Hot, hot, hot.

July 31, 2007 (5:24am)
57º F, Clear, Calm wind, 0 mph.

Good morning,

Looks like this part of the world will have more than it’s normal 90+º F days! Yesterday it hit 90º F officially. Here we had 96º F on our thermometer - and it is in the shade, more or less in open air. Today is to be hotter and tomorrow even more so. Oh goodie. The humidity is pretty much down, but the sun is brutal! This old man and his Woman really have a hard time with that. Looked for shade a lot and stayed out of the sun as much as possible. I have been able to find a way to bring some relief into the house though. By putting the big box fan in the west window and blowing the air out, cooler air comes in the remainder of the windows, which are shaded. It kept the temperature inside to a nice and cool 88º F! Whew!

The major project for the day yesterday, other than staying out of the sun, was to empty some of the boxes we brought up this last time. At least that took most of my time. Most of the boxes contained papers and books from my past. Finally got rid of most my notebooks from college. I did keep some of them or parts of them. In each shop class I took at the time, we came away with a notebook filled with a course of study to teach the class on a high school level. They really were a great help when I started teaching, as was the intent.

The books also brought back lots of memories. Some included my Dad "borrowing" some of the material for his classes which he taught. The major studies he borrowed were the parts concerning foundry and "wiggle etching." Foundry was one of the first classes I took, and he adapted it to his class. He figured out how to melt aluminum, using a gas fired gas furnace he used in his shop. Looking back at it now, it was an extremely dangerous system he developed, with little safety equipment, but he never had an accident of any kind. He also went on summer workshops to a couple of universities to learn pattern making and more about foundry processes.

Wiggle etching was simple method of making a tool, like a very narrow screwdriver, that was forced into a piece of soft sheet metal, like aluminum, and "walked" in a line, causing the metal to be displaced in a pattern. He made several trays as gifts and so did his students. We have several around here and I found a couple he started but were not finished before he died. Someday, when I get caught up on things, I will finish them. Hopefully I will be able to get them to my kids someday. I also used the method as a project for some of my junior high school classes at one of the schools I taught at.

We did run into Iron River to pick up a new seat for our new kitchen faucet. The hot water seat is damaged, so picked up a new one. While it is not a big deal, it is irritating. Fortunately, the brand we happened to buy was the house brand, which has a lifetime warranty on all parts - so it was free. Like that part a bunch. I also wanted to pick up a new water filter cartridge for our water system. It is made by GE, who I didn’t know made water filters, but the hardware store doesn’t carry. I didn’t know GE made water filters, nor did they. It is a whole system filter, so not probably cheap either.

The store had a small computer desk on sale and Margriet thought I needed one, at least until we get the main house set up. I had been using a small folding table I bought many years ago for a display at the Waupaca County Fair. This is narrower, but not as deep. It also has metal legs and a keyboard drawer. The desk is also on wheels, which lock, making it very easy to wire various equipment. Like that a lot. Works well and will be nice when I get a real monitor on it. I probably will pick up a piece of decent plywood and make a wider top to replace this one someday. Need more space for all of my junk! Anywho, it is a vast improvement. The folding table has now replaced the big, round, plastic patio table we had been using until now. We gained much more floor space in the gathering room. That is a good thing too.

Walking out to get in the truck the last time we went to FISKLAND, I discovered the keys were still in the Hobbit Hus and it was locked up! Fortunately, I had left a couple of windows open a crack to allow some air circulation while we were gone. By taking out the screen and sliding the window open, I was able to lean into the room enough to just reach the keys hanging on their hook inside. The door lock set has seen better days, giving us the feeling that every time we use the key to open it, the knob will be in our hand and the door still locked. We also picked up a new lock set yesterday too.

In between sweat drops, my Woman has been trying to get some caught up on our ledgers. There is a huge pile of receipts for her to do, but it is a good hot weather project. Even if she did have an oven, it would be too hot to bake bread. Making pancakes for breakfast almost seems to hot to do too, but I sure like them. Muffins are out of the question. Sure didn’t take her long to get the patio table out of here either.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris ><>