Becky and Bill got up at 4:15 AM yesterday and left to go home. That made a long day for me! They arrived safely home around 3:30 PM.
One reason it was so long was that I was in the office by myself for much of the day -- Fay was escorting Joan Salah, our AVP, and two guys from Kolpak around at Darden. Fay was keeping her ears open to let Craig know what was discussed. She is trying to undercut FER by introducing Kolpak refrigeration racks to Darden!
Right now Joan is not happy with FER, and FER is not happy with her. Craig warned us to hold on because the next few months are going to be rough, but FER is going to get through it!
Weather today was cooler and drier than it's been in months. Even when I went out at lunch it was a pleasure. The weatherman says we can look forward to a few more days of this nice weather. Some of our factories up north say the mercury will dip into the upper 20's tonight!
Today was the ribbon cutting ceremony at the new $150 Million Darden Restaurant Support Center.
Today was another busy day. We got our pay stubs today and there was no bonus, but atleast we are getting our regular pay.
Tomorrow is October 1 and Bob's 47th birthday. Only three more work days for me before we start our vacation!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Weekend Update
We slept in past 8:00 AM on Saturday morning because we thought we had all day before Becky and Bill came in. We didn't even have the dog walked when the phone rang - it was Becky calling to say that they just turned onto I-4 and would be at our house in an hour.
First we took Buddy down to the street for his walk. Then we went to Publix and got a
few grocery items and a bunch of gladiolas for the vase in the foyer.
Before I had the groceries put away the phone rang again and they were waiting for us down on the street. So we went down, directed them to the Pine Street garage entrance, and let them in.
They really seemed to like our house and were surprised by how large it is.
Saturday evening Bill took us out to eat at Red Lobster. We were all stuffed full!
Bob and I slept on our Moddi Murphybed in the office/guest bedroom and Becky and Bill slept on our bed.
On Sunday we went to the Old Spanish Sugar Mill Restaurant at De Leon Springs. Here we had the pancakes that you cook on the griddle built into the table. This was a lot of fun and again, everyone was filled. Bill was really impressed with the big oak trees in the parking lot here!
When we got back to the house I went to the bathroom in the guest bath and when I flushed the toilet overflowed!! What a disaster!
We got this stopped and cleaned up as best as we could. Then Bob and Mom started our lunch while Bill, Buddy, and me went to the storage unit to put the organ and secretary desk inside. We came right back and lunch was almost ready when we got back.
Lunch was baked chicken breast with steamed green beans, and baked yeast rolls.
Becky and Bill took a nap in the afternoon while I went around getting the dishes started, and did two loads of laundry.
In the evening Buddy got his walk and we printed out a copy of the menu from B.B. King's Restaurant so that Becky and Bill could see what foods were available before we got there. The restaurant is in the Pointe Orlando project on International Drive.
The restaurant was VERY LOUD. Too loud. There was live music, but they were too loud.
We had nachos and fried green tomatoes as appetizers. The FGT came with carmelized onions, an onion cream cheese spread, and some strawberry jelly. You would not think strawberry jelly would be good on FGT, but it was!
Again we were stuffed from our meal. Becky and Bob got clamshells and brought a bunch of food back home with them. We have a lot of leftovers now.
Bobby and I had to go to work today, but we left maps and keys with Becky and Bill. They went out and ended up at Universal Studios. They walked alot during the day in the heat. It really tired them out. Although they worried about it, they were able to find their way back to the house easily.
This evening, after Bobby got home from work, we took Buddy for his walk, then Bill took us out for dinner again. We went to the Metro Espresso Pizza restaurant for a moderately priced meal. Now they are watching a recorded movie and Bob is pressing his shirt for work.
First we took Buddy down to the street for his walk. Then we went to Publix and got a
few grocery items and a bunch of gladiolas for the vase in the foyer.Before I had the groceries put away the phone rang again and they were waiting for us down on the street. So we went down, directed them to the Pine Street garage entrance, and let them in.
They really seemed to like our house and were surprised by how large it is.
Saturday evening Bill took us out to eat at Red Lobster. We were all stuffed full!
Bob and I slept on our Moddi Murphybed in the office/guest bedroom and Becky and Bill slept on our bed.
On Sunday we went to the Old Spanish Sugar Mill Restaurant at De Leon Springs. Here we had the pancakes that you cook on the griddle built into the table. This was a lot of fun and again, everyone was filled. Bill was really impressed with the big oak trees in the parking lot here!
When we got back to the house I went to the bathroom in the guest bath and when I flushed the toilet overflowed!! What a disaster!
We got this stopped and cleaned up as best as we could. Then Bob and Mom started our lunch while Bill, Buddy, and me went to the storage unit to put the organ and secretary desk inside. We came right back and lunch was almost ready when we got back.
Lunch was baked chicken breast with steamed green beans, and baked yeast rolls.
Becky and Bill took a nap in the afternoon while I went around getting the dishes started, and did two loads of laundry.
In the evening Buddy got his walk and we printed out a copy of the menu from B.B. King's Restaurant so that Becky and Bill could see what foods were available before we got there. The restaurant is in the Pointe Orlando project on International Drive.
The restaurant was VERY LOUD. Too loud. There was live music, but they were too loud.
We had nachos and fried green tomatoes as appetizers. The FGT came with carmelized onions, an onion cream cheese spread, and some strawberry jelly. You would not think strawberry jelly would be good on FGT, but it was!
Again we were stuffed from our meal. Becky and Bob got clamshells and brought a bunch of food back home with them. We have a lot of leftovers now.
Bobby and I had to go to work today, but we left maps and keys with Becky and Bill. They went out and ended up at Universal Studios. They walked alot during the day in the heat. It really tired them out. Although they worried about it, they were able to find their way back to the house easily.
This evening, after Bobby got home from work, we took Buddy for his walk, then Bill took us out for dinner again. We went to the Metro Espresso Pizza restaurant for a moderately priced meal. Now they are watching a recorded movie and Bob is pressing his shirt for work.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Orlando, FL
FER-Orlando finished the week with $497k in orders and Hollywood brought in almost $200k - a very good week for sales. It was an exhausting week though.
Yesterday we went to Macaroni Grill in Kissimmee to celebrate the 77th birthday of Carl Beigel, an Edward Don dealer. He brought Linda Lancon, "The Voice from Hell", with him and the five of us had a nice lunch and visit.
After we left the restaurant, Craig drove us east to the Lake Nona area to show us the Burnham Institute and the entire medical research center that is being developed. The we drove west to view the outside of the New Darden Restaurant Support Center. This is a very large steel and glass office building and it is impressive!
Back in the office it was a mad rush to catch up all of the email. Fortunately there were not phone messages - there were 9 hang-ups on the answering machine.
Bob resigned from his position as Operations Manager at Florida Hospital EMS yesterday, but he might be taking a new position as a Supply and Ground Transportation Maintenance Manager. The new director is a very difficult person to deal with.
Today I phoned Mom and found out that they will be getting up at 4:00 AM to drive down here. They will get here sometime in the late afternoon.
I finished stitching the button holes this evening on the giant pillowcase for the body pillow we got for the Moddi bed. My finger tips hurt now.
Yesterday we went to Macaroni Grill in Kissimmee to celebrate the 77th birthday of Carl Beigel, an Edward Don dealer. He brought Linda Lancon, "The Voice from Hell", with him and the five of us had a nice lunch and visit.
After we left the restaurant, Craig drove us east to the Lake Nona area to show us the Burnham Institute and the entire medical research center that is being developed. The we drove west to view the outside of the New Darden Restaurant Support Center. This is a very large steel and glass office building and it is impressive!
Back in the office it was a mad rush to catch up all of the email. Fortunately there were not phone messages - there were 9 hang-ups on the answering machine.
Bob resigned from his position as Operations Manager at Florida Hospital EMS yesterday, but he might be taking a new position as a Supply and Ground Transportation Maintenance Manager. The new director is a very difficult person to deal with.
Today I phoned Mom and found out that they will be getting up at 4:00 AM to drive down here. They will get here sometime in the late afternoon.
I finished stitching the button holes this evening on the giant pillowcase for the body pillow we got for the Moddi bed. My finger tips hurt now.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Orlando, FL
These past few days have been extremely hectic and tiring.
On Monday we made Jamaican jerked chicken wings in the combi oven. Unfortunately when we run the exhaust fan on the hood it sucks in hot air from outside making the whole office hot. That alone went a long way toward making me tired.
On Tuesday I was completely exhausted. I made it through the day. Somehow. Orders were coming in and pushed our total up to almost $400k for Monday and Tuesday.
Today Craig was in Toronto, Canada at the MAFSI conference. But he kept checking in with Fay and me and keeping us busy. Total rose to $442k today. It's gonna be another awesome week for sales.
Bob has been having difficulty with the new department director. She's a little ladder climber and she seems to have it in for Bob. I think he's going to resign as Operations Manager and take an hourly job on the ambulance. That might be a good idea, for a little while. He will have his masters degree finished this spring.
This evening I baked pork chops for dinner and we ate them with applesauce. While the chops baked I worked on a buttonhole for the big pillow case we made. It takes me about 45 minutes per button hole, and I am only getting one done per day. I will be done with it on Satuday.
Buddy got a bath this evening. He smells very clean now. I put his bed into the washer at the same time. I cleaned his ears out this morning. Tomorrow when he is dry I will put the flea/tick repellant on his back.
Tomorrow all of us will be out of the office in the afternoon for a couple of hours while we take Carl Beigel out for lunch at Macaroni Grill in Kissimmee. I am sure Vince and Fay will regret it when they return to a big pile of email and an answering machine full of messages.
On Monday we made Jamaican jerked chicken wings in the combi oven. Unfortunately when we run the exhaust fan on the hood it sucks in hot air from outside making the whole office hot. That alone went a long way toward making me tired.
On Tuesday I was completely exhausted. I made it through the day. Somehow. Orders were coming in and pushed our total up to almost $400k for Monday and Tuesday.
Today Craig was in Toronto, Canada at the MAFSI conference. But he kept checking in with Fay and me and keeping us busy. Total rose to $442k today. It's gonna be another awesome week for sales.
Bob has been having difficulty with the new department director. She's a little ladder climber and she seems to have it in for Bob. I think he's going to resign as Operations Manager and take an hourly job on the ambulance. That might be a good idea, for a little while. He will have his masters degree finished this spring.
This evening I baked pork chops for dinner and we ate them with applesauce. While the chops baked I worked on a buttonhole for the big pillow case we made. It takes me about 45 minutes per button hole, and I am only getting one done per day. I will be done with it on Satuday.
Buddy got a bath this evening. He smells very clean now. I put his bed into the washer at the same time. I cleaned his ears out this morning. Tomorrow when he is dry I will put the flea/tick repellant on his back.
Tomorrow all of us will be out of the office in the afternoon for a couple of hours while we take Carl Beigel out for lunch at Macaroni Grill in Kissimmee. I am sure Vince and Fay will regret it when they return to a big pile of email and an answering machine full of messages.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Orlando, FL
The weekends are too short. This past one seems to have flown by in a flash.
On Saturday we went to an auto upholstery store to get Bob's headliner repaired, but when he walked into the office, the lady working there looked up at him with a frown and said, "We're not open on Saturdays." We decided that we will be taking our business to someone else.
Next we drove to Batteries Plus to get a new battery for Bob's rechargeable flashlight. They did not have this special battery and said they would have to order it. We decided to toss the flashlight and not worry about the battery after all.
After this we went to the Target store on East Colonial Drive. Here we got a large body pillow and we found an electric griddle that was marked down on clearance.
Bob got a phone call from Barnes & Noble letting him know that the book he ordered, a book about beekeeping written by one of his cousins, had come in. So we stopped at B&N to pick up his book.
Then we drove out to Lowe's on West Colonial Drive. Here we bought 16 feet of crown molding trim to work out a valance for two of the windows in the house. We also got two towel hooks for the bathroom.
On our way home we stopped at Ace Hardware because Bob wanted them to order the enamel appliance touch-up paint in almond color. They would not order it for him.
We took the trim to my storage unit to keep until the weather turns cooler. Then we are going to screw and glue the trim and backer board together, chop the pieces to length with the compound mitre saw, and figure out how to attach them to the ceiling.
For lunch we stopped at the Five Guys Burgers in Metrowest. As we walked in we saw Jackie from Hiawassee Veterinary Clinic eating her lunch! Buddy has an appointment with them in a couple of weeks!
When we finally got home we put our stuff away and then began working on the pillow case project. We got the two large scraps from our headboard project and laid them out on the floor, good side down. The smaller piece was just the right size, and the larger piece was about two feet longer than we needed!
We cut the pieces to size and then began pinning the seams together. Then we set up the sewing machine on the dining room table and started to sew the pillow case together. I needed to wind a bobbin with the black thread and thread the machine. I went around the seams twice to make sure that they were tight. I think this sewing job only took an hour using the sewing machine.
On Sunday we got up early to go to Daytona Beach. I took Buddy for his walk while Bob loaded the car up. We listened to one of the Trends CD's that Craig loaned me as we drove up there.
It was about 8:30 when we got there. Bobby said that he thought someone had been in the house, and when we went in and looked around, it became apparent that somebody had gotten into the house, brought a roll of garbage bags, and loaded up a bunch of things and took them! We noticed the DVD player gone, a bunch of old LPs, a coin collection, and the weed eater.
Bob called the Ormond Beach police and made a report.
I changed the air filter in the push mower and then started to mow the yard. I mowed the front and back yard with the push mower as I tried to run the mower out of gas. I needed to use up th gas because to drain the oil in the push mower, you have to turn the engine on its side and let the oil run out through the filler cap!
I changed the mower oil and changed its spark plug. The only thing it still needs is to have its blades sharpened. The riding mower needs that too.
To make it harder for someone to get in to the house, we disabled the garage door opener, locked all doors (including the garage door) behind us, and left through the front door, locking the deadbolt behind us.
We went to Wal*Mart to get candy bars and potato chips for Tom and Louise. We also picked up some buttons for our large pillow case project. We found some buttons shaped like hands in red, blue, orange, green, yellow, and purple. They seem fun. We also got a bottle of Mop-N-Glo for the kitchen floor.
When we arrived at Oaktree we found more changes. Now they have double locked doors in the front that you have to be buzzed through. They have the entire facility opened up and patients wander the halls from one end to the other end. Just a madhouse.
Louise has her room to herself for the time being. Tom has been moved again, but he is only two doors down from Louise right now. He did not get up because he was not dressed. We took Louise outside to smoke, and then we visited with Tom for a little while. Bob let them know that we would not be back for three weeks because we are going on vacation. That's why we brought extra snacks for them.
We were very tired as we drove back to Orlando. We still had our weekly house cleaning ahead of us too!
First we took Buddy for his evening walk. Then Bob went to Publix and got a bowl of fresh fruit salad. I made grilled cheese sandwiches on our new electric countertop griddle, then we began to clean up.
I ran the vaccuum and dusted the tables. Bob cleaned the kitchen floor and then put the Mop-N-Glo on the floor with a damp sponge. When it dried it really made the floor shine!
We also had to fold our laundry and put it all away. I read a few more pages of the potato book, and I think I am 17 pages from the end now.
Today was a long hot day for me at work. Extremely busy all day. Plus, Craig wanted to make chicken wings in the combi oven. Fay made the marinade for the wings, but she relied on me to operate the oven. Hell, I don't remember how to do it - I just "cookbook it" each time. The wings turned out perfect, just like always, but running the hood sucks in a lot of hot air from outside and makes the office unpleasantly hot.
Sales for today totalled $347k. It looks like its going to be another lucrative week. Possibly a "Green Christmas" this year!
This evening Bob got home around 6:30 and he went downstairs to the HOA meeting to vote on how the budget shortfall will be funded. 125 owners voted to fund the shortfall with reserves, 3 people voted for increase HOA dues to cover current expenses.
I hung a new towel bar in the master bath this evening, and then, after walking Buddy, put a chicken lasagna and berry pie into the oven. I sat on the living room sofa sewing the buttons onto the big pillow case while those things baked.
Tomorrow night I will began cutting the slits for button holes and wrapping the sides of the holes with thread. That will be very tedious.
On Saturday we went to an auto upholstery store to get Bob's headliner repaired, but when he walked into the office, the lady working there looked up at him with a frown and said, "We're not open on Saturdays." We decided that we will be taking our business to someone else.
Next we drove to Batteries Plus to get a new battery for Bob's rechargeable flashlight. They did not have this special battery and said they would have to order it. We decided to toss the flashlight and not worry about the battery after all.
After this we went to the Target store on East Colonial Drive. Here we got a large body pillow and we found an electric griddle that was marked down on clearance.
Bob got a phone call from Barnes & Noble letting him know that the book he ordered, a book about beekeeping written by one of his cousins, had come in. So we stopped at B&N to pick up his book.
Then we drove out to Lowe's on West Colonial Drive. Here we bought 16 feet of crown molding trim to work out a valance for two of the windows in the house. We also got two towel hooks for the bathroom.
On our way home we stopped at Ace Hardware because Bob wanted them to order the enamel appliance touch-up paint in almond color. They would not order it for him.
We took the trim to my storage unit to keep until the weather turns cooler. Then we are going to screw and glue the trim and backer board together, chop the pieces to length with the compound mitre saw, and figure out how to attach them to the ceiling.
For lunch we stopped at the Five Guys Burgers in Metrowest. As we walked in we saw Jackie from Hiawassee Veterinary Clinic eating her lunch! Buddy has an appointment with them in a couple of weeks!
When we finally got home we put our stuff away and then began working on the pillow case project. We got the two large scraps from our headboard project and laid them out on the floor, good side down. The smaller piece was just the right size, and the larger piece was about two feet longer than we needed!
We cut the pieces to size and then began pinning the seams together. Then we set up the sewing machine on the dining room table and started to sew the pillow case together. I needed to wind a bobbin with the black thread and thread the machine. I went around the seams twice to make sure that they were tight. I think this sewing job only took an hour using the sewing machine.
On Sunday we got up early to go to Daytona Beach. I took Buddy for his walk while Bob loaded the car up. We listened to one of the Trends CD's that Craig loaned me as we drove up there.
It was about 8:30 when we got there. Bobby said that he thought someone had been in the house, and when we went in and looked around, it became apparent that somebody had gotten into the house, brought a roll of garbage bags, and loaded up a bunch of things and took them! We noticed the DVD player gone, a bunch of old LPs, a coin collection, and the weed eater.
Bob called the Ormond Beach police and made a report.
I changed the air filter in the push mower and then started to mow the yard. I mowed the front and back yard with the push mower as I tried to run the mower out of gas. I needed to use up th gas because to drain the oil in the push mower, you have to turn the engine on its side and let the oil run out through the filler cap!
I changed the mower oil and changed its spark plug. The only thing it still needs is to have its blades sharpened. The riding mower needs that too.
To make it harder for someone to get in to the house, we disabled the garage door opener, locked all doors (including the garage door) behind us, and left through the front door, locking the deadbolt behind us.
We went to Wal*Mart to get candy bars and potato chips for Tom and Louise. We also picked up some buttons for our large pillow case project. We found some buttons shaped like hands in red, blue, orange, green, yellow, and purple. They seem fun. We also got a bottle of Mop-N-Glo for the kitchen floor.
When we arrived at Oaktree we found more changes. Now they have double locked doors in the front that you have to be buzzed through. They have the entire facility opened up and patients wander the halls from one end to the other end. Just a madhouse.
Louise has her room to herself for the time being. Tom has been moved again, but he is only two doors down from Louise right now. He did not get up because he was not dressed. We took Louise outside to smoke, and then we visited with Tom for a little while. Bob let them know that we would not be back for three weeks because we are going on vacation. That's why we brought extra snacks for them.
We were very tired as we drove back to Orlando. We still had our weekly house cleaning ahead of us too!
First we took Buddy for his evening walk. Then Bob went to Publix and got a bowl of fresh fruit salad. I made grilled cheese sandwiches on our new electric countertop griddle, then we began to clean up.
I ran the vaccuum and dusted the tables. Bob cleaned the kitchen floor and then put the Mop-N-Glo on the floor with a damp sponge. When it dried it really made the floor shine!
We also had to fold our laundry and put it all away. I read a few more pages of the potato book, and I think I am 17 pages from the end now.
Today was a long hot day for me at work. Extremely busy all day. Plus, Craig wanted to make chicken wings in the combi oven. Fay made the marinade for the wings, but she relied on me to operate the oven. Hell, I don't remember how to do it - I just "cookbook it" each time. The wings turned out perfect, just like always, but running the hood sucks in a lot of hot air from outside and makes the office unpleasantly hot.
Sales for today totalled $347k. It looks like its going to be another lucrative week. Possibly a "Green Christmas" this year!
This evening Bob got home around 6:30 and he went downstairs to the HOA meeting to vote on how the budget shortfall will be funded. 125 owners voted to fund the shortfall with reserves, 3 people voted for increase HOA dues to cover current expenses.
I hung a new towel bar in the master bath this evening, and then, after walking Buddy, put a chicken lasagna and berry pie into the oven. I sat on the living room sofa sewing the buttons onto the big pillow case while those things baked.
Tomorrow night I will began cutting the slits for button holes and wrapping the sides of the holes with thread. That will be very tedious.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Orlando, FL
This was not a bad Friday. It was certainly busier than I would have liked, but it wasn't overwhelming.
FER-Orlando finished the week up with $565k in sales and Hollywood brought in $174k. This was a good week for sales! Hopefully they will be giving Christmas bonuses this year.
Bob only had to go to a meeting this morning, then he had the rest of the day off. He got his hair cut, made dinner in the crock pot, and went to Daytona Beach to meet the termite inspector at his Dad's house. Then he came back to Orlando and was putting dinner on the table when I came home.
I am considering a new shop project: A compact electric resistance shop furnace. I would use this to melt down scrap aluminum and make sand castings. I could also use it to temper or anneal cast and welded parts, and even fire small ceramic items.
This will not be a very long weekend. We have to go to Daytona on Sunday to mow the yard and visit with Tom and Louise.
FER-Orlando finished the week up with $565k in sales and Hollywood brought in $174k. This was a good week for sales! Hopefully they will be giving Christmas bonuses this year.
Bob only had to go to a meeting this morning, then he had the rest of the day off. He got his hair cut, made dinner in the crock pot, and went to Daytona Beach to meet the termite inspector at his Dad's house. Then he came back to Orlando and was putting dinner on the table when I came home.
I am considering a new shop project: A compact electric resistance shop furnace. I would use this to melt down scrap aluminum and make sand castings. I could also use it to temper or anneal cast and welded parts, and even fire small ceramic items.
This will not be a very long weekend. We have to go to Daytona on Sunday to mow the yard and visit with Tom and Louise.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Orlando, FL
Today was another hectic day. We had our Kolpak telephone conference this morning, and then Fay had to leave to take her husband to the airport. She was gone for about two hours.
Craig was in the office helping with the phones while she was out. When she came back he said, "Anything you guys can think of to make this easier, please let me know! It's like a pressure cooker in here!" Welcome to my world.
An interesting nugget turned up this afternoon during a quick Google.com search of "Debbie Owings". I found a LinkedIn page that listed Debbie as a "romance regenerator" and showing her as being in the "real estate industry". I knew it was our Debbie - the Slumber Parties By Debbie thing gave it away.
Next I found her Twitter page! This was interesting to read. Twitter is a system of broadcasting short messages (no more than 140 characters long) to people who subscribe to your little micro-blog. This was interesting because in her tweets going back over six months, she tells us everything she's been doing during the workday when we thought she was working!! There were a few "interesting" pictures there too.
Debbie is on vacation in Nashville now. Turns out she's doing career training with her "Slumber Sisters" in Nashville!
In the afternoon a lady who works for one of our competitors came in to visit with Fay. This lady worked with Debbie some time ago, and still has hard feeling about her. Fay showed her the business card we took off of her car and she remarked that she'd seen that card circulating at the office of one our dealers! Not good.
It's not like Debbie is selling Tupperware on the side... no, she's got a foreclosure avoidance service, a solar power company, sequin studded bra strap business, her sex toys business, in addition to her lawn service. Such a busy girl!
Craig was in the office helping with the phones while she was out. When she came back he said, "Anything you guys can think of to make this easier, please let me know! It's like a pressure cooker in here!" Welcome to my world.
An interesting nugget turned up this afternoon during a quick Google.com search of "Debbie Owings". I found a LinkedIn page that listed Debbie as a "romance regenerator" and showing her as being in the "real estate industry". I knew it was our Debbie - the Slumber Parties By Debbie thing gave it away.
Next I found her Twitter page! This was interesting to read. Twitter is a system of broadcasting short messages (no more than 140 characters long) to people who subscribe to your little micro-blog. This was interesting because in her tweets going back over six months, she tells us everything she's been doing during the workday when we thought she was working!! There were a few "interesting" pictures there too.
Debbie is on vacation in Nashville now. Turns out she's doing career training with her "Slumber Sisters" in Nashville!
In the afternoon a lady who works for one of our competitors came in to visit with Fay. This lady worked with Debbie some time ago, and still has hard feeling about her. Fay showed her the business card we took off of her car and she remarked that she'd seen that card circulating at the office of one our dealers! Not good.
It's not like Debbie is selling Tupperware on the side... no, she's got a foreclosure avoidance service, a solar power company, sequin studded bra strap business, her sex toys business, in addition to her lawn service. Such a busy girl!
Gene Therapy Cures Color-Blind Primates
I read an interesting article in Wired today about recent gene ther
apy given to color-blind male monkeys. These monkeys are naturally color-blind and cannot tell the difference between red and green.
The monkeys were given color tests where they had to pick out the yellow or blue dots from a gray background. They were able to complete this task and they were rewarded with sips of grape juice. However when they were presented with red or green dots, they hit the screen randomly, hoping to get one of the dots.
The therapy was administered with injections into their eyes that contained a virus with the gene that manufactures L-opsin, a protein that is released when the cones in the retina are struck by various wavelengths of light.
At first nothing happened. The monkeys seemed to remain color-blind. But, at about the five month point, suddenly the monkeys started to pick out the red and green dots, again and again!
Researchers think that color vision started in the monkey eyes shortly after the gene was administered, but the monkey brains had to figure out what to do with the new color information so that the monkey could actually "see" the red and green.
Can a human cure for color-blindness be far off? Can human eyes be endowed with powers they didn't have up to now? Infrared sight? Ultraviolet sight? Night vision? X-ray vision? We are truly living in amazing times!
apy given to color-blind male monkeys. These monkeys are naturally color-blind and cannot tell the difference between red and green.The monkeys were given color tests where they had to pick out the yellow or blue dots from a gray background. They were able to complete this task and they were rewarded with sips of grape juice. However when they were presented with red or green dots, they hit the screen randomly, hoping to get one of the dots.
The therapy was administered with injections into their eyes that contained a virus with the gene that manufactures L-opsin, a protein that is released when the cones in the retina are struck by various wavelengths of light.
Researchers think that color vision started in the monkey eyes shortly after the gene was administered, but the monkey brains had to figure out what to do with the new color information so that the monkey could actually "see" the red and green.
Can a human cure for color-blindness be far off? Can human eyes be endowed with powers they didn't have up to now? Infrared sight? Ultraviolet sight? Night vision? X-ray vision? We are truly living in amazing times!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Orlando, FL
I felt better this morning, but my guts still feel sore. Today was a very loooong day. It's a good thing I picked up a sandwich and chips at 7-Eleven this morning because I didn't get to go out during lunch. I had to stay at my desk and look through a 2-inch-thick pile of orders and invoices for some serial numbers for an emergency Craig was having at Darden's new headquarters building.
It's really amazing to me. Delfield sent some pass-thru refrigerators for the new headquarters building, but the first shipment had doors hanging crooked and not latching. Now, the ones that are installed arrived locked and the keys they sent with them would not open the doors! Needless to say everyone over there is very upset about this. I wrote to Delfield, "If we ever hope to put Delfield reach-ins into Olive Garden, Red Lobster, or any other Darden concept, this issue must be resolved immediately."
Delfield is sending more keys via UPS Red Service for delivery tomorrow. I hope these keys work.
My phone was ringing like crazy while the issues with the pass-thru boxes was going on. I tried my best to ignore it. Later I picked it up and saw that Mom called. I said, "Well, I guess I'd better call her back." Craig said, "Maybe she's calling to tell you she won the lottery!" I replied, "No, if she won the lottery, she wouldn't call me -- she'd disappear!"
She just wanted to get my street address, which I am surprised she didn't have already, and she wanted to say that they might come down on Friday afternoon, 9/25. We will see.
More issues sprang up in the late afternoon and I was kept in the office until almost 6:00 PM working on them. Fay ran out the door at 4:30 without saying a word. I guess she told Craig where she was going, but I did not know.
When I got home this evening I made garlic and lemon fish fillets, mac and cheese, and canned beets for dinner. Bobby was late, like 7:30 PM late coming home, so I took Buddy out for his walk and when we returned at 7:40, Bob was home.
Now Bob is getting his home work done, I am checking email and writing my blog, and I am ready to go to bed and read more of my book.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Orlando, FL
This morning I did not feel 100% good. My guts were achey and I had some diarrhea. Also, I had a low fever. I did not want to go to work.I went to work anyway. It was a long day.
Recently I became interested in the Gingery Machines invented and written about by David J Gingery. He provides directions in a series of books for building a home built metal shop using scrap metals. He gives directions for building a foundry, a lathe, a shaper, a milling machine, a drill press, a metal-cutting bandsaw, dividing head and accessories, and a leaf press brake.
I am mostly interested in the simpler projects - the sheet metal bending brake, the aluminum melting electric resistance shop furnace, and the sheet metal slip roller. It is interesting to read the copies that I downloaded (unlawfully) from the Internet and see how complex and accurate machines can be built step-by-step with just regular hand tools. You get a good idea how the machines operate as well.
The first project I would like to make is the Compact Electric Resistance Shop Furnace aka Lil Bertha. With this I could begin melting down aluminum and making sand castings.
Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow. This day was too long.
We are taking Carl Beigel of Edward Don out to lunch for his birthday next week on Thursday,
and then on Friday we are hosting The Gill Group in our Test Kitchen for a Lunch-N-Learn session. But that is all next week. I should be feeling great by then.This evening I did not make dinner. We simply had soup and sandwiches. I just didn't feel very hungry, and Bob certainly didn't have time to cook -- he had a teleconference with other people in his class shortly after he got home.
While he got ready for that meeting, I took Buddy down to the street for his evening walk.
On one hand, when you are sick the days are too long, but on the other hand, there don't seem to be enough hours in the day for everything that I would like to do.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Orlando, FL
Today was not as busy as I was afraid it would be. There were only seven orders today, and I wrote one quotation. I had a little time to surf the Internet.Fay was sitting on the edge of her seat to find out what happened at the FRA Show concerning Debbie. She found out that Craig discussed it with Gabe and Tom and the partners are consulting a lawyer to find out what they can do with Debbie. She also found out that Dan Wood knows about it.
In the afternoon Craig came in and tossed a big pile of $20 bills down on Fay's desk. It was $900 in petty cash for the office! Craig said that Gabe didn't even say anything because he knows that our office is bringing in all of the orders right now.
This evening I baked hamburgers in the oven and microwaved a bag of Birdseye Steam Fresh mixed vegetables for our dinner.
I am only about 55 pages from the end of the history of the potato. I guess I will read 1959: The Year That Changed Everything next and save Celia Rivenbark's book for vacation or later when I need some entertainment.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Moddi Murphybed Ops
Here is a short (1 min, 12 sec) video of Bob setting the Moddi Murphybed up and opening it for use. Then folding it back up for storage. This project is now completed.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Orlando, FL
Yesterday I was wheeling my truck back into the parking lot at FER as I returned from getting sandwiches at Subway and saw Debbie's red car parked in the space next to mine.As I pulled up into my space I saw that she had a plastic box stuck to her gas cap with a sign that said, "Business cards inside. Please take one". So, I opened the little box, took a card, quickly read it, and pushed it into my shirt pocket.
When I got inside I went straight back to the test kitchen and put mine and Fay's sandwiches on the table and unwrapped my sandwich. Debbie was prattering on and on about the funeral she went to the day before.
Finally she left and Fay came back to eat her lunch. I confirmed from Fay that Debbie was gone and then pulled the card from my wallet and told Fay that she would find it interesting.
It seems that Debbie is running a side business throwing sex toy "slumber parties" for ladies. She even has a website!
Fay could not wait to get back to her desk to peck in the URL and see what this was all about. Once she began to read it though she was SHOCKED! Then she began to fret about it... "what if she visits our dealers with those cards hanging on her car and one of our dealers finds out? This isn't something I want FER to be associated with!"
Today she discretely called Craig back to her office and showed him the business card. Then he went back to his computer and pulled the website up. He seemed to have a sense of humor about it at first, but he thinks that she has finally crossed the line.
Fay said, "Now Craig, I have never wanted Debbie to lose her job. I have only wanted her to do what she is supposed to be doing for FER." Ha! All I know is that Debbie has been a sore spot for Fay the entire time I've been with FER. Of course, most of Fay's resentment is justified.
The set up for the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association Show was done this morning and the show begins tomorrow. Greg Olsen said that Fay and I should attend for a short time, so I think we will be going to the convention center for a couple of hours tomorrow.
As luck would have it, Debbie will be attending an Edward Don meeting, and won't be at the show until Saturday. This will be an interesting visit to the show.
The show itself is promising to be weakly attended and almost a waste of FER's resources.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Labor Day Weekend
We slept in until 7:15 AM on Saturday. Then it was time to get up and walk the dog. We got a breakfast of Shredded Wheat cereal and coffee, and then headed to the grocery store for our monthly stocking trip.
I think we spent almost $300 at BJ's Warehouse. Then we went to SuperTarget to spend another $200. After that we had the roughest task of all - to bring it home, drag it upstairs, and put it all away. It took about an hour to put everything away in the kitchen and pantry.
We had to break the family-size hamburger and pork chops up into smaller packs. I use the roll of saran wrap our family has had since 1976 for that purpose.
Next we went back out. We went to my storage unit in Metrowest and moved stuff out of the way so that I could carry the compound mitre saw outside and plug it in. With Bob handing the leftover table legs to me, I chopped them down to length in just a couple of minutes. Then we put everything back into the storage unit. We were both sweaty and hot after this.
Out next trip was to the Woodcraft store in Fern Park. I went mostly because I had a 10% off coupon for my birthday. We browsed the whole store, but what really interested me was a pallet of rough sawn 4/4 cherry that was only $4.50 per board-foot.
I went through the entire pallet and selected five boards that seemed best. Many boards had such bad defects that you would have to plane off too much wood to make it worth it. Some were cupped badly. Some were twisted.
The five boards I selected contained 16.1 board-feet, and my total, with tax, was $74.00.
I wanted to go to Skycraft Electronics next, but it looked like it was going to storm, so we headed back to my storage unit to put the lumber away. The wood doesn't have a shelf life, and as expensive as it is, it's like having money in the bank!
Before we put it inside the storage unit, I took my bench plane out to the tailgate of the truck and scrubbed down one of the boards. There is some pretty grain under the roughness. Maybe one day I will get a thicknesser/planer for cleaning up rough lumber.
We stopped at Office Depot next and I went inside while Bob stayed in the truck. I picked up a small paper shredder that he liked and gave it to him for his birthday. An early birthday present.
We headed back home after this. We were both very hot and the heat made us tired.
On Sunday we got up early to go to Daytona Beach to mow Tom and Louise's yard. We took the new battery up there and put it into the riding mower - it started right up after that! I messed with the push mower and added Fresh Start gas preservative to the fuel cap, and I cleaned the spark plug. I got it running and mowed the parts of the back yard that Bob could not reach on the riding mower.
We went to Wal*Mart to get chips for Tom and Louise and we browsed housewares. We ate at Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch. The restaurant was pretty busy because of the holiday weekend.
Finally we drove to Oaktree to visit with Tom and Louise. Tom would not get up and he only complained that he needed his pillows adjusted. All Louise wanted to do was smoke.
We came back to Orlando and ran into a good downpour on the way back.
For dinner we steamed some greenbeans and boiled some sliced red jacket potatoes. We sprayed some butter on those and ate them. Yum!
On Amazon.com I ordered a couple of books for myself. Another history by Niall Ferguson about the British Empire, and an entertaining book by Celia Rivenbark about Southern Fluff. Those will probably be delivered next week.
I phoned and talked to Mom for a little while last night. We offered to let them stay in our house for a week dog sitting while we take our vacation next month. She said they had to think about it because they are afraid to leave Pat for a whole week.
This morning we got up after 7 AM. Bob took Buddy for a walk around the lake while I made a breakfast of oatmeal pancakes, coffee, yogurt and Canadian bacon.
With breakfast out of the way we went to the office to start work on the headboard for our murphy bed project. I took the 1/4-inch plywood and cut off the 4 inches that are not needed. Then I cut curves on the four corners.
We pushed the board up into the mattress caddy and drilled pilot holes through the marked centers on the headboard and into the back of the caddy. Now the screw holes were all lined up and we were sure the extra-thin flush headboard brackets would match when we hung the padded upholstered board in the caddy.
I screwed the brackets to the headboard and then ground the points off of the screws pointing through the front of the board. We put three washers on to each screw and screwed the wall brackets into the mattress caddy. The three washers were needed to ensure that the brackets were high enough that the board would clear the heads of the screws that hold the bed to the wall.
Bob came in and helped me as we used a bread knife to cut the foam to size about 1 inch wider
and longer than the board. Then we stuck it to the board with 3M Spray Adhesive.
We layed the fabric good-side-down on the floor and put the headboard on top. We cut the fabric so that we had about 6 inches extra on each side. Then we folded the fabric under about one inch, pulled it tightly over the back of the board and began to staple it down.
We stapled the top first, then the bottom, then we pulled in and folded the corners. Finally we stapled the sides.
We took the board and put it into the mattress caddy, put sheets on the mattress, and pretty much called the project "done".
When the bed is folded up in the closed position, the bedding comes face-to-face with the cushioned headboard. We stow the legs and pillows in a plastic bag in the closet.
I think we are both pleased with how it turned out. It might have been a little
more expensive than what the plan writers claimed, but we also added alot of extra touches to our bed to make it "better".
One of the next things Bob wants to do is get some crown molding and make valances for the vertical blinds that hang in the living room and in the side window in the office/guest room.
I think we can buy 12 feet of the crown molding, glue and screw it to a 4-inch board, chop it on the mitre saw, and glue the corners using biscuit joints. Not sure how we fasten it to the walls or ceiling.
Because the lighting transformer I ordered on eBay was delivered on Friday we took the track lighting down in the dining room this evening and swapped out the transformer. We put the lights back up one at a time. When we got to the second pendant lamp the tranformer began to make a loud buzzing sound. We decided to leave that one off for now and see if it is put together right.
It was a long weekend, but it was a very productive weekend too!
I think we spent almost $300 at BJ's Warehouse. Then we went to SuperTarget to spend another $200. After that we had the roughest task of all - to bring it home, drag it upstairs, and put it all away. It took about an hour to put everything away in the kitchen and pantry.
We had to break the family-size hamburger and pork chops up into smaller packs. I use the roll of saran wrap our family has had since 1976 for that purpose.
Next we went back out. We went to my storage unit in Metrowest and moved stuff out of the way so that I could carry the compound mitre saw outside and plug it in. With Bob handing the leftover table legs to me, I chopped them down to length in just a couple of minutes. Then we put everything back into the storage unit. We were both sweaty and hot after this.Out next trip was to the Woodcraft store in Fern Park. I went mostly because I had a 10% off coupon for my birthday. We browsed the whole store, but what really interested me was a pallet of rough sawn 4/4 cherry that was only $4.50 per board-foot.
I went through the entire pallet and selected five boards that seemed best. Many boards had such bad defects that you would have to plane off too much wood to make it worth it. Some were cupped badly. Some were twisted.
The five boards I selected contained 16.1 board-feet, and my total, with tax, was $74.00.
I wanted to go to Skycraft Electronics next, but it looked like it was going to storm, so we headed back to my storage unit to put the lumber away. The wood doesn't have a shelf life, and as expensive as it is, it's like having money in the bank!
Before we put it inside the storage unit, I took my bench plane out to the tailgate of the truck and scrubbed down one of the boards. There is some pretty grain under the roughness. Maybe one day I will get a thicknesser/planer for cleaning up rough lumber.
We stopped at Office Depot next and I went inside while Bob stayed in the truck. I picked up a small paper shredder that he liked and gave it to him for his birthday. An early birthday present.
We headed back home after this. We were both very hot and the heat made us tired.
On Sunday we got up early to go to Daytona Beach to mow Tom and Louise's yard. We took the new battery up there and put it into the riding mower - it started right up after that! I messed with the push mower and added Fresh Start gas preservative to the fuel cap, and I cleaned the spark plug. I got it running and mowed the parts of the back yard that Bob could not reach on the riding mower.
We went to Wal*Mart to get chips for Tom and Louise and we browsed housewares. We ate at Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch. The restaurant was pretty busy because of the holiday weekend.
Finally we drove to Oaktree to visit with Tom and Louise. Tom would not get up and he only complained that he needed his pillows adjusted. All Louise wanted to do was smoke.
We came back to Orlando and ran into a good downpour on the way back.
For dinner we steamed some greenbeans and boiled some sliced red jacket potatoes. We sprayed some butter on those and ate them. Yum!
On Amazon.com I ordered a couple of books for myself. Another history by Niall Ferguson about the British Empire, and an entertaining book by Celia Rivenbark about Southern Fluff. Those will probably be delivered next week.
I phoned and talked to Mom for a little while last night. We offered to let them stay in our house for a week dog sitting while we take our vacation next month. She said they had to think about it because they are afraid to leave Pat for a whole week.
This morning we got up after 7 AM. Bob took Buddy for a walk around the lake while I made a breakfast of oatmeal pancakes, coffee, yogurt and Canadian bacon.
With breakfast out of the way we went to the office to start work on the headboard for our murphy bed project. I took the 1/4-inch plywood and cut off the 4 inches that are not needed. Then I cut curves on the four corners.
We pushed the board up into the mattress caddy and drilled pilot holes through the marked centers on the headboard and into the back of the caddy. Now the screw holes were all lined up and we were sure the extra-thin flush headboard brackets would match when we hung the padded upholstered board in the caddy.
I screwed the brackets to the headboard and then ground the points off of the screws pointing through the front of the board. We put three washers on to each screw and screwed the wall brackets into the mattress caddy. The three washers were needed to ensure that the brackets were high enough that the board would clear the heads of the screws that hold the bed to the wall.
Bob came in and helped me as we used a bread knife to cut the foam to size about 1 inch wider
and longer than the board. Then we stuck it to the board with 3M Spray Adhesive.We layed the fabric good-side-down on the floor and put the headboard on top. We cut the fabric so that we had about 6 inches extra on each side. Then we folded the fabric under about one inch, pulled it tightly over the back of the board and began to staple it down.
We stapled the top first, then the bottom, then we pulled in and folded the corners. Finally we stapled the sides.We took the board and put it into the mattress caddy, put sheets on the mattress, and pretty much called the project "done".
When the bed is folded up in the closed position, the bedding comes face-to-face with the cushioned headboard. We stow the legs and pillows in a plastic bag in the closet.
I think we are both pleased with how it turned out. It might have been a little
more expensive than what the plan writers claimed, but we also added alot of extra touches to our bed to make it "better".One of the next things Bob wants to do is get some crown molding and make valances for the vertical blinds that hang in the living room and in the side window in the office/guest room.
I think we can buy 12 feet of the crown molding, glue and screw it to a 4-inch board, chop it on the mitre saw, and glue the corners using biscuit joints. Not sure how we fasten it to the walls or ceiling.
Because the lighting transformer I ordered on eBay was delivered on Friday we took the track lighting down in the dining room this evening and swapped out the transformer. We put the lights back up one at a time. When we got to the second pendant lamp the tranformer began to make a loud buzzing sound. We decided to leave that one off for now and see if it is put together right.
It was a long weekend, but it was a very productive weekend too!
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Orlando, FL
This morning I made scrambled eggs and Canadian bacon for breakfast. Then I poured a cup of Science Diet into Buddy's bowl and got him harnessed up for his morning walk. When Bob left for work we rode the elevator the rest of the way down to the ground floor and went outside.
It was raining. Not hard, but still drisling, and Buddy hates to get wet. We went out into it and walked down Pine Street east for two blocks, turned north and went one block, turned left again onto Central and went west for two blocks back to the house. It was raining much harder as we made our way home!
I was pleased to see that the Moddi Murphybed stayed up on the wall all night! I am going to add a few more drill bit screws to the top of the mattress caddy just for my own peace of mind.
Work today was another non-stop race to keep up with the emails and purchase orders. The good thing about it all is that we are making money. At close-of-business today FER-Orlando had $507k in new orders!
During lunch I went to my storage unit to get my Unibit for more work on the bed project. I stopped at Five Guys Burgers on the way back to the office.
When I got home from work Bob was already home - today was supposed to be his short day. He was quickly trying to get his homework done before his class this evening. This class meets infront of the computer with a camera and microphone.
I took Buddy for his walk first because it looked like more rain.
After we returned I worked on the bed project a little more, but the right side will have to wait
until Bob's class is over at 9:00 PM. There just isn't enough room for all of us in that corner with the bed folded down!
It was raining. Not hard, but still drisling, and Buddy hates to get wet. We went out into it and walked down Pine Street east for two blocks, turned north and went one block, turned left again onto Central and went west for two blocks back to the house. It was raining much harder as we made our way home!
I was pleased to see that the Moddi Murphybed stayed up on the wall all night! I am going to add a few more drill bit screws to the top of the mattress caddy just for my own peace of mind.
Work today was another non-stop race to keep up with the emails and purchase orders. The good thing about it all is that we are making money. At close-of-business today FER-Orlando had $507k in new orders!
During lunch I went to my storage unit to get my Unibit for more work on the bed project. I stopped at Five Guys Burgers on the way back to the office.
When I got home from work Bob was already home - today was supposed to be his short day. He was quickly trying to get his homework done before his class this evening. This class meets infront of the computer with a camera and microphone.
I took Buddy for his walk first because it looked like more rain.
After we returned I worked on the bed project a little more, but the right side will have to wait
I am very encouraged with the progress we are making on the bed. I think we will have it almost done over this long Labor Day Weekend.
Tomorrow will likely be especially hectic. Fay is taking the day off. I don't know how this will turn out. I guess any quote requests will go to Hollywood for Barbara to work on. Who knows? It might be quiet - I hear a lot of people are taking the day off like Fay.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Orlando, FL
After Bob left for work and Buddy had his walk I went to the office/guest bedroom and worked a little more on the bed project. I took the elastic straps out of their packages and folded each
end three times and pushes a screw through a washer and through the folded strap ends.
Then I measured 15 inches down each side from the corner, made a mark, and then screwed the screws in at that spot anchoring the straps to the bedframe. I pulled the straps up over the top of the mattress and now the mattress will stay in the bedframe when the bed is folded up for storage.
That was about all I had time to do before I had to get ready for work. I showered and drove down to FER for my day. As usual, Fay was late, but her excuse was unusually heavy traffic on the way to work.
It seems like we've had a lot of continuously busy days at work these past few weeks. Of course, FER-Orlando has been pretty busy with orders - after all, we've brought in over $1.2M in the past three weeks! Today was another hectic and busy day.
During lunch I went out to run a couple of errands and I stopped at the store to get birthday greeting cards for Betsy Hummel (9-7-09) at Disney, and Denise Maeder (9-10-09) at Delfield. Back at the office, Craig, Fay, Debbie, and I signed the cards and I put them into the mail. Our office is pretty good about remembering birthdays.
I also picked up a set of full sheets for the new mattress while I was out.
In the evening after work I continued to work on the bed project. Working alone I lifted the bedframe up and started to mount it in the mattress caddy with the 5/8" bolts, copper couplers, and washers.
Unfortunately, the lock nuts that we selected were too hard to screw on to the bolts, so I took Buddy in the truck and we drove to Ace Hardware to get regular nuts that would actually screw on to the bolts easily, some grommets to fit into some drilled holes, and 10 more of the drill-point screws -- I want to put five more drill points into the wall two inches above the top row of
screws.
Back home, using our little step stool with a towel on it to help me support the bed, I lifted the frame up and mounted it on the mattress caddy. Then I was able to lift the bed up (it's heavy!), fold it parallel to the wall, and latch it in place.
Bob was late getting home - work kept him until after 8:00 PM. When he came home he was very surprised to see the progress I made!
This evening I am going to mount the gas springs to the mattress caddy. Hopefully this will make raising and lowering the bed a little easier. We will make the legs for the bed this weekend (after we buy groceries), and we will start working on the headboard too. We are getting very close to being done!!
end three times and pushes a screw through a washer and through the folded strap ends.Then I measured 15 inches down each side from the corner, made a mark, and then screwed the screws in at that spot anchoring the straps to the bedframe. I pulled the straps up over the top of the mattress and now the mattress will stay in the bedframe when the bed is folded up for storage.
That was about all I had time to do before I had to get ready for work. I showered and drove down to FER for my day. As usual, Fay was late, but her excuse was unusually heavy traffic on the way to work.
It seems like we've had a lot of continuously busy days at work these past few weeks. Of course, FER-Orlando has been pretty busy with orders - after all, we've brought in over $1.2M in the past three weeks! Today was another hectic and busy day.
During lunch I went out to run a couple of errands and I stopped at the store to get birthday greeting cards for Betsy Hummel (9-7-09) at Disney, and Denise Maeder (9-10-09) at Delfield. Back at the office, Craig, Fay, Debbie, and I signed the cards and I put them into the mail. Our office is pretty good about remembering birthdays.
I also picked up a set of full sheets for the new mattress while I was out.
In the evening after work I continued to work on the bed project. Working alone I lifted the bedframe up and started to mount it in the mattress caddy with the 5/8" bolts, copper couplers, and washers.
Unfortunately, the lock nuts that we selected were too hard to screw on to the bolts, so I took Buddy in the truck and we drove to Ace Hardware to get regular nuts that would actually screw on to the bolts easily, some grommets to fit into some drilled holes, and 10 more of the drill-point screws -- I want to put five more drill points into the wall two inches above the top row of
Back home, using our little step stool with a towel on it to help me support the bed, I lifted the frame up and mounted it on the mattress caddy. Then I was able to lift the bed up (it's heavy!), fold it parallel to the wall, and latch it in place.
Bob was late getting home - work kept him until after 8:00 PM. When he came home he was very surprised to see the progress I made!
This evening I am going to mount the gas springs to the mattress caddy. Hopefully this will make raising and lowering the bed a little easier. We will make the legs for the bed this weekend (after we buy groceries), and we will start working on the headboard too. We are getting very close to being done!!
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Orlando, FL
Today was another hectic and busy day at work. We were expecting a delivery of refrigerated equipment sometime during the day from Delfield to be used during our Darden Lunch-N-Learn session, but we did not know when it would be delivered.
After I had the morning order entry finished and the order confirmations done, I left the office for half an hour to return to Rafab for my gas spring brackets. I was thrilled with the way they turned out!! I was expecting a ropey weld seam and a lap joint, but they made a butt joint and ground it down so well you cannot see the seam! I was very pleased.
I asked the technician how much I owed him, but he said it was "on the house". I gave him $20 to get lunch for his guys and mentioned that some of his guys looked like they could put some food away! He laughed, and said that one of his big boys in the shop weighed 360 pounds!
I needed a deeper bracket so that I could pass the screw completely through the bedframe. The
pre-cut holes from the factory are too close to the top and I was sure they would pull out during bed raising or lowering operation.
When I got home from work I changed out of my work clothes and immediately started to drill the 1/4" hole needed to put the carriage bolt through the bedframe and through the bracket. I started by measuring and putting a cross in pencil. I hammered my punch into the center of the cross to get a good dent for the drill to center on.
Working on an old bedsheet, I started with the smallest diameter drill bit and worked my way up through 11 bits to 1/4". Bob got home before I was finished. After the hole was drilled I ran the wire brush over it to clean off any leftover slivers.
Next I measured and drilled a 1/4" hole on the left and right sides of the bedframe. Then mounted the brackets on carriage bolts through these holes. I tightened up the nut and washer and then cut off the excess bolt with the Dremel cutoff wheel. Finally I put two more 3/4" wood screws in up near the top.
It was raining when we went downstairs with Buddy. He peed next to the door, but we went to the side of the building and walked down the west side of the building to the front of the building. He peed several more times.
We went into the lobby and Bob stopped at the front desk to get his UPS delivery - the memory foam mattress ordered from Overstock.com. It came in a cardboard tube about 60" tall and about 18" in diameter.
Bob read the packing slip and then began to open the package up. We were expecting something very dramatic, but the mattress simply unrolled and then slowly, very slowly, began to expand back to its net shape. This process could take 24 to 72 hours.
We carried the mattress in and layed it in the bedframe so that Buddy would not think this was a
new bed from him to sleep on. We do not want to get dog hair all over this virgin new mattress.
Tomorrow we will hang the bedframe and mattress up on the wall. I will have my fingers crossed hoping that the mattress caddy and wall can carry the weight. I am estimating that the bed with mattress weighs about 110 pounds now.
We need to drill some mortisses in the backs of the Lack tables for the noses of the gate latches. Stanley started to make the latch longer than it was offered when this bed was first designed. We will try to find grommets to put into the holes so that the holes look like they were intended.
With the mattress in the bedframe we will lower it, put the spirit level on it, and hold it level while measuring the distance from the table tops to the floor. I am betting it will be 8-1/2 to 9 inches. Then we can cut the portable bed legs to length.
I am very encouraged now. Aside from the upholstered headboard, this bed will be completed this weekend!
After I had the morning order entry finished and the order confirmations done, I left the office for half an hour to return to Rafab for my gas spring brackets. I was thrilled with the way they turned out!! I was expecting a ropey weld seam and a lap joint, but they made a butt joint and ground it down so well you cannot see the seam! I was very pleased.
I asked the technician how much I owed him, but he said it was "on the house". I gave him $20 to get lunch for his guys and mentioned that some of his guys looked like they could put some food away! He laughed, and said that one of his big boys in the shop weighed 360 pounds!
I needed a deeper bracket so that I could pass the screw completely through the bedframe. The
pre-cut holes from the factory are too close to the top and I was sure they would pull out during bed raising or lowering operation.When I got home from work I changed out of my work clothes and immediately started to drill the 1/4" hole needed to put the carriage bolt through the bedframe and through the bracket. I started by measuring and putting a cross in pencil. I hammered my punch into the center of the cross to get a good dent for the drill to center on.
Working on an old bedsheet, I started with the smallest diameter drill bit and worked my way up through 11 bits to 1/4". Bob got home before I was finished. After the hole was drilled I ran the wire brush over it to clean off any leftover slivers.
Next I measured and drilled a 1/4" hole on the left and right sides of the bedframe. Then mounted the brackets on carriage bolts through these holes. I tightened up the nut and washer and then cut off the excess bolt with the Dremel cutoff wheel. Finally I put two more 3/4" wood screws in up near the top.
It was raining when we went downstairs with Buddy. He peed next to the door, but we went to the side of the building and walked down the west side of the building to the front of the building. He peed several more times.We went into the lobby and Bob stopped at the front desk to get his UPS delivery - the memory foam mattress ordered from Overstock.com. It came in a cardboard tube about 60" tall and about 18" in diameter.
Bob read the packing slip and then began to open the package up. We were expecting something very dramatic, but the mattress simply unrolled and then slowly, very slowly, began to expand back to its net shape. This process could take 24 to 72 hours.
We carried the mattress in and layed it in the bedframe so that Buddy would not think this was a
new bed from him to sleep on. We do not want to get dog hair all over this virgin new mattress.Tomorrow we will hang the bedframe and mattress up on the wall. I will have my fingers crossed hoping that the mattress caddy and wall can carry the weight. I am estimating that the bed with mattress weighs about 110 pounds now.
We need to drill some mortisses in the backs of the Lack tables for the noses of the gate latches. Stanley started to make the latch longer than it was offered when this bed was first designed. We will try to find grommets to put into the holes so that the holes look like they were intended.
With the mattress in the bedframe we will lower it, put the spirit level on it, and hold it level while measuring the distance from the table tops to the floor. I am betting it will be 8-1/2 to 9 inches. Then we can cut the portable bed legs to length.
I am very encouraged now. Aside from the upholstered headboard, this bed will be completed this weekend!