Focus

Hi Y'all.  I was going to write about Furbys today.  I bought two furbys at a garage sale last week end.  They are interesting toys.  They have several sensors, transmitters and receivers.  People like to hack them and make youtube videos of them calling them "bent furbys".  I thought it would make an interesting combination to have a furby equipped with a taser.  That would violate Asimov's first law of robotics.

I decided not to pursue the furby line of procrastination.  "I've got your Furby right here."
I need to focus.  The job at hand is touching up the house.  I've done this a few times and no matter how expensive the treatment,  the paint still peels and looks bad after about two years.  I have a tool called a paint shaver that makes the paint removal very easy.  It hooks up to a vacuum which cleans up 95% of the paint chips as you go.  It's kinda like the Flowbee which cuts your hair and cleans up virtually all of the hair clippings. 

I had insulation put in the house a few years ago.  They drill holes in your clapboards and put plugs in afterward.  I've tried to fix those twice now but they still look terrible.  I think the only permanent solution would be to replace the boards.  Maybe some vinyl siding strips could be put on just those boards?  I've also thought of using fiberglass since I've used some on the boat.  I might try a test patch with that.

  One good thing about touching up a house,  the job doesn't have to be concise.  I noticed many years ago how rough the paint job was on one of our historic landmarks in Boston. It's the naval station where Old Ironside is docked.  If it's good enough for that landmark it's good enough for The Benjamin Bangs House.

Now I'm ready to go out and conquer the sides of the house.  I might take Furby along just for company.

More Boat News

We went north for a week-end vacation last week-end.  We (my wife and I) drove the VW camper van so we could possibly sleep in it and get some use out of it.  First we visited my twin sister Kay who lives in Gaylord.  We went to a nice restaurant there and then saw Kay's place for the first time.  It is a very cute and comfortable place built as a separate structure from her daughter's house.  It would be nice for any single retiree.  She has it decorated very well.  After our visit we headed out to Crystal Lake.  Shortly after we turned on our headlights, we discovered the van was not producing enough electricity to keep us on the road.

A wonderful adventure ensued in which we met some very nice and helpful people, stayed at a motel that was as bad as they get while still being acceptable and eventually got the alternator replaced.  We were late by about a half a day and that was remarkable.  Brooke's brother Matt came and picked her up, as we didn't know how long things would take and everyone at the lake were antsy to go sailing and the sail was in the camper van.

Eventually we all assembled at the lake.  The cabins were great, the sailing was great and we had a nice time.  Gabe was there and really enjoyed the family experience.  The next-door-neighbor, was a sailor.  He identified my boat as a Chrysler manufactured boat.  I always had wanted to ID the boat because it has no numbers or writing on it.  I've since looked it up and it is a c-15 Man-o-war.  There is a lot of great information on it on the web.  I'm glad the boat worked out so well.  We did manage to tip it over but no harm was done and nothing lost but a little pride. 

Boating season

About 30 years ago I bought a sail boat at a garage sale.  As with most hoarders, I still have it.  We have sailed it a few times over the years but the usual scenario is, other things take precedence, the boat needs repair, late in summer I think,"Can I get the boat ready before it's too cold?", summer is over.  Well, since it's a rainy day, I thought I'd get in the boating mood and write about it.

The wave sounds are turned on in the sidebedroom so this is what happened.  My Sister-in-law Robin put some pressure on me to have the boat ready this year for a vacation week on Crystal Lake.  Robin likes sailing and when I first got the boat she gave me my only sailing lesson on Tipsico Lake.  She is my sailing mentor.  I decided to accept the challenge to get the boat ready again.  Jake is back and he likes to sail.  Suhitha would like to sail.  I would like to sail.  My SM (sailing mentor) wants to sail.  Plenty of motivation. 

I like boats.  Just as I like planes, cars, motorcycles etc.  I think it's the idea of a somewhat self sufficient unit able to carry you someplace.  With a boat, there is no roadway.  With a sailboat only the wind propels you.  I think I could live on a nice boat that is docked in a nice harbor somewhere.  If I ever come up missing, I may be on a boat.

Well, last year I had done some patching to the boat.  So Jake and I got her out and turned her upside down on the picnic table.  A rat came running out from under her.  Boats are referred to as females.  The patches that I had done looked pretty good so I sanded them down and I think with one more layer of fiberglass cloth, they will be very good.  The other boat items I am working on are an improvement on the catch for the tiller,  same for the baler and whatever odds and ends that pop up.  The boat trailer needs rewiring and what I call the nose piece needs work.  The wood is rotted and I need to change the ball on the trailer hitch.  

It sure will be nice to be out on Crystal Lake though sailing along in the breeze.  "Prepare to jibe!.......Jibe Ho!"    "Man overboard!"

To Craigslist or not to Craigslist?

On Fathers Day I was given permission to buy a "big" screen TV.  We saw a couple at Walmart but they didn't have them in stock and it didn't take long to realize that I needed to research what is available on these modern devices and what is important to get on them.  If you read reviews of the various models, you find there are always some people who think they are wonderful and others who hate them.
After talking to Robin Butler (an authority on big screen) I decided to get an LG set through Amazon.  It was a 42 inch 1080p with advanced specs.  I didn't care about LED or 3D.  The price was about $575.00 and free shipping.  It arrived in just a few days but after setting it up (which was easy),  I saw the screen was damaged.  I sent it back and chose to get a refund rather than an exchange.
I looked to see what was on Craigslist a few times but as you may know there are risks when going there.  Someone could come over and kill you.  You might get robbed and wounded.  Someone might come to your house and see how dirty it is.
You might go to someones house and ...
The item might be stolen. 

I was ready to buy a TV again and we were going to a party in Jackson, MI.  I thought I might as well check the Jackson Craigslist and if there was an appropriate TV there, I could see it while in town.
Long story shortened, I found a set for sale there and called.  I met the guy at a gas station there.  He seemed like an upstanding young man about to start school at Kettering.  I bought the set for $270 so that was about $300 less than I would spend buying new.  The set seems to work just fine but it's so big.  I know, you're saying to yourself, "That's what she said".  Now I have to sell my old TV or donate it.  It's a 27 inch RCA.  The color is very good on it. It comes with a remote control.  The price is $20 firm.  Come on over to the house to see it.  This ad may appear on Craigslist but I think, more likely, I'll give it away.

Midsummer

Our new rug sat rolled up for about a week.  No one had the curiosity to unroll it to see how it turned out.  I finally unrolled it while watching Gabe.  It looked just fine and I couldn't detect any odor.  I got down on all fours and put my nose close to the fabric...no smell.  Gabe was curious so I said I was trying to see if there was a bad smell.  He also got close to the fabric and smelled.  He raised a finger in the air and said, "Maybe, dog poop?" 

So far the rug is okay.  We've had visitors from England and are soon expecting more from Denmark.  It makes life more interesting and motivates us to clean and maintain at a higher level than otherwise.  The guys from England allowed me to practice hypnosis with them.  That went very well.  I gave them some suggestions for success in their business life and improved concentration while playing tennis. 

We had Gabe here for the Fourth so we went to the parade again.  We go every year really, but Gabe was a reason to go.  He got a whole hat full of candy and a couple of flags.  He was impressed with the monster truck.  Fire engines were loud and the whole thing must have seemed like a big party to him.

Gabe is back in Toronto now.  He was here for about two weeks.  We went to a couple of free concerts and did a lot of things around the house.  He loves running through the sprinkler.  The Danish women are here and Gabe took a shine to Maj (pronounced my).  She paid a lot of attention to Gabe and is great with kids.  All of these young Danes are fantastic.  They slept in the camper van and kept up a grueling schedule of activities.  They will leave soon and the rest of Summer 2011 will unwind at a gentler pace.   

 

June Already Conclusion

We had gotten to the point in the last blog, where it was to be determined what was to be done about the discarded rug.  Jake wanted nothing to do with it.  He is a retail shopper all the way.  Brooke wants to find out the condition.  If it passes her inspection, it's okay.  Someone else must face the humiliation of retrieving it.  Ken feels there is already enough to be dealt with in the family's life.  They decide to check back after dinner to see if the rug is still there.  The rug is still there after dinner.  It has been moved, indicating others have looked at it and passed it up.  Ken and Jake go to check on the condition of the rug.  Ken (I) knock on the door but there is no answer.  The rug looks pretty good but has an animal smell (urine) which doesn't seem too strong.  If the rug is worth at least $200 it is worth getting it cleaned.  That's what I thought.  We should be hearing from Hagopian this week.  We may have a "new" rug soon or one for sale at our garage sale.  It is a nice looking, machine made rug.  Made in Egypt. I have since spoken to the homeowners who put the rug out.  They had put it out to air out and some animal had urinated on it, possibly a raccoon. She said it was an expensive rug and they were told of a product called "Skunk out" that allegedly would get out odors.

So much for that topic.  I hadn't been watching any sports on TV this Spring.  Well, golf, but that's hardly a sport.  So, I decided to watch some of the basketball semi-finals and finals.  That was very enjoyable for me.  The teams I favored won.  Twice I turned off the TV thinking the game was decided and woke up the next day to find there had been a big come-back in the final minutes.  I think Dirk and the Mavericks deserved the title.


My Brother-in-law needed a sub in his golf league for a couple of weeks.  I filled in and played with his partner Don Bunka.  I did well considering I haven't played in over a year.  The missing ingredient in most players games is practice.  I have been having problems with my chipping.  When I played regularly, I prided myself as having a good wedge game.  I was so distraught at my chipping after my second round this year,  I got out some practice balls and hit about 50 shots.  Just that helped a lot.  I feel guilty going out in the yard to practice golf when there is trimming, edging, planting, scraping and painting to be done.  I'd like to move to a condo.

I'm thinking of writing a book and self publishing it.  "How you can maintain your dignity while retrieving items from the Trash".

June Already

How time flies.  If I start thinking about all the things that I think need doing, I'll really start feeling bad.  Let me say what has been done. 

I couldn't get the Troy-Bilt running last year.  That is it wouldn't stay running for long after it started.  I knew this was something I would have to confront this Spring.  The Troy-Bilt is short for Troy-Bilt Horse, a rototiller that Ray bought in 1979.  This was his pride and joy and helped greatly in gardening  here at 819. 

I was thinking I would have to take the machine to a small engine shop to get it repaired.  I called and was prepared to load it up the next day.  I went out to the shed and dug out the Horse from the far corner.  It would be foolish of me to blindly take it in and have them fix something that was minor and doable right here.  I put in gas and got the engine started and adjusted the screw at the bottom of the carburetor.  It seemed  to be running pretty well!  The fuel line was leaking so I went to Taylor Hardware and got some fuel line replacement.  That wasn't the end of it.  I ended up getting a carb. rebuild kit and using almost all of the parts in there.  The rototiller is working well now and the garden is tilled.

We have also put up a fence to keep out rabbits.  Almost all of the vegetables are planted and it looks pretty good down there.  The flowers are next.  We almost feel an obligation, living here, to have a garden and have a beautiful display of flowers. 

Another item that came up this Spring was a "free" Oriental Rug.  This brings out our psychological interactions.  A rug appeared at the curb in our neighborhood.  No sign of any kind, but close enough to the curb to indicate it was available for free.  We were interested in something for free, of course.  Who would do the embarrassing task of knocking on the door or just taking the rug?  What is wrong with the rug?  To be continued...