April 23 - 30, 2025 - Traps Worked - TV in Homer - A/C Shroud Cracks - Bird Net - Door Light in Homer - Awning Arm Lock

My Blog Reflection

If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.

Booker T. Washington

Wednesday April 23, 2025

Traps were put up Tuesday morning and this morning I spotted a squirrel in the trap for any animal coming out of the house. 

I called the exterminator and by the time he arrived at noon there was another squirrel caught in the trap set up to catch any squirrels trying to go in. The exterminator said this was great news. We caught one that had been in there and caught another planning on going in. Probably a mating pair. The traps will be up for another eight days to make sure no more are inside. Making progress.

Work on Homer:

In the morning John agreed to come over and help me with a couple of minor electrical issues in Homer. The first was getting the TV to work. A couple of years ago we watched the TV, no problem. Then when we went to use it the next time in Michigan it wouldn't work. In Michigan I pulled out the booster. It looked a little corroded so Dave and I found an RV store and I bought a new one. The new one made no difference. I then suspected a bad cable connection or cable wire somewhere. You need two people to check out stuff like this since the antenna is on the roof, which makes it hard to be up there and see what the TV is doing. That's part of the reason I sought John's help, in addition to his expertise.

Before John arrived I put new batteries in the TV remote and turned it on. All I got was some squiggly lines on part of the screen. After waiting for it to warm up I used the 1950s TV fix - I smacked it hard several times. More picture came on but it was not a full screen. Repeatedly pushing the "Menu" or "Source" buttons on the remote did nothing. I turned it off. When I turned it back on the areas that had appeared earlier on the screen did not come back up. I guess my "smacking" only had a temporary effect. I called John and asked him to bring his small TV so we could connect it to the antenna to see what we got. Before he arrived I did some checking online and learned that really cold weather is bad for TVs. The last two winters with zero or below temperatures for extended periods of time apparently made toast of this TV, even though it was in an uninsulated shed. Sadly, it probably only had about fifteen or twenty hours on it.

John arrived with his TV. We hooked it up and immediately got an excellent picture from the Cape Girardeau stations, which are just thirty-five miles away. We turned the antenna to face toward St. Louis and got nothing. We thought it should have at least "flickered" on one or more St. Louis stations (90 miles away). I got up on the roof and checked the cable connection to the antenna. It was fine - tight and no corrosion. We decided maybe a new batwing antenna was needed as well. I ordered a refurbished TV and a refurbished batwing antenna from Amazon. If either one does not solve the problem, I can send one or both items back. They will arrive on Friday.  

We then moved to issue #2 - checking out the dead dash switch on Homer. This switch was installed by the previous owner. The lady I bought Homer from had no idea what it did. They were divorced so no getting in touch with him to find out. 

When working the switch would light up red when "ON". Last year, by accident, I noticed that when it was "ON" the alternator was charging the house batteries. This is a nice feature for long trips. I decided to use it on a trip last summer. 

I pushed it while on the road and after a few minutes Kelly and I smelled something burning. We got out, looked all around, and found nothing inside or out that smelled burnt. We continued on. After thinking about it, I decided the smell had to be from that switch. I pushed it and no red light. 

John is excellent with electrical issues. We pulled out the switch and put the voltmeter to it. The readings we got on the voltmeter that made no sense. The meter showed 77 volts DC. Impossible in a 12 volt system! We were perplexed. I marked the switch so I knew in which position power is off since the light no longer lights to show when it is "ON". We quit for the day. 

John went home and later called to tell me that we need to test the switch with an analog voltmeter. Sometimes digital voltmeters give strange readings on switches. I looked all over for my analog voltmeter and couldn't find it. I believe it is Florida. John will bring his out when he has some time and we have better weather. 

Friday April 25, 2025

I took the lawnmower to the shop to have the hydraulic fluid changed. The manual said to change it at 50 hours. It has 111 hours on it. I will never have to change it again. They will get to it today or Monday.

Back to Homer:

The antenna and TV arrived by UPS. I installed the TV and got six digital channels, all from the Cape Girardeau area. I then installed the new antenna. It did not do any better so I boxed it up and sent it back to Amazon. The new TV is a smart TV so we can connect to the internet whenever it is available. I programed our house but the router was too far away for the TV to connect.

When I was on the roof dealing with the antenna I noticed that the rubber boot that covers the antenna wire as it enters the cabin had pulled loose. This allows water to get inside. I scraped the old caulk back, pushed the back boot into place, and then caulked it. 

The antenna is right next to the A/C unit on the roof. While up there I noticed that there were several new cracks in the plastic A/C shroud. I believe that the A/C unit in Homer is original, i.e. over thirty years old. While it works great, there is no such thing as getting a replacement shroud for this old unit. A couple of years ago I had secured a couple of cracks on the top of the shroud with Eternabond tape. It has held up well. I still had part of a roll of tape so I fetched it from the shop and cut it to span the new cracks on the side of the shroud. Hopefully this fix will last for a while as well. Here is a picture with the yellow arrow pointing to the Eternabond tape fix. The tape is white while the shroud is off-white. No one will notice unless I tell them. LOL

I was back in the garage when a squirrel ran in. I chased him, with the intent of chasing him out. Instead he jumped into a wash tub that I keep in the corner with yard tools in it like axes, picks, sledge hammers, etc. I grabbed a few items that were nearby and threw them on top to keep him in there. I went out back and got a couple of broken bricks and piled those on as well. Assuming he didn't get out while I was retrieving the bricks, I should have a dead squirrel in a few days. I'm not going to check until I know he has to be dead. I don't want him jumping out at me all pisssed off.

Saturday April 26, 2025

For the last several years we have had barn swallows build mud nests in the raised, protected area of our front porch. They like the rough surface of brick to stick their nests to. In the past we have tried to stay ahead of them by using fake owls, fake snakes, a fan with streamers, etc. Nothing worked. I then tried to use the water hose to destroy the nest as they are building. Sometimes it worked but they are persistent and keep rebuilding. I have been amazed at how hard the nests are to remove. Whatever substance these birds secrete to make nests attached to walls should be patented by Gorilla Glue. We hate a nest being here because of all the bird poop on the front porch and on the front door. (Unsightly and not very inviting to guests.) 

This morning I went to the Grand Opening of the new Ace Hardware Store in town to get some bird netting and hooks to keep the birds off the front porch. Since it was the Grand Opening I got a free five-gallon bucket and a free T-shirt! I purchased the netting and some hooks plus a couple of things they had on sale for the day. 

I don't want to drill into the bricks to install metal hooks for the netting. The netting is very fine, plastic, and weighs next to nothing. I bought a four-pack of Command hooks for the project. They might work since the netting is so light weight.

The area above the front door where I need to attach the netting is quite high. With the entry step jutting out from the door, even with my eight-foot ladder I could barely reach where the hooks needed to be placed. I had my doubts that Command hooks would stick to the brick and I was right. They did not. I then glued each hook to the brick using E6000 and let it cure overnight.

Sunday April 27, 2025 

This morning I got on the ladder to put up the netting. The netting is made to keep birds off of fruit bushes, etc. The openings are only about 3/8 of an inch and the entire netting is a very fine plastic not much thicker than fishing line. Stretching from the top of my eight foot ladder, several times I hooked one corner of the net then upon moving to the other side, the first side would come off the hook. I used packing tape to hold the net on each hook as I moved around to attach all four corners. Once the corners were hooked the stretch and the weight held the netting on the hooks. It isn't the fanciest job, and I question if it will withstand a windstorm, but it should work. Here is a picture. The netting blends in with the brick but in the picture you can barely see the net when looking at the white ceiling. It was hard to get a picture. 

Here is a picture of the black Command hook in the corner where the birds were starting to build their nest this year. When I take the netting down in the fall I will work to get all that junk off the brick. As I said earlier, it does not come off easily.

Monday April 28, 2025

The exterminator was back today to reset the squirrel traps. We haven't heard any more noises from the attic but we will wait to see if any more try to come in or try to come out.

It was a beautiful morning. I decided to investigate why Homer's cabin door light is not working (again). When you open the cabin screen door, a light comes on over the steps, which is quite nice in the dark. Several years back this light quit working. I took the fixture out thinking I just needed to replace the bulb. I found that the light bulb was integrated onto a tiny circuit board. Why I will never know. Why not just a bulb in a socket? The little circuit board was burnt to a crisp. I cut the circuit board out and installed a 12 volt DC LED plug I had from an earlier project on Marge. I then purchased a little square LED bulb about 1/4 inch by 3/4 inch that would fit in this small light fixture. It worked until recently.

When I looked at the bulb today I found that only a tiny, pinhead sized spot of the bulb was lighting. I pulled the plastic fixture out, threw away the bulb, and took it down to the shop looking for options for a repair. 

When we purchased Marge the ceiling lights all had 12 volt halogen bulbs in them, which burn very, very hot. I was concerned that long-term use of these bulbs could discolor or make the vinyl ceiling fabric around the lights brittle. I replaced the halogen bulbs with cooler burning LED bulbs. These replacement bulbs were flat and the size of a quarter so they could fit in the fixture. In the picture below you can see one of the ceiling lights out of Marge with the yellow LED bulb installed.

We were not happy with the amount of light the LEDs put out so I replaced all of the fixtures with LED fixtures made to mount under kitchen cabinets in homes to light up countertops. These fixtures are 12 volt DC and were converted to 120 AC for residential use. Since the lights in Marge were 12 volts DC, without the converter, they worked perfectly. They put out much more light. I installed these fixtures in all the under cabinet lights in Homer as well a few years ago. Here is a picture of one of these fixtures. They are really bright and well worth the money.

I found two of these light fixtures in the RV "junk drawer" in my shop. They are about three inches in diameter. I would love for one of these to work over the door in Homer. I held one up over the door to see if I could make it work. The existing fixture is only about 3/4 inch by 2 inches. This fixture is about three inches in diameter - far too large to use without a lot of fabrication to make it look right.   

Also in my RV junk drawer I have about a dozen of the of quarter-size LED lights that I took out of Marge many years ago. (I save all this stuff. LOL) These round LED bulbs are about the size of a quarter and thus about a 1/4 of an inch wider than the door light fixture. Here is a picture of the LED disc light.

While LED bulbs burn much cooler than incandescent bulbs, they still get quite hot when on for a while. I didn't want to take a chance on the bulb melting the plastic fixture so I used my Dremel tool to cut away a little plastic on each side of the light fixture. I did not want this flat disk bulb resting against the plastic fixture. Luckily the bulb socket held the LED suspended in air by about an 1/8 of an inch. The arrow in the picture below points to the light re-installed above the door in the "OFF" position.

Here is a picture of the light when on in the daylight. 

Here is a picture of the light at night. It is not bright, which is fine. Its purpose is simply to provide some light on the inside steps as you enter. The yellow light in the bottom of the picture is the light for the outside steps.

Tuesday April 29, 2025

This morning I decided to pull the awning out on Homer to make sure it is operational before we go camping. Upon opening I found that one of the plastic arm locks was broken. 

On each end of the awning roller there is an arm made of two pieces of aluminum. Each arm attaches to the awning roller on one end and the camper bottom on the other. The larger piece slides up with the awning is it is rolled out. The smaller piece rides inside the larger piece and stays attached to the camper. 

Each arm has a plastic "lock" that swivels down when storing the awning to keep the two sliding sections of the arms in place when traveling. Here is a picture of the arm with the lock engaged. The lock is made of two pieces of plastic. One piece pivots won to hold the inner section of the arm in place while traveling.

Here is a picture from the side showing how one piece swivels up so the arms can be pulled out to unfurl the awning. These plastic locks were both worn and would no longer stay in the "unlocked position" because of gravity. So a couple of years ago I put some Velcro (the white stuff in the picture below) on each lock to provide some friction to hold it up when the arms are being deployed. 

The swiveling part of the plastic lock pivots on a plastic rod. The rod had broken loose on one side. I drilled out the rivets that attached the entire lock to the outer arm and took it inside to look for a replacement online.

Here is a picture of a replacement part in white. I did find a black replacement available on another site but it was more expensive. I was shocked at the cost of this plastic part. This one was the cheapest!

I guess I should be happy that parts are still available for a 30 year old awning but I think they should be more reasonable. It is just molded plastic after all.

I wasn't paying that if I didn't have to so to the shop I went to see about a "fix". 

With a little prying I was able to separate the swiveling part from the arm mounted part. Here is a picture of it. The thin rod on the right edge had broken loose on one end. I Superglued it, clamped it, and let it sit for several hours but it did not hold. It is hard to Superglue many types of plastic. Apparently this is one. Did I mention I hate plastic?

I then marked where the rod attached on each side of the piece, put the piece on my drill press, and carefully drilled the rod out. I was then able to insert a bolt through each side and secure it with a nut. Here is a picture of the bolt and nut with the mounting piece re-inserted to check the fit and operation.

I painted the metal parts black to match and to slow down rusting. Here is a picture of the lock ready for installation. It should outlast me. When it quits raining I will rivet the piece back on to the awning arm.

This was a rainy afternoon project that cost me nothing, since I had the bolt and nut, as opposed to $27.00+ for a replacement.

Wednesday April 30, 2025

The sun came out this morning so I riveted the repaired awning arm lock on the arm. Here are pictures. As luck would have it I put the nut on the side facing the wall. The bolt head and nut don't interfere with anything and blend in well I think. 

Nothing much is planned for the rest of the week to blog about so I'll end here.

 

      

April 17 - 22, 2025 - Squirrel(s) in the Attic - Generator Slide Issue - Generator Oil Change - Exterminator

 My Blog Reflection

It takes half your life before you discover life is a do-it-yourself project.

Napoleon Hill

Wednesday April 16, 2025

Upon returning home from Florida we found that one or more squirrels have taken up residence in our attic. I spent two weeks trying to find a company to deal with them. I finally found one and they sent out an inspector today. ($129.00 for the inspection.) He was here for two hours and found multiple ways critters of all kind can get in our attic. He prepared an estimate to get rid of the squirrels and to critter-proof the house. The amount of the estimate floored us but what choice do we have? Climbing on our steep roof is something this old do-it-yourselfer can't handle anymore. They will set traps next week and start working on blocking the various areas of possible entrance by any type of critter, including wasps, with metal and steel mesh. This expense, along with the cost of tree removal at the house and at the lake lot, have not made for a good time to own real estate. 

Thursday April 17, 2025

Yesterday, after daughter Alexa helped me install the house batteries, I started the generator in Homer. After a few tries it started up but was not putting out as much voltage as I would like. It hovered around 115 - 117 volts. At this lower voltage when the A/C kicked on the compressor and blower did not get up to speed like they should. The A/C unit in Homer is very old and pulls a lot of amps. I would like the generator to have a resting voltage of around 122 volts and then it can rev up when a load is put on it. 

I let the generator run for a while without a load. Generators need to run. This one hasn't been started since last August. After it warmed up I tweaked the idle speed a little to increase the resting RPM. With this it idled nicely and put out 121 -122 volts. As good as I can get it. I then let it run for about forty-five minutes with the A/C on and it stayed close to this voltage. The initial low voltage may have been due to not being run for almost a year and condensation forming on the stator rings in the generator. I need to run it more.

The generator oil and filter need to be changed so I ordered a genuine Onan oil filter through Amazon. It will be here tomorrow. These old generators run on straight 30 weight oil and do not like synthetic. I will purchase four quarts and change the oil and filter as soon as the weather allows. (Lots of rain coming the next couple of days.) I will also check the air filter to see its condition as well.

The generator slides out to make it easier to service. I really don't remember how the generator slide locked in when we bought Homer. Apparently it was not to my liking because soon after he was purchased I made two T-handle/locks that screw into bolts on the frame to keep the generator locked in place. Getting Homer home a few weeks ago I found that one of the T-handle/locks I had made years ago had vibrated out and was gone. I have no idea how long ago that happened. I needed to make a new T-handle/lock to replace the missing one before hitting the road.  

With some scrap metal and a little welding I fashioned a new one to replace the missing one. I don't want either T-handle/lock to vibrate out again. Apparently lock washers and hand tightening them was not enough. I need a "retainer" on each lock to keep them in place. The "retainer" I came up with, after a lot of trial and error, required that I revamp the original T-handle/lock configuration a little. Here is a picture of the handle parts painted a bright color so they do not get misplaced when taken out to service the generator.

Here is a picture of the parts put together. Each bolt screws into a nut on each side of the slide out frame. The flat metal bracket holds the generator drawer slide in place. The retainers will keep the T-handles from coming out. (I hope.)

Saturday April 19, 2025

Here is a picture of the T-handle/locks installed with the retainers in front to keep them from coming out again. These retainers are a little crude but it is all I could come up with. I'll keep an eye on the T-handle/locks and retainers from now on.

When we purchased Homer the hour meter did not work. I purchased a new one to keep track of hours for oil changes, etc. A couple of times over the years I have found the wire came off the hour meter. As a result I have no idea how many hours are on this generator. I tightened the wire connection once again and will keep an eye on it to make sure it continues to work. 

Monday April 21, 2025

The Onan oil filter arrived and I purchased four quarts of oil for an oil change. Draining the oil is simple. Getting the oil filter off is not. If you look at the following picture you can see that the black round oil filter only sicks out about a quarter of an inch from the green shield. The oil filter wrenches I have will not grip on such a small area.

I had to take the shield around the oil filter off to have enough room to get a wrench on the oil filter. Three bolts hold the shield on. The bottom bolt was missing. When I went to put the shield back on I could see why. There is virtually no room to thread the short bolt in at a 90 degree angle. After multiple attempts with multiple tools I did get a new bolt installed. For the next filter change I need to find an oil filter wrench which will work without having to take the shield off. Taking it off made a half hour project into a two hour project.  

Tuesday April 22, 2025

This morning I scheduled Homer for an oil change and for work on a brake issue on May 5th. In the meantime I have a couple of little items I want to fix while he is here at the house.

The exterminator arrived this morning. He installed traps on the roof at the place where Kelly saw a squirrel go in and where he found that it had chewed a hole to enter. I just assumed the traps would be set up in the attic. He said they rarely have to do that. This surprised me. He said the traps are placed so that the critter has to go through the trap to get in or out. No bait is used. He set up a camera to monitor any activity and asked us to keep an eye on them as well. Today he also started working on closing up some of the many other places were critters may enter the attic. This work drove the price up considerably. We have no choice. The joys of home ownership!

 

 

 

 

April 14 - 15, 2025 - A One Project Blog - Homer Battery Box Repair Project

 My Blog Reflection

Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.

Mother Theresa

Monday April 14, 2025

The project of the day was designing and fabricating brackets to hold Homer's house battery box in place. You will recall that it pulled loose from the floor above by over an inch. 

I started at 8:00 a.m. with a trip to Perryville Steel to purchase an eight foot piece of 1 1/4 inch angle iron and a stop at Buchheit's to purchase welding rods and long 3/8 inch bolts, nuts, and washers. 

I have to tell you this story because it would only happen in a small town. At Perryville Steel the clerk told me I had to purchase a ten foot piece of angle iron. Okay. I paid by check and she gave me a receipt. I took the receipt into the shop to get the piece of steel. The worker had pulled down a piece of angle iron and was measuring it. It was only nine feet long. He was going to get another piece and cut it to ten foot. I told him that the nine foot piece would be fine because I really only needed eight foot. He said he was sure the clerk charged me $5.00 for cutting a piece to ten feet. He took the nine foot piece into the office and told the clerk that I said this piece would work fine. She voided the receipt and handed me back my check to void. She made out a new receipt and I wrote out a check for $7.00 less than the first one. The worker took the piece of angle iron out and put it in my truck. No big box store would do any of that. 

Repairing the battery box:

There was no way to secure the battery box as it was originally installed, i.e. mounted to the floor above. It had been mounted to the floor above using four 3/8 inch bolts. I couldn't see how it was attached above because the battery box is under the furnace. I didn't want to take the furnace out because I was now concerned about the battery box metal being fatigued. Trying to attach it the same way again did not seem smart to me. 

My plan was to make two brackets out of angle iron which would come out from the truck frame and go under the box to support it. This idea ended up being somewhat of a challenge because in this area on the truck's frame there are brake lines and the emergency brake cables mounted. I had to find a way to work around both. 

Two parallel brackets jutting out from the truck frame was not going to work. I only had room to mount one such bracket. I made one bracket that abutted the side of the frame using bolts top and bottom to attach to a piece of angle iron on the other side.  

Here is a picture of that part of the bracket. At the bottom of the picture you can see the bolt running through the angle iron on each side of the rusty truck frame. I wanted to support this long "L" shaped bracket with another piece of metal for further support. I couldn't weld this piece onto the bracket because the black emergency brake cables in the picture had to run through it. I bolted this support bracket on.

In the bottom of the next picture you can see the rest of the first bracket which runs from the truck frame out to the sidewall of Homer. 

I couldn't put a parallel bracket on the other end of the box as originally planned due to mechanical things mounted on the frame. In the picture above you can see the second bracket I made. This bracket was bolted to the framework for the generator which was about eight inches higher than the bottom of the battery box. This bracket ran under the box and was bolted to the first bracket so neither bracket can move. This upgrade will certainly outlast me. 

I finished at 4:30 p.m. and was exhausted. It is hard to tell how many times I crawled from under Homer to make measurements, fit the pieces, weld pieces, go down to the basement to drill holes, etc. It all amounted to 7500+ steps on my phone. 

This is what I looked like when the project was completed. I had rust and dirt on me everywhere. There was so much dirt and rust flakes in my hair that I couldn't even comb it all out when I showered. I had lots of rust and dirt flecks around my eyes despite wearing glasses for protection.

My projects never go smoothly. During the day I had to make two additional trips to Buchheit's for longer bolts. I didn't realize until I got into it that the top of the truck frame is much wider than the bottom. Halfway through the day the locking switch on my angle grinder broke. I could still use it but I could not lock it in the "ON" position, which makes it much easier to operate. 

Tomorrow I will put all the tools away, which are strung out on the garage floor, and spray some paint on the new metal brackets to slow down the rusting process. I will then be able to install the house batteries. 

I am happy this project is completed. I was dreading all the crawling under and back out. I'm having a lot harder time getting up than I used to. My knees just don't seem to have any strength anymore. I also was not looking forward to laying flat on my back under Homer for periods of time because that now causes me to be nauseous. 

At lunch time I called the pest control people about the squirrel in the attic because they had not called me back as promised. Today I was informed that they do not deal with wildlife and told me to call Semo Wildlife. I called them and they will be out Wednesday to assess the situation and look for entry places. There is a $129.00 charge to do this inspection but I don't care. I just want the squirrel or squirrels out of the attic. I wish I had known about this outfit weeks ago. It would probably all be taken care of by now.

Tuesday April 15, 2025

Here are pictures of the brackets after being painted. It was hard to get a decent picture because laying on the ground I cannot get far enough away to get it all in the picture. 

After putting away all the tools I cut the grass. I can't believe how it is growing. 

I have another project after installing the batteries in Homer and that is sharpening the lawn mower blades. Always a fun job getting them off.

April 6 - 13, 2025 - Church Service - Limb Cleanup - Lake Lot Cleanup - Work on Battery Box - Taillight Bulb Replacement - De-Winterizing

My Blog Reflection

There really is a kind of insane beauty around us all the time. It’s just a question of learning to slow down, take a deep breath and meet the moment.

Graham Nash

Sunday April 6, 2025

The Easter service at Hill of Peace Church was well-attended and the re-furbished chandelier was quite a hit. The only prior picture of it hanging was in 1919 - over a hundred years ago when it was lit with kerosene.

Monday April 7, 2025

In January, while in Florida, we hired a company to cut down the ice-damaged trees at the house and clean up the branches. It was not part of the deal to cut and remove the branches that fell over the fence that separates us from the Conservation property. The Conservation Department is not going to do anything about these branches so I will. Here is what one section looked like on one side of our lot.

 

This morning, after cutting the grass, I used the chain saw to cut the branches so I could drag them away. 

Tuesday April 8, 2025

This morning I got back on the tree branch clearing project. I finished cutting up the branches and piled them on the Conservation property, where they will make great cover for the wildlife. Here is a picture of the cleaned up area. The Conservation property sign was knocked down on the fence post. I will leave it there for them to fix if they want. After the branches were all removed I cut the grass growing under them.    

This was enough for today. Time to take a shower.

Wednesday April 9, 2025

We've been home for a week and it was time for a Costco run to replenish our supplies. We spent more than the usual $200.00. LOL

After getting back home we decided to drive out to the lake lot to see the damage out there from the ice storm in January. We knew there would be some damage but were shocked by the amount. Here are some pictures. We couldn't even get in the driveway.

This tree is on the property line and a chunk fell on the neighbor's property and they cleaned it up. 

The ice splintered the two Elm trees badly.

Falling branches knocked the electric meter box loose. I'm hoping Citizens Electric will repair that once the branches are removed.

One branch fell on the steps handrail and busted it up. 

Luckily no branches fell on the shed but several fell into the creek nearby. 

While I was there I tried to start the golf cart. It turned over but wouldn't start. The battery is too low. After everything is cleaned up I'll bring out a charger and hope the electric is still working. I'm paying a bill every month.

Thursday April 10, 2025

My plan for the day was to clear out the branches on the other side of the lot from the ice storm. A rain storm came through and delayed the job until around 3:00 p.m. In a little over an hour I had that side of the yard cleaned up as well. It wasn't nearly as bad as the other side.

Friday April 11, 2025

We waited for the Terminex guy to arrive to see about getting the squirrel out of the attic. He didn't arrive. I called the company and the lady on the phone had no idea why he didn't show. She said her phone call went to his voice mail. She said someone would call me in a half hour. No one did so I called back later in the day. The lady sent a message to another guy and said she would also contact the District Manager. I should hear from him soon. I heard nothing.

Kelly told me the company that sprays our house for bugs also exterminates wildlife pests. I called and the lady advised that the guy who does the inspections is off next week. She said she would contact the supervisor and have him call me. He didn't call back either. This is the way businesses operate these days. I will call both places back on Monday.

Earlier in the day I called the tree trimmer about getting an estimate to clean up the lake lot. He said he would call me back in the evening. He didn't call back either.

Saturday April 12, 2025

In the morning we got Homer out of storage. Once I had him home I started to work on the battery box problem that I discovered when taking the house batteries out last fall. 

You will recall that I found that the metal battery box for the house batteries had pulled away about and inch from its mounting bolts through the floor above. The weight of the two house batteries had actually fractured the metal on the flange and on the battery box itself in one corner. The entire box was down an inch on the other corner. If this metal box had fallen out with the batteries in it going down the road it would have been a catastrophe. It was good luck finding it when I did.

While I was working on the battery box the tree trimmer called. I drove out to the lake to meet him for an estimate. He suggested that the two Elm trees be taken totally down due their age and poor condition. If not we would be dealing with them again later. After looking it all over he gave me a price of $3,300.00 to cut everything down and clean up the lot. I agreed and he will start on it when he gets a chance. No big hurry. Owning this lot has been expensive this year for trees. In the fall we had spent $800.00 to have several smaller dead trees cut down.

Once back home I went back to working on the battery box. The metal box has a flange on each side. Two 3/8 inch bolts were installed on each side of the box through the flange and through the floor above to secure it. Apparently over the years it had been slowly pulling loose from the floor above. On one side of the box the back corner bolt was firmly in place but the metal tore away from the box on the flange and on the side of the box. Here is a picture. The green arrows point to the area where it tore away from the mounting flange and from the box itself.

It is fascinating to me that while one bolt stayed tight but ripped the metal on the box, the bolt at the other end of that flange pulled down over an inch but didn't tear up the flange. The red arrow points to it in the following picture. My guess is that this bolt pulled through the wood above. These bolts are under the furnace so I can't see what exactly happened.

My goal today was to jack the box back into position and screw it to the floor above so I can measure accurately for the new support brackets I am going to make out of angle iron. 

The other side of the metal battery box had pulled away from the floor as well. I put two screws in it also.

I will fabricate two angle iron support brackets to go under the metal battery box over to the truck frame. Monday I will go to Perryville Steel and purchase eight feet of 1 1/4 inch angle iron for this project. Making these brackets will require lots of measuring, cutting, drilling, and welding. 

Laying under Homer doing this type of work is no fun. For whatever reason, as I have gotten older, when laying flat on my back working like this I get nauseated. A pillow under my head helps but makes for a tighter working space. I will be up and down from under there a dozen or more times measuring and fitting the new brackets.

Another Homer issue discovered:

Homer has two taillight and brake lights on each side. In following me home from the storage shed Kelly noticed that one of the taillights on the driver's side was out. I took the lens off to check the bulb. It was out but would not turn to come out. I had to break it off and use a pliers to get the base out of the socket. I went to O'Reilly's and bought a replacement and installed it. LED bulbs are not cheap. They come two in a package so now I have an extra.

Sunday April 13, 2025

The project for today was to de-winterize Homer. For me this process is always a little stressful not knowing if I did a good enough job winterizing. Broken water pipes in an RV are usually a major problem to fix. The pink antifreeze was drained and the water tank and lines were flushed several times with fresh water. There were no plumbing leaks but two water issues.

Apparently the kitchen sink sprayer retained some water in it because it cracked and spued water upon being turned on. A quick trip to Buchheit's and I had an exact model to change it out. 

The other water issue was the drain plug for the water heater. I had been using a metal plug with no problems but learned that I should be using a plastic plug so there is no galvanic corrosion between the tank metal and the metal plug. I purchased a plastic plug. It is a bear to get it to not leak. Ultimately, I was successful.

The fridge, furnace, and water heater all came on and functioned properly. I once again drained the fresh water system and sanitized it with a cup of bleach.

The fridge was filthy because when we got home from Indiana last fall we immediately winterized Homer and put him in storage so we could head to Florida. 

Kelly and I scrubbed every inch of the fridge. I removed every piece that would come out and cleaned each one thoroughly. Kelly cleaned the bathroom and I put all the medicine and cleaning supplies back in place for the season. We always take this stuff out so nothing freezes. The bottle of Peppermint Oil I keep to ward off mice broke and leaked all over the tub I store all this stuff in. While it was a bother to wipe everything down, it did make Homer smell nice. 

Now I just need to get the battery box brackets made and installed so I can install the batteries. That project starts tomorrow.

 

March 28 - April 5, 2025 - Trip Home - Truck Brakes - Golf Bag - Kellen's Prom - Church Chandelier

My Blog Reflection

It's not the honors and prizes of life which ultimately nourish our souls. It's the knowing that we can be trusted, that we never have to fear the truth, that the bedrock of our very being is good stuff.

Mister Rogers

Friday March 28, 2025

We left Florida at 5:45 a.m. to get home before a major storm hit the South and Midwest. The trip was uneventful except for a major traffic backup forty miles South of Atlanta. Actually once we go to Atlanta we breezed through downtown on a Friday afternoon. We checked into a "Days Inn" In Adairsville North of Atlanta. I would give it a 4 out of 10. 

Once checked in we looked for a place to eat. Adairsville is a small town and the choices were limited. We pulled into a Wendy's off the Interstate. As we got out of the car we noticed "Tomak's Burgers" across the street. We decided to try it out. We like to patronize local establishments when we can. It had been a "Waffle House" converted into a hamburger joint in 2024. As we walked in there was a big banner advertising their wings. I decided to buy a large order of wings rather than getting a burger. Kelly ordered their loaded French Fries. Kelly's loaded French Fries were okay but I should have known better than to order wings at a burger joint. The wings were tough as leather. Lesson learned. 

Saturday March 29, 2025

We left Adairsville at 5:00 a.m. We didn't wait for the complimentary breakfast to be served since most are barely edible. A couple of hours down the road we stopped for gas and went to breakfast at "Perkins". We were surprised at the reasonable prices for breakfast but upon paying the bill found that coffee was $3.75 each, more than a cup at Starbucks and not nearly as good. Another Lesson learned.

Our only stops after that was twice for gas and once for a Starbucks coffee. We arrived home at 12:00 p.m. just as it started to rain. We had the car unpacked in twenty minutes, put everything away, and relaxed. The old HHR got 30.8 miles to the gallon on the trip home. I was thrilled with that. 

Sunday March 30, 2025

The major storm was to hit about 3:00 p.m. and we were under a tornado watch until 11:00 p.m. In the morning the sun was out so at 10:00 a.m. I decided to mow the lawn. It really needed it. The mower fired right up after sitting for four months. 

We now need to deal with the tree limbs from the Conservation property that fell into our yard. Apparently they aren't going to do anything about them. In the afternoon and evening we got a little rain but not the bad weather predicted. This was great. On this rainy day we took our time going through two boxes of mail accumulated while we were gone. 

Monday March 31, 2025

I had gotten an extension to file our taxes because it is always a hassle getting all the 1099s together. Some I got online, some were in the mail at the house, and some were missing. I spent all morning making sure I had everything I needed to take to the accountant.  

We drove the truck to the accountant and I noticed that the "brake" idiot light was on as well as the "low tire pressure" light. When we got back home I popped the hood and found that the brake fluid was below the "minimum" mark. I looked on the floor in the garage and on every wheel and could not find any evidence of a leak. I filled the reservoir to the "maximum" mark. I then put five pounds of air in the tires and the "low pressure light" went off. The "brake" light stayed on. I took it for a test drive and the brakes seemed a little better but the light stayed on. I will have to schedule it into the shop for them to check it out. Always something.

As I was getting the golf clubs out of the car yesterday the woven fabric handle tore loose. Today I cut off the other end and drilled out the rivets.

I was unable to use the grip on the old handle so, after making a new handle out of an old mesh belt I had in the shop, I cut a piece of plastic tubing to slip over it. I then used bolts and nuts to hold the new handle on. It ain't pretty but it is functional.

I haven't used the clubs in two years so this fix should last a long time. LOL

Tuesday April 1, 2025

Kelly was hungry for cookies. I did not have much going on so I decided to make a batch of her favorite short bread cookies. I had never made any before and I must say they came out great. I will clearly need to make a double batch next time. Kelly loves them.

Our oldest grandchild, Kellen, graduates from high school in May. We will fly out to California for the ceremony and to have a nice visit with all the kids and grandkids. His mom, Erin, bought a page in the yearbook and asked all of us to send pictures of Kellen to post on it. Of course we want to embarrass him a little so here is one of the pictures we sent. A typical seven year old. Seeing the screwdriver on the table I think I was busy fixing one of his toys.

Wednesday April 2, 2025

This morning I helped at the Hill of Peace Church in Friedenberg, Missouri, in preparing for its Spring Service next Sunday. The old country church only has services twice per year - Spring and Fall. I spent most of my time helping Mike Schamburg up in the attic. We were taking down an old school house light fixture in the back of church and replacing it with the front light fixture which John reconditioned. It was not a hard job but the wasps were a little pesky as the day warmed up. One landed on on my ear and upon swatting it I almost flung my hearing aid across the attic and into oblivion. I eventually got stung on the finger as I was descending the ladder for the last time. With the reconditioned front light fixture now installed in the back, the original, refurbished chandelier will be installed later in the week in the front of the church. 

In the evening another major storm system headed our way with predictions of strong winds, tornados, and baseball size hail possible. The schools let out early and many businesses closed early as well. We watched the storm approach on TV upstairs until the tornado sirens wailed. We then headed to the basement. At one point while down there the weatherman said a tornado was spotted West of Walmart in Perryville. We are just North of Walmart so it was much too close for comfort. Fortunately, it did not touch down. Over twenty tornadoes were spotted in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois throughout the evening. Several touched down and caused major damage. Luckily none in Perryville this time. We got an inch and half of rain but not even a lot of strong wind. Whew!

Thursday, April 3, 2025

With no rain in the morning John and I made a recycle run. We do this about every two weeks. I went to Rotary for our lunch meeting which was the first time in over four months. 

Friday, April 4, 2025 

I had an appointment to get the truck brakes looked at. I dropped the truck off at 8:30 a.m. John picked me up there and we headed to the "Hill of Peace Church" in Friedenberg, Missouri. This is the third church for this congregation and it was the first Lutheran Church in Perry County. The church we are working on is the brick church built in 1885. John's grandfather was on the board that built the church so John has a keen interest in keeping it preserved. The church has not been is regular use for many years and is being preserved for historical purposes. Twice a year, Spring and Fall, a service is held with a minister provided by Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. 

Today's project was to unload and hang the newly refurbished chandelier from 1885. The chandelier was originally lit by oil. It has been totally refurbished and converted to electricity by a company in St. Louis, It is large and heavy. It needs to be hoisted up to the ceiling. Mike Schamburg built a frame in the attic and purchased a winch to pull it up. Six of us were on hand to unload the chandelier and move it into place to be hoisted up. Don Fassold arrived with the $5,000.00 worth of new bulbs, globes and chimneys he had purchased to mimic the originals. The LED bulbs will flicker like the original oil lamps on the chandelier. We unloaded the globes, chimneys, and bulbs and awaited the truck to arrive. 

For some unknown reason the truck with the chandelier arrived an hour late. Upon the driver opening the rear door it was immediately apparent that the chandelier had been damaged on the trip. We were all shocked at how poorly it had been mounted for shipment by a company that specializes in reconditioning and shipping these large chandeliers. 

Everyone was heartbroken, especially Don, who had spent $17,000.00 of his own money to have the chandelier professionally refurbished. The driver left to return the chandelier to the company for repair. Don was obviously upset about the damage and was immediately on the phone with the company. He was particularly upset because the plan was to have the chandelier hanging for the Spring Service this Sunday. The company said they would work to get it repaired quickly. We all left. 

This evening was Kellen's Senior Prom. He had been nominated to be King and at prom he and his girlfriend, Sabrina, were crowned King and Queen. How cool is that! He looks a little different from the picture above in his first tailored suit. We will fly out to California for his graduation in May.

Saturday April 5, 2025

Last night the company called Don and said the chandelier had been repaired and they could bring it back down this morning. John rounded up all the help from the day before to be at the church at 9:00 a.m. 

We got 5.5 inches of rain yesterday and it continues to rain today. When the truck arrived it was raining but we were all pleased to see that the chandelier was not damaged in transit this time. It was secured much, much better for the trip.

The 2 x 4 framework was constructed so that four people could carry the chandelier into the church without removing it from the framework. Luckily the framework fit through the doors.

From up in the attic Mike lowered the cable with a weight on it. The weight was to keep the cable taut so that it would not curl and twirl the chandelier as it was raised. The chain for the chandelier was hooked onto the cable with a Quick Link and then the chandelier was slowly lifted off the framework. The chandelier and its chain were lifted up to the ceiling the first time to determine the correct length of chain needed. 

Everyone agreed that eight feet of chain worked perfectly. The chandelier was lowered to allow the excess chain to be cut off and to install the bulbs. We wanted to make sure they all worked before installing the globes and chimneys and pulling the chandelier up into place. The bulbs are LEDs and they are made to flicker just as oil lamps would have in 1885.

Once all of the bulbs were lit the globes and chimneys were installed. Everything went well until the last globe and chimney. Even though all the globes were ordered from the same vendor, three of the globes had a smaller opening in the top. The chimneys would not fit through the top of the globe by less than a quarter of an inch. Who would have expected that? Now what? After some discussion Danny Kiefer decided to take two of the non-conforming globes home and see if he could use his grinding wheel to widen the openings (without breaking them). When he got home he found that the electric was out at his house. Luckily his Dremel tool is battery powered. Very carefully with a small grinding stone he was able to widen the top hole in these globes so that the chimneys could be installed.

Once he got back to the church the last globe and chimney were quickly installed and the chandelier was hoisted up for the final time. It looks magnificent. Here is a picture of it unlit and one with it lit.

Not only is this chandelier original to the church in 1885 but it appears to me that the pews you see in the picture are original as well. I say this because in looking at the backs of the pews I noticed they were made out of one plank of wood, well over twenty-four inches wide. I doubt there have been any trees that wide in Perry County for a number of years. I may be wrong.

It was an interesting project to see this chandelier returned to its original glory in time for the semi-annual church service tomorrow. It was extremely generous of Don Fassold to pay $22,000.00 to once again allow this chandelier to be appreciated by our generation and others to come.