I arrived back at our place in Tennessee around 6 PM. The trip was uneventful. I plan on staying at least a week this time.
Kathy is in Indianapolis. One of the girls from Teen Challenge is back in the Indy area for a few days and Kathy wanted to see her. She is staying with Doug & Anthony.
One thing that has been interesting during the trips back and forth has been the fuel mileage of my truck. Several trips ago I noted that the mileage seemed to be significantly better than it used to be. I did not check it but figured I was getting at least 1 mpg better than I got a year ago. I have 89,000 miles on the truck now and haven't done any maintenance, other than oil changes for quite some time.
Before coming here the last time I had a cover installed on the truck bed. I think it has had an additional impact on my fuel economy. I checked the fuel mileage during our trip home the last time and averaged over 18 mpg, 2-3 mpg better than I used to get. We drove an average 5 mph over the limit during the trip. Coming here this time I drove 2-3 mph over the limit and averaged 20.05 mpg.
May God bless you and yours.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
July 22nd - Back IN Missouri
We arrived back in Centertown around 7 PM yesterday evening. Kathy, Kelsey, Lydia and I left for TN a week ago. Doug came down from Indy for the weekend, but Anthony had to stay home and work.
We had a good time while there. Lydia especially enjoyed her time with Uncle Tom, Aunt Mary Lou and cousins Dean & Wendy. It was cool & rainy most of the time we were there. I think she may have only went swimming once.
I added two more electrical outlets in the kitchen, did some plumbing to get water shut-off valves under the future kitchen sink, put up 3 sheets of dry wall on one of the kitchen walls and mowed the lawn. I probably should have done more while I was there, but I'm happy with the progress I've made so far.
Below is a photo of a produce stand a couple of miles from our place. It operates on the "honor system". You put your money in the black box on the table. It is in a field along side hwy 101.
Lydia is a good traveler. It takes us 11 hours to make the drive. Her little butt must be paralyzed from sitting in the car seat. Kelsey got her a chocolate covered ice cream cone at one of our stops. Note the ice cream on her upper lip and chocolate on her chin.
It rained most of the time we were in TN. It was a nice gentle rain. I don't think it had rained there since I left the previous trip. No rain here in Missouri, just heat. The heat index in forecast to be 105 this afternoon, actual high is forecast to be 95. There is only one other day in the next 10 days where the high is forecast to be above 90. I drove up to get the mail & paper, and to move my truck to a shady area, and that is the extent of my being outside today,
Kathy's tomato crop is being raided by rogue turtles! Who knew turtles ate tomatoes? Something is picking/eating any relatively ripe tomato that is within a foot of the ground. Other varmints may also be getting some of the higher ones.
Our "new" Whirlpool gas range (purchased from Sears when we moved in in June 2012) appears to be as big a piece of junk as the new Whirlpool refrigerator we purchased at the same time. The repair man was out this morning and said that the regulator on the stove is bad, $300 for a new one. $300 for a piece of junk that lasted just 2 years. I think the repair men have been out at least 4 times to work on the ice makers in the 2 new refrigerators (they gave up trying to fix the original new refrigerator and the ice maker in the replacement didn't work). One of the repair efforts resulted in a water leak, in the ice maker plumbing, that caused water to leak through the kitchen hardwood floor and damage the dry wall ceiling in our lower level.
I hope it is cooler wherever you are. May God bless you and yours.
We had a good time while there. Lydia especially enjoyed her time with Uncle Tom, Aunt Mary Lou and cousins Dean & Wendy. It was cool & rainy most of the time we were there. I think she may have only went swimming once.
I added two more electrical outlets in the kitchen, did some plumbing to get water shut-off valves under the future kitchen sink, put up 3 sheets of dry wall on one of the kitchen walls and mowed the lawn. I probably should have done more while I was there, but I'm happy with the progress I've made so far.
Below is a photo of a produce stand a couple of miles from our place. It operates on the "honor system". You put your money in the black box on the table. It is in a field along side hwy 101.
Lydia is a good traveler. It takes us 11 hours to make the drive. Her little butt must be paralyzed from sitting in the car seat. Kelsey got her a chocolate covered ice cream cone at one of our stops. Note the ice cream on her upper lip and chocolate on her chin.
It rained most of the time we were in TN. It was a nice gentle rain. I don't think it had rained there since I left the previous trip. No rain here in Missouri, just heat. The heat index in forecast to be 105 this afternoon, actual high is forecast to be 95. There is only one other day in the next 10 days where the high is forecast to be above 90. I drove up to get the mail & paper, and to move my truck to a shady area, and that is the extent of my being outside today,
Kathy's tomato crop is being raided by rogue turtles! Who knew turtles ate tomatoes? Something is picking/eating any relatively ripe tomato that is within a foot of the ground. Other varmints may also be getting some of the higher ones.
Our "new" Whirlpool gas range (purchased from Sears when we moved in in June 2012) appears to be as big a piece of junk as the new Whirlpool refrigerator we purchased at the same time. The repair man was out this morning and said that the regulator on the stove is bad, $300 for a new one. $300 for a piece of junk that lasted just 2 years. I think the repair men have been out at least 4 times to work on the ice makers in the 2 new refrigerators (they gave up trying to fix the original new refrigerator and the ice maker in the replacement didn't work). One of the repair efforts resulted in a water leak, in the ice maker plumbing, that caused water to leak through the kitchen hardwood floor and damage the dry wall ceiling in our lower level.
I hope it is cooler wherever you are. May God bless you and yours.
Saturday, July 5, 2014
July 5th - Dam Work
The past several days I've been doing more clearing on the back side of our small dam.
I had previously cut a LOT of bamboo off the backside of the dam. Below are photos of from July 3rd, my recent starting point.
The top of the dam is on the right side of the photo.
Below are the 5 8-9' long logs I cut from a dead tree located downstream of the dam. It was dead when we moved here 2 years ago. I was concerned that it might be rotten but it was solid. There are some branches still to be cut but they are all in an area still to be cleared before I can get close to them with the tractor.
This was what it looked like yesterday.
I had previously cut a LOT of bamboo off the backside of the dam. Below are photos of from July 3rd, my recent starting point.
The top of the dam is on the right side of the photo.
This photo is taken further down the backside of the dam.
Below are the 5 8-9' long logs I cut from a dead tree located downstream of the dam. It was dead when we moved here 2 years ago. I was concerned that it might be rotten but it was solid. There are some branches still to be cut but they are all in an area still to be cleared before I can get close to them with the tractor.
This was what it looked like yesterday.
And this is what it looked like this morning after Kathy and I spent over an hour the brush pile. (It burned for over 3 hours, but the first 1.5 hours was all that required close watching.
I left the green "brush" near the top of the dam. I've sprayed it with brush killer once and want to do it again before I actually cut it down. Hopefully Monday I can spend another couple of hours clearing and get the rest of the wood from the dead tree out. It is a little muddy down at the bottom, because of a leak in the dam. I have no idea where the water is entering the water side of the dam. All I can tell is that down near the bottom of the back side there appears to be water that has leaked through the dam.
The temperatures have been remarkably cool for mid-Missouri, but they are heating back up into the 90's at the beginning of the week. YUK!!
I was cutting Kelsey some tomato stakes with my old radial arm saw and blew a breaker. The breaker would not stay closed so I had to run an extension cord to finish cutting the stakes. The wiring out in my shed is absolutely horrible. I thought I had probably shorted out a wire somewhere in the wall. After taking the breaker out is appears that the breaker just went bad. Hopefully I can find another at the antique breaker store.
That's the news from MO. Hope all of you had a nice 4th.
May God bless you and yours.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
June 24th - Back in Tennessee
I arrived back at our place in Crossville, TN around 5PM Tuesday, I travelled alone this time, Kathy decided to stay in MO. The trip was uneventful. Had some spotty heavy rain in TN, but none of the storms were large. I drove through each of them in less than 5 minutes.
The cooler temperatures in Crossville (when compared to those we experience in MO) never cease to amaze me. It was warmer in MO, when I left a little after 6AM than it was when I arrived in Crossville around 4:30PM. I've been watching the high temps every day recently and over the past 2 weeks Crossville high temps have averaged 6-9 degrees cooler than those in Centertown. According to the 10 day forecast highs will average 2.6 degrees cooler in Crossville during the period. Since Crossville is over 200 miles further south than Centertown, the only reason I could think of was the elevation difference, Crossville is about 1,000 feet higher than Centertown. Doug suggested that it might be due to the jet stream. The jet stream probably at least a part of the reason. After all, it is stunning that temperatures in Denmark, which is located about as far north as Hudson Bay in Canada, only experiences 2 winter months where low temps average slightly below freezing, about the same as Charlotte, NC.
Doug & Antony were in MO for the weekend and we all were able to enjoy one another's company. Lydia loves all the attention from her Indianapolis Gpa's. They were scheduled to Indy yesterday.
Hopefully during this trip I will finish the kitchen electrical wiring, get the drywall installed on at least 2 of the kitchen walls and get the order placed for kitchen base cabinets.
Plans are to return to MO either next Monday or Tuesday.
May God bless you and yours.
The cooler temperatures in Crossville (when compared to those we experience in MO) never cease to amaze me. It was warmer in MO, when I left a little after 6AM than it was when I arrived in Crossville around 4:30PM. I've been watching the high temps every day recently and over the past 2 weeks Crossville high temps have averaged 6-9 degrees cooler than those in Centertown. According to the 10 day forecast highs will average 2.6 degrees cooler in Crossville during the period. Since Crossville is over 200 miles further south than Centertown, the only reason I could think of was the elevation difference, Crossville is about 1,000 feet higher than Centertown. Doug suggested that it might be due to the jet stream. The jet stream probably at least a part of the reason. After all, it is stunning that temperatures in Denmark, which is located about as far north as Hudson Bay in Canada, only experiences 2 winter months where low temps average slightly below freezing, about the same as Charlotte, NC.
Doug & Antony were in MO for the weekend and we all were able to enjoy one another's company. Lydia loves all the attention from her Indianapolis Gpa's. They were scheduled to Indy yesterday.
Hopefully during this trip I will finish the kitchen electrical wiring, get the drywall installed on at least 2 of the kitchen walls and get the order placed for kitchen base cabinets.
Plans are to return to MO either next Monday or Tuesday.
May God bless you and yours.
Friday, June 20, 2014
June 19th - Back in Missouri
We arrived back home about 9:45. The trip was relatively uneventful, just long.
I can't believe how much "stuff" we carted back and forth.
We stopped for a break at a rest area in Illinois. Lydia was hardly out of the truck when she spied 3 squirrels in the grass. They let her get within 10' before they took off. I went back to the truck and got some peanuts. She threw some of the peanuts to them and they scrambled to get them. Obviously they were used to being fed by people stopping at the rest area.
She was sure tickled to see Andy when he came out to the truck after we pulled into their drive. Kelsey was still at work.
Good night, may God bless you and yours.
I can't believe how much "stuff" we carted back and forth.
We stopped for a break at a rest area in Illinois. Lydia was hardly out of the truck when she spied 3 squirrels in the grass. They let her get within 10' before they took off. I went back to the truck and got some peanuts. She threw some of the peanuts to them and they scrambled to get them. Obviously they were used to being fed by people stopping at the rest area.
She was sure tickled to see Andy when he came out to the truck after we pulled into their drive. Kelsey was still at work.
Good night, may God bless you and yours.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
June 18th - Back to Missouri Tomorrow
We came to TN last Friday and have been having a good time here. Tomorrow we head back to MO so that Lydia can attend a birthday party Friday.
It is almost 600 miles each way. Lydia was a real trooper.
We stopped at Demo's, in Lebanon, TN, for supper. Lydia had to check out the flowering bushes.
She went swimming in Tom & Mary Lou's lake several times. She and Wendy are having a great time splashing while on the "raft".
My major project (it wasn't that major) while here was adding the plumbing and an electrical outlet for our new washer. Kathy and Kelsey found it while "junking" at the Habitat Re-Store in Jefferson City. If I had any idea how much a front load washer weighs I might not have went in and picked it up. There is no way I could come close to lifting half of it to get it out of my pickup. Fortunately Doug & Anthony were at our house when I brought it home and with there help, and Andy's we were able to get it out of the back of my truck and into the shed. I used the loader on my tractor to get it back in the truck. Here in TN one of the neighbors came over with his tractor and loader to get it out of my truck.
Tom (my property manager <GRIN>) keeps the lawn mowed for us. I did do some weed eating while here and also burned the pile of brush left over from my last trip.
Today we ordered the countertop our TN kitchen. Monday or Tuesday we will order the base cabinets. Like an idiot I went to Lowe's first, thinking I could get what I wanted with one stop. I should have known better. As we have with other things for the cabin we are buying the countertop and cabinets from Potter's, a local hardware store. They had cabinet units like we wanted and the price was better than Lowes. Not only that, Potter's will deliver the stuff for free.
My plan is to come back to TN in a week or so and get serious about working on the kitchen.
Good night and may God bless you and yours.
It is almost 600 miles each way. Lydia was a real trooper.
We stopped at Demo's, in Lebanon, TN, for supper. Lydia had to check out the flowering bushes.
She went swimming in Tom & Mary Lou's lake several times. She and Wendy are having a great time splashing while on the "raft".
My major project (it wasn't that major) while here was adding the plumbing and an electrical outlet for our new washer. Kathy and Kelsey found it while "junking" at the Habitat Re-Store in Jefferson City. If I had any idea how much a front load washer weighs I might not have went in and picked it up. There is no way I could come close to lifting half of it to get it out of my pickup. Fortunately Doug & Anthony were at our house when I brought it home and with there help, and Andy's we were able to get it out of the back of my truck and into the shed. I used the loader on my tractor to get it back in the truck. Here in TN one of the neighbors came over with his tractor and loader to get it out of my truck.
Tom (my property manager <GRIN>) keeps the lawn mowed for us. I did do some weed eating while here and also burned the pile of brush left over from my last trip.
Today we ordered the countertop our TN kitchen. Monday or Tuesday we will order the base cabinets. Like an idiot I went to Lowe's first, thinking I could get what I wanted with one stop. I should have known better. As we have with other things for the cabin we are buying the countertop and cabinets from Potter's, a local hardware store. They had cabinet units like we wanted and the price was better than Lowes. Not only that, Potter's will deliver the stuff for free.
My plan is to come back to TN in a week or so and get serious about working on the kitchen.
Good night and may God bless you and yours.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
June 5th - Warm Wet Days in Missouri
First - Error Correction - I must have had a brain cramp during an earlier post. I said that Elliott was going to Kenya when he is actually going to the Congo. He is on his way to the airport as I type this.
I previously mentioned that we had to stop for ice cream after fish last Friday night, but I forgot to include a photo. Mom with her lemon cone and Kathy holding her chocolate cone and my lemon cone.
Grammy and Lydia, in the yard picking and eating mulberries.
Kathy has painted Kelsey & Andy's kitchen two coats since we returned, in addition to all her other tasks. She says it still needs another coat.
Lydia headed for Hollywood. (NOT, I hope)
I didn't do anything Tuesday so yesterday I had to get out and get some things done. I went to California for a haircut and picked up the gaskets I had ordered for the carb on my log splitter. Cleaned the carb as best I could and reinstalled it. The splitter started, and ran, fine. I split almost all the wood I had ready for splitting. Now I need to get it stacked and cut some more.
I finished splitting the wood in the rain. It was humid and in the mid 80's, I was already so wet with sweat that the rain felt good.
Today's high is only supposed to be in the mid 70's. The humidity is supposed to be above 80% all day and there is a 40% chance of rain. This is the coolest day in the 10 day forecast so I need to get out and finish cutting up the tree I felled a couple of weeks ago.
May God bless you and yours.
I previously mentioned that we had to stop for ice cream after fish last Friday night, but I forgot to include a photo. Mom with her lemon cone and Kathy holding her chocolate cone and my lemon cone.
Aunt Cindy gave us some tools and kitchenware for Lydia, and Lydia is REALLY enjoying them.
Grammy and Lydia, in the yard picking and eating mulberries.
Lydia headed for Hollywood. (NOT, I hope)
I didn't do anything Tuesday so yesterday I had to get out and get some things done. I went to California for a haircut and picked up the gaskets I had ordered for the carb on my log splitter. Cleaned the carb as best I could and reinstalled it. The splitter started, and ran, fine. I split almost all the wood I had ready for splitting. Now I need to get it stacked and cut some more.
Today's high is only supposed to be in the mid 70's. The humidity is supposed to be above 80% all day and there is a 40% chance of rain. This is the coolest day in the 10 day forecast so I need to get out and finish cutting up the tree I felled a couple of weeks ago.
May God bless you and yours.
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