Junior Tinkers: Helping Dad

I lament the day when my daughters see "helping dad" as work, rather than a privilege.

I know the day will most likely come, so I need to make the most of their joy now.  It's not always easy: to put it plainly, they are small, slow people that are, more often than not, in the way.  It takes a lot of patience to allow them to be a part of my projects, and I often struggle to have a good attitude.  But if I want them to be involved in my life and vice versa, I must grow in it!

It's a lot easier if I intentionally seek out jobs that they can help with.

This past week, God gave me a perfect opportunity.  It's rainy season here now, which makes quite a mess of the dirt and rock roads that surround us.  After a couple years of riding with taxi drivers who dance around puddles for fear of getting their cars dirty, I have been eager to go splashing again!

Of course, we can't leave it like that all the time.  So I bought the girls some new fleecy orange rags and broke out the soap and water:

They loved spraying it with the hose and rubbing it down, although Lydia spent more time playing in the bucket and trying to wash Biscuit than actually working on the car.  They were having so much fun, they didn't even blink when I offered them 3Bs each (about 50 cents) for the help.

Home Improvement: Laundry Plumbing Re-route

When we first moved into this house back in February '11, there was no hookups for the washing machine (most people here use a special sink, no machine).  One of the first big projects that we did (with lots of help from friends!) was to plumb it in.  Unfortunately, some of those friends have a typical local attitude of "that'll do" and we left the supply side like this:

Obviously not a big problem, but it doesn't look that nice, and although we usually keep that window open, during cold season last year, it was really nice to close that window and heat up the kitchen for breakfast! (This time of year, it's usually between 55 and 60 degrees F in the house when we get up).  Ever since it was done, I planned to change it, but it took almost a whole year for me to get to it.

Of course, for a project like this, you need a few tools and a helper:

To start, I needed to make a hole in the glass nearer the washing machine.  I started cutting out a square with my Dremel (with extension!) and was getting along well, but got it too hot and cracked it:

 Note to self:  take breaks to let the glass cool

 Thankfully, it broke just perfectly for the hose connector to fit through!

 Next up, cut and thread some pipe:

 Once again, the Dremel gets things done quick and easy.  Lydia (20 months old here) already knows about loud noise and hearing protection:

 

We added about 6 feet of 1/2" pipe to reach the corner: 

The shut-off and connector are now hidden behind the herb and spice rack:

Although having an ugly gray piece of PVC passing through the kitchen isn't that great either, it actually comes in really handy!  Not only can we now close the window whenever we want, we have a place to hang washcloths and it makes a great drying rack for the girls' cups as well as holding up the cutting boards!

Although Lydia likes to be with Daddy and learn about tools and fixing, she's still a little girl through and through.  As soon as we finished up, she went back to being a little mommy: