A Conquering Saturday

There are some Saturdays were we laying in bed, lounge around the house, eat something warmed up, watch a movie, and go to bed.  Other Saturdays are epic days of achievement.  This was such a day.  

Clearly, this joint was ready to be replaced. :-)

8:00, sun is up, and I couldn't stay in bed.  Already I slept in 4 hours longer than usual, thus encouraging my body and mind to conquer greatness.  So, out to the garage I went.  Recently when I got my car back from a tire change there was a noticeable  "thump, thump, thump" that would increase or decrease depending on my speed, gear, and smoothness of the ride.  Immediately my thought was the wheel bearing.  After investigating the wheel, I didn't find any looseness or other "shot  bearing" trademarks.  I did find too much slack and up-down movement in the outer tie rod end.  Thus I did research, called Mr. T., and concluded they both needed replacement.  Today, I took the drivers side front wheel off, brake parts, popped the tie rob joint out of the knuckle, and realized I needed another pipe wrench to finish removing the end due to rust joints, and that the bearing might be ok.  This realization forced me inside to enjoy my wife's labors of "Heavenly Baked French Toast" for breakfast, and homemade hot cocoa.

Being the first of the month, it is also time to do our monthly meal planning and shopping.  Seeing that I have such an wonderful wife, she already did most of the planning.  After a little conferring with each other, we went grocery shopping, auto parts retrieval, tools drooling/purchasing, and restocked out mouse traps. After all that, we were able to call my favorite mother-in-law on their home phone in Austria as we are testing skype/google voice for a viable phone replacement option.

Eventually I managed to replace the tie rod end after much penetrating oil, drying, heating, grunting, and patience.  The parts are back on, quiet, and he isalmost ok.  Daroga(Dodge Neon) now needs a major alignment. :-)

By 17:00, Deckers where here, brought food, and we were ready to eat, watch a movie and play a game.  That, is what a conquered Saturday looks like around here.

The makings of a grand hot coca

blended and pulverized 

scrumptious breakfast

The evening's victors

Black Friday

Black Friday.  The first time I ever went shopping on BF I was much younger and desirous of purple Gameboy Advance that came with a free Mario game.  Since then, my desires have changed.  My choice of entertainment has moved from video games to working with my hands.  Since Sears had such great sales on BF, I pre-ordered the below beauties Thanksgiving night, and they arrived today!  No 4:00 morning on my day off work! Thankfully, I now have the sockets and other tools I have been borrowing to fix things like hubs, front end suspension, and similar car parts.  Needless to say, I am a very happy and almost as giddy as a 5 yr. old on Christmas day!

Along with the 309 pc. set, I also ordered the screw drivers(many went missing while in college), and nut drivers.  These I use almost twice a week!

First Thanksgiving at our Home!

Anna and I were blessed enough to have two of her sister's over and their "beloved" men.  While we missed being with our whole family, we still enjoyed hours of "mind strengthening" games, food, laughs, and unforgettable quotes.

 "I often find myself surrounded by ignorant people" - Anna

"I'm always taking pictures of food!" -Errol

Errol(Earl) getting what she loves the most... FOOD.  ;-)

My loverly bride serving out a great punch.

Thankfully we had a professional napkin folder(Sarah) 

Finger-lickin' good.

Catchup Time!

Much has happened in our life as well as our house. To catchup, check out the Anna's post here.  I will post a few blog post with past dates containing pictures over the next few days.  Until then, enjoy these recent projects.

An unhappy wife having to bake without a sink or counter. :-)

And we can't forget our pumpkin carvings!

Pantry not food safe.

Well, today was an interesting day.  I enjoyed making a list of work that needs to be done in each location of the home as well as un tangled the clematis so that it will travel up our trellis on the front porch.  I also took the liberty to climb into the attic and check out the insulation.  Thankfully it is blown in grey stuff.  Definitely good stuff.  However, over the pantry and dining room it is well... Just look at the Pictures:

 

Yup, I took out the ceiling due to a leak in the roof.  Hopefully it will be a small repair where the corner of the add on and the old house is.  Thankfully it is a small part of the roof.  So it will be a cheap fix.  Most likely it will be a temporal fix with plans to reroof the whole house next year.  Time well tell.

The next two days I will be finishing my basement office/guest room remodel project at another house.  Perhaps I will post on that next. :-) But now is the time to sleep.

Trenching for a New Water Line.

Marriage is a big step.  Knowing the person you are marrying really is not an option.  Before you “take the plunge” you have a short glimpse of who you think your future spouse is, but you don’t really know.  Same with a house...

Our house is a quaint little shack that needs a love, care, respect, and lots of trust in our Father to care for us as we work on it.  In reality, it is a big barrel of work. Today Samuel helped me dig a trench to replace the water line.  Anna installed our new door handles and locks, weeded the hostas, swept our sidewalks and brought us supper.  Sam helped in the trench, repaired the front porch stairs, entertained me, took pictures, encouraged me, mocked me, jeered at me, and all together made me feel like a wonderful brother.  Thank you Chops.  

As I was taking out a rose bush, trenching, digging around the curb connection, I had some “helpfull” advise from on-lookers.  One neighbor, Mike, is a nice and respectable individual (and has a pitbull named Charlie).  The guy that lives a few houses down is a bit… kooky in Anna’s words.  He acts partly drunk(maybe he was???), past contractor, used to have seisures, knows just about everyone around our home, is kind and generous(gave us a tarp and a small digging “tool”), and he is very good at talking.

Overall it was a good day of hard work.  Met the people around us and even finished the trench.  Only thing left is to find out why the water company line is leaking, tunnel under the sidewalk(using a pipe, or just go through the old pip was) and to install my new water line after drilling through an 18” foundation.

Appreciation: Spirit

We rarely think about the Holy Spirit.  Often we offer praise to the Father and the Son, but little do we think of the Spirit.  Today, I am thinking of Him, the Holy Spirit that is inside of each Christian.  I really appreciate the way that the Spirit moves: sanctifying, speaking, leading, interceding for us.  It amazes me that the Spirit works in each person a different way.  For some, the Spirit is subtle and hardly a whisper, and yet for other the Spirit speaks directly and openly.

As strange as it may seem to the "conservative" mind, I love talking and listening to people who walk with and listen to "their Jesus" and to individuals that listen to the Spirit talking and leading them.  I also love hearing the answer that God gives people who have been on their knees for days, months, or even years, asking the Lord to speak and show Himself to them.

I am incredibly thankful that we have the Holy Spirit in us - leading us - as we search the scriptures, commune, and worship our God.  Thank you Father.

You add the Caption. :-)