In the garden, and RAIN!!!! by SIGNYM

Out for a walk in a bit. Not sure if I need my umbrella or not.

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Friday, April 19, 2019 4:19 PM

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

Moving. What a chore! I can't think of any handy good way to do it.

But I think you need boxes for the stuff you have to unpack first which are things you use every day: boxed food you eat often like cereal; 1 set of everday pots, pans, dishes, silverware, dish terg and sponges; a change of clothes, bathroom supplies, a few towels and washclothes, and one set of linens. And some things automatically sort themselves like clothes in a closet and clothes in a dresser.

OTOH you may or may not have a linen closet/ pantry/ built-in bookshelves/ desk/ in your new/ old place, so it makes no sense to me to be carefully organizing everything by one set of organization. Just put it all in boxes and sort it when you get there according to the rooms, closets and storage spaces in the new place. One family I know used the extra clothes and linens to pack the fragile stuff. :)

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Friday, April 19, 2019 4:37 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Wow, that's a big job SIX. We're doing similar work on our house, but due to age and debility much of it is going to conractors. In fact, we just has three very large single pane windows replaced ... actually one of those was a sliding glass door converted to a window. It made a huge difference in the comfort of the house and the heat load on the A/C. Hubby has the idea that we're going to renovate he bathrooms ourselves. Boy, I dunno. I have just enough energy to do the three things I have to do every day (walk the dog for a half hour, yardwork for an hour and cooking for two hours plus whatever errands I have to run and finances I need to take care of) and then I have maybe another hour in me, and then I'm done. I guess because I'm limited by energy and my knees I kinda peck away at things, but big jobs .... ?

Now, hubby likes to do big jobs in one fell swwop. Difference in work style... gets us bolloxed up sometimes.

Are you sure you know where the water is coming in? It might be coming in from more than one place ... windows and roof, for example. It would be a shame to do all of that repair and then have it get all wet again with the next thunderstorm! What kind of flooring? Carpeting or something else? (Thats another thing we had done: repalce carpeting with flooring that we had bought ages ago for the project)

But I look forward to the pictures though! Please be sure to take "before" and "in process" and "after" pictures. We've had a lot of things done and are tackling the big post-retirement cleanup (pecking away at it!) and I've always forgotten to take "before" pictures, so it's hard to get an overall view of the progress. It's hard sometimes to see where you've gotten unless you can see where you've been.

Cheering you on, SIX! Let's hope no nosy neighbor calls the city inspector on you!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

My neighbors are cool. I'm not worried about them. Code enforcement drives around fairly regularly though, and I don't know the new guy. Used to talk to the old guy all the time, but he retired around 5 years ago.

My windows are probably going to be an issue. That's why, unfortunately, I'm doing things a bit counter-intuitively by fixing the floor first. I figure if I get a visit, I at least want the floor to be secure and it will just look like a window replacement job.

I know exactly where the water is coming in from. There's no problem with the roof. It's the single pane crap aluminum windows. Especially in the front of the house. That's one thing I won't be posting is the before pics of how it's set up right now, because as far as I know, mine is the only house in the country with this "feature" and there's no reason for me to be posting things like that online. Let's just say that the front of the porch facing the street is ugly as hell and wasn't constructed professionally and if I were to spend 15 minutes washing the front of it again I'd have 30 gallons of water on the inside.

I'm haven't put much thought into what the flooring will be in the end. My only concern at this point is gutting what needs to be gutted, replacing whatever needs to be replaced structurally, and getting new good windows in there and sealing the room up from the elements. Once I start, I have to do it all fairly quickly. But when those things are finished I can do the rest of the job at my leisure.

My step-dad is supposed to come in with my mom to help next month. The first time I've seen them since we moved.

We're having a bit of an argument right now though, and it ain't good. Out of the blue they've decided to pack up and move out of their house in AZ and head to Florida. My unreliable step-sis and her husband are buying a business out there like immediately, that he wants to run when he retires and he wants to pay my step-dad to run it in the mean time. This was dropped on me with no notice, and they didn't even ask my opinion on it first. Then they told me it's a secret and I can't even tell my brother about it.

The two reasons they moved out of IL were property taxes and to get away from the humidity for my mom's MS. Now they're uprooting their entire life and retirement to help out his daughter who can't even be bothered to pick up the phone for months at a time, and they're moving to the most humid state in the US. I'm fucking livid with them right now and can't even talk to them over the phone. So... I'm not sure I'm going to be getting the help I thought I was. This might be a solo mission.

Worst thing is, I've got nobody I can even talk to about it with. My Grandma can't keep a secret. My old man definitely isn't going to want to talk about it and even if he did it would just be to say how stupid they are and how terrible all of their decisions are. It's bullshit they're making me keep this from my brother. They know they're doing a stupid thing.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Friday, April 19, 2019 5:28 PM

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

"gutting what needs to be gutted, replacing whatever needs to be replaced structurally, and getting new good windows" So - down to the studs. Did that w/ the interior of most of the house a few years back - 2 paid people working but I did maybe a quarter of the job evenings and weekends. Do you have any basic construction knowledge, like materials to use or code requirements? Anyway, make sure the floor joists are good then, if they've been exposed to a lot of water they may be rotten.

I don't understand why the move has to be a big secret. It's not like your Grandma, brother or father can actually * DO * anything to stop the whole fiasco. And they're going to find out at some point anyway.

But I agree that it sucks for your mom's health. Is * SHE * ok with it all? Or has she been Shanghaied? Are you in good and free (frequent, unmonitored, uncensored) communication with her? She must have her own email/ phone, right?

ETA - also check for rot in the window framing and wall studs.

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Friday, April 19, 2019 6:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
Moving. What a chore! I can't think of any handy good way to do it.

But I think you need boxes for the stuff you have to unpack first which are things you use every day: boxed food you eat often like cereal; 1 set of everday pots, pans, dishes, silverware, dish terg and sponges; a change of clothes, bathroom supplies, a few towels and washclothes, and one set of linens. And some things automatically sort themselves like clothes in a closet and clothes in a dresser.

OTOH you may or may not have a linen closet/ pantry/ built-in bookshelves/ desk/ in your new/ old place, so it makes no sense to me to be carefully organizing everything by one set of organization. Just put it all in boxes and sort it when you get there according to the rooms, closets and storage spaces in the new place. One family I know used the extra clothes and linens to pack the fragile stuff. :)

Practically zero storage space where I am but lots where I am going. So things will have to wait until I move. I will do what I can before next Saturday then everything will have to wait until then. No choice. Can't take anything over to the new place before because of things happening there.

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Friday, April 19, 2019 6:27 PM

Apparently an attempted armed robbery went down at the local strip mall I was at today. Lady who runs the local hamburger place in the mall with her husband was around the area when it happened. She saw cops with their guns drawn. Another person who was watching the proceedings told her that one of the 2 suspects was armed.

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Friday, April 19, 2019 7:23 PM

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

Well that's exciting / nerve-wracking depending on your pov!

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Friday, April 19, 2019 8:12 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
"gutting what needs to be gutted, replacing whatever needs to be replaced structurally, and getting new good windows" So - down to the studs. Did that w/ the interior of most of the house a few years back - 2 paid people working but I did maybe a quarter of the job evenings and weekends. Do you have any basic construction knowledge, like materials to use or code requirements? Anyway, make sure the floor joists are good then, if they've been exposed to a lot of water they may be rotten.

I don't understand why the move has to be a big secret. It's not like your Grandma, brother or father can actually * DO * anything to stop the whole fiasco. And they're going to find out at some point anyway.

But I agree that it sucks for your mom's health. Is * SHE * ok with it all? Or has she been Shanghaied? Are you in good and free (frequent, unmonitored, uncensored) communication with her? She must have her own email/ phone, right?

ETA - also check for rot in the window framing and wall studs.

I'm more of a remodel guy and light handyman. I have some basic structural knowledge, but I really need my Step-Dad's help with that stuff, otherwise I'm going to be turning to YouTube for more than I really feel comfortable with. I've also never done windows before either, which could be a bit of a problem when I'm trying to do this on the downlow and I'm going to be installing 7 large windows that are going to need framing in a hurry.

Fortnuately, the electric is good. I was half expecting to find a bunch of romex cables, but it's all conduit. I do plan on re-situating some of that, but it will hardly be any work at all. I had to install all new electric in the basement after I gutted it.

As far as my mom is concerned, she seems great with it. She's not being shanghaied. Honestly, I've never seen a more loving relationship than what they have. They'd literally die for each other, and I have no doubt about that. It's the type of relationship where I think after one of them goes the other will be soon to follow from heartbreak.

But they're both so damned impulsive. They lost a lot of money when they had to do a fire sale on their old house, our cottage we had since my childhood and their business when they decided less than 2 years ago they were moving to Arizona and bought the house long before anything else got sold. I have no doubts they're going to take another huge hit on this as well.

I don't trust his kids, especially when it comes to my mom if something were to happen to him. He's in great shape for his age, but he's no spring chicken.

My feelings are just kind of hurt here about this whole thing, and if the humidity was no longer an issue, they could just move to Indiana and keep the low taxes and they'd have plenty of family close by... like their granddaughter that they haven't seen in a year and a half.

I'm trying to keep from saying anything that's going to keep us from talking to each other another 10 years. We have a history of that, and I thought we were long past something like that happening again.

I just need the warm weather to come back tomorrow so I can get some work done and keep my mind off of it. It was in the 30's with the windchill today here and I've spent most of the day bundled up and vedging out with these thoughts in my head.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Friday, April 19, 2019 9:46 PM

Moving.
One personal trick (now called life hacks) I recall was what you could call cat burglary.
After the largest or most orderly stuff was boxed or stacked, I would always keep behind sleeping bags, large comforters, Beach blankets. I would toss odds and ends into the sleeping bags, then grasp it by the neck and haul it. Comforters and blankets are lesser versions, but by that time the odds and ends were smaller and fewer, but gathering the 4 corners together and tying them together like a hobo sack still worked great. Pillowcases haul the silverware and some knickknacks.

Not sure what is available to Brenda - vehicles, vans, trucks, trailers, several sturdy men, etc. Or what kind of stuff - furniture, huge furniture, assembly furniture, mattresses, etc.
If sturdy men are available, then having some dollies, carts, roller trucks can help, hauling 4-5 boxes at once instead of wearing your guys out shuffling around with only one box at a time. Those can be borrowed, or rented from appliance shops (often closed and carts unused on weekends).
For dressers, I would just carry out the drawers as if they were boxes, not bothering to transfer them to boxes in between.
When quick turnaround was needed, I would rent one of those storage lockers for a month or a week, and move the most time consuming or hardest stuff into the locker, then after moving day reverse the process. If you have a friend with a garage, that would make due. If the garage floor is not clean, a layer of cardboard to stack the boxes on top of works, or else I used discarded pallets. I think once I used pallets, with a tarp cover, and left it outdoors, when I had tape sealed the boxes. Or I put each box inside a large garbage bag.
I would stack or stage most of the stuff next to the door, or largest entryway (like patio door, removing both sides), or other Line of Demarcation. Less time wandering through the whole space on moving day, just a step or 2 inside the door, and back out with more boxes.
Night before moving day, mattress on the floor, only final necessities are not yet packed - like what you would have for a motel night. Bed disassembled at least the day before.
Oh, and use every piece of luggage stuffed with items, packed with linens and blankets for fragiles. Cheap luggage and seabags can be found at Goodwill, etc. Thrown out luggage doesn't need to be pretty for long-term possession, just holds together for a few days - and with roller wheels on the luggage, even better.
You could ask friends to borrow their luggage, as well. How many of your friends are not on vacation the next week?

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Friday, April 19, 2019 10:51 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
Well that's exciting / nerve-wracking depending on your pov!

Nerve wracking as I would like to do more but can't.

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Saturday, April 20, 2019 8:20 AM

Nice. I've been doing some spring cleaning and I found one of two large CD books I had years ago and thought I had thrown out after I got rid of all of my burned CD's and DVDs in the whole house purge that was instigated after a binge watching session of hoarders. Hopefully I can find the other one.

I'm going to put the movies I buy at Goodwill in there and put the cases in my attic.

Half price day at Goodwill again today. I might put a little more down on DVDs now that I'm pretty sure I want to start doing this. They had a lot of good ones last half price day, but I was extremely picky since I was still on the fence about this.

Hopefully I can find some more pairs of Levis and a few more good shirts too. Since half of my days at work are going to be while customers are in the store, I don't think they're going to extend the same courtesy to the night shift about wearing clothes with holes in them. This job is extremely rough on clothing.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Saturday, April 20, 2019 10:58 AM

No clothes today :(

Great movie haul for $18 though.

American Psycho
The Boondock Saints
The Cabin in the Woods
The Dark Knight
The Fast and the Furious
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters II
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Mummy (Brendan Fraser)
National Lampoon's Van Wilder
Nothing But Trouble
Super Troopers (New, still shrink wrapped)
Thank You For Smoking
Underworld
Vanilla Sky

Also got a copy of Burn After Reading on BluRay (Great movie). I'll have to keep an eye out for those. The only other BluRay they had was Paranormal Activity 3 and I wouldn't even spend a buck for that on BluRay.

They had two copies of each of the Lord of the Rings movies on the list, and the ones I got were without blemish. They only had one copy of The Fellowship of the Ring though, and it was scratched to hell. No all day binge watching session of TLoTR until I can get my hands on that one. :)

I'm going to have to start making a list and taking it with me when I go. Especially when sequels become involved, I could see how it would be easy for somebody to buy multiple copies of movies they already own.

They had quite a few other good movies there, but most of them were in pretty bad shape. I'm tempering what I buy by being extremely picky when it comes to the condition of the discs.

I was a little disappointed to see that "Her" didn't have the disc in it. I've heard a lot of good things about that movie and haven't gotten around to watching it yet.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Saturday, April 20, 2019 11:45 AM

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

Jack, you have ENERGY!

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Saturday, April 20, 2019 1:55 PM

Out for a walk in the sun in a bit. Got to get away from this onion smell in here. Cooking upstairs.

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Saturday, April 20, 2019 6:07 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Nice. I've been doing some spring cleaning and I found one of two large CD books I had years ago and thought I had thrown out after I got rid of all of my burned CD's and DVDs in the whole house purge that was instigated after a binge watching session of hoarders. Hopefully I can find the other one.

I'm going to put the movies I buy at Goodwill in there and put the cases in my attic.

Half price day at Goodwill again today. I might put a little more down on DVDs now that I'm pretty sure I want to start doing this. They had a lot of good ones last half price day, but I was extremely picky since I was still on the fence about this.

Hopefully I can find some more pairs of Levis and a few more good shirts too. Since half of my days at work are going to be while customers are in the store, I don't think they're going to extend the same courtesy to the night shift about wearing clothes with holes in them. This job is extremely rough on clothing.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

Is your store not a 24 hour store? You used to work nights, when the store was always closed?

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Saturday, April 20, 2019 6:11 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
No clothes today :(

Great movie haul for $18 though.

American Psycho
The Boondock Saints
The Cabin in the Woods
The Dark Knight
The Fast and the Furious
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters II
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Mummy (Brendan Fraser)
National Lampoon's Van Wilder
Nothing But Trouble
Super Troopers (New, still shrink wrapped)
Thank You For Smoking
Underworld
Vanilla Sky

Also got a copy of Burn After Reading on BluRay (Great movie). I'll have to keep an eye out for those. The only other BluRay they had was Paranormal Activity 3 and I wouldn't even spend a buck for that on BluRay.

They had two copies of each of the Lord of the Rings movies on the list, and the ones I got were without blemish. They only had one copy of The Fellowship of the Ring though, and it was scratched to hell. No all day binge watching session of TLoTR until I can get my hands on that one. :)

I'm going to have to start making a list and taking it with me when I go. Especially when sequels become involved, I could see how it would be easy for somebody to buy multiple copies of movies they already own.

They had quite a few other good movies there, but most of them were in pretty bad shape. I'm tempering what I buy by being extremely picky when it comes to the condition of the discs.

I was a little disappointed to see that "Her" didn't have the disc in it. I've heard a lot of good things about that movie and haven't gotten around to watching it yet.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

Have you already seen Cabin in the Woods and Thank You For Smoking?

I also recommend having both a list of what you have, in which format, and a list of what are your top most wanted.

Have you seen The Bodyguard? Seeing it on TV, I just realized that in the film, Whitney was introduced to I Will Always Love You (her biggest hit) from the jukebox playing John Doe's version, where she critiqued and belittled it.

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Sunday, April 21, 2019 6:05 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Is your store not a 24 hour store? You used to work nights, when the store was always closed?

It's not a 24 hour store. Opens in the morning a few hours after we are done, and it closes right around the time I get there (I always show up about 1/2 hour early, get my coffee and punch in early with the manager's approval).

We still have overnights, for now. Been hearing since February that the change was to happen sometime next month, but nobody knows anything for sure. They've rescheduled a lot of the vendor trucks on days, so it is happening. Just a matter of when.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Sunday, April 21, 2019 6:11 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Have you already seen Cabin in the Woods and Thank You For Smoking?

Yeah. I actually just introduced my old man and my brother to Cabin in the Woods a few weeks ago... my second viewing. Love that movie.

I saw thank you for smoking around the time it came out and I liked it. Huge difference in the overall political landscape in America just that short time ago. Wouldn't mind watching it again now, and at just a buck for a flawless copy I figured why not.

Quote:
I also recommend having both a list of what you have, in which format, and a list of what are your top most wanted.

Yeah. Probably not a bad idea. For instance, the two LOTR movies I have are the Widescreen version with a Bonus DVD. I'll bet there were probably 12 versions of them. The Ghostbusters movies were in a two pack that came with a cool little sketch book. Van Wilder is the "Unrated" version.

I'm not looking at getting multiple versions of any movies, save maybe a few that might warrant it. Titles like Brazil with it's alternate endings come to mind. I can't imagine any reason why I'd need two separate versions of Van Wilder, unless of course the "Unrated" version is so over the top that I don't enjoy it like I did the original movie... which is possible.

Right now, the only movies that are MUST haves on my list are Galaxy Quest, Idiocracy and Office Space. I lucked out and found Office Space on my first visit and it was my first purchase. Still haven't found the other two yet.

There probably were about 30 more there yesterday that I wouldn't mind having in my collection. Some of them were pretty high up on the list in my mind, but they were pretty beat up. The rest of them I didn't even bother looking at since I already had a huge stack. No need to rush this or anything. I'm sure that unwanted DVDs are all over the place these days.

Quote:
Have you seen The Bodyguard? Seeing it on TV, I just realized that in the film, Whitney was introduced to I Will Always Love You (her biggest hit) from the jukebox playing John Doe's version, where she critiqued and belittled it.

Yeah. I was probably like 11 years old when I watched it, and it didn't impress me at that age. Is it any good? I've never seen it with adult eyes.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Sunday, April 21, 2019 8:51 AM

Man... Been up for hours now and couldn't sleep. I've got so much to do in the next two days while we're in the 70's, but I'm still bundled up and vegging out since it's still in the damn 40's right now.

I had to break down and put my furnace on again yesterday, and it was on for a long time. I could actually see my breath.

Adding a lawn mowing and spraying for weeds to my current to-do list today. Thought I wouldn't be doing that for a few weeks, but even though we keep dipping back into the cold there's been enough rain and warm days that the lawn's already looking shaggy and I need to get ahead of the weeds before they get crazy like they did last year.

Gotta fix the "flap" on the side of the mower too. I broke it a few summers ago and I'm tired of wasting my roll of aluminum tape to seal it every other time I mow the lawn. I think I'm going to just drill a few pilot holes and wrap some electrical wire around two short screws that wouldn't interfere with the blade. Maybe 4 if two isn't enough.

So ghetto, but I'm not buying a new lawnmower just because that stupid flap broke off. I never bag the clippings anyhow, so I don't need it. Might be a bit harder to clean out without access, but unless I can come up with a better solution, this is it.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Sunday, April 21, 2019 3:08 PM

Nice. :)

I used bolts instead of screws and it worked perfect. Made two holes in the metal frame of the lawnmower on both sides of the flap with plenty of clearance for the mower blade by using a small drill bit for a pilot hole, then stepping it up twice with larger bits until I had holes just the right size for the bolts I was going to use.

Got two short bolts, in combination with 2 washers and nuts each and made them super tight. Hardly any of the bolts are in the inside, and about 1/3" sticking out above the outside nuts. Wrapped one end of a scrap wire up tight on one side, fit the flap in where it should go, brought the wire across to the other side and used some needle nose pliers to tighten it up to the point that it won't move.

Stepped back and marveled at my genius.

Mowed the whole lawn without incident. I'll be monitoring during a few more mowings to make sure it's not loosening up at all because of the vibration of the blade/motor and bouncing all over my crappy lawn, but I think I can consider this problem finally solved. :)

Next was the car...

Oil was reading at just about "E" on the dipstick. Though you can wait 5 minutes and never see a drop when it's parked, the cardboard I had under it in the garage all winter was soaked in spots. I look to have lost about a quart of oil since somewhere around July last year when I did the work on fixing it. Hard to say if anything is leaking from the seal I fixed without tearing half the car apart again, but my car always had a leak since day one... Unless it gets worse I'll assume that this problem was fixed as well and just remember to put a 1/4 of a quart in every 2 or so months from here on out.

I won't be parking on the old man's driveway as long as I own that car, but 1 quart lost over 9 months is a damn sight better than having to put 1 1/2 quarts in every time I did a 40 mile round trip.

Tweaked the downshift cable quite a bit and gave it a spin on the expressway. My acceleration problem all but gone now too. Before this tweak, there was a very noticeable "bump" that happened when putting my foot on the break and switching from Reverse to Drive and back, but it's baby smooth now. Still isn't perfect on the road, but after how bad it had gotten last summer it's hardly noticeable anymore.

Going to ride with it like this for the next week while I'm working and see how it goes. I might make another tweak or two here or there after that and see what happens, but I don't think I'll have to buy the new wire kit.

I think I'm going to screw off for the rest of the day. I can always spray for weeds tomorrow. :)

Oh... and it's funny how the brain works....

I got the idea for the "flap fix assembly" on my lawn mower from the design of the accelerator and downshift cables. In order to tighten or loosen them, you first need to loosen a nut on one side of it and tighten it up on the other side (bringing the tube the wire sits in closer or further apart from the pulley).

I just had both of those things on my mind this morning and my brain put them both together I guess.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Sunday, April 21, 2019 4:21 PM

If you clean the bottom of your engine, you can later Jack up the car, scoot under the engine to see where oil is coming from.

I don't understand why you need a flap on your discharge slot. When I was a kid, mowers never had a flap.

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Sunday, April 21, 2019 4:51 PM

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

Nothing to do with lawn mowers, cars, or moving (hi Brenda!) ...

so I was running some errands today, and I like to check out the plants. The trees started leafing out about 3 weeks ago, more or less depending on species and situation. Some looked terribly drought-damaged, with large bare limbs sticking up out of deformed leafy crowns. (And many of them were on private-home lots, so I assume they were getting some supplemental water.) I was curious if those bare limbs were well and truly dead, or just damaged. It looks like most of them were just damaged, though they look funny because they have a few leaves at the tips and a lot of bare space below. If we don't get super-hot-dry-windy weather in the next 6 weeks or so, I think the trees can recover completely.

But some of the trees look dead, like a large jacaranda (Brazil native) on somebody's front lawn, and some of the liquidambar on the far side of a commercial parking lot. That's too bad about the liquidambar because they were large trees and made nice shady parking spaces in summer! But while liquidambar are native NA trees, they prefer moist areas. So planting them in SoCal - not a good choice!

jacaranda in bloom

liquidambar are tall pyramidal deciduous trees ...

... prized for their fall color which ranges from some brilliant gold through orange, cherry red, and into deep maroon

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Sunday, April 21, 2019 8:51 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
If you clean the bottom of your engine, you can later Jack up the car, scoot under the engine to see where oil is coming from.

I'd have to jack up the car to clean the bottom of my engine. :)

I might go ahead and try a bottle of your STP and see what happens. The leak is super small to only lose about a quart in 9 months.

Quote:
I don't understand why you need a flap on your discharge slot. When I was a kid, mowers never had a flap.

Every mower I've ever seen has one. Not sure if you're not understanding my meaning or not. When this thing would come off it would shoot clippings everywhere into the wind and when I'm covered in sweat it was kind of like being tarred and feathered.

EDIT:

Here's a picture of what I mean. It's the flap that goes over the discharge chute attachment that I never use. The whole flap broke off, and I had been taping it up every other week with aluminum tape that would eventually break and I'd have a mess blowing all over me.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Sunday, April 21, 2019 9:00 PM

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

Hey Jack - at that rate o loss I don't think you have a leak, I think some is going past the piston rings and being burned. If you go to a heavier multi-weight oil - 10W40 or 10W50 if you can find it, you might take care of the problem.

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Sunday, April 21, 2019 9:06 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
Hey Jack - at that rate o loss I don't think you have a leak, I think some is going past the piston rings and being burned. If you go to a heavier multi-weight oil - 10W40 or 10W50 if you can find it, you might take care of the problem.

It's possible there might be some burnoff, but I have cardboard down in my garage for a reason and after 9 months it looked to have quite a bit on it. I just threw it out today and put new cardboard down.

I've been using 10w40 ever since I had the massive leak. It was less than half the price of the 10w30 Pennzoil where I work.

I went through over 7 boxes of 12 quarts in about 5 months before I replaced the seal. I only had 8 quarts left of the 8th box.

I've only lost 1 quart in 9 months, comparatively speaking.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Sunday, April 21, 2019 9:15 PM

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

Which sounds FANTASTIC! to me!

My poor car - it's a 95 Toyota which are supposed to be brick solid, but it had a blown head gasket, so, more than the average wear and tear - goes thru about a quart every 2 months. But I know the what and how.

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Sunday, April 21, 2019 11:22 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
Which sounds FANTASTIC! to me!

My poor car - it's a 95 Toyota which are supposed to be brick solid, but it had a blown head gasket, so, more than the average wear and tear - goes thru about a quart every 2 months. But I know the what and how.

I highly recommend you add STP Oil Treatment. 6ix is still going to not listen.

I like buying oil at $1/qt when On Sale. At Farm & Fleet, which is somewhat of a competitor of Menard's, Home Depot, or the old type of Lumber/hardware stores.

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Monday, April 22, 2019 5:30 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
Which sounds FANTASTIC! to me!

My poor car - it's a 95 Toyota which are supposed to be brick solid, but it had a blown head gasket, so, more than the average wear and tear - goes thru about a quart every 2 months. But I know the what and how.
I highly recommend you add STP Oil Treatment. 6ix is still going to not listen.

I like buying oil at $1/qt when On Sale. At Farm & Fleet, which is somewhat of a competitor of Menard's, Home Depot, or the old type of Lumber/hardware stores.

I just said a few posts up now that the leak is minimal that I'm going to give it a shot. I'll let you know what happens.

Anything I read about those oil treatments, even from the makers of the treatments themselves, said that it wouldn't have worked with the severe leak that I had before I fixed it.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Monday, April 22, 2019 12:29 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
Which sounds FANTASTIC! to me!

My poor car - it's a 95 Toyota which are supposed to be brick solid, but it had a blown head gasket, so, more than the average wear and tear - goes thru about a quart every 2 months. But I know the what and how.
I highly recommend you add STP Oil Treatment. 6ix is still going to not listen.

I like buying oil at $1/qt when On Sale. At Farm & Fleet, which is somewhat of a competitor of Menard's, Home Depot, or the old type of Lumber/hardware stores.

I just said a few posts up now that the leak is minimal that I'm going to give it a shot. I'll let you know what happens.

Anything I read about those oil treatments, even from the makers of the treatments themselves, said that it wouldn't have worked with the severe leak that I had before I fixed it.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

My mistake.

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Monday, April 22, 2019 10:41 PM

Stress, stress, stress. Worry, worry, worry.

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Monday, April 22, 2019 11:12 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Hi BRENDA!

Whazzup?

Anything specific that you're worried about?

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Tuesday, April 23, 2019 1:20 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Hi BRENDA!

Whazzup?

Anything specific that you're worried about?

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

Hey Sig,

Nothing too specific. Just this move and trying to get some extra help and all.

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Tuesday, April 23, 2019 9:12 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

Quote:
I don't understand why you need a flap on your discharge slot. When I was a kid, mowers never had a flap.

Every mower I've ever seen has one. Not sure if you're not understanding my meaning or not. When this thing would come off it would shoot clippings everywhere into the wind and when I'm covered in sweat it was kind of like being tarred and feathered.

EDIT:

Here's a picture of what I mean. It's the flap that goes over the discharge chute attachment that I never use. The whole flap broke off, and I had been taping it up every other week with aluminum tape that would eventually break and I'd have a mess blowing all over me.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

6ix, go buy the part, would you please?

Genuine MTD 987-02516A Hinged Mulch Plug Fits Bolens Craftsman Huskee Troy Bilt

$14.21

Free shipping
Arrives by Friday, May 3

www.walmart.com/ip/Genuine-MTD-987-02516A-Hinged-Mulch-Plug-Fits-Bolen
s-Craftsman-Huskee-Troy-Bilt/844025261

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Tuesday, April 23, 2019 12:27 PM

Looks like rain today.

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Tuesday, April 23, 2019 8:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

Quote:
I don't understand why you need a flap on your discharge slot. When I was a kid, mowers never had a flap.

Every mower I've ever seen has one. Not sure if you're not understanding my meaning or not. When this thing would come off it would shoot clippings everywhere into the wind and when I'm covered in sweat it was kind of like being tarred and feathered.

EDIT:

Here's a picture of what I mean. It's the flap that goes over the discharge chute attachment that I never use. The whole flap broke off, and I had been taping it up every other week with aluminum tape that would eventually break and I'd have a mess blowing all over me.

Do Right, Be Right. :)
6ix, go buy the part, would you please?

Genuine MTD 987-02516A Hinged Mulch Plug Fits Bolens Craftsman Huskee Troy Bilt

$14.21

Free shipping
Arrives by Friday, May 3

www.walmart.com/ip/Genuine-MTD-987-02516A-Hinged-Mulch-Plug-Fits-Bolen
s-Craftsman-Huskee-Troy-Bilt/844025261

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

I may be wrong here, and correct me if I am, but I don't believe I've mentioned what make my lawnmower is since back around the time I got it, which would have been about 7 to 8 years ago now. I do remember going into detail here about how great a mower it was for the price back then, years before I became a raving drunk lunatic here, but I don't recall making mention of it once since I sobered up.

But there's the link for the exact cap that I would need for my lawn mower.

Can't lie. That's a pretty creepy post there, Second.

Kudos, I suppose, for the chilling level of a rare appearance by you in the garden and rain thread. Instead of getting paranoid and buying an alarm system for my house, I'm just going say that I'm flattered that you find me so interesting that you read through enough of my old posts to know what lawnmower I owned.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, April 23, 2019 10:07 PM

Sunny now and sunny tomorrow. Also should be dry for my move which will be nice.

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Wednesday, April 24, 2019 6:58 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

I may be wrong here, and correct me if I am, but I don't believe I've mentioned what make my lawnmower is since back around the time I got it, which would have been about 7 to 8 years ago now. I do remember going into detail here about how great a mower it was for the price back then, years before I became a raving drunk lunatic here, but I don't recall making mention of it once since I sobered up.

But there's the link for the exact cap that I would need for my lawn mower.

Can't lie. That's a pretty creepy post there, Second.

Kudos, I suppose, for the chilling level of a rare appearance by you in the garden and rain thread. Instead of getting paranoid and buying an alarm system for my house, I'm just going say that I'm flattered that you find me so interesting that you read through enough of my old posts to know what lawnmower I owned.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

6ix wrote eight years back on Friday, December 2, 2011 6:46 PM
(start at the bottom of a long-long post)

www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=49651&mid=871809#87
1809

I've got a Troy-Bilt self propelled mower/mulcher that has a Briggs and Stratton engine in it. That thing will clean out your yard and you wouldn't even know that you didn't bag it. My lawn is HUGE and neighbors tell me they can't believe I don't use a rider. Sure, it takes me about 75 minutes to mow the lawn, but I'm just listening to my mp3 player in my own little world and time flies.

To the untrained eye, everyone else thinks I'm pushing the damned thing, but it really does about 95% of the work itself. The 5% of the "work" I have to do with it is the 5% or more of the areas your oversized thug of a rider can't reach and you'd have to use a regular push mower anyways. Seriously, this thing kicks ass, vaporizes grass, and you can dance in circles with it.

It's one of the most impressive machines I've ever owned.

Let me know if you want the link to it.

Besides, a little walking is good exercise :)

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Wednesday, April 24, 2019 8:09 AM

Yup. There it is.

I prefer the free solution. 8 years later and I've never used the chute once.

My fix allows for a new one, if I ever change my mind. I didn't break anything or diminish the integrity of the housing. Just two 1/4" holes is all. It's not as if I'm looking to sell it anytime soon, and after doing all that work fixing my car, I'll probably be able to keep that mower running forever.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Thursday, April 25, 2019 1:08 AM

Almost one last time before I have to sign off due to this move. I hate people!

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Thursday, April 25, 2019 8:31 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Almost one last time before I have to sign off due to this move. I hate people!

We're not all bad, Brenda.

But I hear ya.

Good luck in the new place. So happy for you.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Thursday, April 25, 2019 11:21 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Almost one last time before I have to sign off due to this move. I hate people!

We're not all bad, Brenda.

But I hear ya.

Good luck in the new place. So happy for you.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

I know. It was just that the lady that I work for and her husband stopped by last night to try and see what they WILL NOT help me with.

10 minutes of them ^&&*&^&*&^&*&&&******* around. I told her that I would be at work, so I could clear my head. Then when I get back I will do some more repacking tonight.

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Thursday, April 25, 2019 12:12 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Almost one last time before I have to sign off due to this move. I hate people!

Will you still be here after the move? Do you use the Library computer?

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Thursday, April 25, 2019 4:25 PM

Forecast for here Saturday is snow.

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Thursday, April 25, 2019 10:16 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Almost one last time before I have to sign off due to this move. I hate people!
Will you still be here after the move? Do you use the Library computer?

Yes, I will be able to use my local library after the move until I get set up again. I will log on to let everyone know how things went.

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Thursday, April 25, 2019 11:22 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

I have my fingers crossed that all goes well. Bon chance!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Friday, April 26, 2019 1:31 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I have my fingers crossed that all goes well. Bon chance!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

Merci Sig. I can use all the good wishes I can get. I am so twitchy right now I don't know what to do with myself. Not sure how much sleep I will get tonight. Going to try and do a few more things before I try to sleep.

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Friday, April 26, 2019 12:15 PM

Stupid ass cellphone has an ad on it that keeps pinging and telling me it is there. Too lazy to clear it out. I will.

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Friday, April 26, 2019 1:20 PM

Waiting, waiting, waiting for moving help to arrive and for my idiot landlady to get husband or whoever to move the crap from around the door for the movers. Stupid ass woman.

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Saturday, April 27, 2019 3:17 PM