Thursday, September 22, 2016

HUMILIATION

WHERE ARE WE TODAY
" The Ridge" near Durham, Ontario

HUMILIATION and forgetfulness, that's what this post is about and to make matters worse, it belongs to me, yes it is mine. Now, not that I relish the idea of telling all of you about my forgetfulness, but there is a lesson here .
If you have followed along, you will remember that we get our fresh water from my " in-laws " well, a short distance away by filling a water bladder and then pumping it into our fresh water tank. The last few times of doing this, I noticed that it was taking longer and longer to pump the water into our tank.  Monday of last week while going through the process, the 60 watt light bulb in the block on top of my shoulders came on, OH, I wonder if the filter is clogged? I stopped the pump, opened the canister and took a look at the filter. Sure enough, it was clogged, leaving it out, I replaced the canister and finished pumping the water in no time.


The canister with the filter
Clogged Filter

When finished, I took the canister back off with the intention  of showing my brother - in - law the rusty particles in the bottom of it. He had been telling me that when they flush their system in the fall,  there are rust particles that come out of the pressure tank of their system, this I think verifies their suspicions.
On Thursday we were having company and I still had 10 or 12 gallons of  water in the bladder after I filled the tank on Monday. So I thought I would top off the tank, hooked everything up, turned on the pump and went inside to eat breakfast. Back outside, the bladder is empty and I can hear water dripping from every screw hole  under the trailer. If you haven't figured it out by now, yes I forgot to put the canister back on and that 10 or 12 gallons of water was now in the underbelly and not in the tank.
The air around "The Ridge " turned blue after some choice words ( like, dab nab it and golly gee", to name a few ) that I had to say about the situation and myself. How could I be so stupid, well maybe not stupid but forgetful?
After beating myself up and calming down, I took a good look at where the water had gone. Reaching in through the storage area into the belly, I could feel the wet insulation. After poking a couple of small holes in the plastic corrugated bottom to let more water drain out, I left it for now as company would soon be there.
The next day after our company has left, I turn my attention back to the issue at hand. The insulation is still wet and if I push up from the bottom, there is still water coming out. After a couple of phone calls and some research, I know I have to open up the bottom and get the wet insulation out and make sure everything is dry before we have a mold problem.

Water laying on the corrugated plastic 
The underbelly cut open


Any wet insulation removed

I go about cutting open that corrugated plastic bottom where I figure the water has gotten to and pull out any insulation that has any hint of water in it. Confident that I have it all, I proceed to wipe dry all the areas in the frame, making sure it is dry. Next off to town to buy a bundle of insulation, screws and a roll of "Gorilla Tape" to put it all back together. Putting the insulation back up while laying on the ground under the trailer is a bit tricky, but I did manage to get it up. Fastening some 1 X 2 strips of wood along one side of the opening then bringing up the cut pieces and fastening  them to the wood strips also. Last was to cover the seam with the tape to make sure it was sealed.

laying on the ground under the trailer

Wood strips for refastening

putting in the insulation

I am happy with the repair job I have done. There are times when I don't think I can do repairs or projects, either I feel that I don't have the skill or knowledge or tools to do it. There are also the times that I know when to get the professionals to do it. On the other side, there are times when I take on a project with no idea of what I'm doing and it turns out great. Pat tells me I don't give myself enough credit at times. I like to think that I'm a" jack of all trades, but master of none."
The lesson here is a number of things. One, check all your hook ups before executing the task at hand. Don't let anyone tell you that insulation will dry and not grow mold. Some of the insulation that I pulled out was so saturated with water that I could wring it out, it would not have dried for months. Something else, I was told that , the insulation if it did dry would grow mold and the insulation would crumble to dust particles.
Well that's my story, hope you had a chuckle at my expense and learned something also. In an upcoming post I will mention another project that I took on to make storage in the basement of the trailer better.
Until the next time, thanks for following along, take care and be safe.



















Wednesday, September 7, 2016

BUSY, BUSY, WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE

WHERE ARE WE TODAY
"The Ridge" Durham On.

Busy, busy where has the time gone. In my last post, I mentioned the "Bunkie" we have been working on. I am happy to say it is near completion.  As I write this, there are a few pieces of trim to put up, a door handle and latch and a couple of pictures to hang. I am pleased with the outcome   and should make a nice guest cabin or when I am in trouble with Pat, a really nice dog house.


New smaller door

Even a TV

SW painting from our old home

Bar fridge


What keeps me busy you ask, after all, "you're supposed to be retired." Yes I am retired, but would go stir crazy if I sat around too long. I have my grass cutting to do, maybe three acres. Hey, just thought of something else to do, measure the area and see just how much there is, I'll add that to the "to do list". The mower I use belongs to our brother-in-law. It is an old one he picked up used a couple of years ago.  I have wanted a better one to cut with and call my own. That way, if anything goes wrong with it, It is me fixing it and not paying to fix someone else's, crazy thinking maybe but that's me. Pat found a used Cub Cadet on Kijiji just up the road from us, so went and had a look. It is in good shape and only five years old and the price was right. So now I have a mower of my own.



Trying out my new to me mower

Another project I have on the go is the redoing of my cargo trailer that I keep my RC airplanes in. Since we sold the house, it is the only storage space that I have for them. I am always looking at what other guys do to their cargo trailers to house and transport their planes. When at the event in Chatham this past July, I got a couple of ideas that I think will make mine better, so I am working on that too.

Shelves on the right are new

This past weekend was Labour Day, and for the last few years my cousins have   a " Cousins Family Reunion" held at the cottage of one of them in Inverhuron. It is a come for the day or come and camp for the weekend type of thing, we go for the day. Our Aunt Ruth is the only one left of our parents, that's why it is a cousins reunion, of course, we have to have her there. We had a great time and the pot luck was tasty as always.



Aunt Ruth and three more generations
We wanted to make our gravel area a little wider, so had a load of gravel brought in and a local fellow come and spread it.

Best Contracting brought the load

Spreading

Brian and his tractor

Nice job, all done.
Well I think that catches you all up to date on my busyness. It is hard to believe we are into the second week of September, the kids are back to school and the fall fairs have started. We are down to 47 days before we head to the southwest for the first time as snowbirds, so we are starting to plan all of that and which route we may take, exciting yes.  We still have Thanksgiving and a RV show in Toronto before that happens and of course shutting down "The Ridge" before we leave. Busy, busy, busy, what can I say, we are having fun and enjoying retirement.
Thanks for following along and until the next time, be safe and take care,