Finally Friday.

Fri.
Well, we all made it to the capstone day of a week that started out really crappy and full of drama. The week then progressed into a slow and boring death of a week that crept along here at work. There hasn't been much else going on, so no new news to report.

3 Day Weekend.
It's Memorial Day on Monday, that means an extra day to get to the many projects that I have ahead of me. So many projects:

-Moving railroad ties that are over grown with weeds and grass. These railroad ties are basically nesting grounds for scorpions and snakes at the moment. I am really not looking forward to moving these.
-Repairing the master bathroom vanity drawers. With the heat, and lack of a flat workspace or workshop, this project will be forever detained.
-Wrapping up the Hobby desk. Hopefully next week I'll see some materials come in. I think project is doomed for the same reasons as the master bathroom drawers.
-Begin Front landing and ramp. This is yet to be designed. We won't touch it until I get some fill dirt in for the low spots in my front lot.
-Revamping the kitchen sink and or faucet.
-Turning/ Moving the compost pile.

We'll just have to see what this weekend yields and what we're in the mood for.

Projects Update

Hobby Desk.
I'm hoping to finish the hobby desk soon, it's a matter of going to buy the materials. That's been the biggest hold up. I'm planning on going to get them next week. As we are paying bills this week (boring).


Hobby Desk.
I'm hoping to finish the hobby desk soon, it's a matter of going to buy the materials. That's been the biggest hold up. I'm planning on going to get them next week. As we are paying bills this week (boring).

Other Projects.
There are many other projects that I'll be getting too shortly. I'm hoping to do the Adirondack Chairs / Jake's Chair next. I've got my plate also full with a few other things I need to do around the house: repair the master bathroom drawers, build the front ramp and landing.

Excuses / Frustrations.
The weather has gotten hotter as summer is pretty much here, we've also seen a large swarm of mosquitoes due to the rain we've been getting. I absolutely hate mosquitoes and nothing will ever get me out in an area infested with them. I hate the chemical feeling of wearing bug spray. I physically cannot work out in the heat. Not having an enclosed Woodshop to work out of has been a rough thing. I lack a properly organized and dedicated work space for my tools and a place to store wood for my projects. These are the frustrations I have been dealing with.

Raddest Weekend Ever!

CoChe Spring 2010.
Here are some pics from our CoChe Weekend. It was a weekend filled with so much needed fun for Krystal and I. We had an awesome time!! We surfed, we went swimming, we slept, and most important of all: we took it real easy.

Patch.
The weather was barely 87 degrees, the water was warm with a kiss of cool. It was cloudy most of the time - we couldn't have picked a more perfect time to be there.
It was crazy crowded as usual. It was so nice to see surfers, both young and old, out getting up. There were a lot of left breaks at Patch. It was definitely going off. I haven't seen this much stoke since Waikiki.

Home.
It was hard leaving to come home. CoChe was just beautiful and it was hard leaving it all behind, but we'll come back real soon though.

It's Going Off This Weekend...

After so many weeks of hard work and preparation for Big Z... All the aching muscles and joints, tired backs, stress - that come with moving into a new house.

I am happy to announce that Krystal and I are tearing off to the coast to do what we live for. Maybe we'll come back rested, energized and a peace.

It's going off....

A third of the way there!!!

Raw Completion.
After dissembling the rough fitment completely, I noted on the pieces how they were oriented when assembled so reconstruction would be easy and fast. Then I marked the placement of the shelves and where the shelf pins would need to be installed. After applying wood glue to the joints, I put everything back together.

Shelves.
The shelves were a little rough to work with in the ways of fitment. I did cut some short - width wise, but I think they will be fine support-wise and those minute errors will be hidden once the piece is stained. I measured the diagonals and everything is perfectly square at 51 & 1/4".

Putty Up.
I later filled the screw holes with Elmer's Paintable / Stainable Wood Putty and a putty scraper. After a few hours of drying, I'll begin sanding either tonight or this weekend. The sanding will serve to After the sanding treatment, I'll rub it down with cheesecloth to remove the left over saw dust and putty and let it sit and begin this piece's twin. It's rather exciting as I am a third of the way through with this project. I need to get the materials for the other two sections, so it'll be another trip to the lumber yard for me.

Next.
I will wait for a weekend with better weather to apply the stain and finish. The stain will be a couple liberal coats of a dark walnut color. Once dried and applied the stain will be sealed in a couple coats of glossy clear coat.

Oil Spill Update

There doesn't appear to be any good news regarding the situation. Visually, the only picture we can monitor is what's happening at the surface via satellite. The spill has reached the Loop Current. A few tar balls have been found in Key West, whether or not they are related to the oil spill is yet to be determined and verified.

BP is doing an excellent job at keeping news reporters and media away from the scene of the crime. They are the only body of authority in charge of the clean up. No Government including our own appears to be concerned or offering any assistance.

I try to stay optimistic but that's easy because the oil hasn't fully devastated the Texas coastline as of yet. It'll be a different story when I see the destruction with my own eyes. I am not sure how I'll take it to be honest.

Wildlife impacts have been getting up there in numbers so far, which is really disheartening.

Not so Secret Project Started

So much for secret.
So Krystal was onto to what I was building. I began phase one of the Hobby Desk project last night. I ripped 1x12 boards to their lengths and managed for everything to come out square per the rough fitment. I think it came out great considering the conditions by which I was assembling it under. I don't have a very steady work bench constructed yet, so I assembled everything it on the floor .

Hardware.
I am assembling everything using #8 - 2" wood screws. Since this is soft pine stock, I'm pre-drilling pilot holes and then going back over them with a #8 Countersink bit. I am doing this to prevent any wood splits and to navigate any wood knots I may encounter. After the rough fitment, I'll be drilling the insert holes for the 24 shelving support tabs that will hold the shelves together.

Next.
So I'm thinking that's going to be the lead into my next logical project. A workbench should have been my first project - DUH - LOL - big fat duh on that one. Oh well...
You learn from your mistakes and you move on.

Here's a pic of the rough fitment:I think it really came out well, I measure the diagonals and they were pretty even. I believe it will square up perfectly after I install the 9 - 1x2 shelf supports . I will disassemble the rough fitment to drill the holes for the shelf support tabs and test the fitment of the 11" shelf pieces. The shelves are going to be a tight fit so I'll have to trim some down just a hair for them to fit snug. After the shelves I'll be going round with the wood filler and patching dents and all screw holes.

Conclusion.
This section is remarkably coming together really well. I will build this cubby hole section's twin next and then will proceed to the desktop and the two drawers that will accompany it. I haven't decided what material I'll use for the desktop portion - whether it be MDF or some wood stock that I tapered together with the Kreg Jig. I'll also have to figure out what stain I'd like to go with.

Super Secret Big Z Project

So I'm in the process of building a two-person design table that has two cubby hole banks on either side of it. It'll be a three component piece with two 3'x3' bank sections and 1 desktop table section with two sliding drawers on either side of it.

I've purchased 1x12 boards, enough to build one of the cubby hole banks for now. I'm going at this piece on my own pace. The weather has been spotty but I think it'll get better. By the way, I'm keeping this project secret from my wife, Krystal - LOL. We need a good project desk for the two of us in the Big Z Imaginarium / Idea space.

I'll be posting more photos of the project as I go. So far, I've ripped a few of the pieces for the cubby to length and will be ripping more tonight as I go. Then the rough fitment will come next, I'll adjust to see how everything fits as I go. After everything fits, I'll drill and countersink 2" wood screws into the piece for rough assembly.

More to come on this project later.

Big Z is really rolling. Sorry for not posting in a while, I have been busy completing much of the smaller projects in order to get the Big Z house operational. I've also been resting as much as I can - I've been very tired. I think working and getting use to the 9 to 6 shift at work has been a contributor to it. I'm adjusting well though.
Many things have worked out very well since we've moved into Big Z and my family couldn't have been happier moving there. The wife and two dogs, my parents are all very happy with our decision so we have been experiencing a great period of peace which has been a while since we've felt this way completely.

On Big Z Time.
I, personally, have been living on Big Z time. Life has slowed down for me, I'm trying to just get things done but not in a fashion where I feel rushed but satisfied instead. There is a certain quality that comes with completing projects on Big Z time. It makes it worth it. I try to reflect on what life was like before Big Z but now I can't even imagine it.

Freedom.
There is so much freedom here at Big Z, this home and this property is like a blank canvas. We have all the freedom in the world to just do whatever we want to do. Which is a freedom that we never had before. Just this morning, I heard a radio DJ complaining about his HOA restrictions and the quarrels he's had with them. I never in my life considered any HOA (Home Owners Association) to be of any sort of benefit but onto themselves. This was just a clever way to profit off of those that are packed and crammed into unsafe suburbs and neighborhoods. HOA's create a false sense of neighborhood upkeep and safety. They are limiters and restricters of our god given freedoms and liberties. Enjoy and seek out your own Freedom, break away from those that try to take it away. Do something that makes you feel free right now.

Heartbreak

It is very difficult and unreal to watch the events of the Oil Rig Spill unfold here in the Gulf of Mexico. To a couple of surfers like Krystal and I - it is heartbreaking....

The Gulf is what it is, it's not the Pacific or the Atlantic, but it is OUR coast. We have enjoyed surfing, boogie boarding, body surfing, skim boarding, swimming and fishing out of the waters of the Gulf coast. What hurts even more is that we may not be able to safely venture out into the Gulf's waters for a long time even after the spill.

I am gravely saddened by this tragedy.

Fully Functional

So, the AC system in the house had a crossover duct that got disconnected. Apparently, a few feral cats were using the duct to live out of for a while, LOL. Along with a broken AC duct we also had an AC drain pan pipe that became severed off completely. I'm now happy to report that both have been repaired and replaced.

Once we get the house in order, it'll be onto the fun stuff, like the deck, the carport and the Big Z Workshop. I anticipate a few more minor repairs to the home. Some notable projects include repairing the kitchen and bathroom cabinet drawer hardware and will provide an interesting custom project for the Kreg Jig.

The cabinet drawers were suspended from cheap plastic chairs that were merely screwed into the back wall of the cabinet. This is evidence of it no doubt being the cheapest cabinet job in the world. I believe the cabinets were built for purposes of seeming oversized but care was not taken to how the drawers would be inserted.

I intend to build a custom cage out of 1x3's pocket screwed together with the Kreg Jig. The cabinet drawer slides will be screwed into the 1x3 cage. Problem solved. Sounds good in theory, we'll see how well it holds up in practice. Another case of easier said than done...

Moving - Early Phases

So more photos from the move before we moved the big things in.... Yes, we slept in the living room because we were really tired, LOL.

Big Z Pecan Grove

These are photos of Big Z's backlot where I intend to lay out the master plan of our pecan grove and I also intend to have a walking/ vehicle path that will follow the fenceline and will perimeter the entire grove. I'd like to be able to access it with my truck and even by tractor if I needed to.

Days 1, 2 and 3 at Big Z.

Here's the Amazing Sunrise from our first night spent at Big Z.

Here I am tired as hell, LOL... Big Z is worth it.

So here’s the list of crap that my family of Four and I’ve done this weekend….

- reserved / rented a 17’ Uhaul truck

- picked up Uhaul truck

- drove Uhaul truck to the Highsmith house

- loaded the large things and the rest of my junk into a 17’ Uhaul

- drove Uhaul truck to Big Z

- unloaded Uhaul truck into Big Z

- installed Engery Star Digital AC Thermostat

- installed Two Fire alarms/ Smoke Detectors

- hooked up refrigerator

- replaced low flow Toilet hardware

- hooked up dryer

- hooked up washer machine

- hooked up TV, Entertainment center

- hooked up Water filtration system

- put up 8 mini blinds

- put up 8 sets of draperies

- installed 10 foot cattle gate

- installed 30 feet of critter fencing

- yard cleanup, mowed grass, weed eated

- dug holes for Oleanders

- planted 10 pots of Oleanders

- dug holes for Oak Trees

- planted 2 Oak Trees

- unpacked, unpacked, unpacked.

More to be done:

- Hook up / inspect / Clean AC duct work

- Layout Big Z’s deck foundation plan / site prep

- spray for spiders SPIDERS spiders BIG BROWN SPIDERS, small Black Spiders and don’t forget Scorpions

- Hook up Surround Sound system through subflooring

- Put together treadmill, workout bench in workout room

- repair / build Master closet shelves / closet rods / racks

- unpack some more…