Bogieblog

Don't Ask

Because I don't know why there were two police cars in front of my house last weekend when I got home from grocery shopping.

There was a car stopped and a woman was out standing beside the passenger's door when I pulled up. By the time I got inside with the groceries, and got to the bedroom window to look out, the car was driving off (who was driving I have no idea). I went and got my phone for a picture, got the shot and the police started driving off in random directions. However, I think it is important to note that the car stopped at the intersection was actually sitting there - this is not an action shot of either vehicle.

Wow, exciting neighborhood :)

 

Charitable Work

I haven't done much the last couple of weeks because of nerve issues no, not nervous issues :). But the HOG chapter did supply volunteers for the Concord Friends Program BBQ held at the dealership. And, the volunteers, plus others of the chapter supplied a bunch of food for the event.

I forgot to take many pictures - actually only took them as we were setting up, so not everyone is pictured.

Unfortunately, after a week of 80-90* weather, it was a cool and rainy day with a high of 50* (I know because the business next door has a sign that displays a continuous read out of the temp.

Additionally, the dealership didn't have any promotions or any other activities - not even the beginner motorcycle course that is held most weekends. Between these factors, there weren't a whole lot of people visiting the dealership, so the BBQ didn't fare as well as we hoped.

We did have a good time the 4.5 hours that we were there and raised just shy of $300. All food/drinks were donated, so 100% of the money goes to the services of the program. And the director of the charity had ties to food pantries and elder care services so the leftover food was directly given to other worthy organizations later that afternoon.

UPDATE: I got a copy of the latest Friends Program newsletter, and look what they had in there:

Luxury Sleeping

Nope, not for me - for Fuzzy. Caught him as comfy as could be in the pile of pillows on the couch a couple of weeks ago

Also cat related, Thursday just before leaving work I looked at the local TV station's website. Don't ask me why, I don't normally do that. The website had a big notice that the Animal Rescue League was in need of cat food as they have 95 cats and some have special dietary needs, while others are just plain picky. The ARL is not too far from where I work, so I stopped at a local supermarket and picked up a bunch of food on their list, then dropped it off before heading home.

I wonder if that store knew what was going on as they had a run on cat food. The two cases of Fancy Feast were the last 2 on the shelves, and I only left one of the Purina no grain cat food in the green bags on the shelf. And the two blue bags of cat nibble were the last two on the shelves also.

New Digs for Ziva

As promised, Ziva's new cage was delivedred Monday. Unfortunately it was after I had left for my night job so setting it up had to wait until Tuesday.. But, I got it set up and she is much happier. This cage is within 1/2" of the dimensions of Birdie's cage except 4" taller (I couldn't find the exact model of Birdie's) - it still look huge to my eyes. I kept getting the tape measure out to compare measurements :). The seed cups are the same size as Birdie's cage, which is one of the criteria I used when I was researching. I do like the hammered copper color versus gold.

 

New Family Member

Everyone, please welcome Ziva to her new home.

Ziva is a 3 year old cockatiel whom I got from my neighbor. Although my neighbor and I don't interact much, she had my phone number from when I thought I needed her to take care of the animals and pellet stoves while I was away at HOT training in April. She texted me Wednesday evening to see if I knew anyone who could take her. I replied that I could take her in, and Ziva was delivered shortly after 10 this morning.

Right now shwe is in a smaller cage; she came with 2 cages - 1 gigantic and the smaller one. The gigantic cage is just too big to place in the living room (where Birdie is, and is really for a mid-sized bird and could be dangerous for her with some of the bar spacings, so I've elected not to use it. She is fine, the small cage having been her home for a couple of years - the neighbor just got the big one not too long ago off of CL. Here is the large cage standing in front of the 36" wide front door :O

ear not, she is not stuck forever in a small cage; I have ordered a cage about the size of Birdie's, nice and spacious for one bird but not over-sized and it should be in on Monday.

Birdie only had a spaz-attack for a couple of minutes until he realized that:

• I wasn't putting her in his cage
• she was staying "over there"

She called for a bit, but is settling down. I will give her a while in her new cage (when it comes in) before seeing if she wants out; the neighbor says shed likes to be on people - unlike Birdie who is only happy in his cage.

The cats have been outside most of the day. Fuzzy came in once, briefly, and I'm not sure he even noticed the new addition. I'll have to watch more closely when Rita comes in as she chases birds if they have the temerity to come into the pen. Fuzzy has left the wildlife chasing days long ago - one he started getting regular meals, so I don't worry about him too much (although I will still be cautious).

Welcome to the fold Rita!

I'm Just a Bit Slow

It has been over a year since Cop Car and her HH came up to NH and helped me move the new vanity into the bathroom. I kept thinking I would call a plumber after I obtained linoleum for the bathroom floor so s/he could plumb in the sink and remove the toilet (for the linoleum installation), then reseal it. However, last week I realize I was going to be another year at the rate I was moving, so I took the first step and bought a lenght of pipe along with the fitting and P-trap.

Last night I started putting it all together. I got the drain in and tested both the drain plug (you can see residual water in the drain in the picture). Then installed the p-trap.

 

At which point I realized I was short a reducer for between the P-trap and the waste drain going to the sewer line. Today I went to Aubuchons and found the reducer but never got back to the project until this evening (I was painting the foundation block while it wasn't raining). After managing to hook up the water lines backwards, then correcting them, I tested out the final product and found there were no leaks.

This is strange to start with; I used the restroom then headed for the kitchen sink to wash my hands - half way there I realized what I was doing, turned around and use the bathroom sink. And I'm sure tomorrow morning I will be bewildered when I start looking for my contacts and they aren't next to the kitchen sink, nor  my toothbrush and paste :D

A Lot of Short Projects

Even though the pellet stoves have been off since late in May, last Sunday I finally got around to cleaning the pellet stoves and their exhausts. In my defense, I have never had a last burn in May, so I kept waiting for that really cold snap in June (I've seriously burned as late as June 28). Then I ended up with having a massive amount of planned, and unplanned outdoor projects that HAD to get done, so the stove cleaning was not at the top of my list. The downstairs stove was relatively clean as it was apparent that I had cleaned it shortly before its last burn in the spring. However, since I shut of the big stove several weeks before I shut down the main floor stove, the other stove was pretty dirty so I spent a lot of time on the P43.

And, the cleaning was none too soon as on 8/31 the house was at 66* when I got home from work (the high outside had been 65* - and low that night was supposed to be in the low 40's). The main floor stove was also on most of the day on Friday, and again yesterday as the days have yo-yo'ed between summer and fall temperatures.

 

While I was cleaning out the stove exhausts with both a lint eater, then the LBT (Leaf Blower Trick), I noticed that the exterior paint on that side of the house was suffering. Since I was planning on painting the new porch overhang a second time, I power washed the siding so it would be ready for this weekend.

Saturday I painted and caulked the lower side of the house (the brown portion is still fine, just painted the cream portion), as well as all the way to, and around the front door. I painted the overhang last, and somehow forgot the caulking that needed to be done, so that part is still waiting for me.

Friday I had gone to a different H*me Dep*t than what I normally patronize and found a couple of trees (I was only looking for one - LOL). So, Saturday I got one of the trees planted - an Autumn Blaze Maple that should have orangish red leaves in the fall. This second mapleis an Acer Freemanii as opposed to Acer Rubrum that the October Glory is.

Acer Rubrums are in the general family of Red Maples, also known as "swamp maples". Red maples love wet areas so the October Glory is really happy in the lower portion that I planted it in and there is noticeable growth since I planted it two weeks ago.

The Acer Freemanii is a cross between Red Maples and (get this as an irony) Silver Maples, with the best characteristics of both. They have really nice color from the red maple side and faster growth from the silver maple side). They are very adaptable to soil conditions but are not good for wet areas, so it is perfect for where I planted it - just in front of the Willow stump.I was fortunate that the general area I wanted to plant the Autumn Blaze in was free of any huge willow roots. Previously I had stomped around to see if it might be possible (you can hear where the roots are if you stomp hard with a booted foot). The first picture is from the pen, the second from the living room window, and the third is of the growth of the October Glory (you may not be able to see the lighter green leaves at the tips of 3 of the branches - those are the new growth).

 

 

On poison ivy patrol I pulled some young shoots that had grown in the shrubs by the fence over on the other side of the house. Oh, and while I was painting, I found a vining poison ivy that had hidden itself in plain sight - in a rose beside the front door (which I never use, which is why I hadn't noticed before).

 

And finally, the neighbor had gotten his truck moved so I mowed that area real quick since it was to rain on Sunday.

And that was my Saturday :)

Sunday was HOG meeting, reconcile checkbook (which hadn't been done since April), and some other indoor general projects. The remnants of Harvey were much kinder to us than to those in Texas, leaving 1.5" of badly needed rain.

Patriot Flag Escort

I have a bunch of vacation days I need to take before the end of the year (use or lose) and I specifically chose Friday, 8/25/17, as one of those to participate with other HOG members in escorting the flag during its Patriot Tour.

We left the dealership at 10 that morning and I got back home about 4:30. We didn't take the flag very far, to a dealership at the VT/NH boarder, but we took the scenic route. On the way, we took two rest stops;

Blake, who had carried the flag on his bike officially presented the flag to the Granite State HOG group. That is the fairing of my bike in the second picture :)

The 4 LOH members who rode in the escort: Nancy, me, Michelle, and Sandy

After the hand off, we found a place for a late lunch (as one of the member's kids put it "Linner"), then we split up to find our way home. I and another member (of whom I have no idea of his name although he helped work the BBQ a couple of weeks ago also), who lives in Weare - basically my area, rode together until my exit off of 202.

The weather was awesome, in the 60's and 70's and mostly sunny. Had a great time and ride!

UPDATE: Today the dealership posted this on their FB page - naturally all of those who escorted the flag also gave donations before the ride.

Roof Repair and Other Work

As I had stated in an earlier post, the roof was finished last Saturday but I didn't get to take pictures until after the post. So, here they are.

The left side of the roof is where the repairs took place. Approximately half that side was damaged toward the edge.. You can also see the overhang.

In this picture you can see the overhang much better and tell that it is a little wider than the porch part. I should have no issues with snow sliding off the roof and hemming in the storm door.

From underneath. I painted it soft yellow yesterday so that it would match the siding and be protected from moisture.

Since they were working on that side of the house, I had to find a new project to work on. I had several shrubs in my holding garden, along with some flag iris (siberian iris - whatever you want to call them), and I thought they would make a great addition to my sitting area.

From front to back; Flag iris, Variegated Weigala, two Ninebarks (I've lost their tags - they could be Coppertina, Centerglow, or one of each :) )

The next day I went to Home Dep*t to pick up other things, whcih I didn't find there, but I did find other things to bring home. Mums were in, and I had been looking at the planters by the back door thinking how sad the summer flowers looked, so I figured I would bring some home. I got them planted the same day.

The other prize I brought home was an October Glory maple, which also got planted that day. I placed it below the stump from the willow (a couple of feet lower), so it will take quite a few years before it can provide any shade to the house. However, unlike the silver maples in the back, which only turn a pale yellow and then directly to brown, this will provide some nice fall color. The first picture was taken from the yard, the second from the living room window so I can compare year-to-year growth.

I did manage to get some more pea gravel while I was at HD, so other than staining the landscape timbers, the fireproof area under the pellet stove and dryers exhausts is complete. Yes, I realize I made different patters. No, it wasn't intentional but these pavers were drops from cutom cutting for a pathway, so I had to work with the sizes/shapes I got (that's my story and I'm sticking to it ;D )

Big Rain

Friday the roofers were supposed to finish up but Mother Nature had other ideas. It rained all day, but even so by the time I got home from work at 5:15 the rain guage only showed 1/4".

At 7:38 I took this picture, which shows about 3" in the guage.

At 8:18 the rain guage showed close to 4"

Saturday morning the grand total

Pretty much what happened when i had the metal roof put on 3 years ago. However, this time there were no leaks in the unfinished area.