1.10.2025

Jim had me do a little errand this morning and then come home so he could make sure that my car wasn't leaking.  It was fine, so I headed out to visit my mom and do some errands afterwards.

Jim had cleanup work to do from the Bobcat job, and then he got the door frame moldings put on the shop bathroom.  Looks so finished now! 

He had a Craigslist sale today, so he met the guy locally and filled up the cans with diesel fuel while he was out.

We are still waiting for our propane gas delivery.  This is the longest we've had to wait, and the driveway is in perfect shape which is unusual for January.  Hopefully Monday.

High 34.1/Low 14.6

1.9.2025

 Jim had my car up on the car lift today.  He figured out which hose was leaking, but it was one that was all but impossible to get to.

Doing it by feel, not sight! 

He got another clamp on the hose, filled it up with antifreeze, and let it run for a while.  There doesn't appear to be any more leaks.  He also found some clips that would work and put the windshield vent back in place...

The furnace worked overnight, but we ran the split units just in case, because the temperatures have been very cold.  It's still gone on/off at various times today.  Jim can usually get it back running by jiggling the sensor that he has pulled out.  The new part that hopefully will fix the issue is on order and supposed to come in tomorrow.

High 23.6/Low 13.9

1.8.2025

Jim worked on putting the Bobcat back together today... 

Yay - all back together!  The Bobcat is now back in the pole barn and the 4Runner back in its spot.  

Of course, as these things sometimes seem to go, you just get one problem solved and more pop up.  I was on the way home after visiting my mom when the temperature gauge went into the red zone.  As soon as I saw it, I immediately called Jim who had seen some antifreeze on the floor after I left.  As I drove, the temperature eventually came back to the normal range.  Jim looked at it when I got home and thinks he knows which hose is leaking - of course, it's the most difficult to access.  He'll put it up on the car lift tomorrow and check it out.

Then a fault happened on the furnace, right in the middle of this really cold weather period.  He reset it and it's working now, but something else he has to investigate.

High 20.7/Low 15.1

1.7.2025

Each of these cylinders are over 50 pounds, so packaging them to send them back is a challenge to make sure they stay intact.  Getting the first package taped...

Once both cylinders were packaged, Jim turned his attention back to putting the Bobcat together.  He made good progress - probably an hour or two tomorrow and he'll be done.

Mid-afternoon, we took the cylinders and dropped them off at the UPS Store, then headed to visit my mom, where we played some Rack-o...

High 24.6/Low 7.1

1.6.2025

Jim had a doctor appointment this morning.  Once he got home and had breakfast, he started working on removing the cylinders from the Bobcat.  He got an email last night from the seller along with return shipping labels, which was wonderful.  We were expecting to have to fight for a refund, but so far so good!  

I went to visit my mom and by the time I got home, Jim had the first cylinder out and was ready to put the new one into place... 

In place...

Once the right side was done, he removed the battery so he could have access to the bottom pin on the left side...

Draining fluid...

Old cylinders out!  Jim will package them in the morning and we'll take them to the UPS Store so they'll be on their way...

Getting ready to put the top pin in the new cylinder...

Jim continued working, starting to put everything back together.  Amazing how quickly he was able to replace them this time!  

High 18.7/Low 8.3

1.5.2025

Today is the Epiphany, so we did our annual house blessing prayer... 

Since the Epiphany marks the end of Christmas, Jim brought up all the empty tubs and I took down the Christmas decorations.  It always looks empty afterwards, so I put up some snowmen decorations.

Snowmen were appropriate, because we got some more snow today.  We probably ended up with 3" of snow but it snowed most of the day.  This was the first day that we didn't visit Mom, but we called her instead.  We were there last evening and the weather was just kind of iffy.  Unfortunately, Covid is also rearing its ugly head at the facility, so we're praying that none of us come down with it.

Jim finished up his letter to the company where he purchased the Bobcat cylinders and got it sent off yesterday.  But after plowing the driveway, he pulled the Bobcat into the auto bay to start the task of removing the cylinders that aren't the correct ones.  

He took out the old battery from my car...

New platinum battery installed!

Bobcat cab is up and Jim is just doing initial prep work...

High 26.1/Low 22.1 - 3" of snow

1.3.2025

 

We weren't really supposed to get snow, but we ended up with about 1-1/2" overnight.  Of course, Jim has been waiting all week for the gas company to come and top off our tank, so he went out and dragged the driveway to make sure they could get up.  But they never showed.  

Speaking of the Bobcat, Jim is so disappointed with the cylinders that he installed - they are not the cushioned type and behave just like his old ones.  On the way to see my mom yesterday, we stopped at the Bobcat store.  They know Jim there and allowed him to try out one of their machines with the cushioned cylinders, and they behaved just like he expected them too - they come down fast and then slow right at the end so they don't come crashing down onto the frame as his do.  Now it will be a fight to get a refund from the company he ordered them from.  He prepared an email today and we took videos to show how they work (or don't work).  

While we were out yesterday, we also stopped and picked up a new battery for my car.  Jim wants to replace it just to make sure it's good heading into the cold months.

High 30/Low 26.8 - 1-1/2" of snow