One wipe at a time, Better???, Automation

So I decided to take a one week hiatus from running this weekend.  Both knees had soreness at the top of them which felt like it would benefit from a short break.  The knees already had taken some additional beating from playing racquetball on my lunch hour on Friday.

So without running on the calendar I jumped right into doing the chicken work first thing Saturday.  Once that was handled Cindy offered to do the weeding so I could get started on the first of two main projects of the weekend, cleaning the roof eave.  Last weekend I completed cleaning one side of the house, handling the other three was no less fun.  I used the same technique as before, a spray bottle and rags.  In total I spent three to four hours cleaning the eaves one wipe at a time.  No, I won’t be looking to do the project anytime again soon.

We also headed to Home Depot during the morning where I plunked down big bucks for a new Samsung washer and dryer.  In the last week the LG front loading washer we have started getting VERY loud during spin cycle which sounded like a bearing going bad.  A quick search online indicated this is a common failure with these washers.  I then started investigating what is involved in replacing the bearing and seal.  Although the parts can be obtained for less than $50 the labor required to replace the bearing is massive, requiring a complete tear down of the machine.

Depending on what you find during the tear down there is the possibility that other components will need to be replaced as well.  I had been looking to replace the washer/dryer for a couple years so the idea of spending that much time/effort to repair something I want to get rid of just didn’t make sense to me.  We actually paid less for the new Samsung set than I did in 2010 when I bought the LG’s.  Having a front loading washer just is not as great as I once thought it would be.  The new set features a high efficiency top loading washer which will work out better for several reasons.

Saturday evening we made arrangements to go see Deadpool 2 with Katie and Daniel.  We got a last minute surprise when Cindy’s niece and her boyfriend showed up as well.  We arrived early to grab dinner at the theater.  Cindy and I were the only veterans of The Prado theater.  Katie was very impressed by the VIP theater accommodations, specifically the reclining leather chairs.

Cindy had worked during the day on making us Deadpool t-shirts for the movies.  The one she made for me was absolutely epic and good not have been more appropriate.  Of course we wore them.

I absolutely loved the first Deadpool movie and expected the second movie to be great but not as good as the original because hey, that hardly ever happens.  Well I feel pretty confident in stating that Deadpool 2 is even better than the original.  It had me laughing out loud more than any movie I can recall in the last decade. (Thor Ragnarok was close)  It was so damn funny, I loved it. The movie gets a rare A+ in my book.  Spoiler, although there are shorts during the credits, if you sit till the VERY end of the credits there is nothing waiting for you.

Sunday morning Cindy and I went out to do a ride around the Dunkin Donuts area.  It turned out only I rode because the one tire on her Minipro was very low on air.  Cindy wound up doing some grocery shopping while I did a 6 or 7 mile ride on my Monster.  My lower body already hurt from being on a ladder so much on Saturday.  Riding an EUC only amplified the discomfort.

Sunday afternoon Cindy and I tackled the remaining big weekend project, installing a second automatic chicken coop door.  Our original door is one of the highlights of the coop as it automatically opens and closes each day to keep the chickens secure.

We decided we wanted to take it one step further.  Often times when we get up all of the chickens are already awake and pacing inside of the run, anxious to be let out so they can roam about doing their chicken things.  We thought adding a second door to the run would allow the birds early access to the yard as well as allowing us to make sure they are completed closed up in the evening if we are away for some reason.

I ordered the door a couple weeks ago and it has been sitting by the front door waiting to be installed for over a week.  As is the case with the vast majority of my construction projects.  I had a loose mental outline of how I wanted to install the door that was fluid and changed as the install was done with suggestions from Cindy.

The end result turned out well with the door feeling very secure but still somewhat protected by the clear roof panels over that section.  Some of the chickens went through the door right away, others were cautious.  We closed the main door so they HAD to go through the opening to go to bed which they all did.  This morning most of the hens did not quite grasp the concept that they didn’t have to wait for us to open the big door to get outside.  I am sure they will catch on soon.

Another busy week is awaiting me but the good news is I have a three day weekend waiting at the end of it.