At long last, some closure

The carpet installers got here at 7:45 this morning, and were done at about 1:45 this afternoon. They cleaned up after themselves, were exceedingly polite, and did a good job. We are pleased with the work, still unhappy about the 6 weeks it took to get the job done.

The saga of the basement continues....

I called Lowe's this morning, because they were supposed to install the carpeting (at last!). They said something about glue, and were going to be here in a while. Well, the installers showed up, ready to glue down the carpeting. I said, no, we had ordered installation with pad & tack strips, and I thought the glue was for the stairs. After some discussion, the installers left and I made yet another trip to the store.

After some discussion, the manager of the installed sales department decided to go ahead and comply with my request to do the job as we had asked for it to begin with. Supposedly, it is costing the store an additional $432 for padding and tack strips, but I have paperwork on my side to support what we had originally asked for

Anyway, the installers are going to come out yet again, on Monday morning. Maybe it will actually happen this time.

Visitors and stuff

My brother visited two weeks ago. It was a fine time, we had a chance to hang out and talk about just stuff. That's something I miss but is unavoidable in our family, as we all live so far apart. One of the things Bob does for fun and expression is to jam with his blues trombone at local joints. When he's going somewhere, he surf's the 'net to find bars that have jam sessions. Sure enough, there's one here in Maryville: Brakin's. We had a good time, there was a variety of talent, and everyone played the blues with enthusiasm and sometimes too much volume. (Maybe that's just me getting old...)

We also went out on the boat one day and viewed the scenery on Ft. Loudon Lake. The next afternoon, I had the boat taken out of the water, and Bob and I cleaned the bottom with my pressure cleaner. The boat ran a bit faster afterwards, but when I gave the helm to Bob, we hit a submerged chunk of wood that made a clunk, but did no damage. All in all, we had a great visit.

The day Bob left to go back to Milwaukee, another couple friends came for the weekend, Bob from Pleasanton, CA, and John from the Illinois side of the St. Louis area. We played golf a couple times and revisited memories from their visit to us when we lived in Germany. Our golf games were not great, but very much fun.

This week, we will go visit some friends from CA who have recently moved to north Georgia.

The basement saga continues

The carpeting was supposed to be installed last week. And our favorite home improvement store called about the time the installer was supposed to be here to advise that the carpeting we chose was unacceptable for installation on stairs. OK, that's fine, but why weren't we so advised when we selected the carpet?

We had to go into the store and select a new carpet, not so easy, because we had already painted a color based on the old choice. We found another carpet that will work, and are now waiting for the call to advise when this can be installed.

The basement update project

I have been pretty busy lately with a new project: updating the basement. When we bought the house, the basement was finished in rough sawn cedar, applied to the walls in board & batten style. Very rustic, but also dark and sort of "Grizzly Adams". We have discussed it for several months, and decided to start.

I removed all the battens, leaving the 1 x 12 cedar boards attached to the walls. To those, I attached 24 sheets of 3/8" drywall. Then I mudded, sanded, mudded, sanded, and primed. We put on a top coat of a caramel color flat interior latex, and highlighted the division between floor, walls and ceiling with white shoe molding and white crown molding respectively.

Next, I removed the traditional light fixtures, and installed a lighting system we brought back with us from Germany. The system consists of two wires or cables that are suspended about 5" apart and stretched across the room. The wires carry 12 volts DC from a transformer. The transformers we had from Europe are for 220 volts and wouldn't work here, so I bought two new transformers intended to power 12 volt yard lights. These transformers are much less expensive than the decorative ones at the lighting store, and have much higher wattage ratings. In our log home, there is a utility space between the ceiling of the basement and the flooring of the first floor. That's where the plumbing, electric, and HVAC systems are transported throughout the house. So I was able to get the transformers mounted there, hidden from view but hooked up to the same circuit as the old light fixtures.

Next week, the new carpeting is supposed to be installed, and then we can finally put the furniture back and start using this area again.

Das Boot

Last post, I wrote at the very end that the boat was broke. A shaft was what I suspected at that time. It turned out to be a close guess but not quite. The Mercruiser Alpha One Outdrive is driven off the back of the engine by a plate that is bolted to the flywheel. The plate has a splined receptacle (a hole with grooves running the length of the hole) which receives a splined shaft from the top of the outdrive. The shaft is made of hardened steel, and the plate and receptacle are of aluminum, a slightly softer material. The reason for this is so that if you hit something, like a log, the receptacle will shear its grooves, saving the crankshaft of the engine.

Unfortunately, the plate is a bit difficult to replace. The outdrive must be dropped (the easy part) and then the engine must be unmounted and slid forward so that the bell housing can be removed, exposing the flywheel and the plate. Then the plate is replaced (part cost approx $200) and it all goes back together again. Labor cost was about $200 also.

I also had them clean the hull, as it was growing a lot of green fuzzy stuff. They scraped it all down, and then washed the hull with Muriatic Acid. That removed the staining. I took it out for a test drive afterwards, and was quite pleasantly surprised. The boat came up on plane much quicker, and went quite a bit faster than it had ever done before. The hull must have been dirty from when I got it. Less drag means more speed, and easier cruising.

The guys at the marina did the work, and I must say, they did a nice job. The boat runs great. I am gradually getting everything sorted out, and when this oppressive heat wave calms down at the end of next week (hopefully) we can start to enjoy the water again.

A second trip to Wisconsin this year

We had a great time a month ago or so, and decided to return for a couple weeks. We left TN on Friday July 27, and headed to southeastern Indiana. We spent the weekend with our friends Joe & Joyce. They have a really neat set up for weekend camping: their very own campsite with a travel trailer, utility shed, gazebo, etc. in a park set up for just that purpose. It is located near the Brookville Reservoir, a man-made lake that is quite large with fishing, skiing, and water sports in general. We also met Joe's brother, and had a great relaxing weekend. The picture shows Joe & Joyce on the porch of their camper, and the other is a shot of the mill at Metamora, a restored village from the turn of the century. Thanks, Joe!!

On Sunday afternoon, we meandered to Milwaukee, via Lakeshore Drive in Chicago. A traffic mistake, but quite lovely despite the traffic jam. Our main mission was to install some wood laminate flooring in the mother-in-law's house which we had ordered a couple weeks prior from Lumber Liquidators. The flooring didn't make it until the following Saturday, so we tried to find ways to keep occupied until then. The Wisconsin State Fair opened, and I went to that. The roasted corn-on-the-cob, bratwurst, cream puffs, and beer were just as good as my memories of them from 30 years prior. The people were great, happy, friendly, and the music was much better than I remembered.

Saturday, Sunday, and into Monday, we labored on the floor. It turned out very nice, and many thanks to my lovely wife, sister-in-law, and her husband for their help. Also, a tip: Buy a good set of knee-pads. The investment is well worth it. My knees and legs actually felt okay after the job was complete. Here's a section of the finished floor:

I also had a chance to see my brother a few times. Most notably on Wednesday evening at Conway's Bar on 23rd and Wells Street. He plays at a blues jam session there regularly, and it was a good evening for the music. Three of my army buddies accompanied me to this evening, very nice because the four of us were all drafted the same day in February 1969, and experienced basic training together under the harsh tutelage of Sergeant Spangler.

We had a picnic one day on Lake Michigan, the picture shows a couple little girls playing on the beach under a roof made of driftwood. I checked with their mother before taking the picture. You can't be too careful these days.

And it wouldn't have been a complete report without a picture from the mother-in-law's garden. Click on any picture to see it larger.

So life returned to normal when we got back. Its hot here in TN, and very dry. I had to mow the lawn, and catch back up on a few tasks. The boat sheared a shaft somewhere in the outdrive today, so that's going to get fixed in the next few days. Oh well.....