Under pressure

January 19, 2007 (1:00pm)
17º F, Cloudy, W wind 11 mph.

Good afternoon,

So .... We went to the Home Builder’s show yesterday afternoon. Missed the Camping Show as the both started mid-afternoon on opposite sides of town. The Builder’s show was pretty much a disappointment. We are the kind of folks who like to pick up a hammer and build, but this show was for those that don’t. There was a lot of stuff there, but not for the DIY crowd, other than possibly get ideas of something or other. That is pretty much what we did, but not many ideas either. Everything shown was so expensive. The only thing reasonable was the price of admission, $5.00/weekend and the price of parking on the adjacent parking ramp, $0.00! That really surprised us, but we took it just the same.

We ate lunch before leaving so that was not any problem. On the way home, we stopped at Birchwood for cheap chicken. It as always was good. Seems strange, but almost every time we stop, the biggest portion goes to Margriet. We end up trading pieces and I help finish up the leftovers anyway. Today, instead of our usual soup for lunch it was bacon and eggs. I didn’t finish the new pot of soup yesterday, so today we have to "make do." There is a pot of chicken/potato soup a-cooking, but it will not be ready until tomorrow. I put too much water into the pot, so have to be rather careful of it. Plan to cook it down for some time to make a thicker soup. Probably will make it a kind of cream soup for a change.

The price of gasoline is really coming down. Still $2.099/gallon here and in Green Bay (at least yesterday), but it is below $2.00/gallon in Manitowoc and The Valley. Checking on the web and I find that it is $1.599/gallon on one side of Iron River, Michigan and $2.149/gallon on the other side of town! Don’t know what that is all about, but we found that to be true in Michigan in general. The prices were vastly different from one station to the next. Doesn’t make sense to me, but maybe some stations wanted a rest for a few days.

Yesterday morning we got ½-1" of light snow. This morning is the same, a bit more white. It is nice to see that much snow fall everyday or so. Keeps the countryside looking clean. The snowmobile trails are not open yet, not even groomed. We have enough moisture for the rest of the season, but I do hope it stays more in this temperature range and would like to get more snow. The weatherman says we are due for 2-3" Sunday night/Monday morning. Just right for our ride to Milwaukee! Both Lakes Michigan and Superior are at their lowest levels in 80 years. Not too surprised. Does seem strange to see folks using ladders to get into their boats in the harbor though.

While out burning the trash yesterday, I noticed the live trap is still set, but a mouse has been nibbling on the bait. Had to chuckle as the mouse went in the open end, walking the length of the trap to get at the bait, then back out the same way it came in. The size of the mesh of the trap is large enough for it to go through. Guess it liked the exercise walking! Or was just doing things proper. Either way, it was too light to trip the trap.

I tried to find some seals and pressure relief valves for a couple of the pressure cookers we have around here on the web. Found the manufacturer, but could not find the desired parts. They are not listed that far back it seems. The cookers are old, they came from my Mom and I can’t remember a time when she didn’t use them. We do like to use them, but wear and tear happens. Use them mostly for making soup now without being under pressure. Want to use them for more than that however.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><