Obviously I've been neglecting this blog. It's been THREE YEARS since the last entry. I'll try to make more entries, but don't expect me to do anything to catch up with all the stuff that's happened since my last entry.
When the previous entries were made, my garage was my workshop, and I was doing a lot of my woodworking at AB Tech (Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College). That gave me access to lots of wonderful power tools, but it meant a 60 mile round trip to the college, and I could only work on their schedule, usually certain evenings.
I've wanted to have a "real" workshop for years. I built a small workshop under the back porch when we lived in Glen Burnie, MD, in the late 70's, early 80's. But then I got posted to England for five years, then here to Western North Carolina. Other things, such as the death of my wife, and my subsequent remarriage, and two more moves got in the way of building a shop.
Finally, Linda and I decided that I should build a shop. I figured out how to shoe-horn a 16 X 20 two-story building into a corner of our hilly lot, and cleared the spot. Then it sat for several years waiting for me to put up the building.
The building was erected in the winter of 2010-2011, but it's not finished yet. It's got air conditioning and insulation, but I haven't finished the inside walls. A lot of stuff has been moved in, and I am occasionally doing work in there, but not the way I want to. It seems that life continues to get in the way.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Have we found an apartment?
We returned home from Durham this afternoon. Linda's resting from the 4-hour trip and I'm catching up on email, etc.
We looked at several apartments in the Durham area yesterday, and decided that we liked the Colonial Village at Deerfield. The apartments are a bit old, but the setting, next to Duke Forest, is really pretty. The apartments are within 3 miles of the Duke Hospital, a real benefit. Linda's doctor has made it very clear that she will have a better chance if we are a lot closer than we are now.
We were shown a one bedroom apartment yesterday afternoon. It was a bit small, but I really liked that it was on a cul-de-sac with the forest behind it, and a copse of bamboo in front. But, it was pretty cramped. Add the dog into the mix and include my junk collection (no, not ALL of it), and it would be really cramped.
This morning, as we were getting ready to leave the area, and had just stopped for gas, I got a telephone call. A two bedroom unit on the ground floor had become available. Were we interested? Yes! So we drove back to the apartment complex. We couldn't see the apartment in question, as it was not "ready." But they had another one that was empty that we could look at. Unfortunately, it was on the third floor. Linda can hardly step up one step. Three floors was beyond her. So I looked at it, and told her about it afterwards. I think it will do, although it doesn't have as nice a setting as the smaller one did. Here's a picture of the floor plan.
MARS is going to be difficult. I've already had to ask my Deputy to cover for me for the Region Four net next Saturday morning. I think we may be in the middle of moving then.
We looked at several apartments in the Durham area yesterday, and decided that we liked the Colonial Village at Deerfield. The apartments are a bit old, but the setting, next to Duke Forest, is really pretty. The apartments are within 3 miles of the Duke Hospital, a real benefit. Linda's doctor has made it very clear that she will have a better chance if we are a lot closer than we are now.
We were shown a one bedroom apartment yesterday afternoon. It was a bit small, but I really liked that it was on a cul-de-sac with the forest behind it, and a copse of bamboo in front. But, it was pretty cramped. Add the dog into the mix and include my junk collection (no, not ALL of it), and it would be really cramped.
This morning, as we were getting ready to leave the area, and had just stopped for gas, I got a telephone call. A two bedroom unit on the ground floor had become available. Were we interested? Yes! So we drove back to the apartment complex. We couldn't see the apartment in question, as it was not "ready." But they had another one that was empty that we could look at. Unfortunately, it was on the third floor. Linda can hardly step up one step. Three floors was beyond her. So I looked at it, and told her about it afterwards. I think it will do, although it doesn't have as nice a setting as the smaller one did. Here's a picture of the floor plan.
MARS is going to be difficult. I've already had to ask my Deputy to cover for me for the Region Four net next Saturday morning. I think we may be in the middle of moving then.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Uncompleted stuff
I think I originally intended this to be a collection of my thoughts and projects over time, but after the three entries in 2009 I guess life got in the way. Now, there's my other blog, "Liver Worst" which is discussing a different part of my life - being a caregiver for my wife, who is now a candidate for a liver transplant.
I've started a lot of projects over the past few years, which haven't been completed. Usually, I get really excited about something, go and gather a bunch of materials, and then run up against a speed bump. Direction changes. Other things get more attention. Eventually, I forget about the project that had me so excited earlier.
For a while I was going up to Asheville-Buncombe Community College and working in the woodworking shop. I built a work table for Linda, an "air engine", and started several other projects - a sofa table and a bookshelf. Those two are still in my workshop waiting completion.
I have a really nice small table that I made at the John C. Campbell Folk School. It's almost finished - just needs to have the top secured, a knob added to the drawer, and a finish applied.
I also started two different computer numerical controlled router projects at AB Tech. They both got just so far and then set aside for something else. The tables are completed, one has all the shafting and stepper motors installed, and much of the electronics has been completed.
I don't even know how many electronics projects I've started and haven't finished. Antennas. Electronic things to do stuff in my Ham "shack." Microcomputer experiments. I can hardly move in the ham shack for all the boxes of projects. The ham shack itself needs an overhaul - new operating position, new wiring, equipment rearrangement and upgrading.
Two years ago I had a workshop built next to our house. It's beautiful. It is completely insulated and has a heating/air conditioning system. But the insulation is exposed and needs to be covered. I decided I could do that myself. Bought a bunch of wallboard, and proceded to put it up. It didn't take me very long to realize that it was more work than I could handle by myself. So the job is about 1/3 finished. Until I get it done, I can't hang my tools on the walls. So everything remains in boxes on temporary shelves. Tasks always take longer because I have to hunt for this tool or that fixture.
I've started a lot of projects over the past few years, which haven't been completed. Usually, I get really excited about something, go and gather a bunch of materials, and then run up against a speed bump. Direction changes. Other things get more attention. Eventually, I forget about the project that had me so excited earlier.
For a while I was going up to Asheville-Buncombe Community College and working in the woodworking shop. I built a work table for Linda, an "air engine", and started several other projects - a sofa table and a bookshelf. Those two are still in my workshop waiting completion.
I have a really nice small table that I made at the John C. Campbell Folk School. It's almost finished - just needs to have the top secured, a knob added to the drawer, and a finish applied.
I also started two different computer numerical controlled router projects at AB Tech. They both got just so far and then set aside for something else. The tables are completed, one has all the shafting and stepper motors installed, and much of the electronics has been completed.
I don't even know how many electronics projects I've started and haven't finished. Antennas. Electronic things to do stuff in my Ham "shack." Microcomputer experiments. I can hardly move in the ham shack for all the boxes of projects. The ham shack itself needs an overhaul - new operating position, new wiring, equipment rearrangement and upgrading.
Two years ago I had a workshop built next to our house. It's beautiful. It is completely insulated and has a heating/air conditioning system. But the insulation is exposed and needs to be covered. I decided I could do that myself. Bought a bunch of wallboard, and proceded to put it up. It didn't take me very long to realize that it was more work than I could handle by myself. So the job is about 1/3 finished. Until I get it done, I can't hang my tools on the walls. So everything remains in boxes on temporary shelves. Tasks always take longer because I have to hunt for this tool or that fixture.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Mistakes, again
Last Friday I was working on a project in my cabinetmaking class at AB Tech in Asheville. I'd glued two 4' x 4' sheets of 3/4" medium density fiberboard (MDF) together to make a tabletop for a craft table for my wife. I trimmed it to 44 x 44 inches square, and then carefully cut 4 pieces of 3/4 inch red oak to size and mitered the ends to fit around the perimeter of the tabletop as a banding. I had decided to mount the oak pieces to the MDF using biscuits and glue.
Things were going well. I had cut the biscuit slots on two sides and marked the third piece of oak for slot cutting. At that point I left the work and went to another part of the shop to see what one of the other students was doing. When I came back, I looked at the piece of oak, and somehow got it oriented backwards. I didn't check the orientation, because I thought I knew what I was doing. I cut the biscuit slots, inserted biscuits and checked the fit of the oak band. Of course, it was backwards, so the miters wouldn't fit. I only had enough material for the four sides of the table top and so was now faced with a problem. I thought perhaps I could re-cut the slots on the reverse side of the oak strip. That worked, and I continued with the fourth side.
I glued up the three sides that had been cut properly, but just couldn't bring myself to glue on the fourth piece with slots on both sides of the strips. It looked funny with slots showing, so I quit for the evening. It was time to clean up anyway. I'll have to buy another piece of red oak and make a new strip at my next class.
Lesson learned: check things more than once.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Mistakes
This afternoon I worked on a project I've been building for quite a while, a mobile lumber rack. It's based on plans from a magazine and is built like a tank from 2x4's, 2x6's, and 3/4 inch plywood. I've needed something like it for a while to get lumber and wood scraps off the garage floor. I'm close to finishing it and am looking forward to being able to put it to use.
I worked on it yesterday and mistakenly cut a sheet of plywood that I was saving for a different part. Today I cut another sheet 3 inches too short because I measured the wrong dimension. Then, when I was finishing up for the day, I realized that I had skipped a step and fastened the deck down before I had bolted the uprights to the framework. I'll have to take up the deck tomorrow or whenever I next get to work on it, bolt the uprights, and then put the deck down again.
This all comes down to working too long and making mistakes when I get tired. I should know better, but it's often difficult to realize when I've reached that point until I actually do make a mistake. Thus far, my mistakes have not been serious. Mostly they're the kind nobody else would notice. I've been lucky, but it worries me that making mistakes could lead to accidents. It only takes a moment of inattention to cut off a finger, or worse.
I worked on it yesterday and mistakenly cut a sheet of plywood that I was saving for a different part. Today I cut another sheet 3 inches too short because I measured the wrong dimension. Then, when I was finishing up for the day, I realized that I had skipped a step and fastened the deck down before I had bolted the uprights to the framework. I'll have to take up the deck tomorrow or whenever I next get to work on it, bolt the uprights, and then put the deck down again.
This all comes down to working too long and making mistakes when I get tired. I should know better, but it's often difficult to realize when I've reached that point until I actually do make a mistake. Thus far, my mistakes have not been serious. Mostly they're the kind nobody else would notice. I've been lucky, but it worries me that making mistakes could lead to accidents. It only takes a moment of inattention to cut off a finger, or worse.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Origins of Stut
According to the Free Dictionary , Stut: v. i. 1. To stutter.
Not according to my sisters and me. I don't remember exactly how it happened, but one day one of us referred to our dinner as "Stut." Mom went ballistic, which was not an often seen condition of our mother. We hastened to assure her that (whoever it was) meant that Stut meant "good food." (snicker, snicker, snicker). Mom wasn't convinced and banned the word. Of course, that elevated it in importance. I suspect Mom was also snickering to herself. Stut became a fixture in our FamilySpeak.
Not according to my sisters and me. I don't remember exactly how it happened, but one day one of us referred to our dinner as "Stut." Mom went ballistic, which was not an often seen condition of our mother. We hastened to assure her that (whoever it was) meant that Stut meant "good food." (snicker, snicker, snicker). Mom wasn't convinced and banned the word. Of course, that elevated it in importance. I suspect Mom was also snickering to herself. Stut became a fixture in our FamilySpeak.
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