Getting ready for spring.

I went out Friday and picked up some stuff, like the oil changes for the mowers and all that.  The weekend was supposed to be chilly, wet, and drizzly, but it actually wasn't too bad.  Being chilly was kind of nice because it allowed me to wear pants so I didn't get consumed by black flies, though they weren't too bad over the weekend anyways, likely because we were in a frost watch.  

I started the weekend off by putting out dunks.  It was good to get out and walk the property again.  It is a bit late for them to take out the black flies, but hopefully it keeps the mosquito population down.

I listed the big pine logs on Craigslist.  Hopefully someone comes and takes them away.  I have no use for a bunch of pine logs, and there is enough there that I don't particularly want to burn them up in the burn barrel, it will take a week.  

It wasn't really warm enough according to the can, and is perhaps why I had some problems with it not sticking, but I installed the spray foam anyways.

The other big thing I needed to get done over the weekend was get the other sheet of plywood cut up.  That is now all done.  

I put the plywood on blocks to raise it up off the sawhorses to cut it.  Apparently I didn't raise it up enough.  Oops.

Then I turned my attention towards my equipment.  I got the new battery installed in the riding mower.  

I did the pushmower oil change first, since it is a lot easier.  I needed a ratchet torque increaser to get the blade off though to sharpen it.

It didn't particularly want to start, but it lives.  Because it is one of those automatic everything (meaning it has no throttle, no primer bulb, no choke, etc) they always start rough the first time for the year.

Sunday was not quite as nice as Saturday, but I still got some stuff done before the weather turned sour.  I started with getting the wheeler out since it was blocking the riding mower.  Surprisingly it started immediately despite having not been used since January-ish.  

I was intending to run it up and down the hill to try to empty out the carport, but with it being a FWD only right now, it struggled to go up the hill.  The first time it didn't make it since I didn't have a running start and wasn't leaning far enough forward.  

I put it in the truck, I intend to drop it off today to see if I can get the 4WD fixed and hope it isn't something like the transmission.

After that it was time to start working on the riding mower, since I could actually get to it.  It turns out that it has the same stupid plastic drain thingy that the cub did.  Only I didn't get a hose with it, so it was extra annoying.  And also really slow; it took literally over an hour to drain all the oil out.  

Part of that might be my fault though.  Apparently I didn't change the oil in it last year?

While that drained, I also got the foam cut and smoothed, and I attached the 2x6 boards on the sides.  I think I am going to stick with a 2x3 for the front.  

As I was working on the cap though, the rain came back.  

So I went and did a couple of things inside.  I got the torn fake linoleum tacked back down.  

I went to do some sanding on the boards for the armoire, and then realized that the sandpaper pack I bought doesn't fit my sanding block.  Sigh.  So I ended up doing it by hand.  I mostly just want to remove the writing that is printed on the sides of the boards.  I miss the days when they used stickers for labeling wood.

The oil in the riding mower did eventually drain though, so I got that all finished up and fired up.  It didn't want to start either, but it did.  

I didn't get the blades on lawn tractor pulled off and sharpened, but oh well.  To be honest, I don't know how to drop the deck on this machine.  All the spring stuff that I have left is to drop the snowblower off the tractor, and paint the snowblower and bucket on the tractor to try to keep the rust to a minimum.  Most of this isn't on the checklist though.  The cap is starting to get pretty close though.  It is far enough along at this point I could put it back on the truck if I absolutely had to, like if I end up moving.

 Current To-do:

• Design deck
• Build deck
• Build armoire.
• Install whole house filter.
• Refurb cap
• Access panel upgrades in master closet
• Back yard drainage.
• Insulate the water lines
• Take scrap metal to Buffum
• Close up tiny home.  Seal up plumbing.
• Storm doors

Moose mow.

I completely forgot that I was too busy on Monday to post.  Sorry about that.  Not too much happened during the week last week.  I got see a nice sunset on Wednesday.  

Saturday I was kind of lazy since the day started off rather soggy but dragged myself out a bit to work on the cap in the afternoon.  I finished getting the new braces installed.  

The front has a small gap due to curvature of the cap which I intend to fill in with some spray foam, but it is screwed in too now.

Inside view.  This is sitting on the 2x6 and is what it will look like when done.

I got the 2x6 boards for the sides planed down and ready to install.  I am still debating on how I want to seal this.  I think just glassing it in is the best option.

I also went and picked up a desk for Jess.  I think I am going to need a trailer when I go down to KY.  

I kept getting taunted with a nice sunset on the drive back from getting the desk.  I didn't really get to see it though, by the time I got to a place clear enough, the sun was too far down.  Oh well.  

The big thing on Sunday was that my moose was loose.  I thought his floppy ears were amusing when he went to shake.

One of my coworkers who also lives in Sullivan got some nice pictures too.  

I took this on my way in Monday, but whatever these plants were, he really liked them.  They were pretty much mowed all them to the ground.  They are some sort of decorative ground cover thing that was preexisting, not just regular grass.

He stuck around pretty much all day.  As you can see in most of those pictures, it was wet and raining all day, so I did indoor stuff.  I got some of the furniture I picked up wrapped for transportation.  This is so the drawers and stuff don't come out, and hopefully help protect the edges a little bit.  

I got the shelves fixed and replaced the missing cams.  

I also got the other sheet of plywood all marked.  

Other than that, it was just chores on Sunday.  

This week hasn't been too fruitful either, the rain has continued throughout the week.  I did miss an amazing sunset on Monday though.  In case you can't tell, I was out doing my weekly shopping.  

Tuesday was nice, but I got stuck at work late.  I did get our for a walk at lunch though.  Everything is in bloom.  This is the entrance to the rail trail I often walk on my lunch break.

I did pick up another set of shelving, this one for me though, so I can start to organize the second bedroom, and a display cabinet for Heather.  Mine got a tiny bit wet, but oh well, it didn't seem to damage it.  

The weight limits are off the roads, so now that I could get the excavator and have it delivered, they have all dried up.  After this week at work though, I am debating whether it makes sense to buy one.  I was really close to quitting Tuesday, even without another job lined up, to the point where I spent Wednesday updating my resume and stuff.  It really wouldn't be hard to dig the drainage out by hand, it was all loosened up last fall.  We shall see if the next couple of weeks convince me to leave or not.  

 Current To-do:

• Design deck
• Build deck
• Build armoire.
• Install whole house filter.
• Refurb cap
• Access panel upgrades in master closet
• Back yard drainage.
• Insulate the water lines
• Take scrap metal to Buffum
• Close up tiny home.  Seal up plumbing.
• Storm doors

Phone lives again.

So I noticed Monday night when I got back from shopping that my phone had a new mode in the camera app.  So I decided to try it out.  After the picture was complete, I went to grab the phone and it slid off the truck (I had perched it on the hood to take the picture).  The phone did not survive the sudden deceleration into a rock that ensued.  

So I went and got the screen replaced yesterday.  Screen replacements are a bit more expensive than I recall, but it was still cheaper than replacing the whole phone.  The screen replacement was about $200

And all that for a picture that really wasn't good.  It smeared, and the clouds look like blobs of noise.  Honestly, regular night mode works better.  I am not a fan of Google's new photo mode.