prairieman

Holy shit. It’s Monday evening and I am sitting in front of the computer to compose a monthly summary post for this blog. It’s Labor Day…. September FIRST ! !

Yeah, I know I’m still a day late (and a dollar short – do people still say that ?) August was interesting. It started with me working fairly hard on landscaping improvements and other outdoor projects. I purchased a pallet of used railroad ties to build a short retaining wall for the shed project. Then got started on auto maintenance and repair. Not sure of the exact date it commenced; but we had to endure blistering heat for a couple weeks. AC in the house: ON. Typical forecast: Mid 70’s overnight and mid-90’s in the afternoon. It was a reminder of the scorching hot summers we survived in Kansas and Oklahoma. I reluctantly retreated to the house. Nothing inside (the shop) or outside had to be done ASAP. I’m a retired wuss, I so elected to waste my time on the internet, in air-conditioned comfort. Zero regrets. lol

Then a miracle occurred (not miracles of biblical levels- just meteorological favorable outcomes). The local weather has been similar to typical San Diego weather for the past three weeks. Fucking unbelievable. 50’s overnight, 70’s in the afternoon. Zero rain chances. It’s nothing short of amazing. and wonderful. I built the Railroad tie retaining wall. Planted several shrubs, weeding, tree trimming. Received a truckload of crushed stone for the shed foundation. As we transition to September, the wonderful weather juggernaut continues.

This month’s image shows the building site for the storage shed and the railroad tie retaining wall. There will 12 feet of space between the east wall of the shed and the retaining wall. The plan is to have a raised bed vegetable & herb garden fill that space.

One data point is not a trend. Will see if I can be timely for September’s summary.

Oh my. yikes. ugh. sheee-ite. lol Shoulda seen the look on my face yesterday when I opened the site to post a July summary – on August 3rd. and… here we are. Let’s start this post with the May summary. “I’m late. Again. Sorry about that. Gonna try to surprise everyone with a June summary”. Prophetic ? uhhhh… no. Not even remotely the surprise I was thinking of, at the end of May/early June. I feel like Lewis Hamilton right now – useless.

I think the old saying “You get what you pay for” applies here. It’s entirely possible… if I was collecting $$$ from people subscribing to this nonsense, I would be a whole bunch better with deadlines. Not a half bunch. A WHOLE bunch. lol. here is the good (or bad) news: this blog will be free until I quit doing it. and I like doing it, it’s just a simple priority problem. I can (and will) do better.

Headline news: I got something done ! Our audio system is completely wired up and functional. Running a vintage Realistic STA 2100D receiver through Bose series III speakers while spinning a Project One belt drive turntable. The sound (vinyl) produced by this system is magical. We have run a variety of equipment for the past 44 years with some success. This arrangement is simply unbelievable. All of this pre-owned equipment was purchased, one at a time since 2020 w/the exception of the 25 disc Pioneer CD player, a 1998 purchase. Other speakers are installed and wired up in the great room, breezeway, deck and front porch. Our setup also includes a 5.1 surround sound system. It’s great when watching movies or anything on TV.

Even more good news. I am finally back to 2022/2023 levels of motivation and (age corrected) energy to complete/achieve by Fall; 1. the backyard fenced (to contain the dogs w/o our direct supervision). 2. construct a storage shed for lawn equipment, generator, mowers, rakes & shovels, chainsaws etc etc. (purify the sanctity of my shop) 3. Landscaping the front porch entry to the house. 2 years moved in, and the entry looks like a construction site w/weeds and subsoil. (embarrassing)

If this sounds stupid – you’re probably right. I typically have 5-6 projects going at a time. Car repairs (delayed completion – no problem – plenty of spare cars in the driveway), home completion details, landscaping, shed and/or fence building, etc. if I get stopped for materials, it goes on a list. If I’m not interested working on a specific project on a particular day – I don’t. Once I have several projects stalled for materials; I make a trip to town. I always pre-plan my visit to town so I can have White Castle for lunch. deee-licious ! lol

Retirement is under-rated. I am having the time of my life. The picture/image for this month’s summary is the location for the future storage shed. Send me an email if you have something to share.

I’m looking at the calendar, and realize: I’m a loser when it comes to posting a timely monthly summary – which should happen when the date rolls to the start of the new month ! No lame excuses…. I’m late. Again. Sorry about that. Gonna try to surpise everyone with a June summary –

May will be remembered as the month when I “woke up” and decided the effort to complete this construction project is overdue (kind of like my ability to post a timely monthly update…) I’ve been spending a lot more time in the shop, getting moved in and sorting through all of the treasure removed from the storage unit. Definite progress made. As for the storage unit inventory, nothing will be completed in the shop until I have a lawn equipment shed built. Deliberate time was spent in May to create blueprints, and a specific location for the proposed shed. I had my favorite excavator here for a visit a couple weeks ago, to see if my plan has merit. Kenny liked the plan and I am on his schedule for some simple leveling of the shed site. Back at the shop, I completed a custom installation for my radial arm saw. Turned out as well as I hoped, and will serve me well as I begin to construct a proper workbench. We also need to address landscaping at the house entry/front porch. Progress made on that effort as well. Should have more to report at the end of the month. Finally, I had to rent a large drain auger in May. We were experiencing a downpour of unrelenting rain. I went outside (with an umbrella, duh…) to see how the property drains rain away from the house. To my surprise – one of the downspouts was spewing water up and out from the buried drain tile. Next day – pulled the downspout away from the drain tile to find it was hopelessly clogged with tree debris ! After an exhaustive effort with the industrial drain auger, got it freed up. Installed gutter guards over the next couple weeks, to prevent that from happening again ! Email any questions or comments – good or bad.

April was good to us. Weather was typical (rainy) with an extra helping mid-month, when we received 8″ of rain over 3 days. Widespread flooding in low areas all over the Midwest, the Ohio river swelled to a level not observed in many years. Living on Howard Ridge, we were unaffected by the severe drenching. In fact, I think the epic quantity of rain, was the reason for the “explosion” of trees leafing out at the end of the month. Looking west, we can only see traffic on highway 45 during the winter. From April 22nd to the 25th, the highway disappeared due to the super quick greening of the forest around us.

The bookshelf project is – nearly – 100% completed. If you look closely, the 3/4″ cabinet edge plywood is exposed. The plan calls for trimming out the shelves with a solid birchwood frame. Material is in the shop and ready to be ripped and cut to length. I also need to connect the audio gear that is currently a static display. We are currently using the black face Denon receiver gifted by Mike & Cindy. Thanks again! The Bose 301 series 4 speakers are placed high, at the upper left and right corners of the bookcase. The Bose reflective sound design demands that the speakers be placed away from the wall, and near a corner. They are providing high-quality audio to the room, superior to any other setup we have had. The speakers were sourced locally while the home was still under construction. The plan as we advance, is to put the vintage silver face Realistic STA 2100-D receiver in service. It was purchased earlier this year from a Facebook Marketplace ad. That is when I will wire up the Realistic graphics equalizer, Akai reel-to-reel tape deck, CD player and recent turntable acquisition. The Denon receiver will go to Carole’s shop, and the vacated space in the lower cabinet will be filled with a Yamaha AV receiver we have owned for many years. The Yamaha will run a 5.1 surround system designed when the house was still being planned. Notice the speakers on the lowest shelves, left and right sides of the TV. The central speaker is located above the TV. There are already speakers installed and wired up in the ceiling near the peak. Finally, I have an in-wall subwoofer close to the floor near the dining table. Movie watching should be amazing. For those paying close attention and wondering, the speaker immediately under the TV is a soundbar for normal TV watching.

Warm weather and longer daylight hours, has improved my attitude and level of motivation to get going on too many projects I have ignored and allowed to pile up. Next up; I have drawn up a plan and estimated materials for a lawn equipment & storage shed. Getting the shed built, will then allow me to restore the shop to a level of organization that has been lacking since vacating the rental storage unit last August.

Soooo… I hope to build a shed, fence the backyard for the dogs, landscape around the front porch & breezeway, and get the E30 and E31 BMW’s running again. We will see how it goes and how much gets done…

April was interesting from a weather viewpoint. The extremes: we had a few very warm days: 81 (tied the record) and several cold overnight temps below freezing: 18 (also a record). The slab heat has been working perfectly for over a month now. We have the house adjusted so it is 69-70 in the living areas, 64 in the spare bedrooms, and 67 in our bedroom. Carole prefers her shop at 69 and I’m happy to have the shop at 65. I wear a sweatshirt if necessary to save on propane instead of keeping the shop temps appropriate for a t-shirt and shorts. The boiler only comes on briefly at any given time during the day/night.

The armoire/liquor cabinet project is complete and delivered to Mary Beth, Susan’s bff. Getting that project done, has allowed me to begin focusing on a large wall of bookshelves for the living room This project should have been completed as a winter task, but I’m being a lazy bitch. I won’t bore this audience with lame excuses. I will declare it now: I will complete this significant project by the end of April. It’s not just bookshelves surrounding the flat screen TV, the project also includes constructing an audio rack for upgraded equipment I’ve been acquiring to enjoy our significant collection of vinyl albums.

I’m eager to get going on outdoor projects this year. We still have a lot to do…

The picture for this month’s summary is the current condition of the living room’s north wall. The April summary will be the same picture AFTER installing the shelves and audio rack.

Hello ! We made it to March, which means we are a lot closer to Spring; Hooray! As expected, February brought us more snow and bitterly cold temperatures. During the week from Feb 16 – 20, we received a dusting or up to an inch of new snow overnight – every night. Finally, the last week of this month, we got weather to enjoy; sunny days and much warmer temperatures.

As for progress on the house and shop; very little got done, all because of current politics. The dizzying number of Executive orders, Musk and Doge, Canada, Mexico (the gulf & country), the EU and finally Ukraine – all combined to try and wear me out. We are living a moment in history that will be studied for many generations after us, and it will be embarrassing for the USA. As a way to cope; I have started another blog, akin to a personal diary. I’m posting significant events and internet links to news sources. It’s still a work in progress, as I try to get caught up. Will provide a link when I’m ready to share it with you.

I did actually get a couple things sorted out this month, and both projects have been annoying as hell for a long time. First up: the hydronic boiler shutting down due to the same fault code generated on a random and persistent basis/frequency. Since installation, we could go up to 4 days without a shutdown, then have the boiler shut down once or up to 4 times in one day, followed by a couple trouble-free days, then 2 or 3 shutdowns the following day. Once the shutdown was discovered (flashing light on the boiler control panel) pushing one button would reset the machine. The problem: if the boiler shutdown at 11pm while we are asleep, it wasn’t discovered until after getting up in the morning. The result was losing a couple degrees of concrete temperature and room air temperatures down 2-3 degrees. THAT equates to the boiler running nonstop until getting the slabs (and room temperatures) back up to the set point on the thermostats. REALLY frustrating… Lucas and I have called the OEM and they gave us ideas and replaced a part under warranty but nothing worked. Lucas called the product support group at Utica boilers – again – to tell them our frustrations. They shared a special procedure for problem-child boilers. Lucas stopped by a few days after the phone call. As I read the procedural instructions, Lucas was pushing and holding down buttons on the control panel. We essentially did a complete reset of all the boiler’s operational settings. That was February 18th. I am pleased to report we have experienced a total of zero fault codes for 2 weeks ! Check that off the list.

The second problem deals with our desire to watch TV using an OTA (over the air) antenna. We had success in OKC and Wichita w/OTA performance. We have high-speed fiber internet to stream anything the internet has to offer, but don’t want to pay for a streaming subscription to get local networks. I have been on the roof more than a few times adjusting the antenna and checking coax terminations. Super frustrating because we never knew from day to day, if we would get solid performance or a heavily pixelated picture. I kept track of good or bad performance and the weather. Several weeks of data gathering and couldn’t find any correlation. Found an OTA dedicated Reddit community and posted a question about my performance issues. Received several good ideas. One opinion was that my OTA antenna was not highly rated. For context, it’s the same make and model antenna we had in Wichita and it worked great, so I simply ordered another one from Amazon. Turns out – the Wichita location was easier to get away with a cheaper antenna, due to Kansas’s flat landscape and the broadcast towers were closer to home. Network broadcast towers in Indiana are significantly further away from our residence, and we have heavily wooded hills between us and Indianapolis. What to do ? Get out the wallet, and go big ! We are now using the Televes DAT BOX hi-res uhf & vhf long range amplified antenna. First antenna – $50. The Telves unit – $180. The old saying is still true: you get what you pay for. We now enjoy superb OTA performance, every night. Check another problem off the list. lol

Finally, I promised a full writeup on the Armoire I am re-purposing into a liquor cabinet. Current status ? Still working on it. It didn’t get it done. A combination of reaction to the current political situation and it’s prototype work, which means everything is new and nothing fits or works like it did in my head. It means making parts that become a pattern for the way I REALLY intended to make it. I like the challenge. I’m probably 75-80 percent done, so look for a writeup NEXT month.

The picture for this post is Millie and Layla. Layla is an Akita and the most challenging canine we have ever owned. She is everything we learned about the breed before we got her, and we grown to appreciate the things about an Akita that test our patience. What we didn’t know – until after we got her – all Akitas have a semi-annual hair shedding event known as a blowout. She sheds an alarmingly and crazy amount of hair over several weeks. The picture shows where she has already lost hair and where she has not.

It’s Groundhog Day ! If you read last month’s summary, I was terribly slow producing the monthly summary I know you can’t wait to enjoy. Lame excuse: I was distracted by splitting firewood and keeping the wood stove stoked. lol lame for sure.

Good news to report. Finally got a replacement switchable relay installed on January 15th. The radiant heat system is back up and running ! We have thankfully put the heat pump and wood stove into dormant status. We enjoy a fire in the wood stove as much, or more than the average person, but – it’s constant work to keep a fire going all day and night. That’s all I have to complain about…

When temperatures were really cold (negative temps overnight, and single digits during the day; the concrete slab in the shop got down to 39 degrees. Shop air temperature was down to 40 degrees. Started to have some concern about the run of tubing closest to the exterior walls possibly getting down a temperature that could cause the water in the tubing to freeze. I rigged up a 120-volt jumper wire with a plug on one end to plug into the nearby receptacle, and the load and neutral wires exposed at the other end. The idea was to start and run the circulator pumps for the heat zones that had a tubing loop by the exterior walls of my shop and Carole’s studio. Fortunately, the relay arrived before I attempted that strategy.

No that both building are back to normal; operating temperature, I am back in the shop working on a couple projects. Susan has commissioned me to modify an armoire into a wine and liquor cabinet. I picked up the cabinet over the holidays. No heat in the shop made for a delayed start. I’ve come up with a good design and have purchased the materials. I should have it done by the end of February. Will have a complete writeup for next month’s summary.

lol. Holy shit – it’s January 8th ! I’m a lazy sob. My lame excuse: the radiant heat system for the house and shop is NMC (not mission capable) which is a military aviation acronym for; broken. won’t start or run. not functional. It happened on December 22nd. Almost 3 weeks ago. I already said it was a lame excuse…

Back to Dec 22nd. I noticed the great room was a couple degrees cooler than the set point on the slab heat thermostat. The thermostat display indicated it was calling for heat, but the boiler was not answering the phone. Went to the mechanical room. On the panel for the switchable relay (small box with lots of low voltage wires and 120v wires) I should have observed a red light illuminated for zone 3; the heating zone for the great room. No red light illuminated, and the boiler was dormant. Went to the other 4 thermostats and raised the set points. All five thermostats indicated they made the call for hot water. Back to the mechanical room and confirmed: zero red lights illuminated for all five zones. I shut everything down and went to the brief (4 procedural steps) troubleshooting tree. Quickly completed step 4, and a fault tree dead end. My USAF maintainer friends would know the next step. Replace the MEC ! lol Called the 800 number for Azel, the manufacturer – no answer. Easy search produced their website. Clicked on “contact us”. Keystroked the story above and waited patiently.

When we constructed this place, I had the foresight to include a heat pump to the fully ducted air conditioning system designed for the house. We also have a free-standing wood stove in the great room. Both serve as a backup/reserve heat source if the slab radiant heat should ever become NMC. I activated the thermostat for the heat pump and it quickly brought the house up to the comfortable set point. Azel product support sent an mail the following day, requesting one additional troubleshooting step, not found in the instruction manual. Quickly accomplished that, reported the result via email reply, and got a reply almost immediately, asking for a copy of my purchase receipt. The switchable relay has a 3 year warranty. We purchased it 2 years ago as a line item with the entire heating system kit. Another reply followed, telling me a replacement relay had been shipped and included tracking information. I did not expect to see it until after Christmas and possibly not until after the new year. It arrived on Dec. 30th.

Swapped it out on January 2nd. No joy – same symptoms. Still NMC. While waiting for the relay to ship from Canada, I spoke to Lucas to tell him a new relay was on the way. Lucas is the HVAC guy who installed the entire radiant system above the concrete slab to include the boiler, various valves, copper tubing manifolds, etc. He let me know he was leaving town on a planned vacation to Key West, departing Dec. 29th, back home on January 5th. Currently waiting patiently on his list of people to see and things to do.

The only other news for December; I cut and split firewood from a large Ash tree that fell during construction. My brief effort, didn’t produce nearly enough firewood for the winter. Was hoping we wouldn’t need much firewood until the end of January.

Well… that didn’t work very well. Since it’s January 8th: I’ll report we got a foot of snow on Jan 5th, with bitterly cold temperatures until the end of this week. We are burning wood like crazy, because the heat pump can’t keep up with the extreme cold temps outside. I dug the truck out of the snow yesterday and will purchase firewood later today.

No worries here.

I’m finally keystroking this overdue monthly missive, sitting in a comfortable chair, watching the fire in the wood stove and the birds at the feeders on the deck, while sipping on hot coffee, jazzed up w/Baileys Irish Cream. It could be worse….

Winter is here. dammit. Our weather was typical Fall in Indiana (30’s / 50’s) until the last week of the month. Colder temperatures moved in November 21st with overnight temps in the teens and 20’s, and high temps in the 30’s. It’s supposed to remain like this for another 7-10 days. Fired up the boiler on the 21st to begin radiant heating the concrete in both buildings.

Earlier this month, I got Joe to bring his tractor to our place, so he could move and spread the small pile of crushed stone that was pictured in the October summary. Now we have an easier entry and exit from our property. A big improvement for sure.

With the shop full of the treasure/junk from the storage unit, I am impeded from getting anything done. I have decided to construct a lawn equipment shed – now. (maybe THAT’s why it’s suddenly super cold-lol) Recall the first paragraph of the post regarding current weather conditions. Nope, not doing outdoor construction when the high temp is in the 20’s. Call me worthless and weak, I don’t care. I’m in a holding pattern until we can get to the 40’s during the day. Shed design is complete along with a materials list. The shed will be 12′ by 20′, pretty much a copy of the shed I constructed at the Pin Oak Ct. home in Wichita.

The site next door has been cleaned up for the most part. The only major task remaining is to demolish the mobile home, but that won’t happen until Spring 2025. Had to pay 350 bucks for the roll off dumpster I filled with the demolished RV camper and received 395 dollars for the van at the local scrap yard. Will get that pile of crushed stone spread ASAP so we can begin using the new property entrance.

We had a plan to vote early, so decided to celebrate a little by having breakfast in Nashville, then on to the polling place. Nashville IN is a popular tourist stop year round, but is crazy in the Fall because of the hills and thick forests. People arrive in droves to shop in the village and drive around the county admiring the Fall foliage. The 10 minute wait for a table at the diner was longer than the line to vote. By the time we finished our meal, the line outside went around the corner. There were 3 voters ahead of us at the polling place.

Looking back, it took us about 15 months to construct this haven. After basic unpacking, I declared myself wasted and spent; void of any energy to get the project 100% completed. That was about 15 months ago. It wasn’t like I stopped doing anything productive, I simply dialed way back, to how much of my day was spent relaxing versus working projects. I’m pleased to report that I’ve got the spark again. After we closed on the trashed, eyesore property next door, I couldn’t stand to look at the mess any longer. With that completed, I have started working in the shop to get shelves up so we can get our stuff from the storage unit, off the floor and put away, allowing us to pull cars inside the shop ahead of winter. Don’t worry – I got used to relaxing and will continue that habit, I’m just making an adjustment to get a little more done each day. Unless I get an offer from a friend to goof off, of course….