NotCigs refugee thread

[FranC]

No snow here but it sure was cold for May!! I’m not at all sure what my beloved Japanese lacy leaf maple will look like this summer. It surely isn’t looking good right now.

I’m planning to go get a few hanging baskets for the yard this weekend and pressure wash the fence so I hope last nights freeze warning was it until fall. Heat is still ON in my house. A/C’s are in windows, but heat is still on. Smh...This year is CRAZY!!!

I agree. I want some warm,

 

[El Dee]

We've had no freeze but I dang sure haven't worn shorts but a couple of days so far.....

Fired in on painting Mom's kitchen....Dang old popcorn ceiling had a couple of places about to flake off....I didn't wanna spray the whole thing so I schemed on it until I came up with this idea....That popcorn is sheetrock mud cut with paint and popcorn added.....I took a blunt tip needle topped 30 ml bottle and filled it with Kilz primer....I used a razor blade to gently lift the flaking area and squirted the Kilz underneath....Then I pressed it tight using a paper towel to capture what ran out of the crack...One press and it stuck like glue and looked great 24 hours later....having a couple of spots where the popcorn had met with someone else's sandpaper I stuck the blunt tip to the area and squeezed out a small drop to simulate the popcorn....That took a couple three dozen squeezes but it looked swell after drying....Sanding on the sheetrock splits and cabinet chips as well....That dang ceiling had me worried though....Thanks 30 ml !!!!

I got that old stimulus check marinating in the old checking account....That old Dodge dually of mine is a 97 with 103k miles....It's pretty low for the year and I bought the truck specifically for the injection pump it has for the diesel....Long short it's a 12 valve Cummins that switch to a 24 valve mid year 98...The 12 Valve is known as the Holy Grail diesel....Among other changes was the steering wheel....Mine is leather wrapped with a great big old hole right where my hand rests....You can't get a new one.....Those wrap things....well....there's one somewhere alongside I 85 that I threw out the window coming home with the truck....To bulky for me....Dude had one in Jax, Fla for $300....I'd been trolling that one but SHEESH!!! It even had a couple of small spots on the bottom....Well with that check and that hole in my wheel I decided to pull the trigger....One last look see and dang if someone in Chesnee, SC hadn't posted one for $165....It looked perfect....I decided to dig into the part numbers and make double sure....I did....It will fit....Cruise control switches being the hold up....Chesnee messaged overnight with an offer of $135....It's sitting in the shop waiting for me to get that damn kitchen painted....

Just got a call from Mom....Sis took her to the beach to get her away from the painting....I guess she's feeling guilty cause they're working me like a damn slave and they're not doing sheet....Trust that kitchen has been hanging like a black cloud for months.....I ain't stopping no way.....Mom said Cuzzo with the Covids has went to Heaven.....She got better but then worse....Look.....She was my Cuzzo and I did know her but we were never close.....Just know this.....that damn virus will kill you....Everybody take heed and protect yourself and those around you.....

 

[FranC]

Pretty clever fix for the ceiling,Dee

Sorry to hear of your Cuzco even if you weren’t close.

 

[908Tracy]

Yay for those needle tip 30 mls!!!
I’m sorry about your cousin too.

More yard work on tap for today. Pressure washing white privacy fence (90 feet) and cleaning outdoor lights, etc. Going to tractor supply for a bird feeder and yard hook to mount (for oldest daughters place) and scooping some dog food for sapph while there. Last stop will be for three hanging baskets and possibly my annual hibiscus (is it warm enough?).

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

 

[908Tracy]

Got everything done as mentioned above...AND decided to put up the pool yesterday as well! It should finish filling tonight. My Mr Clean magic eraser and I have a date with the exterior of said pool today.
We will be having my daughters and future son in laws over this weekend some time to grill and chill; swim if temps allow.
Let summer 2020 begin!
Maddie’s last day of online schooling is said to be June 4th. (Would’ve gotten out on the 12th otherwise) We will take it!

 

[Bovinia]

I've spent May flipping between heat and ac, but I think ac weather has finally settled in on us. Got my morning glory and moon flower seeds planted, and they are sprouting up. I'm torn between spending my stimulus money on a small deck at my back door (before I break my damn neck on those narrow steps) or stuffing it back for a rainy day. Want vs. need...

I'm sorry to hear about your cousin's passing, Dee.

 

[markfm]

Things that make staying at home more pleasant count as needs in my book [emoji3]

With camp water hopefully on for the season, time for projects.

Add 1 more float on the boat, the end where the motor and battery setup is.

Add 2 more wheels on the boat.

Minor finish painting on the main camp house.

Paint a small shed and the old bunkhouse (where I do my bulk wood stuff and DW wants an area finished for her use). Need to pressure wash and scrape some old loose paint before applying the new stuff.

 

[FranC]

I've spent May flipping between heat and ac, but I think ac weather has finally settled in on us. Got my morning glory and moon flower seeds planted, and they are sprouting up. I'm torn between spending my stimulus money on a small deck at my back door (before I break my damn neck on those narrow steps) or stuffing it back for a rainy day. Want vs. need...

I'm sorry to hear about your cousin's passing, Dee.

The small deck sounds great to me, Bov. Plus an improvement for you.

 

[FranC]

Dallas has a trach now. For 2 reasons. One is the pap wasn't working that well. The other reason is Dallas can't go home with the pap but he can with the trach. No. he's not ready to go home yet but they're thinking ahead.

 

[El Dee]

Thanks for the replies about Cuzzo.....She's an angel now.....of that I'm sure.....

Well the 30ml and Killz fixed those spots....I found out the popcorn is actually perlite so I Killzed the corners where someone had sanded.....then I touched some perlite into the Killz....Worked good so I Killzed that when dry and everything looked good for paint....I'd say the kitchen is 10x12 or somewhere there abouts....I played into it with the whole gallon of paint....The roller pulled off a few chunks but I thought I could patch them up the next day....The next day.....When the paint began to dry obviously it shrank some....There were 9 large popcorn blisters and a straight shot of larger and smaller blisters over what I assumed was a seam in the sheetrock.....The sheet had hit the fan....I debated and decided the popcorn had to go....I used every scraping tool I had at my disposal.....the long handled flat hoe sharpened to a razor's edge....throw in a couple of putty knives also toting a razor's edge....That thought to be seam is a streak of 1953 OG beige enamel...The paint looks good but for some reason every coat past the first paint was letting go....Wherever there were blisters was also letting go....So now I'm in there with a sharpened putty knife scraping all the old spackling out of the sheetrock.....got a couple of the foam sandpaper blocks and the dewalt sander rolling as well....spackling has begun and I hit the bad spots first so it will be plenty dry when the Killz hits the stage again....Gonna probably be Thursday or so before that ceiling is El Dee spec.....I'm burning my paint brushes and anything else in my possession that's house painting related when I get out of this situation.....Whatever you do never let anyone talk you into applying that popcorn bull sheet....Try and scrape it off above the stove.....DANG!!!!!

I'll vote for a deck....One word of strong advise....No matter what the carpenter says do not pay one red cent until the job is 100% completed and you are satisfied...If the carpenter can't abide by that.....NEXT!!!

 

[908Tracy]

Bov, We are unanimous here for a new deck for you. You deserve it!!
We aren’t getting any younger so might as well do something for yourself that makes life easier and more enjoyable.
That’s exactly why we put up a solid gazebo in my yard this year...I was buying new cloth/nylon type canopies for our old one every couple years (at the tune of $80 each) and hauling up ladders to install each Memorial Day, and take down each Labor Day. (Too much work)
We were seriously considering having an above ground pool installed as well but I fear codes will not allow the current placement of pool as we have it now. Too close to house. Yikes! You can bet if we find out that is not the case, an official pool will go in next year! (Bo will make sure of it. He’s tired of all the work)

Fran, praying all continues to be well with baby Dallas. Thank you for the update.

ElDee, those popcorn ceilings are the devil!!! Good luck getting it down.

Mark, you sure are busy up there too! Enjoy all those home projects.

 

[Bovinia]

So good to hear Baby Dallas is progressing towards going home! It's been a long road for all of you

Mark, you are always as busy as Dee! But good things come from all that work!

Popcorn belongs in a bowl with butter...the end! In the mid 90's I did a bunch of repainting, carpet, vinyl, and trim for my Mom. I didn't even try painting that popcorn ceiling in her house. It had never been repainted, so it was not too difficult to get rid of with a wide blade mud knife...but I was a LOT younger then

Tracy, I hear you on the annual putting up and taking down chores. Nobody got time for that shiz!

Dee, thanks for the advice about payment. If I decide to do a small deck (yall are bad influences on my budget!!) I'll use the same guy who did my fence. He's honest, local, and fair on his pricing. I may call him and get an estimate from him

 

[FranC]

So good to hear Baby Dallas is progressing towards going home! It's been a long road for all of you

Mark, you are always as busy as Dee! But good things come from all that work!

Popcorn belongs in a bowl with butter...the end! In the mid 90's I did a bunch of repainting, carpet, vinyl, and trim for my Mom. I didn't even try painting that popcorn ceiling in her house. It had never been repainted, so it was not too difficult to get rid of with a wide blade mud knife...but I was a LOT younger then

Tracy, I hear you on the annual putting up and taking down chores. Nobody got time for that shiz!

Dee, thanks for the advice about payment. If I decide to do a small deck (yall are bad influences on my budget!!) I'll use the same guy who did my fence. He's honest, local, and fair on his pricing. I may call him and get an estimate from him

Good idea,Bov. You don’t need to fall on those steps

 

[FranC]

Here is Dallas

 

[Bovinia]

What a beautiful sight he is, Fran

 

[908Tracy]

Oh what a sweetie he is!!! <3

 

[El Dee]

Here's hoping Dallas comes home soon.....

I've been sanding on that ceiling all week....From what I can gather in 1953 sheetrock nails were driven flush and painted....I've found a row as such....Problem with that is the nail heads rust...The OG paint color is mustard and hard as concrete....Most of the nail holes have a coat of mustard at the bottom....Obviously someone hammered the nails in a bit and spackled them sometime after 53....Like I said that mustard is concrete hard and that spackling added afterwards has lost its grip on the mustard....Some nail holes looked to need only a glaze of spackling so that's what they got....Just as dang soon as that new spackling interacted with that old.....blisters.....Yay......I'll be sanding for a couple more days at best.....Trust this....Anymore ceilings need work in the OG 1953 section of Mom's house will get new sheet rock and the Kid ain't no sheet rock man.....40 years plus in the body shop I can't take much more sanding......

 

[Bovinia]

LoL Dee! I'm thinking it's time to slap bead board up on those ceilings and call it rustic country chic

 

[markfm]

Looked like Upstairs decided it was time to change seasons.

It's been pretty cool and rainy this Spring, including late season snow. Larry week and this past weekend. was beautiful, 70s. Today was low 80s, tomorrow and Wed 90.

Our BR AC looks like it got zapped with mold over the winter, gunk throughout all of the air path I could see. Picked up a new one today and we now have good sleeping temps again.

Tonight I contemplated and spoke to DW, we'll get another one tomorrow morning for the sunroom; that's where I do my work from home. I built the addition the year before we got married, very well insulated, all good windows, but at 90 an AC is needed for comfort and to keep my work computer happy.

I'll build a small custom exterior support for it, a little rectangular platform with angled rear braces, same as for all the other ACs I've put in at home and camp. Under $10 in materials for something that matches the chocolate brown exterior and will last forever, vs. the $35 pre-built single support they sell which doesn't provide storage for the unit off season. (I'm too old/lazy to want to remove the unit and store it indoors, and with our winters leaving it in the window makes no sense. I build the platform large enough to slide it all the way out, tarp it in place for the winter.)

 

[FranC]

Looked like Upstairs decided it was time to change seasons.

It's been pretty cool and rainy this Spring, including late season snow. Larry week and this past weekend. was beautiful, 70s. Today was low 80s, tomorrow and Wed 90.

Our BR AC looks like it got zapped with mold over the winter, gunk throughout all of the air path I could see. Picked up a new one today and we now have good sleeping temps again.

Tonight I contemplated and spoke to DW, we'll get another one tomorrow morning for the sunroom; that's where I do my work from home. I built the addition the year before we got married, very well insulated, all good windows, but at 90 an AC is needed for comfort and to keep my work computer happy.

I'll build a small custom exterior support for it, a little rectangular platform with angled rear braces, same as for all the other ACs I've put in at home and camp. Under $10 in materials for something that matches the chocolate brown exterior and will last forever, vs. the $35 pre-built single support they sell which doesn't provide storage for the unit off season. (I'm too old/lazy to want to remove the unit and store it indoors, and with our winters leaving it in the window makes no sense. I build the platform large enough to slide it all the way out, tarp it in place for the winter.)

That’s a great idea, Mark.