Covid19 Spare time

Grumpy Bear · June 8, 2021

14 minutes ago, Donstar said:

Sometimes projects appear magically! Yesterday I dropped an open container of coffee color stain on my garage floor which splattered widely. My motorcycle was in the direct path of the wave. My plans for a five minute touch up chore evolved into my wife and I planning for a complete garage repaint and adding protective flooring. She wants the black and white checkered flooring and I want a neutral grey floor paint. We finally decided on keeping the garage looking like a garage and embrace the newly acquired brown splotches on a bare cement floor. (It actually cleaned up fairly well but was a long and miserable chore) The good news is my HD will get the long overdue detailing it needs and my wife gets to shop for new towels...

This is funny and this is also how each day of my life goes. Par for us OCD types. Accident ooooor distraction...it matters not. Making something as simple as instant coffee has lead to an entire kitchen cleaning. :crackup:

Donstar · June 12, 2021

I am in the process of installing a fold away, wheeled tongue jack for my 4' X 6' utility trailer. It is overkill for such a small trailer but lifting a loaded trailer off the hitch is no longer a solo exercise. My issue is all of the universal auto store jacks are designed for rectangular framed trailers. My trailer's exposed tongue bars are pipe. This wouldn't normally be an issue but a consequence of Covid is the local welding shops are booked over a month in advance. My solution is to bolt a piece of 2" angle iron to a 2" round pipe. (The pipe is non-structural and was added after the trailer was built.) This task sounds simple but it's not. You need copious hours of free time and an abundance of patience to attempt such a feat! As my wife says you're "trying to fit s square peg into a round hole". I think this is harder!

Donstar · June 13, 2021

I realize that a picture may clarify the above post so here is what I'd accomplished by noon yesterday. Installation looks easy when finished and only my wife and I know how much free time was killed or harmed in the process! It appears disproportionate to the trailer because it is too big! (The picture escalates this when not seen with the rest of the trailer.) However, it was inexpensive, works great and can be easily removed.

Donstar · June 19, 2021

My latest Covid project was refreshing my old utility trailer. It was disintegrating next to our driveway for the past few years and was a common source of jabs from my lovely bride. In early spring I removed the wood parts so it would quit shedding. This only exacerbated the ugliness.

I had no place out of sight to store this treasure. The writing was on the wall that it needed to be re-done or scrapped. I couldn't do the latter as too many memories are attached. So I went over every square inch and followed the Radio Flyer theme that my wife and I decided on last time it was re-done. (2003)

This previous refresh was done to look pretty but my heavy work schedule and and active life style resulted in too many shortcuts. This year I had the time to finish it properly. It was not planned but it was spring of '71 (50 yrs.) when I first refreshed the green Tremclad paint job on this same trailer!

I did add some aluminum in vulnerable areas and replaced the 13" trailer wheels with 15". The trailer originally had old car spindles and wheels which accounts for the extra large fenders. The 15's fill the space much better than the 13's, imo.

Donstar · June 27, 2021

My senior widowed neighbour has a son visiting for the first time since Covid became a household word. He is very skilled and likes to do home repair for his mom. I have got to know him fairly well and am fine lending him tools. His frequent visits to my cache of tools yesterday helped me appreciate what a poor job I've done of downsizing! He first asked to borrow a level. I asked what size? He opted for 48". I then asked him yellow or silver? His next visit was for a grinder. I asked him, "Corded or uncorded?" It went on like this for much of the day and it was often more embarrassing than funny! I'm glad I am able to supply him with tools because he is also working on the fence between our houses. Our current weather rivals Houston in mid-summer so I'll pass on the outside jobs. I can keep the garage fairly cool so my next project is taking my "essential" tool needs down a notch!

KARNUT · June 27, 2021

8 minutes ago, Donstar said:

My senior widowed neighbour has a son visiting for the first time since Covid became a household word. He is very skilled and likes to do home repair for his mom. I have got to know him fairly well and am fine lending him tools. His frequent visits to my cache of tools yesterday helped me appreciate what a poor job I've done of downsizing! He first asked to borrow a level. I asked what size? He opted for 48". I then asked him yellow or silver? His next visit was for a grinder. I asked him, "Corded or uncorded?" It went on like this for much of the day and it was often more embarrassing than funny! I'm glad I am able to supply him with tools because he is also working on the fence between our houses. Our current weather rivals Houston in mid-summer so I'll pass on the outside jobs. I can keep the garage fairly cool so my next project is taking my "essential" tool needs down a notch!

There’s something about tools. I have several complete sets from my equipment operator days. Up to inch and a half. Some hand made. I don’t intend on using anymore. Ah but the memories.

Donstar · June 27, 2021

1 hour ago, KARNUT said:

There’s something about tools. I have several complete sets from my equipment operator days. Up to inch and a half. Some hand made. I don’t intend on using anymore. Ah but the memories.

The stories attached to the memories often makes for some priceless (to the owner) tools!

Grumpy Bear · June 27, 2021

30 minutes ago, Donstar said:

The stories attached to the memories often makes for some priceless (to the owner) tools!

My father at 93 held on to every tool I made him while in high school machine shop and still uses them. He could have bought better and still. He makes me smile allot.

Cleaning out just the top two boxes recently of my stack yielded a third of a 40 gallon waste receptacle of, "I wonder what that went too".

Donstar · June 28, 2021

19 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Cleaning out just the top two boxes recently of my stack yielded a third of a 40 gallon waste receptacle of, "I wonder what that went too".

You'll find what it went to shortly after you get rid of the item! As an aside, please give your Dad a smile and a man hug from me. Mine would have been the same age if he wasn't chosen earlier. It's been 20 years but his tools peppered throughout mine keeps the memories alive. The funniest thing I found amongst his tools was a set of screwdrivers i gave him that were collected one at a time from my local gas station. My wife and I weren't quite making it from paycheck to paycheck at the time and these screwdrivers were extremely inconsistent with the high-end tools he used and needed for his career. I definitely thought this gift would receive the obligatory appreciation and be sent to the "spare" tool resting place. Instead, they were engraved with his name and were promoted to be his daily drivers! [I'm ok with pun ]

Grumpy Bear · June 28, 2021

Dads heart is soft a pudding but he comes from that generation that doesn't hug, doesn't cry in public and recoils from a handshake after three seconds. That guy gave me one hug in my entire life I know of but brother is was the best hug I've ever had. I never doubted him ever and only once challenged him....that did not end well....for me. :crackup:

Donstar · June 28, 2021

5 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Dads heart is soft a pudding but he comes from that generation that doesn't hug, doesn't cry in public and recoils from a handshake after three seconds. That guy gave me one hug in my entire life I know of but brother is was the best hug I've ever had. I never doubted him ever and only once challenged him....that did not end well....for me.

I've always considered a man hug to be more verbal than physical so your comments made me go to Google for clarification. Here is something you and your Dad may enjoy!

KARNUT · June 28, 2021

Customs are unique. My father in law insists on hugs. My family of men, don’t even do handshakes among ourselves. We do know each other after all. Showing affection more than a smile was a little overboard. If you don’t get a smile it’s time to run! The pissing contest among my uncles when growing up were quite humorous and entertaining. Never saw fistfights. They grew out of those. The stunts they pulled on me when I first came to work in the business was brutal. They all worked for my father. Come to find out later my grandfather love to stir the pot. Explained a lot. My wife’s family was opposite. I thought they were sissy’s. I did learn differents and prefer their company. Older my side ( brothers) all settled down. Compliments are allowed not laugh at.

Donstar · July 3, 2021

My area is receiving a reprieve from the extreme heat. Temperatures recently have exceeded all previous records Last Monday afternoon we checked on our friend in her seniors apartment with no air-conditioning and she appeared on the brink of death. We brought her home with us to recoup for a few days in our air conditioned home. Caring for her was a labor of love but was intense. My wife and I are getting to the point where providing such personal care to others is beyond our physical abilities. We took her back to her home yesterday and this morning I have no commitments but I plan to be busy all day. My spare time projects have focused on making our senior years comfortable but having a roommate 20 yrs older than us for a week demonstrated I have a lot more to do! If something so simple as a few strategically placed grab bars and higher toilets can give me some extra years of privacy, dignity and independence, I'm going to be ready! I believe providing personal care is less stressful on the provider than the recipient. I "cared" for my mother with minimal issue. I found doing the same for a long time friend much less comfortable. I definitely have limits to where I want help from my friends!

KARNUT · July 3, 2021

9 minutes ago, Donstar said:

My area is receiving a reprieve from the extreme heat. Temperatures recently have exceeded all previous records Last Monday afternoon we checked on our friend in her seniors apartment with no air-conditioning and she appeared on the brink of death. We brought her home with us to recoup for a few days in our air conditioned home. Caring for her was a labor of love but was intense. My wife and I are getting to the point where providing such personal care to others is beyond our physical abilities. We took her back to her home yesterday and this morning I have no commitments but I plan to be busy all day. My spare time projects have focused on making our senior years comfortable but having a roommate 20 yrs older than us for a week demonstrated I have a lot more to do! If something so simple as a few strategically placed grab bars and higher toilets can give me some extra years of privacy, dignity and independence, I'm going to be ready! I believe providing personal care is less stressful on the provider than the recipient. I "cared" for my mother with minimal issue. I found doing the same for a long time friend much less comfortable. I definitely have limits to where I want help from my friends!

15 years ago we built a small home on the back of our property to be our old age home. This was after visiting 55 plus communities. The fees to live there are ridiculous. I can hire a maid and yard service cheaper. In the meantime it’s a rental. As I get older I make more modifications. You don’t know what you need till you know. Recently the mother in law is mulling the idea of adding a mother in law addition to either or. Joy.

Donstar · July 5, 2021

"You don’t know what you need till you know." I will add that it is good to plan for the unknown. I was almost in my 50's before I started really taking the prospect of my senior years seriously. Prior to then I would contribute to my pension and plan for retirement but in a half-assed manner. The thought of reaching and thriving in my senior years was not part of my reality. My parents, like Karnut, purchased and built real estate for retirement. They never lived in their retirement home but proceeds from the sale financed their final years. My three kids are all in their 40's and Covid gave them all a little taste of an extended period of no work and restricted mobility. The one that is still spending ahead of his next pay check is finally starting to get a little motivation to think in future terms. If you have spare time or cash, think of the future you. Your extra effort now will be remembered and appreciated when your need is much greater.