Installing a door as winter teases

 I follow a video blog called Goonzquad. It's two young brothers that apparently have no jobs other than whatever YouTube pays them, and what they make on "merch" sales. They first started documenting their work as subcontractors in the construction trade, doing just about anything they were asked, like demolition, painting, and minor carpentry. Then, they began to buy wrecked exotic cars, completely disassembling them, buying new parts, and putting them together. Keep in mind they have apparently received no formal training, just learning as they go. They now have a garage filled with Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and other high end muscle cars. Recently, they bought an "abandoned" house on a Tennessee mountaintop, stripped it to the studs, and are rebuilding much of it on their own. What I like about it is their complete lack of fear of error, their unquenchable enthusiasm, and insistence on doing it right. They are an inspiration.

The door was here. Should have 
taken a picture before I removed it.

That helps when I tackle a new project, like finally replacing the inadequate, non-functioning, and dangerous side door into the pantry. Luckily the door was a standard size, so we picked a pre-hung door at Home Depot. Then under the direct supervision and guidance of my Uncle Ed, we installed the door.

 First I ripped out all the molding and found that the opening was not even close to square, with the center near the latch narrowing to exactly the same dimensions as the new frame. It JUST fit. Then, after installing the door and adjusting the level, it was time to insulate, put in new molding then paint it all. We decided to go with a similar scheme as the other side door. 

The door is metal and much more secure and tight. I'm quite sure the unheated pantry will stay much warmer in the winter and will help keep the pipes in the half bath from freezing in the winter. 

I've been puttering around with some other projects. I did some framing for the first time in the garage. The "sponginess" of the second floor of the garage has made me a bit nervous so I married some two by fours to help firm up the main support beam that spans the garage. 

Finished. I like the way it came out.
Got some stucco work to do too.

I wrote about the annual leaf battle and that war goes on with no clear victors. The community farming plot has been overwhelmed with community leaves so I'm back to bagging them and leaving at the curb. Good news is that the Norway Maples are finally giving up for the winter and dropping their leaves so this year's struggles will soon be over. 

I finally figured out how to take the dryer apart and completed a much overdue cleaning. This is a case where online videos lead me astray. Every Maytag dryer video I found showed that taking apart the dryer was a simple case of popping the top up and removing the front screws. I eventually noticed two other screws securing the top and front face of the dryer and was able to get the thing open. Pro tip: I highly recommend taking apart your dryer and getting out all the lint that escapes the filter. That lint is a real fire hazard. I also lubricated one of the rollers that was making a horrible screeching sound every time the dryer started up.

A very dirty dryer.

Winter did indeed tease us back near the end of October with truly bitter cold air and a bit of snow. I got the fireplace going and of course Natasha and Katia loved it and lived it for a few days. Being off work the fire was going all day and it was a bit shocking how much wood I went through, but with about a full cord and a half we should make it until spring. It helped that the cold snap was followed by a long warm and dry spell where we climbed back into the 70s.

Cozy.

Coming soon to a blog near you: Lighting the bar and installing a weather station!

Fall Leaves and an elegant solution

A part of last year's effort.

I have documented in my annual leaf battle here and elsewhere in this blog. Our property is surrounded by several large maples, an enormous hickory, and various other trees. I love them, and the privacy they provide. Then fall happens. The amount of leaves that these trees produce is staggering, and it takes a mighty effort to gather them. When we first bought our home, Cindy and I would rake the entire yard, at least twice, bag the leaves, then drag them to the curb. Next, I bought a lawn tractor, got my dad's old wagon, and we were at least able to wheel them to the curb. Last year, I purchased a pull behind rake for the tractor, which worked nicely, but the leaves still needed to be bagged. Most years there are more than 40 enormous bags of leaves at the curb. 

In 2019, the City of Binghamton changed the rules. They would no longer accept plastic bags for leaves. Now, I completely agree with concerns over plastic bags and their impact on the environment. However, the bags could be re-used. The truck would come by, empty the bags into the truck, load all the bags into one bag, then leave them on the curb. I would refill the bags the next week. This way you could use the bags over and over again. Now, the city will only accept the leaves in paper bags, the large ones you purchase at Agway or Home Depot. Problems are that they are much smaller, the city has not raised the bag limit, they are not reusable, and they are expensive. Other local municipalities have you rake the leaves to the curb, then they come by with a huge vacuum truck and suck up the leaves. That would be great.

So, my solution this year has been to stay ahead of it, an option now that I have retired. So I have been out with the tractor every few days raking and bagging, trying to fit the leaves in garbage cans (which they still accept) to avoid using the expensive bags. This is what I was doing last Thursday when I was approached by a woman and her young daughter. The mother said they had two questions for me. The daughter, somewhere around 6 or 7 years old I would imagine, went first. She wanted to know if we were going to celebrate Halloween this year because she would like to visit our house again, and she would not be afraid.

Now, a little back story. We have been visited by this mother and her daughter almost every year since she was a toddler. She got a bit spooked in the past by the haunted house sounds I play, and by the motion activated talking/singing/howling werewolf head we have hanging by the porch stairs. Cindy felt so bad about that scare that the tradition has started where we invite her into the house, show she her our cats and otherwise realize we are not scary people. It's our annual Halloween highlight and the main reason we sit on the porch. We would rather not deal with the rude teenagers that grab a handful of candy without even a thank you. Anyway, of course I told her that we expected to be here and we hope she stops by.

Free delivery.

The second question was even easier to answer. The mother wanted the leaves. Uh....yeah. Turns out she runs the community garden at the end of the block and needs the leaves for mulch. She said she would be up with her wheel barrel to get them. Of course I insisted that I would deliver them and did just that. It was a bit awkward driving the garden tractor down the length of the block, but then a few of the neighbors were out and they waved as if I was just out or a walk; nothing unusual here. I do have to be a bit careful here and do not want overwhelm them with leaves. Would like to keep that option open through the fall, and the Norway maples are still green.

So sometimes you struggle to find a answer, sometimes the answer finds you. This answer was particularly nice.

Baking and raking season

A good start

The Fall season has been mild so far. We have had a frost in most places, but with the clear skies has come generally warm afternoons under October sun. This has kept the leaves on the trees a bit longer than usual and I think has limited the Fall color a bit. We had enough leaves to rake so we did our first batch earlier this week. Limiting the amount of leaves this year was the leaf mold that attacked the Norway maples. Wet weather in the first half of the summer allowed the mold to spread through the area including the trees along the park fence at the north end of the property. These maples make up a good percentage of our trees and they dropped their leaves early which ended just getting mulched up by the mower. The rest of our trees, a silver maple, some sugar maples, linden and a hickory were unaffected by the mold and seem to be holding on to their leaves longer than usual.

First fire of the season

One night did get cold enough for our first fire of the season. The fire drafted well and it was a nice hot fire, almost too hot and we ended up sleeping with the fan on that night. I did get the chimney inspected and the report was mixed. The chimney is fine, and safe to be used, but an odd 90 angle in the flue makes it impossible to clean properly. Any debris that falls down from the top is inaccessible from the bottom due to the right angle run of the flue. The chimney guy suggests that next year we install a clean out on the outside of the chimney so they can access the entire flue. Also, he did say there was some loose brick and mortar which may need to be repaired at the same time. Stay tuned.

One batch of cinnamon buns. We made two batches. 

As mentioned in the subject, it is indeed baking season and we did two large batches of cinnamon buns. It's actually pretty easy to do. We use a recipe that came with our first KitchenAid mixer many years ago. All the mixing and kneading is done by the mixer, so we just have to roll out the dough, put down the filling, and roll it back up. We do doctor up the drizzle coating and filling a bit to give it our own stamp on them. They came out real nice.

Next on the baking list is our Christmas bread. We follow and old white bread recipe from the church cook book to make large round loaves. This is more work for me since the amount of dough overwhelms the mixer so that I have to hand knead the bread. It's kind of messy and back braking since the kitchen table is just too low for me. Another problem is our overstuffed freezer. We just don't have enough room to store the bread after we bake it so we're going to have to work on that.

Fall decorations are up. Note the empty flower containers in
front of the porch. They're filled with rocks and dirt and I'm
too damn lazy to move them.  

Cindy had the idea that corn stalks would be nice to have at the front of the house so we went out to look for them. I was shocked at how much money they wanted for those things. There are vast fields filled with them awaiting to be ground up for silage so they really should not be all that expensive. Anyway, we ended up getting three nice bundles at a local farm market for $15 bucks. I tied them to the columns at the sides of the porch and in the center. I really like the looks of them and they are appropriate right through Thanksgiving. I intend to get my money's worth out of them!

The transition to fall accelerates

Last year's leaves. Soon to be repeated.

For whatever reason, we've had some very nice fall's lately. It's a far nicer season in upstate NY than spring, generally drier and warmer, with more sun. As a meteorologist, I understand the reasons for this, but as a resident and native, I appreciate it. It is truly the best time to be in this part of the world, well, most years anyway. We tend to spend days under high pressure bringing hours of sun, but cool and clear nights. No longer dependent on air conditioning for comfortable sleeping, breezes blow the curtains gently at night, As the inversion settles in late, fog develops and sound carries distant train whistles. Even the distant thrump of tires on the highway is somehow comforting. The days are dazzling. Color develops in the trees and is set off by deep blue skies. Mums, followed by pumpkins, appear on porches adding to the unique orange of the fall season. Our cats, hiding from the heat all summer, sense the impending cold and decide they want to snuggle again, and search for spots where sun streams through windows, warming the sill and the floor.

2016's Xmas tree. I did turn the
saw around properly before cutting.

The food changes as well. Cider and apples are everywhere, and even though you can get them year round, they taste better now. Soup for lunch or dinner is suddenly and option and grilling, while still an option, is less leisurely and seems more urgent as the evening sun is shorter, and the end of the season looms. Casseroles and couch time is more likely than burgers and porch time. It is a great time for walks, as the cooler air is more comfortable, and the bugs are less plentiful. Plus, who doesn't like kicking through crunchy leaves?

It's a great time of the year to be a sports fan. Football from high school to pro, is in full swing. Baseball playoffs are underway and the October classic is just around the corner. Very soon, the best spectator sport in town resumes as our local hockey team begins it's season. There's nothing better to do in January and February, on those long winter's nights, then to head to the bright lights and pulsing sounds of hockey. It's the place to be in the late fall and winter.

It's also time to begin planning for the holiday. Not just where to go and what to do, but also to begin baking. Cindy and I both work, I often on weekends, and we bake bread and cinnamon buns so we have to pick our time in advance. Cindy, first sister Karen, and first Aunt Kathie will no doubt have their annual cookie baking/vodka drinking party. I show up in time to be the designated driver, and designated broken cookie eater. We also need to chose a weekend to cut down and decorate our tree, a full two day task at least.

A full cord of firewood has been delivered and stacked, but I still must fine time to double check the furnace, and do a preliminary start up of the snow blower. But the days are still sunny and warm, so I don't feel the urgency. But winter can arrive in New York suddenly though, so I cannot let the benign weather fool me.