Summer was too busy to blog!

And fall's not much of a letup!

What's been happening?

• Debbie had her surgery, recovered most of the summer, and is now doing OK, except that she still can't stand up all day to teach, and needs a high swivel stool in her classroom to teach from (luckily we had one already.)


• The truck I had for sale didn't sell yet, but that's good b/c the engine on my '68 truck blew and is having to be rebuilt, so I'm back to the yellow Ranger for awhile. Guess I'll keep the jumper cables handy.


• I finally got up nerve to investigate replacing the windows in our house, starting with the one in my bathroom. Not finished yet, but was pleasantly surprised to learn that it won't be as hard a job as I thought! I'll post pix when I finish.


• We had a great week at MissionFuge camp with the youth this summer, their band continues to get better and better (now with a name--Souled Out.)


• Got tired of people not recognizing the mountain in our church logo as the "M" initial letter of Morganton, so I redesigned the church logo.


• And lots, lots, more...have a lot of folks at the church sick with cancer, and one stalwart member passed away after a short, hard struggle against lung cancer and other complications.

Y'all come see us!

ThisNThat

Texas was a great trip. Brenna's growing up SO fast! I put together the major play set that her other grandparents had bought for her, plus figured out how to add the zip line that someone else had given her for her birthday. Hope to have photos soon, and maybe videos of her playing on the structure.

My yellow truck is for sale now, in order to pay for the repairs needed on the truck I bought back in April. It needed--

• Carbueretor rebuilt
• Master Cylinder and main lines for brake system (someone had redone the brakes at the wheels recently, so those were fine)
• Rebuilt transmission
• Replaced flywheel
• Intake manifold gasket (which meant valve cover gaskets, too)

But it's coming out of the shop next Monday, I think! I'm excited.

Debbie went to the orthopoedist today, and will have to have arthroscopic surgery next Tuesday to try to get a loose hunk of tissue out of her knee. Having cortisone injected into her hand (for 'trigger finger') while she's under anaesthesia.

Carport's Clean!

Debbie's breathing a sigh of relief after about two years--I finally got all the construction tools and materials cleaned off the carport. There's still one wagon load of stuff to take to the shop building, as soon as it quits raining.

The Chevy that was a Ford

Several weeks ago I was talking to my friend and former co-worker David Nelms, and somehow the conversation turned to their selling off some items from his late father-in-law's estate. Among the items was a one-owner 1968 long bed truck. For some reason, I thought the truck was a Chevy, but when I went to buy it, it was a Ford. That was fine, since this is the fourth Ford truck I've had.

The first one I owned was a monstrous 1976 F-150, black, with a stretch cab and lots of dents in the side where the former owner's daughters had learned to drive on his pine-tree farm. My 3 sons all did part of their learning to drive on that truck, but it finally gave up the ghost.

The second one I owned was also black, a 1990 Ranger that Nathan was going to trade in on a car, but let me buy from him instead. It was the one that had an oil leak and ended up burning up on the side of the road during our move from ATL to Epworth.

The one I own now was one I swapped for...BJ's Acura Integra that wouldn't pass ATL emissions anymore for a garish yellow Ranger that had been in an encounter with a deer. BJ's driving that one right now, but it has a mysterious electrical drain that causes the battery to go DEAD in a couple of days if the truck isn't cranked. Several of BJ's friends have expressed interest in buying that truck (I think because of its color), so we may get enough from that truck to pay for this truck.

This one is also a 'Ranger' but it's from the era when that still meant a full-sized pickup. In fact, I think this model was the precursor to the F-150, back when most trucks were just F-100's. It's not been cranked up in about 2 years, so it's at the shop right now being 'gone over' by my mechanic. I'm hoping that all it needs is new gas, some hoses/belts, etc. The battery, believe it or not, still had enough juice to honk the horn and run the brake lights when we were loading it the other day.

Thanks to Jon Clore for helping me go get this powder-blue beast, and to Chad Ray for checking it out for me. I hope to be able to haul things again before long!

Homestretch

I remember years ago, at my first pastorate, we were building a new pastorium, and the final trim things took longer than all the framing, brick work, etc. I feel that way about my storage building.

How long have I been working on the thing now? 2 years, or was it just last spring that I started building the frame? Anyway, I'm determined to get the last of the ceiling insulation up and install the ceiling panels this week.

Debbie is determined that I get my "mess" out from under the carport before her Dad/Ingrid arrive for Easter next weekend.

Propane and Snow

Back in January, one of our local propane companies had a great sale on little wall heaters that looked perfect for my storage/shop building. So I bought one, and scheduled the installation of the gas line for "early February." HAH!
They were supposed to come with a trenching machine and cut the 100 foot ditch needed to bury the propane line...but it rained, and snowed, and snowed, and rained. Upshot was that they never had enough dry days in a row to cut the trench, since the machine is heavy and would have "got maaahrd up," (as the guy from the company said.)
Finally they told me that if I dug the trench, they'd come "right away" and put the line in. So that's what I did...by hand. And then they told me it would be the best part of a week before they could come put in the line. Last Monday, they at last got it installed, and the little heater really works well.
When heavy snow fell Tuesday, it was cool to look out the back window of the house and see that snow was NOT sticking to the roof of the shop, as it had previously, since the little heater was puffing away. Of course, that was also bad news, since it meant that the heat was going out through the roof. I still have to get my ceiling insulation and ceiling panels in place, but I'm probably going to have to wait until Matt or someone else can help me put them up.
In the meantime, I've got almost all the panels in on the walls. I lack two sizable panels under the shelves in the storage area (I built the shelves first so that I could hook the supports for them directly to the building framing--they will be holding a lot of weight. I also have a couple of small areas to finish near windows, doors, and previously-installed panels. I hope to finish all that this weekend and maybe, maybe begin moving things from the basement (and the living room!) to the storage area.

Snow = progress on the building

Yesterday we cancelled all services at church due to the snow. So I had something like a second Saturday to spend on my building.

Saturday I had spent a good deal of time putting up insulation in the walls. I'd finished the back right corner, because I wanted to get the small wood heater installed (it's really COLD in the building with no heat!) With walls a bit over 10 feet high, it takes a full batt of insulation, plus 27" or so additional, to fill each space between the studs.

I had acquired some Hardie-plank soffett boards from the Habitat store, and was planning to use these cement-based boards for wall backing behind both the wood stove and the small propane heater I bought in January. But I also had to build a box with no insulation in it roughly 15"x15" and faced inside and out with Hardie-plank to take the place of a 'thimble' through the wall.

Cutting the outside square of plywood was going to be a big problem, until I remembered my electric chainsaw. That did the job in a couple of minutes. Cutting the round holes for the stovepipe in the Hardie-plank squares was a good bit harder, involving power and hand tools, since I couldn't locate my jigsaw. Then I managed to mis-cut BOTH the wall panels that surrund the place where the pipe went through the wall.

Getting all the stovepipes to work right was a pretty good job, too, as was placing the completed stovepipe atop the outside elbow. I think I'll have to go back later in non-snowy weather and place at least one more 2-ft section onto the pipe outside, to get it well above the roofline.

I was able to burn one of those fireplace logs in the stove, but it didn't do too well. I'll have to see what the problem is--either the log doesn't burn well in the stove, or the stove doesn't allow enough air onto the log.

I managed to get the wall panels up to protect from the heat of the stove, but the firelog never got hot enough to even really heat up the stovepipe! And I got the insulation and paneling up so I could mount the propane stove, too.

Today I plan to get the rest of the wall insulation up, if I can locate some T-50 staples. Using my air nailer doesn't work too well, since it's so powerful it sometimes drives the staple all the way through the paper. I may have to try a trick with a string that a friend showed me, if I can't find the T-50s for my hammer stapler.

Getting the ceiling insulation in place looks to be a two-person job...any volunteers?

The building continues...

My long-term project to build a storage/workshop building continues. Earlier in the week I was able to work for most of a day, and got a lot done on the floor. Now I have to finish with the insulation and the screening in the eave vents.

All this has to get done to finish installing the old wood heater I found, and also the propane heater that I am installing. They were to have come last Tuesday to run the gas line, but it was too wet.

At least I am in the dry, even if it is very cold down there right now!

New Computer...and more

Well, my old PC lasted a very long time, but finally the motherboard 'gave up the ghost' a couple of weeks ago. I had to replace the whole computer (lots of things are breaking at the same time around here! See below) and in the process got a really small box with lots more memory on the hard drive and on the motherboard. Doesn't seem that much faster yet, but then, it's also running Windows 7, which is 2 generations past the XP I was using before.

The really, really frustrating thing is that even though I had a 'backup' of 'everything' on my old hard drive, I haven't yet figured out how to retrieve all my old emails and old contacts from the backup...but I hope I will!

In addition, over the last several weeks, these things have all broken down or had to be replaced...

• Our heating/air system first burned up its squirrel-cage fan, which had to be replaced to the tune of over $200...but then the thing had a freon leak, which resulted in a power bill over $500 for last month, and the leak could be fixed but not guaranteed, leading me to have to replace the whole heat pump system...and even though they added freon yesterday, the house is cold again today, and I'm out of firewood to use in the Buck stove insert!
• BJ had a minor wreck in his car, but since it was so old, the damage totalled it. So he's been driving one of my vehicles...he was driving my truck, and it quit on him...it's sitting in his yard in Kennesaw.
• And he was driving my little convertible, and a friend of his backed into it, doing some body damage that I HOPE she will fix...
• And now he's called me to say that the convertible is 'acting funny' and having to be jumped off, but this AM when he jumped it off, a friend's car's battery terminals were labeled backwards, so he hooked things up wrong, and now THAT car's on the side of the road somewhere in ATL...
• Not to mention that I had to replace an eye on the stove...
• And I haven't found the printer drivers for our computer printer yet!

Can you sense my frustration?

Oh well, that's life. You deal with it.

Snow Saturday

Don't know why it is, but snow on a Saturday is just depressing. I need to be down in my shop today putting up insulation, but just can't get motivated...Debbie needs her computer back, so maybe I'll 'suit up' in my coveralls and go down there anyway...

Random things...

Matt challenged me to do this several weeks ago--just now getting around to it.

50 of the most random things you probably never needed to know about someone. REPOST WITH YOUR ANSWERS

1. whats your name spelt backwards? notlE htieK senoJ

2. What did you do last night? Ate supper @ church, led prayer meeting, went to church council, did premarital counseling for a couple, answered Debbie's frantic call, "Where ARE you?", got home at 10:15, watched a little tv, fell asleep on the couch.

3. The last thing you downloaded onto your computer? Pictures.

4. Have you ever licked a 9 volt battery? No.

5. Last time you swam in a pool? + or - 4 years.

6. What are you wearing? underwear, flannel-lined jeans, chambray shirt, sox, sneakers, glasses, leather jacket

7. How many cars have you owned? Personally owned (as in my name's on the title, including light trucks), 16 or 17. Total driven that I could call 'mine', 19 or 20.

8. Type of music you dislike most? New country music, if it's too 'nasally.'

9. Are you registered to vote? Yes, since 1970. Voted in almost every election, large or small, since then.

10. Do you have cable? Yes

11. What kind of computer do you use? Custom-built PC

12. Ever made a prank phone call? Not in over 40 years.

13. You like anyone right now? I like my wife, & family, especially my sons, daughters-in-law, and granddaughter!

14. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? No. Acrophobia.

15. Furthest place you ever traveled? East--London & Paris; West--Cotobato City, Mindinao Island, Philippines.

16.Do you have a garden? Yes, several flower gardens, vegetable & flower patches I built for Debbie's garden, and occasionally a large vegetable garden.

17. What's your favorite comic strip? Published, probably Dilbert or Pearls Before Swine.

18. Do you know all the words to the national anthem? Yes. Both 'typical' verses published in hymnals, but know that there's a very bloodthirsty verse about beating the Brits, too, which you'd know if you'd read the spy novels I have.

19. Shower, morning or night? Morning, 90% of the time.

20. Best movie you've seen in the past month? Haven't been out to a movie the past month.

21. Favorite pizza toppings? Pepperoni & mushrooms

22. Chips or popcorn? Popcorn, if cooked in my whirly-pop, not a microwave.

23. What cell phone provider do you have? ATT and its predecessors since 1996.

24. Have you ever smoked peanut shells? No, nor chewed more than one mouthful of rabbit tobacco, either.

25. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant? No.

26. Orange Juice or apple? OJ.

27. Who were the last people you sat at lunch with? 2 guys from Alabama here on a 'scouting trip' about a mission trip here this summer.

28. favorite chocolate bar? Hershey's special dark or Hershey's Almond.

29. Who is your longest friend and how long? My Best Man, David Stuart, since fall of 1970, so almost 40 years now. I have several cousins who are also friends, that I've been friends with longer, but I guess family doesn't count.

30. Last time you ate a homegrown tomato? If you count canned, in the last week. Raw on a sandwich, middle of last fall.

31. Have you ever won a trophy? Last one I won was for 2nd place in a chili cookoff.

32.Favorite artist? This changes from time to time. Right now, painting, probably a tie between Norman Rockwell and Raphael. Music--don't make me choose.

33. Favorite computer game? Varies often. I guess right now, Bejewelled on FaceBook.

34. Ever ordered from an infomercial? No.

35. Sprite or 7-UP? Usually Sprite, but 7-up and Sierra Mist are OK. Usually drink water.

36. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to school/work? Yes. Not school, but work.

37. Last thing you bought at Walgreens? Rented a movie from the Red Box outside.

38. Ever thrown up in public? Yes, right on the pulpit at my first church. That'll teach me to try to preach with the flu. I've only missed 2 Sundays due to illness in my life--very blessed.

39. Would you prefer being a millionaire or finding true love? I found my true love. Definitely superior to being a millionaire, or even billionaire.

40. Do you believe in love at first sight? It happens to some people. I didn't experience love at first sight, but I did see my future wife in a snowball fight with my best friend and decide, "I'd really, really like to date THAT girl!"

41.Can exes just be friends? Theoretically. In actuality, not likely at all.

42. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? A member of the church where I'm pastor.

43. Did you have long hair as a young kid? Define "young" and "kid"--not as a boy, but as a teenager and in my early 20s it got down to the bottom of my collar. At the time, this was as conservative as a 2" long cut is today.

44. What message is on your voicemail machine? Haven't recorded one, so it's whatever the manufacturer put there.

45. Where would you like to go right now? Take Debbie to the beach somewhere WARM.

46. What was the name of your first pet? Don't remember. It was a nasty little fice dog that bit me repeatedly, and pulled down my Mom's laundry and trampled it in the mud. After Dad took that mutt and his .22 down into the woods, I got the first dog I really loved, "Lucy," a black cocker spaniel I had from age 4 or 5 until my early teens.

47. What kind of back pack do you have, and what's in it? A red one that matches our luggage, unless one of my boys borrowed it. And it's probably empty.

48. Last incoming/outgoing call on your phone? Matt called, which is ironic, since he is the one who challenged me to do this list.

49. What is one thing you are grateful for today? Grateful I have a job with meaningful work. The young man I counseled last night hired on to the night shift at the chicken 'disassembly' plant in Ellijay, and only managed to stand it one shift, so he's looking for work. Very skilled in all kinds of construction and heavy equipment, but the economy is dead here. He's hoping to get on with the TVA.

50. What do you think about most? Debbie, and what I have to do at work (church.)

BONUS Question added by EKJ: What's your favorite hobby or similar activity? Telling stories. Since I'm a pastor, I say, "I tell the truth for a living, and lie for fun." I guess someday if I retire from the ministry except for preaching occasionally, I'll have a career as a storyteller, and will say, "I lie for a living, and tell the truth for fun!"

And the verdict is...recycled

Well, the motherboard is toast, so in a few days I'll have my new computer, about the size of a shoebox for kids' sneakers. Hope everything will work OK on the new platform, which I understand will have Windows 7. How about that? Leaping right past Vista...
And I've been furiously working from time to time on getting shelving in my building so I can finally get all Debbie's twenty-'leven boxes of Christmas stuff put away out of the living room. Tomorrow is payday, so I will get insulation and put it up, and order the gas to hook up to the heater I bought earlier this month. I'll post some pictures of the new computer, and of the progress on the building, when I get the chance.

Will it be resurrected or recycled?

My home computer, that is! It's about 8 or 9 years old, but I've upgraded it a time or two. Yesterday morning, it wouldn't turn on at all. The hard drive has been bumping up on "full" warnings for quite some time...strange to think that a 40-gigabyte hard drive could fill up so easily. I know it's quite a small drive compared to what is routine now, with some drives measured in terabytes...but I still remember how excited I was in 1990 to get my first hard drive. A whole 40 megabytes! And at the time I thought, I'll never fill up a drive that large! Now I have a 500-gig external drive. And that's filling up!

The computer had a couple of other strange episodes recently, too. One day a couple of weeks ago, I plugged in the camera to download some pix, and suddenly got a message on my screen "the device has failed." Didn't say which device, but I had to restart. Then a couple of days ago, I plugged in an iPod to recharge it, and the same thing happened. Had to restart once again. Last Friday I turned the computer off (usually I just let it run) because I knew I'd be away from it a couple of days. Then yesterday morning, it was like there was no power to the computer at all. Checked all connections, switches, etc. but no good...so it's off to the repair shop.

My go-to tech guy has the thing at his place, analyzing. He'll let me know if a memory upgrade and a larger hard drive will keep me going awhile, or if it's best to just start from scratch. One of these days I'm going the Apple route. Used to have a Mac when I worked at NAMB, and liked the experience, but PCs are just so much cheaper.

Snow Day

This is the snow angel Debbie made on our driveway today. Looks pretty good, huh? Here's a video of her on her sled, too...

"It's freaking COLD, Mr. Bigglesworth!"

Wow! 9 or 10 degrees this morning, didn't go above freezing at all yesterday, and isn't predicted to go above freezing again around here until Wednesday, and then only by 4 degrees. Snow predicted for Thursday and Friday.

Must be all that global warming.