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

BRK #203

Sunday, and a Nest Project day. After the cleaning blitz this morning, I returned to the front porch/Paddock Gate project. Here's its current status:



Things are going as planned. The lattice is on the section I wanted, but the way I see it, the lattice can be tighter. Next weekend, I'll be able to add more posts to it. It has potential both as a decoration, and as a cat playground.

Meanwhile, I also returned to a few more sewing projects I'd been putting off. Here's my evening's entertainment with another completed patch on my work pants. Incidentally, Thelma & Louise has just been added to my Top Five Films list. I highly recommend it as a strikingly-good buddy/road film with superb camerawork.



Finally: I returned to the hand-sewn rag-rug project I started so long ago. I'm nearing my one-year mark at Wheaton Labs, and I hope to have this finished (and... In The Tent!) by then. It's small right now, but each time the braid makes its way round the rug, it adds about a half inch to its diameter. And while I have a lot of braid to work with, I expect I'll still end up with something approximately 2 ft in diameter in its widest dimension. We'll see. The good news is that in the event I am not completely satisfied with the completed rug, I can always unravel it and add another year's worth of braid to it whenever I like.





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

BRK #204

Monday, and we're back at it. Apart from Taco Tuesday, I'm looking forward to this week's impending Half-Assed Holiday: Cat House Day. Grey has been engineering diligently for a design we'll all jump into on Wednesday.

For today however, it was typical boot work. In the afternoon, we split into two teams and headed up to the Lab. Things started off dodgy with a snow squall appearing out of nowhere, but as it lasted only about 30 minutes any grumbling was short-lived.

We were seeking out dead-standing wood for a firewood harvest. Here's the first we spied: peppered with woodpecker bites.



I coached Reid on felling it speedily and safely.





Another tree we selected had three mini-trunks coming from a single tree. Felling them the directions we wanted was a bit of a challenge, but we eventually succeeded. I cut the stump down to the ground, and was intrigued by what had been going on in there. What might have caused it to grow in such a way?



In the second half of the shift, we loaded up everything else we had cut, then migrated to the Gregorian Woodshed to finish the job. Here are Grey and Reid, putting in their best efforts.



At the close of the afternoon, we loaded up everything under the roof of the Woodshed. Although there's still plenty in there that needs splitting, I'm confident we'll fill up this shed quickly, maybe even by the end of this week.



Two more photos to round out this entry. In the first half of the day, we busied ourselves with tidying the workshop, and I found this piercing tool. What is it designed to poke holes into? PVC pipe or something like that? Any ideas?



Finally: I'm still experimenting with my digital camera, and attempting to catch some decent low-light shots. Here's one of the Solarium's RMH in the evening.



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

BRK #205

Happy Cat House Day to you...!!!

Looks like I ended my BRK streak yesterday. Also, I was assigned a fairly involved task today for Cat House Day, so I don't have as much documentation as per usual for the Half-Assed Holidays. My apologies.

Today, Reid and I teamed-up in the first part of the day for some tasks up at the Lab. A wash sink was recently completed, though it lacked plumbing. Reid and I took it up to the Lab today and began the installation process in the Chateau de Poo. Here's Reid using a hole drill to make the route for the sink drain.



The "before" image of the sink form:



...And the "after" image. The pipe will drain outside of the CdP whenever someone washes-up in the sink.



Next up will be installation of the spigot, foot pump, and water reservoir. Mmmmaybe we ought to save all that for warmer weather.

In the afternoon, the team rallied round Grey and his plans for a new bunk house for the cats. Caleb made lasagna for the boots as well. Finally, we finished the day with a screening of the pilot for The Mandalorian, which came about thanks to a conversation about Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns, and the character parallels between the Mandalorian and The Man With No Name.

My task for the cat house build was the entry door/passage. I was originally daunted by the project. I'd be working solo on this, and I thought the various angles that Grey wanted in the doorway were a bit intimidating. I had a design drawn out on graph paper however, so it seemed like a healthy place to start.



I gathered several bits of scrap wood and set to work on approximating measurements. I decided early on to go with 15-degree angles for everything, and it turned out that was a good choice. Here's the first few pieces cut and test-fit.



With SEPPer Julia's help holding things steady, I was able to fasten the scraps together to finish the doorway. I also took a file and rasp to smooth-over some of the stubborn, sticking-out fasteners so no kitties would be harmed during the occasional hasty exit or entrance.



The remainder of the time before supper was spent with the oscillating saw, cutting a custom hole in the wall of the Solarium. The wall was cut, the stuffin' inside was cleared-out, and before too long there was an entrance ready for the rest of the cat house build.



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

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:BRK #204

Two more photos to round out this entry. In the first half of the day, we busied ourselves with tidying the workshop, and I found this piercing tool. What is it designed to poke holes into? PVC pipe or something like that? Any ideas?



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

Looks very much like a brake line flaring tool.

BRK #206

Happy Thursday... Here's another attempt at low-light photography, first thing in the morning. Note the vaporous ghost to the right.



Once the sun had risen and the ghost had been exorcised, we were working in the Solarium. Here's the current state of the Cat House under construction:



We also completed the paneling on one of the "rolly shelves" in there. Perhaps the name has something to do with the wheels attached to its soft underbelly.



I chatted with Grey regarding how he would like the cats to have access to the new house. His answer was to provide ramps. Reid and I set to work on those, with this quick sketch of mine as a guide.



Finally: Grey, Reid and I set out to fell a live tree today, destined for the Sawmill. Reid spent time taking some video of the epic experience, and I will do my best to remember to post it here once it's available. Meanwhile, here's a snapshot of our tools.



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