Nov 12th - Cleaning and Construction

This morning we started out with prayer and the normal Monday morning meeting, to discuss what things needed to be done during the week.

Fred and I then went over to Fallow to change some light bulbs. One was in the high ceiling area. Fred had put a toilet plunger on the end of a 6' wooden dowel. He, he is 75 years old, climbed up to almost the top of a 10' step ladder and could just reach the bulb with the plunger on the end of the rod. He managed to get the old one out and screw a new one back in. The new bulb was a slighly different type of bulb and did not work. We don't know whether it is the bulb or the fixture. John will need to decide what he wants done, since we don't have any direct replacement bulbs.

Next we put a couple of 4' flourescent bulbs in one of the 4 bulb fixtures in the Fallow shower area. We struck out again. The bulbs would not start. We exchanged them for bulbs that we knew worked and still no light. Apparently a ballast is bad. Another decision for John, new fixture or replacement ballast.

Success at last. We put new bulbs in one of the exit lights and got it working OK. Then we noticed another exit light that appears to only have one of the two bulbs working. We need to make another trip to the "barn", which is on the other side of the property, to get another bulb, but that is another day.

While Fred was off getting the first set of bulbs I swept the Fallow downstairs floors. They are bare concrete and didn't look bad. The campers are responsible for leaving the place in the same shape they found it, but I guess that rarely happens. I swept up a fair amount of sand. Before the new campers come this weekend one of us will need to mop the floors I swept.

We spent the rest of the day working on the upstairs of the new building. We are putting up more of the board siding on the interior walls. The upstairs gets oak in one room and elm in another. Most of both upstairs rooms are done, except for the trim. We need to finish the toilet and shower areas. And add trim both upstairs and downstairs.

They were forecasting 29 for a low tonight but I just looked and now the forecast is 32. We moved a bunch of potted plants, and two potted trees, off the dining hall front porch and into the dining hall. Fred has "dollies" under the potted trees so that they can be rolled around. The trees are 8-9' tall, they take a beating going through the front doors.

Earlier we noticed that the "fire pit" was more than full of ashes. I went over and dug out a bunch of the ashes and dumped them in the woods. We have lumber scraps, from the construction, as well as other wood, near the fire pit so that campers can have a camp fire if they want.

When I was over doing that I walked on over to a building I had seen but never gotten close to. It is a small, very simple, chapel.

 The walls appear to be landscaping timbers.

 After I got back home I called Kathy and had her walk me through making potato soup, AGAIN. It isn't what most people think of when they think of potato soup. It is like my Grandma Ruthie, my Mom, and Kathy make. I LOVE IT! Mine wasn't as good as they make, but it still tasted good. I made enough for at least two more meals.

The heat pumps are cranking away. I was a little surprised at how much they are running until I looked at the outdoor temperature. It is 37. The heat pumps on the motor home are not the most efficient. They stop working, and the system switches over to the propane fired furnace, when the temperature drops much below 40 degrees.
The switch will probably be happening any time now.

Good night to all. May God bless you and yours.