Archive for July, 2007
Tuesday, July 31st, 2007
One of the final things we need to do is to get ourselves a nice patio set to go on the new screened in porch. With this, we can eat and drink and have a merry ol’ time.
Well, this time of year doesn’t offer much in the way of patio sets. Every store I checked is either selling the sets for half price (with very few left) or completely out of stock. I have been checking around online for two days.
Well, Laura and I finally agreed on a beautiful set from Sears.com, just this morning. I called a local Sears store just to check prices. They told me that the store was out of stock and I might be able to get the set online. That’s what I was going to do anyway. I bit the bullet (the set was more than I wanted to spend) and made the order. I was pretty excited and told a few people here at work about my order.
This afternoon came and I called the 800 number to check on the order. Sorry, I really don’t have faith in anything anymore. The dude on the other end said, “I am sorry sir, but that item is out of stock.” Gee, that’s weird, your website has written on it, “In stock and ready for delivery.”
I cancelled the order. I never really liked Sears anyway and am actually surprised that they are even in business anymore. Nuff said…they are under strict boycott (which is the highest level).
If anyone knows of a place to get a nice patio set this late in the season, please let me know.
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Monday, July 30th, 2007
Paul just sent me this cool link. It’s a free way to opt-out of receiving junk mail at home…you know, the paper kind.
Remember my post on “How to Deal With Junk Mail?” That one was pretty good. Well, there is a free way to submit your name to the credit reporting agencies to let them know to take you off of their distribution lists. Their site says that this works for insurance and credit card offers. Click here to fill in the form.
Paul did it and said that his junk mail has been reduced. Give it a shot…
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Sunday, July 29th, 2007
Yesterday, I screened the porch and today, I went out to Lowes and bought all the trim. I chose Lowes, because I looked at Home Depot’s trim and a lot of it was all warped and twisted. I wasn’t in the mood to search through that big pile all day.
I needed 16 pieces of 1″x4″s and 25 pieces of 1″x2″s. I also bought a nice box of 2″ decking screws. The verbiage on the box promised me that there is a special protective coating that won’t allow the screw to rust. Also, each screw has a special head that allows the screw to be removed easily. That is an important consideration when applying trim to a screened in porch. If the screen ever rips, each piece of trim must be able to be removed easily. Well, I guess it is objective to say, “must.” I would like it to be that way on this porch, because I like to do things a certain way. On your porch, please feel free to tear off your trim with a crowbar.
Ok, so here is what I did…I measured and cut each peice of wood. I used the 1″x4″s vertically and the 1″x2″s horizontally. I drilled holes in each piece of wood for the number of screws I was going to use for that piece. I had a little pan of wood sealer and a little roller nearby. When I had the wood cut and drilled, I would seal each piece before screwing it to the porch. This way, I seal the back of each piece as well. It was a little messy having oily hands and all, but it came out well. I am always shocked at the nice work I can do when I just take my time.
After I was done with that one side (actually, the only side I did today), I planted all the half-deer-eaten arborvitae I pulled out of the ground in the Spring. I had eleven of them. I replanted them on the side of the porch you can see above. I think they can take off again, if I keep the deer spray on them. My buddy told me that they never come back after being eaten. Strange, because they are coming back. I can see new growth. Bastard.
Anyway, the nice thing about this weekend in the Northeast was the opportunity to take multiple showers. It seems like every time I would come in the house, I would take a shower and change my clothes. I sweat so much, my pants were actually wet. Ahhh…humidity.
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Saturday, July 28th, 2007
I really wasn’t looking forward to either of these tasks…that is sealing and screening in the porch. Sealing just sucks. I used a paint brush for the front porch and vowed that I would never do that again. Now, I use a wide brush with a broom stick screwed in to it. Also, I tried an electric sprayer for the railings, but ended up waterproofing my rhododendron. That thing made a mess. I returned it and picked up a two gallon canister sprayer…you know, the type people use for insect spraying. It’s in the insect control aisle of Home Depot, just in case you care. So, after a week and about six gallons of sealer, the porch is sealed…for a few years anyway.
Screening…ahh, screening. I bought 150′ worth of fiberglass porch screening yesterday from Home Depot. I kept going back and forth in my mind trying to decide if I wanted to use those screening kits or just use the staple gun. I ended up just using the gun. I started this morning and finished the whole thing by mid-afternoon. I sweat my ass off. I think it looks pretty good for being my first screening job. There are no wrinkles or sags. Actually, you could probably bounce a quarter off of them, they are so tight. I have a system…that I learned about half way through.
Here are some photos…
I bought two brass lights and installed them yesterday. These were pretty cheap at about $12 each.
This is a good shot of the almost finished screening. I mean, the screening is done, I just have to make sure all the staples are hammered in and I have to put up the trim boards. I am going to use mostly pressure treated 4″x1″s.
This is the rear view. You can see that I added the gutter and the boards down below. This is a reminder for the dog not to get all tangled up around the posts. She likes to do that.
Here is the screen door actually closed, along with the stairs that lead down to a concrete pad. Also, you can see that I took the 37′ gutter and cut it to fit the corner.
I just did this about an hour ago. I took the three sets of Christmas lights we had stored in the basement and wrapped them around the wood in the ceiling inside. This looks really cool, but just temporary until we get the real string lights.
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Friday, July 27th, 2007
I am having a little problem with those big, fat phone books with those pages that are yellow. Actually, I am not even sure that they have a phone directory in them anymore. I am hesitant to say pages that are yellow in reverse, because one of those money hungry phone book printers might come after me and try something.
Anyway, here is the problem…I have probably received around five of these big, fat wastes of paper this year alone. I am not sure of the number, but it is just ridiculous. I get these huge books with the yellow covers (all with a similar look and similar names, mind you) either stuffed in the mailbox or thrown on the ground at the base of the mailbox, shoved in a plastic bag.
Now, I never asked for these huge wastes of paper. All I do, is pick the book up and throw it in my recycling can. How many of these things do I need? What do they think…I have some shelve somewhere in the house with a stack of these books with yellow covers?
All these loser companies have their loser sales people out there hounding local businesses…bothering them day in and day out trying to get them to place little print ads. People used to look in these books before the internet came around, but now I think these companies need to face the fact that print is dying. Good thing. What a waste.
So here is my plea…people who are sending these big books with the yellow covers, please stop wasting paper and leave me alone. I don’t want to be invloved in your environmental catastrophe anymore.
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Posted in Environment, Ramblings | 2 Comments »
Thursday, July 26th, 2007
Yesterday, Paul and I went over to the Home Depot to pick up a few things. I had a list in my pocket. I wanted to get a few sheets of lattice, a screen door, trim for the screen door frame and some hinges and stuff. I also wanted to pick up the rolls of screening that I am going to use for the porch when I am all done sealing the wood. Home Depot didn’t have the screening. I bet Lowes does.
As I am only one man and only have a limited amount of time, I tackled just the screen door framing last night after work. Well, I did a little more sealing, but that didn’t take up too much time. The screen door frame is what this is all about.
If you know anything about hanging a door, you know it sucks for someone who has no clue how to do it. That’s where I come in. I just wung it. “Wung” is the past tense of “winged,” in case you care. I had a nice pressure treated 2″x4″ and all the stuff I would need, so I was in pretty good shape. Most importantly, I had my Dewalt Miter Saw for cutting the angles. That is a very handy tool to have. I am just glad that I bought the good one.
As you can see from the photo above, I was able to keep the angled 2″x4″s above the door frame. I liked that idea, because it keeps the look of the porch, instead of just slapping up some wood to make it work. I have discovered that, in life, the details matter.
Basically, I measured and cut the vertical 2″x4″s and screwed them in place. The way I got them aligned with the door is to have the door standing in position, next to the wood. I used a level too. I had to keep adjusting and adjusting. I cut the top piece and then added the trim pieces. The spring loaded hinges weren’t as spring loaded as I thought they would be. I am going to have to buy something else in addition. In the photo above, the door is open so the dog can go in and out.
Here is another photo of my handywork…
The top piece was “recycled” from the old porch. I have a pile of that wood sitting to the side.
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Wednesday, July 25th, 2007
I took the day off yesterday to visit Cooperstown, NY with Laura. I woke up to discover that I really didn’t want to be in the car for all that long, so we decided to go up to the Catskill Mountains for a day trip.
We started out by driving up Rt.209 through Ellenville. Then, we made a left on to Rt.3 in Kerhonkson all the way up past the Ashokan Reservoir. I wanted to show Laura the New York State DEC on Rt.28a. We pulled into the park like thing next to the DEC and I grabbed a photo…
That was pretty cool. I think the hippies from Woodstock come down here with their kids to walk around.
Ok, we continued on our way. One of the main reasons for this trip was to go up to visit the fruit and veggie stand up on Rt.32. We go up there every year and stock up good. The eatin’ in nice after that…
Since it wasn’t really harvest season all that much, we just picked up corn, green beans, tomatoes (which are really good) and some other things. Oh, by the way, the fruit stand is called Story Farms Home Grown Produce. I am thinking they are located in Catskill, NY. If you make a left while heading up Rt.32, you can go up to Hunter Mountain.
Every time we drive around in this area, Laura always starts talking about her past with the Catskill Game Farm. She used to up there with her grandparents and pet the animals. Well, she wanted to show me what it was all about. She knew they already closed down, but still wanted me to see it.
It’s true…the Catskill Game Farm is closed down. It was quite depressing to look at the place. The parking lots were barren and not a soul was in sight, except for the girl who was tailgating me all the way up the road. At least Laura got to show me what the thing was about. It kind of reminded me of Binghamton’s Ross Park Zoo.
On the way back, we found a shortcut down Rt.33 into Woodstock. Of course we had to visit there. We are considering a move to that area in the future and are doing a little driving around to get used to it. It was pretty nice just hanging around.
Back in the day, I would’ve just driven through town and went home. These days, I am stopping and sitting around like a lazy fool. Laura was looking for a birthday present for her mother. It’s coming up fast. We even had lunch at Joshua’s Cafe in Woodstock. That was nice. We had a good vegetarian lunch.
Right after lunch, we walked up a few shops into Woodstock Wines and Liquors. I like to get crazy wine from that place. I think this time we got honey berry and rasberry wine. I don’t remember, but I know it was fruit wine. I got a blueberry wine from there last time I was visiting and it was really tasty.
The last part of our day was a bit of a mission. I wanted to cruise over to Phoenicia, NY. I am all about checking out campgrounds to possibly stay at in the future. The campground is called Phoenicia Black Bear Campground. Every time I passed by in the past, I always thought it was really cute. I just had to walk inside this time.
We took Rt.212 and then Rt.40 into Phoenicia and took a look around. This campground is situated really nicely right on the shore of the Esopus River and is across the street from Town Tinker Tube Rental. People like to float down the Esopus.
Well, I took a little stroll inside the campground and thought it was really cute. One thing I did notice was the smell of septic. I also noticed a few kind of “permanent campers” scattered around. I saw the flex pipe coming out of the sides of the campers. This is for the septic, I think. That kind of turned me off. They did have really nice tent sites right on the side of the river though.
I walked back to the car, where Laura was and decided to drive through, just to see how big it was. We got in and made a quick left and then another quick left and realized that we were on the way out. Ok, not that big. Laura also noticed the septic smell and we crossed that campground off our list.
Overall, we had a really good day driving through the Catskills.
Till next time…
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Monday, July 23rd, 2007
Jeff sent me a few updated photos of the restoration of his 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1. Ok, here goes…
…attached are the pix of the front end. It’s lined up (well the best its gonna get for this). The inner structure is all welded in. Now, it ready for a complete clean up and to fill the pinholes. I am going to adjust the gaps the best I can and get her primed. It still needs a new hood and right fender.
Here are some photos of the drivers floor cut out. The new floor section will start welding in tomorrow.
July 15th…The left floor is finally ground down. It took 9 grinding discs to get the welds ground down. It has a coat of epoxy oprimer on it. Any minor imperfections can now be fixed and primed with a heavy build primer. The seat base is next to go in.
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Sunday, July 22nd, 2007
I decided to pull the plug on my wiki. I really never got into it past setting it up and making a few configurations. I thought I would let that site sit for a while and age like a fine wine. Well, aparently some religious fellows had a different idea. They would post things to their heart’s content. Since I can’t babysit a site like this and since my interest wasn’t really with it, I said good bye.
If you would like to buy the domain name, I will sell it for $1,000,000 negotiable. If you can’t afford that, just wait a year until it becomes available and you can get it for $8.99 through GoDaddy.
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Sunday, July 22nd, 2007
I think I wrote a while ago that Laura and I like to go to Tanglewood, up in Lenox, MA. It’s a pretty sweet thing to do. This weekend was the “All-Beethoven Weekend.”
Now, I am not saying that I am a big Beethoven fan or anything, but the show was pretty good. The whole thing is that you get to lie out under the stars, while listening to the music. It’s pretty neat. Last summer, when we went up for the first time, all we brought was a blanket. We were eaten alive by the bugs and I had to buy two plastic cups of red wine and some cookies for about $20. This time was different. We made a list and everything…here is what we brought…
- Blanket
- “Off” candles
- Bug spray
- Sweater/Fleece
- Sushi
- Knife
- Wine
- Glasses
- Wine bottle opener
- Matches
- Cheese and crackers
- Red grapes
- Hummus
- Pita chips
…all in a big cloth bag. The only thing we were missing was our sleeping bag to throw over us when it got a little chilly later on. To improvise, I just moved everything off the blanket we had and rolled ourselves up in it. I started to doze off towards the end of the show, but I was quite comfortable, so you can’t really blame me.
Here are some photos that I tried to grab…
This is right after we parked the car. We were walking up towards the gate and I realized that I forgot my camera. I had to run back and grab it…alond with this photo of the parking lot.
I took this photo of the Koussevitzky Music Shed on our way in. People are getting set up on the lawn.
Here is a great view of the lake and the Berkshires in the background.
This is the house right behind where we set up our blanket.
Laura had to run to the little girl’s room, so I decided to get fancy and set up shop.
Ahh, the music is on…
I took this photo of the gift shop on our way out.
I think the show ended around 11PM. We drove all the way down past Stockbridge and through Great Barrington. Then, we followed Rt.23 to Rt.9H down into Red Hook, NY and then crossed the Mid-Hudson Bridge past Kingston. It was a good drive, but we were getting way tired. We stumbled in a fell right asleep. We woke up this morning at about 11:15AM. I haven’t done that since I was a teenager. I felt pretty guilty about that type of laziness. Man…
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