Journal of Progress--November 23-December 13, 2020

Now that cold weather has set in, a lot of effort is expended in just keeping the home fires burning.  A friend who was also a neighbor and a co-worker of Don's recently died of the covid-19.  Don had been exposed to him and another co-worker who also tested positive for the virus.  We are grateful that Don did not become ill.  Don worked extra shifts to cover for the one co-worker when she was off recovering so that gave even less time for working on the house.

 The deer come right up to our front door as if to say, "Okay, we're here.  Where's dinner?"

We've seen this young buck come only once.  

 

 

   

We put our Christmas tree up.  We wouldn't dare have a live tree in a room heated by a wood stove, but this still brings the joy of the season.  It will always be with a little nostalgia that we put up the tree.  Barbara took her favorite ornaments to Chile since we were going to be there for two Christmases.  Unfortunately, Barbara was in the hospital when the apartment was packed and the ornaments did not make it back.  We remember some:  a lady and Buckingham Palace guard we got in England, two little figures we got from visiting the Chinese soldier display at the BYU art museum, a disc of Mt. Rushmore we got when we visited there, a little stick horse from Barbara's children's childhood, a little brown clothed Santa Claus with fake fur we got in the Dominican Republic, and who knows what else. We still had some ornaments left and our good friend Vera Frazier kindly gave us some.  Some came from our daughter-in-law, Jessica Stoutner, and who knows where we got the others.  Anyway, the tree is adequately decorated. 

 

 

Don let Barbara open her gift from him early so she could make gifts for the sisters she ministers to.

This is Hairy Pot

The sediments in the water make a "fringe" around the edge of the lid.

 

Some of the wood Don got from his boss was used lumber. We don't need a great deal of lumber, so Don only kept the best pieces, and cut up the rest for firewood. 

 

Here he's using his Sawzall to cut up poles. 

Don tried all kinds of things to try to make the work go faster. By cutting directly into the wheelbarrow, he doesn't have to pick the wood up off the ground. He says he's not as flexible as he used to be.

Don did get to do some work on the house. Here he's installing a floor vent. It took him all morning to do one vent. He says we are now in the slow, expensive  part of the project.

One of Don's projects has been installing a blower to blow air past the hot stove, into the room.

More balcony work. The other bracket also has to be attached to wooden cleats to match the first bracket. Don's stud finder, purchased specially for this project, kept giving false readings. Finally Don gave up and used "The Bruce Forte Method"-- aka brute force.  In this case, by drilling holes across the face of the building, 3/4 inch apart, until striking a stud. Don got the first cleat installed before it got too cold to work up on a ladder in the wind. Now he's waiting for the January thaw.

GOOF-UP! Our professional electrician (and drunken idiot) installed a light with no switch. To run wire, Don had to knock a hole in two sheets of already-finished drywalls. (He says he'd like to knock holes in the electrician's head, but he's nowhere to be found.) Here's how Don repaired the holes:

1. The unrepaired holes.

2. Square up the holes.

3. Cut pieces of wood for backing, at least two inches wider than the hole. Drive a screw part way into the wood for a temporary handle, position it in the hole, and mark it where the glue will go. Remove it from the hole, and apply quick-drying wood glue.

 

4. Replace the backing. Holding it by the screw, drive a couple of drywall screws through the drywall into the wooden backing, to hold it while it dries.

5. Be careful not to drive screws into any electrical wires or plumbing lines. Here, Don has covered the wire with a metal guard plate.

6. The finished repair just needs to be taped and mudded like any other drywall seam.