Nov 9 - more chores

I forgot to mention a couple of things from the day before -- Sandy spent a good deal of the day cleaning and I also gave the ATCs a once-over, driving them into the shallow water in the cove and washing them as best I could without a power washer. At least I got most of the accumulated mud and leaves off.

I did another couple of miscellaneous chores today, running extension cords for the sump and evestrough (gutter) heater cables. I'll turn on the sump cable before we leave but won't bother with the gutter cable until we're back in December. There won't be that much (I hope) accumulated snow ... or melt/freeze cycles by then.

I also changed the bottom end oil in the 9.9 for the first time -- first time for me. I'm sure that my dad did it sometimes, although many years I put that motor away for him and I don't remember ever seeing him do any work on it. I built a small wooden bracket for the motor in the boathouse so that the motor hangs over the floor instead of standing on the floor -- much easier to do maintenance. I left the drain pan etc. in the boathouse because I have to do the same procedure with the 40hp Mercury on the Boston Whaler once I've pulled it in -- I do tend to that motor every year. I should also do an oil change (bottom end) in the 90 Merc that's in Florida. It's not just about winterizing.

So ... it's 9:10 now and peeing out, not hard rain, just heavy steady drizzle. Great hunting & fishing weather for the prey ! I'll have a shower shortly and head off to Britt.

Oh -- I also did another long-postponed chore. I've had a 400mhz Pentium II pc that I built at least 10 years ago running Linux operating as my Router, DHCP Server, File Server, Firewall etc. etc. Every time that I come back here I'm amazed that it's still running when I power it on. Many of the features that it supports are now provided by cheap routers -- I've had one sitting on the shelf here for about 4 years, just in case this machine dies. It must have known ... hmmm. Since I don't really use the file server or name server functions anymore -- because the disks in it are so small and the name server conflicts with the satellite offering -- and because it obviously uses a lot more electricity than a tiny router, I've had it on my list to retire that Linux box and turn on the router. That way the router can stay on when we're not here so that if Jason comes up he has computer access -- also, after a power outage the router will nicely come back on whereas the PC has to be prompted through the reboot process.

Long story short (well, not so short) I de-commissioned the linux box this morning. It's still in place with cables running to the correct locations so that if I turn the router off and re-plug the cables, it should come back up. There might be some stuff that I want to recover off that disk. Otherwise the machine is not really good for much. I have one more chore on my list now -- buy a backup router. Having a router is vital here and I cannot just run to the corner store. I have to eliminate that single point of failure.

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Ok, it's morning again. If you want the executive summary of the day -- Sandy cleaned and I moved wood, we had stuffed trout for dinner.

What more can you say about moving wood ? Only that it's hard work. I filled up the woodbox and then put away the 2x12 that I use as a ramp from the driveway over to the landing on the concrete stairs by the woodbox -- it's no good in the winter because it's too slippery.

I did do some other things but they were not as time consuming. I took Sandy's car to Britt and put gas stabilizer in the tank on the way back, stopping at the junction of highways 69 and 522. After getting home and having lunch, I inflated the tires to 45 psi and put the car in the garage, hooking up the battery minder as well. After my wood moving chore I vacuumed the basement. It was quite a mess with leaves and pine needles by the back door and into my work room from Alex and I tromping through with boots.

I did go fishing -- briefly. Abby came along, curled up in the bottom of the boat by my feet -- she didn't listen when I told her that she might be cold ! Actually we were not out all that long ... I went to get the minnows and ... gone. Darn -- that's the third batch of minnows that have found a better life ! I had moved the minnow bucket away from the docks since I was moving them to work on the gazebo and it seems that the waves bounced the catch open ... and then eventually in the waves they got out the spring-loaded hatch. Next summer I'm going to have a setup that will keep minnows with water flowing etc. and dispense with this nonsense ! I went out with worms but didn't have much hope. I sat there for a while and then went back home when it started snowing. I wasn't cold, but didn't expect fish to bit on worms at this time of year. So ... fishing is over for the season -- I'll be out again on the ice at Christmas, assuming there's ice.

Meantime Sandy was cleaning top to bottom ... well, I did the bottom as much as it was going to be done. We have to get a big damp mop of some sort to do the tiles in the basement but in the meantime they have been vacuumed and the pattern on the tiles does not show dirt, luckily.

Today ... do some packing, put away the Whaler, winterize that motor, rotate the tires on the X5 -- it's not a time-consuming list but I'm sure that I'll come up with other things along the way. I expect that Bonnie will come over this evening for a drink. After I finish this blog I'll do some disk-synchronization to prep for going to the U.S. Last minute backups of Quicken, Outlook, bookmarks, cookies etc. will be done tomorrow.

It snowed some more overnight so we have a dusting on the deck, not even a centimeter. Winter is almost here -- rain is predicted later in the week but we won't see that. By the time we get back in December we expect snow on the ground ... and ice on the lake.

It looks like the weather in Philly will not be very hospitable either -- highs around 50F, rain -- it will be great to get to Florida. This in-between weather is not pleasant although it sure makes for easier outside work up here with no snow to plow through, no bugs, no heat to wear you down ... I take that back, it's great weather !!!