Got any spare change?

Okay...change of plan.  Again.  The new plan has me doing a rush job on the basics of the building, water and electricity and some others, by summer 2014 so that we can move in rough.  That means also sanding floors, repairing windows, and at least one of the full baths ready for rough habitation.  We will then move in with just the basics and live there while we/I keep working on the place.  That would free us up to sell our current house and put that money into the refurbishing of the "Manor".

Sounds like a good plan, but it really puts the onus on me to get a move on.  It also means I'm going to have to hire some help for the summer- a strong back to lift and tote the things I can't anymore.  So new project list to be completed by summer's end:

1. finish putting up fencing for security
2. install new electrical panel and 2 sub-panels
3. sand upstairs floors
4. run water and drains to upstairs bathrooms, kitchen, and laundry area
5. repair all windows including basement

Then by Year's End:

1. move major table tools to upstairs or basement from street level
2. begin wiring upstairs enough for kitchen, laundry, and bedrooms
3. install wall in between bathrooms upstairs
4. cut door from master bedroom to Master Bath

By June 30:

1. refinish floors in bedrooms and kitchen
2. plaster upstairs walls that need it

Seems like a lot to me, but it's a goal necessary for continued marital harmony.  It's going to take focus, skill, and much luck.  It would be nice to hit the lottery.  Yeah, right... like getting hit by lightening while being bitten by a snake as you are recovering from a shark bite.  "The odds ain't in my favor."

Ask me again in August 2014 how things are going.

Windows are the eyes of your car.

Okay...FINALLY got those pesky doors and windows on the GEM car.  That was last weekend.  They work great!  Today, Scott welded the broken pipe rack brace, so that's fixed, too.  Also put in a lavatory in the "restroom to be" so that I have running water available on the main floor now.  Mowed today.  Raked up twigs and piled up branches ready for the fire pit Saturday night.  And had a long conversation with one of my favorite people on the phone for nearly 2 hours while sipping a beer.  Life is good.  Below are some pics.

...without the wind at your back...

Wow!  When we last left our intrepid explorer, he had just bought himself a new e-car.  Yesterday, after many life-altering delays, he started work on attaching the rear window and canvas (Jeep-style) doors.  Estimated time on the instructions? Less than one hour.  The instructions clearly state that you must install the rear window first as you won't be able to after installing the snaps for the doors.  Good thinking.  Should take 30 minutes or less.  3 HOURS later, the window is in with a break in one corner.  No hardware was included for the window install, so I bought sheet metal screws at Lowe's, pre-drilled the holes, and so on.  The heads of the Taiwan made screws SNAPPED OFF!  even when done by hand.  Not stripped out.  Not got stuck.  Snapped off like a crawfish head...leaving a new hole to be drilled in both window and roll cage or the screw drilled out.  At first I was going to abandon the project until a new window + correct hardware could be ordered, but my "manly ego" and natural stubbornness took hold and sat on my shoulder whispering "Figure it out.  Find a way.  You can do it.  Buy a pizza. Have a beer."  Well I did, dammit!  [not the pizza and beer part, though]  So today, after lunch, I will finally install the snaps for the doors and the doors themselves.  I am man, hear me roar!

A Real Jewel of a GEM

Okay.  We've bought a new vehicle: it's all electric, governed down in speed, and takes me pretty much everywhere I need to go for work.  It saves me huge in fuel costs and when I get my solar panels done, its fuel will be $0.00 !  Hah.

Ghost of Christmas Past

Well!  I finally finished that damn darn trunk.  For a first attempt at that sort of creation, it turned out OK.  I made mistakes here and there, but I learned from them.  I had to undo and redo on an overdue project.  In the end it is larger than I thought, but it is a stout, secure trunk.  One you can sit on, if you so desired.  I think the next one will be about half that size.  It is the 2012 Christmas present for Charles and Aubrey Lamb (my son and new daughter).  Oddly enough, I finished it on their one year anniversary, February 17.  Hooray for them!  Below are the final pics.

Merry Christmas in February!

Almost finished with the Christmas present I was making for Charles and Aubrey Lamb of Denton, Texas.  It should have been ready for Christmas, but my injuries and the craziness of my life intervened.  Now only two leather straps stand between me and barrel completion.  I think I'll cry.

Can't quite put my finger on it...

Okay.  So I'm working on a camel-back trunk for my kids' late Christmas present.  I'm using the table saw to rip slats for the lid at a nice 84 deg angle.  I'm being safe: protective eye-wear, earplugs, and a pusher so my hands don't get too close to the blade on these small slats.  It's all good.  Until, out of nowhere, a huge sneeze wracks my body.  Now big sneezes hurt me anyway because of my back injuries, but this time my right hand ring finger decides it's time to visit with Mr. Sawblade.  Can you say "Not good, Mr. Finger?"

Well I'm bleeding, but not as badly as you might expect.  Because I was using the pusher I only caught the tip of the finger.  Chewed it pretty well, but it's mostly intact.  Called my wife, and had her take me to our family doctor which was probably faster than an ER visit.  Heck, it didn't even require stitches.  Did take a little debriding, though.  In case you aren't familiar with that, the doctor numbed my finger then began to scrape and cut away the ragged edges and tags of skin and meat so that it would heal faster.  Bandages and tape and a finger splint for protection, and I'm done.  Slows me down.  It's a pain in the butt, but I still have a finger, and it will heal.

Actually typing this is a pain right now.  :)