Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Feng Shui Your Leaks Away for a Prosperous New Year

You might think we're kidding, but we're not. All year long we talk about water conservation and the things you can do at your home or business to cut back on use -- because it's the right thing to do in water-dry California. Now we've decided to invoke a little feng shui magic to motivate and inspire for a dripless and prosperous new year.

In Feng Shui -- the Chinese art of placement -- water represents sustenance, wealth, and the flow of life. Here in the West, it's pretty easy to understand those associations.

So clean free-flowing water is a good thing (think fresh water and clear drains) but stagnant water and restricted flow, not so much. And water drip, drip, dripping from a leaking faucet or toilet? Well, consider the full implications of the expression "money down the drain".

It all makes sense - psychologically, energetically and literally.

Anywhere you have a drain, you want the outlets and lines to be clean and clear, with no obstructions. Anywhere you have a water inlet, you want faucets, shut-offs and other moving parts to be working smoothly, with no drips. (No restrictions on incoming sustenance -- and no waste!)

It's pretty simple, but you can take the whole feng shui wealth and water thing up a notch by paying attention to where in your house or office the inlets and outlets are located.

The top graphic shows what's called the 'ba gua' -- a graphical representation of the eight taoist principles of reality: wealth and opportunity; fame and recognition; relationship; creativity; helpful people and travel; career; knowledge; and family.

In the art of feng shui, the bagua can be 'laid over' -- or is superimposed on -- our physical environment. That's where the second graphic comes in.

Notice in the second graphic where the front door is indicated. If you're mapping out your house or office, orient the layout of your room or building so the entrance lines up with the lower edge of the bagua.

Next, look to see where your kitchen, bathroom or other inlets/outlets fall. In this diagram the kitchen is in the 'Fame and Recognition' area. According to feng shui, any problematic plumbing issues are going to negatively impact things relating to your reputation -- and because water is involved, those impacts may well be of the cha-ching variety. Say, people stop referring you for work, so new clients seem harder to come by...fewer clients means fewer jobs...You know, that kind of thing.

So what do you think about feng shui-ing your way into a more prosperous new year? Could be just the ticket!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Boden Plumbing Wishes Everyone a Wonderful Holiday

    To all our customers and neighbors in
--   Sonoma Valley, Napa and Petaluma --




As always, our wish for you is a safe and prosperous New Year free of plumbing woes and worries. Knock on wood, be happy, but call us if you need us!

-- a very Merry Holiday and wonderful New Year, with best wishes from Terry, Mary, Casey, Chris, Rudy, Andy, Randy, (and his other brother) Randy AND Bruiser

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Toilet Seat Art Gives Second Life to Old Fixtures

photo credit: Julie Gomoll on flickr.
Barney Smith, toilet seat artist
It all started when retired plumber Barney Smith of San Antonia was looking for something on which to mount a set antlers. Naturally he settled on a toilet seat lid, (The shield-like shape is perfect really, you'd have to agree.) and the rest is kitschy folk art history.

Mr. Smith did not sell his art but instead amassed a collection of hundreds of uniquely decorated seats and lids. His garage served as studio and museum where he received over a thousand visitors a year.

These kind of stories always get us thinking differently about our pile of defunct fixtures out back that are destined for recylcing. (see: Steampunk-style Lamps From Plumbing Parts on this blog)

And, if Barney Smith's toilet seat art gets you feeling a bit less nostalgic about your old but familiar toilet -- like maybe you could change it out after all, send it on to a new life in Art, well we can facilitate that.

Remember, Sonoma County is offering rebates and the Sonoma County Direct Install Program is back.

---
Read more about toilet seat art:
Incredible Toilet Seat Art on Environmental Graffitti
King of the Toilet Seat Arts - Gone
The Toilet Seat Art Museum
Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

The Loneliest Outhouses in the World

photo credit: Nestor Lacie on flickr

When it comes to needing to go, we humans love our privacy. Just check out this amazing collection of photos of the 13 loneliest outhouses on earth that we found on Environmental Graffitti. Even though each one of them seems to be located in the absolute middle of nowhere with nary a soul in sight, someone has still gone to the effort to set them up -- and generally situated them to afford the best view to boot.

Is that how it is for you? Is your bathroom, however humble, your own little away place?

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