Suddenly, it's June!

A productive weekend, if a little quiet.

Friday, the day job complete. A quick stop at Blain’s. Top off the fuel tank. Groceries picked up. Spirits elated as I arrive home to WHAAA? Did someone steal my hubcap? Yes, the front left wheel cover was missing from the wagon. No doubt I lost it in the previous night’s quick trip to Waverly. So let’s turn the Blazer around and retrace our steps. Now, knowing that hubcap must weigh something like 10 pounds, and knowing that even the flimsiest covers travel an impressive distance, my chances of finding it were slim. And there’s a lot of ditch weed between The Lodge and Waverly. Plus 218. All I managed to do was satisfy myself that I had at least _tried_ to find it. If that’s the worst that happens all weekend, I’m in pretty good shape.

Cam and Ben stopped out for a few brews, some fresh air and a screening of Winnebago Man. (Here’s a SFW link: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2010-05-05/tech/29980223_1_jack-rebney-winnebago-man-filmmaker-ben-steinbauer) Having never seen any of this viral video, but going on description alone, I decided to gamble a few bucks and buy the DVD. While not something I’ll probably watch frequently, I’d say that’s cheap entertainment.

Saturday. My first mistake was getting to bed around 1AM Friday night. Apparently I am not 24 years old anymore. No, no hangovers or anything like that. Just that general exhaustive malaise that removes any encouragement one might need for tackling manual labor in the hot sun. Deciding to make French toast and bacon for breakfast didn’t help either…I went all-out which meant the process from start to finish took about an hour and a half. You start with a certain density bread, then you bake out the moisture using a conventional oven (16 minutes). Then you prepare the egg mixture. Then after the bread is prepared you briefly soak the slices and arrange them next to the skillet which is cooking the bacon. Then you cook the slices several minutes per side on said skillet, and return to the oven to keep warm while you wipe and butter the cook surface b/w slices and continue to process. Plus getting out all the equipment and ingredients and doing the dishes and cleanup. Whew.

Eventually, I overcame that anchor and Cara gave me a hand in sorting fascia boards for CS3, selecting faces and edges that would be visible, and we began the confusing process of priming and painting. Why confusing? There’s around 2 dozen boards of varying lengths and widths. All surfaces need to be painted in some way to keep moisture out. But any visible knots or voids must be primed to fill in the imperfections and to keep sap and tannin from showing later on. Because priming takes longer than painting, and because there’s only so much sawhorse space, you end up with boards scattered everywhere. Some are drying in the sun, some are primed one side but not the other, some are primed both sides but waiting for me to top coat (Cara did the priming). And, oh yeah, some boards, but not others, require a 15 degree rip along the bottom edge (north fascias and south fascias) so those edges need to be considered when selecting what board goes where. Around dusk we packed up and headed inside, about 75% complete.

Sunday. Alarm went off. Up and running. Back to the fascias. This time everything was in order by noon. Primed. Painted. Drying in the sun. I moved the picker to the east side and started the arduous task of board installation. This is where experience pays off. Somehow you’ve got to get 36’ of boards to be razor straight, even when your subfascia isn’t. And do you think each board is naturally straight, either? The north and south ends must be mitered at 45 degrees to meet the complementing north and south fascia boards, but guess what, you’ve also got to get 15 degree angles on them, too. Plus all the splices need to be tight, so you have intermediate 25 deg cuts to join all the boards (36’=12+14+12 less excess). And I don’t own a sliding compound miter saw. It’s not rocket science, but it is a real PITA. By dinnertime, had finished the east side and the first north face board. Still more north boards to rip and hand sand. Grrr.

This is why, while outwardly simple, fascia boards and soffits are a real bane. You’ve got to get plywood sheets two stories up and into position with gaps no bigger than an 1/8” without screwing anything up. Every cut and angle just about perfect. Shims and spacing games to keep everything flat and even. And then it’s all got to be stained or painted. But it’s really the only way to get the color, texture, shape and angle you desire. This was the defacto standard for decades.  Until vinyl and aluminum got popular.

Ever notice today that a 100k house and a 300k house have the exact same soffits and fascias? Metal wrap over a 2x6 subfascia and stamped metal soffits that fit into formed channels. Three-Hundred-Thousand-Dollars, and that’s what you get. Because he can trim it with his shears in about 30 seconds and doesn’t have to paint it. Done. You also don’t really have 4’ overhangs on houses anymore. One, because it’s tough to integrate that kind of functionality on the style of today’s homes, and two, think of the material cost savings to the contractor.

Anyway, I’ll keep plugging away at the fascias. Soffits will be another matter. Because of the strip vents, multiple pieces must be installed to close up a joist bay, which means what you can’t finish in one session ends up as an open invite to any curious bird.  

Monday. 6AM start time. And then 12.5 hours. Every. Single. Day. (except for Sunday…because we all need a break!)

No, seriously, that's the level of insanity of where I work. I could easily hit 70 hours including Saturdays, which also means things on the homefront are in danger of slipping, and when I get off work I'm either too tired to go out, or have prior obligations, or frankly have to get up so early the next morning that I'd be dead if I did go out. So what have I been doing? Trying to balance some of this mess.

The weather has been abnormally gorgeous, even better than the spring of '06, and it looks like the lane has dried out as well. No doubt it got some help from these ridiculous winds we've been experiencing. We're luckly the screen door is still attached to the lodge. No joke.

Saturday, put in an 8 hour shift and then got down to business at the Lodge. I had put aside all previous construction plans to focus on Spring Cleaning and Preparation for the day. You know, the things you need to do as a homeowner to keep the place together. As it turned out, it took us most of Saturday afternoon/evening and Sunday morning to get done. So I got the yard hydrant working for the season, replaced a couple burnt out bulbs, put away the snow shovels and cleaned up all the scrap in front of CS3 (now that the snow no longer covered it). Also got the clothesline set up just in time for Cara to hang out the bath towels.

Inside, I took down the 8 clerestory window screens, scrubbed them outside with soap and water, cleaned the glass inside, and tackled the triangle windows, too. 40 linear feet +. Ugh. The partition between the upstairs rooms was also in need of a good cleaning. Then before dark, we took the pressure washer and metal brake to their new home in CS3. Did we watch a movie that night? I don't even remember.

Cara was busy with the vacuum and dusting, and I was after the asian beetles which are ridiculous this year (the shop vac has been working hard). I also had to wrangle up all the outdoor solar lights and get a baseline of where we were at. Having 1 of 8 functioning is pretty sad, and I'm afraid this model might now be discontinued. Between polishing the solar cells, swapping batteries, cleaning terminals, and getting out the soldering iron to meld two broken ones into something functional, we should now be back in business.

Now, the grass hasn't started growing yet, so it's the perfect time to de-weed what needs de-weeding. We moved all the drive-in concession stand lumber from its weed-ensconced pile and restacked it out in the open so it wouldn't become one with the earth (that includes plywood and shingles, too). Then I got the battery onto the tractor, moved things around, and I cleaned up the weed island and made a few passes at the barrier strip at the rear of the drive-in lot. Fired up on the first rotation! Amazing.

It was still early in the afternoon on Sunday and we got the snow fences taken down, rolled up and the fence posts stacked. One less thing to worry about. Then we finished the day with cutting and plywood painting and general lower soffit work. Cara probably wishes she wasn't so handy with that paint roller!

Sundown- tools put away, grilled cheese sandwiches, and utter exhaustion. Maybe today I put up the remainder of the lower rear soffits and call it a day. Oh, and we bought a new car.

A New Year's Post

February 28th, practically March 1st and you know what that means...Spring!

2012 is going to be a good year. Not that 2011 was awful, but just just looking at those numbers standing next to each other....2 0 1 1. It's lacking the courage and solidarity of the book-ended 2's.

First order of business: We are still at the lodge. No move in this year and we certainly aren't planning on it. The days are fickle enough that any snow or rain accumulates, and then stands on top of the frozen earth. That makes for a slushy way in, and in short order, a rutted road. SO... we're walking in most days, but it's good exercise, and the temps are pretty swell too.

Can't complain about the temps inside either....the dual heater setup downstairs can bring things up to temp in real short order, and it's been comfortable enough upstairs that we catch at least one or two flicks a week on the big screen.

On the CS3 front, the upstairs has been idle, ready for insulation and drywall. I'm on the fence because I'm still waiting on glass to close the place in. One freak slush/rain/snow storm comes through with the right amount of wind and suddenly I'd have soggy walls. No thanks.

Downstairs, the insulation is in. The drywall is up. The garage doors are functional. The pegboard is fastened. 2/3 of the floor is epoxied (now for 50F+ temps so I can finish it). And 3 cars are stored comfortably for the winter.

And it's no surprise the hours at work take their toll on the home front. It was only this past weekend where I had a Saturday off that cooperated with the weather. I decided a couple weeks ago to design and build a cabinet for downstairs in the lodge. This cabinet will take the place of the blonde shelves that act as the current room divider. Those shelves will move to CS3 and the cabinet will become a display case for the dining side and both storage and "closet" space for the laundry side.

Now, that's a lot of physical storage, so to give it some visual appeal means some slightly more complex cuts. That's where Saturday came in. 7 sheets of birch plywood later, I've got 90% of the cabinet cut. Then Sunday was sanding, pre-staining and then the first coat of stain. More to get done this week between errands, shopping and improving weather.

So what's on tap for 2012? We will be fast approaching 12 months of construction on CS3. Sure would be nice to get that place finished this year and the lodge tidied up.

Since Cara's car took a hit from a chump in a Lumina-styled Regal, we've been on the hunt for a new car. I think we've finally run the numbers and narrowed things down.

Lots of "over the winter" research on the computer project. More books ordered, more books read. More ideas to toss around. Even ordered some sample parts for evaluation (not impressed). Probably won't be this year when I start final design, but a long research phase never hurts.

More to come......

Changing Seasons

I've written quite a bit, off and on, the past couple months. In fact, I had a pretty big entry penned up before the passing of Steve Jobs, and it never saw the light of day, either. My mood changed, or I got busy, or perhaps I felt the writing was too personal.

Time for an update-

As usual, my entries usually involve construction in some way. The big news is we finally have a steel roof on the new building. This is a big deal- instead of watching mother nature ravage the structure, it now stands a chance of moving forward without decay. No more pushing water out of the upstairs in the dark, or clammering on the roof trying to pin down ice shield and flapping panels.

This progress also coincided with a day or two break from the 9-5 (or 6-5) job. Amazing what a string of free days can do. In the country, something is always going on or needing attention. So...a trip to Waverly for some metal shears to trim the new roof yielded an ammeter for the tractor, a pulley for one day when I make an idler for the mower deck, a spare grease gun to keep in the new building, and generally whatever else caught my eye. On such a sunny day I did indeed pull the tractor out, tracked down a fault with the lighting, changed out the gauge, greased all points and parked it in the shed. (along with finishing off the east edge of the roof, of course) With sun in the PM, the Lodge's railings got wiped down with mineral spirits and touched up with rustoleum before the snow flies. The cement deck is showing wear too- I've only set foot on it a handful of times this year if you can believe it- but the elements are starting to pock it. Out came the tube of masonry patch to fill all the divets I could.

The day prior, another freebie, meant seeing if the boat would fit in the shed with everything else (it does). Lawn chairs now hang up. Garden tools hang up. A "bookshelf" now is attached in the corner and features quarts of oil, funnels, potting soil and pots, and other cast off items. I even trimmed the crude strut brace I had installed when I built the place, and took down a panel of steel that kept snow out when I was working to finish the structure two winters ago. Feels good to have at least one place organized.

And that's the momentum for getting the new CS3 complete. Get everything in its place. The lodge, while mostly complete, feels like a car I put together. Roadworthy. Solid. But marred by primered rockers and a makeshift interior. The last 5% is elbow grease and attention to detail but makes the whole 110%. All it takes is time and consistent vision (what's that?).

By the numbers- CS3 has come a long way since construction kicked off this year. Now granted, I believe it was November prior that the foundation was set, but there was nothing that could be done until spring when the ground thawed to allow excavation and pouring of the cement piers, and the start of the I-beam install. Could it be? A closed-in, inhabitable building in 12 months from thaw? I've still got a couple months before I'll have to hang up my hat on the interior. Hmmm.

News in Brief

It has been an absolute whirlwind lately but a brief reprieve is in sight. Now that we've got a roof on the place, well, most of a roof, I can sleep a little better at night. Next step is to close in the rear wall. Perhaps this week.

With the help of Cara, Ben S. and Cam C., we did the improbable in a single day. At 6AM, there were still joists to hang and plywood to install. By sunset, we were putting the screws in the last panel. One less person and it wouldn't have worked. One less drill and we wouldn't have finished. Any wind and we'd have been in a real fix with those 37' long panels. Rain? Disaster. And it all worked out. We topped off the festivities with a delicious meal at Panther's Pride (think I'll try the breakfast next time) and a very surreal experience at the PL where by 10:30, we called it a night.

Sunday- Felt like I was hit by a truck. Aches, pains; could have slept all day. We finally forced ourselves out of bed before noon, must be a new record for the lodge. I took the day a little easier but still managed to wrap the steel on the ground from rain, cleaned up the site, moved the picker to the SW and even typar'd the west upper wall. Picked up inside the lodge, worked on the wagon, analyzed the etchings of a RR control panel, etc. etc. A lazy, yet productive day.

On the wagon front, we should be ready for a trip to Missouri. The exhaust is patched up, rad overflow bottle swapped out, oil topped off, tempmatic system converted and a new Delco 2000 radio installed. All that's left is the rear headliner, which isn't crucial for highway cruising, but will need installation sometime soon.

About 10,000 other little things going on around here, too- From 'the great kitchen cleanup' to the 'seafoam green toilet seat fiasco'. Never a dull moment!

Touch the Magic

I knew 2011 was going to be a difficult year in terms of personal workload. That was pretty apparent in 2010, the year of "the fixening*". No surprises there. What didn't help was the late spring this year and the ridiculous amount of OT worked spring and summer. The "at-work" forecast for this fall does not appear to be much better.

While CS3 (aka the Research Lab) is more simplistic than the lodge in many ways, it does have its novelties, and whichever way you slice it, you've gotta have time to build. If I can regain a couple weekends, I should still be able to attain my goal of having the place closed-in by this winter. That means cement downstairs, operable windows installed. Walls weather-wrapped. Roofing and trim in place, and rudimentary utilities installed. A closed-in upstairs means I can work on the interior when it starts to turn cold, and a closed-in downstairs means I can quit paying storage on my '60 and find a rightful home for all the construction necessities occupying good lodge space that's cramping my style (table saw, router, band saw, lumber, windows, shelving, fixtures, surplus mat'ls for drive-in, etc).

While I am inclined to write off the spring/summer/fall of 2011 as a lost-year, I need to keep in mind it's been a productive year, and the follow-through should pay dividends in time and money down the road. Plus, there have been perks... 2011 saw a trip to Palm Springs with Cara, the decoration of the living room with actual furniture, my introduction into vintage boating, a new computer for my well-worn G4, an engine rebuild well underway and a healthy addition to the television hobby.

So, I guess you could say I've been busy.

Just how is it some people retire and bore themselves to death? The number of D**re retirees that turn in their badges for their pensions, yet show up to work in a different capacity 4 weeks later just astounds me. This is practically the rule rather than the exception these days. Perhaps these folks do not have the gift a twenty, going on thirty, -year old has. Their life is their job. They've spent more waking hours with a company than their family. Perhaps I think about this occasionally because I couldn't do what I want to do without the paycheck, but compared to my productivity outside of work, I feel absolutely useless behind the desk. I understand life should be well-lived. With enjoyment and fulfillment. Variety. Hard-work. Leisure. One may feel they're invaluable to their job, their employer. I've watched good people suck-up to try to get ahead. Act like people they aren't. And yet once person A moves into position B, position A is so quickly filled with a warm body, and the work done equally, that in several months time, few even remember who occupied that space. I've always found that interesting. How can it be so obvious and yet not weigh on the decisions of those moving about? Odd.

I mention this because as time marches on, we adapt to our environments. If personal skills and cognitive assets aren't exercised, they wither away. I effectively have become a dumber person for excelling at my job, and I do not believe I am alone in this arrangement. This is a blinking light. A subtle warning. The point at which it becomes the background noise is indeterminate. Were I free man, I would heed such a warning. But a little thing called responsibility and adulthood make this complicated. I imagine this is about the time others begin to start families, settle down and buy-into social norms. The light becomes background as new goals enter the picture- Having children and becoming a father. Planning for retirement. Shifting focus from "me" to "them". If that's your bag, great. Novacaine for the soul.

Better get back to work, only a few good months left!

* "The Fixening". I just made that up right now and that's not really what I'd like to call 2010. But the sidebar is that that year was when we first moved in lock, stock and barrel (1 June) and there were no "major" construction projects going on. Not that I wasn't kept busy- August was spent working on the drive-in project. I built the pole-building in the Fall. I drew up plans and sought bids on CS3 before winter and got the foundation in. But I also found the odd weekend here and there between finishing up projects around the lodge to relax a bit. Managed to buy a tractor and a repair manual to get it running right which shaved hours off mowing. Picked up the Olds wagon to play with. And even spent the occasional evening on the front balcony.

On Kodak and the origin of the Digital Camera