a pane in the (gl)ass

I got the frame for the garage window done and mounted yesterday, but was unable to hang the window by myself. Melissa and Megan were out on a hike and didn't return until well after dark. They agreed to help me with it this morning.

It is no wonder I had such a hard time yesterday. The three of us together still took about an hour to get it aligned to the frame. We sure won't be hired as carpenters! We jostled, grunted, grumbled, and muscled it until we finally forced it into place.

The research I had done suggested removing all siding adjacent to the window area prior to hanging it. I can see why! 

I would have done so if the sheeting wasn't 22' long. I really didn't wish to take a whole side of the garage off to put up a window.

We had to push the metal siding out far enough to squeeze the window between the window frame and the siding.  It was quite a tight fit, but I didn't want it to be loose enough to leak, so it was sort of by design. This was enough a pain in the ass to do the first time -- I definitely don't want to have to do it again in a year or so because the window frame rotted from leaks. 

Once the window was in, I thought the worst of it was over. Famous last words! 

We had to pull the siding out far enough to be able to mount the window (using screws) to the window frame. Prying it off caused a few rips and tears but nothing a little silicone wouldn't fix!     ; )    

Once the window was secure, we had to again put the siding back *inside* the window trim. This caused *more* tears. Sigh! more silicone!   

Once the siding was tucked back in, all that remained was laying on the silicone. Now it is just waiting on the rain to make sure that I have no leaks! Once that has been established, I can put the walls back on. Anyway, here are some pics ...

it's hip to be square ...

I spent the day out in the garage again. It still doesn't look any better, though, as this is what it looked like this morning ...

What absolute chaos!

First thing I did (after taking pictures) was to get the wiring re-routed while there was daylight. I thought I had to redo two circuits -- a 110V line that powers all the outlets in the garage and a 220V line that goes to the compressor. The 110 line was put in by a licensed electrician. I did the 220 line. 

I was upset with myself last night because I didn't leave enough slack in the 220 circuit. I make it a point to leave extra line in *any* circuit -I- have ever run because you never know if you may have a problem (broken connection or whatever) that requires just a little bit more wire to fix. It's better to leave a little during installation than risk having to replace a whole circuit later because you are short 1" or so.

Anyway, so I removed the plywood "walls" that cover the breaker box, only to find that I *DID* leave some slack. Cool! Now I won't have to do a junction box for this one, just push the slack down the line and make room for the window. The 110 line only needed about a six foot run, so no new junction box needed, just rerun a longer piece of wire that went from one outlet to the next, leaving enough slack to work around the window.

After I got that done, it was a quick trip over to Lowe's to get some lumber and hardware supplies. As soon as we got back, I started cutting up the boards. I got everything cut before had to put supper on, so after eating all that would be left is assembly and clean up.

I got everything framed up and was absoultely shocked that not only did the window fit in the hole, but the hole was within an 1/8" of being square. I am NOT a carpenter by *any* stretch, so was quite tickled when I noticed I was that close. 

I nailed everything together to get this ...

I was equally pleased to find that the window frame is near perfect level as well. Damn, I either did something really right or really wrong. 

Tomorrow, I need to cut the hole in the garage for the window, mount the window, silicone it, and then I can work on getting the garage back. I almost dread putting in the window, because things have gone too smoothly. ; )

Boy it sure is crowded in there!

I am (or can be) my own worst enemy

So yesterday afternoon I set out to do some "spring cleaning" in the garage. It really has gotten out of hand.

I have stuff .... EVERYwhere! It is one big clusterf*cked mess! I typically am a "place for everything and everything in its place" guy, but over the past couple months, I have gotten lazy and left things where they were last used. Very chaotic and atypical of my normal (not that I am normal) behavior.

Anyway, so I spent the better part of the daylight hours straightening, reorganizing, and putting things away. I was even starting to see signs of progress and cleared off the workbench that my grinder sets on, so now I could sharpen my lathe chisels.   YAAY!

I took a break long enough to go inside and eat dinner. When I went back out, I planned to tackle the other workbench on the "shop" side of the garage. However, I started in on another project.

The summer heat quickly approaches and when Dad put the addition on the house, we wound up with two windows. I got Dad's approval to put one out in the garage and right now both are being stored there in the way.

So I got the bright idea that I would begin removing the plywood panels so that I could go about installing the window. Sounds pretty simple, but actually that required taking shelves off the wall and emptying off the workbench I intended to clean anyway and the miter box stand so I could remove them from the wall as well.

I hit a stone wall, when I realized that I will have to re-route some wiring as there was not enough slack built into the circuit to allow them to go around the window framing. Of course, it's night time and dark, so that ain't happenin' 'til tomorrow when I can turn off the power and still see what I'm doing.

So if things go smoothly (what're the chances of that?) ... today entails a trip to Lowe's for some lumber and other supplies, some minor electrical work, framing in a box for the window to rest in, mounting it,  and then, THEEEN ... MAAAYYYBBEEE ... getting the garage back close to the shape it was in before I got "ambitious".

Meanwhile the garage looks like it was hit by a tornado. It actually looks worse NOW than when I started yesterday afternoon!

Happiness is .... sawdust?!?

Sometimes you turn a piece, sometimes you make sawdust ... last night, I made sawdust. I had a nice looking piece of Ambrosia Sycamore to work. I studied the grain pattern, determined the best way to mount it to the lathe, and began turning.

I changed the design 3 or 4 different times (which is typical for me) in the process of shaping what I think would've become a bowl. I say "I think" because I never really know what I am doing out there.

The wood "tells" me what it is going to be at some point. That point never really arrived last night.

The main problem was that I kept getting shear cuts. Basically little rough spots. I could manage to fix it here, but then would have it show up else where. They were too rough, in my opinion, to sand out, so I kept on working it trying to smooth it out more, resulting in more sawdust and less material to work.

I had just about gotten it smoothed down to where I wanted when about 2/3 of the way up the piece (close to the headstock) when I heard an odd noise. At first, I sighed, and accounted it to be *more* shear tearing.

I quickly found that it wasn't the WOOD I was hearing as it got louder and the vibration was much worse. I thought I knew what it was, and upon turning off the lathe, my fears were confirmed.

I was hitting one of the mounting screws. Maybe it's time to start using a glue block -- I'm tired of wasting material anyways.

Damn! I already needed to sharpen my chisels, now it will be imperative (at least on that one). I know I should've sharpened them prior to starting, but the garage has become so cluttered, it would take an extra half hour to get a place on the bench cleared out for the grinder *before* I COULD sharpen them, then the half hour or so sharpening would mean I already lost a full *hour* of turning time.

I made a bunch of sawdust and sadly "wasted" a nice piece (I think I can still work it into something else, but will have to sharpen tools before I attempt it). However, as sad as it is that I messed it up (possibly), it was quite nice to be out playing in the garage again. It's been MONTHS!

got wood?

I have been perusing Craigslist a lot lately. I check the "free" section everyday, because, well,  you never know. I also check for a couple other specific items I am hoping to catch a deal on.

Today there was an ad for free firewood right here in Newport. The guy listed maple, oak, cedar, and pecan as wood that was available. Almost all of it had the branches cut free and been sectioned off. The guy told me he had 3-4 truckloads and someone just needed to come by and pick it up.

Kewl! We set up a time and I went over and loaded up a truckload.

As it turns out all he had left was a bunch of maple (apparently someone came got the other stuff and didn't want maple). That was fine with me.

I mostly wanted some stuff to turn with. I have turned maple before and enjoy it, so whatever was unfit for turning will become bonfire wood, as we have plenty of firewood already for next season.

Here is what I wound up with ...

I need to work my axe a little, but it looks like it's bonfire time.

not cool enough

I got back out in the hop garden today to attempt to straighten out the hop trellis more to my liking. I state "attempt" because I never did get it how I wanted. I could've done it, but it would have taken so long to lower the pole, adjust, raise only to find out it wasn't enough an adjustment, drop, adjust, and repeat ad nauseum. Dad wanted to run some errands today and tomorrow, so that wasn't in the cards.

Wednesday it's supposed to rain ... so fuggit ... I figured it ain't broke, I ain't fixin' it! So basically it doesn't look any better today than yesterday.

So to further catch up this blog, I brewed another batch on Saturday evening. Ever since first getting the brewing equipment, I have wanted to brew a Nut Brown Ale. It is a great style and I just hadn't found what I was looking for until a week ago when I was in the local homebrew shop.

I got the kit and decided I would roll with the dry yeast that was in it. This would be my first time using dry yeast. I have used liquid yeast every time I have brewed. I read up on what it takes to proof it and it seemed simple enough, I felt comfortable with the process.

I got everything cleaned up and set up a pot with 2.5 gallons of water for steeping the grain and another with 10 X the weight of the yeast sachet that came with the kit. My book about yeast suggests bringing the water up to 105* then add the dry yeast.

I read 105* on the thermometer and transferred the water to a tupperware that I could put a lid on to keep pathogens and other "unwanteds" out. Melissa cautioned me it was too hot and proceeded to take the temperature again.

Good thing she did, because the temp was in excess of 105*. Apparently, I pulled the thermometer too quickly. Good save, woman!

Meanwhile I am still awaiting my 2.5 gallons to come up to 155*. I have gotten a pretty good routine and know where on the stove I need to have the settings ... at least for what I am *used* to doing!

I didn't think about the fact I was using a different volume of water this time and once it was up to temp., wound up setting the burner where I normally do and thought no more of  it. I perchance took another thermometer reading later in the steep and noticed I was in excess of 170*. Oh shit!

That is the plateau brewers like to steer clear from when steeping grain, because that is about the temperature that tannins are introduced. Tannins give the beer an astringent taste -- basically it becomes seriously bitter.

Uh Oh! I have been wanting to brew this all along and have done everything so far to make sure I screw it up!  Bad temperature management -- YEESH! I haven't shown this lack of discipline the whole time I have been brewing ... WTF? Yes, I did have a little buzz, but was fully capable of handling such simple things.

The rest of the process went according to plan, but I am curious as to how long that temperature was above 170* and how much "damage" was done. Hopefully it will work itself out and wasn't as bad as I think.

It is currently fermenting like mad! I have never had a batch that has been *this* active!

I counted five or six bubbles in the airlock per second. The most active I have previously seen was about 3 per second. You can actually *see* the yeast working. COOOOOL!

This being an "imperial" nut brown means that it will be another month and a half (at least) before I know if it will be okay. It probably will, I tend to worry a bit too much sometimes.

growin' on "down" the line

Well, got some things done around the house and have been unable to share since we haven't had internet all week. We have it now, for how long ...  who knows?

Anyhooooo .... the weather finally cooperated enough this week where there was a 48 hour break of *no* rain AND no *wind*. For three weeks now, that has NOT happened once and I have been reluctant to concrete my poles in the ground if there was wind and/or rain in the forecast. It is imperative the concrete base for these poles cure with the pipe perpendicular to the ground.

So I got the poles in the ground, leveled up, and the concrete cured without issue. That was the easy part.

Okay well digging the holes wasn't. Yeesh rocks and roots really hampered the process and wore my little ass out. I intended to dig 3' deep, but settled with 20" instead because of the aforementioned rock and roots.

Aside from the digging, the -hard- part turned out to be what I had expected to be a "piece of cake".  LoL I had already drilled holes in the 1" and 1/2" pipe so that when extended fully I could bolt them together as seen here ...

It doesn't look it in this picture, but  the top of those poles are about 15' off the ground.

All I had to do now, was pound the stakes into the ground, string the lines, and raise the poles. Easy peasy ... or NOT!

I put the stakes in without a problem. I cut the lines, again without a problem. I should've known that things were going *too* smoothly.

I looped the lines around the cable (that runs between the poles) which was a little taxing since it was 10' high, but that wasn't even too bad. The problem came when I went to raise the poles and slip the bolts in.

The first pole went up and I tightened both bolts. The second pole, however, would NOT fully extend. I wrestled and wrestled with it but made no progress.

I called in for reinforcements (luckily, Melissa was home). It turned out that the lines had slid down the cable (the grade of the ground was sloped) and were putting enough stress on it preventing me from raising it.

This was going to have to be re-thought. The whole idea of this system was the simplicity of harvesting. Loosen and remove four bolts, slide the poles down, harvest, and done. If extending the pole was going to require that much fighting, then we need to formulate a plan B here.

I undid the pole at the top of the hill and figured to try it in reverse. BINGO! that's what it takes -- set up the bottom pole and then do the top one. I was glad of this since I didn't really have a plan B -- nor an idea of what it would be.

It's up for now, but still needs some tweaking. As you can see, the distribution of the lines is way out of kilter.

I intend on getting some clamps and clamping the lines in place so they don't slide down the slope of the cable, but in the meantime, the hops got something to train themselves on ...

Grow babies, grow!

gettin' pretty good at this ...

Last night was yet another brew night. Heh, at this rate I better get some more bottles -- soon.

This was another clone recipe but this time I have never tried the beer. It looked like it would be pretty good, though, so figured I would try it. It's called an Alpha King Pale Ale from Three Floyd's Brewing Company based somewhere in Indiana.

I am really getting the hang of this brewing. Lord knows I am getting plenty of practice.   ; )  

The preceding paragraph refers to how I got my timing down. I got everything cleaned up and sanitized and started one pot with 4 gallons of water and set that on high to boil. I put just under two gallons in the other pot and brought that up to 155* to steep the grains.

I steeped the grains for 30 minutes and that was about the time needed to get my 4 gallons to reach boiling temperature. I added the grain tea to the 4 gallons, added my extract and first hop addition, stirred, and let it boil away for 90 minutes. There really was nothing else to do with this one. Two hop additions at the start of the boil and one at the end.

This did require a late extract addition and I just added it when I put in my Irish Moss and Yeast Nutrient. Stirred it for 10 minutes, added my flavoring hops and stirred for 5 more.

I set it in an ice bath and got the temperature down to 80* within 20 minutes; then aerated and pitched the yeast. This morning it was already bubbling in the fermenter. Again, I must be getting pretty good at this.  ; )

there's nuthin' like live ...

So I got to take in another show last night. That's two in a month's time, it's almost like old times!

I love seeing a live show. The energy, the interaction between fans and the band, just the whole experience is a good time to me.

The headliner for last night's bill was a band that is far out of the mainstream and I think they like it that way. Their name is Fair to Midland and are from Texas.

Very odd, artsy music that is more like an acquired taste. I wasn't sure if I liked it or not the first few times I heard it, but after that it grew on me.   ; )

The doors were supposed to open at 6:30 and the last show I went to, I missed most of the opening act (partially due to them opening the doors late), because we were in line to get into the place. The part of the set we caught was great, but I was really bummed to have missed the rest of the act.

Well, they were put on this bill, so I made sure I was going to be able to catch *all* of their set this time! I showed up about 20 minutes after doors were set to open and again, they weren't. However, this time there wasn't much of a line, so I just stayed in the car jammin' to some FTM priming myself for the show.

The doors didn't open until 8. They must've meant 6:30 *Central* time! ; )  

Oh well, this time I managed to get inside before the band hit the stage. They are a TN band and I hope I get to see some more of them. Their name is ARC.

3 guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer. All instrumental and all out. They have quite a full and complex sound at a high energy pace.

At times, to me, it seemed a bit choppy, almost rushed, as some of the transitions weren't as fluid as I typically hear, but I think that was by design. Even though there were times when I didn't know where they were going, they sure did!

If you took the pieces of the song (guitarists, drummer, bassist) and separated them you would think there is NO way this would work when put together -- but it did!   Good stuff!

They were tight and had a great sound. They were selling EPs for a $1 so I picked one up  and jammed on it on the drive home.

The next band up was Scale the Summit. During the set change, my buddy was playing around on his internet equipped phone and informed me that this band *makes* their own instruments. Apparently, they had attended some musical institute.

So when they took the stage, I paid special attention and sure enough, the bassist had six strings, the lead guitar had 7, and the rhythm guitar had 8. 21 strings between three instruments! ARC had 22 between four!   ;  )      They didn't just know how to design their instruments, they could play them too!

They got to extend their set a few songs, since the band that typically followed them, a band called Periphery, had dropped off the tour the previous day. I guess that's why the doors didn't open until 8, but the venue still could update their website to let fans know. I could've found a better way to spend that hour.

Anyway, back to the show. I was glad they were able to showcase a few extra songs, as I thoroughly enjoyed their set. They were really talented and brought a good energy level to the stage (as did ARC).

They closed with what the guy called their "toughest" song. I think it was an excellent choice. They played a great set.

Next up was Fair to Midland. The lead singer is a f*cknut! He sure is one odd duck!

In between verses he did what looked to be an epileptic seizure. Now, I am afflicted with "white boy dancing" myself but he made *me* look good.   LoL     Still, he was amusing to watch. I think I laughed as much as I ever had at a show.

Their set was great, but again, they are an odd style of music. Actually, I don't think there *is* a style they "fit".

They were edgier than I would've guessed from their recorded stuff. The few fans that were there, were *real* fans and knew their music quite well.

The guy that stood in line behind me came over from Nashville, to see them. Apparently, they don't tour much outside of their home state.

It was a great show, and I must admit although I really enjoyed FTM's set, I was more impressed with the opening acts. I don't recall the last time that happened. Not saying FTM was not a good show, but the other two were  great.

Not sure when I will get to take in another show, but I can't wait. There's no substitute for the energy and interaction of a live show.

been busy lately ...

So I haven't wrote anything for a while. Some of it because I have been too lazy to bother, and some of it because, well, we have just been busy the past few days.

Dad has had me searching for an old classic car to replace the Mustang he sold because "we never took it anywhere". Now down to two vehicles, his truck and "my" Challenger (grin), he has a perceived void. Right now, even with but two vehicles, only the truck sees "regular" use. Sooo .... he wants a nostalgia vehicle to sit unused to, I reckon.  ; )

I have found him many possibilities over the past few months, but he always finds something wrong with it. I found a 65 Ford Galaxie earlier in the week, and Dad set it up with the gentleman to go look at it.

We got there and the thing looked every bit as solid as the picture

showed it to be. I looked it over and the car was solid.

Very little rust at all and what there was was only surface, so can easily be fixed. It's all original, has a 390 c.i. power plant, 3 speed on the column, and the interior looked as cherry as it did 46 years ago. This thing has been well cared for.

After looking it over, a test run was necessary. It has a pull to the right (probably just needs an alignment) but otherwise rides like it is on glass. What a smmoooootth riding car!

Dad made the man an offer and the deal was made. I drove it home (mostly along the interstate) and it just purred along nicely. No issues!

I pulled "my" Challenger out of the garage and went about parking the Galaxie in it. I pulled in as far as I felt comfortable (there is a 4-tiered shelving unit on the back wall) and the ass end was still sticking out. I checked and realized I could pull forward about 6" more, which is about what was needed.

That thing is 17' long and there is no room to walk around it when in the garage, without moving stuff around, which there isn't a lot of *extra* room in the garage to do so. It's a 20' X22' garage and it's packed pretty darn full.

Once that was parked, it was time to drink a few. I had been trying my Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat clone over the past couple weeks, but it just didn't seem done bottle conditioning as the flavoring addition at bottling time, was just too overbearing. I had set a six of 'em in the fridge to cool for a couple days and try again.

We tried them and they were finally "ready".

It was a nice clear pour, and quite possibly the clearest beer I have brewed yet. The flavoring was no longer as prominent as it had previously been. I gave Melissa a taste of it, and she said she could actually drink one of those of her own on occasion.

I also had a couple of the original lying around to do a side by side comparison. I never poured it to compare color, but the taste was what I was most concerned with.

The original had more of a sweetness to it. Mine still had "some" of that, but it had mostly mellowed out, which was what I was shooting for, but to match it better I should've tried them the previous week.

However, Melissa said she preferred mine to the original. I kind of liked it a  bit better that way as well (but then I may have a bias).

Yesterday, we went out to register the Galaxie only to find the tag office is closed on Wednesdays. Doh!

We also ordered a carport that will allow "my" Challenger to go back in the garage and the Galaxie will live under the carport. More importantly, I will be able to walk around inside the garage again as the Challenger is a  bit smaller.

Last night I bottled up my Highland's Gaelic Ale clone. It went pretty smoothly and the gravity sample had a nice flavor to it. I really hope this one comes out well as it is one of my favorite beers.

Sometime today, I guess, we will head out and title and tag the Galaxie. Later tonight, we are going to a "bike night" over in Knoxville. Tomorrow night, I am going to a show.

Busy, busy, busy! but I like it. I now have an empty carboy, have ingredients to do the next two batches, the "need" to brew,  but just cannot seem to find the time to do it.   LoL