Creeker's Past Week's Accomplishments

26 Jul 2021

Greetings,
First, I'll start with, any of you that knew or knew of a woodturner by the name of Bill Grumbine, he passed away today. I'm asking that if you would, please think or pray for his surviving family. Bill contributed a lot here on SMC and helped many of us in the woodturning area of woodworking. Condolences to his family.

No real woodworking this week as I have been having trouble in getting materials in from my supplier. I finally got some decent materials in and will be starting my last commissioned work that I will take for the rest of this year. It's simply too hot and humid here to even work in my shop. I start oncall duty in just a few hours from now and I'm not looking forward to that.

That's it for me, so what did YOU do this past week?

Best of weeks to you all.

I knew that Bill was ill with COVID and he knew it was serious. I'm very sad that he was taken. Despite the two of us being VERY different in many respects, we were also good friends for many years. Thanks for letting the greater community know, Dennis.

This past week I finally got my final inspection for the temporary shop electrical and the dust collection system is ready to go. I have a few more things I need to do to make the space ready for projects...of which there is already a list. I do have to give some serious consideration to the heat situation and may have to bit the bullet and put in a small split system, even though this is temporary space. When working conventionally, it's not an issue with the door open to the house with a fan blowing cooler air in, but that's not practical if the CNC is running because of noise from the DC and whatever I'm cutting. This week also saw my dedicated guitar bench "banished" to the shed out back until I have a real shop building setup...I really needed the space in the temporary space and have enough work surfaces to do whatever I need to do without it for the time being.

Not related to the shop, I completed the work in the family/bird room where wiring was corrected from the "very scary" wire nuts in the wall thing I found from the previous owner to a property routed and terminated connection to the outlet behind the TV above the fireplace. That required removing drywall and subsequent repair and painting. That work was completed this weekend and things look really good. we have the lower outlet back that was "disappeared" by the previous owner, too, and the fireplace surround/mantle is now white. It was originally pine and really clashed with the oak floors. Now it looks like it belongs. I also got some other painting done elsewhere in the house and continue to work to improve storage solutions in various areas. Going to half the square footage and a 1990s design that wasn't really well thought out is what it is.

This week, I have more material to move from the old property and I'd really like to start with replacing the rotted doors on the shed and get some more perennials moved from the old property as well as a few new ones to fill in things here. Some of the landscaping adjustments I want to make here will wait until I have the BOPT (Big Orange Power Tool) over here so it can do the work that I'm just not interested in doing with my back, arms and hands.

Cottage renovation moving along. Drywall finishing and prepping to paint living room/kitchen area. Next time I do a big room I am going to clear out all furniture and stuff. Tired of moving and working around stuff. Lesson learned. I am on schedule for big room complete by Labor Day as planned so I am feeling good!

Another week with little time in the shop. I did get my kitchen cabinets ordered and am waiting for a ship date. We had a few cooler days so I spent quite a bit of time working to remove the overgrown brush from along our road. Long stretches of thorny overgrown brush with plenty of poison ivy thrown in for good measure. I've taken about three trailer loads up to the yard waste recycler, and probably have that much more to do. I work out front for a few hours until it gets too hot, then come in and scrub down with tecnu. Still have a few dots of ivy rash, but the tecnu works pretty well. Not a fun job but the area that's done looks so much better.

I've been working on the design of a console/bookcase to complete the home office. Nothing particularly fancy, but since it will hold my computer and speakers and ups I want to build in a false back to have a place to run the cables. Design is straightforward and will mimic the style of the desks; most of the effort is finalizing dimensions. Hoping to have enough cherry left in my stash to do the build.

Got final batch of TFT car bodies delivered, so that's off of me till next year. Took and stuck a bunch of cuttings, mainly azaleas, plus some shrubs. Built a cutting bed. Been just placing trays next on north side of house foundation. Cutting bed required me get several buckets of sand from creek near the house. Somehow, sand seems heavier than it used to be. Worked in garden in town at 103 year old friend's house. Planted a garden there for her to enjoy, as she can no longer do such. Sunday afternoon, finally after a year and half, got to celebrate birthdays with son, DIL and grand kids. Took a tiller, generator and power washer with us for son and DIL to have. Baked two cakes (one vanilla, and another chocolate,) along with a chocolate merringe pie to take with us. Burnt another pile of storm debris, which is a never ending job. Wednesday night dinner with SS class group. Got 2021 property tax bill in the mail Saturday. First time in forty years it didn't go up from last years. Having lived here forty years, paid a lot more in taxes than we paid for property. Ordered new hardwood for hall floor, which should be in on Wednesday this week.