Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT The "Glendora Garage"

[M.Brane]

Yeah, I'll be out there again today too. As a kid I got four perfectly spaced mosquito bites across my forehead the night before school pictures!
I noticed as I was shearing the hedge all the gnats flying off it. Pretty sure they are the "no-see-ums". I will be spraying but it never seems to truly eradicate them, only reduce them and only for a short while.

I really hate spraying myself with "stuff" but of course I should.

One of my guys at work is a bug magnet. He steps out of the truck, and they are on him instantly. We have lots of no-see-ums up on the mountain. This time of year I always bring the Deep Woods Off, and the bug net with me. Down here in the canyon my bug zappers are workin' all night.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I KNOW I should spray myself before I go outside. I just HATE feeling wet or slimy with "stuff". Same reason I almost never use sunscreen - yeah, yeah I know we should ALL wear it to avoid skin cancer.

Sometimes, especially if I go out in late afternoon or near dusk, the no-see-um's get REALLY aggressive. Then I will spray stuff on myself particularly on the back of my arms and legs. They seem to know you can't swat them as fast in those places - little fuckers! - Pardon my vulgarity but they deserve it!

PS: I bought one of those U shaped neck fans from Amazon. It helps a little for cooling you BUT it does keep the gnats away from my face - truly a help on a hot day working in the yard.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Another "small potatoes" job yesterday. The vinyl on one armrest in our RV began flaking. It looked like dandruff. Didn't want the expense of taking the entire sofa to be reupholstered so.....
Amazon sells these rolls of self adhesive vinyl and we decided to give it a try. This stuff is incredibly sticky.

https://www.amazon.com/Adhesive-Leather-Durable-Couches-Upholstery/dp/B09YYM5CFH/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Honestly? It looks like hell, ha ha. But for $20 it cost we'll leave it and eventually have not only the headrest but the sofa and the dinette cushions reupholstered. All that will probably be $1000!

Despite it looking like hell it looks WAAY better than the decaying vinyl of before.

 

[rharman]

Probably feels a lot better too....

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Probably feels a lot better too....

Yes, but the ugly thing was it was "shedding" bits of vinyl and truly looked like dandruff - yucky.

I'd be outside doing something but my Dodgers are on tv and it's well over 100* here already. So nah, enjoying the game, a drink and the fan.

 

[rharman]

Only 91° here but way too hot in the garage.

 

[xtremek]

84* here today. Ducked inside and out a few times. You can keep that 90* stuff.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

In Glendora it's been over 100* for an extended period. I need to go vacuum the interior of the coach and wipe it all down as well - dust and I suppose ash from fires but it's just too damn hot in there in afternoons.

 

[larry4406]

In Glendora it's been over 100* for an extended period. I need to go vacuum the interior of the coach and wipe it all down as well - dust and I suppose ash from fires but it's just too damn hot in there in afternoons.

Can you run AC overnight while on shore power (house) then clean in morning?

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Can you run AC overnight while on shore power (house) then clean in morning?

Yeah, I could have. But I slid down a slippery slope today.

I was just going to pull some weeds in a gravel border where the RV is usually parked. So I checked to see how much space I had in my yard trashcan and found I had plenty......so......

I upshifted to a much longer, harder and HOTTER job in the yard. Real smart, huh? Ha ha.
I cut down a boxwood hedge we've been wanting to do. It's on the south wall of the house and it's almost 100* today.
I was sweating hard and my girlfriend saved the day by bringing out my big Yeti water bottle and moved a couple patio umbrellas into position. This made a huge difference.

We will be moving assorted Cana Lillies into this border to make things neater. But now I'm beat so we picked up burgers and I'm cooling off. Planting moving, etc will have to be mañana.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

We have both the old fashioned very tall lillies but also some dwarf ones I happened to find at Lowe's a couple years ago. We even have a few that seem sorta medium sized(?)

We'll re-arrange so the tall ones are in back and the smaller ones in front. Calla Lilles seem "migrate" to wherever they want so they'll only stay where we put them for a few seasons but we're trying.

Cleaned up as much as I will today. I may dig out and re-plant some tomorrow.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

An entirely different small project:
Replacement parts for the RV screen door arrived. This is a slider to access the door handle. Original one was cracked, a piece missing. Easy-peasy job, I just had to avoid cracking the new parts. R&R of a small piece of screen took an extra minute. Cheap replacement parts via Amazon (natch) only $12. Nowadays I'm shocked you can buy anything and have it shipped to you for twelve bucks.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Back to the garden "demo" for a second. My miniature terrorist, Max is the most devoted dog ever. I'm pretty sure he was never treated kindly or shown affection in his past and I dote over him. So whenever I work outside he's GOT to be right next to me....but in a comfortable, cool place. I took this picture of him right behind me in the avocado tree well. Cool dirt down there and in shade. Of course Fifi came and rousted him out of there after a bit - she's a pretty girl, knows it, and wants to be THE queen at all times.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

The replacement RV door window arrived today. It's going back tomorrow!

Instead of screws joining the inner & outer window frames. The geniuses who designed this decided to use plastic tabs on each frame that interlock. Oh, but that wasn't unnecessary enough so they used a combo of square tabs and round tabs - why? Then it's impossible to align these tabs as they disappear into the door and the glass is NOT HELD IN POSITION IN ANY WAY. You'd think it would be held in place BY BEING contained in a space the size OF the glass OR in place by some sticky mastic.

Nope, not held in place. You hold it in place by hand because if you let go it will fall out of position OR onto the ground and break. The instructions tell you to have a 2nd person hold the outer frame with the glass in it while the person trying to engage the inside frame HAMMERS IT INTO PLACE with a rubber mallet and wood block! Yeah, it actually instructs to do that.

What an TOTAL *************. Oh and all the reviews say how EASY it is to install. Total ****, totally fake reviews. I'm replacing with the exact same frames it came with - should have done to begin with - using screws and butyl tape that holds the glass in place. Rant over.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Changed oil on the RV today. Man, the ground is farther away than it used to be and harder to get up from!

 

[PugetDude]

The replacement RV door window arrived today. It's going back tomorrow!

Instead of screws joining the inner & outer window frames. The geniuses who designed this decided to use plastic tabs on each frame that interlock. Oh, but that wasn't unnecessary enough so they used a combo of square tabs and round tabs - why? Then it's impossible to align these tabs as they disappear into the door and the glass is NOT HELD IN POSITION IN ANY WAY. You'd think it would be held in place BY BEING contained in a space the size OF the glass OR in place by some sticky mastic.

Nope, not held in place. You hold it in place by hand because if you let go it will fall out of position OR onto the ground and break. The instructions tell you to have a 2nd person hold the outer frame with the glass in it while the person trying to engage the inside frame HAMMERS IT INTO PLACE with a rubber mallet and wood block! Yeah, it actually instructs to do that.

What an TOTAL *************. Oh and all the reviews say how EASY it is to install. Total ****, totally fake reviews. I'm replacing with the exact same frames it came with - should have done to begin with - using screws and butyl tape that holds the glass in place. Rant over.

Dan, please don't hold back. Tell us what you really think.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Dan, please don't hold back. Tell us what you really think.

Frickin' morons is what I really think.

While I'm bitching I'll ***** on an unrelated topic. Took the pups to the vet for annual checkup/update shots. $325.
I pretty much expected $150 per dog. But my little terrorist Max has a cataract in one eye. It doesnt SEEM to bother him. He doesn't rub it or scratch it but it does tear more than the other one.

Vet said it's inflamed internally and put him on a prescription eye drop human med, a non steroidal anti inflammatory. One drop/day. Check out the size of this bottle for SIXTY-THREE DOLLARS! Holy ****. As the saying goes, it's good thing he's not a horse!

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Replacement RV door window frame arrived today - well, half of it. They actually sent half only AND it was in a very oversized box with none, zero, nada, zilch in the way of packing material. Yup, Amazon just threw it in a big *** box and it was delivered rattling around. Fortunately it isn't broken but does us no good without the other half. Sending it back tomorrow. I'm going top put a note in the box saying, "This is EXACTLY how you sent this item - oversize box with no packing material whatsoever". Yeah, the person opening it won't give a damn but it will assuage my old man temperament. Enter, "Old Man Yells At Cloud" meme here.

Tomorrow I'm going to pull a "GJ Job" on the cracked frame. Body filler, sanding and painting it. Probably should have done that already but I figured for the price of the cheap parts I'd just replace them.

 

[M.Brane]

Welcome to the wonderful world of of RV replacement parts. Pure Chineseum. I think I've tried every propane regulator available at this point, and they all ****.

 

[rharman]

Frickin' morons is what I really think.

While I'm bitching I'll ***** on an unrelated topic. Took the pups to the vet for annual checkup/update shots. $325.
I pretty much expected $150 per dog. But my little terrorist Max has a cataract in one eye. It doesnt SEEM to bother him. He doesn't rub it or scratch it but it does tear more than the other one.

Vet said it's inflamed internally and put him on a prescription eye drop human med, a non steroidal anti inflammatory. One drop/day. Check out the size of this bottle for SIXTY-THREE DOLLARS! Holy ****. As the saying goes, it's good thing he's not a horse!

Next time, ask them to send the Rx to Costco, CVS, or wherever you get yours. We ALWAYS do Costco for our pet meds unless they're a vet specialty. Antibiotic course for our late Golden at the vet? $113. Costco? $15

Our vet is very accommodating in that regard.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Next time, ask them to send the Rx to Costco, CVS, or wherever you get yours. We ALWAYS do Costco for our pet meds unless they're a vet specialty. Antibiotic course for our late Golden at the vet? $113. Costco? $15

Our vet is very accommodating in that regard.

I took the prescription to CVS and afterward I was thinking maybe I should have sent it to Amazon. I had no idea Costco offers prescription medicines? How, via their website?

 

[rharman]

I took the prescription to CVS and afterward I was thinking maybe I should have sent it to Amazon. I had no idea Costco offers prescription medicines? How, via their website?

Pharmacies in the warehouse. They do have a portal on the website.

We've been using them for years. Vaccinations too. It's flu shot time....

 

[Bob Heine]

For those that remember I posted a thread that my beloved older sister, Irene passed away suddenly Jul 11th while we were on vacation in Kauai. I'm still not over it and part of me never will be.

After her service we went to her house and took a lot of her plants including the vinca flowers we'd planted by her front door the last day we were all together on 7/3. Because of her absence they and other potted plants had started to wilt so we got to them just in time. I re-planted the vinca in my backyard and the potted mandevilla vines in a couple empty pots she had. They are doing great which of course pleases me and I hope her too!



This one in the white pot took a beating but has survived with some pruning:

Dan, I believe plants that have a connection to a loved one are wonderful reminders of their life. A dear friend who was dying from lung cancer gifted us a small Tamarind sapling and several of her favorite garden pigs. The tree and surrounding garden area is our Jeannie tree and garden.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Dan, I believe plants that have a connection to a loved one are wonderful reminders of their life. A dear friend who was dying from lung cancer gifted us a small Tamarind sapling and several of her favorite garden pigs. The tree and surrounding garden area is our Jeannie tree and garden.

Hi Bob,
My older sister (78) was named Irene. She passed totally unexpectedly in July. Our middle sister couldn't say Irene as a toddler and somehow(?) came up with the name, "Nooney". I was born 6-1/2 years later so it was well established by that time and my entire life she was, "Noon" - which other people never understood of course.

In her honor I took some vinca flowers we'd planted near her front door the last time we were together - just one week before she passed away unexpectedly. They and other flowers are in what was an unused border which we now call, "Noon's border".

 

[DennisK59]

Dan, Must be something in the spring water growing up there, my oldest brother couldn't pronounce Marshall, so my other brother became Ricky after the Lucy show! Now it's just Rick almost seventy years later.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Dan, Must be something in the spring water growing up there, my oldest brother couldn't pronounce Marshall, so my other brother became Ricky after the Lucy show! Now it's just Rick almost seventy years later.

Ha! Well, at least Ricky is actually a name. NOT Marshall's name but now it is!
I don't know how the hell my middle sister got "Nooney" from Irene but it was cute. That middle sister also had/has a lisp which was much more pronounced as a little kid so it came out cute and my parents indulged her as she was "the baby" until I came along 6-1/2 years later.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Ha! Well, at least Ricky is actually a name. NOT Marshall's name but now it is!
I don't know how the hell my middle sister got "Nooney" from Irene but it was cute. That middle sister also had/has a lisp which was much more pronounced as a little kid so it came out cute and my parents indulged her as she was "the baby" until I came along 6-1/2 years later.

Probably the same way my mother got Mary out of Kay, Bernie out of Joyce, Joyce out of Alan and Dianne out of Alana.

 

[M.Brane]

My oldest sis who died suddenly last year called my maternal grandfather Dida when she was little, and it stuck. That's what everyone called him. His name was Emerson. Funny things kids do.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I haven't even mentioned it before now but the sister, Irene's REAL name was Louise Irene. No one ever used her true first name. I once asked my mom where the name Louise had come from, an old relative or something? Her answer? "Honestly I don't remember why I named her that OR Irene".

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

It's been extremely hot. Walking my pups early as I can, mowing, yada yada all early then vegetating.
But today I waxed my truck in garage. The notable thing is these new microfiber towels I found at Home Depot.

This roll is the exact same size as any paper towel roll but they're very thin, they tear off the roll just like a paper one but work like any other microfiber towel. I used on my truck then hand washed it w/dish washing liquid to see if it would hold up? Yes, cleaned fine, looks like new again.
$9.99 a roll but since they wash up like this it will last a looong time. Highly recommended.

 

[jon72vega]

I purchased a very similar roll of microfiber towels at my local Meijer store, and I'm impressed with them as well.
I've washed and reused most of the ones used so far, but the nice thing is you can throw them away if you get them too filthy to save.

 

[Ford52PU]

ooh a new thing to buy!! Thanks I've never seen these.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Every month in Summer I shear the front yard hedges. The Milwaukee Quik-Lok hedge trimmer is getting heavier these days. Then clean out the dead leaves & flowers underneath by hand. Cleaning up all this stuff is VERY time consuming. Left the flowers on top on purpose.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

No pics but spent the day inside knocking off multiple projects. But "After" looks the same as "Before".

- R&R of reverse osmosis faucet. Pain in the **** getting under kitchen sink. Literal pain of the edge of the cabinet on my back under the sink. UGH.

- R&R kitchen faucet. Another pain.

- Installed a high end Toto bidet toilet seat I bought for my girlfriend. Easy.......BUT......

....... the tiny toilet room had no 120v outlet. Fished Romex through a wall to the opposite side but it was packed with insulation, so difficult. I had to install an "old work" box low in the wall and I was TRYING not to have to do drywall work - I failed. I had to cut a kerf in the all to find a fish tape I'd fed through a knock out in an existing box on the opposite side of the all and snag it to pull it to the new box.

The work included smashing a finger, blood, black finger nail - another UGH! This bidet has everything but an automatic masterbater......and it might even have that if I read through the phone box sized instruction manual.

 

[larry4406]

Dan - water under the bridge, but next time maybe think of an alternate method for running wire.

I have slit the caulk line at the baseboard to drywall, pried the baseboard off, cut the drywall about 1" below the caulk line, then drilled studs low to pull new wire to desired location. Kick plate as needed, put back the drywall (your choice if you want to tape it), then reinstall the baseboard and caulk and paint.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Dan - water under the bridge, but next time maybe think of an alternate method for running wire.

I have slit the caulk line at the baseboard to drywall, pried the baseboard off, cut the drywall about 1" below the caulk line, then drilled studs low to pull new wire to desired location. Kick plate as needed, put back the drywall (your choice if you want to tape it), then reinstall the baseboard and caulk and paint.

Hmmmm.... When you say "the caulk line" are you saying the top of the baseboard?

If so and if I'd thought to do this^^^ it would have been even easier because there would have been no studs to drill through. I was installing a retrofit "old work box" in the same stud space as the existing one just on the opposite side of that same wall.
I needed an outlet for the new bidet and wanted it as low and unobtrusive as possible. Ideally, the outlet would have been behind the toilet tank but I didn't want all the drywall work. Oh well, live and learn but thanks for the idea.

 

[larry4406]

Hmmmm.... When you say "the caulk line" are you saying the top of the baseboard?

If so and if I'd thought to do this^^^ it would have been even easier because there would have been no studs to drill through. I was installing a retrofit "old work box" in the same stud space as the existing one just on the opposite side of that same wall.
I needed an outlet for the new bidet and wanted it as low and unobtrusive as possible. Ideally, the outlet would have been behind the toilet tank but I didn't want all the drywall work. Oh well, live and learn but thanks for the idea.

Yes - slit the caulk at the drywall to top of baseboard.

Next time.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Had the awning replaced on our RV today. It's a 2017 model and most things seem to be UV damaged to some degree now. The installer accidentally cut the wires to the LED strip lights. When he tried to reconnect them he ruined them by pulling the wires out of it. DOH! Installed an entirely new light strip and removed the now-ruined LED's. Did a good job and I was satisfied until his office lady asked us to pay half. Ugh, no. I don't think they liked that much but it was his mistake through no fault of ours. Also replaced the smaller awning over the slide out on the opposite side.

 

[captain14]

Dan, I hope you were keeping an eye on him during the repair. I was getting my oil changed and tires rotated one time at the shop. I was watching thru their big window from the waiting room and watched the “tech” break out the grill trying to open the hood. Needless to say, I was at the service desk asking “WTF?” Within a minute.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I'm in process of replacing the "insert trim" on the RV today. It came loose twice on a recent trip. Had to pullover and cut it off with my pocket knife. Like everything else UV dries it, it shrinks and comes loose. After pulling it out I found a lot of mostly dried mud because rain water coagulated it and some of the screws below were rusty. Those came out, were wire wheeled & painted. Note some of the ends are screwed down, folded over on itself then some kind of "glop" placed over the end to seal it. I need to find the right kind of glop at my local RV supply place.

I had to cut away the "glop" in one of these pictures. The other shows the dried mud I brushed & washed away.