Monday, April 20, 2020

MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUCIATINGLY TRUE STORIES: THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF A SHOP VAC

So as part of distancing and all that, Fr. Simone, Ian and I have taken on cleaning the rectory.  For the most part it is going well.  We are even getting to some things that have not been touched for awhile.

Although it keeps snowing and freezing outside EVEN THOUGH IT IS THE END OF APRIL, it seemed a good a time as ever to get the shop back out and clean the ashes out of the fireplaces.

It was going well until I hit some larger pieces of burnt wood that clogged the hose. 
I tried clearing it out - shaking the hose, holding it up so that whatever  was in there would come loose.  Then turning it back on it would run for a couple of seconds and then whatever was in there would clog it again.  How do you unclog a shop vac indoors?  Outside I would just swing the hose around until things flew out of it.  Then it hit me! 
I would just move the end of the hose from the VACUUM setting and attach it to the EXHAUST setting.  (Do you see where this is going?)  *BUT* using my great brain, I decided that I would aim the hose into the fireplace so that whatever came out would go into the fireplace and not my room.

And that is what I did. 
At least the first part of that theory was correct.

11 comments:

Wayne Johnson said...

And this, Father, is why you point the hose OUTSIDE before doing this.

Thanks for the laugh!

God bless!
Wayne

Wayne Johnson said...

Just to completely ruin your Monday, Maria suggested theme music for your comic: We rise again from ashes...

God bless!
Wayne

Anonymous said...

Hahaha, oh no! My kids got a kick out of this "cartoon," thanks!

Patricia said...

Made me laugh out loud! Glad it was not my husband helping while doing this!

Anonymous said...

As for the snow in April comment -

My husband and I were married on April 9, 1988. We had a long engagement and planned out our wedding meticulously. We were expecting 225 family members, along with some friends, for the wedding and reception, many of them travelling up from the South and the East Coast.

On April 2, 1988, Akron experienced 15" of snow. It is no exaggeration to say I was nearly hysterical, worried about people travelling or not showing up to eat the piles of food we ordered, or to listen to the band we hired (yes, this was before DJ became popular). The Italian Quartet would be very disappointed.

On April 9, 1988, it was a bright, sunny, beautiful day, with a noon temperature of 70 degrees. In other words - absolutely perfect. God is so good - always!

On April 16, 1988, we were back to snow and ick again.

Such is life in NE Ohio. The weather sometimes is rotten, but when it is nice, there is no better place to be than here!

Easter blessings and good health to all here - Sue from St. B

Oligario " Jerry " Johnson said...

LMAO ! That is so hilarious, my tears ran down on my face, l'm laughing so hard and l'm about to pee ! Ha,ha,haaaa!

Anonymous said...

Try running a broom handle through the hose to push the obstacle out. Might work!!

lgreen515 said...

Guardian angel doing face palm...

doubletrouble said...

Heh- been there, Father!
The trick is to reverse the hose, like you did, but stick the other end into the vacuum port. Let it sit a minute (off) after the clog is cleared.
I made a huge mess too...

Fr. V said...

That makes SO MUCH SENSE that it's painful! Oh my!

Grego said...

Most of us guys would have done the same thing. I once constructed a wheel barrel without reading the instructions. After I finished and turned the wheel barrel right side up, I realized I forgot to put the wheel on. My wife still laughs about it 37 years later. Don’t feel stupid father, your just a regular guy.