Have To Stay Home? What Are You Up To?

['63GENIII]

With most everything being up in the air these days, I really didn't want to sit home and watch the news. Besides trying to keep three of my kids engaged in the online home home schooling, I also need to keep my own head in the game.

I figured Id get back to some projects that I haven't had a chance to get to and try and make good use of the time.

Project #1. Repair the front bumper on my daughter's car. Hit on Xmas Eve. The bumper has been in the garage since early Feb. Its nice that its done now. She liked the primer look. I wanted to shoot it in the Java Black that the rest of the car is in....We'll see.

Project #2. Build a 16' x 18' floor in the unfinished area under the house. Its been unfinished since the house was built in '63. My wife's Grandfather always wanted to do this but passed before he could get to it. Im gonna give it a try. Hope to at least make some progress on blocking, sheer wall and floor joists within the next weeks.

Just trying to stay busy, not be idle and give the kids and wife some sense of normal. The girls have adjusted well to being at home. The boy not so much so Ive really been including him in the projects.

I know that these aren't particularly normal times. What are you guys up to to keep your house "normal"?

['63GENIII]

Don't know why the second pic was sideways..

The day that I knew Id be home for a while, I went to the lumber yard and picked up a bunch of 2 x 10s, 3/4 CDX, a handful of brackets, screws and a handful of odds and ends not knowing exactly what Id need. An old friend (in fact my best man) works there and I know they're getting their hours cut.

The boy and I will unload it tomorrow. Its been sitting long enough outside now.

For the life of me I cannot figure out why the pics are coming out sideways.

['63GENIII]

My son has been chomping at the bit to ride his BMX, or his mountain bike with his buddies. Most of his friends are on house arrest just like him these days. Their parents are keeping them close to home.

There are a couple of them that are out riding, hanging out in the parks and well, rubbing it in. My boy and I are pretty close. I haven't pulled any punches and have been pretty honest about what's going on and how we need to keep some distance. Heck, if he can't see his Grandparents, he certainly can't go hanging out with his friends. Even so, I know that seeing a couple of his friends out and about like its summer vacation while he is home schooling and working around the house is frying his arse.

He asked me on Saturday if I could help him build a BMX ramp. Whats a dad to do? Of course I said yes. He had a sketch that I helped him tune up. He used a Skill saw, jig saw, rattle gun. I helped him a little but most of it was on him. Including a little PM on the Skill saw. Hope to finish it up tomorrow so he can try out some of his tricks on it.

['63GENIII]

Spent a few hours on it. The time flew by. Hoping to put the 1/2" plywood deck and 1/8" Masonite finish on it tomorrow.

[72 tigger]

Evel Knievel would be proud ^

[special-K]

That was a great job from the drawing on. I'm staying busy with the house, so far. No truck time yet. I have a broken starter bolt to extract when I do get to the '72. I'm pretty broke so finding what I can do w/o spending money or very little. I have been going room by room not only painting but taking care of things I either never finished or changing things I don't like. Backing through the house leaving no details untended. It keeps my mind and hands occupied. Also mixing in work on the carport turned garage, yard work, and outside stuff on the house I passed over last summer when I painted the exterior.

We aren't locked down yet, so I hope to get going on an interior job soon. Just before this virus thing came along, the job I was doing got shut down for no building permit. I've had to go back to the drawing board on that mess. I don't expect to see that permit too soon, especially now

[Ol Blue K20]

I've been tinkering around the house and doing little projects on Blue

[cornerstone]

Brake jobs on delivery trucks, finish tiling kitchen, cleaning up fence lines, sneak in a ride on the dirtbike.

[67C10Step]

I work from home and my business falls into the "essential" since I support the power plants, paper mills, food plants, etc. in my part of the state. So, for the most part I am still working, just not travelling to customer sites.

BUT, that doesn't mean I don't slip off to the shop from time to time. Built an organizer for my daughter to hang on her wall and organize all her hair tie things. Pool pump had a leak and what sounded like a bad bearing in the motor last fall so I started pulling the pump for a tear down and repair.

Worked on getting drive line angles straightened out on my sons Tacoma. Finally got 99% or more of the vibration out. Found the output of the transmission and differential were not even close to being at the same angle. This is a stock height truck so I am disappointed the factory flunked drive line 101.

Also installed new wiring and lights on my trailer, including powered side markers with signals. Now that I have that all worked out at some point I'll pull it all back out and strip/repaint the old girl.

Doing a little on my truck but not much. Trying to get all the other stuff off my list first.

[rpmerf]

Overall, I haven't been effected as much as my Wife and Daughter. Daughter is out of school, and the Wife got laid off. The Wife works real estate. She was working for another agent, so once things pick up again, she will likely be rehired. Me on the other hand, I get to work from home. I am still working 6am-2:30pm 5 days a week.

Been working on the gardens around the house.

Went out to the park for a hike on Sunday.

I got my Integra up on jack stands to replace a blown brake line. Having a hard time finding the motivation to get working on that.

Ordered a whole new set of exterior lights for my 97 Suburban. Will be putting those on.

Wife wants to do some painting. Not really feeling motivated on that job either.

[special-K]

Even those who are still working a normal schedule, that's where normal ends. All the things to do you can't do now are cramping your style, too.

[Andy4639]

We have been Remodeling our son house. They had just took a week off because they where gonna stay with us while the bathroom was redone. Well then the virus stuff hit. Then the bathroom floor was worse than we thought. Had to jack the back side of the house up and replace the seal wood boards in the bathroom corner of the house.
The house was built in 1925. It was updated to new codes before we bought it. Now it's been updated to our son and daughter laws life style.

I wished we would have know the condition of the hardwood floors in the bedrooms before buying the carpet and recovering them. Next time they will not get covered but refinished!
Still have a way's to go on it but it will be one very nice starter home and a good investment for us & them.

[Steeveedee]

Well, I'm retired, so the only real effect is keeping close to home to avoid catching a life-threatening disease. Couple trips to the store for groceries, hardware store for a cheap piece of "maple" plywood and a handful of lag screws for a carving bench I'm building. Surfing the 'net, walking the dog. That's about it.

[special-K]

I've spent the past week trying to get some chicken!

[simicrintz]

Rebuilding an old 185S that has been in the garage for a dozen years and and old Bayliner boat that has been neglected for almost 30 years (before and after picture after 9 hours of buffing and waxing). Stuff that always sounds less important than other things that need attention normally. Stay safe and healthy out there!

[Ziegelsteinfaust]

While my job is considered necessary our customers are not.

So I am watching my life go bankrupt. Starting at the beginning of the year I have taken a couple of vacations as getting days off in the summer is hard, and bought a couple of things I didnt need. All this while the "Virus" was still in china. Well that is biting me in the ass big time. Work was very steady all winter, and I was looking forward to the OT of summer. To finish paying it off quickly.

Basically I feel I am screwed financially if this goes on for more then another 2 weeks.

[richard2717]

Originally Posted by special-K

I've spent the past week trying to get some chicken!

That is what I don't understand over here Tim, we are pretty much chicken grower capital for Perdue. Trucks all out on the highway and not one pack of chicken in any local store anywhere

[special-K]

x2. Caught me at a really bad time, just when I was digging out from winter lined up to roll. This thing is going to have serious widespread economic impact. I don't think there's a person alive, in America at least, that has been through a thing like this. No one knows the outcome at this point

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

Well, I'm retired, so the only real effect is keeping close to home to avoid catching a life-threatening disease. Couple trips to the store for groceries, hardware store for a cheap piece of "maple" plywood and a handful of lag screws for a carving bench I'm building. Surfing the 'net, walking the dog. That's about it.

Dang, it's almost like looking in the mirror. Pretty much describes me except for the hardware store & bench. Oh, add some TV time. Cabin fever starting to set in but nothing I can't handle yet.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I'm living at my desk, for now. I've had a stack of work I've been trying to get caught up on for months. Should keep me occupied for a few weeks. We have lost some work, so might slow up after that.

If that happens, I have a giant 2,000 SF shop that needs to be finished.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by special-K

I've spent the past week trying to get some chicken!

It must be coming to California because I have't had a problem with getting yardbird.
I did have a chicken disappear though. My wife bought one of those rotisserie chickens from the market and it disappeared off the counter. My dog was mysteriously missing as well.

Yup. He got it. She found him in the back yard eating it. She threw what was left to the crows. Which really ticked him off. He hates it when we feed "His" food to the birds.

Here's the chicken thief sleeping off his chicken dinner.

[Stocker]

Watch him for awhile to make sure the bones don't cause him any problems. Raw bird bones are good for dogs, cooked bones not so much.

Our wolfdog has been known to pluck things off the counter or the kitchen table. No whole chickens, though. Sneaky devils....

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

It must be coming to California because I have't had a problem with getting yardbird.
I did have a chicken disappear though. My wife bought one of those rotisserie chickens from the market and it disappeared off the counter. My dog was mysteriously missing as well.

Yup. He got it. She found him in the back yard eating it. She threw what was left to the crows. Which really ticked him off. He hates it when we feed "His" food to the birds.

Here's the chicken thief sleeping off his chicken dinner.

Reminds me of "Christmas Story". "DAMN BUMPUSES!"

Hope the pooch is ok. He does look like he has a food coma going on though!

[richard2717]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Watch him for awhile to make sure the bones don't cause him any problems. Raw bird bones are good for dogs, cooked bones not so much.

Our wolfdog has been known to pluck things off the counter or the kitchen table. No whole chickens, though. Sneaky devils....

No doubt, we had a brown Chesapeake that got into the trash and got bound up on chicken bones. $3200 surgery & $1200 worth of door and wall repairs later he was back to his simple self. Did I mention he refused to be locked up while healing.

[FleetsidePaul]

He's fine. Just the Tryptophan kicking in. The chicken was cooked. And it looked really good although I wouldn't know if it was or not. I never got a shot at it.