What did you do today?

[zannej]

CJ, Wow! That looks beautiful!

I was trying to read and reply earlier but the site went down.

Guts don't like me today but took some Pepto and hope it works. Mom is using her laptop to watch Youtube videos. She has improved appetite and is walking faster when she goes between her room and the living room. She no longer has to stop to sit down on the way. She did trip over the dog stairs the other day and fell down but wasn't hurt. I have since moved the dog stairs over and back more so they are against the trunk at the foot of her bed instead of in front of the bed so they are out of the way.

My sister got me a toaster and a cover for it for Xmas. Best toaster we've had in years. Cooks evenly and quickly. Has a display that shows how much time is left before it finishes. Lights up to show which setting is on. Love it. Just hope the cats don't find a way to break it. It also cools quickly enough after use that I can put the cover back on and move it to a safer spot where the cats can't knock it down.

Stores are closed so I can't go get milk and I forgot to get more last time I was at the store. Seriously thinking of getting Chinese takeout for lunch/dinner. I'm craving those green beans they make.

Best friend is visiting his fiance's family in another town. Mom just came out of her room and said she's hungry so I need to go figure out what and cook it for her.

 

[C.J.]

I guess today is payback for all the 1/4” shims I’ve ever left underneath base for the floor guy to dig out. Well maybe not all. lol. My base won’t sit flat with those proud screw heads. Easy enough for me to remove.

 

[havasu]

Why the screws to begin with?

 

[C.J.]

Why the screws to begin with?

Cus they don’t know what the heck they’re doing!!

I’ve seen a few guys that use screws as spacers but they don’t usually screw through the planks themselves. Whatever, I’m just hanging base. As long as the screws don’t prevent my base from sitting flat on the floor, I just leave them.

 

[havasu]

Who needs that dumb expansion/contraction stuff, anyways?

 

[C.J.]

It’s SmartCore so it shoulda been a piece of cake! That’s what $1/ foot looks like here. You can’t do anything about it, you just have to let it happen. How else will they ever learn their lesson.

 

[zannej]

Screws through the boards really bother me. Seems like lazy work.

Speaking of lazy, I've been resting a bit. Mom doesn't need her sugar checked quite as often lately, although it was down to 40 earlier. She feels like crap if it gets below 80. Got her some apple juice and made a burger for her.

Earlier I went to samsclub to get curbside pickup of water, went in to get cat food bc I forgot to order it & grabbed some items Mom requested, picked up mail, and grabbed Chinese takeout. Green beans, fried rice (for my brother), chicken sticks, and egg drop soup. I probably ate too much today but I enjoyed it.

Forgot to call my uncle before it was too late. I'll have to call him tomorrow. It was his first Xmas in over 50 years without his wife & he's been missing her, but he fell and broke his hip so he spent Xmas in the hospital. He was supposed to be released yesterday. One of the grandkids is supposed to fly out to visit him and help him out. His son is not able to help much because he suffers from severe migraines and the meds he takes for them make it so he can't drive.

I'm about to take a nap for a bit.

 

[C.J.]

I was thinkin about you the other day, Z, and hoping everything was going alright for you and yours. That’s stressful taking care of a parent.

It’s the new year and things are slow so I’m takin care of business today. The nose piece on my 16 ga Paslode is getting a little sticky which means it’s time for some love. I’ve had it one day shy of 2 months now. Don’t use it every day but so far I’ve popped maybe 5 or 6 thousand nails through it. 6k nails is only 3 boxes so maintenance is kinda frequent as compared to a typical cordless nailer that you don’t have to really do anything to other than switch batteries.

For those that don’t know, a Paslode cordless gun is basically a 2 stroke engine that fires one pop at a time. The gas cartridge provides the fuel, there’s an actual spark plug for the combustion and it sinks the nail every single time, except for when the nail crumples because of a metal plate in the wall. Happens. But to Paslode’s credit, it completely crumples the nail every single time it hits a metal plate.

So basically what you’re doing is removing the cylinder head and spraying it down with cleaner, wiping it clean and oiling the cylinder & rings before you put the head back on. It was pretty easy. I watched a couple videos first to make sure I was doing it right. Super easy and took me maybe 20 minutes. This is what it looks like before you clean it. If you don’t clean it it’s not gonna work for very long so maintenance is not an option with gas Paslodes. Something to consider if you’re thinking about buying a Paslode and you’re a lazy SOB.

I picked up a generator last week. $379 on Amazon. Put some oil and gas in it and fired it up to give it a test. It works, even runs my big compressor. I really got it because my pellet stove is worthless when the power goes out but it will get used on jobs where there is no power or I’m not willing to lay out that much cord. Had a job a couple weeks ago where the power source was 468’ away. lol. I do have 500 feet of cord in my van but that’s using every last cord I carry. Nope, not doin that.

 

[Floorist]

Found a bargain at the local lumberyard, 8' 1x12 $19, regular price is $28. So I am back to woodworking. The last children's rocking chairs I made, my wife sold for $65 each. I will have about $25 in the new ones.

 

[highup]

O'Reilly's bought me a new radiator.
I ordered too late on Thursday, so that meant Monday morning. I called me next door neighbor to ask for a ride Saturday morning to go pick it up. She said no problem.
I decided to stop by today (Friday) to be sure it would be there in the morning because I planned to remove the radiator and exchange it on Saturday...... Lifetime warranty is a good thing.
Long story short, the radiator had arrived. I had it installed by 10:30pm. The weather was good but it was supposed to get rainy for a week.
Glad I got it installed. It's been raining for a few hours now and 5 lightning flashes.
Tomorrow would be miserable working outdoors. We have rain forecast for the next 7 days. I barely made it.
In 2017 I paid $115 for it with a lifetime guarantee. Had it not been an exchange, the new one would have been $204.
Lifetime warranties are absolutely worth it.

 

[highup]

Weather's been fairly decent lately. I suppose it's winter. Getting a few flash bangs for some excitement.
I'm at the top of the screen, the weather is headed north. But it can just as easily pass north and miss us, or track east and miss us.
No hurricanes or tornadoes here, just breezy and damp.

 

[highup]

Found a bargain at the local lumberyard, 8' 1x12 $19, regular price is $28. So I am back to woodworking. The last children's rocking chairs I made, my wife sold for $65 each. I will have about $25 in the new ones.

Work has been scary slow November and December. I haven't stopped at the lumber yards hardly at all.

 

[highup]

Yup, the weather is headed east.

 

[MSLI]

Check out the Polish snow Plow its a combination hand truck and snow shovel

 

[Floorist]

Work has been scary slow November and December. I haven't stopped at the lumber yards hardly at all.

Well, I am going to need it to warm up a little. High is around 30, lows next week around 5 and my shop is not heated.

 

[zannej]

I finally called my uncle. His grandson flew back from visiting my cousin (his mom) in TX to be there when my uncle got out of the hospital. He helped him put his socks and shoes on, rubbed moisturizer on his feet/legs for him, helped him get up and down, brought him stuff, got him groceries, stayed in the bathroom while he showered in case he needed help, and has really been there for him. Sadly, he had to head back to work in Maryland yesterday. My cousin's kids have all turned out very well despite their dad. They take more after my cousin, and I'm so relieved. She's a very empathetic & nurturing person. The kids all got those qualities from her.

My uncle is always happy when I call him but I missed calling today. Woke up with the runs and coughing nonstop. Almost threw up. My brother threw up yesterday. He brought some sort of respiratory crud home. The rain and cold didn't help. Mom was argumentative and didn't want to let me check her sugar. she refused to get out of bed until after 7pm so she will likely be up late. She was cranky with me and mad that I napped-- but I had a sinus headache. The coughing is starting to piss me off. I commiserated with my uncle about how my bladder doesn't like coughing.

I saw a craft project on Youtube that I might try:
She makes some cool stuff. I'm not coordinated enough to deal with thin strips of tape like that though. LOL. I'd probably have to use hot glue. But I might mess it up. LOL. I should download her template. My sister said she wants a Jedi holocron. I want to find something better than foam board bc they don't sell the type of stuff she uses in my area and most of the craft stores around went out of business.

Kitties and doggies are all piled on me for now. It will be time to take my evening medicines soon.

Will have to go to the store tomorrow to get some more groceries. Out of milk, mayonnaise, beef ramen, salads, etc. Low on butter & butter spray.

 

[zannej]

Aaand we have no water. Ugh. Went out a few more times and last time a coupling on the pump came loose, water shot out and made a direct hit on the pressure switch. It has a cover but I doubt the moisture helped. Going to get a new switch and dielectric grease.
But the pressure switch was doing this after the 4th time it went out today.

 

[Floorist]

Today's "rain"

 

[C.J.]

I won’t bother you with pictures of palm trees and sunshine then cus that’s just rude.

Flew out to Scottsdale this morning and busted the old man outta the hospital. It’s gotta be my Karma cus this is the second time and he was about as happy to see me as I was when he came and bailed me out many moons ago. He even cried a little, I’m sure I did too. First order of business was an enchilada at the old man’s favorite Mexican restaurant.

Here’s a picture of my boy, my 83 year old child

 

[zannej]

We had major thunderstorms and tornado warnings. Wind was blowing pretty hard.

I picked up a new pressure switch, some dielectric grease, drove up to Lowes to get a new pressure tank (guys on plumbing forums said it sounded like pressure tank problem and the tank is 10 years old). I'd already tried putting air in the tank but the pipes wouldn't stay together and all the air blew out of it. Passed a kidney stone on Lowes bathroom. A pipe fell off the shelf (from above my head) directly on top of my foot (vertically). Still hurts and still has a mark where it landed hours later. Ordered Chinese takeout. Picked up my friend and brought him out during a lull in the storm. He installed the new pressure switch and put the pipes back together (I got the Oatey rain or shine pvc cement that could be put on wet pipes). I secured the power cable for the pressure switch and put air in the old pressure tank again. 28psi. Waited for cement to cure a bit and then turned the power back on. Water is working for now.

Brought food to Mom while friend was installing the switch. He came in to see her briefly while she was, in her own words, shoveling green beans into her mouth.

Took friend home and surprised him with his favorites from the Chinese place so he was happy.

Had power outages briefly.

Still got an annoying cough and my foot is sore but I'm relieved that the water is working for now.