Our Nest Rennovation and Restoration Projects

Our Rennovations and Restorations To "The Nest"

as we affectionately call it

Our latest rennovations have been to our new old house - The Nest - a two bedroom, one bath bungalow in Mount Dora. It was built circa 1925, at least, we're pretty sure it was. The records say it was built in 1925, but there was this fire, a fire that destroyed all of the records previous to 1925. But I digress...

(September 2014)
The side porch was literally falling off the side of the house when we bought it. We realized something would have to be done sooner than later if we we're going to save it. It was more or less open to the elements, protected only by its roof and screening, and rotting to pieces. Part of the "charm" of the porch was the "exposed" electrical panel. While not necessarily "exposed" to view behind its makeshift "protective" cabinet, it was exposed to the elements that could blow in through the screening, since it had no wall along the side facing the back of the house.

Ah, the electrical panel... What a mess! Someone had started to rewire the house, but never quite finished the job. There were still old "knob and tube" style wires coming down through holes in the ceiling of the side porch and going into the side of the panel. This is not to code! But I guess in Mount Dora, the house doesn't have to meet code to be sold? It doesn't matter, we know it will be right up there at the top of the TODO list.

That's okay though, we planned on doing things a little at a time, getting everything rennovated and restored before moving in. We already spend a lot of our weekends in Mount Dora anyway, so why not spend the weekend in our new old house while working on it and enjoy downtown and the train as well? We could have an inflatable mattress or even a real bed if we wanted. We had plenty of time... Or so we thought at the time.

Then the plumbing at our house in Wekiva, where we were living at the time, developed a leak. A major leak that flooded the atrium and could not be repaired quickly. Or even slowly for that matter... Change of plans. We're moving NOW! Great. Just great. So much for taking our time and not having to worry about things being offline for any length of time! Well, we turned off the water at the curb, rented a big U-Haul truck and loaded it up. That was September of 2014.

We knew the roof would need replaced sooner than later and were told by the previous owners that it didn't leak when it rained. Well, they lied! First rain storm we found every place the roof leaked, not just one or two places either... Pretty much run out of buckets, wastebaskets, and pots and pans there were so many leaks. We got estimates and had a new roof by the middle of October 2014. Quite the expense after just plunking down 10% to buy the house a month earlier, but at least that's done.

So we're up in the attic looking at the mess the roofers left for us to clean up and trying to get an idea of what powers what as far as the old knob and tube wiring we need to replace. The kitchen wiring was all newer NM romex, as was the air conditioning. The bathroom, well, let's just say I'm sure they didn't pull a permit because there is no way this wiring job would have passed inspection. It's probably been that way for a while too considering the bathroom looks like it has more than a couple years on it... waterlogged and in need of major repair. Not to mention the stupid lowered ceiling - Why? A hole in the original plaster ceiling from a roof leak perhaps? Add that to the TODO list.

(March 2015)
Next on the list was the garage, er... carriage house. Our driveway, if you can call it that, is (what's left of) two strips of concrete running up to the rotted carriage doors, beneath them, and into the carriage house. The floor is a very fine dirt and sand mixture. Any movement stirs up a cloud of dust that sticks to your legs and feet. We'll have to do something about that. That and the already daughtered wall studs, once again rotted, and the rotted shiplap and sill plate.

The backyard is more dirt, and really nothing more than dirt. There are four large pin oaks that cover the ground with leaves and frame the area near the back of the house in shade. Enough leaves and shade that not much grows there. The back corners have tall stands of bamboo, almost as tall as the trees that they're choking out and preventing us from getting to the fence. The fence which also is rotting and in need of replacement - especially if we want to keep our dog separated from the neighbor's dog. The fence was the first thing to happen in the backyard. Our neighbor, Pam, had approached us about replacing it, again with the same concern about the dogs that we had.

She agreed to split the cost, and we discussed doing it ourselves, because it may have taken longer than the weekend to replace all of the fence. First things first. We have to take out at least the one stand of bamboo between us and the fence in the back corner. Talk about some back breaking work! Even with a chain saw it was slow going, and it left a bunch of little stumps sticking out of the ground just waiting to trip you and bruise your feet. That and the HUGE piles of bamboo stalks and branches now piled across half the yard.

(May 2015)
The next thing to happen in the backyard is an inflatable pool. Then a larger inflatable pool. Then we soon realize that we have to do something about the dirt. It keeps getting tracked in the house. Worse yet, when it gets stirred up, clouds of it blow into the house. Everything is constantly covered in a layer of it. Before we can cover that dirt, we need to cut down some of the trees that are keeping grass from growing. Or anything from growing for that matter.

(June 2015)
I've been sidetracked with getting the garage whipped into shape. The new carriage doors are completed and installed. With those and the new side door to replace the original window, this allows me to get the rest of the inside ready for more workshop duties.

(July 2015)
More bamboo comes down to allow access to the old fence behind the garage. It needs repaired or replaced to make room for a new shed. The garage can't be both a storage shed and a workshop at the same time. Unfortunately, the bamboo laid there for about a year, there was way too much of it to cut to length and bundle to put out to the curb for yard trash collection. I add the new table saw to my "arsenal" of tools, if you can call it that... This allows me to begin ripping some of those old fence slats into scale lumber for the beginning of some garden railroading adventures. I managed to put together some trestle bents and a Howe Truss bridge.

(November 2015)
The garden scale wood models and templates and jigs and such kept me busy until the side porch just couldn't wait any longer. It was literally falling off the house, well, at least pulling away from the house... And the piers slowly sinking making matters worse. We pretty much rebuilt and replaced the floor and framing. While we were at it, we added windows to make it a nice little extension to the house. I managed to get the new storm door and the outside trim installed as a Christmas present for Ann.

(January 2016)
Able to finally take a breather from the side porch while I plan out the interior, I get the upper and lower loops installed for now, until eventually extending trackwork along the fence. In retrospect, had I known I'd be taking this all back out in just a few short months, I may have better spent the time planning the inside of the side porch.

(March 2016)
Although the outside of the side porch is presentable, Ann is getting impatient with the lack of progress on the porch interior, mainly waiting on me to get all the design work done. I'm making great progress on the backyard railroad and spend more time on it than I should. She's also not happy that we didn't put the shed behind the garage where she wanted it put originally. Kind of a mixed blessing though with all the bamboo that still needed go and the fence that still needed fixed. The only thing stopping me from finishing the porch is having a plan. Whether I sketch it out using pencil and paper or on a computer screen, I really need to figure out the best approach for the trim and the beadboard. Eventually I come up with a plan to tie it all together.

While the weather is still mild, I manage to get the trim installed on the porch, leaving the beadboard and baseboard still to be installed. I've already managed to free up most of the stuck double hung sash windows in the house, so now take the time to install new sash cords and the weights so we don't have to prop the windows open. I love these old sash windows, lower the upper sash to let the hotter air out the top and open the lower to let the cooler air in the bottom. The breeze is nice, and the song of the wind chimes is even nicer. And because the windows can be open, now I need to remake or replace the hanging screens and frames.

(June 2016)
Say goodbye to our railroad for awhile... We've tried everything we can think of to manage the dirt in the backyard. We want to put down sod, but Ann thinks it's too shady for anything to grow there. The trees must come down! Well, some of them anyway, and the long branch that's hanging over the neighbor's backyard and garage. Before we can have that done, we must get the railroad out of the way and move the shed to the opposite corner of the backyard. Before it can move there, we need to finish removing the bamboo and fix the fence it's pushing over. The fence between the back of the garage and the fence along the back of the yard.

(July 2016)
They come to take the trees out just after the 4th of July, with a huge crane, to lift huge sections of the trees over the house... Talk about nerve racking! It's a good thing the backyard was still dirt, because even though they cleaned up the mess they made, the yard itself would have been destroyed! As it turns out, it was a good thing we waited and didn't bother with the bamboo, they hauled it away along with the rest of the tree mess... For a price, but the price was right, and we didn't have to bother with it! That gave me access to the fence behind the garage and while I'm able to get it repaired, replacing one entire panel in the process, it's too little too late.

We weren't able to get the shed moved before they took out the trees, but they said it could stay put, it wouldn't be in the way. Good thing, but now that we can move it, how do we move it? Skid it! With the 4x4s we bought to build the raised planting beds, laid out on the ground. We took out the screws holding the shed down to the plywood floor and pushed it over the 4x4 "rails". While it wasn't like it was on ice or anything, it was much easier than any other method I could think of. When we reached the end of the 4x4s, we grabbed the ones from behind and placed them in front. Repeat until it's to its new home... Well, almost. That leaves moving the base concrete blocks and levelling them then placing the plywood floor base down on them. Now we can skid it the last bit onto the floor, screw it back down, and DONE!

(August - September 2016)
With the trees gone and the shed skidded to its new home behind the garage, we can add a patio around the side door of the garage. With that in place, a walkway from the back door out to the new patio (Sep 2016). And yes, then even sod! Shortly after getting the backyard sodded and squared away, Ann and Nick found some garden scale trains at our local flea market, and "dragged" me there to look at them... I'm joking. I had not seen anything model train related for years and had stopped going. So I'm excited to go check out the trains and curious as to what I'll find. Turns out they're Bachmann "Big Haulers" like the other B&O set we already have. If I had lost my motivation to do more garden railroading, I certainly have it back now... I end up getting just the upper 14' diameter loop installed and the bridge and the curve past it to bring the two line parallel with each other.

(October 2016)
Our niece and her family stopped by to visit while they were down here at Disney. Her son Myles had fun playing with the flea market find engine and some cars. I even connected up a power pack so he could run them back and forth, but he soon grew bored with the whole idea of not having at least a loop of track to run it all the way around. I was just as disappointed as him that we still couldn't run trains. I decided I'd had enough. It's time to get at least a simple loop finished. I installed the two runs that parallel the fence first, starting with a stringer and post on one side, then the other, laying out track as I went.

(November 2016)
That's as much as I get done when I discover the boxes of track I had moved to the back of the garage are wet from rain getting in past the shiplap that needs replaced. So now that's a priority. Needless to say, it's yet another delay in progress on the railroad, but a necessary one. I take the time to replace those boards and the bad spots along the sides of the garage at the same time. And because I already have the house and trim paint out, I paint the carriage doors as well. As much as I loved the bare wood look, it was time to make them match the originals.

It was shortly after that Ann decided we were going to start on the bathroom remodel over Thanksgiving break. I thought all we had to do was take up the hatch flooring in the hallway and we'd have access under the house. Nope. The old oil furnace was still sitting down there, totally blocking the opening where the original register must have sat. As much as I try to wrangle that rascal out of the hole, it won't budge. I end up having to cut it out of the way, piece by sharp metal piece, with metal shears. When we finally get under there, we realize just how extensive the water damage to the floor and structure is. But that's a story you can read all about here...

(December 2016 - August 2017)
We no longer have a functional bathroom, with the exception of a working toilet, so it's now called the "Throne Room". As you can guess, it takes quite a while to get everything back to working order, even if just a "rough in" of it. The floor tile is installed by the end of March. The bathroom is pretty much completed by August. I find it interesting that as I'm looking back and writing about this, I'm actually doing the taxes for 2017 and just got done looking at all of the receipts for this rennovation. Hard to believe we only spent about $6,000 on it all told. There's something to be said for doing it yourself.

We originally asked a contractor we met at a "meet the locals" get together to give us an estimate. He never got back with us, even after repeated pestering. I think he knew the kind of major headache it was going to be... Maybe he had worked on this house in the past? Anyway, we still see him almost every day, walking his two little dogs. We wave, but I don't think he remembers who we are. I don't think he would have paid attention to the details like we did either, details like having a working toilet for all but a few days for the entire project timeframe. And now we have fond memories of the various incarnations of "The Throne Room", each better than the last, but none as good as the final version... Done!

Our bathroom remodel began at the end of 2016 and lasted more than halfway through 2017. Well, the sod we laid in the backyard lasted about that long too, as long as I figured it would with dogs constantly running over it and tearing it up. Not even a year later we were back to nothing but dirt again, that is all but where the garden railroad loop kept them from destroying it. Artificial turf to the rescue! We added more planters and even a sunsetter patio awning to the backyard, also revising the long since completed railroad loop to allow for more "reliable" operation.

(September 2017)
Now when we run trains, the engine doesn't slip even with five carriages coupled on, but I still usually run just the four. I'm not sure if it was fixing the track slope or the the elements removing the grease over time or both that cured the problem, but it's not a problem anymore! About the only problem I have now is old and weak couplers opening up and leaving stray cars stranded here and there. I have to keep a much closer eye on things, if I'm not running cars I can trust the couplers on that is. It's nice to be able to sit out on the patio and just watch the train run while enjoying a beer.

Ann's room and my "office" were next on the list. And finally, at the end of 2017 and halfway into 2018, the kitchen remodel! All of these projects leave odds and ends that remain to be finished, like the plain plywood cover where the old floor board hatch used to be in the hallway. Or the threshold between the wood floor in the hall and the tile floor in the bathroom. But let's talk about the next major project first, the kitchen...

(November 2017 - December 2017)
We no longer have a functional kitchen... At least, not like you'd expect a kitchen to function. The time has come to get rid of the worn out, painted over, faux woodgrain covered, particle board junk and replace it with better quality cabinetry and counters. When we did this in Wekiva we had to do it in stages, for a number of reasons, but primarily because we needed to maintain a relatively functional kitchen. This time, we plan to have the kitchen offline for a number of weeks at a time, while we let our son Nick entertain us for meals at his place a few blocks away. We will still have food in the refrigerator, but without cabinets for the countertop and sink to rest on, probably no running water for the ice maker and definitely no place to prepare meals.

Ann is ready to start, and in fact had already started before Christmas 2017, mainly because she found some great deals on the new, more narrow appliances we will need to be able to insert a pantry between the refrigerator and the wall. The new appliances finally arrive a few days before, and we get an early Christmas present, if you can call it that. The stove looks like it's been dropped upside down, or had something dropped on it, and the microwave is absolutely destroyed... Ann is heartbroken because the appliances are broken.

Not to be discouraged, Nick's helping me and we're busy getting the old new refrigerator out of the way and the new new one installed because we're giving the old new one to the kids, along with the new range and microwave we got them for Christmas. We schedule a sit down with a Lowe's designer to get it all planned out and the cabinets on order before the New Year. It's one surprise after another on this one too... Never a dull moment when we're working on a project on this place!

(January 2018)
Uncovering the above "'70s Wall" as we called it was my birthday present this year... Ann took advantage of the few beers I had to urge me on to remove some of that drywall in the kitchen to see what was underneath. We had long wondered why there seemed to be many more layers to the wall than one, and now we knew. For whatever reason, the previous owners, plural, had many ideas of what the kitchen should look like. The previous owners we bought the house from thought it would be a good idea to nail and screw drywall up over the panelling the owners previous to them thought would be a good idea to nail and glue to the original plaster... Wow. What a mess!

Of course, this time we wanted to try to save the original plaster, unlike in the bathroom. Unfortunately, we didn't find out about the panelling glued to the original plaster until after we had removed most of that drywall and then tried to remove the panels. The top coat plaster is already crumbling off in a lot of places around the house, but the construction adhesive binding these panels to the plaster just makes it worse... While most of the original base coat plaster is still intact, most of the top coat plaster just came off with the panels. What didn't come off right away soon crumbled off now that it had been loosened. Sigh.

(March 2018)
Long story short, I did manage to save the plaster, but it literally added months to the project. Like I said, one surprise after another on this project. I even had to tear out the new plaster work shortly after the plumbing I had just closed in, not even a week early, clogged up and no longer drained. Eventually it's all good, but getting there was definitely an experience. If it weren't for Nick's help, and his and Ann's patience with my angry outbursts... Let's just say I couldn't have done it without them.

(June 2018)
Ready or not, the counters are coming! Well, first round the installers realize there was a mix up in the measurements, asking me if I had changed anything. Nope. Just added a cleat the guy that took the measurements told me I would need to install before they got there with the counters. So a couple weeks later they're back with the correctly cut parts for around and behind the stove. They leave us the old ones, which I've yet to cut into trivets, at least not as of October 2018.

(August 2018)
The kitchen has been finished for about a month now, more or less, and I can't seem to resist the urge to get out in the backyard and do more on the railroad. But there are plenty of other things to keep me busy... Like changing jobs. Long story short, I'd had enough of it and needed a change. I know the hour long drive one way isn't helping, but until I can 100% remote in to work, I'm kind of stuck with it. Besides, how would I get to play with a real stinger missile launcher?

I'm getting too old for this...

I want to keep this a condensed version of our Nest's history, but let's rewind a bit. Once we finished one of our latest, the bathroom remodel in 2017, I said to Ann, "I think this is one of the last ones I have left in me." She says that's okay, it's the last one because it's the best one, saying she feels like she lives in a castle. But with her vision and my planning and our son Nick's help, we all made it happen.

(September 2018)
I've only recently finished those odds and ends, like getting the hatch back together, complete with a fancy rubbed bronze pull handle. I've also fashioned the new threshold for the bathroom, but it's fighting me by not accepting stain as well as I'd like. Is it possible to use too fine of sandpaper? After going backward and sanding with 150 after the 220 and staining again did it darken up. Maybe because I left the first coats to sit over night? Dunno. I'll need to remember to add this to the bathroom saga too...

Here more often than not, Nick is helping us out when we're doing something, if not outright doing it for us. I can't say how much I appreciate that. Having his own place to deal with, it says a lot about him doing things for us. Ann has been helping him pour his patio slab, a section at a time, and they're down to one left. They don't mind the heat and humidity as much as I do, and they haven't asked me to help. I don't think they'd want my help either. I also don't think she wants me getting up in the attic anymore, sending Nick in where she fears for me to tread? As I said, I can't say how much I appreciate his help.

The latest has been the damned A/C acting up and feeling like a swamp cooler inside the house. Nick has already been up in the attic three times checking things out, taking the covers off of the air handler unit up there, finding a bit of moisture in the overflow pan, but not enough to think it was anything more than condensation. They bought me a dehumidifier, not finding anything wrong, thinking it was just me. Well, when I came home the other day and saw the drain line from the overflow pan draining onto the side porch roof and dripping into a big puddle on the ground, I knew we had yet to find the problem and fix it. Long story short, Nick was able to clean out the drain line and restore normal drainage and operation.

I've been workin' on the railroad...

(Saturday, 22 September 2018)
We get started early this morning. I'm outside in the backyard before 8:30. It's going to take some doing to get all of these rotted stringers replaced.

I've been workin' on the taxes...

(Saturday, 6 October 2018)
Pretty much rounded out the bathroom treatise that I had missed and worked on the taxes the rest of the weekend. Can't wait for them to be done! Over the course of the week, only incremental improvements on the taxes occur. My attention turns to watching the tropical storm track. The tropical storm that's supposed to hit the Florida panhandle the middle of this week...

(Wednesday, 10 October 2018)
Welcome hurricane Michael! Just popped up near Guatemala a few days ago, moved up through the Gulf of Mexico, and is already a category 4 storm about to make landfall along the Florida panhandle. Wow. Never seen a hurricane just "pop up" that far south in the Gulf. The Carribean maybe, then take its sweet time getting into the Gulf, but never just pop up like that and gain that much strength in such a short time. I wonder if there is a historic example on record of that happening before? Climate change deniers and flat earthers... Sheesh!

(Sunday, 14 October 2018)
Taxes are finally done and filed! HOORAY!!! Now I can get back to working on the railroad (and about a dozen and a half other things I've put on hold because of the taxes). One of those things is getting the garage reorganized to better fit the tasks that need accomplished. I also need to finish those push shoes I started ages ago. And take those boxes and put them in the recycle bin. And put the rest of the stuff... I think you get the idea. My goal today is to get something more done on the barkyard railroad. And I do manage to get enough of the station roof supports finished to start assembling a 4' section of rafters, when I do start assembling it that is...

(Saturday, 20 October 2018)
We're working on the back yard early this morning and getting things squared away for more artificial turf. Ann ordered some more from Amazon and it was supposed to be here by now, but they decided Monday would work better, so... In preparation for installing the new turf, we're removing the middle planter along the fence to the driveway. Ann wants to finish removing the river rocks she and Nick put in along the walkway some time back. Unfortunately, with the "puppy" tearing around the backyard, they continually need "cleaned up" and swept back into the "slots" on either side of the walkway.

Ann had started to remove the stones and replace them the weekend before, but didn't have enough turf to even finish one side. My job, well, jobs, are related to removing and rearranging the 4x4s around the planters to make it look like we planned it that way. Even though it was supposed to be cooler today, it's not, and we're both soon drenched with sweat. We were going to open the house up, but when we saw that the A/C was ready to kick on already, decided not to. Our "treat" of cooler weather the other day was just enough of a taste to make us want more.

(Sunday, 21 October 2018)
That weather we were expecting yesterday is finally here today! Hooray! We spend most of the day outside. We're happy and Brigel is even happier. Ann and Nick install a "Jolly Ball" defense gate to protect my delicate station roof support monstrosity. It keeps the Jolly Ball out most of the time, and definitely stops a direct assault. Ann is rearranging the solar lights, as in throwing them in the trash, like I'm throwing away the blue rope lights I've had in a box since I called The Little Grass Shack my home. Ann is stunned. I tell her I haven't done anything with them since then except keep moving them out of the way and I need the smaller box for the edison lights that used to hang under the awning.

Now she's interested in hanging those on the fence along the driveway and moving the jar lights from there to the other side of the yard between the tree and the fence over there. Then she's asking if I have another timer. Sure do. The joke is "use my EE skills" to make that happen... Long story, short one is related to work and I may relate it to you some day.

(Thursday, 25 October 2018)
We buried Maya's ashes in the barkyard under the golden rain tree. We all said our goodbyes and I headed back inside. When Nick and Ann finally head in with the pup, I wonder out loud where my new toys are and decide to check the tracking through Amazon. They're here already?!?!? Wow. Must have been delivered while we were outside... Maybe. Don't know since the picture showed the package sitting on the front steps with the Halloween decorations already on and getting dark. All I know is NEW TOYS!!!

(Saturday, 27 October 2018)
It's cooler again this weekend, so the plan is to get the barkyard squared away, but Ann has a hair appointment this morning at 11:30, so we'll be pushing that off until tomorrow so she doesn't have to worry about getting dirty just to have to get cleaned up again. I decide it's time to get some more done on that station roof.

(Sunday, 28 October 2018)
We get the yard prepped and the new turf down in about two hours, leaving the rest of the day to get things done. To Ann, it means shopping and such. To me, it's means more barkyard railroading. I also manage to get my security clearance paperwork completed, my seats for the trip home assigned, AND my pumpkin carved while Nick carves his. Nothing left to do but make the pumpkin seeds. And get a nice soak in the tub.

(Saturday, 3 November 2018)
Starting off the day slowly. While I don't end up spending half the morning in the bathroom today, it sure feels like I could. I think I've caught some kind of intestinal flu from the 29 Palms trip, and anytime my "powerhouse" is offline like this, I can definitely feel the loss of energy. I decide I'm not going to use it as an excuse to get nothing done. I get showered and ready to meet the day while Ann and Nick are out and about. Nick and I are supposed to go to Horrible Freight today so I can get a tool bag to carry my electronics and related tools and such back and forth to work.

Until now, I had been stuffing it all in my laptop bag, but it's not all that organized. I won't be taking my laptop to work all the time so I need something dedicated to the task. At least that's the plan. As I'm moving the RASPI and other electronics from the living room back to the office, I notice the cables on the shelf unit against the wall in my room has more than just the ethernet cables that were all I thought was there. I start looking through them, and the first stack doesn't even have any HDMI cables, so I'm thinking I'm still not going to find the cable I need to connect this thing up. Then I spy the next pile and sure enough, the first cable I grab is an HDMI cable, and the one where I don't need that big, wonky adapater from HDMI to HDMI mini.

Nick had dropped off the USB keyboard I needed yesterday morning, so now it's just a matter of getting it all connected up and powering it on. I had copied the Raspbian OS onto the new microSD card last weekend before I left for 29 Palms, so that much is done too. The last thing to do is connect the power bank and switch the monitor to HDMI2. It boots up to a screen asking which of the two OS images I wanted to install. I chose the Raspbian since I'm not in the mood to go looking things up. Right now, I just want to get this thing up nad running. It's taking awhile, so I put that time to good use and start organizing the mess that has accumulated in the office over the last week or so.

I get all the paperwork from the old job and the new one sorted and filed about the time the updates finish and reboot the RASPI... Wow. Looks just like the one from work. I bring up the Deshler OH 360 cam page and let it stream. That one thing is just a bit beyond its capability. It keeps buffering the stream, managing to keep up for about a minute or less before buffering again. The CPU is at 100%, but I think it's because the browser is in a loop internally. In any case, it's struggling to keep up, but that's good enough for now to "break it in" so to speak.

With that running and the laptop charging, I decide to hop in the shower and get cleaned up to go get my hair cut. About the time I'm dressed and sitting down, Ann and Nick are back from their adventures and Nick wants to know when I wanted to go to Harbor Freight. Now's as good a time as any, so off we go. We grab a cart, after a brief diversion to check out "Charlie Abom", a picture of Charlie Brown someone has painted on the window of the store next door... It looks like a cross between Charlie Brown and Abom79, hence "Charlie Abom". I pick out the things I think I'll need for an adequate toolkit, and Nick asks if spending twice as much on a full toolkit liek the one I already have would be a better idea than buying it all piecemeal.

Good idea. I can take the old one with me to work, and leave the new one here at home in the garage for when I need it. I'm back and forth with whether to pick up an ammo box for the IFF "lunchbox" or not. I decide against it. If they want something like the IFF box, I'll leave it up to them to buy it. Eventually we find the toolbags and I'm looking at the 15" one. It looks like it will be big enough and has plenty of pockets, but then I compare it with the 12" bag, and choose the smaller one. We get the rest of what we need and Nick had a coupon for just about everything. Once home, as I'm trying to pack all the tools and electronics into the 12" bag, I realize I should have looked at it cloaser when we were at the store. It doesn't have half the pockets inside, and NONE on the outside like the 15" bag did.

Looks like a trip back to pick up the 15" bag and "quick" trip to Lowe's. Well, that "quick" trip to Lowe's ends up taking a lot longer since Nick found a bunch of cabinets that matched his kitchen and even more for the garage. Regularly priced starting at $179, most of them are marked down to $25, with a couple of the bigger ones marked $35. So for less than the price of one cabinet, he gets six! Now all we have to do is figure out how to stuff them all into the Flexinator. Yeah, not going to work. We manage to get all but one 24" x 30" wall cabinet stuffed in and have to call Ann to bring my car to Lowe's for the last one. So now that my knees are in my chin sitting in the now stuffed to the gills Flexinator, we head back to Harbor Freight to pick up the 15" bag.

We talked about whether to take the 12" bag back or keeping it to use for something else. Nick says we can use it for the electrical tools for getting into the attic and such. Good idea. As we head back, I ask Nick if he wants some help getting the cabinets unloaded. As we're pulling up, we see my car sitting there, thinking Ann stopped by to help. Then it dawns on us, she dropped my car off for us to get the cabinet out of the trunk and took her car that she had left here this morning back home. It works out well. As we head back to the house, we talk about going out to eat and what else is going on. Once we get home, Ann asks when we're heading to the tractor pulls...

Wow. We both totally forgot about going to the tractor pulls today. Nick had posted on my Facebook while I was at 29 Palms, saying we're going. I posted back, yes we are. So we're talking about going out for something to eat and Ann says she was planning on making burgers, but we could go out too. So we just head down to Jeremiah's for a quick bite and a few beers. Turns out it was a good thing we got something to eat before we got to the tractor pulls, because this is probably the lowest turn out I've ever seen for it. We don't even see any concessions, not even anything to drink! Eventually we hear others talking about one place that is cooking hamburgers and selling them and chips and drinks. I grab a couple bottles of water because I forgot the chapstick for my windburned lips and by then I was parched.

These are not the tractor pulls we're used to. It's pretty much antique tractors and lawn tractors, with three or four trucks and a couple of modifieds... They're having trouble with the sled for the trucks and the big tractors, and it even though it was supposed to start at 4:30, it's not until after 5:00 that it really gets going. The lawn tractors and modifieds have been running, but it's obvious after the first run of the trucks that they're still having issues with the sled, having to tow it all the way around the track and back to reposition it for the next run with another tractor. We make it through the first half dozen or so of the antique tractors before we decide to head home, disappointed. That's alright though, at least we got to spend some father / son time together.

(Sunday, 4 November 2018 - Fall Back)
Just got done setting the clocks back an hour as Nick and Ann are off on another adventure to Brooksville, a bit over an hour away. They're looking for a puppy buddy for Brigel. They hit me with this "desire" for a new German Shepherd puppy for Nick when I got back from 29 Palms, but had said 22 December, not TODAY. It's all very "sketchy" though. They only have the address of a gas station near the location, not the actual address... The seller only wants cash and it just isn't sitting right with me... But I'm the only one having misgivings about it, and Nick is relying on his pistol and concealed carry to protect them if anything's amiss. Let's hope I just worry too much.

And it turns out I do worry too much. Ann just called and they're on their way home with a new puppy buddy for the boy... Still waiting for the picture she's sending to get to my phone though. Going to hop in the shower so I can take Brigel over to Nick's when they get back with the new puppy so they can meet over there. Guess we'll see how this turns out in a little bit. He looks cute from the picture, but I can't really see his face all that well, since he's looking down. It's not long and I get the call to bring the boy over to Nick's place to begin the "introductions"...

After a brief scare with hackles raised and the puppy retreating in fear, they eventually do the nose to nose, and Brigel is wagging his tail with his hackles still up? Dunno, but soon enough he's more interested in the big JollyBall than the puppy. And the puppy is really interested in what his "big brother" is up to with that toy he's herding around the yard and those whining noises he's making as he does it. Soon enough, he's tired out and we're heading back to the house. After helping Nick set up the dog crate I took over there, Ann's home too. Then Ann's off to the grocery store and I'm off for a haircut.

Once we're home, it's not long before the Nick is over with the puppy too. His name is Klaus. He and his big brother are soon running around the back yard, chasing after one another. I worry that Brigel still thinks he's a puppy, a big puppy without realizing it, and that the little guy will get hurt. Turns out the little guy knows how to get out of the way. In fact, he nips at his "big brother", then runs and hides behind me on the back stoop. It just warms my heart seeing the two of them together, getting along.

(Monday, 5 November 2018)
I get home and get things squared away. I go outside and play ball with the boy. He's soon tired of the ChuckIt and starts with the JollyBall. I head in and he stays out. As I'm getting ice in my tumbler to have a coke, I decide a beer is the better choice. I hear the boy start barking and decide to head back outside. As I sit on the stoop, I'm immediately struck in the shin by the JollyBall. Yep. I just can't get away from this thing. He loves playing with it, and I'd love to throw it away, but he enjoys it too much and it really wears him out. He soon tires out and we head inside.

Not long after, Nick shows up with Klaus. I take the two of them outside while Nick gets supper going. Klaus is still kind of scared of Brigel, and for good reason. Brigel weighs 100 pounds, Klaus only weighs 25, but Brigel thinks he's still a puppy and doesn't realize his own size. The more they're outside playing, the bolder Klaus is getting, running up to Brigel and nipping at him then retreating back behind me on the stoop. Sometimes he doesn't quite make it back and has to fend for himself. Then as soon as he sees an opening, high tails it behind me again.

It's quite comical and has me laughing. Thankfully. It warms my heart, and I need things like this to remind me that I work so I can enjoy things like this.

(Tuesday, 6 November 2018 - VOTE!!!)
Once home from work, I get everything squared away and head outside to play ball with the boy, beer in hand. We play with the ChuckIt until he tires of fetching the little ball and starts with the JollyBall. There go my shins again. Back inside, I sit down and spy my phone blinking. Ann's left a message that she'll be a little late and to feed the animals right away, I'm assuming so that it's done and out of the way before Nick shows up with Klaus. Well, Zeus is right on it, but Brigel is NOT interested. Even after another round of Jolly Ball outside, still not interested in his supper. When Nick does get here with the puppy, I have to pick up Brigel's food dish, still full. Watching the two of them play in the yard warms my heart.

(Friday, 9 November 2018 - Happy Birthday Honey!!!)
It's snowing in Deshler! Can't wait to get home from work today... Really looking forward to that first beer, celebrating my wonderful wife's birthday, and some time with the boys out in the barkyard. Well, that will have to wait until we get back from the BBQ place. All three of us have the half rack combo. Best. Ribs. Ever. I can't believe I've tried everything else on the menu except these until now... So after we munch, it's off to PetSmart to get some pet food and another dog crate for Klaus, but this one will stay at our house since we're watching him this weekend so Nick can go AutoCrossing.

(Saturday, 10 November 2018)
It's snowing in Deshler again! It had all melted by the time I left work yesterday. It's not as heavy as it was yesterday, but it's still falling, and the ground is still dusted white.