Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Happy Birthday to Bri - So Long to Image

Went out to Mom and Dad's new place Saturday. We helped organize stuff around the house. I washed all the windows. A very nice young lady friend of theirs who is also a plumber came out as well to see about installing a kitchen faucet that mom can use (reach the handles).

I put up a "home" sign that says "The Leith's" on the porch, fixed the spring on one of the screen doors, and helped dad put up a pole to get the electric wire out to the goat shed off the ground. Dad also drove me around the place on "the Gator" -- basically a little John Deere golf-cart-pickup-truck. And to top it all off, we had a nice spaghetti dinner (with home made sauce, of course) and they sent us home with some goat milk.

Saw the outdoor wood furnace in action. It heats water for the water heater as well -- there's a bypass valve you can use to switch back and forth between tank-heated water and fire-heated water.

Dad says in this weather a furnace load of wood lasts about a day, and it keeps the house too warm. It was in the 50's on Saturday and we had all the windows opened most of the day to keep it cooler. The fire has to stay going enough not to go out, so there's a surplus of heat. When it gets colder that won't be a problem -- and they'll have to put wood in twice a day.

When no heat is called for, the dampers close and the fire smolders. When heat is called for, the dampers open and a blower fan comes on, whipping the fire up good and hot and the water pump pumps hot water into the house which the blower fan then blows through the ductwork. The air coming out of the ducts is very hot. The house, being half in the ground, is also going to be very efficient.

I took some more pictures and I'll stick them out with the others at this link.

Oh, Dad's pride and joy, Image (the Arabian stallion) died mysteriously after the move to Cooper Hill -- like within a week. He was healthy ... as a horse ... the night before, next morning, dead. Don't know if it was a heart attack, or something he ate or what. Dad sold at least one other horse, just leaving him with Symphony and Trinity.

I got the watercress going in the hydro garden, and the lettuce is coming up but I still haven't put my new tray system together.

I also put up two wall-sconce lamps, one on either side of the mantle of the fireplace -- that Vicki's always wanted. I need to install the touch circuitry tonight so we can turn them on and off with out unplugging them. They were made to be mounted to electrical boxes in the wall, but I modified them to hang on the wall so I didn't have to rip any drywall out.

Brian's birthday was yesterday. He and Carrie just split up, and she's back in Indiana. So, at 24, a fresh start for Brian. Kevin and Adrianne came to dinner and over to the house for key lime pie and we had a little fire in the fireplace. I think a heavy load has been lifted from Brian and he'll start to perk up here now -- and I hope the same is true for Carrie.

And with that -- adieu.

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