Beth Sanchez (u/beth_sanchez47)

Posts

I tried two different ways to clear ice off my driveway last winter and one was a total disaster

So I had this bright idea to use hot water to melt the ice after a big freeze in January. I poured about two gallons of boiling water on a patch near my front steps and it just turned into this massive sheet of black ice that was worse than before. My neighbor came out laughing and told me to try the cheap regular salt from the hardware store on 82 Ave instead. That salty stuff worked in like 20 minutes and I didn't almost break my neck. Has anyone else made that dumb hot water mistake or am I the only one?

2 comments

c/creative-writing-prompts•

beth_sanchez47•6h ago

That poetry reading at the downtown library changed how I think about dialogue

Last Tuesday I went to a free poetry reading at the main library on Elm Street. Every single poet used line breaks to control the rhythm, not just to follow a form. I realized I've been writing all my dialogue tags the same way without thinking about how they slow or speed up the moment. Has anyone else noticed how poets handle pacing better than most fiction writers?

1 comments

c/commercial-divers•

beth_sanchez47•4d ago

Had a Kirby Morgan diaphragm tear on me in 60 feet of water off Galveston yesterday

I always kept a spare in my truck but never thought to bring one on the boat. Ended up having to abort the job 20 minutes in and cost the client 800 bucks in lost time. Now I carry a backup regulator assembly in my dry bag every single dive. Anyone else keep spares in their kit or just me?

2 comments

c/easy-upcycle-hacks•

beth_sanchez47•5d ago

Pro tip: That old ladder I almost tossed makes a great bookshelf

I had this wooden step ladder sitting in my garage for 3 years, and my wife kept saying to throw it out. I finally got tired of looking at it and decided to give it a try as a leaning bookshelf. I just sanded down the rough spots, added a coat of white paint I had leftover from the kitchen, and propped some boards across the steps. Now it holds about 20 paperbacks in the corner of my living room, and it actually looks pretty decent. Has anyone else turned something totally random into shelf space?

2 comments

c/concrete-finishers•

beth_sanchez47•11d ago

Old school broom finish vs. the new rubber squeegee method I tried last month

I've been doing broom finishes for 20 years and finally gave that rubber squeegee deal a shot on a big driveway in Denver. Got the surface done in half the time but the texture looked too uniform and slick compared to what I'm used to. Anybody else stick with the old way or am I just set in my ways?

2 comments

c/diy-home-repair•

beth_sanchez47•13d ago

Switched from premixed spackle to hot mud for drywall patches

I used to use the lightweight premixed spackle in a tub for all my drywall repairs around the house, but it always took forever to dry and would shrink in bigger holes. A couple months ago I tried a 45-minute hot mud for a 3-foot crack in my hallway and that stuff cures hard as a rock with no shrinkage. Has anybody else made the switch and noticed a big difference in how long the repair holds up?

3 comments

c/drywall-installers•

beth_sanchez47•1mo ago

PSA: don't buy the cheap pre-mixed joint compound in the bucket

I wasted $40 on a five gallon bucket of that bargain brand last month and ended up with crumbly mud that wouldn't sand smooth, so has anyone else run into this with store brand compounds?

2 comments

c/fashion-design-ideas•

beth_sanchez47•1mo ago

Thought double stitching on pockets was a waste of time until I had a pair of jeans blow out in 4 months

I used to skip the extra row of stitching on my pocket edges to save time, but after my favorite pair of raw denim gave up at a coffee shop in Portland, I spent an afternoon reinforcing a test pair and they've held up for over a year now. Has anyone else found a simple stitch change that actually made their clothes last longer?

2 comments

c/backyard-chicken-keepers•

beth_sanchez47•1mo ago

Spent $200 on a fancy automatic chicken door and kinda regret it

I bought this auto door from Amazon back in March because I was tired of waking up at dawn to let my girls out. It worked fine for like two months, then the sensor got all messed up during a rainy week and it wouldn't close at night. I came out to find a raccoon had gotten inside and killed two of my hens, it was awful. Now I'm back to manually opening and closing every day, has anyone else had bad luck with those auto doors?

3 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

beth_sanchez47•1mo ago

Finally got that seized seatpost out after three days of trying

It was a steel frame road bike from the 80s, the post was aluminum and totally stuck. I tried the usual tricks like ammonia and a bench vise, but nothing moved. Ended up making a homemade slide hammer from an old axle and a big socket, and it popped free on the fifth hard pull. What's your last resort method for a really stuck post?

3 comments