Author: Chuck

Getting ready for the water

~ Chuck ~ Leave a comment
The boat with the first coat of the new (green) bottom paint.
The boat with the first coat of the new (green) bottom paint.

Well, Sunday wasn’t quite the day I had hoped for. I had hoped to get the first coat of bottom paint on the boat and get some workshop time, finish up the drawer for the second table and then head out for a sushi dinner.

Of course, the invisible fence broke on Saturday night. And then late Saturday night someone decided to flatten the mailbox. They flattened six other mailboxes on our street that night so I don’t feel too special. Not that replacing the mailbox is a difficult job. And neither is fixing the invisible fence. Normally.

Sunday morning, after the boys went to their mother’s house, I figured I would go out and fix the break in the fence and then go to Home Depot with Susanna to pick out a new mailbox. There is a junction between two sections of fence wire right next to the driveway, and normally it gets broken when people are turning around in the driveway and go off the pavement a little bit. Of course it wasn’t broken there. I walked the boundary and couldn’t find an obvious break. So I had to troubleshoot. It didn’t make sense. The break was in a section of the front yard where it had been buried for a long time.

Anyway, in the meantime, with no invisible fence, the dogs decided to break from the yard. We don’t even get a 15 minute “stay in the yard” break with the beagle. As soon as the fence is down, he is gone. And I still had to dig up the front yard and replace the wire and buy and put up a new mailbox and hopefully paint the boat and be done in time to clean up and go out for an early dinner that night.

The dogs running away was the last straw.  I was not in a good mood. And me being in a bad mood didn’t help Susanna be in a good mood. Time to take a break and be pissed that nothing was going right that morning.  Then get over it. Then go to Home Depot and get a new mailbox.

I did get the mailbox installed (and it survived its first night along the road). I also got the wire replaced with the yard only looking partly like crap where I dug the trench. I didn’t get done in time to make an early dinner date.  I also didn’t get to the boat.

I was able to get to the boat tonight after work. I got most of the bottom painted with the first coat. We changed the color of the bottom paint from blue to green. Just to be different. And because I couldn’t find pink as Susanna had requested. And yellow seemed like the wrong color for this year.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll get into the workshop and work on the drawer and finally catch up on my Sunday projects.

Almost too tired to write (a good day)

~ Chuck ~ Leave a comment
Will cooking grilled cheese for the family.
Will cooking grilled cheese for the family.

It was 70-degrees here today. And Sunny.

We had a busy day. I would write all about it, but I’m too tired to spend enough effort to make a long post make sense. Or at least get the post to what passes as making sense (to me). So I’ll keep this short (which I’m sure Susanna is thankful for) plus post some pictures from today.

The boys had soccer practice this morning. I got to sit and watch, so I’m not as tired as they are. They spent most of the afternoon playing basketball. Or make-believe Pokemon with the basketball. I don’t think I’m making sense. But I don’t think they did either, so I’m not too worried. Anyway, it was some sort of game somewhat resembling basketball, but different.

Will pushing Michael on our walk down the street. He needed a snack and a break from his brother.
Will pushing Michael on our walk down the street. He needed a snack and a break from his brother.

Will got in trouble last night for complaining too much about helping clean up the kitchen. So he got to make and clean up all of lunch. He was upset at first because all he knew how to make was peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches. And he is sick of them because that is what he makes every day for lunch at school. So I showed him how to make grilled cheese sandwiches. He made all but the first sandwich. With almost no help (though with supervision). Now he can make two things in the kitchen. He only burned himself once (a little bit). On the same hand that he had cut at breakfast trying to slice a loaf of bread (again a small injury). Yes, learning to cook can be painful. Just wait until he learns home repair.

Susanna and I cleaned the patio after lunch, cleaning off two years worth of leaves and fighting back the encroaching yard. It was much-needed. I had a chance to start sanding the bottom of the boat in preparation for painting. We are switching the bottom from blue to green.

Tonight we get to babysit Michael. It was a surprise (to me). Susanna had agreed a month ago, but we all had forgotten about it. Luckily we had no major pans (other than enjoy the nice weather). I actually got Will to help me take Michael for a walk down the road. Will even went to the neighbor’s house to borrow a stroller. We are finishing the night with two very tired adults, two exhausted and sleeping Curtis boys, and one not quite ready to sleep toddler.

So much for keeping this short.

Ben and Tucker enjoying a warm spring day.
Ben and Tucker enjoying a warm spring day.

 

Building Fences (and actually finishing a project in time)

~ Chuck ~ Leave a comment
The new fence, ready to let the weather gray the wood.
The new fence, ready to let the weather gray the wood.

Susanna and I have been wanting to replace the fence next to the workshop for a while. It wasn’t a big project, just everything else got in the way. Until today.

And I know that I’m not the best at guessing how long it will take me to complete a project. I’m just easily distracted. Susanna just mentally adjusts the expected completion of a project whenever I give her a date that I’ll be finished.

But sometimes they really don’t take that long to finish. I had guessed that the fence was an afternoon project; and we started bulding in the afternoon and finished before dinner. That included cleaning up (but not restacking the lumber beneath the barn). The old fence was a green wire fence (we needed a fence to keep the dogs from running out of the yard on that side of the barn. We replaced it with a three board fence. The invisible fence follows the wooden fence, so it will keep the dogs in the yard (Tucker escapes from the back of the yard anyway).

A tired and happy us after finishing the fence.
A tired and happy us after finishing the fence.
Remnants of the old fence as I start to install the posts for the new one (I forgot to take a picture before I started)
Remnants of the old fence as I start to install the posts for the new one (I forgot to take a picture before I started)

Back in the workshop (finally)

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Glue up complete on the second nightstand.
Glue up complete on the second nightstand.

Finally the weather is warm enough for long enough to get some time in the shop. The boys didn’t have school today, so I took a day off of work.

This afternoon I cut the remaining tenons  and glued up the second nightstand. The first nightstand is in the loft above the workshop waiting for a finish. I figure I’ll apply the finish for both of them at the same time.

Next I will finish milling the pieces for the top and glue up the top. I also have to install a pair of cleats on the inside of the side aprons to attach the top and a pair to act as slides for the drawer. After the table is assembled I will need to construct and fit the drawer. Hopefully I can make progress this week and next weekend on the remaining steps.

Another Sunday….

~ Chuck ~ Leave a comment

The rain mostly stopped. The temperature outside is in the 50s. It almost feels like spring. I think the whole family is enjoying the warmer weather and being able to be outside. It is good to see the everyone enjoying the day.

Ben is over at a friend’s house this afternoon (I’m assuming he is having fun – he always does). Will has a friend over and they are having fun, though I’m pretty sure they got their shoes soaking wet trying to explore the stream/river in the back yard. Susanna is starting a puzzle after working on lesson plans for next week for most of the afternoon. The dogs can finally spend most of the day outside, and I can time in the workshop (without having to blast the heater).

Tucker helping me in the workshop. Photo by Susanna.
Tucker helping me in the workshop. Photo by Susanna.
Will and Shane taking a break from playing to let me take a picture.
Will and Shane taking a break from playing to let me take a picture.
Progress on the second nightstand.
Progress on the second nightstand.

A wet morning (or the non-preferred method of cleaning the chicken coop)

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The stream behind the barn flooding out the bottom of the chicken coop.
The stream behind the barn flooding out the bottom of the chicken coop.

I like the rain. But enough already. The seasonal stream in the backyard has turned into a seasonal river in the backyard. At least the rain is slowing down for now.

A quick walk around the yard (in the very squishy mud) finds our stream overflowing its banks. Not that there were really any defined banks. Hopefully it doesn’t erode too much from under the back of the garage.

The water has flooded under the workshop. Luckily the only things stored on the ground there are the canoe (and it should be okay), some aluminum ladders, and a pile of not-very nice lumber. Though there may be some sapele and cedar on the bottom of that stack. Oh well.

And a quick trip to the basement… let’s just say that it is much wetter than normal. Luckily nothing should be stored on the floor in the basement. Though I’m sure the cat doesn’t enjoy having to find her way around on the steam pipes to stay dry.

The seasonal stream after a long day of heavy rain.
The stream after a long day of heavy rain.

More from the Ice Camp

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Panoramic Picture of the Ice Camp
Panoramic Picture of the Ice Camp

Memories of the ICEX 2014:

  • Light meals on the submarine. The supply officer hadn’t ordered enough food for the entire underway, so the meals were rationed. The supply officer wasn’t happy. The XO kept telling him to think of it as a grand adventure, like Shackleton’s trip to the north pole. I don’t think that helped. There was no creamer for the coffee when I arrived, and they ran out of ketchup before I left. However, there was lots of pudding for dessert.
  • Great meals at the ice camp.

    A view of the broken ice from our flight back to Prudhoe Bay
    A view of the broken ice from our flight back to Prudhoe Bay
  • Washing the dishes at the ice camp for my first dinner there.
  • Teaching the Air Force Colonel that was with Lt. Gen. Handy (Commander Alaska Command – visiting the camp for two days) to play cribbage. And then losing to him. I mean. The Air Force. And new at the game. At least he didn’t skunk me.
  • The Army Lt. Col. that was with the general telling the submarine crew that he couldn’t spend the night onboard because his wife forbid him to get underway on the submarine.
  • The three-star general standing on the ice for over three hours to just watch the submarine surface without a warming hut. Did I mention he was a three-star?
  • The outside “urinal” boxes at the edge of camp. Cold during the day. Even colder at night. With a threat of polar bears. It made one think twice if you could get back to sleep or really needed to pee.
  • Unheated outhouses. But not for peeing.
  • Prudhoe Bay. No alcohol. No restaurants. Nothing to do but try to leave.
  • Will calling me at 3 in the morning. It was 7 here and he was just calling me back.
  • The XO waking me up at 8am Sunday morning (I had been awake until 2am teaching one of the watchstanders about presetting torpedoes) telling me that “the helicopter will be here in 15 minutes, you need to be packed and on the helicopter.”
  • No showers at the ice camp.
  • The totally cool hole in the ice in the command hut. The team melted the hole when they set up the camp.  The water beneath the camp was 2 miles deep. I was going to bring water back from the camp, but I forgot. I was more focused on trying to get to Anchorage and not have to spend the night in Prudhoe Bay. Did I mention there was no alcohol at Prudhoe Bay.
  • Falling off the sled behind the snowmobile on the ride from the airplane to the camp. It was an amusing start to my trip there.  At least the chief on the back of the snowmobile thought so.
  • Not seeing any polar bears. But always wondering when taking a leak at night if that white blur in the distance (in the dark) had been there earlier in the day.

I’m sure I didn’t nearly cover it all…. but enough for the night.