12.31.2021

The older you get, the faster the years seem to come and go.  But as we look back on this year, we are grateful to end it still healthy and happy.  We wish everyone a wonderful 2022!

I took a look back at the blog on last New Year's Eve - Jim was just building the sink base cabinet.  My - we've come a long way since then!  My kitchen is fabulous and that's just a part of all the accomplishments this year.  

Jim spent the day in the wood shop today.  Gluing up more wood for cabinet pieces...

Changing blades on the moulder...

Cutting cove moulding...

These were all just cut off pieces that Jim turned into pretty cove moulding!

Time for some maintenance on the planer...

He had to take quite a bit apart but look at all the pitch he scraped off - a problem when working with pine.  The planer should work better now!

High 37/Low 33 - very foggy all day

12.30.2021

Jim worked this morning planing the new maple he got at the lumberyard yesterday and getting it sorted and stacked...

Gluing up pieces for the sides of the bathroom cabinet...

Jim got the door - with new gasket - attached to the Bobcat for the winter...

Then he attached the bucket and tried to scrape some of the slush from the driveway.  There's not much but enough that if it freezes will be nasty.  But there's really not enough to try and scrape either so kind of a battle.

He hosed off my car to get rid of the dirt/salt grime...

Then he took the 4Runner and filled up his can of diesel fuel.  Once he got home, he gave the 4Runner a hose off too.  Check out that sky!

High 38/Low 33

12.29.2021

 Jim decided to head down to Ghent late morning to get wood.  And they had beautiful maple and pine - ht got the biggest load he could carry!

Unloading...

Stacking in the wood shop...

Mom and I decided to do some grocery store pickups this afternoon - we got home just a bit after Jim did, so he carried in all the groceries and his wood while I operated the door so we didn't have to leave it open for long!

High 33/Low 31

12.28.2021

Jim had a 10:00 appointment to get the 4Runner inspected - it passed so that was great news!  Now both cars can legally be on the road!

His plan was to go to Ghent to get wood once he got home, but he called first to see if they had what he needed.  They had to check with the yard people and said they would call him back.  By the time they did, it was after lunch so too late in the day for that trip.

Instead, he called the small local lumberyard.  They said they had some select pine, so he drove out there.  Unfortunately, their idea of select is not Jim's idea!  He got two pieces...

Painting the other side of the bathroom shelves...

Drying...

High 35/Low 29

12.27.2021

 Jim sanded the primed bathroom shelves today...

Then a coat of shaded ice...

Drying - so pretty!

Jim has an appointment tomorrow to get the 4Runner inspected so it can finally be back on the road!  So he put the seat back in, did some cleaning, and went over it...

Tweaking the oil levels in my car after its oil change...

Jim also spent time today helping me with my fire school work - he carted these mailing trays up and down the stairs, and when I was finished metering them, loaded up my car so I can take them to the post office tomorrow!

High 26/Low 23

12.26.2021

Jim primed the other side of the new bathroom shelves this morning...

Drying...

He got the new press put together and on its new base, complete with adjustable feet.  It's much meatier than his old one!

He then switched the vehicles around and put my car up on the lift.  He is changing the oil and also using his new spray film to coat some of the undercarriage to help prevent corrosion...

Stopped a bit early so we could watch Mass tonight.

High 34/Low 17

12.25.2021

 

We hope that everyone had a very blessed Christmas with family and friends!  We had a wonderful day - so happy that we had my mom here with us, although we missed Kyle coming up this year because of the virus issues once again.

Jim made me promise to post pictures of how we started our morning - here are our cranberry rolls ready to go in the oven this morning.  They certainly looked Christmasy!

And the after picture - we definitely enjoyed them!

Jim opening up (and sharing!) candy that Mom bought for him...

We watched Mass before lunch, talked to Kyle over FaceTime, and then Jim headed down to the shop.  He touched sanded the shelf pieces and then started priming them...

Shelf pieces drying...

Baseboard moulding primed...

Jim finished welding the new base for his press and gave it a coat of paint for protection...

He welded bolts in the base so that he can insert his adjustable feet in the bottom...

Assembling the new press...

We played some dominoes and then had a turkey breast dinner, complete with pumpkin pie (the diet will start soon - ha!).  We watched It's a Wonderful Life - and it certainly is!  Merry Christmas to all!

High 33/Low 30 - freezing rain in AM

12.24.2021

 

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas Eve!

Since it was Christmas Eve, Jim didn't rush down to the wood shop this morning - he had some computer work to do first.  Once he was there, he continued to work on moulding pieces.  Here you can see he's making the relief cuts on the back...

Jim had listed the old press on Craigslist and spent time today going back and forth with a buyer.  Jim moved it to right outside the garage doors for easy loading (and so we don't have people in the carriage house!).  The guy came out mid-afternoon and picked it up.  Perfect timing - now Jim can assemble the new one and put it right into that space.  We did work with the company about the missing piece, but Jim wants to build a different base anyway, so he got started on that...

The new base is all tack-welded together...

It was baking day upstairs today - Mom and I made Jim's sandwich bread, pasta and this evening we tried a new recipe - cranberry rolls with cream cheese frosting!  They are so pretty - they are now rising in the fridge til we bake them in the morning.  Hopefully they taste as good as they look!  It's our tradition to have cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning - we thought these would be fun to try.

High 25/Low 21 - winter weather advisory tonight for freezing rain/ice