The day we put extra nails into our siding is the day the wind knocked our Internet receiver dish out of alignment! Bob called Dish Network the next day and they said it would take almost 3 weeks to send a technician out to fix it!
We are going to order a satellite signal strength device from Amazon.com so that we can align the dish ourselves the next time this happens.
Speaking of putting extra nails into the siding... we borrowed our neighbors siding nailer and added some more nails to the loose boards of siding. We touched up the nail heads with color matched paint. Now we still hear the wind, but the siding does not clap and rattle in the wind like before.
Right now we are still moving forward with rubbing polyurethane on the interior doors. So far we have done the laundry room door, hall closet, bedroom, and bath doors. Bob is putting poly on the living room closet door right now.
I brushed three coats of poly onto an inch-thick slab of pine that we have mounted in the hallway as a shelf. We put the wooden boys we bought in Peru up on that shelf.
The chickens are enjoying their chicken yard everyday now. We have a pop door on the east side of their coop and a ladder for them to step down to their yard. However, they usually jump off of their porch and flap their wings on the way down to their alfalfa covered yard.
We started bringing our own water from Cody and Powell. When I am on day shift I have to bring the water home at night. The water is so heavy it weighs the back of the truck down and lifts the front of the truck up. This shines the headlights into the eyes of oncoming traffic and pisses them off. We really need to get air springs for the back axle.
I went to visit the dentist in Cody last week after a rough circular patch appeared in one of my molars. I thought that part of my filling had come out. Oh no, I broke the cusp off of one of the molars. The dentist wants to put a crown on it. My insurance will pay for 50% of it. My appointment to get the crown is Tuesday, November 4 - Election Day.
In Billings we bought a small cast iron pump that can pump 25 gallons per minute. We hooked it up to some garden hose and hooked the hose up to our hot water heater. We pumped 4 gallons of vinegar through the hot water heater for 30 minutes. Then we poured out the vinegar and pumped fresh water through for 10 minutes. After that we pulled out the inlet strainer and cleaned the little plastic pieces and pieces of dirt and rock out of it. Good to go for another year!
Tomorrow is Halloween. I get paid tomorrow. We are going to Red Lodge to pay the electric bill in person. We will have breakfast at Cafe Regis in Red Lodge, then we are driving to Cody. The new Tractor Supply store opened today and we will browse it tomorrow. We are planning to return from Cody with a load of water.
I have to work on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Wednesday, October 08, 2014
Lunar Eclipse
On Monday morning we gathered up the laundry and took it to Powell. It made four loads. While there we
popped into Linton's Big R to price a 200-gallon poly water tank for the truck. It will be $200 - about one dollar per gallon.
We also stopped at Ace Hardware to get a few things, and then Blair's Supermarket before returning home. It was about 3:00 PM when we got back home!
Yesterday morning I was walking Buddy on the road and heard the engine on our neighbor's Ford Bronco coming over the hill, so we moved over off of the road. When the Bronco appeared we saw Jimmy Dale driving it and going "baaaaaaa" out the window! There were two goats following him down the road! They came right up to us, but Buddy kept jumping and lunging at them trying to bite their faces. Jimmy wanted to know if I knew whose they were. I did not. He went on down the road with them to Casey and Daniel's place.
Yesterday also marks my one year anniversary at Cody Labs. We sure have come a long way in one year!
I started working on nailing some of the siding down to the house to quiet it down. I didn't get very far. The first nail I put in left a hole in the clapboard and went way down below the surface. So, I adjusted the nail gun, and got a scrap piece of siding and a board to practice on. I pulled the trigger and another nail went in, but this time the head was 1/2-inch above the surface!
I put the nailer aside and began working on the chicken coop outside run. We stretched the 24-inch-high 1/2-inch hardware cloth around the bottom and secured it by sandwiching it between boards screwed together. Then we wired the top of it to the 2"x4" wire fence behind it.
We need to get the chicken run finished soon because we are starting to have a problem with feather picking. Several of our girls have bald backs from other chickens pulling the feathers out! They are bored. We got some pruning sealer at the hardware store and painted this on the backs of the affected birds to discourage further picking.
In the afternoon we took the upstairs closet door off and carried it downstairs. It is laying across two sawhorses with a furniture pad on the floor beneath it. We removed the door knob. Bob is going to apply wipe on polyurethane to the door while I am working and we will carry it back upstairs and put it back on its hinges. It will probably take a couple of weeks to do all of the doors in the house.
Last night there was a full moon and a total lunar eclipse after midnight. We did not stay up to watch it.
I don't know how much more we are going to get done today. I still need to make the pop door for the chicken coop and fence in the space between the coop and the run. I would like to begin nailing the siding again. But, I have to work tonight and I am going to lay back down to sleep in a couple of hours.
 |
| Full moon rising on Oct. 7. |
We also stopped at Ace Hardware to get a few things, and then Blair's Supermarket before returning home. It was about 3:00 PM when we got back home!
Yesterday morning I was walking Buddy on the road and heard the engine on our neighbor's Ford Bronco coming over the hill, so we moved over off of the road. When the Bronco appeared we saw Jimmy Dale driving it and going "baaaaaaa" out the window! There were two goats following him down the road! They came right up to us, but Buddy kept jumping and lunging at them trying to bite their faces. Jimmy wanted to know if I knew whose they were. I did not. He went on down the road with them to Casey and Daniel's place.
Yesterday also marks my one year anniversary at Cody Labs. We sure have come a long way in one year!
I started working on nailing some of the siding down to the house to quiet it down. I didn't get very far. The first nail I put in left a hole in the clapboard and went way down below the surface. So, I adjusted the nail gun, and got a scrap piece of siding and a board to practice on. I pulled the trigger and another nail went in, but this time the head was 1/2-inch above the surface!
I put the nailer aside and began working on the chicken coop outside run. We stretched the 24-inch-high 1/2-inch hardware cloth around the bottom and secured it by sandwiching it between boards screwed together. Then we wired the top of it to the 2"x4" wire fence behind it.
We need to get the chicken run finished soon because we are starting to have a problem with feather picking. Several of our girls have bald backs from other chickens pulling the feathers out! They are bored. We got some pruning sealer at the hardware store and painted this on the backs of the affected birds to discourage further picking.
In the afternoon we took the upstairs closet door off and carried it downstairs. It is laying across two sawhorses with a furniture pad on the floor beneath it. We removed the door knob. Bob is going to apply wipe on polyurethane to the door while I am working and we will carry it back upstairs and put it back on its hinges. It will probably take a couple of weeks to do all of the doors in the house.
Last night there was a full moon and a total lunar eclipse after midnight. We did not stay up to watch it.
I don't know how much more we are going to get done today. I still need to make the pop door for the chicken coop and fence in the space between the coop and the run. I would like to begin nailing the siding again. But, I have to work tonight and I am going to lay back down to sleep in a couple of hours.
Monday, October 06, 2014
Clark, Wyoming
A bunch has happened over the past few days.
At the All-API Meeting on Wednesday, we found that someone from our crew was going to be sent to Crew D (Dan Atkins - Supervisor) to make up for that team being short. Tim told all of us that Vince and Cindy would not be going. He was also hesitant to send Lorie because she has supervisor signature authority and is Tim's second when he takes vacation.
He was looking for a volunteer, but of course, nobody was going to volunteer to leave our team.
That left Chris, Arnie, and Nick as possible candidates. In the end he picked Nick to go. I have worked in Room 006 with Nick since April. We will miss him on our team, but he will make a good addition to Crew D because they need somebody who can run Room 006 competently.
I took the truck to two different car washes and washed it, but it did not come completely clean. I think we need to return it and get a "dirt colored" truck. The old Toyota hardly showed dust and dirt, but oh boy, white will show everything. The problem is greasy road grime thrown up by the tires does not come off easily. I am going to spray Simple Green degreaser on the sides before we wash it again.
When I got home Sunday morning, I went to sleep. In the evening we drove over to Red Lodge and enjoyed a nice dinner at Red Lodge Pizza Company. I got a New York strip with fries and a salad. Bob had a guacamole burger with sweet potato tots.
This morning we drove to Powell and washed our clothes. While we were there we priced polyethylene water tanks for the truck at Linton's Big R store. We are selling our 450-gallon tank to a guy who works on Tolman Ranch for $150.00 because it weighs about 3600 pound when it is full. Our truck payload limit is 1637 pounds. A 200-gallon tank will weigh about 1600 pounds when it is full. A 200-gallon tank will easily keep up with our water use if I bring water each time I return from working in Cody.
When I checked the birds this afternoon, I found that each hen laid an egg! There were five eggs waiting in the nest boxes - two blue-green and three brown!
Tomorrow I need to get out with the siding nailer and put a few extra nails in our siding. Then I am going to use color matched bronze colored caulk around all of the windows and doors. We are having some nice Indian Summer days now, but it won't last.
At the All-API Meeting on Wednesday, we found that someone from our crew was going to be sent to Crew D (Dan Atkins - Supervisor) to make up for that team being short. Tim told all of us that Vince and Cindy would not be going. He was also hesitant to send Lorie because she has supervisor signature authority and is Tim's second when he takes vacation.
He was looking for a volunteer, but of course, nobody was going to volunteer to leave our team.
That left Chris, Arnie, and Nick as possible candidates. In the end he picked Nick to go. I have worked in Room 006 with Nick since April. We will miss him on our team, but he will make a good addition to Crew D because they need somebody who can run Room 006 competently.
I took the truck to two different car washes and washed it, but it did not come completely clean. I think we need to return it and get a "dirt colored" truck. The old Toyota hardly showed dust and dirt, but oh boy, white will show everything. The problem is greasy road grime thrown up by the tires does not come off easily. I am going to spray Simple Green degreaser on the sides before we wash it again.
When I got home Sunday morning, I went to sleep. In the evening we drove over to Red Lodge and enjoyed a nice dinner at Red Lodge Pizza Company. I got a New York strip with fries and a salad. Bob had a guacamole burger with sweet potato tots.
This morning we drove to Powell and washed our clothes. While we were there we priced polyethylene water tanks for the truck at Linton's Big R store. We are selling our 450-gallon tank to a guy who works on Tolman Ranch for $150.00 because it weighs about 3600 pound when it is full. Our truck payload limit is 1637 pounds. A 200-gallon tank will weigh about 1600 pounds when it is full. A 200-gallon tank will easily keep up with our water use if I bring water each time I return from working in Cody.
When I checked the birds this afternoon, I found that each hen laid an egg! There were five eggs waiting in the nest boxes - two blue-green and three brown!
Tomorrow I need to get out with the siding nailer and put a few extra nails in our siding. Then I am going to use color matched bronze colored caulk around all of the windows and doors. We are having some nice Indian Summer days now, but it won't last.
Wednesday, October 01, 2014
Happy Birthday
We got up at 5:00 AM, dressed, and left the house around 5:15. We had to drive to Cody because I had to
attend an All-API Meeting at 7:00 AM. It lightly rained off and on during our trip down to Cody. We stopped at Grannie's Restaurant and ate breakfast, and then headed over to the plant.
While I attended the meeting, Bob went to Albertson's to get some ingredients we would need later for canning.
After a stop at the bank, we headed back home. Again it lightly rained off and on. I decided that I would stay indoors and help Bob with canning, and maybe nap.
Well, the fickle weather turned sunny and I guessed that I had better get outside and finish up the chicken coop windows and cut some fire wood with the chainsaw. The sun was out for about two hours, then it started to rain again.
Gordy came up this afternoon and delivered 450 gallons of water. I owe him $120 for four water deliveries and the October trash service.
While working in the kitchen I heard a roar outside and thought a plane was flying over really low. When I got to the window I found that hail was falling from the sky! The little chunks of ice were about the same size as rock salt, but there was a bunch of it!
Bob canned 10 pints of butternut squash and 5-1/2 quarts of pumpkin. The squash was processed in boiling water, the pumpkin had to be pressure-canned. We seperated the pumpkin seeds, salted, and roasted them in the oven. We had a lot going on in the kitchen! For dinner we had scalloped sweet potatoes and fish fillets.
This evening I showered, cut my hair off, shaved, and brushed my teeth. After dinner I found my birthday presents in the living room! Bob let me open them early.
I got a large paperback book about the fall of the Roman empire, two Arduino bluetooth transceivers, an Arduino compatible accelerometer, and a nice Porter-Cable cordless impact driver!
Tomorrow is my birthday, but I will likely sleep for most of the day, and then I have to go to work tomorrow night, Friday night, and Saturday night. I get paid on Friday and I have bills to pay. On Sunday, Bob said we might go out to dinner for our birthdays.
While I attended the meeting, Bob went to Albertson's to get some ingredients we would need later for canning.
After a stop at the bank, we headed back home. Again it lightly rained off and on. I decided that I would stay indoors and help Bob with canning, and maybe nap.
Well, the fickle weather turned sunny and I guessed that I had better get outside and finish up the chicken coop windows and cut some fire wood with the chainsaw. The sun was out for about two hours, then it started to rain again.
Gordy came up this afternoon and delivered 450 gallons of water. I owe him $120 for four water deliveries and the October trash service.
While working in the kitchen I heard a roar outside and thought a plane was flying over really low. When I got to the window I found that hail was falling from the sky! The little chunks of ice were about the same size as rock salt, but there was a bunch of it!
Bob canned 10 pints of butternut squash and 5-1/2 quarts of pumpkin. The squash was processed in boiling water, the pumpkin had to be pressure-canned. We seperated the pumpkin seeds, salted, and roasted them in the oven. We had a lot going on in the kitchen! For dinner we had scalloped sweet potatoes and fish fillets.
This evening I showered, cut my hair off, shaved, and brushed my teeth. After dinner I found my birthday presents in the living room! Bob let me open them early.
I got a large paperback book about the fall of the Roman empire, two Arduino bluetooth transceivers, an Arduino compatible accelerometer, and a nice Porter-Cable cordless impact driver!
Tomorrow is my birthday, but I will likely sleep for most of the day, and then I have to go to work tomorrow night, Friday night, and Saturday night. I get paid on Friday and I have bills to pay. On Sunday, Bob said we might go out to dinner for our birthdays.