Category: Family
“Row, Row, Row Your Boat”
Susanna and I took the “new” inflatable dinghy down to the river and spent a few minutes enjoying the evening on the sailboat. We took Targa with us. He hates the water. So does Tucker. But Targa doesn’t get carsick, so he gets to the be the first to visit the boat.
Of course we had to row the dinghy from the launch to the mooring…
Quick Dingy Restoration
Yesterday, the boys and I picked up a used 10′ Achilles inflatable dinghy. It is an older model, and wasn’t in the best shape. But it was only $80 so it was difficult to pass up. The boat building project is going slowly, so I decided it would be worth picking up a functioning dinghy until I finish with the one I’m building. Or maybe I just like collecting things – I’m taking a break from collecting lumber, so maybe I’m starting with boats. Okay, not really, but I’m guessing that someone in this house wonders about that…
The dinghy had been kept in the water without any anti-fouling paint, and had barnacles on the bottom. Two of the air tubes also have slow leaks in them. It should be a quick project to paint the bottom and fix the slow leaks. Since the boys and I picked up bottom paint at the boat store yesterday and didn’t get the stuff to fix the leaks, today I’m painting the bottom. The air leaks will have to wait until later this week.
First step was to clean the boat and remove the barnacles. Last night I scrubbed the entire boat, and carefully used a putty knife to remove the barnacles. This morning I let the remains of the barnacles soak in vinegar and then rinsed and let the boat dry. After the boat was dry I sanded the bottom as smooth as I could without damaging the fabric. I again rinsed the boat off and then cleaned the bottom with a solvent (I used MEK because that is what I had – and it dries very quickly).
Susanna and I moved the boat into the shade to make it more pleasant to paint, and to make sure that the bottom paint didn’t dry too quickly. I finished the first coat, and will let it sit for 4 hours and then apply a second coat this afternoon. I may apply a third coat, because I think there will be enough for a third coat in the can, and I may as well use it up (though maybe I can store it in the basement and get try to get another coat out of the quart next season).
Now back to the workshop.
Dogs, dogs, dogs
Babysitting Leslie this weekend. Ben is happy to have a dog that will sleep in his bed. Targa sleeps in Will’s room; Tucker is too annoying; Leslie is just right. Except for waking up at 5:45.
Ben’s 4th Grade Play
Every year, the Preston Veterans Memorial School 4th grade class puts on a play (musical). This year it was Ben’s turn to be in the play. I recorded the song he sang – please excuse the poor audio quality, it was recorded on an iPhone.
A tour, boat painting, friends over, playing in the sprinkler morning.
We had a busy morning. The town of Preston was offering a bus tour of the former Norwich State Hospital, Will and Ben wanted friends over, and I want to get the boat ready to get in the water next weekend.
We picked up Will’s friend, Tyler, on the way to the hospital tour, and the boys were surprisingly well-behaved for the 40 minute bus tour, even though they probably got a little bored by the end. However, they all took lots of pictures and will probably post some on their blogs later today (I think Ben took well over 100 pictures during the tour).
After we came home, I moved the boat and mowed the grass under it. Then the boys helped me paint the bottom of the boat (second coat) – so all I have to do is jack up the boat to paint where the rollers touch, get the outboard running, and finish varnishing the tiller handle – not too much to do in a week.
The boys are out running through the sprinkler enjoying the sunny warm day while I try to get green paint spots out of my hair, write in my blog and make lunch.. It is nice to have a kind of odds-and-ends sort of day.
Trains, trains, old trains, rust and other stuff.
This afternoon was a “take a break from your sibling afternoon.” Susanna took Will to “Launch,” an indoor trampoline house. I took Ben to the Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum. What a great time. It was dirt cheap. Only $6 for both of us to visit. It isn’t the biggest museum, but it is a great deal (and the trains are mostly open to climb around on – one just has to be careful).
Playing in the Rain
A quick passing storm allows for some fun outside after dinner:
Another weekend project finished…
This year, Susanna and I are trying to focus on smaller projects. Projects that can be finished in a weekend. Over the past couple of years, we have completed many major projects that took several months to complete and we thought it would be nice to take a break from the big projects for a while.
This was one of the weekends where the boys aren’t here, so we tackled a bigger weekend project. We have two big out buildings. One is my workshop, and I have been keeping it in pretty good shape (though the lumber stack below the workshop, and the storage area above it could use a good reorganization). The second building is our garage. The garage has a second floor that has been a focus on our improvements this year.
One side of the loft above the garage is the boys’ play room/game room. I finished that for the boys for Christmas. It was a big change from the dirty wreck of a play room that they had before. However, to get to the play loft, one had to go through the other side of the loft – the storage area. It has been a disaster for the past couple of years. Okay, since I moved here.
I did have one set of shelves built many years ago, but it wasn’t enough storage (okay, if we got rid of stuff it would have been). But the space didn’t feel special. This weekend I added lights and built a second set of storage shelves and a book shelf. Susanna organized and cleaned. The end result is another pretty cool space to hang out.
I know we probably won’t spend much time there, but it is nice to have another cool nook to sit on the property. It is nice to have Susanna to help encourage me to finish projects and not just start them.
The space isn’t perfect. It gets hot in the summer and cold in the winter. I am hoping to add an exhaust fan later this year to keep the temperature more reasonable. One of the window panes is still broken (Ben broke it earlier this year), and that will need to be another short weekend project to fix. We may also add a window air-conditioner to the boys play room (on a timer of course) – hopefully they can keep some of the mess out of the house.
A new car…
I have been driving our 1999 Jeep Cherokee for many years. It still runs, but is showing its age: the air-conditioning is out, driver’s side airbag doesn’t work, the horn doesn’t work, one of the doors is damaged from an accident last year. With summer coming on, it was time to add a new car. We kept the jeep (it is the only car with a hitch now) and bought a slightly used 2013 Chevy Sonic (only 19k miles). Not the fanciest car, but it gets good gas mileage, had high ratings for being well-built, and fits all four of us.
Now to get the Jeep to pass emissions so we can keep it for a couple of more years. And clean a space for it under the workshop.