A Soggy Labour Day weekend 2011

Renee and I can't seem to catch a break with the weather. This was our second straight year with overcast and rain every day except the day we arrived, so we weren't really able to enjoy the finer things about Keywaybeek. However, we were able to confirm that our dog really likes to swim, even though she never quite figured out how to jump off a ledge. She would wade in on the side where the boat docks and then chase after tennis balls or rocks, anything that would make a splash in the water. We cut the trip short after waking up on Monday and realizing that the weather gods were not going to give us a good last day.

I think I can safely say Renee and I won't be making Keywaybeek an annual trip for a while, since we'll be moving to Seattle at the end of September. Hopefully we can still make it a part of our travel once every two or three years.

Enough about us, on to the cottage. The jukebox worked without fail, Carol was quite impressed with it. I didn't bring the correct cables to add any music to it, so the library was left unchanged by us.

Given the weather, we weren't able to do anything outside in regards to some of the painting mentioned in the cottage notes, nor were we able to contribute to the wood pile, as neither Renee nor I felt comfortable picking out trees and taking them down with a chainsaw.

Tony had removed the boat from the water the week before we arrived due to a tornado warning in the area, he was concerned that the saf-t-mate would take on an excessive amount of water and sink. He also mentioned that he really had no idea what the schedule of anyone was as far as the cottage being in use, so maybe we can find a way to keep him in the loop about plans. Not sure if he owns a computer or has an e-mail address, or would have any idea what a blog is, but he was such a fury of motion that I didn't have the chance to ask.

That's about it for us.  Sorry we couldn't contribute this year to any improvements or assistance with the cottage. Wood chopping used to be our exclusive domain, and we wouldn't leave without the wood pile stacked to the brim, but we couldn't even contribute that this year.

Jim's 2011 Cottage Notes

D'oh!  I almost forgot about these.  Here's the stuff I wrote in the Cottage Notes binder.  (I left out the blah-blah-blah about the weather.):


JUKEBOX:

See separate instructions.  The above is from testing the jukebox in my back yard, using my iPod as a source. We've got about 68 days worth of music at our disposal.  Let's keep it covered up with a flag or a towel when no one is here, so anyone sizing the place up for a break-in doesn't see the ten year old computer.

BIFFY:

There's a new magazine rack made from the "floater" chair that fell apart last year.  There's also a TP roll holder for open packs hanging from the ceiling.  It's made from an old busted ax handle, and will hold up to five rolls.  There's also a TP bag holder made from a coat hanger.  It's kind of half-assed, but it works if the bag is put in there right.

TRASH:

The raccoon-resistant trash can stand has been beefed up with some electrical wire I found in Sundridge.  A week's worth of chicken bones went unmolested.

KITCHEN:

The pump stopped working on Saturday 8/13.  The bolt from the handle to the plunger somehow became unscrewed inside the pump head.  It took about 2 1/2 hours of futzing, reassembling and priming, but I got it working.  I changed the handle angle a bit so it doesn't dominate the right side of the counter so much.  I think the trick to keeping it working is to go slow and don't go all the way down with each pump stroke.  Toni says it's due for some new rubber and leather parts one of these years.  Having seen the inside of the pump head, I can understand the need to boil all the water that comes out of it.  Yuck.

Dad's got some old white formica-topped counters out in his garage (see the picture in the previous post).  I've taken some measurements and will see if they can be used here.  (They can)  I'm sure I'm not the only non-fan of white surfaces, but if it works, it's free materials.

If the shelves on the fridge side of the kitchen get updated, how about fitting the microwave in there somewhere?

MISC:

A bolt fell out of the stand-fan, which caused the top part to flop around and make an odd noise when oscillating.  I put it back in, but if the top comes loose again, look for a bolt on the floor about 1 1/2 inches long.  It would be easy to replace the living room light with a ceiling fan and move the current head-banger into one of the bedrooms.

There's a new battery tester hanging from the lantern over the fridge.  Very high-tech.  The nub on the battery contacts the flashlight bulb.

The little floppy table next to the recliner has had a piece of driftwood added to make it a little more usable.

There's a salvaged piece of plastic over the gutter (and under the shingles) above the front door to keep the rain from running behind the gutter.  It works pretty well.  We had enough rain for extensive testing.  All I could find for adhesive was some window caulk, so it may not make it through the winter.  (Nails at the roof edge are a bad idea.)  If there's a black piece of plastic about three feet long on the ground out there in 2012, that's where it will have come from.  Don't toss it.

Speaking of tossing, what happened to the leftover bricks from the chimney?  I was hoping to build a brick & rock barbecue eventually.  How about instead of tossing all the kitchen extras, we put the semi-useful but redundant stuff up in the attic?  Wooden spoons break, and who knows how long that coffee maker has left?

I went with something a little different for this year's CD.  It's in the little green lamp along with the previous ones.  It looks like we're down to one chipmunk and a tail-less red squirrel, so the peanuts aren't disappearing as quickly this year.

-¥eem

The 2011 Pictures are In

I just finished uploading my 2011 Keywaybeek pictures.  As always, if anyone wants the full-resolution version of these or my older pictures for a computer desktop or whatever, let me know.  There's a new "Jim 2011" link @ the bottom of the blog.

I've added kitchen counter replacement to the fix-it idea list.  There's leftover counters in my Dad's barn we could use if all approve (see picture below).  We could also use the sink, but some stuff would have to be rearranged in the kitchen.  I've also taken the ceiling fan off the list.  A cheap reliable one has been obtained, and I'll put it in next summer, and move the light it replaces to one of the bedrooms (with a new switch), if there aren't any objections.

As always, if you'd like to be able to post on this blog and use the Keywaybeek Kalendar, click on the big "Keywaybeek"  at the top, then read further down the blog.

-Yeem

iKeywaybeektunes is Good to Go!

All the parts have been assembled and tested.  Except for a power strip & some cheap speaker/appliance wire me & Dad can pick up in MI or ONT, the 25,800-or-so tune jukebox is ready to install into Keywaybeek.  I'll try to write up a manual type thing while I'm up there, including all the idiosyncrasies and navigation tricks to my music library.  False alarm on the non-working amplifier!  I had to blow another ten bucks on a 5 amp AC/DC adapter.  2 amps didn't cut it.  Apparently, it's the amplifier of choice for Indian (with a dot, not a feather) motorcycle cabs.  For $16, I wasn't expecting to rattle any windows with it, and it won't -- guaranteed, but we'll have 68 1/2 days worth of music at our disposal.

I guess the main issue is where to put it.  I could either build a retro-looking fold-down box over the bureau in the living room (pictures would have to be moved), or a fold-down shelf between the studs in the SE corner of the living room (to the right of the big window),  or out on the porch in the vicinity of the Victrola (which isn't working).  It needs to be fairly close to a power outlet.

I'm flying into Lansing on the 5th then riding up, and then back down to Okemos & out from Lansing on the 19th.  That's too many travel days, but since I'm not working right now -- rat's ass.  So far so good with the semi-retirement thing...

-¥eem

iKeywaybeektunes

I have an idea for a living room jukebox on a shelf.  It involves an old and very cheap Mac computer, a cheap (≤$35) hard drive, a $16 Chinese mini-amplifier, some wires I can supply, and a power strip.  The speakers are already up there.  A speaker switcher and multiple outdoor speaker setups could also be added, but it's probably not necessary with the boomboxes that are already there.  But a boombox won't let you look up and play 26 different versions of "Fly Me to the Moon", and doesn't have a separate category for zamboni music.

Everybody would have access to search, sort and play at least 25,000 tunes, with plenty of room to add more.  It would include a ton of "old guy" music I've downloaded for Dad and my Grandparents over the last decade.  I had a similar setup with an old iMac in my kitchen for years until I bought my laptop.  We could also put our Keywaybeek and other pictures on it, and use it for the Cottage Notes (either to write or store them, or both).  The computer is so cheap because it only has a CD-drive (no DVDs). (@ Dad's suggestion, I got one that'll read & burn DVDs, so it was a little more expensive.)  Should I go for it?  Up to how much, then look for another one, or not?  Am I still asking questions?  Why don't I shut the hell up?

-Yeem