Good morning!!!!

[daugen]

good morning all
A chilly 28 only going up to low 40's today, brrrrr.

i was told my job for Thanksgiving was to bring some world famous Uncle Drew's blueberry muffins, a favorite
with the nieces and nephews, so off to get some blueberries today. Otherwise a quiet day planned.

yeah, MS Office is now fixed. We deleted the old program, turned off security programs, and got the program to load.
Looks very different than my last Office, more features but takes some learning.

Wingsprd, hope your wife heals quickly and completely. Yes, lumps and bumps of life, and we don't heal so fast any more...

When I take the laundry down to the basement, I'm always careful about that last step. Years ago I missed it and did a face plant, luckily on the
laundry basket and not the floor. Now I don't trust that last step at all...

because our family reunion got cancelled this Fall, nice to get an invite from brother to meet him at big rented home on beach near Charleston next May.
Putting four siblings in one house for a week will be interesting. We haven't done that in 60 years... We are all in our 70's and with a sister on the West Coast,
will be nice to see each other again.

Roy, take it slow. Get Margeaux to help.

 

[Looking4new]

Good morning, low temp is 20 and the high will be 23°F Wind WNW 7 mph. A mix of sun and cloud.

A dump run for the neighbour lady today and then to town.

I change the oil in the genny and lawn mower according to colour (brown). The tractor gets it every year. The Dodge gets a yearly oil change (only 5000 miles/year) and the Jeep when it gets brown. Everything gets dino oil except for the Dodge, it gets semi-synthetic 5W30. The Jeep doesn't do anything except for the dump and maybe a run within 20 miles of home. It has frame issues and I don't weld.

Pop, thanks for the tip. I was too stoned to do anything about it other than grab the link to DMDE and send it to my son, he does all my computer repairs for me.


Have a safe day all

 

[daugen]

Drew, are the Rubbermaid parts the correct ones.

Ron, I needed three parts, they sent me three parts. The letter designators did not look right. Sigh.
Going to check today, found the manual and my notes saying what was missing. If they sent me the wrong parts,
that will truly be the last straw. My two helpers are out of town but hope to get this built in next few weeks.
Since the truck doesn't fit in the garage, the lawn mower is living in there for now but that has to change.

I need to remember to drain the outside hose. Windchill of 19 last night.

 

[sodamo]

Only 1:37am, 66°F. Back from excursion. Left a good chunk of change at Costco, got my countertops at HD, got our friends at airport and back home safely.
End of a long day and my freshly drawn Porter is refreshing. Life is good.

 

[ronjhall]

Wngsprd, good to hear wife is negative and fall did not break anything. When using a ladder anymore I find I miss last step. Thinking 2 steps up was the last. No falls yet. But close.

 

[daugen]

I put an old area rug on the floor under the stairs to the basement, so when I feel the difference between the hard step
and the cushioned bottom, I know I can move forward. Both hands on laundry basket and none on railings means need to be super
careful. Sometimes if the basket is too full, and heavy, I turn around and drag it down backwards down the stairs with one hand
on the rail. It isn't hard to get hurt.

 

[Popgadget]

Good Morning
It’s 28 and going to climb all the way to 40 today. Clear skies and 30kt winds should make it feel cold, and make todays trip to Hagerstown and Burlington,VT interesting.

Yesterday went by pretty quickly. UPS brought me a battery to put in the little plane, an ultrasonic cleaner and a drill bit for putting driveway markers in frozen ground.
Add to that the arrival of my new grapple, and I was entertained all day.
There’s only two hoses to connect, so you would think that I have a 50/50 chance of getting them right on the first try, but we all know the reality. So after I tested it and then swapped the hoses so that it worked the way I wanted it to, it was off to the next project.

Next stop was the airport, battery installation went well, figured that I might as well go out for a ride around the neighborhood to test it out, that was fun, and everything worked well.

Then back to the shop to try out the ultrasonic cleaner. I got the 15L Rovsun suggested by someone here. After talking to a jeweler friend, I elected to try it with just water rather any fancy specialty fluid. For my test, I had a carburetor that had gas turn to varnish in it. I disassembled it and put in in the tank after letting it heat up to 160 degrees. No solvent, no scrubbing. Just put in the tank, pull it out 30 minutes later and blow it off.

I was impressed with the results.

 

[Eric Salop]

Good morning. After a glorious day yesterday the sun set in an almost clear sky. According to the forecasters that may be the last we will see of it for the rest of the month, can't complain it has been a wonderful autumn to get things done this year.

Wng, good to hear your wife got the all clear in time for Thanksgiving. Glad she wasn't badly hurt coming off the ladder - tell her she is only allowed to fall into your arms in future !

Don, as others say, tractor maintenance is normally by hours of use. Only exception I know to that is to be wary of the diesel if not used regularly. It used to be good for years, nowadays with all the added bio stuff it can go bad within months if an additive is not used.

I have been wondering what makes the leaves fall one day and not the previous days

You got me thinking Chris...
If I was a tree, I would only want to drop my leaves on calm damp days, when they are most likely to stay around and make leaf mould that benefits my roots, instead of blowing off into the distance.
Maybe that strategy changes once all the humans nearby have leaf blowers, more fun to drop them at random inconvenient times

 

[riptides]

28 outside this AM, heading to mid 40's. Looks like the first time we will run the woodstove during the day.

The wood pile is still winning, looks like I have not even made a dent in it, and the wood shed has three rows of firewood split ready to go. Ugh....

Just planning and coordinating everyone's incoming trips for AFTER Thanksgiving. Such are the schedules of the working families. At least we will all be together. Lots of ketchup to do. LOL.

Hope all are ready for the holiday, and some of you need to get healthy and be a little more careful.

Awesome grapple. Needs some dirt and dings, Mr. popgadget.

 

[toppop52]

30 going to 46. Coldest day so far.

Roy, hope she is improving. I had wife duty last night. I took her to get her test, which was thankfully negative, and she's been feeling better, so she decided to climb the extension ladder to hang a decoration...missed the last step coming down and fell flat out on the floor...couldn't get up for a couple of minutes...I was out on the tractor, so then took a while for her to get my attention...only bruised, stiff, and embarrassed. We looked at each other and said, "Well, guess that's the official beginning of us being old." Ice packs helped a lot, and my loving attention.

Otherwise, I took two steps back for every step forward on 3 projects yesterday. Thomas, is that what 2 left feet means? I'll try again today!

Wng, glad your wife is OK, when I built my garage I was installing door openers. I started down the ladder and missed the last step, I did the side step until I slammed into the wall and sat on something. I was a bit dazed and thought I’d better sit there a minute to get my wits about me. Suddenly I smelled hot denim, I had crushed the space heater and it was fighting back! I “jumped” up as the crushed heater blew the breaker, I’m standing in the dark with smoldering blue jeans wondering WTH just happened.
I have a picture of the heater somewhere.

 

[txdon]

Good morning! A surprising 33˚F, south wind, heading to the upper 60s. edit - First frost, but only on the North side of the house.

Wngsprd, your wife dodged two bullets in one day, whew.

Here is another cha-ching product. As we get older we cannot afford to fall, we need to see all obstacles in our way especially at night. I bought this inexpensive motion detection night light for me and one for Mom. I use mine every night. There are 5 doors in the bathroom only one has the commode, this light helps me find the right door. (One confusing night, before the motion light, someone replace the commode with a wall. It took a while in my half sleep to figure I might have gone in the wrong door.) It is very bright, I had to put blue painters tape on it to make it not so bright so it will not wake up my wife. It has a mode to only detect motion only or darkness and motion, and it works excellent 25 feet away. I have mine to detect just motion and when I get out of bed it turns on so I can see and not stumble. Oh, and more important thing, it is Mom approved she has had hers for a year.

Amazon.com

New recipe for WFPB pecan pie turned out excellent!!! The crust is made from almond flour and the filling has 2 cups of pecans and one cup of dates, 1/2 cup applesauce for the filling.

Classic Pecan Pie - Plant-Based Diet - Vegan - Desserts

Pecan pie is such a popular holiday dessert that I just had to create a healthy one. This pie is so deliciously decadent, not overly sweet, but definitely sweet enough and made from whole foods.

nutritionstudies.org

Don't forget, Thanksgiving is one of the deadliest holidays.
"A heavy meal can increase your risk of heart attack by about four times in the two hours after you’re done eating, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2000.
Researchers say eating a heavy meal may act as a trigger for a heart attack in a similar way to extreme physical activity and outbursts of anger, especially in someone who has heart disease."

https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/piedmont-triad/6-reasons-why-thanksgiving-is-one-of-the-deadliest-times-of-the-year/

 

[toppop52]

Popgadget, that’s a good looking grapple, I wish I could justify one, they’re fun to use. One for my little tractor is not expensive but it wouldn’t get used much at all.

 

[check]

30 going to 46. Coldest day so far.

Roy, hope she is improving. I had wife duty last night. I took her to get her test, which was thankfully negative, and she's been feeling better, so she decided to climb the extension ladder to hang a decoration...missed the last step coming down and fell flat out on the floor...couldn't get up for a couple of minutes...I was out on the tractor, so then took a while for her to get my attention...only bruised, stiff, and embarrassed. We looked at each other and said, "Well, guess that's the official beginning of us being old." Ice packs helped a lot, and my loving attention.

Otherwise, I took two steps back for every step forward on 3 projects yesterday. Thomas, is that what 2 left feet means? I'll try again today!

I fell off a 40 foot ladder once. But I was only on the first step so I survived. Hope your wife will be OK!

And remember, even the high-level PCR Covid test has a false negative rate of 20%. So I would get tested a second time.

 

[daugen]

As we get older we cannot afford to fall,

Adding this one item to my bathtub/shower has hugely improved my feeling of safety there. I got mine at CVS for twice as much, this looks like a bargain. Tile only, won't stick to plastic well.
You can attach it at exactly the height your hand would grab if you started to slip. When standing up washing my hair with eyes closed, nice to know where the hand hold is.

https://www.amazon.com/Changing-Lifestyles-Safe-er-Grip-Shower-Handle/dp/B000S8O9ME/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=bathroom+handle&qid=1637671311&qsid=133-3018158-2964635&rdc=1&sr=8-5&sres=B000S8O9ME%2CB0006FHB5Q%2CB00084IBAE%2CB086GZQ397%2CB07WXMTJG6%2CB07WSWMB6T%2CB08X3NFCQJ%2CB000BJBH48%2CB081SG4RSZ%2CB08R1Q3ZRT%2CB0889KQVPW%2CB004SI98XA%2CB08L75NB48%2CB08NX7ZQX1%2CB07XSF5NR3%2CB002VWK0UK%2CB08R1GVXW2%2CB079LD8CRV%2CB07WJ4ZRX5%2CB08TC878FT&srpt=HANDRAIL

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 46F @ 4:30AM. Plentiful sunshine. High 63F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Chance of rain has once again disappeared from the 10-day.

We're not made out of rubber anymore, Billy. Glad everything worked out OK.

I don't know if they'll work the same or not, Paul, but the ultrasonic transducers in the unit I have will heat the water in the tank quite well, even without turning on the heaters. And I learned the hard way that Simple Green will turn pot metal black, and hard water will deposit calcium on the parts. I couldn't believe my luck when the new 4in1 bucket arrived with the correct flat face fittings, installed in the proper orientation. Once in a blue moon...

Sorry you had trouble with the electrician, Doug. Good luck finding one with good business sense.

Opened the transmission back up yesterday and decided to redo pretty much everything. Reseated the lower bearings in the case by heating the case and giving each shaft a tap, then cleaned and measured each of the shims. You can't always rely on the label on the bag they came in. Also reviewed the spreadsheet I've been using, and made some changes to make it easier to understand. Same with the drawing, and I'm feeling better about the whole process. Today I hope to get all the measurements done again, rebuild and install the shim stacks, and get it all buttoned up and still feel the shafts turning easily. Fingers crossed on that one.

 

[daugen]

Ladders can be so tricky. You just have to get the feet planted safely where they won't slide and on uneven ground not so easy.
I learned at age 16 how dangerous ladders and electricity were. Father had this nice new heavy duty aluminum extension ladder, pretty heavy thing that
clanked like mad. Back then we were using whitewash on the house. Mix up a pail and with a big brush sort of mop it on. Definitely had to put tarps over the nice
flowers below. I'm up at the eaves with a half full bucket of white wash dangling off the side of this ladder, and that dreadful screeching sounds starts of a metal ladder sliding
on stone. Unfortunately the main power lines came into the house there and sure enough the ladder slid right into them. Melted half of one rung off in a big shower of sparks, not too much of
which I saw as I was falling into the 8 foot tall thick bush below. I was fine, just shook up and scared.

PECO lineman came out in a few hours, shook his head, and told my Father they lost a guy on the job doing just this the week before. Metal ladders and electricity are surely bad news.
Why all the pros now go to fiberglass. So I wrecked an expensive ladder but my Father wasn't too angry because I almost electrocuted myself. There were three wires coming in. I broke two.
The third one, so the lineman said, would have killed me.

So long before I became a fireman I had a healthy respect/fear of ladders. And certainly learned immediately to never put that ladder anywhere near electric lines again.

RNG, good luck and hope it works.

 

[pennwalk]

29F right now. Today will be cold and breezy but the sun is out and the sky is blue. Got to get up leaves at the farm. The leaves here at the house are falling and blowing so the front yard which was in good shape now needs work. My wife raked leaves in the back yard yesterday and I could hardly tell she had done anything when she was done.

A hot turkey sandwich sure does sound good.

I think twice about ladders now days. I don't have to think twice about the 32 footer at the farm because I can hardly move it any more. I use the handrails on the stairs too.

It is a mystery to me how they get blueberries from Chile and Peru to stores all across America in the winter but they are pretty often good. Blueberry muffins make my mouth water.

Chris

 

[kenmbz]

Morning all, sunny soon and cold at 28.
Yesterday neighbor got the new mailbox ready and poured the base, so might go in today.
Will need to run down there to help later.

Alien - good luck with the new electrician-sometimes you have to cut and run

Roy - how much longer before wife ready to get on her own feet? Hope she is healing ok.

Wngsprd -glad about the neg test, but ladder fall not a good follow up

Drew - glad your Office Install is finally working- If you need help with shed, I can be around Sat morning.

We keep having fighter jets go overhead. Seems the lakehurst/fort Dix people are doing drills. Reminds me of work many years ago....

Randy- guess the heater didn't like becoming a chair.

PopG- that grapple is nice. Use my forks, not anywhere as nice as a grapple

Speaking of ladders, got to get the 30 footer out soon to put up the Xmas lights.

stay safe and be well,

 

[RoyJackson]

Here is another cha-ching product. As we get older we cannot afford to fall, we need to see all obstacles in our way especially at night. I bought this inexpensive motion detection night light for me and one for Mom. I use mine every night. There are 5 doors in the bathroom only one has the commode, this light helps me find the right door. It is very bright, I had to put blue painters tape on it to make it not so bright so it will not wake up my wife. It has a mode to only detect motion only or darkness and motion, and it works excellent 25 feet away. I have mine to detect just motion and when I get out of bed it turns on so I can see and not stumble. Oh, and more important thing, it is Mom approved she has had hers for a year.

[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071W91CQC?psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp

Thanks for the recommendation!
Just ordered 5 for various places around the house...maybe one in the garage

 

[Rich B1]

Good morning! 21 now, maybe 39 later. Sky was really clear this morning.

Yesterday was easy day. Most of the calls were the other product line, so I had it easy. Even the calls I got were easy. I like those days.

Looking forward to Thanksgiving. Vacation day tomorrow. Last year, things weren't so good. So really want to enjoy this year with the family. They are giving me a break this year, I don't have to fry and smoke a turkey.

Not sure what I will get into tomorrow, but will find something.

I posted some pictures of my Bultaco rebuild on a couple of private groups on Facebook. I was surprised the amount of locals who are on the 2 groups. Last evening, got a private message from one of the "Bultaco" guru's asking me to call him. That shocked me. Need to find some time to do that today.

One year ago today was a bad day. So here it goes....this is a bit long.....

Today was the day I finally surrendered 1 year ago and got tested. I felt worse than I did Monday, basically never left the couch. I lost interest in food, had trouble drinking water. In hind sight, this is likely when the virus wreaked havoc on my GI tract. I ran a consistent fever all day. When my wife got home from work, I had her take me to the emergency room. I tried to do it myself earlier, but didn't have enough strength to get dressed, walk to the truck, and drive myself to the hospital. Likely it was a good idea I waited. I had trouble sitting up in her truck on the way to the hospital.

The emergency room was crowded, they finally took me to triage. My Blood Oxygen Level was 89%, fever was 101°. They eventually found me a room. The emergency room doctor was a woman, oddly I remember very little else about her. The nurse was a guy. I remember him well. Lazy and not all that competent is how I remember him. I was tested for Covid and it came back positive. They had put me on oxygen and fluids. They also drew blood for blood work. The beginning of frequent ventilation of my arms

The doctor told my wife they were going to keep me until the IV bag was empty. She also told my wife I was not sick enough to be admitted. She decided to go home, the hospital could call her when I was ready. That was a long wait, as the nurse had crimped the line on the IV and it was not flowing properly. The doctor was wondering why it took so long, she discovered the crimped line. The "nurse" couldn't figure it out. Finally about 2 am the bag was empty.

The "nurse" got me ready to go, I had to pee. He removed the IV, slapped a band aid on it and said go ahead and go. He had also laid my clothes on the bed to get dressed. I decided to not get dressed until I peed. Good idea. While I was peeing, the quickly applied band aid came off and blood started spewing everywhere. Toilet, walls, floor, sink, mirror, gown, etc. had blood on it. I pushed the emergency button but used a paper towel to get the bleeding stopped. The "nurse" was quite pissy about the whole thing when he got his lazy ass in the room. Also found out he hadn't had anyone make the call to my wife to retrieve me. It took her over an hour to get there once I had the lady in the emergency room admitting make the call. We had left the house a little after 6 PM, got home about 4 AM the next morning. I actually was able to walk to the truck then into the house when we got home. That time on oxygen and the fluids had been a good thing. Though both just delayed the inevitable.

Everyone stay safe out there!