My Blog Reflection
A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open.
Frank Zappa
May 27, 2026:
While it seems difficult for Kelly and I to get down to Florida, Alexa flew down yesterday for five days. Of course I wrote out instructions on how to open up the house, disconnect the car from the trickle charger, etc. With only two video calls Alexa had everything under control. Joining Alexa tomorrow are Jenn and Eve. It is the rainy season in Florida so some activities they planned may be limited or cancelled. Even with rainy weather they should have a good time.
We brought Homer home. This year we found evidence of a mouse and for the first time in ten years I can not get the generator to start. I hate ethanol! I'll get some stuff to try and get down the carburetor to clean it out.
I did get the water system de-winterized and the converter is charging the batteries as it should.
May 29, 2026:
I received a call that the plexiglass I ordered for the front of the bike trail kiosk was ready. With Alexa out of town I asked my friend, Gary Moll, to help me install it. We picked up the plexiglass and immediately found that it was a quarter inch too wide. I believe I gave them the right measurements but that is neither here nor there now. We brought the plexiglass to the house and cut a quarter inch off. We then headed back to drill holes for mounting the plexiglass to the frame with stainless steel screws.
Just as we were starting to work the rain came. Luckily we were able to move under a nearby pavilion to drill the holes. After all the holes were drilled, and the inside paper pulled off the plexiglass, we installed it. It is under roof so mounting it in the rain did not bother us other than getting muddy feet. To protect the surface while we were working we only removed enough of the protective covering to insert the screws. Here is a picture of it mounted with the protective covering still on the outside. A pretty blue color I must say.
After all of our tools were loaded and we were ready to leave the rain let up. Naturally. Here is a picture of the front. The plexiglass gives off a little glare from a distance but it worked out great.
I was told I had to have this project finished by May 30th and I made it despite several setbacks. I'm glad it is finished.
May 30, 2026:
I walked off the deck this morning to look at something and found that clearly a couple of racoons found our back steps to be a nice place to leave us a number of nasty packages. I couldn't believe how much there was at the bottom of the steps and also going down several steps.
What would possess them to leave deposits here when there is a huge lawn and hundreds of acres of conservation property behind us?
Disgusting. I hope this is a one time event. Keep your fingers crossed.
June 2, 2026:
When we brought Homer home I could not get the generator to start for the first time in ten years. I'm sure it is the ethanol sitting in it over a lengthy storage period even though I try to run it dry before I store it. I bought some starter fluid. With an extension tube on the end of it, I can squirt down into the carburetor to clean up any varnish, etc. Unfortunately I cannot open the top of the carburetor to spray it in directly. I sprayed what I could I could in and let it set.
In the early evening it was quite pleasant to sit on the deck and enjoy the weather. I took this picture of a few clouds that came by and hid the sun for a few minutes.
Last night we realized that the oven burner was not igniting. It had been acting up lately but now was completely dead. I walk in the morning with Gary, who is a retired HVAC and appliance repair guy. I told him about the problem and he said he would be over later in the morning to look at it.
Upon taking everything apart and removing the igniter he found that the igniter was bad. We got online and ordered a new one. It should be here in a few days.
When walking I had also told him about not being able to get the generator started in Homer. While he was here he wanted to look at the generator. I was happy to have another set of eyes to help determine why it would not start. We took off the fuel filter and tried to pour some carburetor cleaner directly into the carburetor. There is only a small hole so most of the cleaner just ran back out. The engine still wouldn't start.
While I was pushing the start button Gary noticed that the vacuum chamber was not pulling the choke in. When he pushed it in manually the engine continued to run. The vacuum chamber rod was hard to push in so we squirted some carb cleaner in and around it. It then moved freely and the generator thereafter ran like a top. We adjusted the idle a little to get the right voltage. YIPPEE!!!!!
The generator ran fine under a load for about twenty minutes. I turned the load off and let the generator run for over an hour while I ran a couple of errands around town. I cannot tell you how happy I am to have this problem resolved.
June 6, 2026:
In the morning I went out to the lake lot and cut the grass. It was so tall it had gone to seed. I had to cut it twice to get it looking decent. I wanted to spray weeds but Alexa has my sprayer. I will have to go back for that.
June 7, 2026:
This afternoon we went to The Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis to see a performance by the Glenn Miller Orchestra. If you are not familiar, the Glenn Miller Orchestra was a major band in the late 1930s and early 1940s when people listened and danced the night away. The band has been continued and plays concerts all around the country. The Sheldon is a small venue and, although the stage isn't very large, they had room for fourteen musicians and a singer. It was a great concert. The man in the gray suit was the music director and host. Here are a couple of pictures.
After the concert Aaron treated us to supper at Tony G's on The Hill. We hadn't been there before. It was 10:00 p.m. by the time we got home. A nice way to spend a Sunday.
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