Shannon Larratt is Zentastic

Like many kids (and adults), my daughter regularly takes drinks from the tap. I have to admit that this grosses me out. I’m sure it’s not that terrible, but drinks without germy lip contact would be much nicer. Caitlin was gifted a silicone “splitter” for her bathroom sink where if you squeeze the bottom hole closed, it sprays water upwards, making some kinds of cleaning up easier I guess. It also comes close to being a water fountain, but because it sprays pretty much straight up, the angle isn’t quite right. So I figured that since I have buckets of silicone putty here it would be a simple matter to whip one up that worked better.

I started by making the inside of the pipe out of packaging foam wrapped with electrical tape (ie. creating the space that the water flows through, as a male mold, which is a technique I rarely need). Then I took some silicone putty and squished it around the buck. Looks kind of deviantly grotesque I think.

When the silicone had hardened, I pulled out the foam with needle-nosed pliers. Then I tried to make it a little less ugly by trimming the silicone with a hobby razor knife. If I really cared it would be easy to make a fancier mold with a pretty finish and I could dye the silicone as desired, but that’s not the point. The point is, as you can see, it works perfectly. The angle is ideal, exactly what a water fountain should be. Success!

Today is the very last day of school, so this afternoon I’ll go and watch the end-of-year concert and student variety show, and then I will have to start thinking of fun projects to fill the days with. Nefarious has been going to water skiing camp on the weekends for the last month, but she’s still too young for a summer leep-away camp, and to be honest, I think I would feel like I was missing out if she disappeared for two weeks. I’ve got a full entry I want to write on the subject, but I was just telling my doctor that I think that my awareness that I don’t have that much life left in terms of raw time is actually a good thing. I have accepted my demise and I don’t fear it, so being cognizant of how little time is left makes me value every day, savor every moment of joy, and try and do as many interesting things as possible while I still can.

Not that the above is terribly interesting, but you know, small steps, right?