!!!! SEPP to Boot: Stephen's Experience (BEL)

BRK #191

Taco Tuesday! I'm posting this while our lovely meal digests.

Stopped by the repair shop with the tire. They filled a tank with compressed air, and stuff the air chute between the tire and the wheel well. The guy shouts, "Heads up!" Then WHA-BAM!!! The air is expelled and the tire is fused around the wheel. First time I'd seen that done in-person. They did the job in 15 minutes, and free of charge.



Here's a rare candid shot of the full team. Clockwise from lower-left: Grey, Caleb, Moto Jeff.



Finally: I've been trying to make heads or tails out of my digital camera, particularly when it comes to low-light photos and shots of things like the partially-full moon. Still practicing, and making minuscule progress. Here are two views of the Berm Shed at night. I'd dropped off the Buggy, and was looking around for Choco, the enormous black cat.





That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #192

It was a pleasant winter day today. The skies were clear, the temps were rising above freezing for a bit, and we all had a chance to go out to the Lab and stretch our legs while seeking out lumber trees.

It all started with some indoor tasks at Basecamp. For instance, here's Caleb affixing paneling to the ceiling in the Solarium. That room's going to look quite nice once we're done...!



Moto Jeff and I were working in the Library earlier today, adding more rosin paper backing to the ceiling of the Library. It too will receive the wood paneling treatment before we're through.



At the end of the day I was looking for... carbs. Some homemade Cracker Jack ought to do the trick, I thought to myself. And it did. The recipe is simple and it's something I find oddly satisfying to make, not just to eat. So there you go.





That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #193

Happy Groundhog Day to you...!

Another Half-Assed Holiday has arrived, and with it: pancakes for dinner.

Actually there were a few other things going on today. I went into town on errands, and while I was away the rest of the team was working on a new shelf system for the Workshop. Here's Moto Jeff and Grey in there, right now:



I returned from my town errands with a new snatch block, some plumbing doodads, and an armload of newly-sharpened sawblades, then hopped into the kitchen to prepare for this evening's dinner. For this holiday in particular, there's a scene from the film where Bill Murray is gorging himself on pastries and a considerable stack of pancakes. We recreate that as best we can with homemade pancakes and a few pastries I picked up in town for the occasion. As a cook with remarkably average skills with casties, I think these still turned out all right (even the buckwheat ones...!).







We wrapped the evening with a viewing of the namesake film in the Library.





Speaking of the Library, here's an obligatory cat photo from earlier in the day.



That's all for now. Here's to hoping you made your own personal Groundhog Day count, as well.

BRK #194

I hope you all have had a pleasant Friday. This one wrapped-up not so bad for me, personally speaking.

Here's Moto Jeff as he and I worked to add paneling to the Solarium ceiling. We're nearly 25% complete, and while we need more lumber milled for the rest of the project, it's still looking good. It's a task that everyone's had their hand in over this past week, and we should all be proud of the work once it's done.



Another photograph of my food, and I apologize in advance. However, this is something I'd never tried and I was pleased with the outcome. I had my typical peanut-butter sandwich for lunch, however instead of slices of bread I used two leftover pancakes from yesterday's Groundhog Day dinner. It was a smart choice, in my opinion.



(a secret to tasty, memorable pancakes: add cinnamon and cardamom to the batter, and when you flip 'em resist the urge to mash 'em down with your spatula... They'll stay fluffy.)

The afternoon was spent at the Lab with the full team. We fitted and tested-out the tire chains for the tractor for the first time, as we were going well off-road to harvest lumber trees.



Well, it was rough going, in my opinion. We made it out to the site we'd scouted last week, set up the snatch block (also a tool used for the first time), and ended up with... one log. There's at least one more we'll need to pick up from that same logging site, but we just ran out of time. It's reassuring to know that with some intentional practice we'll all become more proficient and quicker with these tools. And when I'm more familiar with the land I'll have a better sense of where to drive the tractor, and when it's smart to keep it back. These days I imagine I'm being a bit too timid with such a powerful piece of equipment. My early, dumb mistakes (primarily with the tires) compel me to be a bit gun-shy, I think.



By the time we made it back to Basecamp, everyone was cold and wet and were ready to be inside for some more work. We sorted out the tools and convened around the Workshop shelf project, which is also in-process. It would be excellent to finish that next week, and maybe even have the Solarium paneling project done, provided we can mill enough paneling to finish the job. Lots to think about before next week. I retired to the Solarium with Little House on the Prairie, if you can believe that.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!