Questions?………. Some answers

Our everyday lives bring up questions? Sherry loves ice. Our refrigerator has an ice maker and she has noticed a small sediment in the glass if she lets the ice melt in the glass.

While our new little Freezer was plugged in getting cold, our ice maker gave out. The Teflon liner had deteriorated and was breaking up. I immediately thought, that is sediment Sherry is seeing. After some research I found the icemaker was up to $350 from RV stores. Fortunately I did some research asking on a couple RV forums. One guy said, “That is a Whirlpool ice maker. Check with Lowes, they should carry the kit.”

Lowes in Ocala had 6 of them in stock (love that internet).  I had to buy the entire Ice maker kit. It was all less than $100. So by the time the little freezer was making ice cream hard, I removed and replaced the icemaker.

Sherry just told me, the sediment is still in the ice. Now the question. Is it our water coming into the motor home that needs filtering?  Possible, so a note was made to get an inline filter.

There is one other possibility, and really not that much of a long shot. Let me digress to a job I did many years ago for a friend.  As I was looking at the job of replacing his water heater, he told me this story. “Jack, I have been sick lately, the doctors could not seem to pin point the problem. My blood work was showing calcium in high numbers. They asked where I got my water, city water. I told them I always had a cup of hot tea before going to work.”  They continued to question him. Turned out he was using hot water from his hot water heater,to start his tea.

    

(Some people drain the heater every couple years, my buddy Sonny used to do that.)

Not every knows or cares, but your house hot water is for utility work, dishes, baths, etc., not to drink. H/W heaters are notorious for calcium build up. For example This motor home only has a 10 gallon Hot water heater. I replaced last year, after 13 years it had 4 gallons of calcium and sludge buildup in it. I know because I dumped it out.

(Above are two water heaters that have been cut open to show the scale and calcium build up)

So back to my problem, I will check tomorrow, but it is possible the plumber originally got two lines mixed up and is running hot water into our ice maker.  If true, it could be one reason the box  would not freeze Ice cream. I will know later today, I prefer the filter, much easier fix.

Thanks for stopping by the log.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

The plumbing mix up is not that odd. Plenty of folk have flushed with hot water for years and did not know it until they sat down after flushing it a couple times and felt a warm rear when they sat down. WE had a plumber do that last year up in Belmont.

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We have Ice Cream that is FROZEN!

From early in our marriage we established a habit of eating a bowl of ice cream every night while watching TV. It was mostly Vanilla with chocolate syrup, sometimes walnuts. This followed us most of our lives as regular as clock work.

Then the Motor Home happened. The Refer in the motor home is an absorption unit. It does not have a compressor, it cools by heating either with 12v or LP gas. WE have NEVER had a refrigerator that would Freeze Ice Cream.

     

First story was enough. We had it in the shop. The head mechanic put me on the phone with the factory rep. He assured me it might freeze a little harder if we bought ‘cheap’ ice cream, maybe ice milk. Those have less fats and cream in them and froze at a higher temp.

He further stated, it might even help if you transferred from a 1/2 gal. container to several smaller containers.  WE tried all the helpful hints but still never had good results. As a result, we ended up losing the habit but not the desire :) .  WE settled for a Blizzard at times or a small sundae at McDonalds.

BUT THIS WEEK THINGS CHANGED! I saw on the internet (my shopping mall) a small freezer. I asked questions of buyers. EVERYONE assured me this sucker will freeze Ice Cream.  The little dude is sitting right beside me. Sherry just had her small bowl.

WE B HAPPY!

That spoon is sticking in hard Ice cream!

It has been YEARS since frozen Ice Cream has been our coach!

Nite Shipslog

PS:

I am on my Girl’s good side!

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I know youy hate to hear the happy bells…..

When a soldier was just another human being

Wars are declared by politicians and fought by soldiers who are conscripted or volunteer because they want to defend their country, after being convinced  by politicians, THIS MUST BE DONE, or we lose our freedom or our country.(It has been true at times)

 

The soldier is  a human being on both sides. Both are humans and have homes and family that loves them. The average soldier does not ‘hate’ his enemy, they are both there due to orders.

An example in my family. I have a letter somewhere written by a great uncle to my mama years ago. Where he tells about our great great Grandpa in the Georgia militia in the civil war. He was a sentry at a small creek. He knew on the other side was a Yankee. In the dark the Yankee called out, “Hey Reb, you got any tobacco?”

Grandpa said, “Yeah, what you got to trade?”

“I got a newspaper that ain’t over a month old.”

They met on opposite sides of the creek and the trade was made tied in scarves with rocks. They talked a little about family and home, then went back to their posts. The next day they were shooting at each other because some politicians could not agree.

I just watched a terrible video of a woman being killed by soldiers terrorists, because she was not wearing a face covering. The real soldier has always respected women, so now in the middle EAST a new warrior is born, one who Hates everything and everyone who does not agree with him. He is not there by order of a politician, but he is there to destroy anyone who doesn’t believe as he does.  Hate is such a terrible state to be in.

 

WWII Lt Charlie Brown’s B-17 plane was a flying Swiss cheese, crew members wounded one tail wing gone, The plane could just barely maneuver and he spotted a German fighter plane, pilot Lt. Franz Stigler, approaching. He knew they were goners.

Stigler said he could see crew men wounded trying to aid other wounded crew members, knowing this plane would never fly again he could not fire on it. He motioned to Charlie to land and surrender. NO! He offered to escort him to a neutral landing strip. NO! ENGLAND! was the hand signals. Stigler stayed with him to keep other German fighters from taking it down. they with a salute and dip of his wings, turned and flew home.

Lt Stigler and  Charlie Brown became good friends after the war.

 

Charlie and Franz meeting with Governor Jeb Bush. 2001 (?)

Thanks for stopping by the log

Nite Shipslog

PS:

Being human, is to show compassion.

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1956 T-Bird

‘59 Dodge Royal Lancer

Two Rows By The Sea ( a tribute)

Soon after the horrible event that shook the Christian world, when a terrorist group lead some Christian workers they had kidnapped out by the sea to slaughter them and produce a film of the act. It hit the Christian world hard, and shook many pillars of the other religions. The majority of the world was horrified by the filthy act.

The President of the Egyptian Bible Society  said we need a tribute, a tract, to distribute. One that will catch the essence of the feelings.  This is what came out of the meeting:

Two rows by the Sea

Egyptian Bible Society

Two rows of men walked the shore of the sea,
On a day when the world’s tears would run free,

One a row of assassins, who thought they did right,
The other of innocents, true sons of the light,

One holding knives in hands held high,
The other with hands empty, defenseless and tied,

One row of slits to conceal glaring-dead eyes,
The other with living eyes raised to the skies,

One row stood steady, pall-bearers of death,
The other knelt ready, welcoming heaven’s breath,

One row spewed wretched, contemptible threats,
The other spread God-given peace and rest.

A Question...
Who fears the other?

The row in orange, watching paradise open?
Or the row in black, with minds evil and broken?

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I tried to add valid comments here. but the TWO ROWS have spoken.

 

Thanks for coming by the Blog

Nite Shipslog

PS:

The Gettysburg address comes to mind, The blood spilt there  hallowed the ground, the incident, more than my power to explain it.(add or detract)

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I remember this picture from Sunday School.  I don’t think I ever thought I would see a man killed for his religious beliefs, proudly in public.

No matter what your religious beliefs you must be sickened by this.

The Tree, fun and my life

I was around building because most churches dad pastored he built additions or remodeling. I spent some of my childhood cleaning and stacking debris or straightening nails for reuse (definitely a job of the past!)

I made bird houses, scooters and wagons. Luke Tucker a man I admired, gave me my first job as a carpenter. His son Vondale and I were close friends. I learned a lot from that soft spoken man. One of the first things I learned was how to open my (warm) coke with my hammer handle(smile).

I spilled my nails from my apron once, and was picking them up. He stopped looked at me and asked, “Jackie, what am I paying you?”

“75¢ an hour.”

“The nails cost me 9¢ a pound, don’t waste my time any more, let ‘em lay. We might get ‘em when we clean up.”  He taught me comparative costs.

 

He also taught me a love for solid timber and beautiful paneling. Not the cheap paneling you see today. When he didn’t know I was watching, he might be sliding his hand over some piece of walnut or oak.

“Jackie, there is a whole college worth of information on this framing square, you need to learn it.”

   

Luke was absolutely right, you would have to see an old framing square. Knowing how to use it you can build any roof, and cut any stairs. It gives the length of rafters, both angles and the bird’s mouth (a cut that fits the rafter to the plate). Luke was easy to admire, he never had a new truck, ‘don’t need one’ he said.

I admired watching him cut those angles, I never mastered the framing square like the old men did, but I got by. After Luke retired and I had quit running all over the world, I came back and was in the building business. He called one day and asked if I would build and addition for him. I was thrilled.

I drove over to look at the job. No problem simple job. “One thing Jackie, if you take the job you have to hire Wendy, she will do good and wants the job.”

Wendy was Vondale and Rose’s daughter.

She and I worked well together, and she was no slacker, that girl worked. WE were all satisfied with the job.

Trees produced the timber, that produced the lumber that gave me the best times of my life at work. A job that I hated to leave at the end of the day and could hardly wait for Monday morning so I could start again.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

I hope in your life you have found that ‘nitch’, that job that not only supported you, but you loved.

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The Tree, entertainment and wildlife

Growing up if I had time and a tree was near I wanted to climb it.  If it was summer time I wanted to sit under it.  If there was a hole in it I wanted to know what animal (or bird was in it.)  I have sat and watched for hours before I got to see a squirrel pop its head out.

It always amazed me about bird’s nests, there are one or two birds that will built a nest or home with a roof but most have no roof. I guess for the eggs and baby birds mama is the roof. But in a many rain storm she certainly got wet. I know the daddy bird at times covered the eggs, but I wonder if he did in the rain?

I cut sling shot prongs from trees, bats for field ball games, and the Peggy stick, for playing a game we called Peggy. With the stick you hit a peg about 6” long. the game was to guess how many steps it would take to find the Peg.  The loser had to ‘Root the Peg’ with his teeth after it was driven into the ground.

     

(This is the slab cut!)

At about 10 yrs old, I discovered a Saw Dust Pile. And got to see a saw mill in action. Those guys were fast, and that big blade was DANGEROUS. The round log was first made into a square by cutting the sides. The first cuts to square the log produced ‘slabs’. They were no good as lumber so back then they were free.

The sawdust pile was fun to play on after the mill shutdown and moved. It was clean ‘dirt’ and came out of your hair and pocket easy.

This is the slab pile

Now, every part of a tree is used. down to the bark which is used for landscaping. You could make wagons and scooters out of slabs. They made good tree houses, and great outside firewood for the black pots where the water was heated on wash day, and some clothes were ‘boiled clean’, but tofdsy even the slabs are chipped for forming chip board with a glue product..

I have always loved trees, the renewable resource.

Nite Shipslog

PS: I fell in love with the smell of fresh sawn wood as a kid and still love to go to a lumber yard and enjoy the smell. Sorta like a lady would like Chanel #5.

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A child should see what his daddy does…

It is what it is!. is said, So It was what it was.

A couple days ago at Bonnie’s ‘Organic Discourse’ she said, “The weather is clear, I have some laundry to hang out and I hope it dries before the clouds come in.”  The weather was clear but the local forecasters had called for clouds. She sometimes quotes her witty son Caleb, she had a good one that day.

That reminded me of when I watched may mama hang clothes. I remember at times the clothes lines would sag, and instead of attempting to tighten the wires, dad would prop a longer pole halfway down the line. As a child I always wondered why the line did not come off the pole and drag the sheets or blankets in the dirt. Dad knew common sense physics, the weight of the line would pivot the pole, but the line never came off.

   

 

Mama had the slip-on  line pegs, then later the clothes line pins (with the spring). She had an apron especially for the pins/pegs and she kept a couple in her mouth at times. I wanted to do that, the whole wash day looked like fun to a kid.

Looking back it is hard to imagine how mamas could do the washing, hang clothes, wring a chickens neck, clean it, break-beans, shell peas, make bread and cook for the family and get it all done while singing.

It was years before Sherry and I could afford our own washer and dryer. Like many of you we have had the clothes freeze on the line and bring them in to thaw. You could stand pants up against the cabinets like someone was in them. Diapers also froze, and you needed them, there wasn’t an infinite supply.

EVERYTIME hanging clothes is mentioned my mind goes back to one day in Moberly, Missouri. The FIGHT was on radio,  My man Sonny Liston was gonna put the mouth down. Cassius Clay was an Olympic winner but my man Sonny was going to give him his come-up-uns. It was my time to hang the diapers. I told Sherry I would be back in for the second round  (confident Clay was getting beat around).

When I walked back in the door, Sherry said, “It’s Over.”

“WHAT? Clay done my man in the first round, huh uh!”

Remember on the radio there were no instant replays, I had missed history in boxing, while hanging a load of Mark’s diapers The mouth proved he was the best boxing had, and I reluctantly agreed. IT WAS WHAT IT WAS!

Thanks for stopping by the log.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

Life happens only once, this is not a rehearsal, listen and pay attention there will be a test later.

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Roadside fruit stands, I miss ‘em.  Many of the ones today just bring veggies they bought at a Veggie market imported…