed schedule.

Things have been chugging along pretty well and I thought I’d bring folks up to date on the eating plan. I have a few sources of very tasty recipes. The food is satisfying and I’m having difficulty getting in all the different types of foods that are recommended in a day. I’m very glad I didn’t give away some of the pants that used to fit me because I can now get back into them.

I’m not really a person who needs a lot of snacks but unless I eat something between meals I can’t get all the food types in. I’m okay with fruit, veggies, and beans in general. The issue comes when I try to get 3 servings of beans, 1 serving of cruciferous vegetables, and 2 servings of greens each day. I can usually manage 2 out of 3 types of food. I like smoothies which are a good way to get the greens, although I don’t want a smoothie every day. In the last few days I’ve gone back to making kale chips. Although some people think kale is the worst vegetable ever, I don’t mind it in salads, soups, or pasta sauce. Still, kale comes in huge bunches and it’s hard to use it all up before it wilts.

Most of the recipes for kale chips use the oven. I’m not fond of anything that needs babysitting while it cooks and you have to watch kale chips closely so that they don’t burn when you do them in the oven. There is another option: the dehydrator. We have one which hasn’t had all that much use lately so when I found a recipe for kale chips that used it, I dragged a chair over to the cupboard so I could retrieve it from the very top shelf. I had to wash a bit of dust off the top before I could use the dehydrator but it works like a charm.

Wash the kale; take out the tough centre ribs; wash the leaves and break them into smaller pieces; drizzle a bit of olive oil on them; mix them around so they get coated and add spices. It takes very little oil to make the spices stick. I’m a huge fan of freshly ground black pepper and my favourite so far is a bit of salt and freshly ground pepper. I’ve also used chilli powder and smoked paprika. I liked the chilli but I was a bit too stingy with the smoked paprika and I can only taste the merest hint of it on some of the chips.

Once the leaves are all spiced up I put them on the trays and turn the dehydrator on for an hour and 15 minutes; set it and forget it. These chips are such a hit with me that I made a special trip to the grocery store yesterday for two bunches of kale. I made one batch of chips when I got home and another batch this morning. Extra salt and oil isn’t the best thing for this eating plan although I’m not using very much of either on the chips and, if it solves part of the problem of being able to get enough variety of veggies in a day, I think the compromise will be worth it.

Another idea I have is to make batches of roasted chickpeas. Fruit has been my go-to snack if I want something around 4 p.m. While there is nothing wrong with fruit, having a legume or a green snack will add variety. I will have to babysit the chickpeas in the oven though.

Another good find is popcorn. Of course it works as a snack and I’ve found that putting a bit of balsamic vinegar in a spray bottle and spritzing the popped kernels allows spices to stick to it. As with the kale chips, salt and pepper is my favourite. I’ve also found that popcorn works as a garnish for soups. It does go soggy but so do soda crackers and I don’t mind them in soup. In this application the popcorn gets no enhancements of any kind. Air pop it and toss it into the soup bowl. I know that sounds weird and it might not be to everyone’s taste. It works for me.

As I was reading this over prior to posting it, I finished my half of the latest batch of kale chips. Looks like I’m going to need to go back to the store either today or tomorrow. Stay tuned.