Yet another wet cool down

Thursday

Dark, wet, and overcast this morning when I got up.  Looks like no outside work today.  My new iPhone is still working this morning so thats a good sign.  I did call Apple and set up Apple Care on the phone and that was a pretty easy process.  Then I got the phones all ready to send in for the rebates.  Then I went online and changed our Data Plan as we could get more date (2G) for $10 less a month.  The data plans have come way down this month so we took advantage of it.  Not sure if we still get the 2G bonus for upgrading.

Bonnie peeled apples and we made and canned more applesauce.

Waiting to become applesauce or pie

Cooking the sauce and processing the jars

Fresh Applesauce

Filling the jars

Finished jars on the right, last jar to be processed on the left

We did 7 quarts in all and they are still cooling, its good to hear the lids pop.  Then Bonnie peeled some of the Quince and cooked it to prepare it for jelly.  I went down to the post office to send the phones back.  While I was out I set up my new phone to work on the bluetooth in the Odyssey.  Now I am heading out to church to help at the Worship Team Practice.

On the way to church I dropped a cable off for Alexus so she could charge her phone.  Then 4 deer walk across the road in front of me.  Practice went well and I was home by 10pm.  Bonnie still had Quince cooking on the stove and is trying to drain the juice off of what she made earlier.

Draining the Quince

We watched a couple shows and now are heading for bed.

Friday

When we woke up this morning winter had returned.  Once it got a little lighter I took a picture.

More snow this morning

It snowed until about noon but did not accumulate anymore than this.  Bonne had a lot more Quince to process so we broke out the Garden Way Squeezo.  We have had it 30 years or more but have not used it lately.  We processed the Quince and Bonnie sewed up an old dish towel to use as a jelly bag to strain the juice out.

Squeezo in action

Hung up to let it drain.

We ended up doing a couple batches and tomorrow I think she can make the jelly tomorrow.  Bonnie took the rest of the Quince over to her sisters and when she got back I headed out to but the snow blower on the tractor.  It had almost stopped snowing but boy was it cold.  So thankful that we have a garage as it was 20 some degrees warmer in there.

Before

Dropping off the Loader

Ready for the blower

Checked the oil, coolant, and battery

Finished

So the tractor is ready for winter.  Still need to check out the other blowers.   Looks like we are heading out to Byrncliff for a fish fry tonight, with Alexus.  The fish was good but the sides were just so so.  Good to be back home, it is damp and cold out.  Plus I am tired after working out in the garage this afternoon.

Saturday

We were up earlier than usual this morning.  A young man that we have watch grow up from Attica is ready to leave to serve our country in the US Navy.  Today his family was hosting a brunch for him to honor his decision.

Caleb and his Grandmother

Best wishes as you head off to boot camp, know that you are in our prayers.

We stopped at Tops on the way home and picked up sugar.  Once we got home Bonnie got busy making the Quince Jelly.  My job would be to process them once done in the hot water bath.

Stir Stir Stir

Into to the canner for 10 minutes or so

We used the induction cooker

 The induction cooker worked well and was pretty quick at bringing the water to a boil.

The finished product

We got 11 pints and a little extra.  A lot of work but it will be so good.  In fact we tried some on toast with supper it is very good and will get better as it sits a couple weeks.

So its raining again tonight and might just turn to snow as it cools down tonight, time will tell.  So we had a good Saturday and I think I will sleep well tonight.

Sunday

It looks like it stayed above freezing all night, no new snow and all the snow has melted.  We got ready and headed to church, picking up the girls on the way.  Pastor had another good message and its always good to visit with our church family.

We love our food here in Buffalo, especially the brands that are still only available locally.  Elizabeth wanted to try getting a sub at Costanzo's.  They have arguably the very best rolls in Buffalo.  Most places use them for not only their sub rolls but also their Beef on Weck rolls.  So we headed in toward the city and found the bakery.

Looks like they are happy to be here

The subs were good and I am still full this evening as I write this.  Elizabeth also picked up some fresh Rye Bread to take home.  Then we headed to Sav A Lot so she could pick up some cream cheese.  That reminded me that we are going to visit my sister and her family soon.  A couple quick texts and a phone call and we knew how many Sahlen hot dogs to pick up.  So we headed to SAMs club where they still have 5lb. bags.

Wow were the lines long

 All the lines had about ten people waiting in them.  Thats when the lady at the jewelry counter decided she could help by taking people with just a couple items.  So we checked out with her.  I told her how much we appreciated her helping to checkout customers, and she really appreciated it.  Its so nice when employees do what ever it takes to help customers.

The best hot dogs in Buffalo

At least most people here would agree, but we have a couple other brands that are very good.

Since we were close we headed over to the Apple store, always dangerous.  Elizabeth had gotten a screen protector on Friday and when they put it on there was dust under it.  So she got them to replace it without a hassle.  I looked at the MacBook Pros, comparing the 15in to the 13in.  They are nice with the SSD storage but my 4 year old model really is not giving me any problems.  I would like a little more RAM but it was easy to walk out without even pricing the new ones.

We came home the back bay and drove by the house I grew up in.  The people that own it now have it looking very nice and it is looking good.  We dropped the girls off and headed home.  Got home just in time to see the Bills run out of time and lose to Kansas City.  Then we switched to the NASCAR race to watch Kevin Harvick win, Jeff Gordon miss the cut by one, and Ryan Newman (drives the CAT sponsored Car) move into the fourth spot for the final race for the Championship next week.

Time to get this posted and watch a little TV.

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"The Business of Life is the acquisition of memories!"

Return to Fall

Monday

The sun was out when I got up this morning, but it soon disappeared.  Looking at the weather forecast it looked like the last day to get up the leaves since we will not be home tomorrow.  So out I went and  picked up the last two loads of leaves for this year.  The snow has melted as it is up to 50 even though the sun is not out bright.  That made a total of 29 loads or 1276 bushels.  The yard was really wet and the tires spun a lot.  I had to back down the hill a couple times as I could not get up the hill.  I could have done more but it was tearing up the yard so I quit.

I disassembled the cyclone rake and emptied the gas out of the engine.  Then I ran it until it quit.  The engine comes off the frame and I stored it in a plastic bag once it cooled down.  Then I took the deck off the mower and cleaned the stuck on leaves and grass off it, changed the blades to ones that were sharp.  Then after the deck was back on the lawn tractor I put it away for the winter.  I put more mouse poison in the shed and close it all up.  I cleaned out the bed of the Ranger and put it away after I ran out and picked up the mail.  Of course I forgot to take any pictures, sorry.

Bonnie cleaned up some of the plant beds today and mulched the garden.  Then she went in and peeled apples and made some apple sauce.  Not much else to report on for today.

Tuesday

Today is our day at the mission downtown.  But first its Election Day and we headed to the Town Hall to cast our votes before we headed downtown.

I hope you voted

We stopped and picked up Elizabeth and since we drive right past her polling place we stopped and se voted also.  My Facebook was full of postings from my friends and family that they too had voted, very cool.

Friday we had been notified that our new iPhones had shipped.  Since they are on the same account they assured me both were shipped.  But online it looked like there was just one.  But I took them at there word and I got notified that the phones were delivered.

Looks like we will be busy tonight

We had a very busy day at the mission and then had to pick up Alexus at 6pm from school, after her driver ed class.  So we decided to just have supper at Elizabeths and worry about the phones tomorrow.  So we had very good Garlic Chicken and I attempted to help Alexus with a little chemistry homework.  Her book was at school so I did not get far, plus she gets frustrated.  So it was late, we were tired and we headed home.

I had to take out the trash to the road and then opened the phone box that FedEx had left.  Only one phone, and it was the one Elizabeth ordered.  I looked online and sure enough Verizon had sent another shipment.  It looks like it will be here tomorrow so that should work out.  A little TV then off to bed.

Wednesday

Well looks like my phone is on the FedEx truck so thats good.  Bonnie has headed to the dentist for her 6 month cleaning.  I will catch up on email and since its a nice day I will head out and try to clean the gutters.  We have some sun today and its in the upper 50's, last year there was ice in the gutters when I cleaned them.  So as soon as Bonnie gets home I can start on that, I try to stay off high ladders when none else is home.  Maybe I will get the low parts in the back done.

I went out and started cleaning the gutters on the garage.

Started with the lower parts of the garage

The gutters on the garage were not too bad and I finished them pretty quick.  Then I headed up to get the gutters on the back of the house.  They turned out to be pretty full.

Lots of leaves in the back gutter

I took a couple 5 gal buckets out of this gutter.  Then as I moved around to the front of the house Bonnie got back from the dentist and shopping.  So now if I fell at least someone would be home.  Plus I was starting to run out of gas.  The first section was pretty full.  Then the long section was not bad until I got past the satellite dish.  Then it was chock full.

Love my little giant ladder

My ladder is heavy duty and pretty stable but it gets heavy by the end of the job.  I finally finished and but the ladder and bucket away.

The plastic dealers frame on the car was vibrating and bothering us.  So I took care of that.

Problem solved, its in the trash 

Also from my time on the bench I know that these frames are a reason to get a ticket if they block any of the information on the plate.

FedEx had delivered my iPhone earlier as I was starting the gutters so I headed in to get started on a long day of upgrading and switching phones.

We are all on Elizabeths plan so we all were able to get new or different phones.  Elizabeth and I got iPhone 6 Pluses.  Then our 2 year old iPhone 5 units were passed on to Alexus and Bonnie.  I was lucky to get a tech at Verizon that clearly understood what we wanted to do and he got it all set up.  Once the girls got here, backed up their phones, the new units were activated on the correct phone numbers and we were good to go.  Alexus does not believe in the cloud so she lost some pictures etc but otherwise it was a good experience.  So after waiting over a month since we ordered the phones we are good to go.

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"The Business of Life is the acquisition of memories!"

Oh No Snow!

Thursday

Happy Birthday to our daughter, this is a decade birthday, I will say no more.

First full day without the coach in the driveway, guess I am going through withdrawal.  It is cold, damp and overcast again.  Bonnie went to her parents new apartment to help organize there.  I went out and put in 30 or 40 driveway stakes to mark the driveway edges.  This will help me keep the tractor on the driveway when I blow the snow.

Tools for the Job

I learned this from my SIL. to install the markers.  I pound the rebar into the ground to make a hole and then drop in the stake, and pack the sides a little to hold it straight.

Hard to see here but they have reflective tape or reflectors

View from the garage 

Well that was about it for today, I am still not feeling up to par.  Hoping another good nights sleep will help.

We did get a notification that our iPhone 6pluses are being shipped today.  I also got our proof of insurance cards for traveling to Canada.  Thats about it for today.

Friday

Another damp morning.  Bonnie's sister came over this morning and we worked on line to get her NYS nursing and massage therapist licenses renewed.  Technically we renewed her registration for three years.  Its another way for NY to collect fees.  I must say that it was actually pretty easy,  answer a couple questions and pay the fees.  Then we all spent a couple hours visiting.

I did manage a short nap in the afternoon, then we had to get ready to head to church.  Tonight is Harvest Fest.  Of course its been raining most of the afternoon.  Bonnie was working at the sign in desk and I worked at the Bounce House regulating how many kids were in it at a time.  Wow was it popular.  I had lots of kids and they all had a great time.  I especially enjoyed the big smiles on the the little ones as they enjoyed bouncing.

Bounce House with Slide

The kids never stand still oh to have all that energy again.

We finally got a tracking number for the iPhone or iPhones its unclear if one or both shipped.  One thing is for sure they charged for both of them.  We won't know for sure until they are delivered next week.

Still raining tonight as I head to bed.

Saturday

I slept about 10 hours last night but still am not feeling 100%.  When I looked out side a little after 10am this morning it was snowing.  Its 36 out so it is not sticking but rather melting as fast as it falls.

I took it easy about all I did was go out and change the time on the generator so it tests at the right time on Saturday mornings.  I also got the mail and PennySavers while I was out.  No Warsaw one again.  Bonnie was busy in the kitchen all day making soup.

The chicken noodle soup was good.  It has snowed all day but has not accumulated.  It is down to 33 so if it keeps up it may start to stick.  Last year we did not have snow until Nov 21st but then we got 8 inches.  Hoping it holds off longer this year.  Time to think about putting the snow blower on to the tractor and getting it all greased up.

I just looked outside and its 32 and the snow is sticking.

Looks like about 1/2 inch

We relaxed and spent the evening watching TV.

Sunday

With the end of DST it was nice an bright when I got up this morning.  Having everything covered with a fresh coating of snow added to that.  Here is the same view as the picture last night.

The view this morning

So it looks like around 2 inches stuck after it got down to 32.  Here is a view out the front of the front door.

Front Yard

It is to warm up a little today and stay sunny so all this should soon be gone.  Tomorrow is to be nice also so hopefully we can finish up with the leaves and yard work.

We see a lot of deer in the yard and occasionally turkeys but we seldom see Bucks out in the open.  When I took the snow picture this morning and scanned the yard there was a Buck at the edge of the yard staring at me.

At least 4 points maybe 6

So the morning is off to a good start.  Now its time to hit the rain locker and get ready for church.

Another good sermon at church today and always good to see our church family.  After church Bonnie and Alexus went to Elizabeth's.  Bonnie was going to supervise Alexus and teach her how to properly clean the house.  Elizabeth and I went to the movies and saw "The Judge" with Robert Duvall.  We enjoyed it, I thought it was pretty good.

Bonnie had meatloaf, baked potatoes, and squash ready for supper when we got to the house.  Boy it was good.  Then we headed home to watch the end of the NASCAR race from Texas.  An exciting end and Jimmie Johnson gets the win.

I was hoping to be able to pick up the last of the leaves tomorrow but the yard is still covered with snow.  It is to be 50 tomorrow so maybe they will dry out enough to get it done.  Its 33 on the hill tonight so not much will melt tonight.

Well time to get this posted.

Thanks For Checking In!

"The Business of Life is the acquisition of memories!"

Beaver Bed Time

Monday

This week we plan to put the coach to bed for a few months.  We store it inside at Copeland's Storage out in Gainesville.  Hopefully we can get it out around March and head for warmer weather.  So today I want to add a little air to the tires and and see if anything else needs to be done before we take it out there.

Nice and sunny today so it will be nice to be outside.  So I headed outside, a bit cool but the sun was nice.  My goal today was to check all the tire pressures on the coach and the two cars.  I broke out my Sears composer for the coach tires.

The Small compressor

Yes I use the small compressor on the Big Tires.  It easily pumps in 100 psi of air.

The Big 22.5 inch tires

I took off all the pressure monitoring sensors also and packed them away for the winter.  Then I decided to check both cars.

Big compressor small tires

I also checked the oil and cleaned off the top of engine where they tend to spill oil.  It was the middle of the afternoon when I finished so I went in to get some lunch.

Bonnie was busy in the house while I was outside and then after lunch she went out for a while to continue working on the flower gardens and trimming them back.  Supper was in the crock pot.

We watched some TV after supper and relaxed.  Hoping to get to bed a little early tonight as I we have an early day tomorrow.

Tuesday

Today we were up in the dark and soon left for downtown.  Tuesday is our day to volunteer at the City Mission.  We had a good and busy day down there.  We left downtown and picked up Alexus after her drivers ed class at school.  Then to Elizabeth's for supper.  She had some very good Venison Chili and we enjoyed it.  Then we headed home in the dark and the rain.  Then I took out the trash.  Finally time to relax.  Lots to do tomorrow.

Wednesday

Today is the day to put our Beaver Coach to bed for the winter months.  It was overcast but dry.  I felt good when I got up but then started feeling hungery and like I need to throw up all at once.  That passed pretty quick and I felt ok again.  I woke Bonnie up and we got ready and headed to Gainesville.  We had a nice visit with the folks out there and left the coach for them to put inside.

All ready to head out

 Seemed funny to come home and see the empty parking spot.  As you can see it rained while we were on the road so the coach will need a good bath when we get it out in the spring.

Empty till spring

So I ran some of the numbers for this year.  Since April 10th.
The coach was out of storage for 202 days.
We slept in it 67 nights, a lot more than last year.
We drove 4331 miles and towed the CRV for 3911 of those miles
We used 582 gallons of diesel, averaged 7.1 MPG and paid an average of $3.90 per gallon

We saw so many wonderful places this year and enjoyed meeting and talking to many people on our travels.  Now we will wait out winter and plan for next year.

When we got back home I did not feel good again.  I did check my blood pressure and blood sugar but all seemed ok.  So went in and laid down for a while.  When I got up I felt much better but not 100%.

Well thats about it, its still raining and almost dark out, so I will get this posted.

Thanks For Checking In!

"The Business of Life is the acquisition of memories!"

Mr. Sun shows his face

Thursday

Nice and bright this morning, yes the sun is out bright and clear.  Nice to see the blue skies today.  Bonnie and I headed out to the coach.  Time to pack up whats in the drawers and clean some.  We take all the clothes and anything we think a mouse would chew up and pack them up into plastic tubs.  It only takes a while but it is much quicker than cleaning up a mess in the spring.  We also ran the Aqua Hot and the generator just to exercise them.  Bonnie finished up by vacuuming the rig and headed back to the the house.

I have been reading a lot on the forums about a big problem with Carefree Eclipse power awnings.  It is limited to a short period of manufacturing.  Seems that the end cap wears and then the awning deploys while you are driving down the road.  I got out the ladders and the tools and worked at taking the awning apart.

Awning Motor uncovered

The black part on the left is what wears out on some awnings.  Mine is an older model and seems to last longer and not have the problem.

Another view of the end cap

Mine is made out of plastic the one that go bad are cast medal.  Mine has an extra part that they call a spyder and seems to last a long time.

This Spyder fits on the end of the shaft and turns the awning tube

So its good to know that mine should be good and last a long time.  I put it all back together.  I only dropped one screw and looked for it a long time, even said a little prayer for help, before I found it.

I put everything away then and headed into the house.  Bonnie made some lunch and we watched a little TV.  Then Bonnie got ready and headed to volunteer at the ROC Rural Outreach Center.  She will help over there for a few hours.

Then we will relax a little.  It was sunny all day but the yard needs to dry out some before I can get the leaves picked up.

Friday

Overcast when I first woke up this morning so I laid down again.  The sun was out nice and bright and Bonnie had left for her sisters when I got up the second time.  We had stayed up until after midnight watching the last of Manhattan season 1 last year.  We actually thought it was ending but there is a Season 2 in 2015.  Its about the first atomic bomb project.  We also finalized plans to visit my sister in PA before Thanksgiving.

So after breakfast I will head out and try to get some of the leaves picket up if its not too muddy where I dump them.  Finally getting some seat time.

The yard was pretty dry, but I did get stuck once and stayed away from a couple other areas.  Here is what parts of the yard looked like when I started.

A lot of the yard was totally covered

The leaves were not totally dry so that makes each load extra heavy.  However the cyclone rake did a good job of picking them up until it ran out of gas.  Back to the garage for some gas, then back to work.

Work in progress

It was a little muddy where I dump the leaves but I managed, I did almost get stuck at another spot in the yard, made a mess but I got out.

The pile is getting rather large

I sucked up a buried rock and cracked the plastic blower housing.  I patched it and think it will be fine.  Its 14 years old and may be a bit brittle.  All was going good until the engine quit on the mower.  Yep now its out of gas, and I had checked it.  Walked back to the garage and got the gas can.

Put some gas in both tanks

Almost done.

Looking much better

This is the section I did first.  I spent 4 hours in the seat today and there are still a lot of leaves on the trees.

Leaves are still coming down

After the 4 hours and two tanks of gas I had picked up and dumped 10 loads of leaves thats 44 bushels.  I unhooked the cyclone rake and then cut the front yard grass, the leaves were not that bad out there.  Finally finished and put the mower and car away in the garage.

Bonnie had called so I called her back and we made plans for supper.  She had to pick up Alexus from school and then drop some stuff off at her parents house.  I got stuff together, grilled some pork, made some beets, and it all was ready just as she walked in the door.

We watched some TV and now its off to bed.

Saturday

Up early at 6am, I am headed in to Hamburg to attend an all day mens conference called Iron Sharpens Iron with a group from our church.

The conference was good and I am home and heading to bed early as I am very tired.

Sunday

Up early this morning for church.  We had breakfast, read email and then started for church.  We picked up Alexus and headed to church.  What a treat we had.  The Ugandan Children's Choir had the whole service.  There are 10 children aged 8-12.  They sang, danced, spoke, and played their drums.  It was a unique look into their world now and where they came from.  They are here performing for 11 months, sharing their message.

Its been damp and overcast all day.  We watched part of the Bills game.  They played good and beat the NY Jets.  We also watched parts of the NASCAR race from Martinsville, which Dale Earnhart Jr.      won.

Looking at the yard a lot more leaves have fallen since Friday, hopefully by the end of this coming week I can finish up the leaves, put the Coach in Storage and winterize the mower.

Another good week in the books.

Thanks For Checking In!

"The Business of Life is the acquisition of memories!"