It was 1968. I was five. And, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was THE movie to see! If you are of a younger sect and never seen this movie, a musical, I would highly recommend it. The incomparable Dick Van Dyke stars at the nutty, inventor-single father of two young children growing up in a Windmill that has been gerry-rigged with many of the invented improvements their father has come up with. It is a funny, touching, whimsical, and sometimes magical movie that will allow you inner child to soar as things take flight! (no spoilers, here!)
But, I have to digress. As much as I like this childhood favorite, the reason for my post today is that I’ve started calling my husband Caractacus Potts! A very able, self-taught, fix it man, my husband is apt to rig things up to fix problems we might have around the house. It was his most recent “invention” that spurred me to use the iconic character name that Dick Van Dyke once played.
Amidst the hot July mid-west summer, we went to our cabin for a week of relaxing on the shores of a small lake. But, that meant leaving my flowering pots and vegetable gardens unattended and most probably unwatered for the week.
So, in true Caractacus form, my husband gathered all my potted plants, put them on our sidewalk and rigged up a sprinkler system, set to a timer to go off once a week. Now, you are thinking – what?! Why bother? Why didn’t he just buy a sprinkler?
The reason is that in the post-pandemic world, supplies are still lagging demands. Around us, sprinklers cannot be found! And, we do not have good luck with keeping sprinklers year to year. In absence of a true sprinkler, one was invented!
A hose, a 5-gallon bucket filled with a rocks for weight, and a sprayer tip was rigged up to do the job, attached to a timer to water my flowers once a day for thirty minutes. This was done for my vegetable garden as well!
And, upon arrival home last night, I declared that Caractacus Potts had struck again!
My flowers survived and look more gorgeous than ever!
Today is Slice of Life: Tuesday. Thank you to TwoWritingTeachers.org for creating and organizing such a supportive forum for authors, teachers, and interested writers on which to post each week.
The Apples in My Orchard 
Ingenious! I love it! And, of course, with a name like mine (Amanda Potts), I am well acquainted with Caractacus Potts. In fact, my father is Dr. Potts. Such fun – and I’m glad your beautiful flowers survived.
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Thanks, Amanda! I’m glad you liked it and found some apt connections!
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He’s a keeper! I need to get MY resident Caratacus Potts to invent a way to keep my plants watered when we’re gone for a week!
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Ha! I had a friend who didn’t quite get how inventive this was… oh, well. I’m glad you did. Good luck with your own Caractacus! Let us know how it goes!
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Fabulous. Your flowers look gorgeous indeed thank to your husband’s inventive mind and thoughtful action.
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Thanks! Yes, I was very grateful! I think he was relieved when we came home and they still looked great!
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I grew up loving that movie and had a dad much like your husband who often came up with ingenious ideas! Your homestead has a beautiful view, enhanced by your garden and flowers. 🙂 Now I can’t get the song out of my head…’bang chitty, bang chitty, chitty chitty bang chitty…we love you!’
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Thank you so much! We are enjoying the extra time we have to spend in our yard – but enjoy time away too. So, it’s nice to have found something that worked to keep the hard work of putting flowers in pots successful!
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Wow! That’s such a clever system. I love it! And like Debbie, I now have that song (and “Toot Sweets”) circling round my brain…
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Sorry for the song repetition! I hate when that happens!
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