First month down--busy busy busy!
14 July 2010 | Aurora, Colorado
Sunny and HOT--98 degrees
Well, we're a month into our stay here in Colorado and everything is moving right along. We came home with lots of things to get done and LOTS of parts to get ordered.
The painting of our home is going nicely. While we were getting our paint colors approved, we spent the better part of a week smearing caulk around the outside sealing the cracks and crevices between the siding boards on our home. Over the years(14) the siding had shifted and there were a few gaps that needed closing to keep the wind and rain out. Plus, we found that many of the nails that Ryland Homes had used to attach the siding didn't go into the studs behind the siding. So we pulled out nails and had to reset them(caulking the old holes)and then moved on the the next set of nails. We plan on replacing the trim around just about all our windows as Mother Nature has caused them to swell and become basically worthless as a piece of trim.
We'd called several contractors and visited Lowe's and Home Depot to see what was available. James Hardie makes a piece of trim that will resist any kind of weather abuse and has a fifty year warranty. It's not made with reprocessed sawdust as the current trim is. We wanted the "smooth"sided boards as this way, we would only have to replace the bad boards and could leave the ones that aren't too bad in place. I'd emailed James Hardie about the trim to get all the specifics. Both contractors told me the trim was no longer available. Home Depot told me the same. James Hardie said there was no problem--still current. Lowe's on the other hand had no problem laying their hands on it so guess who got the order. While it had to be ordered, I was in no hurry as there were plenty of things that had to be done before we needed the trim.
We attacked the yard with a vengeance and trimmed just about every tree and shrub on our property. Three years of time had allowed them to go crazy and get out of control. We even dug out a willow that has caused us problems ever since the first year we moved in. Waste Management had their work cut out for them. It took us three weeks of pickups just to get rid of everything we had cut out and that was even spreading out the refuse around the neighborhood.
Meanwhile, in our "spare" time, I sat at the computer working on our list of parts that we needed to take back to Mexico. I wanted them on order so I could check them off the list. We ordered oil coolers for the engine as well as a new fuel pump. We'd replace both of our oil coolers while in the US and since the normal service interval is to replace them every 1500 hours of operation, we didn't want to get caught with out them. One had blown while we were at Catalina Island allowing water into our oil pan and into our engine. Believe me, it's not a good feeling when you pull out the dip stick and see that your oil is modeling clay grey instead of dark black. Who knew that these things wear out? Not me. Since I figure the fuel pump is original, it doesn't hurt to have a spare on hand. From what I have learned, if the engine doesn't get fuel, it will stop running. DUH!
Spare parts for our head(toilet) have been ordered and received and added to our ever growing pile. I have yet to see the parts we need to keep the head working any where in Mexico. I've already replaced some of these parts twice just since we moved aboard.
I ordered back up parts for our DuoGen wind generator and they should arrive shortly. Since the DuoGen hangs our over the water, as I switch it out from wind mode to water mode, there is the probability that I will drop one of the parts over board. It's not so much an "if" it's more of a "when".
Our spare prop for our Mercury outboard came in yesterday so we drove across town to pick it up. Somewhere out there is a rock with our name on it. It's just a matter of time before we find it.
With a good bit of computer work, I even found a company that sells computer charging systems that plug into a "cigarette" lighter fixture. No longer will I have to turn on our inverter to have 110 volt power so I can plug in a charger to convert the 110 volts back to a 12 volt charge. Now I can just plug in the computer to an outlet and get it charged. I got them for our Acer, Panasonic and even our Apple computers. This little piece of equipment will allow us to save a good bit of amps in our normal daily energy budget. Every amp I don't use is one a don't have to generate to replace.
I finally found a diesel school so I can further my education on our engine. It's Mack Boring in New Jersey. Three days long where you get your hands dirty and get to dismantle an engine and rebuild it a then make sure it works. Just the type of class I need. I know the basics but not the real "nitty gritty" of what to do should something happen as it will sometime in the future.
Well, I've gone on long enough. I'll add some more in a day or so. I've got to go to Lowe's and get more painting equipment.