April 17 - May 5, 2026 - French Toast - Lunch-Kill Switch- Rib Roast Dinner - Porch Railing Repair - Cat Gate - Garage Carpet - Crawfish Dinner

My Blog Reflection

What strikes me is that there's a very fine line between success and failure. Just one ingredient can make the difference.

Andrew Lloyd Webber

April 17, 2026:

Early this morning I dropped the truck off at the shop for a scheduled appointment. When we got back from Florida the brake fluid reservoir was down to within a half inch of the bottom. There was no fluid anywhere around the master cylinder, or any wheel cylinders, or on the garage floor. This had happened before and they couldn't find any leak. Late morning the shop called and they found that the master cylinder was leaking into the brake booster. $800.00 for the part to repair it. What could I do but "ok" the repair? I need brakes!   

I decided to make French Toast for breakfast. I cannot eat French Toast without thinking about my former employer and friend, Ray Kreitz, and his wife, Sarah. Ray owned Western Display Service in St. Louis and when I was in college and law school he employed me part-time to help decorate grocery stores, car dealerships, and taverns, for the Christmas holidays, and for other jobs he had around his house.  

We started the Christmas decorating the weekend before Thanksgiving and worked both days of every weekend until we finished. Back then the grocery stores were all closed on Sunday, which allowed us to work much faster without customers to work around. The owner would show up, lock us in, and we would call him when we were finished so we could go to the next job. 

We started at 5:00 a.m. and put in a full day to get as much done each day as possible. Ray would have me come to his house about 4:00 a.m. so Sarah could make us a nice breakfast. She always made French Toast and it always had Apple Butter on it. Ray loved Apple Butter and he often bought me a jar at one of the grocery stores where we worked. They were great people and working for him is a great memory. 

I stayed in touch with Ray over the years until he got dementia. After he died Sarah moved to Oregon to be near her daughter. She and I communicated by letter for several years until she didn't respond anymore.

One day in May of 2021 my daughter, Erin, was contacted on Facebook by a lady asking if she was related to me. The lady was Sarah's daughter-in-law and she was trying to get in touch with me. Sarah was 93 years old and on her deathbed. She told her daughter-in-law that she would love to talk to me before she passed. I can't remember the daughter-in-law's name but Erin gave me her number and I called her. The first call I made Sarah was sleeping and the daughter-in-law said she would call back. A few hours later I received a call and talked to Sarah, who was obviously very weak. We had a short but heart-warming conversation. As I hung up the phone I couldn't help but feel extremely touched that this lady, after decades, had expressed talking to me as one of her last wishes. Her daughter-in-law messaged me later that day that Sarah died  that very day. I am so thankful for that conversation and the daughter-in-law's effort to contact me.

April 18, 2026:

Bob and Ronnie invited us over for a late lunch. Bob made up a dish of country ham, fresh asparagus, bowtie pasta, and onions, all sauteed together. It was quite good and there were no leftovers.

For dessert they served a homemade Apple-Mincemeat Pie, which was topped with a generous amount of vanilla ice cream. Yum!

After eating we had a nice visit before heading home for the evening.

April 19, 2026:

When we returned from Florida the grass needed to be cut desperately. I found the lawnmower battery to be totally dead. I had this problem before and under warranty they replaced the ignition switch, which they said was drawing power even when turned off. I'm not sure if the dead battery this time was from sitting all winter with the draw of the LCD hour meter on it, or if the ignition problem still exists. 

It is a pain to disconnect the battery, which is up under the seat, so I purchased a battery disconnect switch from Amazon. When it arrived it was MUCH more heavy duty than I envisioned from the picture. The switch and mounting bracket are both heavy duty steel. It is a switch used to cut off battery banks in a huge yacht or motorhome. Nonetheless, it will work. 

This mower is a commercial mower and the frame is made of 3/16 or heavier steel, all of which is powder coated to deter rust. Because of this I didn't want to drill a new mounting hole where rust might form if I didn't have to. I looked around and found a slot in the metal frame near the rear wheel. I was able to bolt the switch bracket on there. Here are two pictures of the install. The switch location works out to be convenient because I can reach it from the seat if needed.

Kelly invited John and Carlene over for dinner. Kelly made a standing rib roast and roasted asparagus. Carlene brought potatoes and onions as well as a dessert.

The meal was delicious! This was our first visit with Carlene and John since they came down to Florida in early March. We never run out of things to talk about with them.

April 21, 2026:

I worked on Alexa's front porch stair rail, which is loose at the bottom. We have the exact same railing in Florida and had the exact same problem. There is no way to take the rail apart from the base to attempt to tighten it or strengthen it in any way. The base is riveted into the concrete step. It is not made to be taken off. 

Here is a picture of the rail base area. The arrows point to where the post fits into the base and becomes loose from years of use.

Last year in Florida I roughed up the entire area and coated all around the post and base with a layer of JB Weld. JB Weld is a thick epoxy which contains some metal and sets up like iron. The repair in Florida worked great so I'm making the same repair to Alexa's rail. Here is a picture of the first coat of JB Weld. It is crude because is is like working with sticky toothpaste. It will be sanded down and a second coat put on, which will also be sanded before painting.

We both had a hankering for tuna casserole so Kelly made one for supper. She likes crackers on top, I like cheese on top so she made half and half. It was quite tasty and will make several meals for us.

April 22, 2026:

Back at Alexa's house I ground down the high spots on the JB Weld stair rail repair and put on a second coat of JB Weld for more strength. I will let it set for twenty-four hours and then grind and sand everything smooth. It should then be ready for paint.

In the afternoon back home I took advantage of the beautiful weather to sand a rusty area of one of our patio chairs and paint it with two coats of rust inhibiting paint. It looks like new. 

I then called about the truck, which was has been in the shop since last Friday. Eric told me they ordered the master cylinder and it ended up being the wrong one. The bad news is that only Toyota makes the exact replacement for my truck. The price for the part went from $800.00 to $1,300.00! I have no choice but to pay it. I need brakes. If the part comes in tomorrow it should be ready by Friday.

April 23, 2026:

At Alexa's house I pushed on the stair rail to check its strength and the JB Weld immediately cracked. What? Apparently the strain I put on it with a strap to make the rail plumb was just too much for the JB Weld. I had to grind some of the JB Weld off and fabricate a piece of metal for a brace on the opposing sides of the post to handle the strain. After I screwed on the metal reinforcement pieces I again coated everything with JB Weld. I will let it sit for a couple of days to cure totally. This result was not expected.

 

In the afternoon Kelly, Alexa, Aaron, and I went out to the lake lot to cut up a couple of big limbs that had fallen, and to burn brush that had accumulated. We planned to use the brush fire in the fire pit to roast hot dogs and make smores while there. We cut up the big branches with the chainsaw but decided it was too windy to burn brush. I had some charcoal in the shed so we built a small fire in the pit for roasting the hotdogs and smores. Aaron's cousin, Corey, was in town so he came out to the lake and joined us for dinner. Kelly brought along a salad she had made and it was eaten as well. I had two hotdogs, but no smores, I don't care for them. I neglected to take any pictures.

April 27, 2026:

I picked up the truck. The bill swelled to $1,990.00 with an oil change, tire rotation, and inspection. Easy come, easy go.  We made a trip to the Rural King store in Cape Girardeau to purchase a metal gate that Alexa wants installed between her house and the garage to keep the cats in the backyard. We also stopped at Harbor Freight and bought some cheap wheels to put on the gate so Alexa can roll it open and closed. I also made a couple of brackets to hold the gate in place at the house and at the garage.

April 30, 2026:

John and Carlene had new flooring installed in their basement some time back. I asked them to save me a piece of the old carpet so I could replace the carpet I have in the garage to catch dirt from being tracked in the house. I unrolled it today and laid it down. It looks much better than the old green carpet that had been down for about 20 years. The light color may not last too long. LOL

May 1, 2026:

At Alexa's house, after a final sanding of the JB Weld repair, I spray painted the area with white paint. Here are a couple of pictures. The railing no longer wobbles.

May 2, 2026:

Alexa, Kelly and I headed to the Apple Creek Winery where we met Carlene and John for a Crawfish Dinner. I haven't eaten crawfish for a couple of decades. It was much too cool and windy to sit outside.  We didn't know what to expect for the crawfish dinner. We ordered four of them and each contained: 2 lbs of crawdads, a couple of new potatoes, and a half corn on the cob. Here is a picture as we begin to dive in. There were no crawfish to take home. Alexa took all the bodies home to make a seafood bisque.

It was a great meal and a great visit with great friends. I was the only one who sucked the heads. LOL

May 4, 2026:

Today I went over and installed the two brackets for Alexa's "Cat Gate". Alexa is thrilled with the gate. Here is a picture. The wheels allow her to roll it along the garage wall and out of the way when not in use.

There was no drip edge installed over the old cellar door, only a piece of rubber tacked on the top of the door. We tore this off when we rebuilt the door sometime back. Without a drip edge, during the last big rain the water cascaded down the outside wall and into the basement steps. I couldn't find a drip edge for this type of installation in town so I ordered one online. It arrived a couple of days ago so Aaron and I installed it. I was quite surprised at the thickness and quality of the aluminum.  Here is a picture of it installed before the next rain hits. It should deflect all water on to the door and away.

May 5, 2026:

Happy Cinco de Mayo to everyone!