Punch List

Until we met with a couple Realtors this past weekend we thought we were making pretty good progress on our punch list. Though the Realtors were pleasantly surprised by our house they still had their own laundry list of improvements they'd like to see before showing it. Their suggestions were mostly related to painting and landscaping but will still involve many, many hours of more work.

The wall paneling, hall bookcase and mantel were finally finished last week. Twelve custom molding profiles were utilized to create this unique design.

The new marble and tile bath has been 95% finished for some time now. Still, the last few details seem to take the most time.

This 3' diameter circular window has been waiting for an extension jamb for 15 years! So, after 6 hours of work it's built and installed. Now all I have to do is make the circular casing which should take another 4 or 5 hours. Nothing is easy.

After working on the house for 10 hours Saturday and 5 on Sunday we had had enough. It was time to get away from the punch list and get in touch with our dream. Sunday afternoon we decided to set up the RV and spend the night. We had a few things to check off here but they seemed easy compared to the long list back at the house. We got the new sun screen installed on the windshield as you can see a bit of in the photo. It was cold enough that both furnaces ran all night but it was cozy inside.

I got to try out our new stainless steel grill which I am very pleased with. It rang true to the 5 positive reviews it received on Camping World.

When to change your oil?

If I were to post the question of how often to change your oil I would no doubt get 100 different answers. Most owners’ manuals state something like every 6,000 miles or 6 months; whichever comes first. That said, the proverbial little old lady who drives her car once a week back and forth to the liquor store should change her oil even though she has only driven 1,000 miles in 6 months time. But why; does something happen to the oil while it is sitting in the oil pan? When I owned a motor boat with an inboard V8 engine I had the oil changed in September when the boat was winterized. Then 6-8 months later, I put the boat in the water and began running the motor. Although this is more or less a standard maintenance practice for boats in cold climates it seems to contradict the mileage vs. time oil change interval recommended by the auto manufacturers. Does the oil in your oil pan deteriorate, accumulate moisture or break down over time? How is oil sitting on a shelf in the original container different from oil sitting in an oil pan? These questions came to mind while I was trying to decide if I should change the oil in the motorhome. The oil was changed one year ago and has less than 1500 miles on it. With the motorhome requiring about 25 quarts of oil at a cost of more than $200 for an oil change I didn’t want to guess about changing my oil. After a bit of research I discovered the concept of having your engine oil tested. This involves taking a small sample from your engine and having it tested at a lab. The lab will send you a report indicating your oil properties and the elements found in your oil. They also provide their opinion on the overall operating condition of your engine. The cost for this is $32.50. Bottom line: my oil was as good as new and they recommend I run it for 7,000 miles more before testing again. They also said my engine was in excellent condition. But what if I had gotten bad news, like fuel in the oil? An oil report can also alert you to a problem so it can be corrected. What about really bad news? Maybe it’s time to buy an extended warranty or think about trading it in?

Oil report for our Caterpillar diesel engine. Click to enlarge

A hand pump is used to withdrawal an oil sample out the dipstick tube. The sample bottle screws right onto the pump.

Animal Move Successful

The 4 hour hour trip to Philadelphia with Happy and Charlie went better than expected. Happy, who hadn't been in a car for 15 years, was surprisingly calm for the whole time. He really has mellowed in his old age. And Charlie, like most dogs, thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Once we were in Philly Martha took Charlie for a walk and realized our country bumpkin dog has a lot to learn about urban life. The abundance of new smells, other dogs, street noise and pavement was a bit overwhelming for her.

Happy, relaxing on the familiar futon in Greg's office.

Charlie with Jenny, her new master.

Caged Cat!

For the past two weeks I've been wondering how we are going to move our cat, Happy, to Philadelphia where Greg and Jenny are going to adopt him and our beagle, Charlie. Charlie is easy but Happy hasn't been off the property or in a car since we brought him home 15 years ago. Because our vet always came to the house if needed he's never been in a cat carrier which we don't have. While considering some antique wooden boxes I had as a potential cat carrier I found a wire dog crate we had in the barn. Now, I just couldn't picture Happy going willingly into the thing. Fortunately the crate is 6 separate panels that connect together to form a rectangular cube. Since Happy is more or less a senior citizen of the cat world he sleeps a lot and always in the same bed which he commandeered from Charlie not long ago. We placed his bed on the dog crate base and slowly added more cage panels over the course of a week. Now he sleeps in the cage about 12 hours a day. How will he react when we carry him out to the car?

We got Happy at the animal shelter over 15 years ago. He was named Happy because he was from a litter of seven kittens, all named after the seven dwarfs. He's 14 years old in this photo. Handsome boy!