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Winter is over, right? I turned the water on at the "Crack House".

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Walking in Her Daddy's Shoes

Those are big shoes to fill.....

How Old is Old?

Deborah and I had a discussion at the dinner table a couple of days ago. It was a debate really, I guess. There were three questions that we were trying to figure an answer to. The answers to these questions could change philosophical thinking as we know it. It could shape the future of all organized religions and end political careers. It could question the accuracy of radio carbon dating and even change the the age of YOUR house. History could change in an instant! So, the answer is now placed in your hands... But certainly ponder this....

Here are the three questions:

1) Which comes first? "In the beginning" or "Once upon a time"?

2) Which is older? "In the days of yore" or "In the olden days"?

3) When did "Way back when", "It must've been yonks" and "Ages ago" start?

Putting on Weight...

If you read my post about my sash windows being heavier than the sash weights due to the fact that modern glass is thicker that old 1840s glass then you would know that every time I unlock the sash lock on my dining room windows, the upper sash drops faster than you can blink.
Well, I think I have solved the problem. I placed a kitchen scale under the upper sash to see how much force it excerts and found that it was about 2 to 3 lbs. So my window is at least 2 lbs heavier than my weights.

Today I made extra weights to attach to my existing ones. Not everyone will be able to do this because they don't have loads of pewter in their basement like I do.
I bought what we have come to refer to as House #1 from a friend of mine who used to manufacture little toy soldiers. He moved to England but left a bunch of 2 lb pewter discs in a drawer in the basement. I suspect that the discs are comprised of the slag that gets skimmed off the top of the molten metal in the melting pot before it gets poured into a "spin caster" and dumped into a shallow metal container. I never did anything with these discs, I figured one day I would use them as door stops.
About two weeks ago I threw one into a small tin can and melted it on the stove.



So I had the raw material for increasing my sash weights but no mold. I made a stop at the "Crack House" today and grabbed an extra sash weight (I have several lying around) and a bag of play sand that has been sitting in the ugly green van since 2002. After wetting the sand and pressing the end of the cast iron weight into it to make an impression of comparable dimensions, I was able to pour pewter into these molds to produce little 1 lb blocks.



With a little bit of ingenuity, I held a metal rod at the center of the mold as I poured the molten metal and produced these. (A little blurry, I know).



So, if liquid nails won't hold them to the bottom of the existing weights, I can tie them on or thread the cord through them so that they rest on top of the weights.
I can probably install them this weekend!

As for my own weight gain. You know, I weighed 135 lbs in 1982 and was the kind of guy people would kick sand at. 24 years later I weigh 150 lbs and people still kick sand in my face! Not this week though. Must be the chili. Every bean has a voice......

Feeling Bad About Your Renovation?

Are you depressed? Has the bottom fallen out of your world?

Try our Walnut Hills neighborhood Turbo Chili and have the world fall out of your bottom!
We call it "Turbo Chili" because it comes out faster than it goes in!
It WILL burn you twice!

We participated in a Chili cookoff on Monday. Our neighborhood was challenged by a neighboring one. We answered the challenge. Of the 4 entries, three were from our neighborhood.

I've been paying for it all week though and haven't even thought about working on the house!
I think we need better ventilation.......

Spring?

Well, it looks like that day has finally arrived when we can all start working on our houses once again! That groundhog predicted this day would come and it has! Unfortunately we have a WINTER weather advisory here so spring came and went last week.
That's OK. Elizabeth is already excited about the idea of April showers.....

The BIG EBAY ACQUISITION of "06"

Well, I found one! It is a perfect fit. No filing or grinding. OK, so it cost 10X what I paid for the first one, but it is complete. At 10 times the cost it is STILL a bargain considering that you only find something like this once in 5 years! It arrived intact also! So, the old one that was just a little too big will be put up on Ebay in the next week or so.

What am I on about?
This of course!



Here was the old one I found in December



Then there was the batch of twelve 1860s sash locks I got. I only needed five of them so I guess some of them will wind up on Ebay also!. Here is one of them



Then there were the six 3-way dimmer switches for $30 including shipping. All of which have been installed already.

This has all been too good to be true. Something bad will happen. I'll bet when I turn my water on next month there is a leak due to a burst pipe! Probably behind the shower.....