It's official

September 29, 2007 (5:48am)

42º F, Cloudy and gray, SE Wind, 6 mph.

Good morning,

So .... It’s official - I have become a Yooper yesterday. At least that is what my driver’s license and voter registration say. We got the paperwork on Thursday and yesterday after filling them out and gathering the necessary supporting documents - I did the deed. Don’t feel much different, just a few less bucks in the pocketbook. I should get the new driver’s license in the mail in a couple of weeks and the voter ID in three weeks or so.

Not sure of the time frame of government activities here. The State is scheduled to shut down on Monday morning, thanx to the legislature not agreeing on a budget for the year yet. Monday is the first of the new year. The Secretary of State’s office is one of the first on the list to close, so no driver’s licenses, car registrations, &c. will be completed. Also it appears that the only State Police on duty will be Sargent and above in rank, which is about 40 folks for the whole state. Should be an interesting time. Too bad the folks in the capitol can’t get along and have to act as 4 year-olds like the national legislature.

On the way back from Iron River and becoming a Yooper, I stopped at the Department of Natural Resources to pick up hunting licenses. I can take two bucks this season (one license for each and I can take one with bow if I wish). I also picked up a small game license while I was at it. All three licences cost less than one deer license in Wisconsin and the season is 16 days long, rather than 10 days in Wisconsin. Time will tell if I succeed or not, but will have fun anyway. Will have to get my bang-sticks sighted in too one of these days. Have to set up some kind of shooting range and back stop here too - first.

We got another letter from Dan yesterday. He is being moved to a Federal Prison somewhere. He didn’t know, but was writing from Kenosha, where he will stop for a bit before moving on to his final destination. The letter was very upbeat and a change from those for several weeks. Told me not to write, but he did include his address on the envelop, so will send a picture postcard anyway. If he gets it, he gets it.

Yesterday morning I was working on this machine when I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye. The wild turkeys were about 3' outside of the window and eating their way around the yard. They went around the main house and said “Hi!” to Margriet as she hung out the laundry. Apparently they have gotten used to us and are not spooked by us that much anymore. The youngsters are really getting big and the males are starting to grow beards. A couple had beards of 3-4" in length. Soon to be fair game during the hunting season.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris the Yooper <><

Good letter

September 28, 2007 (6:29am)

43º F, Sunny, Dead Calm Wind.

Good morning,

Boy did I sleep late this morning. Went to bed a bit early too. Don’t remember any really good dreams that I want to stay asleep for either. Don’t know what happened.

We finally got a letter from Dan. It is good news and bad news. His sentence is for 20 more months, besides what he has served or 2¼ years. That is much less than I expected. He has been moved from Brown County Jail to somewhere else. We don’t know where and he didn’t know when he wrote on the 20th. We also got one of the letters we sent to him on the 22nd returned too. Guess we will be getting more back as time goes on. He sounded rather up-beat, which is a good thing, and planning for the future, also a good thing. He was some grumpy that the only thing he can take with him is his Bible. At least he has the important stuff to take. Hope he will be able to get his sentence shortened for good behavior. I am continuing to write to him, but combining everything into one very long letter, including all the letter I sent to him beginning with the 22nd that we got back. Maybe it will put him to sleep when he has problems sleeping. We are so glad to get the letter finally. I really have been worried about him.

I didn’t do any more destruction, rather giving it a rest for the day and going to Iron River and cleaning up some of the branches from the trees I cut down. Also stacked some of the cut logs for further cutting into blocks and splitting. The new wood pile has started. It will need to get much bigger before it gets smaller I think. I really have to get after making wood, no shortage of trees around here, but there just are not enough hours in a day for all that needs to be done.

The ride to Iron River was some ill-timed. It got a bit late, so arrived at lunch time. One of the primary reasons was to check on the tractor and the furnace. Caught Eli eating, but got to see the “new” tractor and what is needed on it to get it ready. This is a couple years older than the other one. It needs a heck of a good cleaning for sure, but the engine sounds OK. It still has a 6 volt electrical system, so that may need to be changed someday. One of the rear tires is not too good, so Eli has another for it. There are some things which need to be done and offered to have me help do them rather than have them as part of the cost. I agreed, so next week will spend some time at his shop working on Fjord. I also got a chance to drive it a bit, the first time I have ever driven a “real” tractor in my life. One bearing in the steering system needs replacement as it really is hard to turn to the right. Left is fairly easy, easier than I expected. It will take me some getting used to drive. So it looks like the fun starts.

The other reason was to stop at the Secretary of State’s office to see about a driver’s license for me and an I.D. for my Woman. Arrived just when they were closed for lunch, so went back after stopping at Eli’s. Doesn’t seem to be as complicated as I thought it might be. Do need to bring some identifying documents to prove we are who we are, but that will not be a big deal, as well as some money. Seems we have needed them often in the past couple of years. Also want to get a hunting license too! Need a driver’s license for that.

Since we got to Iron River at lunch time, not intended, we stopped for a sandwich at the Ma’s Main Street Café. The mushroom and Swiss burger was excellent! Margriet had half order of a roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy. Also good, but nearly too much for her. Since we had more than we normally eat at noon and it was some late, we had a lighter supper. Margriet baked some biscuits and we had some leftover meatball gravy over them. Seems the new range is getting a good workout everyday. If it isn’t fresh bread it is muffins, or biscuits, or roast chicken, or some other goodie we haven’t had for some time. To say the least, Margriet really enjoys using it and I really enjoy the results!

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

Better news than expected

September 27, 2007 (5:21am)

36º F, Overcast, SSE Wind, 4 mph.

Good morning,

It turned out to be a rather nice day yesterday. A bit cool in to morning, requiring a jacket to be worn, but my the mid afternoon, it was warm enough to break a sweat. Today looks to be some different. Rain is predicted with possible thunderstorms later in the day. I really do like this kind of weather we have had for the past few days. Nice working weather.

Margriet learned something of how to stain wood. After getting the cabinet sanded and de-dusted, the natural stain went on. She was pleased with the color change, actually just making the oak look wet and bringing out the grain. It was not as hard as she thought it would be, and got pretty good at it before she was finished. Today she will go over it and see if there are any “repairs” needed and the color is even. I peaked at it last night and it looked good to me. This is a bit different for her than just buying a cabinet in a store.

I managed to get the last two shelves down in the lean-to and put in a window. Actually I took off one of the 4'x16' panels of OSB from one wall. Now that is heavy! I thought I would use this panel to construct an assembly bench in the shop the full size of the sheet. I think I have changed my mind to make it 3'x12' instead. I can see the lift-arm/hoist I mounted in the truck will have a task I had not planned on - helping put the 4'x16' sheet into the truck to move it to the shop. Hope I can at least get one end into the truck so I can push it in the rest of the way in. The entire sheet was held onto the wall with 6 pole barn nails (hard aluminum ring-shank nails) and maybe a half dozen 16d nails on one end. Not much I think.

The last two shelves were the most difficult part of the deal so far. The one that was 8' off of the ground was sewed together with 16d nails. Was kind of “fun” standing on a ladder trying to get some leverage to pull things apart. The lead-to is 12'x16' in size, with a 6' high wall on the north and a 12' high wall where it attaches to the house (kind of a large carport structure). Actually pretty good sized and wish it were not attached to the house. Could use it for several things somewhere else. The floor is the same sand soil as the rest of the soil around here. Being under cover for some years, it really is dry. Very dusty too. When I was closing things up for the night, I raked over the floor to be sure I had not left too many tools and nails in the sand. Even with the short wall open, the interior was one cloud of dust when I finished. Lots of stones, about the size of a tennis ball, on the floor also. Should have several bucket fulls of them when I do the final clean-up.

The roof of the lean-to is constructed of 3 sheets of 1"x4'x16' OSB with steel roofing over it. I really am not looking forward to wrestling them off. Fortunately, this is the only place constructed like that. The rest I need to take down used 2"x4" stringers between the rafters. That will be much easier to work with - I think. These are also on the lowest portions I need to work on too. Wish I had a plug cutter. Just make some neat round hole surrounding each nail, rather than trying to pry the sheets up and off of the rafters. Have to puzzle on that a bit.

I think it was yesterday, or the day before, I said we had not seen the turkeys for a couple of days. When I went into the lean-to starting work for the day, there were turkey footprints in the sand where I had walked the day before. Not too sure when they were there, but suspect it was before I started for the day.

We got an email yesterday with some pretty good news concerning my friend Dan. I started to email Grace last week to find out if they knew, but didn’t get any replies. The secretary was at a conference for a couple of days, so couldn’t, but I don’t know why pastor didn’t reply. Anywho, Dan’s sentence is 45 months, less time served (7 months) and some drug/alcohol program requirements to complete. That is about a third what I expected he would receive. I am sure he is devastated, as he was hoping to be released with time served. I really don’t know the charges against hm, but never though that was a possibility at all. We have not had a letter from him for some time. Expect he doesn’t want to break the bad news to us - yet. We don’t know where he will be serving his time, but expect it will be in a Federal prison as the charges were Federal. He could, I think, get out sooner if he behaves himself, but at the moment, it looks like I will be writing letters to him for a bit over 3 more years. Wish I didn’t need to, but happy I can.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

The cool is here.

September 26, 2007 (4:45am)

46º F, Overcast, NNW Wind, 9 mph.

Good evening,

Yup! The cool is here. A pretty good wind yesterday, kept the rain showers moving and not dropping very much here. The did decide to come just as Margriet had finished hanging the laundry on the line and was walking back into the Hobbit Hus! It didn’t last long, if she had tried to take it in again, the rain would have ended before she got it all off of the line.

Had a buck walk up to the main house yesterday, then toward the shop past the burn barrels, before heading west into the woods. It was a young asymmetrical 4-pointer. One side had a nice fork and the other, at first, looked like a spike, but there was a small tine on it too. Not a real big buck, but would be tasty just the same. As he was strutting through, a doe and her two yearling appeared at on the driveway at the edge of the property. They watched the buck very intently, before they too headed west into the woods, paralleling the buck. It was really cool, as we watched them for some time. Friday I was talking on the phone when I looked out of the window at a doe looking in at me. About 8' separated our noses. The Canadian geese are flocking up and really making a lot of “noise” these days too. Expect we will see them disappear shortly. Haven’t seen the turkeys for a couple of days now.

So I started to tear off one of the lean-to’s of the main house yesterday. I need the recycled lumber to put in the floor under the woodstove. The wood floor now is made from 1" OSB and there is some in the lean-to I will use to match what is on the rest of the floor. Much to my surprise, it weighs less than I thought it would. It is still heavy though. The lean-to had shelves built on the three walls of the OSB, about 2' deep, held in place with 2"x4" and 2"x6"’s, sewed on with 16d nails in most places and just a couple in others. I have a 3# coffee can nearly full of pulled nails so far. I got two of the shelves down. The two that are left, one about eyeball height and the other about 8' off of the ground will be the most difficult. Gravity will probably work against me on them. I hope the roof is made of ⅝” OSB, as the walls are, rather than the 1" OSB. I haven’t looked yet, but the “lighter” weight will be appreciated. Hope the wind is not up when I get to the metal roofing! Expect the 4'x16' sheets will make a pretty good sail.

Margriet spent most of the day trying to clean up the dust, &c. from the construction in here. Don’t think she felt she got ahead of the deal though. I will be adding more to it soon-ly again. She also filled the two oil lamps I hung last week and found a box with several more lamps and candles that had been sitting here since we brought it up several weeks ago. Somehow we just missed unpacking it before. Someday this little house will really be mostly finished to live in and most of the construction and mess will be much less - we hope!

Seems like this is the time of year all of the itty-bitty button batteries in various things die. Margriet’s watch is losing time much-ly, my little goose-neck flashlight died, and the small stickup clock Astrid and Onno gave us several years ago also died. The hard part I think will be keeping straight which goes to which. They are also hard to replace, but that I Margriet’s job as her fingers work much better than mine.

Thought I would include a couple of pictures of the hoist installed in the back of the truck. The first is of the arm extended out of the truck picking up a pail of $100 gold pieces (too heavy to lift myself!). Second picture is swinging it into the truck and the last setting the pail down. It was a effortless transfer! Actually it works pretty well. It will be used for sure. Like the color too!

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

Hot weather again

September 25, 2007 (4:42am)

65º F, Overcast, SSE Wind, 3 mph.

Good morning,

Ahhhhhhhh! This house is a real house now - fresh baked, homemade bread came out of the oven yesterday. How wonderful is that? Also muffins again for breakfast! Wow! Life is good. Margriet complained that neither were perfect, but they sure tasted good. The baked chicken, with the gravel on it, just weren’t too bad the other night either. The Hobbit Hus is coming together.

We had some pretty good rain and wind yesterday. A really nice breeze all day, but cranked it up a notch as the sun set. The rains joined the wind after it was dark. There still is rain in the area, but most of it to the southeast around Green Bay and to the northeast of the city. A few showers are showing up on the radar close to us, but nothing major. More rain this afternoon/night and into tomorrow. The temperature at the moment is 5º F above our normal high for today! Yesterday the temperature reached 87º F, a new record high for this date. It should cool to a normal temperature again today and stay there for a few days at least.

Got a snag of bills (2) paid yesterday and a couple of letters written. Shouldn’t have any more to pay for a couple of weeks. Took most of the morning, so couldn’t get out to work until after lunch. It was hot by then too. Sometime late yesterday afternoon, the mouse for this machine died. At first I thought it just needed new batteries, but they were new a couple of months ago and shouldn’t be the problem. They weren’t, but it still isn’t working and I don’t know why. Until I get it figured out, I dug out the wired, optical mouse that Onno bought when the kids were here for our wedding. It works fine. Finer than the touch pad on the computer! Don’t like that at all. Last night, the who machine started to really act weird. Played with it for a couple of hours and nothing seemed to get it right again. Shut it completely down and went to bed, later than normal. Woke up this morning, everything seems to work normally, except the mouse.

I did get the lift-arm/hoist mounted in the truck’s back door. I can stick the arm out the door, lift something too heavy for me, then swing it into the truck, and put it down in the truck. According to the propaganda that came with it, I should be able to lift half a ton of something. Not too sure of that, but don’t think what I have is that heavy. The mounting has two pieces of 2"x2"x¼” angle, about 16" long, mounted underneath the floor board with 4 - ½” bolts to the base of the hoist. Makes it very solid. The distance between the truck frame and the floorboards is 1½”, so had to cut a notch in each angle ½” deep to clear it. That turned out to be a chore. Wished I had a pedestal grinder or a metal cutting bandsaw to do that with. Instead, the angle grinder got a real workout. Since the floor is much thicker on this truck than a normal pickup, I picked up some longer bolts awhile ago. The only problem I had is with the lock washers. Apparently the metric equivalent to ½” is a snitch smaller and the washers sent with the unit wouldn’t fit! Will get some and put them in place. Really don’t want that thing coming loose with a load on it or while traveling. Weighs close to 100# and don’t want that flying around inside of the truck. The installation is good and looks nice and tight.

What really seemed weird was being able to work under a vehicle on top of a concrete floor. It has been years since having that luxury - since I quit teaching to be exact. No gravel or a snowbank to roll around on. Weird! Love it. Think I might even consider purchasing a creeper now. But maybe I should enjoy only one luxury at a time. Wish I had a nickle for every snowbank I have laid in working on one car or another in my lifetime. Would pay for the creeper big time I am sure.

I really am worried about a good friend of mine, Dan - the other half of the bass section in Grace’s choir. He is in jail on some Federal charges after he got mixed up in some things he knows better than to do. He had a sentencing hearing on the 14th, but I have not had a letter from him since before that. I suspect that is an indication that the hearing didn’t go well, but don’t know for sure - the hard part. I have been writing to him as often as possible, almost daily, and he writes back on a weekly basis, more or less. I always include a stamped envelop and a sheet of paper with each letter. He uses them to introduce Christ to some of the inmates and for them to write to others. Most of the folks there have no one who writes to them or visits them. He mentioned the envelops have a large impact on the others and have literally gone world wide. Some inmates are from other countries it seems. Please add Dan to your daily prayer time. He and I will appreciate it greatly.

Time to get a-going

.
In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

Good weekend

September 24, 2007 (4:56am)

47º F, Clear, ESE Wind, 3 mph.

Good morning,

A pretty lazy day yesterday - good church, good brunch, good nap, good NASCAR race, good documentary, good weather, and a good Woman. There was some frustration too. Mostly dealing with this machine.

It really was a beautiful day yesterday. When I woke up, it was 34º F, but as we went out the door on the way to church there was evidence of frost, so was a bit cooler sometime during the night. But the sun was out and the day warmed up nicely. A perfect fall day. It was a good service at church yesterday too. What was weird though, seemed most of the folks sat on the left side pews, very few on the right. Almost felt like the building was leaning left and everyone kind of slide to that side. The organist was not there, so the pastor got out his git-fiddle and CD’s instead. Everything worked well, but the pastor got a workout for sure. He also was the EMT of the month for the county.

On the way home from church, we managed to find a place to sit and eat at Barb’s Café this week. I had a hard time hearing, lots of chatter with the folks there, so misinterpreted what the waitress said when it was time for placing our order. She asked if our order had been taken and I thought she asked if we were ready to order. We had a chance to drink an extra cup of cooffee! After a huge and delicious brunch (actually breakfast) we headed home for the rest of the day. I ate too much so a nap was in the offing for me. A really good one too!

The frustration came late in the day when I tried to connect the large monitor to this laptop. I have been using the screen on it since getting the laptop and finally decided it was time to use a normal monitor again. Getting tired of leaning my head back to use the bottom of the bifocal to see with. Could not and still haven’t got it connected and operating. I can’t get the driver to load for some reason and just gave up finally. Might try again today and see if I can get it to function as it should.

During most of the afternoon, I spent watching a very good NASCAR race. They have a new car design and have been running some races with the new design with some interesting results, especially the first couple of time they were in races. As the season has progressed, the mechanics and drivers have been getting the cars figured out, so the races have become more competitive and more fun to watch. There were a couple of crashes, especially at the end a big one, I think mostly because the cars are so new yet. Wonder what ever happened to the days of “you run what you brung” racing? These are a lot safer, but the old kind were a lot more interesting I think.

While the race was on, I came across a couple of websites dedicated to the CCC, Civilian Conservation Corps, of the 1930's. Not too sure how or why I found them, but the were very interesting to me. It was one of FDR’s better ideas, and very needed at the time. I still marvel at some of the work those kids did and how much of the results of their work is still in use today. It also was a “training” for a lot of guys who used their new skills during WWII and then afterwards in civilian life again. Especially up here in the woods and mines.

The Ken Burns documentary, “The War,” began on PBS last night. It was/is a fascinating piece of work. One of those things you just can’t stop watching, at least for me. I have a lot of memories of the time, but being so young, didn’t really know what was going on. Much of the material presented, lots of folks didn’t know happened either, but because it was suppressed by the government at the time. Things were much more grim than we knew. There is much more of the documentary yet to come and I hope I don’t miss much of it.

Bear season opened a couple of weeks ago and there are starting to be pictures in the paper of successful hunts. One bear shot was 588# and 92" long. That is one mighty big animal - of any kind. It too six men to drag it out of the woods! There will be a few steaks and roasts coming from it for some big tasty meals I think. One elderly hunter fell from his tree stand, breaking his hip and pelvis in the process, and hung from his safety harness from Monday when he fell until Saturday when his Grandson found him. Very hungry and very weak, but will be OK eventually. He apparently lived alone and no one knew he went out hunting. While he was hanging there, at least on bear came to the bait he had set out to feed. The guy was able to chance him off by yelling a couple of times, but eventually the bear saw he was not a threat to him, so dined at will. I wondered why the guy apparently didn’t have a knife with him to cut himself free of the harness. At least he would not have been hanging and could have defended himself possibly with his rifle. Old guys do strange things!

I did manage to get the stovepipe installed on the woodstove Saturday. Also burned a couple of sheets of newspaper in it to see if it would draw. It does so we should have some heat this winter. After completing the reducer, with some difficulty, I could see an easier way to have done it. Never fails! Everything is solid and shouldn’t cause any problems this winter at least. I almost forgot to put the damper in the stovepipe, so had to separate part of it to put it in. Glad everything wasn’t together permanently when I discovered the missing part.

During the day on Saturday, I also had a chance to chat with Onno. It was really nice. He was at work at his store and I a was working on the woodstove, so neither of us were at our computers all of the time. When ever we passed them it seems we would add something and held a conversation for several hours that way. Really cool! He and I did manage to solve many of the world’s problems, at least in our small parts of the world. We have connected a couple other Saturdays the same way, but not for as long. Maybe it is something that can become a habit.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

Coloring time!

September 22, 2007

(6:07am)45º F, Clear, No Wind.

Good evening,

Boy I had a hard time getting this machine up and running this morning. For what ever reason it decided to lock up and I couldn’t even restart it normally. Not too sure what was hanging, but seems to be gone now.

The new range did a good job of building breakfast yesterday, though Margriet needs to refresh her skills with a real flame again. It is a lot faster heat than the electric skillet! Didn’t burn anything, but she discovered she has to watch things closer. This range can also turn down the flame to a very small, low heat mode. That is really nice to hold food at a “keep warm” setting. We went to Crystal Falls for some walleyed pike and perch on their fish fry last night so supper was not prepared on the new range. Margriet did wake up her sourdough starter again, so expect there will be some good smells in the Hobbit Hus in the next day or so. That will be a good thing, as I know we are getting back to a normal again! Tasty too!

Took a run into Iron River yesterday and stopped at the realtor to see if they are still alive and kicking. Every time we have gone by in the past, they have had clients there and we didn’t want to intrude. Their office is very small and compact. They are doing fine and we had to swap lies of course. They seemed to be glad to see us, and we them. They are a really fun group to be with and around. I really didn’t get a chance to talk to Karla much and complement her on the quilts she had at the show last weekend. I was too busy swapping lies with Jeff. He and his family are on the front cover of the newest propaganda booklet for Ski Brule, so of course had to tease him about that. His wife’s father ran the place for many years and now has been passed to his son, Jeff’s Brother-in-law.

In the conversation with Jeff, we also found out that he has the same outdoor wood furnace as we are getting from Eli. Apparently he got a similar deal from him as we did. He loves the furnace and has not had any problems with it. Good to hear. Jeff is the one who steered us to Eli. So far that has been a good deal I think.

We did stop at Eli’s too to check on the tractor. The block has several cracks in it that cannot be repaired, so Eli is getting a different block to put into the tractor. Eventually, I think we should have a tractor in pretty good shape and last for awhile - if I don’t screw it up some how. Sounds like the cracks showed themselves when the machining was started and a really good clean-up was done first. They are in a place that can’t be repaired. Sounds like we will have an almost new tractor from the transmission forward.

The furnace had also come and he was in the process of cleaning it up and getting it ready for us. I must say the guy is through about his work. I can think of a bunch of folks who would not take the time and just look for the check at the end of the deal. I think Jeff aimed us at a good place to do business with in the future when/if we need his skills. In spite of the looks of his shop (like a blacksmith shop at the turn of the century), he and his employees really do some quality work where quality is necessary. Like that.

While in Iron River, we noticed that one of the grocery stores, usually high priced, had whole chickens on sale for 39¢/#. Haven’t seen that price for a long time, so stopped and picked up three for the freezer. Normally we buy hind quarters for that price, or at least did until the price went up to 59¢/# a few months ago. Now that we have an oven, roast chicken sounds pretty good!

The countryside is really starting to color up now, so decided to add a couple of pictures we took yesterday coming into Guds Nordtre. While you can only see about a fourth of our driveway (now you can see the main reason for a tractor in the winter!), it continues into the green trees in line with the end of the drive you can see on the picture, then there is a bit of an “S” turn to the house. You cannot see our land from this point at all. The picture is taken from the end of the drive at Section 6 Road looking north. The second picture is to the left, west, side of the driveway. Both look rather pretty.

The whole area here is really getting color. The ferns on the floor of the woods have turned from bright green to yellow and kind of a golden brown, giving the woods almost a fairyland look. The yellow, red, and sugar maples are the first to turn, with the birch and poplar just starting. There are very few oaks here, so their colors are not in the mix. The countryside is kind of a patchwork quilt, with areas of green pines and other areas of hardwoods. Also many areas of a mix of both as this area is. Margriet is itching to get her camera working taking pictures of the colors on the hills that cover this area. They are really beautiful for sure, and something she really didn’t have in the Netherlands.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

A hot time in the eating kitchen

September 21, 2007 (6:01am)

60º F, Rain, SSE Wind, 1 mph.

Good morning,

The rains are here for the day it seems. By afternoon, they should be some serious thunder storms and rather warm. Guess it will be an inside working day today. Doesn’t change much, just the task at hand. Lots to do to keep us out of most mischief.

Got the truck unloaded yesterday and most thing put close to where they belong eventually. Took longer to unload than load! Margriet is please to have some reasonable storage places - especially for clothing. The dresser that was originally in my Dad’s den is now in the bedroom here. She was delighted to be able to put our clothes in it, rather than a small cabinet with shelves. The dresser make the bedroom a bit tight, but we can live with that. Also put a round top trunk, which came with my Grandfather from Norway, at the end of the bed for more storage. When lifting the trunk onto the truck, I noticed a small paper tag attached to one end with “C Nelson Milw, Wis” written on it. I had never seen that before. Doing some further inspection, I found a similar one on the other end too! Kind of cool!

The range also came in, un-crated, connected, and setup. IT WORKS! She prepared supper on it last night and that worked too! The instruction booklet which come with the range is excellent. Much better than when I was selling them. I used it as a check list more than an how-to, since it has been 20+ years since being in the business. While this is a “basic” model, it is well constructed and has good controls on it - the most important part of any appliance. Should last us for the duration.

Just opened the webcam from Enschede’s town square and there is a wedding at the city government building. It must be a large one - two horse drawn carriages (one white) and a big, white limousine. Lots of folks around and lots of activity. At least it isn’t raining as it appeared to be last night when we looked.

I suspect that Margriet will be trying to wear out the range in the next few days. She has a long mental list of what she wants to bake and prepare. Been a long time since she has been able to do any real cooking or baking. I think the Hobbit Hus will smell more like a “normal” (for us) house now. I don’t think I will complain too much either.

Since the base cabinet we bought is unfinished, Margriet was introduced to the wonderful world of woodworking a bit yesterday. She has never done any of that kind of thing before, so we are starting her lessons slowly - learning how to use sandpaper! I took the doors off and the drawers out of the case so it would be a bit easier for her to work on. The idea is to get all of the scratches out and the arises broken. Then will come the next step - staining. We went to the hardware store and picked up some natural stain and some satin finish. Expect the stain will need to dry a day before putting on several coats of finish. At the moment, the cabinet is the focal point of the gathering room! It adds so much to the look of the room, not to mention the aroma soon.

Suspect I will try to manufacture (re-manufacture) a reducer for the woodstove stovepipe today. Good day for it. I noticed it has a rolled hem on the end I need to crimp. That will probably need to be cut off, so the crimping tool to function correctly. There will be lots of time into it I have a feeling and a lot of putzy stuff to do. I really don’t have a proper workbench yet, so that will also make it more interesting-er. Might just get something of the shop organized today too. Depending on my frustration level.

We really had some excitement and almost a riot at Guds Nordtre yesterday. Three hen turkeys and three very small young ones decided to dine on the seeds falling from one of the trees near the main house. Two yearling deer have been doing the same now for some time. All of them decided they wanted lunch at the same time and some territory problems developed. While the yearlings are much bigger than the turkeys, the turkeys took exception to them being there. Every once in awhile, one or more of the turkeys would make a quick move toward the deer when they got too close or just grumpy for some reason. The deer would jump straight up, the dash off a few bounds, before returning to the feast. This happened over and over again, until the deer finally left. Without the competition, the turkeys then left shortly afterwards too. We sat and watched them for the longest time. Of course both of our cameras were in the truck, so we couldn’t record the episode for our archives. Cool!

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

A flying trip - really!

September 20, 2007 (5:31am)

47º F, Cloudy, E Wind, 3 mph.

Good morning,

A flying trip was made. I mean flying too. I think we spent more time eating lunch and supper than we did at FISKLAND! Most of what we brought back was rather large items, so the truck filled up pretty fast - with a lot of grunting and groaning. When I saw how fast the truck was filling, I suggested that we might as well head home, rather than sleep overnight and then head out in the morning. Suggestion accepted by my Woman, so we sat for a while and waited for the washing machine to finish it’s load, then left spending about 1¾ hours there. Oh yes, the seal tape and the crimper were right where we left them, waiting for a ride to Guds Nordtre.

On the way down we stopped and picked up a gas range. Finally we should be able to eat normal things again - like homemade bread and like that. Will be nice to have that smell in the house again. So .... we now are the proud owner of a Premier 20" range. It is the “leftovers” from Hardwick Range Company when Whirlpool purchased the company some years ago. Apparently they didn’t want the small range part of the business. It is basically the range I sold and serviced for 10 years and was very happy with the product. I sold one to Mom in 1976 and we stopped using it about a year ago. Not too bad service!

We also stopped at Home Depot looking for a 5"-6" reducer for the woodstove. Didn’t find one, but saw a 36" base cabinet for not too bad of a price, so picked it up also. It does have some real oak wood in it’s construction, so better than the particle board with a plastic photograph of wood on it. It is a much better solution than the make-do arrangement we have now. My Woman is some happier too, even if she does have to put a finish on it. Should keep her out of mischief for a bit.

Never did find the reducer, but found a heat duct reducer I can modify and mount it inside of a 6" stovepipe. It will provide the protection of the heavy gauge stovepipe while redirecting any creosote back into the firebox of the woodstove while providing a smooth flow for the exhaust gasses. Now I have some cut and fit putzy work to do, but like the results - I hope.

Also picked up 6 sheets of tile backer made of concrete. Those are rather heavy. Sure added to the stability of the truck and I don’t think I will have any problems with traction on any icy roads! Real happy I don’t need to carry them to the second floor up a winding staircase either.

Both directions of the ride were rather uneventful - other than seeing 9 deer on/along the road between Dunbar and here. Not a problem, but something we are always vigilant for. The ride home was probably the fastest we have made, since we more or less by-passed Green Bay on the supper-slab. Taking out the time spent for supper, it took a snitch over 3 hours to make the trip. Stopped at Crivitz at Charlie’s Island for supper. Actually a change to stay awake for the rest of the trip. I had a double brat patty sandwich and Margriet had liver and onions. The sandwich was really huge, two large patties side-by-side on a long, huge, bun. More than I really needed. Margriet’s meal was huge! About twice what she could eat. Most of it came along home with us. Both of our meals were less than $5.00 each!

Good to be home again, but time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

Ain't no leaks in my roof!

September 19, 2007 (4:59am)

63º F, Rain, SE Wind, 4 mph.

Good morning,

Ain’t no leaks in my roof! The chimney is complete and the rains came yesterday about supper time. No leaks of any kind! Hooray! Finished putting up the last section of the chimney, braced it, and put on the cap - all finished. It even looks vertical.

Actually the last parts of the construction were rather easy and went together rather well. The cap is a much better one than the last one I put on a chimney, at FISKLAND 10 years ago. This one has a piece of ½” hardware cloth like screen around the opening as a fire arrester and to keep the birds out. I tried to make one similar to it for the one at FISKLAND, but I never was able to get it right for some reason. Anywho, it is a good deal. I made the braces, 2, from a couple lengths of ½” electrical conduit about 5' long. They really stiffened things up a great deal. I think it will take a pretty good sized wind to cause any major problems now.

Thought I would include a couple of pictures of the work. The first is the “before” with the damaged and leaning chimney without a cap (finding two dead birds in the woodstove. The second picture is about half way through the project, with a temporary cap (5 gallon plastic bucket). And the completed project with the new, straight, capped, and safe chimney. The maple tree in the background will be about one-third that size very shortly as there is a triple fork near the base, with two of them already starting to split off. More firewood and hope to save the tree.

Margriet cleaned our little woodstove and we brought it in. We have moved it about 4' from where it normally sits, to allow me to work on raising the floor and putting in the ceramic tile. We put a sheet of concrete tile backer on the floor under the woodstove and probably will need to put one behind it for the time being. Really don’t want to start any fires here - except in the woodstove! The new location for the woodstove really messes up our decor de-box in here.

I didn’t succeed at putting up the stove pipe though. The other thing we left at FISKLAND (I knew there was something else in the bag with the seal tape we left at FISKLAND, but could not remember what) was the stovepipe crimper I bought. The stove pipe would not join, as the crimped end is not crimped enough. I did get one section together, after a lot of redesigning of the ends and grunting, but not the rest. Have to wait until the crimper gets here. I also have a damper to put in the bottom section of pipe. That should keep a bit of warm air in the Hobbit Hus when the fire isn’t burning. I also am trying to find a 5" to 6" reducer. All I can find is adapters for heating ducts and that will not work - burn out in a hurry. They look ugly too!

The wind really whistles through the entrance/woodshed/lean-to on this house. It really sounds like a gale force wind outside, when in reality it just a brisk blow. I kind of like the sound, but Margriet doesn’t. Reminds me some of deer camp or the house in Weyauwega, out in the open, in some of the severe snowstorms we had there years ago. As things progress here, that problem should be eliminated as I tighten up the lean-to some. Not the first thing on my 2-DO list however.

The plan is to head to FISKLAND today - finally - since the chimney opening is filled and rain tight. It should be pretty much a flying trip. Back tomorrow. Crimper is the main thing we want to bring back.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

De-dripping

September 18, 2007 (4:42am)

60º F, Partly cloudy, S Wind, 3 mph.

Good morning,

The rain that was supposed to be here a couple three hours ago, hasn’t arrived yet. I can see it on the radar to the west and south, heading our way. Looks like it has some decent rain in it too. We did get some light rain yesterday, for a time, but most of the day was fairly nice. Temperature was where I like it for work too.

I finally have the chimney water tight - I think. I didn’t/don’t like the joint where the flashing meets the ribbing of the roofing. During the showers yesterday, there were a couple of places of minor leaks. Problem is, they usually don’t seal but increase in size over time. I finally did find the seal tape here, after running around much of Crystal Falls and Iron River. The seal tape I previously bought is 4" wide, and this is about 8" wide. I would have liked the 4" better as it is easier to handle. Anywho, the flashing is sealed down and sewed on with metal roofing sealing screws.

To make sure there is no leakage, I made double layer of roofing over the “ uphill” side of the chimney. There are some sheets of roofing left here, but not the full width. I thought they were 48" wide, full size, but they are only 31" wide. Guess they are leftovers form some installation. The narrower piece works, but would rather have had the full width. I cut a “U” shaped opening in the lower edge of the sheet to slip around the chimney, then screwed it down over the roof and flashing. The water should run off to the ground now, rather than into the house. The hardest part of the whole deal, was slipping it under the roof edge where the main roof and the “lean-to” section join. Almost not enough space to allow it to fit. Talked to it a bit with my persuader and it is a very snug fit. Don’t think the wind will life it, unless the main roof comes off first.

We did a lot of chasing around to find the seal tape. In the process, found a pretty complete lumber yard in Caspian. In many ways it is a modernized lumber yard of old. Instead of just a desk to buy from as the old ones had, this has a pretty complete hardware store attached to it. Not as complete as the Ace Hardware in Iron River, but a good supply. When it came time to check out, the owner said he would have to check us out as the gal normally checking out called in with a hunting injury. She apparently messed up her knew while bird hunting Saturday. The season opened this weekend. Not too many women in the Kewaunee area go hunting, but here many do. Cool.

Still not too sure if we will be going to FISKLAND or not today. I would like to be here when it rains to make sure there are no more leaks. It isn’t any fun trying to load a truck in the rain either, trying to keep things dry and not succeeding. Also need to complete the topside of the chimney and brace it against wind. Decided to make the braces rather than buy them - $4.00 as opposed to $20.00 each for two. Once those are on, I will feel much more comfortable about the setup. I tried the trim pieces, just to see how they look on the inside of the house - boy they fit like a slap in the face! Look nice too.

I really need to get serious about tearing down a couple of the lean-to’s as I need the materials from them to do other things around here. Most importantly is to raise the floor under the woodstove. Then I can get the ceramic tile on the floor and walls. Get after building a wood box through the wall too. Seems there is a never ending list of things to do around here. That is a good thing we think.

The two yearling deer were in and out of the yard most of the day yesterday. Chewing on the tree seeds while we were in, the off and running when we were outside. As soon as we were back in again, they returned again. Cool! Must be very good stuff to eat near the main house.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

Short supply

September 17, 2007 (6:00am)

36º F, Clear, No Wind.

Good morning,

Gee it is late this morning for some reason. Not as cool as the past couple of days, but expecting some rain today and tomorrow. Another freeze yesterday morning and set another low temperature record for the day in history. Talking of near 80º F later in the week for highs! We had planned to head to FISKLAND today for another load and to look in on Bible study but have a couple of important things to do here instead - before the rains come.

Saturday I got the chimney opening ready to accept the new chimney. After a bit more trimming and pushing, the support sleeve I made went into the hole and fastened in place. Then came the support box and it too was duly installed and fastened in place. The hard part came next, cutting the opening in the metal roof and installing the flashing and storm collar around the flue. Finally did get it ready to fasten in place, only to find we had left the seal tape at FISKLAND somehow. I didn’t know it came out of the truck and into the house, so it still is there. Of course it is late Saturday afternoon with all of the lumber yards closed for the weekend. We went into Iron River, hoping the hardware store there would carry it, but to no avail. I did pick up some seal tape fore attaching a camper top to a pick up, to use as a stop-gap for the rest of the weekend, knowing there was a possibility of rain coming. Also discovered I had forgotten to purchase any screws with sealing washers to fasten things together. I ended up scrounging some of the screws I had taken out of this place and reusing them, but there are not enough of them and probably are not up to sealing as I would like. This morning I will be heading to the lumber yard and get the proper seal tape and screws to finish the task correctly.

We also discovered the stove we ordered nearly a month ago, is still not in and the distributor is out of stock and on back order. I emailed the distributor and they confirmed they were out. We cancelled the order, as we had found one in a store on display, the last time to FISKLAND. Intended to pick it up today, but probably will tomorrow now. I have dealt with the distributor when I had the store, finding it difficult to deal with and finally ending my business with them. I know how the dealer here feels (not good) when an order is cancelled, but I am getting hungry and skinny. Maybe we can finally get the eating kitchen together and easier to use.

Yesterday, church day, normally is a pretty slow day around here. Not much work getting done and pretty much unwinding. What unwinding there is to do. I did manage to get out and up on the roof of the Hobbit Hus to cut back some branches of a maple tree. I want to take as much weight and leverage from the tree as I can before cutting it down. Should make it easier to “steer” the tree away from the house. Really would like that to happen - not drop the tree on the house. Gave Margriet a start when one of the bigger branches fell onto the roof when I missed catching it. She thought it was this dead head hitting falling. I didn’t get all down I intended to, as the wind came up and I didn’t feel like playing with the branches on a roof top in a wind. The branches tend to act much like a sail!

After church, we like to eat brunch at a restaurant. Intended to stop at Florence, but they were too busy so went on to Alpha. They had a line waiting out the door! Since we intended to go to a quilt show at the Iron County Museum in Iron River in the afternoon, we headed there. Finally, Mr. T’s had a place to eat. They too were very busy, but found a booth and enjoyed a very good breakfast. We had not been there in some time, in fact I think since staying in the motel just up the road.

The quilt show was something else. Their main building was filled with hundreds of quilts made by folks in the area. Most were too pretty to use on a bed. Some were for sale, but too rich for our blood (one at $1,500.00!). I think I would need to sleep in a safe with some of them on the bed. The craftsmanship was exquisite to say the least. We can understand the high price tags for the amount of work going into making them, but way too rich for our blood. I think we will stay under our dekbed! We did have a good time looking at all of them and chatting with the folks there.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

Cooler in the pines

September 15, 2007 (4:48am)

27º F, Clear, No Wind.

Good morning,

It is cooler in the pines this morning. The weather guys have put out several warnings and statements for this morning; Freeze warning (27º F at the moment); Special Weather Statement (possible slippery roads thanx to rain lastnight and freezing temperatures this morning); Record Report (lowest high on record for yesterday 50º F); and a National Sever Weather Warning ( freezing temperatures). With all that activity for just a heavy frost, wonder what the have up for when it actually is cold and a snow storm around here. Guess we will have to wait to find out. More later!

It really was a raw and cold day yesterday. The wind was really blowing from the north at a pretty good clip all day and there were on and off light showers all day, adding high humidity to the mix. It was a shirt sleeve day, if the shirt was wool, other wise jackets were the dress of the day. I had to chuckle at Margriet yesterday morning when she went bombing out of the house sans jacket and only a light shirt. She went to the main house and back, but decided that a jacket was defiantly needed! She didn’t repeat the event. Today it is to start warming again and by mid-week back close to the mid-80's again.

Anticipating the cooler temperatures, I checked out the gas furnace in the Hobbit Hus and got it fired up. Not a bad unit to light. Much easier than most. It does kick out a lot of heat, at least at these temperatures, so we are rather satisfied with it. The unit does not have a circulation fan on it, but there is a ceiling fan in here which does a very good job of moving the air around. The thermostat is off by about 10º F, so need to set it lower than the temperature we want. I can see the only hard parts of the house to heat are going to be the bathroom and bedroom. There is a window between the gathering room and the bedroom, but might need to add a small fan to move air into it better. Time will tell. I plan to put a transom in the wall between the bathroom and the gathering room to bring some heat in there. Also may need a small fan there too to move the air.

We did manage to get the truck unloaded. Since there were larger items in it (and my “go-bang sticks” - rifles and shotgun), the unloading went faster, but with a different kind of effort - both of us were required to handle much of it, rather than just carrying boxes. Had to work around the rain showers some too. Not much came in here, most went to the main house. This little place is pretty full - and then some. Sure will be nice to get everything in it’s place and most of the remodeling finished in here so I can get after the main house and do things proper.

We did find a used outdoor wood heater to buy from Eli after he made some calls. It is a bit bigger than the one we had looked at before, but about $2,000.00+ less in price. It is a Johnson Outdoor Wood Furnace, Little John model, ( http://johnsonoutdoorwoodfurnaces.com/ ) coming from the factory - near Waupaca. The unit weighs more than a ton, so I don’t think it will not blow away in the wind! Once it is on the ground, it ain’t gonna be moved any. I talked them into delivering it here as I really have no way to do that. I think my days of splitting wood will be fewer as this furnace takes logs (yes logs) 3' long in the firebox. I think the only wood splitting needed will be for kindling and enough wood to get the start-up bed of coals going. After that, rather large pieces of wood. The wood furnace should be here in a couple of weeks. Then it will mean more digging and like that. Hope I can have it hooked up and running before spring, but that would be a real long shot as I have to plumb all of the heating lines, &c. too. Not exactly sure how that will all go together yet. More Pex piping to do! Should be interesting though. Have some other things to do before that happens though.

While at Eli’s, we checked on the tractor too. Everything from the transmission forward is gone! He got the engine apart and sent the block in to have it machined and restored. When done, at least the engine should be as good as new again. It probably will outlive me. Since we had not really settled on a firm price, we got that out of the way too. The price did go up from his original estimate, but we settled on much less than I had anticipated. That is good!! He has a cousin that has some sheet metal for it that is in better shape than what is on this one, so will put that on instead of what is there. That will be nice and since the price is free, I like that too. It sounds like the end of next week or the following week it should be finished and ready to go. He also will put on a bucket and get that working too. Hope the snow holds off until it get it and learn how to use it.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

Long wait

September 14, 2007

(6:08am)39º F, Clear, NNW Wind, 5 mph.

Good morning,

It is good to be home again. A very long couple of days. We go a late start and got home again later than we expected - and a lot more tired than expected. Didn’t even unload the truck, other than the perishables.

The major reason for the timing of the trip was a doctor’s appointment for me. That was a success I guess you could call it. My blood pressure is down and so is my weight. Not a great deal, but the doctor was pleased and I was surprised. Dr. Zenner walked into the exam room with a laptop computer as did the CMA who took my blood pressure and pulse, besides filling out the “paper work,” now computer work. I teased him that if when I come and see a computer with out him carrying it, I would be out the door. He said he hoped he would retire before that happens. I’m sure I would have expired by then! I can see the need for the computer as it makes everything legible, especially for the pharmacist in filling prescriptions, or at least should. The doctor writes the prescription on the computer, presses a preprogramed key, and it is faxed to the pharmacy immediately. Or at least that is the way it is supposed to work. A half an hour later, when we went to pick up the prescription, the fax had not arrived yet! An hour and a half of waiting and the fax still had not arrived. We finally went over to doctor’s office and the office gal printed it out and we physically handed it to them - I got my medications. The doctor’s office was having some problems with their computer system. I offered my 4# riveting hammer for adjustment purposes to the office gal and she was ready to accept the offer!

The blood pressure being down was a real surprise, since not only is the moving and packing rather stressful, but I also evicted a family of raccoons from the space under the roof! That happened between 1:00 A.M. and 3:30 A.M., so I was very tired too. I didn’t have much to dissuade them from staying as most was already here. Didn’t want to shoot them up there as I really didn’t want to remove a body - if I could. If I couldn’t the results would not have been good either. I finally thought of the can of fly spray I had packed earlier and dug it out again (I have used wasp-spray in the past with some success as I can “shoot” it a pretty good distance). Through one of the ceiling tiles in the sunporch, I filled the space with the insect spray. Apparently they didn’t care for that and tried to leave, finally jumping/falling from the roof. I did manage to get a couple of hours of sleep after that. It is a good thing the truck was more or less completely packed the day we got there.

We took some of the large furniture this time, so the truck filled rather quickly. About all that was left was a 6' long wall cabinet to load and some boxes to keep things from flying around while traveling. We also took most of the pictures from the wall and our remaining clothing. The clothing protected the pictures some and both rested on the upholstered chair arms. The cabinet my Dad had made for my Mom to hold her pots and pans next to the stove also came along with all of the contents of it. Most of what we brought will go into the main house, except for some pots and pans and like that. The clothing mostly was our “winter” clothes, so it will be traded out for the summer clothes we now have in the Hobbit Hus.

On the way down, we stopped and picked up a piece of counter top to temporally fit between the range and refrigerator. The whole deal cost less than $25.00, less than I think I could have built one for. We knew we could not pick up a color match to what is already in the kitchen, Margriet picked a somewhat contrasting color. The best thing is that it will provide three more feet of counter space for her. We also picked up the interior part of the woodstove chimney - the stovepipe to connect the woodstove to the hole in the ceiling. This woodstove has a 5" connector and the chimney has the standard 6" flue. They do make a reducer, but we could not find one, so I probably will need to manufacture one to fit. I did buy a crimping tool to do the job more effectively than a needlenose pliers I have used in the past. This is much tougher steel than dryer venting. If I find a commercial one, I will get it as they are at least much neater looking.

Checking the internet before leaving, I saw the price of gasoline was 10-15¢/gallon cheaper in Green Bay than here. We had enough left in the tank to make it to Green Bay. It was $3.039/gallon when we arrived, so put in $20.00 worth to get us to Kewaunee and back to Green Bay, if the price was too high in Green Bay. As it turned out, the price was $2.949/gallon in Kewaunee! We would much rather buy from Dean than some big company in Green Bay, so packed in as much as I could. Hope it will not need to be filled until we return next time and the lower price than here. We saved about $15.00-20.00 on the fill. Wished it only cost $15.00-20.00 for a fill!

Not too sure why we got such a late start going down, but we at “lunch” about mid afternoon. Didn’t eat any supper, but ate a couple hard-cooked eggs we brought along for breakfast, thinking it would be enough to last us until about 2:30 P.M. when we would be finding the Old Country Buffet again. With all of the waiting at the pharmacy, we missed their lunch and were in time for their dinner menu. The price was about double the lunch price, so we passed and went to the Pancake Place instead. We stopped going there when the place was sold and then it was remodeled. The food was great (roast pork loin dinner) and the cost was about 60% of the Buffet. It was more than we should have eaten.

We had rain from just north of Green Bay all of the way back, finally only a few drops falling when we arrived. Both trips were very uneventful other than seeing a few deer, but no bear! There is a hard frost warning out for tonight. We have had frost warnings out before, but this one is predicating lows in the mid-20's for tonight. That should put an end to most gardens around here. It was a shock to see corn fields picked clean and being plowed around Kewaunee! There are no corn fields up here and very few farms of any kind. We also noticed how noisy it is at FISKLAND compared to here. In 1997 when I moved there, 95% of the time the only manmade noise was the foghorn, now there are many more trucks and tractors going by on the road. Here there are almost no airplanes flying over and all of those are small private planes. No wonder we can hear the coyotes howl at night. There are coyotes around FISKLAND too, but I have never heard them howl there.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

Visiting day

September 12, 2007 (5:44am)

40º F, Overcast, N Wind, 3mph.

Good morning,

It certainly was visiting day yesterday here at Guds Nordtre. Started off the morning with a doe and her two yearlings munching there way across the lawn and driveway, up to the main house to forage on the grass very close to the lean-to. They stayed for about 30 minutes or so. During the rest of the day, they continued to return often, especially the yearlings. At one point I headed out to the shop while the two yearlings were munching. They looked at me, and without any real alarm, walked into the woods. I could not figure out what was so attractive to them in that spot, other than a couple of branches cut off and laying on the ground which they munched on too. A couple of trees right there are dropping their seeds, which look very much like a small cherry, but now just the pit or seed. There are thousands of them on the ground at there. They must have some pretty good choppers to chew them up.

The other visitors were a flock of wild turkeys. I think it is the same flock which came a couple of other times, but minus one. This time the turkeys came right up to the big window in the gathering room and not 3 feet from it. They too stayed for the longest time and ate what ever they could find, before wandering around the house a bit and into the woods again. They really are not a graceful bird. On their trip, they went through some cut branches on the ground. I mean they went plowing through them, much like a black lab dog looking for grouse. Not going around anything but it appeared as if they were trying to see how many big branches they could plow through.

With all of our visitors, our work really was interrupted. We simply stopped and watched the show outside of our windows for a long time - several times. As long as we didn’t make any fast moves or loud noises, they all just went about their business. We don’t, nor will we, put out feeding stations for the critters (except for the little critters, but that we call a trap) around here. To me that is a form of abuse taking the animals away from their normal survival skills and making them dependent on man. If it is a tough winter and they are starving, I will cut browse for them, but not to attract them to look at or hunt.

The weather was really not all that nice yesterday. Light rain and high wind most of the day, with lower temperature than we have been used to, made the cool really drive through a person. I did manage to get a wooden “box” built to carry the weight of the chimney and a place to fasten it too yesterday. Since the ceiling is at an angle, the roof line, it took a bit of tricky construction to make. The material for it came from the walls, &c. I have removed here so far. Guess you could call that recycling. Since the opening for this chimney is larger than the old one, I also had to hog out the skylight some. I got out the reciprocating saw and that really made some short work of it. I am amazed how useful and how easily it is to use. Wish I had bought one years ago! That thing sure has paid for itself. The task of enlarging the opening would have taken many hours and some sore muscles doing it by hand. The saw cuts through the 4" width of a 2"x4" like butter and the blade only cuts the wood - not going through past the 4" width!

We did get into town yesterday and I stopped at the DNR office to check on getting a hunting license. I need to get a driver’s license from Michigan before I am able to get a license. Haven’t don’t that yet. Guess the residency issue is solved for them by the driver’s license or paying income tax to the state. They do have some very different laws here compared to Wisconsin. You don’t need to register a deer here and you can shoot up to two bucks, on must be an 8 pointer or more, and no does, except with a bow. Don’t think we will be seeing a doe in our freezer. Bear hunting season started on Monday and from the reports on the radio/TV, there has been some success.

We are heading to Kewaunee this morning as I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow afternoon. After the appointment we will be heading back this way again. Not looking forward to buying gas as the price has increased again. We paid $2.979/gallon last time down and at present the price has gone up to $3.199/gallon here. Expecting $3.029-3.059/gallon in Green Bay and Kewaunee, but need to buy some before getting there I fear.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

Skylight is in.

September 11, 2007 (6:25am)

48º F, Light Rain, SSE Wind, 3 mph.

Good morning,

We have a skylight in the gathering room - well .... really a rain drip. The woodstove and chimney are out! The rain wasn’t supposed to get here until this afternoon, so thought it was safe to pull things apart. Fortunately it is a rather light rain and looks on the radar it will end before too long. I hope!

The removal of the chimney was interesting. At some point in time, it apparently had been blown/knocked at least partly over. The metal stack had been bent, leaving a kink in it, even though it was standing more or less vertical. In the process, the flue opening was about ⅔ of what it should be and the chimney was an oval shape from the kink, about a foot above the roof, down. The top two sections I was able to twist, unlock, and remove, but the bottom section refused to budge. I finally got the reciprocating saw (t sure has earned it’s keep) out and cut off the chimney at just below the kink. Unbeknownst to me, that put a flood of rock-wool and dust into the gathering room! Not a good thing. Margriet didn’t say anything to me, so I didn’t know it until I got off of the roof and saw the pile on the floor. It got cleaned up in a hurry, but there was some more to come - not too much.

The older stainless steel chimneys have two walls about an inch apart with the space between filled with rock-wool. The new chimney has three walls - the inner ½” space filled with rock-wool, and the outer 1" space is filled with moving air. Much more efficient and safer than the old style. Much lighter too even though they are bigger in diameter, 7" as opposed to 9" in diameter.

With the chimney down to the roof line, more or less, I was able to get at the screws holding the whole works in place. Tried to cut them off with the saw, but the pole building screws used were hardened and tore up the saw blade. Finally was able to get a wrecking bar in with enough leverage to just tear the screws out of the wood. Finally the whole works came out and left an unsightly hole in the ceiling/roof. Then cleaned up the mess, at least most, I had made.

I need to re-manufacture a wooden sleeve to accept the new support box. The old sleeve was something of a wonder - wonder what the guy who put it in was thinking. Parts were held together with small nails, some with 6" ring shank nails, and one 8" pole barn screw! Nice mix. Once the box is in, then I can put on the first section of chimney, probably cutting the roof hole larger too, and the storm collar. That should keep most of the wet out, if I put a bucket or some such over the flue opening.

When I took the woodstove out, I discovered the flue had rusted off at the stove. There was nothing holding it in place, other than gravity. Would have caused some real damage if the flue had come off too and a real fire hazard. Needless to say, that will change. On the little stove I finally found a finally found a place of manufacture - Denmark! Didn’t expect that. Doing some searching on the web, I think it is made by MORSØ ( [no space between the "/" and the first "2B"] http://www.morsoe.com/us/Products/Stoves/ 2B+Standard/2B+Standard/Morsø+2B+Standard.htm ), but an older model than on the website as it doesn’t have the window in the door or the insulation on the smoke shelf. The exterior is “porcelain” rather than blacked. The website indicates that the stove should be cleaned with distilled water and brown soap. I understand the distilled water, but what the heck is brown soap? Anywho, the stove is sitting in the woodshed lean-to of the Hobbit Hus for the moment.

I got my sawhorses back! We also did put the pieces of Dad’s file cabinet under Margriet’s desk. We moved it a foot to allow for the old water supply pipe as the sawhorse would go around it, but the file cabinet will not. The desk is also a couple of inches lower, making it some better for Margriet to use too. Now she has something of a mess to clean up from all of the “stuff” being moved.

I hung the fancy brass oil lamps up on either side of the arch in the gathering room. Only problem is, the lamp oil is still in Kewaunee. Have to bring it up next time, then we will be ready for a power outage, along with the kerosene lamp and lantern already at the ready. They look kind of nice where they are, even if I do say so myself.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

A damp cool

September 10, 2007 (5:25am)

39º F, Clear, Calm Wind.

Good morning,

A cool start to another week. The weather really felt cool yesterday with a light mist/rain hanging, occasionally falling, in the air for most of the afternoon. Even got out my work jacket for I think the first time in a couple months. Mostly to ward off the moisture rather than low temperatures.

I spent most of the day Saturday pitching sand in a hole. Since I could not find an insulated hydrant to put, I just filled in the hole we had dug early in our stay here. I did leave the 4" PVC pipe over the riser, just in case I someday get the urge to put in a connection there. The sand went back into the hole a lot slower than it came out. With a lot more work too. Should have counted the shovelfuls I put back in again - but probably can’t count that high! Really am surprised I don’t have any sore or stiff muscles from the shoveling. Like that part! It really does seem weird not to see a pile of sand as high as my Woman is tall, sitting in the yard though. I still have some raking over of the area and blending into the surrounding lawn. The water deal, and especially the hole, has been something not only not planned on, but a kind of sore spot with me. Really didn’t want to do it, but the major portion of it is finished - until it start working on the main house.

Yesterday, since the mist/rain was around, I started to take down the lean-to’s attached to the Hobbit Hus and the main house. I started by taking down all of the hangers in them and the nails driven to hang other things on. I don’t think the guy who owned this before had anything on any of the floors. There are hangers and nails everywhere! There also were (still some) on the light pole in the yard too. I can’t imagine what was on all of them. I certainly do have a supply of mostly homemade hangers to use. Most are very crudely made, so will take some finishing before I find a use for them. Others will just be materials for making something else.

I should have cut a few more trees down over the weekend, but didn’t. Some, especially those close to the buildings, I keep looking at and trying to figure out how I will drop them. Some are close and intertwined with others. Will be a challenge and a puzzle to bring them down safely - for the buildings and me. I don’t want to repeat events of a couple of years ago.

We went to church yesterday and of course since we don’t have to help, were early. There was a very light attendance which kind of surprised me. Usually the first week after school starts, the attendance is pretty good. One of the announcements was asking folks to bring flowers from their gardens for the alter - since there has not been a killing frost yet this year. It almost sounded like this was an unusual year with a late frost! The heat in the church has not been turned on yet, so it was a bit cool inside, but not bad. There was enough hot air from the folks to warm it up. The kids that were in church were very ant-cy. Not unexpected really as there was a low front moving in. There really is a nice crop of good kids in this church.

After church, we headed for Barb’s Café for brunch. It was bursting at the seams, so headed to Alpha and the Circle Café instead. Nice to have a back-up plan. We arrived just before their “rush” hour. We had “stuffed hashbrowns” which was very good and filling. Reasonable too for this day and age. I always order dark rye bread with the meals as they have some that is really good, and large pieces too. Their tables for two folks are about 4' square, so we almost have to shout to be heard by the other. It really is a good little restaurant.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

Hot wet to cool air

September 8, 2007 (5:04 am)

41º F, Clear, No Wind.

Good morning,

Yesterday started out warm, got really hot 85º F before noon, then cooled off to the low to mid 60's F before night fall. We had a line of rain squalls come through late morning/early afternoon that really changed the weather. The wind also came up from the NW at about 30 mph. The humidity disappeared and it really felt comfortable. I think we probably got an inch of much needed rain total. One thing I noticed was the water travel during/after the rain. I will need to do a bit of restructuring of the soil surface to allow the water to run in some different directions and away from a couple of area near the buildings. Not this week though.

We did get the truck unloaded and the contents at least in the general area where they should end up eventually. Trying to move things as few times as necessary. Don’t need that much exercise! Now we need to go through everything and get them in the right places so we know what is were at least. Much will not be used on a regular basis in this little house. Just ain’t no room for it in the Hobbit Hus. Seems the Hobbit Hus looks like a house should about one day a week. The other times it seems to be filled with things we just brought and not put away yet, or there is some destruction/construction going on.

Late yesterday afternoon, we went into Iron River to check up on the tractor and to pick up the range. The range wasn’t in yet and I told the clerk that I am getting hungry and skinny without it (well that might not be totally true). The clerk was the only one there, as the owner was out on a service call or something, and he didn’t know what the status was of the range. Sounded like the owner would not be back in the store until Monday for sure. Will call him then to see what is up.

The Fjord is a different story. When we walked in, it was still on blocks and much more apart than together, at least the engine. Eli is pulling a major overhaul on the engine. Apparently the oil supply didn’t get to most of the moving parts in the engine and most of the bearings are shot. Rather than just replace the bearings, Eli is doing a complete job on the engine and getting it back to “new” specs and operation. At least a “new” an engine of 57 years old can be. It is amazing to me the foresight that the designers had when it was built - it can be rebuilt almost indefinitely as long as the block is sound. Once the front axle and body work is off, the engine is wide open an much easier to work on than any engine I have ever worked on in a car by a long shot. I can think of many cars I would have had the same advantage over the years, rather than pulling the engine from it.

Eli is quite an Eli. He seems to love to talk so we had another really good chat. Found out he started working for the company 36 years ago, buying the company 30 years ago. Don’t think he is an upstart by any means. He also is a big guy and Finnish. Rather proud of his heritage too. He does know what he is doing too. Not one to put on a show - what you see is what you get. A keen sense of dry humor too. We both picked on Margriet a bit and his eyes lit up. Also found out that he sells outdoor wood furnaces from a company near the Waupaca area that I knew when living in that area, building add-on wood furnaces at that time. They were a good product too. I think Eli is some pigtail relative or some such. Small world.

One of the grocery stores in Iron River has ground beef on sale for 99¢/#, so we stopped after our errands were complete and picked some up. We did the same earlier in the week too. They only allow a 5# purchase each time, so we did and have a bit in the freezer now. It really surprised us to see the price that low up here. Everything else is very high. We really will need to keep an eye on the sales here and purchase accordingly.

On the way home, we stopped at Woodz restaurant for their fish fry. Again it was excellent and they really bring the food fast! We had walleyed pike in a portion that was just about right for us. Everything was cleaned off of our plates. We had stopped there sometime ago and while it is a bit far from home, we will stop there when we are in the area and have an excuse to stop - like hunger on a Friday night.

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><

There and back again

September 5, 2007 (7:34pm)

85º F, Overcast and humid, Dead Clam Calm Wind.

Good evening,

We arrived at FISKLAND a few minutes after 4:00 P.M., leaving home about 8:00 A.M. While it seems like a long time to get here, it was, we did some considerable number of errands while in Green Bay. That was part of the plan. The heat here is really oppressive, especially when the high humidity is also in place. There is absolutely no wind at all, so there isn’t even any relief sitting in a breeze. It was about 20º F cooler when we left then is was here, according to the internet and TV. I bet it is still that difference now. There also was little humidity Up Nort’ too. The cube van, Cubit, sure has been a God send for us. I really hate to say the air-conditioner is really a great help. I turned it on when we were about 50 miles north of Green Bay, increasing the output the closer we got to FISKLAND. Other than going from Cubit to the store, we were rather comfortable most of the time - until we got here and this store doesn’t have air-conditioning! Hot!

We stopped in Florence for breakfast, eggs in a couple of different forms with meat and toast. The fog had lifted by then and we had no problems on the ride. We made a bee-line for the grocery stores and bought more than our immediate needs - trying to fill our larder. The prices are absolutely crazy and expected to go higher. Many food items have doubled in price just within the past 6 months or so. Besides finding some things on sale, we figured that everything we bought really was on sale, compared to what is expected in the next 6 months or so. Most of our food doesn’t eat, sitting in a can or jar on the shelf. Now that we have the space for a “fruit cellar” we intend to fill it to the brim. The freezer is also starting to look like a family is using it and filling up too. It will mean a bit more expenditure at the moment, but we will then maintain it by buying things on sale in quantity. After buying out Aldi’s and Woodman’s, we headed to the Old Country Buffet as usual for lunch. No supper tonight as there isn’t any place to put it yet.

One of my objectives was to price the table saw I wanted, to see how it compares to the one in Iron River. Margriet suggested that we should see what Woodworker’s Depot has. I had really ruled them out, thinking their pricing was a bit on the high side, especially for the bigger power tools. So we took a ride down there to check it out. I found the a table saw that was better than the one I had been looking at for $ 20.00 more. It is the little brother to the one I used for years teaching too many kids how to use it. It is a Delta 10" saw, with a much better rip fence than they had in the good old days. The major difference is this is 110 volt rather than 220 volt with a bit smaller motor than I had used in the past. I may wish I had the bigger motor someday, but this will have to do as the difference in price is about $ 250.00 more. That is OK, since I am not going to do production work, nor do I have 125 kids everyday trying to make it do what it ain’t supposed to do. This is a much more solid machine with a bunch more cast iron in it’s construction. So .... the up-shot of the deal is we ordered it and will pay for it when we pick it up in a week or so. They will email us when it comes in and we will go from there.

Of course we had to stop at Fleet Farm (“The man’s mall!”) to look around there too. I did have a couple of things to pick up though. I think I have the last pieces for the new chimney in the Hobbit Hus now. At least until I find something more that I need. I didn’t find any water hydrants either. Looks like we will not have one in the yard and eventually will put one on each side of the house instead. The uninsulated hydrants need to be drained each winter and since the connection is underground 5', I really don’t want to dig it up each fall and spring, nor do I want to build an access to it. We will just have to do a few more rain dances for a while!

Coming into Kewaunee, we stopped at the doctor’s office to set up an appointment to get my medications renewed. I got a surprising welcome. They have not seen me in the past 6 months, since the last renewal date. The had to give me a bad time not coming to see them. I didn’t think about it, but I haven’t needed a doctor for a long time. If I keep away from falling trees and strokes, the have a lot less business. Don’t think my blood pressure will be down, as the appointment is set up so we will be heading back home again after loading up the truck. Uf-dah! Eh? I really hate the thought of finding another doctor. This one and the one we had in Waupaca are a different breed not found every where. He will be hard to replace for sure.

Stopped at the post office for the last time and turned in the key for the box. Everything will be heading Up Nort’ now, at least the first class mail. There was a huge pile there, since we had not been back here for some time. Some of the mail I already asked to be redirected was also there. One was a notice from Social Security acknowledging I had changed the address via the internet. Wonder what their thinking is - I changed the address telling them I would not be at this one anymore, so the sent the address change to the old address - not to the one where I am! Must be government work.
Enough for tonight. Time to shake a tower and hit the hay.

September 6, 2007 (5:00am)

Good morning,

I am up and having my first cup of coffee for the day after a terrible night’s sleep. Not used to this place anymore and the bed is smaller, which is hard to get used to again. Besides, I couldn’t turn off my brain for some reason and stop thinking too much. I usually don’t have any problem getting to sleep, dropping off right away. Need to get out of this heat. Not sure what the temperature is at the moment, but doubt if it got below 70º F over night. Another reason for not a good sleep.

While we were gone, a critter got into the space above the sunporch. The ceiling in there is made from drop in fiberglass “tile” and about have of them were displaced in one way or other by the critter’s weight. I suspect is was a raccoon as I have had numerous problems with them before. My little gun is not here anymore, so if I did see it all I could do would be to spit at it.

At the moment, the “den/office” is empty, except for a couple of things to put onto the truck. That was a busy room for me for many years. Seems strange to see it so bare. Our plan for today is to get everything on the truck that we can this morning, before noon, and stop at church to see the secretary, then head up the road again. None too soon.

We only have two very small fans here and not much else of what we normally use. No radio, no TV, no internet, so have no idea what the weather forecast is. No desk lamp to work with either. Don’t know why I keep working on the desk, other than there really isn’t a flat surface in this house that doesn’t have some kind of stuff on it in the process of being packed. There are only a couple of chairs here too. We have a lot of little stuff to get out before we can start moving the big stuff - like sofa, arm chairs, cabinets, and like that. When we do get them out and up nort’, not too sure where they will all go. More parts of a very large jigsaw puzzle to put in place.

Coffee is gone so better get a-packing!

7:19 pm

Back home again. Arrived here a little after 4:00 P.M. as a couple of very tired puppies. This time we stopped at Grace to say hello and see if the building is still standing - it is. We had to be there before noon, as the secretary only works until noon every day. We had a good chat with Darlene and pastor. He still wants me to come and give a talk to the congregation some Sunday. We both need to check our calendars and set it up with email.

The truck was not filled, but the load was fairly heavy and there were also some delicate cargo - some of Margriet’s good glassware and a mostly, glass tea table. I managed to bring a four drawer file cabinet that my Dad had, I think military surplus after the war, made from some pretty heavy gauge steel. The papers inside were not light either.

The parlor stove we have been using to heat the house with for many years came along, along with some concrete blocks I use to sit it on and to prevent excess heat on a wood floor. The woodstove is very heavy, even when I broke it down into sections. It will be a while before use, so I will have a chance to take it apart and rebuild it, the re-black it again. A real overhaul hasn’t been done for several years, so it is about time again. I think it I bought it used in 1975 or there about’s for $ 75.00 used and thought it was too much at the time, but it sure has earned it’s keep over the years. It will no longer be a main source of heat anymore, but more as a romantic or cosmetic item in the gathering room of the main house.

Along the way, just this side of Dunbar, Wisconsin, all of a sudden Margriet’s head snapped around to look out of the side window. I could see she was surprised. She saw a bear in the woods along the highway! A first for her and our first up here. I didn’t see it as I was driving, not looking into the woods that far. She was some excited to say the least. I was too for that matter.

Time to get a-going - to bed.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><