First fire up of Furnace

We tried the furnace last evening. The first pic shows the set up. Second pic shows that we broke the top piece, and that the fire was not getting eonugh air to get to high heat. Picture three and four shows the added air. That gave us the heat to melt the aluminum. We aslo melted the can that we were using for the crucibel. So we will have to do something else for the melting pot.

Home Made Foundry Furnace For Aluminum Cans

Forest and I were wondering what to do with an empty Old Crow Resurve bottle, when one of us thought that we could build a furnace around it. So we did.

Slow it goes

Continuing to work of 10X10

Starting to work on the 10X10 again. I flew to Denver for the opening of the West line of the light rail, and wanted to give special honors to those who worked on the start up of the original start of the Denver Light Rail, back in 1994. We started with 12 trains and just over 6 miles of track. Now they have 172 trains and I not sure how many miles of track with this West Line added.
So anyway; when I got back Brahm and Dagmar were at the house for a few days and we goofed around and I didn't get anything accomplished. Good times with the kids though. So yesterday after work I went to the Dermatologist and had the stitches taken out of my head (another story of skin cancer) and went home and started putting the concrete edge around the brick floor. I just want to have the bottom of the walls off the ground a few inches. I will use pressure treated lumber, so I shouldn't have any problems. Here is a picture that I took this morning. That is all for now, take care.

10X10 Work Shop (Post #2)

I ran short of the granite screening and had to get another yard. I finished filling the forms with the screenings and dug a channel, and put the tubing down and covered it up with the screenings. The tubing wanted to pull out of the screenings so I had to completely cover it as I went along and could not get any pictures of the tubing lay out. There are 8 rows and extra along the bottom to return the tubing to within 8 inches of of the starting point.  Then I packed it down, leveled  the top even and started laying paving bricks. I got about half done and ran into fire ants where I had the paving bricks stacked. As I was using the bricks I uncovered 2 snakes and 1 lizard. That was still not enough to consume the ants. I do not like to use pesticides, but I don't like fire ants. I gave in am hoping that my hens stay away from that area. Anyway; I will wait till next weekend and see if I can get the rest of the paving bricks laid. Here are a couple of  pictures of where I'm at with it.

The tubing entrance and exit point

Brick Pavers at a 45

Radiant Heated Work Shop.

The last time that I posted I thought that I had some pictures of building my chicken tractor (coop). However; my phone went on the blink and I got a new phone and lost the pictures in the old one.

Sense that time I started to demolish and build a new tool shed. So now I am posting a picture of my chickens and the work on the tool shed. Sense I have a lot of brick pavers that are just stacked in the corner of the yard, I will use them for the floor of the shed. After thinking about what I need to do that, so I left the 4X4s in the ground from the old shed to use to level the ground.

I  bought some granite crushing to place the brick on and decided to go one step farther. I put some foam panels down as insulation from the ground and began shoveling the granite onto the foam insulation.

I will put some tubing in the granite so that I can run hot water through to heat the floor in the cold months. I will build some kind of solar water heater to do that. I haven't thought that far ahead. I am going to stop calling it a shed and start calling it a work shop effective immediately. Stay tuned to see what pops out of this head next. Be safe.

Movable Chicken Coop

I thought that I would post a few pictures of a little project that I have been working on over the past few months. My grandson Denny came to spend a little time with us a few months ago. So I got this whim that I wanted to get a couple of chickens so he could see where eggs come from. I didn't think that it would be a big deal, but I didn't think Alex would like them. Anyway, she didn't seem to mind too much. So I sat down with pincel and paper and drew out my plan. Went to the Big Box and bought some 2x4s, chicken wire and some other material and got busy. It took me a week or so after work and on Saturday afternoon. Then a couple days before Denny and Becky arrived, I got on Craig's List, and looked for some hens. I found a lady that had trree hens and a rooster, that she didn't want to split up. I told her that that would be fine. I didn't want the rooster, due to the neighbors. I went and picked them up, and took them home. The lady that sold them to me($30 total), told me that she didn't want to feed them all winter because her husband was getting laid off. She just wanted to keep a couple for herself some eggs. I didn't mention that I planned to name one of them Rooster Noodle Soup. Since I brought them home, I get 2-3 eggs each day. With both of us eating as many eggs as we can we cannot keep up. Alex gives about a dozen a week away to her friends, so now I see that she actually likes the chickens. I let them out to run the yard each day when I get home from work, and they have about an hour of daylight. Then they return to the coop for the night. I have not had any problems with them, except that there is a hawk that sets in a tree and watches them sometimes. I guess that hawks have to eat too, but I hope that they find some mice instead.

Weekend in Asheville NC

On Friday when I got home there was a message on the recorder from a friend that moved to Tennessee in 2003 from Colorado. That was the last time that we had seen each other. Lanny said that they had a travel trailer and were spending a few days in Asheville. He offered to drive to Charlotte and so we could see each other. Lanny is a retired Sheriff's Deputy, and we have been friends since about 1974, when he moved to Denver from Indiana. He was not aware that we had a RV.  So I asked what RV Park he was in and we could meet them there. They were in Wilson's Riverfront RV Park just off I-26, very near downtown Asheville. I called the park on Friday and they said to just pick out a spot and then go to the office and pay. When we arrived, the office was closed on the weekends and they had envelopes to put your park fee in. It was a Passport America park and the fee was $15 for members and $30 for non-members. We are not members. It worked out great, and we went into the downtown area and found several good places to eat. We had a very good time, talking about old times and enjoying ourselves. The RV Park was very nice, but it is close to the highway and there was some traffic noise. It also is a little tough to get into, because you have to turn around just after you exit the highway and go back the opposite direction on the service road. That was not a problem with my RV, but it might be a little tricky with a large 5th wheel, if you are not very experienced. I parked on the side that the highway was on and Lanny was parked on the river side, with the river just a few feet from the back of their site. Here are a couple of pictures that tell it all. Thanks for stopping by and be Safe.


Chillin with Old friends 

Dog Days of Summer

I thought I needed to update a little bit. I turned 63 a week or so ago. I am a little down that we haven't sold the house yet. I think that it will be just a matter of time. I have been very busy at work lately. We are working on an extension to our current light rail line, and also a start on a street car demonstration line. That means that the city of Charlotte is building a 1.5 mile line from center city to the community college and hospital. The long term plan calls for extending that farther in both directions. The Streetcar project is marked to open in 2015 and the light rail extension 2019. On top of that we are getting ready for the upcoming Democratic National Convention that is to be held in Charlotte. There is a lot of planning with the security (as in Secret Service) for that. I have been trying to hire an additional employee to replace the one that left and went to DC.

The time has been flying by, and if I have to stay in Charlotte for another year, before I retire, that will probably fly by also. I will post a picture of the excitement I was having on my 63rd.

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Travel to Colorado

I have pretty much recovered from my eye surgery. I was not suppose to do anything that was a strain on my eyes, so I went took a few days off and rested. Then we decided to take a vacation and go for a ride in the RV. I got clearance from the ophthalmologist, and headed for Colorado. We broke the drive into 4 days going and 3 coming back. We stopped in Memphis and went through Graceland, sense we had never been there. I enjoyed it and think Alex did also. When we left Memphis, and got into Arkansas, we had a Stop Engine light come on. This is usually due to low oil pressure or a hot engine. We have gauges for these and the oil pressure was at a steady 60 psi, and the engine and transmission temperature were at about 180 degrees. I felt that it was a oil pressure sensor and that stopping and shutting off and re-starting the RV would clear it. It did, but only temporally. So we looked up and stopped at a Cummins dealer, and that delayed us about 4 hours. It was the sensor for the oil pressure and they replaced it and we were on our way with no further trouble the rest of the time. The folks at Cummings Little Rock, treated us as a priority, and the total cost was $11.90 for sensor and 19.00 for a wiring adaptor for the upgraded sensor, plus tax and 2 hours labor made the total at $284.00. I thought that was a bargain for a road breakdown. We had a great time and saw the kids and grandkids. Brahm, Louis and I went to the property and replaced a water hydrant that had corroded and then spent some time target practicing with their guns. We are now expecting puppys from Shiloh and Ruger. No explanation necessary. 

Retinal Tears

Retinal detachment is a condition in which the vitreous gel that fills the eye contracts and fails to separate cleanly from the retina. Instead, the vitreous pulls and tears a hole in the retina. That is more than I wanted to know about what retinal tears are. However; that is just what happened to me about a month ago. I had laser surgery, and have lost some peripheral vision. I still have some floaters and some blood in my eye, but that will clear up in time.  So I will get back to a little more regular posting when I can see a little better.   I've been feeling a little rough.

NorCold Recall

A couple of weeks ago, I got a letter in the mail from NorCold. They are the company that makes refrigerators for motor homes, camper trailers, 5th wheels etc. It was a recall notice for the model 1200, side by side refrigerators. It said that if you have that model to unplug it immediately. I checked ours and unplugged it. I took it to the Country Camping Corner near my home. They said that they would have to leave it for a few days, so they could order the repair kit, and install it. That was no problem. About a week later, they called and I went and picked it up. I looked in the back or the refrigerator, and they had indeed added a part labeled "R 1001". It is a shut off switch that shuts it off if the temperature gets too high. When I took RV back to the storage facility, and went to shut off the main power, someone had tried to cut the battery cable.

Back to Country Camping Corner I went with the picture on my cell phone. The owner of Country Camping Corner, told me that someone had stolen one of her most expensive 5th wheel trailers. As I talked to her, she did not except any responsibility or offer to even fix my cable.  The cable was only about 30" long and It is not available in auto parts stores.  It is a 2/0 copper cable and that is the size that is used for welding cable.  I just thought it would not be worth the fight. I was able to fix it without any trouble.

But to the folks at Country Camping Corner, "Adios", I was planning to have other items repaired and replaced at their shop. It would have been convenient for me.

I also focused on the idea that I should clean and paint a little in the battery area. The other terminals and nuts are starting to corrode.

That is it for now,  be safe everyone.



Transition Strip

I have not updated in a while, and I thought that I should write a few lines as to what's up. I have not been able to get any interest in my upsidedown home, So we will think about our next option.  I decided to put a sprinkler system in the front yard, just to make it easier to care for, in the event that we stay for a while. I think that I can do it for just a few hundred dollars myself.  I will post some pictures as I can.  I replaced the aluminum transition strip in the MoHo (Motor Home), and changed the oil. The transition strip was where the previous owner replaced the front carpet with some very nice bamboo flooring. However; when the did, they put an aluminum strip between the tile kitchen floor and the bamboo flooring. The tile had a notch of about 4"s at the edge of the J couch. This left a very sharp point in the aluminum 90 degree turn. I was afraid that someone would get hurt if the were to catch their bare foot on it.  In came the wood replacement. I'm happy with the results, and we love the bamboo flooring in the front. I didn't put out the slide for the picture, but you get the idea.  I still may sand the point a little. I guess that is all for now, be safe.

New Chairs

Last Thursday I had my last skin treatment. I hope it holds off the skin cancer for a while. I stayed in for the weekend, and went back to work yesterday. On Friday when Alex went to Costco, she called and said that they had some chairs like we have been looking for. They are around $80 at Camping World. We talked and she bought 4. They were $49 and now we have that behind us. I took them to the Motorhome on Sunday and drove to get fuel. It was 1/2 full, and it took 52 gallons to fill up. That should get us about 1/3 of the fuel for our Colorado trip in May.  Here is a Pic of what we bought, and don't forget to be safe, both driving and living.

Paying taxes

We got our income tax return the other day, and after paying a few things that I usually wait for tax returns to pay, its gone. I was able to pay the property tax to North Carolina on the motor home. $535.00, and the tax on my Colorado property. That was another $430. Paid my Texas property tax of $29.00 and the HOA fee of $165. Go figure that one out. I also bought a 5 gallon bucket of oil and a filter for the motor home. And finely I think that we can now save a little up to take the Motor home to Colorado on vacation. We have tentatively set it up for May. I will fill the fuel tank up, now and hope the price doesn't reach $5.00 per gallon by then.  We are able to get 12 mpg on it and the distance is 1600 miles. That makes 3200 round trip. If we can get 12mpg that is 267 gallons of diesel fuel. At the current $4.00 per gallon we will pay $1068.  If we get around 10 mpg, and pay $5.00 we will pay $1600 on fuel.  So that is the best and worst case. We could fly out and save a little. I just checked fares, and it would cost us $1038 Plus tax.  $197 each way per person, and $125 each way for Shiloh. After all she weighs in at a whopping 15 lbs. Oh, when we get there, we will have to rent or borrow one of the kids cars for the running around. I haven't figured the toad thing out yet. A toad is a towed vehicle. I guess that I should post a picture just because. Here is a fountain at a friends house last week when we went over to meet for the field ministry. It was the first time that it got cold enough for a few hours to freeze their fountain. Yesterday, 2-19-12, they were saying that there was a few snow flakes in the rain in the north side of town, and that was the first snow of this season. If you ask me "It don't count". Then I guess no one is asking. 

Take care and be safe. I will fill in more details on the vacation as I know more.

James Island SC

We just returned from James Island SC, where we stayed in the Campground in the RV. Brahm was in Charlotte for some work related training, and he stayed over a couple of days. It is a very nice camping area with a lot of hiking and other activities to enjoy. They have full hookups, and easy access. We took a shuttle into Charleston and spent the day. We have been in Charleston quite a few times, and have never been to Fort Sumter. So that is what we did this time. We left on Monday and stopped off at Drayton Hall. We have been there before, but wanted to take Brahm. Here is a link to their web tour. It was built in 1738 and was never modernized. No indoor electrical or plumbing. I have added som pictures of the campsite, Ft Sumter, Drayton Hall, and Shiloh waiting for us on the dashboard of the RV.


http://www.spinatour.com/draytonhall4/tour.html

100/% Silicone Calking--NOT

Last weekend we took the motor home out to get it cleaned up for the upcoming weekend at James Island. Brahm is coming for a work related two days, and is going to stay the weekend with us. We booked a couple of nights at an RV park in James Island South Carolina.  I thought we should clean it up.  The cost of re-winterizing it will be about $20 for 5 gallons of antifreeze. While cleaning the RV, I ran into a big problem with silicone caulking.  The previous owner used silicone to seal and patch some areas on the sides and around where the top meets the side. I do not recommend using silicone on the outside of any RV. The problem is that it will mold from the bottom out.  Further there are not an easy way to remove it once it has cured. Just as a silicone caulked bath tub or shower will turn black so will the RV seam. Now I will have to start removing it a little at a time, and replacing it with a non silicone caulking. Silicone can not be painted and it is very hard to remove all the residue for an acceptable looking repair. Anyway this repair will not happen quickly. I will work at it a little at a time. Every time I wash it it will be a reminder of the botched job by someone. I also left the plug out of the hot water tank and drove it home and it sucked the mineral deposits out and sprayed the side where I had just cleaned. All is well now, but here are some pics to remember the long warm weekend by. Great weather though. Be Safe everyone.

Driveway Incident

I recently put my motorhome in my driveway at home. I thought it would be the easiest to just back it up the driveway, and put it on the grass next to the driveway. I was a little concerned that the back end would drag on the concrete, and it did. However; it was just the bottom of the hitch, and it made a little scrape mark on the driveway. So I decided to attach a couple of heavy duty casters to the bottom of the hitch, with the idea of them lifting the back end up just a little on the suspension. The casters were rated at 600lbs each.  So last Sunday, I thought I would try it to see if it would work without scraping. It didn't.  I pulled down the driveway, and started the turn out the driveway, when Alex motioned me to stop.  I got out and the hitch was resting on the concrete.  At the bottom of the driveway there were ball barrings everywhere. I looked under at the casters and they were both broken. I got back in and attempted to back up, but the wheels on the right side began spinning. I tried to go forward and they again spun. The front of the motorhome was blocking the entire street, and the neighbors were having to go around the block. Drew, the neighbor across the street came over to lend a hand. We decided to jack up the right side and put a 2x10 under that tire to give it some traction. I used the right rear leveling jack to pick up the wheel.  However; the tire on the left side then started spinning.  I attempted to used the left leveling jack and when I tried to pick up the left rear wheel, the jack missed the concrete and sunk into the mud on the left side of the driveway. I had already started turning out of the driveway when I stopped. When I went to lift the jack to put a 2x10 under that side, the jack would not retract. It was stuck in the mud under the motorhome.  It was time for some shovel work. After we got the jack up and put the 2x10 under it the jack went down and broke the 2x10.  Drew volunteered to get a piece of 2x12 white oak, which also broke. After digging the lumber out we stacked several pieces on top of one another and finely was able to get it to pick up the left side. we then put 2x10s under the left side and was able to get the motorhome out of the driveway. All in all there was no damage to the motorhome and no injuries, so all is well that ends well. I owe Drew a piece of oak and maybe a bottle for being a good neighbor. And as I like to say, "If there are no pictures, it didn't happen".

Blue Light Treatment

I have not posted in a while, so thought I would try to catch up a little. I went in for the second treatment on my skin yesterday, and I still have one more to go. This treatment is to be effective at preventing squamous cell carcinoma that I have been more regularly lately. My Dermatologist said that about 10% of the Actinic Keratosis ( age spots) turn to squamous cell carcinoma in light skinned people like me. As I posted earlier, I have to stay indoors, out of the light, for the first 48 hours. There is another similar treatment called 5 Fluorouracil, or 5 FU. With a name like "5-FU" I didn't think that could be good, but the doctor said that both options were equally effective. This treatment is called ""Photodynamic, therapy for actinic keratosis".
Anyway, in the meantime, we have had several house showings, and one very low bid offer. We don't have $40K to bring to closing, and even if we did, we are not. We have had very good responses form all the showings, so we are keeping our hopes up. We have been looking at the things that we will need to live full-time in the RV, and only have a few things to buy. One thing is a tow hitch and brake buddy to tow our car behind the RV. I would like also to have another slide out tray on the outside in the bay that has the TV and Phone jack, and a 110vac receptacle, to build a stereo and TV into it to view from the outside, under the awning. Well that is all I can think of for now.

So,  be safe and enjoy your friends and family.

Devil's Fork State Park

Devil's Fork with Lake Jocassee in the background

On Friday, November 18, I had the first treatment for my skin cancer. It went very well, and I have another on Dec 16th. Saturday we took the RV to Devil's Fork State Park in South Carolina. It is about 150 miles from our house. We stayed there till Yesterday.  I had to stay out of the sun light or keep my head covered for the first 48 hours.  Anyway, the RV had no problems, and everything operated great.  It has an old antenna on the roof that you crank up.  The TV's are analog, and so before we left, I stopped at Best Buy and bought a converter box.  The antenna was able to pick up about a dozen more channels than you can watch at once. Some friends from our congregation also came for the weekend and watched the football games on Thursday. In all there were lots of kids and lots of activity all around the campground.

Left to right-Sammie, Lilian, Eric, and Quintan Blando