New birthday toy.

Not too much happened during the week, mostly due to laziness.  I was in training that was scheduled in Mountain time for whatever reason, so I was at work late most of the week.  

My birthday was Tuesday, so I got myself a cake, and I ate it too.  

Wednesday I came out to a rainbow. 

I have had a couple of annoying issues with my truck this week, though nothing that would prevent me from heading to KY for the weekend.  The plastic housing on one of my wipers (the driver's side of course) shattered.  The wiper hasn't fallen off yet and I have used it a few times since, so I am hoping the latch is ok.  I will probably replace it sooner than later though.

I didn't grab a picture of when I first noticed it (which would have been a better picture), but it appears that my rear differential has developed a leak.  I noticed that it was wet when I crawled underneath the truck looking at the wiring harness, since I will have to wire in the cap (third lights are required in NH for inspection).  There were a couple of drops underneath it on the pavement too.  Unfortunately I didn't grab a picture at work where I saw it, I waited until I got home so it is covered in dirt.  Naturally, my truck is about 800 miles past the end of its warranty.

I also have been noticing that my dishwasher is cleaning a lot worse than it used to, so I pulled the filter and cleaned it.  I haven't run it since to see if that fixed it though.  I don't run the dishwasher but once, sometimes twice in a week.

This weekend however had one really nice day on Saturday.  So I pulled out my new toy and put it to work.

It makes a bigger mess than expected.

I bought it to help with finishing.  Dimensional lumber has paint marks from the manufacturer, and is usually really rough and needs a lot of sanding before it can be finished.  The planer (though I am using it more as a jointer than planer) takes all that stuff of with ease.

Here is a better view of a planed vs unplaned board.  You can clearly see the bottom one is rougher 

It is also fast.  I got all the boards cleaned up for the entertainment center in about a half hour.  It would have taken a half day to smooth all the boards with my belt sander.  

So I also decided to try out the other thing I bought.  It was advertised as a waterless cleaner, just wipe it on, wipe it off.  Since I can't pull my hose out yet (it still gets below freezing most nights), I was hoping this would be better.  It isn't.  It works worse than just using my typical car wash stuff.

So I pulled that out and got back to cleaning the cap.

I tried filling the bucket from my creek.  It wasn't faster than just bringing it in and filling it though.  I have to take a very specific route to get to the creek without sinking into the muck at the moment.

I did notice the one time I did try, the first throes of spring are starting to sprout.  The dandelions are just starting to come up.  

I got about half the cap cleaned.  There are still some minor marks on it where I went too long between the washing and the rinsing, but I can clean that up later.  

I also had some thoughts about the lip.  I was originally intending to make a dado cut so that the current lip sat inside the current board, but I am wondering if just laminating the 2x3 (I would probably plane it a little thinner) is adequate.

I also was thinking about the ceiling gap.  It is hollow, and I was wondering whether to fill it or not.  The benefits of filling it would be better thermal and sound insulation, and it would provide another barrier to water leaking through.  I am worried about the pressure generated by the foam though.  Spray foam is designed to fill wall cavities, and even then it can push out siding and sheathing, like it did on the corner of the tiny home.  If it can do that, it could easily wreck the fiberglass, which isn't as rigid if I put too much in a spot or something. I am thinking it might not be worthwhile.  Or perhaps maybe a "down the road in the future" kind of thing.  

It was warm enough to apply stain for a short bit in the afternoon, so I also did a couple of tests.  I picked up two stains trying to replicate the finish on the dining room table and my dresser.  

Sunday was raining off and on, so I didn't do too much noteworthy, mostly just cleaning.  I did plan out the plywood I bought to build the armoire to make sure I get all the parts I need out of two sheets.  I apparently forgot to take a picture though.  

The stain was dry, so I also went and did the comparison test.  The darker one was obviously not a match, but the other one holds promise.  I think it might require more than one coat (the test wood is pine and not oak which surely didn't held), but the coloration is very similar.

I also assembled the last set of cabinet racks.  These are extremely cheap and feel flimsy, but I think this might work better in the pantry as long as the basket is strong enough to hold up.

I also started pulling out the stuff that is going down to KY with me this weekend.

It looks like I won't finish my winter projects for the year, since spring is all but here, and I am traveling 2 of the next 3 weekends.  Looks like I will need to set up a priority call.  The drainage in the back yard is obviously the highest priority.  I haven't quite finished doing the deck and back yard design yet, so do I punt the deck back a year in favor of cleaning up the place?  But that means I won't be doing the garage next year.  

Current To-do:

• Winter projects: 
• All the cabinet upgrades (bathroom, pantry, and kitchen)
• Design deck
• Build armoire.
• Install whole house filter.
• Refurb cap
• Shelving upgrades in master closet.
• Access panel upgrades in master closet
• Install cube organizer in living room.
• 2024 Projects:
• Back yard drainage.  Complete Mortgage.
• Insulate the water lines
• Take scrap metal to Buffum
• Close up tiny home.  Seal up plumbing.
• Deck
• Entertainment center
• Storm doors