One of the things I ordered last week was waiting for me when I got home from shopping. It is a new lens, a light pollution filter, and a remote for the cameras. They should fit both of the Pentax digital cameras (and technically the film ones too, but I probably won't use those) down there. This is a faster higher end lens that I wanted to try to take milky way pictures with on my trip in November.
I did a couple of things when I got home from shopping. I got the old shelves removed, and the rolling wire rack installed in the bathroom. It fits perfectly. I will still want to put some felt pads on the edges to keep it from scraping the walls, but it is in and usable. I put some towels on it, though I don't have nearly enough towels and sheets to fill it, so I will have to decide what to do with the rest of the space.
It is on wheels, so it just slides in and out.
Saturday morning I woke up to some turkeys. Ophelia hadn't yet come far enough north to hit me (she came in the afternoon), so it was still dry.
The first thing I did Saturday was break more drill bits. My Dad had lent me his easy-outs for removing screws with stripped screw heads to try to remove the bolt that my hex key had broken off into. They require something to bite into though, so I tried to drill a hole in the screw head, and broke another drill bit. This set of Ace Hardware drill bits has been rather disappointing. I have broken almost half the set now.
I also started working on the carport. My idea didn't work quite as initially hoped, but it worked well enough to start the repairs. I got all the bent nails cut off with my reciprocating saw, and then I tried to jack it up on the bottom plates to realign them. I had hoped I could jack it in the middle, and everything would fall back into place just by virtue of the weight of the carport. That didn't work, but it worked if I jacked it up locally, and just did it a couple studs at a time. For now I am just putting some 4" screws in to get it back into shape, and will add more support braces on the inside afterwards.
I got a few studs reattached when I got a call from Dad. I didn't get to finish reattaching the bottom plates, but oh well. I can finish it during the week. His camper lost a wheel bearing and he had to go chase down the tire that fell off. He didn't have the tools with him to replace the bearing. He was only a few hours out so I rounded up some tools and went to help. We ended up replacing the entire hub due largely to incompetence at Advance Idiots and Napa No Know How.
I did notice on the drive home that my truck really really liked following the camper home. Nothing like a giant brick to break all the wind for you, and Dad wasn't driving fast either. This shattered the previous gas mileage record in my truck. The previous best was 26.8mpg. Some of the cars I had growing up didn't even get 29mpg.
I don't have a picture, but I discovered something Sunday morning. The circuits in the house are set up weird (pretty common for manufactured and mobile homes), and the Jackery (which I had lent to my Dad so he had shore power in the camper) had flipped the breaker when it kicked up to its maximum charging rate. Apparently the second bedroom is on the same circuit as my TV and the exterior outlet since I found out later that the hot tub had been kicked off too.
Other than that, had a good time visiting with Dad and Natalie on Sunday. Soaked in the hot tub for a bit, and went on a covered bridge tour. Ate some Mississippi beef that was delicious. They are headed on to Fort Ann in NY today.
Current To-do:
- Before winter:
Move carport- Fix carport
- Final grade - get gravel and drainage pipe.
Buy a real bed and living room furniture.Get a gun cabinet/safe.- Fix driveway.
- Install drainage in the backyard. Remove the backflush hose.
Get heat pump installed.- Get a snowblower for the tractor.
Build a platform for the steps.- Insulate the water lines
- Winter projects:
- All the cabinet upgrades (bathroom, pantry, and kitchen)
- Design deck
- Build armoire
Build dresser- Shelving upgrades in master closet.
- Access panel upgrades in master closet
- 2024 Projects:
- Deck
- Entertainment center
- Storm doors
We figured you would like Mississippi beef! goes good with chicken too
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