Plaster, trees, and Cape May

Obligatory home photo.

 Well hello. It has been the longest break ever from the blog. There are a few reasons, and more excuses, but certainly not a lack of material. Repairs and renovations have been made, trips have been taken, and we have generally emerged from the pandemic. One solid reason for the break is my broken "d" key here on my Lenovo laptop. Spell checker catches most of the dropped "d's", but if I miss one, I'm sure you'll forgive me. 

Before

The biggest completed task was the repair and painting of the walls an ceiling in our enclosed second floor porch. I ordered a kit from Plaster Magic specially designed for D.Y.I.ers repairing plaster walls and ceilings. It worked quite well and was relatively easy. The repair involves repairing and securing the loose plaster and then fixing the hole. The only additional item I had to buy was joint compound to skim coat the repair area. Then it was a matter of sanding, priming, and painting. I'm still working on the windows, repairing and glazing. That job needs to be done for every window in the house. 

After

Next big job kind of fell in my lap. The owner of the spooky house next door had hired a guy to take down some huge trees in "his" back yard. In conversation with him I realized he had no idea where the property line was and was about to have a large tree cut down in my yard. I wanted the tree down so I ended up paying for that tree, while the neighbor paid for his trees. Problem is all the branches and logs from all the trees ended up in my yard and it literally took me weeks to clean up the mess. Luckily, a farmer driving by wanted the massive logs to burn and he took those heavy things away.

We took a week off, finally, to go to Cape May and Wildwood Crest In the middle of June. The week pretty much consisted of us sitting in lounge chairs drinking cold stuff and reading novels. For me, it was my friend Dan Padavona and his creepy procedurals. ,We ate out at a few of our favorite restaurants, but also often dined in our room, that had a kitchenette. It was our first true vacation since retiring back in August. 

My position for most of vacation.

We have some plans for travel after Labor Day, but until then we are content to work on the house, and take a few day trips. The beauty of retirement life is traveling to the hot spots after everyone goes back to work and school.

I promise to update the blog more often, and maybe fix my keyboard. But just remember that I'm retired now, and deadlines and commitments are foreign to me. Upcoming blogs may include an on going practical joke, window repair and glazing and maybe a video blog.  

Emerging from the funk

It's snowed a bit back in December. 
That's not a drift.

 It's been almost 2 months since my last blog. It's not as though nothing has happened since then, and I have a backlog of DIY home improvement updates, it's really more about a complete lack of inspiration. I think this is at least partially due to the overall malaise of a long winter and continued covid-19 restrictions. Well, the sun is out today, and despite a near zero morning low, I'm feeling like spring is in the air, and it's time to get going on this.

Before

An ongoing project this winter has been the repair of the basement floor. The main issue is where the concrete and chipped and cracked away from the cast iron sewer pipe. I've never worked with concrete before and like so many other home repair projects, it's more of an art than a technical skill. Anyone can throw concrete patch into a hole, making it look good is where the tough part is. I've used three different types of patch so far, and have found that the type of patch material use makes a big difference in the difficulty of making it look right. 

After

Even after careful application and smoothing with the trowel, I found that I needed to use a rub brick to help smooth and taper the work. That is difficult  and tiring, but helps make the finished product look better. As I have improved my technique, I have gone on the fill other cracks and holes around the basement floor. I've been using a premixed compound so whenever I have some extra time, I can work on it.

Another project I have taken on is rewiring the attic lights. This is a good job to do now before it becomes unbearably hot up there. When we bought the house, the attic lights consisted of old time cloth extension cords with bare bulbs swinging from nails pounded into the rafters. My only improvement so far has been to replace the hot incandescent bulbs with LED's. Now I am completely rewiring from the switch adding outlets and properly mounting 4 LED fixtures. It will be much safer and ridiculously bright. Three of the fixtures will have pull chains on them so we wont need to light the place up like an operating room if we don't want to.

The spooky house on Halloween.

In neighborhood news, the owner of the spooky house next door is making another run at remodeling. He's got a dumpster in the driveway, and a trio of "carpenters" from New Jersey gutting the place and apparently putting in new drywall. He asked me to keep an eye on the place since it is filed with new materials. We do and will continue to do so. I really hope he completes the place, but I've seen this all before and am definitely in wait and see mode. A project this summer may be to build a fence between our houses. This will keep people from cutting the corner from Grand Boulevard, but more importantly, clearly demarking the irregular property line and driveway ownership to anyone that rents the place, assuming it ever becomes livable. 

 

A busy time of the year.

 Despite the pandemic, we've been so busy, that I haven't taken time to write in my blog. It's always busy, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but this year seems even more so as I work on the kitchen in between decorating, baking, and family.

Post installation.

One project was the installation of my weather station. Cindy gave me my Christmas present early so I could get it installed before the ground froze and the snow fell. That turned out to be a good plan (more on that later). First I had to install a post to mount the station. I got my self a pressure treated 4x4 and went about digging a 36" deep hole. It was actually not a tough as I thought it would be. I located the station well away from the trees to keep them from interfering with the operation of the weather station, so roots were not a problem. The soil was loose, with just some small, round rocks so the digging was easy. To secure the post, I used liquid fence post mix that turns to a foam, then hardens.  Within 24 hours, I was able to mount the station and after a simple set up with the WiFi, the station is working well. Despite a very low sun angle, and endless clouds, it stays charged enough top operate 24/7. Very nice.

Obligatory evidence of actual work being done.

Since we couldn't decide how to move forward with the kitchen, Cindy and I decided to put lipstick on a pig and go ahead and just fix it up as is. Since I had already done the ceiling, this fix up was mainly to scrape and repair the walls, paint, new fixtures, switch plates, and curtains. Once the walls were ready for paint I was actually shocked how badly yellowed they were. Despite using a high quality "one coat coverage" paint, it took three coats to make the walls look right. I also scraped and repainted all the trim. As always, time began to fly by so I had to really rush to get the room done before Christmas. 

It was a struggle to get to the garage.
That's a yardstick.

Then, it snowed. About 3 feet here in the valley, almost 4 feet in the nearby hills. Luckily, there was very little wind so no drifting but it still took me almost 6 hours to clear the driveway. There was still no place to go since the road had not yet been plowed. By amount, this was the biggest snowstorm I've ever seen. By impact, it's in the top 5 for sure. The blizzard of '93 had then biggest impact storm with 2 to 3 feet of snow and winds over 50 mph, followed by below zero temperatures. It was a paralyzing storm, mitigated only by the fact that it was in March, and the longer day and sun helped modify the effect. 

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.

Retirement Update

Most days start like this.

 Literally almost everyone has asked me how it feels to be retired. The short answer is pretty good. The longer answers follows. The thing I notice most is the lack of stress. I never realized how much I thought about work, even on my days off, until I didn't have to. While I was working, I would think about the next shift, what would the weather be like, with whom I was working, and what the potential workload would be. That I am not doing that nearly 24/7 is quite the relief.

I was also checking my work email a lot, along with the schedule spreadsheet and my shared documents. That stuff dominated an entire browser on my phone. All that is gone.

Our lifestyle has already changed significantly. With both of us retired, the urgency for the more mundane tasks of life is gone. We now feel more free to enjoy our morning coffee, rather than jumping up and racing around the house in an effort to complete everything before the next set of shifts arrive. Suddenly, we are not doing anything tomorrow either. 

A cheap door in it's day, but still 
beautiful.

Obviously planning appointments and getaways is so easy now. No need to plan around the work schedule, and really the only thing in the schedule is other appointments. I do need to start blocking potential vacation and get-away weeks so we can take a trip if this virus thing ever goes away.

The culprit

I have been doing some work on the house. Current project continues to be the door from the kitchen into the pantry. With the colder weather approaching, that job has taken on more urgency since the pantry is unheated. I've got most of the layers of paint, stain, and varnish off. Just need now to clean it up and rub it with some mineral oil. 

Adventures in plumbing continues as the sink drain in the half bath has started to leak again. I cannot believe what trouble that has been. Of course, it is the most inaccessible sink drain I have ever seen, and I am not looking forward to wedging myself in there again.

I've got a full cord of firewood coming later this month. I have about a half cord stacked and ready to go in the garage, but with being home this winter I expect to burn more wood. I really look forward to watching the bad weather from my couch, and not driving through it to work at 11 PM.

P.S. Google has "updated' their blogging app and I don't like it. I'm really struggling to get the blog to look the way I want it to look. Sorry about the weird picture placement and random gaps in the texts. I'm still trying to get it figured out. 

All Alarms Are Off

My workstation in 2020. 

 Wow. What happened? I entered into the National Weather Service in the age of noisy teletypes and huge facsimile machines that smelled vaguely of ozone. I leave in a time multiple flat screens, virtual briefings, and COVID-19. Deadly viruses aside, I could not have imagined where the job would go after I joined in 1986. The job is better, of course. We are smarter, vastly better trained, and much more accurate. We are also more needed in today's high tech and densely populated world. More people live on the coast than ever, more flood plains have been paved over, more wild areas encroached by development. Add climate change to the mix and you have millions and millions living in at risk areas with a strong need to know. 

It's an exciting time to be a meteorologist, but for me, time to hand off the baton. When you consider where I started and the tools I was given, to where we are now, I think I have handled the changes well, kind of like teaching a caveman Calculus. Still, it's time to go. For starters, It's not just the changes but the rate of change that is difficult. About the time I master one thing, there's three other things that are awaiting my attention. My 60 year old brain has had enough.

But it's not just that. Like I posted in an earlier blog, the life I wish to live out, awaits me. I don't see it as being an exotic, thrill a minute adventure, more of a spontaneous, do it when I want to life without alarm clocks and the dull hangover of shift work. Cindy and I can travel on a whim (2021AC - After Corona), relax on a whim, and start a project on a whim. We will not be bored. Our old fixer upper awaits some more spit and polish. 

Alarms turned off for
the last time

I will miss my co-workers the most. Fantastic people, every one of them, and my closest friends. Shift work, working weekends, and working holidays, tears you away from your outside friends, and relationships shrivel from the lack of attention. On the other hand, working all hours of the day, night, and week builds a closer relationship with your co-workers. The office almost becomes a club house. 

So like I wrote, it will become a time for travel, spontaneity, and rebuilding friendships. I hope to become more active in the fire department, more active at the gym, more active in the family, and maybe finish another room in the old barn on Park Street. Perhaps volunteer where I am needed. 

Who knows? Maybe I'll finish that damn novel in the next couple years, revealing what really goes on inside this over sized pumpkin. Other dreams include trying my hand at stand up comedy at an open mike night, rebuilding a car, and finding gold at the beach. 

I could just sit on my porch and watch the world go by. This seems least likely though since just watching means everyone and everything is passing you by. There's still time to make more memories. 

I will continue this blog. It's popularity is hard to gauge but I do enjoy writing it. I may begin to record some Video Blogs as well (Vlogs to us insiders). What could be more entertaining than actually watching me attempt these jobs that I write about? Kind of like a mash up of Fixer Upper and Emergency 911. 

Like Calvin told Hobbes in their final comic strip, "It's a magical world, Hobbes ol' buddy. Let's go exploring". Good advice.