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When I learn the machine, I'm thinking about a sweater.
My mother had one. My sister probably has it now. As a mechanical type fellow it fascinated me.

Today @Firepolice271 got started well before me but got distracted by a call after a shingle delivery truck that ended up taking out 5 telephone poles, power lines fiber optic before he realized what he had done.

That left me unsupervised to unload wood from the truck and doubling up 2X4s to use as beams to support the roof.

20210205_161500.jpg


We put in another row of beams to support the roof and get ready for removing the old supprt wall.

20210205_161513.jpg


It was just a matter of a 1/2 hour and all of the old wall was gone.

20210205_163725.jpg


The beam that can be see on the floor is supported by concrete pillars and big posts. The new main beam will be assembled above that beam to support the roof above and will be supported by big beams hidden in the walls of the great room.

20210205_165425.jpg


The image above shows the view as we enter the front door. All of those support beams will be removed for a clear view to the back of the house and the horse farm beyond. The view of the horse farm out back is shown below.

20210205_165453.jpg


Granted we will have to clear the construction debris, level out the ground and replant grass before we can rent the place out. We raised the level of the backyard by almost 2' with the dirt escavated from the basement and it is quite an eye sore.

Afterwards the kids showed up and I did a sales pitch to get my son to listen to the audio book version of Atlas Shrugged.

All of my girls are currently up in the Ravenclaw Room settling in for a warm winters night.

God has smiled on me and mine. May he do likewise for you and yours.

Behave!

Ben
 
This morning I am doing a little house cleaning on the main floor, vacuuming and such, I had just mopped the main floor when the wife decided to make bread, there is a place where it looks like it snowed... Not thrilled but I like the bread ;)

Mentally I am trying to plan out the garden spaces for this year, I have an 18"X10' run that has full sun (It is on the south side of my grape vines) that is usually over run with weeds, I am thinking about putting down some heavy black plastic and then making a raised bed over it or putting square containers over it, but I don't know what I would want to grow in 15sqft, it would have to be harvested before the grapes got into full growing mode (Mid summer). Might be a good place for bush beans, just thinking here.....

Weekend after next is a range day for me... I am not sure I want to take anything out, it's just getting too expensive. I may just go and play safety cop for 8 hours, that is a long time to walk up and down the line and not pull anything out.... Might take my Hawkins or the new (very old) 22 sears single....

Well it's almost daylight and I have a lot the I want to do today.....
 
I hope you get things straightened out soon, Spikedriver!

Your rental is sure taking shape, Ben! I love the view of the horse farm!

I have never heard of a knitting machine before, MoBookworm! I'll have to google it.

I will do a video shortly as it is raining out.
Then have a yard sale to go to if it hasn't been cancelled because of rain.
Next dry PC the potatoes that I prepped yesterday.
If the rain clears this afternoon, I have rose hips to collect from bushes at Church.
Never got roses pruned yesterday and am thinking I will wait until the end of the month.
Hoping to get this year's garden down on paper.

Have a good weekend!
 
Threw the bed sheets down stairs. Today is normally wash day.
Fixed my breakfast.
Posted online an item I have for sale that no longer a need for.
Checked several "news" sites to see if the world is still here, it is.
Wife invited several of her girl friends over for the day so if I don't leave before they arrive, my car will be blocked in the garage.
Last time I was off the property was last Sunday evening to get a replacement mailbox. I'll stay home today.

When the wife's friends leave I'll throw down the dirty clothes from the hamper.
 
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Sipping coffee.
Strawberry has been out.
She's still worn out by grand daughter's visit yesterday.
Me too.
Will have to walk in a bit.
I love it when people gift me items(knitting machine in particular this time), but I wish they had included instructions.
So some time today will go to Craftsy site or You Tube to see if I can figure out how to use it.
My kitchen table is about 45-52 inches on the long side, knitting machine hangs off 5 inches.
I now have my new weights, that baby is heavy.
Got a video call from great nephew in Texas(he's 2 years old and his little sister is 1 year old).
He's excited cause he knows his surprise yarn got delivered.
When I make baby layettes for babies in the family.
It consists of blanket, hat, mittens,washcloths, hand towel.
All in same color grouping.
He needs more washcloths, Granny.
Have finished 1 wash cloth completely in his new color.
Working on the second.
The Tangerine Splash is for his little sister.
Hopefully a dozen washcloths in various colors will due them for a while.
Will have to cook today out of leftovers.
Already baked bread this morning.
Be back later.
Stay warm.
 
My mother had one. My sister probably has it now. As a mechanical type fellow it fascinated me.

Today @Firepolice271 got started well before me but got distracted by a call after a shingle delivery truck that ended up taking out 5 telephone poles, power lines fiber optic before he realized what he had done.

That left me unsupervised to unload wood from the truck and doubling up 2X4s to use as beams to support the roof.

View attachment 58617

We put in another row of beams to support the roof and get ready for removing the old supprt wall.

View attachment 58618

It was just a matter of a 1/2 hour and all of the old wall was gone.

View attachment 58619

The beam that can be see on the floor is supported by concrete pillars and big posts. The new main beam will be assembled above that beam to support the roof above and will be supported by big beams hidden in the walls of the great room.

View attachment 58620

The image above shows the view as we enter the front door. All of those support beams will be removed for a clear view to the back of the house and the horse farm beyond. The view of the horse farm out back is shown below.

View attachment 58621

Granted we will have to clear the construction debris, level out the ground and replant grass before we can rent the place out. We raised the level of the backyard by almost 2' with the dirt escavated from the basement and it is quite an eye sore.

Afterwards the kids showed up and I did a sales pitch to get my son to listen to the audio book version of Atlas Shrugged.

All of my girls are currently up in the Ravenclaw Room settling in for a warm winters night.

God has smiled on me and mine. May he do likewise for you and yours.

Behave!

Ben
Looks good.
 
Going to pick up a truckload of straw, so grandson can clean out the chicken coops. Getting some housecleaning done today, and little granddaughters mom and her boyfriend will be over visiting her this afternoon. Other granddaughter has work at the burger place, so I'll be her driver. It's supposed to get super cold and stay cold this week starting tonight. Not looking forward to snow and single digits.
 
I bought a new DeWalt 60-gallon air compressor and I have been working on the airlines in my shop. I am replacing all my old quick connectors with high flow connectors. I bought a hose reel that I need to get hung on the ceiling and I need to bolt the compressor to the concrete floor so it doesn't move around.
Fun, guy stuff. :)

My wife had cabin fever and wanted to go someplace so we went to Home Depot so I could buy concrete anchors for my compressor. We were really surprised to find a restaurant open for inside seating. The place was packed with no extra separation between tables. I asked how they were getting away with that and the waiter said they monitor the CO2 level and as long as they stay below a certain number and open some windows they are good.
The state will not let them serve alcohol but they can sell it to go which is against state law. Stupidity is strong in the government.
 
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@MoBookworm1957
You make me feel so useless..😬
Does my heart good to see you so
busy.

My BIL called checking on his sister , my wife, kept me on the phone over an hour

We're going to Cabin Pizza for lunch.

Then I'm actually going to WM , yep that's inside, uuugghh....gotta get that Chromecast gadget.

Just seen new DISH bill.
They went up another $5. That's it I'm done.

Hope I can get it to do what I want.

Getting ready to go eat.
Next week is gonna be busy and super cold.

Y'all keep warm , stay safe, have a great day.

Jim
 
Politicing and saying things some don't like but it is not to antaganize just giving my opinions on what I think about the times.
Also enjoying the fact that our dog is doing much better running,playing and acting healthy again. :great: and no more having to be stool investagators is nice too now that she is doing so good.
 
Waiting on the potatoes to come out of the PC. Wondering if they will be a better texture since they are dry canned--no liquid added.
Planned out my garden for Spring.

Just seen new DISH bill.
They went up another $5. That's it I'm done.
When they have done that to us in the past we call and ask for "customer retention" dept. They have always brought it back down as we let them know that we are on a fixed income. Might be worth a try!
 
@MoBookworm1957
You make me feel so useless..😬
Does my heart good to see you so
busy.

My BIL called checking on his sister , my wife, kept me on the phone over an hour

We're going to Cabin Pizza for lunch.

Then I'm actually going to WM , yep that's inside, uuugghh....gotta get that Chromecast gadget.

Just seen new DISH bill.
They went up another $5. That's it I'm done.

Hope I can get it to do what I want.

Getting ready to go eat.
Next week is gonna be busy and super cold.

Y'all keep warm , stay safe, have a great day.

Jim
;)
Jim,
No use feeling useless.
I have to keep busy otherwise I get into trouble.
Trying to get ahead on projects.
Am seeing Surgeon for surgery on left arm and foot in Feb 2021.
I happen to be left handed.
So won't be doing anything for 6-8 weeks.
Watching it "SNOW".
I really think Amish Heart could have kept it.;):rolleyes::rolleyes:
And it's getting colder too.
Neb,
Could you happen to see if your sister got your mother's knitting machine?
Does she have manual?
I'm just confused when I watch different people cast on to the machine.
Watching TV now.
Still have to cook something for supper.
Strawberry is sleeping.
 
;)
Jim,
No use feeling useless.
I have to keep busy otherwise I get into trouble.
Trying to get ahead on projects.
Am seeing Surgeon for surgery on left arm and foot in Feb 2021.
I happen to be left handed.
So won't be doing anything for 6-8 weeks.
Watching it "SNOW".
I really think Amish Heart could have kept it.;):rolleyes::rolleyes:
And it's getting colder too.
Neb,
Could you happen to see if your sister got your mother's knitting machine?
Does she have manual?
I'm just confused when I watch different people cast on to the machine.
Watching TV now.
Still have to cook something for supper.
Strawberry is sleeping.
@MoBookworm1957

I will try to remember to ask when she gets home from work.

Today...

After the girls departed I switched to plumbing mode. The fill valve in one of toilets stopped working and would not shut off. It weird cheapo knock-off installed by by buddy when he used to rent the other side of our duplex. I can't knock him since replaced the valve himself and never told me about. He was the best tenant one could ask for. I recall coming back from a buisness trip and him saying"The water heater went out while you were away. I replaced it. Here is the receipt for the new one."

But I digress...

I always use FluidMaster fill valves. The only thing that ever goes bad is the diaphram which are dirt cheap and it only takes a few seconds to replace them. I keep a stockpile of the FluidMaster fill valves in my shop because I never know when someone is going to need help and it takes longer to fetch parts from a hardware store than it takes to replace the valve.

So that is my keep for today. Just in time since The Princess's family from out of town showed up for hot chocolate after an afternoon of sled riding.

I will spending more time this afternoon listening to Atlas Shrugged. Then it will be a steaks and movies with The Princess.

Behave

Ben
 
We're just sharing the snow, Mo. Ha Ha.
Still on the ground, and the roads are crunchy. No buggies out today, but lots of tractors. Kids driving tractors. I always find that amusing. Little granddaughter's mom and the boyfriend did make it down and are still here. We went to pick up granddaughter from work and got milkshakes for everyone. Grandson got the woodburning stove going, and old man cat sure is appreciating it. Banana muffins in the oven, and will be time to start dinner, soon. I did get the house scrubbed out at least today.
 
Waiting on the potatoes to come out of the PC. Wondering if they will be a better texture since they are dry canned--no liquid added.
Planned out my garden for Spring.


When they have done that to us in the past we call and ask for "customer retention" dept. They have always brought it back down as we let them know that we are on a fixed income. Might be worth a try!

I have done that before also.

I'm just tired of begging them and paying for nothing fit to watch.

Bought the Chromecast gadget played around for 4 hours , can't get it to work.
Taking it back.

Had a good pizza for lunch.

Jim
 
Ran to the bank. The line was RIDICULOUS! So I used the ATM which had no line.

As a family we ran to Target to get q-tips. The girls still use the baby ones and they were out. I have a few packs from Costco of the regular ones but I still took advantage of a sale to buy more. Grabbed some seeds since they had them. The lines to check out were worse than the bank so we used the self check-out which had NO LINE!

On our way back to our town we stopped at Home Depot to have the trunk key for K's car cut. He lost his copy so he hasn't been using the trunk. I grabbed a bunch of seeds and tried to only get heirlooms but they seem to be scarce this year. We checked out in the garden area as there were no lines and the check-out lines in the store were the worst out of the three trips we made today!

Topped K's gas tank off and filled 2 gas cans. The gas station on the corner nearest the house was over $4.50 a gallon. We checked the station down the boulevard and it was about $3.20. I don't know how the first station can get away with that ridiculous price and stay open!
 
Went to the post office to get mail. Stopped by my friend's house to drop off some Ensure (well, Equate version of it) and a Rev-A-Shelf tip-out drawer thingy I got him on sale.
We installed it, but it took about 4 people. I'm uncoordinated & can't see well, he can't see well & can't feel much with his hands, other friend stripped the screws bc he doesn't listen (however, he did find my tool that made the installation easier) then another friend stopped by & helped hold things in place. He and my unlucky friend go way back & work well together.
Ordered pizza. Friend's rebound ex delivered it & came by after her shift ended. We chatted & watched weird stuff on youtube.
Went to HomeDepot to get supplies. Both friends needed stuff for electrical. The one who just bought a house found that someone stole the breaker box from his house (typical around these parts for that to happen- lots of meth users who steal anything they can).
My unlucky friend needed some 20amp GFCI outlets, boxes, conduit, & a breaker. Also got a wire fisher thingy. Wish I'd had one of those when I had to run some lines under my house in the past.
Saw a tool I wanted to get but want to look up reviews on: Porter Cable mini palm nail gun. It can hook to my Porter Cable compressor and it fits in my hand easily for nailing in small spaces where a regular nail gun can't fit.
Trying to get to sleep but still feeling sick from the pizza. My oldest cat seems to know when I'm feeling sick so he's curled up with me purring.
 
Last night we had salad from the garden, green beans from the garden and bacon, a potato casserole, and ice cream for desert.
I was sitting with my opened seed packets from last year trying to sort by what I want to grow in the spring garden, the TV was on in the background and I heard that we were expecting 4-8" of snow overnight. The wife and I had been trying to get a grocery list together, I decided to go right then to avoid any difficulties.
Our weekly grocery lists have gotten smaller and smaller. This weeks list was:
Oranges
Bananas (green)
4 apples
1 bag of onions
Ice Cream
Soda

The sugar peas are not doing as well indoors as the green beans, they have made a few peas, but I eat them before we have enough to cook.....
 
We're just sharing the snow, Mo. Ha Ha.
Still on the ground, and the roads are crunchy. No buggies out today, but lots of tractors. Kids driving tractors. I always find that amusing. Little granddaughter's mom and the boyfriend did make it down and are still here. We went to pick up granddaughter from work and got milkshakes for everyone. Grandson got the woodburning stove going, and old man cat sure is appreciating it. Banana muffins in the oven, and will be time to start dinner, soon. I did get the house scrubbed out at least today.
It's alright about the snow Amish Heart.
I woke up giggling about the weather in the night.
I'll be passing it on towards Tenn and Ky.
I believe in sharing.
 
Strawberry has been outside.
She didn't dilly dally around either.
I'm sipping coffee.
Will be going back to Craftsy some time today.
Best I can tell that knitting machine didn't come with manual.
Which is a bite.
Seems my grand daughter Estelle has been chatting with little girl named Merathia.
She chatted with Granny yesterday and told me that her, Merathia, and Baby Reign would need "Spring" sweaters.
She told Granny that her's need to be green and orange.
Merathia needed to be lavender,burgundy.
Baby Reign's needed to be bubble gum pink, purple.
Granny told her, that I need to learn how to use the knitting machine first.
Then we'll see about the sweaters.
She told me "Granny, you got this ".
I believe in you Granny.
Orney little turd.
 
We've got about 10 degrees here, and a light snow coming down to add to the snow from yesterday. Grandson is learning the hard way. Told him two days ago to make sure firewood is dry, stacked under the porch, at least a week's worth. And kindling. I had looked out the kitchen window and it appeared the kindling wood box was full. It's now full of snow, and come to find out he filled it with other junk and not kindling at all. So, now he is outside, has been on and off for an hr, splitting hedgewood for kindling, since the rest around here is covered in snow. Roast in the crockpot for our annual roast beef nachos for super bowl Sunday. I don't watch the super bowl, never have, but little granddaughter knows kitten superbowl comes on this afternoon. A few of my amish cousins want to watch the real superbowl, so not sure if I'm picking them up to come over or not. The weather is not so fun, and I know it's a church Sunday (ever other), and there's a couple of visiting bishops in town. So I know those buggy rides were not fun today, and will not be fun when they come home after lunch. Some do have portable heaters in them, though, especially the families with older people or young kids.
 
The Princess had her nickers all in a knot this morning telling me the toilet I worked yesterday was running and bemoaning what the water and sewage bill was going to look like.

So back into the tank for me. Sure enough the new flapper valve was not seating. Examination if the valve seat looked odd and irregular. I reached in to pull out the oddity.

It was a cardboard ring that shipped with the new flapper valve with the words;

"Remove before use"

Doh!

Disaster averted.

Ben
 
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