Category: lakehouse

Cool and damp but supposed to be clear for the next two days. Yesterday was overcast until it started drizzling in the late afternoon. Some places got a lot more than drizzle too.

Did my quick pickups, then headed home. Loaded the rest of the stuff on the truck in the rain. Didn’t get it all on board. The 40 gallon water tank on wheels will have to wait for the next trip. I have one up here already, but given my water situation at home it makes more sense to bring the second up here too. I waffled about bringing both new Portacool units up here,but only had room for the smaller one in the end.

I’m not sure what I’ll be doing today, there is a big list after all, but I’m leaning toward cleaning and organizing the shed. I’ve got stuff on the truck that needs to go into it, but no room. So it just moved up the list.

I’m also thinking that I might sit down with D1 and do some work with the air rifle. She had the Girl Scout unit on air rifles, so it should just be learning to work this one, and doing some target work. We’ll see about that. Mood and energy level are going to be determinants. Also I might not have brought up any pellets. I’m pretty sure my neighbor would have some if I forgot.

Might try to get some fishing in too. Don’t know if they like the rain, and all the new water flooding in or not. I’ll throw the crawdad pots in the water too, just as a test.

Plenty to do.

Y’all keep stacking. Weirdness abounds.

nick

*title is from a popular song lyric. Who is going to remember what a skate key is or why you would want one?? Lots of things like that in our shared culture.

Chilly and clear, then colder and colder until we all freeze to death. Or not. In any case, the forecast calls for more cold until the vortex hits, or the sun winks out, and it’s all because of global warming, or something. Not “winter” because that’s not climate… Yesterday started nice, but got pretty chilly in the afternoon. Colder after dark too.

I did some of my auction stuff. Then headed to my rent house to address the tenant’s issues. Cleared the slow bathroom drain. Found a hairball about 6 feet in. Looked at the security door not locking, and found that the house had shifted enough that the door frame was 1/2 inch out of square. There isn’t enough adjustment in the locking mechanism, so we’ll just wait for the house to shift back. The actual entry door still locks. Then I took a look at the clothes washer, which wasn’t agitating properly- mainly because the bolt holding it in place on the mechanism broke off and vanished. Unfortunately, after some more research, what is normally a straightforward and quick repair isn’t in this case. The bolt shaft seems to be still in the splined drive shaft, and that isn’t going to be quick or easy to fix. I don’t need a project either, so I’ll be shopping for another machine. Maybe one of the used appliance guys will give me some money for this one as all the other parts are still in good shape and worth money. It’s a Whirlpool and I am pretty sure we bought it used, so we got our money’s worth. I’ll swap it out soon enough.

Today I’ve got my non-prepping hobby meeting, then a couple of auction pickups, then I’ll be doing work around the house. I still have a couple of Christmas things up, and I need to properly store the stuff I took down already. As a point of reference, a nylon suit bag makes a pretty good storage bag for a medium sized artificial Christmas tree. Goodwill normally has them very cheap too. No need for a fancy-schmancy red tree storage bag… at least not for a $10 tree. It does look a bit more suspicious when you are carrying it.

On my way home from the rent house, I stopped in the Goodwill store in the Heights part of Houston. Nice tony area, with a younger, boho vibe… so the Goodwill gets some nice stuff. It’s worth a look when I’m in the area. I got lucky and picked up a pair of logger style Red Wing steel toe boots (4420), in my size, and in good shape with lots of wear left in them. All leather, with heavy rubber Vibram soles. Interior in great shape too. $15. Boots in similar size and condition are selling for around $100 on ebay, sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less, but I’ll probably rehab them and keep them. Good sturdy footwear is an essential prep, and real rubber soles are hard to find. It’d be better if they were vintage and made in the USA, but they will make a nice backup to my other pair of logger boots. They are VERY heavy. They’ll live at the BOL. Duplication solves the issue of what to keep where 😉

I know that buying used isn’t everyone’s cuppa, but consider… do you really want to have or wear something obviously brand new when the economy is collapsing around you? Or does being the grey man mean wearing stuff that looks like it’s well used and not marking you out as different from everyone else. Consider the money savings too. Saving money means more preps, and more of the other things you’d like to buy. Consider that it might be a ‘nice to have’ or a backup, or duplicate of your existing preps, and not high enough priority that it makes sense to spend the money for new. Or consider that the new versions might be inferior to the older versions in terms of materials or workmanship. A lot of old tools are built much better than new ones.

There are things that make sense to buy new. If the hassle of replacing it is large, then getting the longest lifetime of use makes sense, IF the new will last longer than old. Things like HVAC units, and other infrastructure fall into this category. If features or capabilities are only available on new, and those things are important to you, then buy new. Sawstop technology on a tablesaw is an excellent example. There isn’t any real reason NOT to buy the Sawstop (for most woodworkers), the additional cost is far less than your insurance deductible even if they can save your fingers in the event of an accident. Imagine being maimed and thinking, I could be whole if I’d spent the extra money. Sometimes you want to be sure you aren’t buying someone else’s problems. Won’t guarantee you aren’t buying your OWN problems though.

The world is changing around us. Acknowledge that, embrace the good changes, reject the bad, and do the best you can with what you have.

Stack if you can, and do it in a way that is an efficient use of your resources.

nick

Cool but not cold. Weather warmed up before it is supposed to get cold. I was sweaty yesterday with just my shirt while working in the yard. It was 70F after dark… No idea what today will be like. Hoping for the rain to hold off, but who knows?

Did my stuff yesterday. Picked up a tumbling composter among other things. I guess I’ll give composting a try, at least at home. Since we’re here most of the time, and make most of our mess here…

Today I’ve got a couple of auction pickups, one is mainly PPEs, and the other is stuff for the BOL. The main thing I have to do is visit my rent house and look at a couple of issues the tenant has. There is a slow drain, which I’ll run the small snake down. Every plumber in town is out doing winterizing, even if you have a big issue, you probably aren’t getting routine service. The other issue she’s having is with the clothes washer not working properly. I’ll have to take a look at that and decide on a course of action. And there is a security door that doesn’t close or lock properly, so that will get a look too. Unfortunately my “bucket o rent house tools” is at the BOL, so I’ll have to spend some time getting stuff together for the visit.

I like to have tools sort of “clumped” around jobs. I’ve got an electrical work bucket. A networking bag. A plumbing bucket. And a bucket with all the tools for routine stuff at the rent house… but they are all at the BOL. Kinda ironically, I’ve been planning all week which stuff to bring back home now that we have so much of the work done up there. Didn’t do it though, so I’ll have to hit the stacks and put something together. As you can imagine, I have a lot of duplication in my tools, but this way I don’t have to bring everything everywhere every time. I do have to have access to them to make the system work though.

It’s sort of the reverse situation of what to bring up in terms of moving my stacks. What do I leave there, considering how far away everything is? It’s much easier to get stuff here, so that if I need a tool or a part, I can buy it here, but if I need something up there, it’s a big deal. If we had a big freeze here, like last time, all my fittings and extra plumbing bits are at the BOL, and I’d be in trouble here. For normal times, I would just bite the bullet and buy what I need here, but if things go sideways, there isn’t anything TO buy…

It’s a balance I haven’t found yet. We’ll see how today works out…

More stacks would help.

nick

Cold, warming gradually, maybe still clear. Barometer was way high on Monday. 35F when I went to bed after a nice day.

I got a couple of things done Monday. I finished the replacement door on the dockhouse, installing the threshold was pretty straightforward for once. Then I finally got around to replacing the 3 posts holding up the roof over the porch on the dockhouse. That job has been on my list for months. They are in place, lagged to the roof, and screwed to the concrete. Today I’ll spend a couple of minutes adding the hurricane straps and I’ll be completely done with that task. It’ll be the wife’s job to paint them. (the hurricane straps are probably overkill, but hey, they’re cheap and quick to do.)

I made a lamb roast for New Year’s dinner. Discovered I didn’t bring any mint jelly up here,but I’m the only one that really missed it. Also discovered there is something consistently wrong with the scratch and dent oven I got at Habitat last year. It goes out about 5 minutes after you start it, but then runs fine when re-lit. At some point I guess I’ll have to look at it, but it was a temporary solution. Who knows when we’ll be redoing the kitchen though, so I should probably check it.

Played Risk with D2 and my wife. It only took about 2 1/2 hours which has to be some kind of record. My impression was that Risk took days to play, but this is the first time I can remember actually playing. It’s been at least 45 years if I did play before. I lost. D2 followed, and W1 swept through asia, Europe,and North America in one turn to win…

Today I’ll be buttoning up, doing some more maintenance things, and sorting and organizing. Already changed out the US flag. The wind beats up the cheap printed flags pretty quickly. I’ve got a bunch from the auctions so I change them whenever they look bad. I appreciate anyone who flies it, but I do get frustrated when they are in poor condition. Sewn and embroidered, from a US company, is the way to go to have them last.

Traditions are important.

As is stacking.

Let’s get this party started.

nick

Cool but not as cold and probably warming up nicely later. It was even hot in the afternoon yesterday, and might be again today…. I guess we’ll see!

So I got some stuff done. I replaced the door on the dockhouse. I still need to put the threshold in, and I’ll need to change the locks at some point, but my “found on the side of the road” door fit without alteration. Well, except for hinge location, I couldn’t get lucky with that. Did some other small things too.

Played games with the family in the morning, and after dinner too. Good times. Had a campfire with s’mores. Off brand graham crackers didn’t taste quite right, but hey, s’mores!

Plan for today is more of the same, just keep knocking off tasks, and figure out what to make for dinner. Maybe a beef roast since the pork roast was so good. There is food in the freezer, and the lights are still on…

I’m not big on resolutions for the new year. I think you should do stuff when it’s time to do it… but some people give them extra significance. So in that vein, I’ll have to think a bit, but mainly I would like to do more to advance some of my “sometime later” projects. The time is now…

And just stacking isn’t enough. Time to put some of the stacks to use…

Here’s to a new year, full of promise and a clean slate. Let’s make the most of it.

nick

Cold at night, pretty nice during the day. Then cold again. We did get some ice on standing water Friday night, but I don’t think Saturday night was quite as cold- it was 37F when I went to bed. I was in shirtsleeves in the sun for part of the day.

I got lots of little things done. Added to the front walk path. Put a security/work light up under the carport. I can switch it on independently of the other porch lights,and it’s super bright. It will make a good area to work now, or play ping pong… Cleaned, put away, and organized some more in the garage. Even got a lure in the water for about 20 minutes in the afternoon. Didn’t catch anything.

Moved the small chiminea to the deck by the house and got it set up. Had a small fire in it before dinner. It’s nice to have a small fire without having to go down to the dock, and it’s warmer away from the water. I had a nice time watching the sun set, feeding it twigs. You get a lot of heat from not much wood, almost like a rocket stove.

Played several family games, and even played some pool before bed. The kerosene heater and a fan added 10F to the temps in the garage. Oh, I got a stereo and CD player hooked up for the garage too. It’s not the final system but it was nice to listen to Christmas music while playing pool.

Played “Ticket to Ride” (still love it), some dice game called Farkle that was sorta fun, once my wife had an app to handle the scoring, and played the SmartAss trivia game again. I like it. The clues are a very good mix so that everyone has a real chance to get the answer. Board games and card games are a great diversion that doesn’t require electricity. I recommend stocking a variety.

Today will be more family games, and more small jobs while cooking. I’m making a pork roast (standing rib) which we all like. This is my stock up time, because Costco only stocks it for Christmas, New Years, and sometimes Easter. Vac seal and freeze. Stack it high…

Don’t know what we’ll do for midnight tonight. We usually turn on the tv in time to watch the ball drop in NYFC, but no tv reception up here. I really hope NYPD and all the three letters can keep the hamas sympathizers from killing a bunch of people in NYC tonight. I wouldn’t be anywhere near Times Square in a normal year,– this year? NF way. It’s one of my recurring nightmares that someone walks a few mortar rounds into the middle of that crowd.

If they want to do something, and the primary targets are well protected, they’ll look for someplace else. Keep your awareness up if you are out and about, and know where the exits are. Stay safe my friends.

And stack. Just cuz…
nick

I don’t think we’ll get a white New Year, but it feels cold enough… at night anyway. We’ll see how warm it gets in the daytime and sunlight, but it was 37F when I went to bed. It’s supposed to be clear and cool.

Got my errands done, truck loaded, and made the trip to the BOL yesterday. Nikki Heat audio book kept me awake and alert. Freaking moon was HUGE and yellow orange, and just above the horizon for most of my drive. VERY dramatic. Unfortunately it was cloudy when I got here.

I drove up to the house and half my Christmas decor was dark. Dang fire ants love them some electrons… They’d built a mound over the outdoor timer/photosensor and invaded it enough that it wasn’t turning on. I banged most of the debris out, and got it working again. Wife and kids got the full experience when they drove up later.

There was some extreme weather up here this last week. The wheelbarrow was full of water, and there was plenty of evidence of high wind and severe gusts. Lake is still not at normal levels though. I think I better get some rainwater capture set up because long term, anything could happen with the lake. Sabotage could drain it, it could get contaminated, or it could just be very low in a drought. ‘Course in a drought, there won’t be much rain either. Still, I’ll feel better if I have a few hundred gallons of my own sitting here.

Wish I could store a few buckets full of electrons as easily.

And why the h-e-double-el is kerosene $15 per gallon? Gas is $2.50, and even the pre-mixed gas-oil for small engines is only $9/ gallon… it pains me but I picked some up anyway. It’s an expensive choice for heat at the moment. I pay $12 for a bbq bottle of propane,and even less in the bulk bottle for the house. I will look at firing up my Mr Buddy to warm up the garage rather than the kero heater.

Maybe I’ll install one of the wood stoves in the garage (now that we’re using it as another room)… Plenty of wood around here… and it’s not dependent on infrastructure I don’t control. Of course, that’s why I’ve been holding on to the stoves, for the house and my eventual workshop. Insulating the garage is on the list, and will happen. I skipped the step at the house in Houston when I had the chance and have regretted it ever since. Funnily enough, there have been several stoves come through the auctions with shipping damage (like mine) and despite sometimes severe damage, they STILL sold for more than I was willing to pay. Some other folks are getting ready too.

Think about infrastructure and what you can live with and can’t live without. Make some choices, and start some stacks.

nick