When we moved into our house, I was very excited to get a pet. I ended up adopting a kitty who's owner was leaving the state - kitty came with a Littermaid automatic litter box, toys, dishes, food; it was great - they say there is no such thing as a free kitten, but this cat was as close as it comes.
Even with the ease of the auto litter box, sometimes I would go days ... okay, weeks without changing the plastic receptacle - sorry kitty.
Then we got Milo (kitty 2) and I devised an even easier method of litter box cleaning: put a plastic grocery bag over the disposable plastic receptacle and get my 6 yr old to change the bag everyday.
But then, the day I almost killed myself making deadly chlorine gas out of cat pee and bleach, I broke my beloved litter box. The little cord on the rake that scoops the clumps broke.
Those suckers are expensive and money is no friend of mine. No cheap replacements on KSL or Craigslist. So we went for weeks doing it old school.
But we didn't do it very well and the litter box was no longer good enough to pee in, so kitty started peeing on piles of clothes and in corners and such.
You know, in '07-'08 I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (it took me a very long time), but I never reviewed it or really shared the impact it had on me. On of the biggest things I took away was an awareness of the mental wall I put up when it comes to understanding technology. Or even math. And last year I read the sequel to Ember - People of Sparks - a post apocalyptic story where people no longer know how to use the technology of previous generations. I worry about stuff like that - I don't know how a light bulb works, how electricity works, how cars and motorcycles work. It is all magic to me.
So, broken kitty litter box, lazy kid, ZMM inspired - I wondered if maybe I could fix it. It was broken anyway,worth a try. Found a website. Gave it a try.
I took the screwdriver and started to dig in. Originally I thought the broken wire was just like a guide wire, if I hooked it to the other end, it'd be better. But, no, it was an actual electrical wire.
Hey, guess what, I stripped wires (after briefly reviewing how this is done with husband over the phone), attached black to black and black/white to black/white, electrical taped them separately, then together, plugged it in (nothing exploded), turned it on (no fires), and IT WORKED!
SO - if nothing else, the $12 book saved me like a hundred bucks, but much more than that - these little triumphs in my life, demystifying the magical devices around me, makes me stronger and more confident. Think how many times something has stopped working and you just had to throw it away. No one takes things to be repaired anymore - we throw it away and by new ones. We need to stop that guys, we need to educate ourselves and repair stuff; we need to stop being so wasteful. Ok? So ... there you go, THINGS CAN BE FIXED.
4 Brilliant Bits of Inspiration:
We had a break in the power line leading to our house not too many weeks ago. By the time we realized what the problem was many of our electronics were damaged from low volatge (as opposed to a voltage surge). Dave has been saving (I'm talking dumpster diving here) old electronics for years. He has some sort of plan for what he saves and why (apparently some things really aren't worth keeping). In very short order he rewired, switched out fuses, changed power sources (I have no clue what that means in a dvd player), and otherwise repaired all of our current electronics. The only items we actually had to pay for were a new light sensor in the yard light and a new power source for my computer. It's amazing what a handy, frugal person can do when they look at the world around them and begin taking apart and repurposing.
And it's great to have guys around who are willing and able, but dammit girls, you gotta learn how to do it too.
Good for you for being willing to dig in and try to fix it. My hubs just did the same thing with our exercise bike. Now I don't have an excuse not to exercise so maybe that WASN'T the best idea! LOL!
Oo, check you out! I've wondered about those self cleaning cat boxes. I couldn't believe how pricey they are though. I'm terrible at cleaning the cat box. It's probably a health hazard.
And I can't believe this is me officially saying hi. On the exciting topic of cat litter. The things that consume my thoughts, I tell ya.
Post a Comment