A how to hang a picture on a nail with a fork #video tip

| September 25, 2023

How to hang a picture on a nail with a fork social media household tip (short video below).

Moving back into the home office and pondering family artists

| July 30, 2022

This past weekend I started what is going to be a slow, but deliberative process of moving out of the basement and back into the upstairs home office. No window blinds yet, but we did move the oriental rug from our first floor to the upstairs (Brenda would like to get something new for the […]

Reworking my old corner computer desk for the home office

| May 25, 2022

Now that the desk and hardwood floors are complete, and floor finish has cured enough in my home office, it is time to tackle the trim painting, putting the closet and bookshelves back. Another project I’ve been contemplating is to revitalize my older well-worn corner computer desk. Having used it for a couple of decades […]

A test post due to slow uploading. AWS server problem?

| May 17, 2022

Testing Internet speeds on my end after struggling to upload to AWS servers this afternoon. All seems normal for both 4G and WiFi in my temporary basement home office due to painting and getting thing put back together after hardwood floors were done. It is S-L-O-W-L-Y coming together.

Refinishing home office desk project and cutting the lawn

| May 15, 2022

My weekend chores and projects are in full swing as I cut the lawn longer than usual since it grew fast and thick while we were on vacation. Hopefully after a few cuttings, the thatch will disappear (I’m not fond of raking and hauling to the compose pile). Early Saturday morning I put the final […]

Archive: Guest bedroom and home office floors are finished

| May 4, 2022

Just archiving progress on the hardwood floors project before moving any furniture back in the guest bedroom (above left) and my home office (panorama photo below). I also wanted to save a photo of the can of Minwax branded wood finish, used and mixed to match our existing floor stain (great job by Schindler Hardwood […]

Office and guest bedroom hardwood flooring progress

| April 28, 2022

In keeping with personal home project updating, our hardwood flooring has been moving along this week. The guys are making a mess sanding … but doing their best to contain dust. We are hoping for a stain-match to our existing oak floors, but in any case, the guest bedroom and office are taking shape. Unfortunately […]

Temporarily working from my basement home office #TBT

| April 21, 2022

As the slow progress on finishing my home office continues, I’ve set up a temporary office in the basement (below). It is surprisingly comfortable, but I do miss the daylight and looking out the windows. I can’t help but reminisce to make this a Throwback Thursday #TBT post after finally removing the painters tape from […]

How many places do you call home … how about 11 in a lifetime?

| February 23, 2022

Interesting tidbit: According to a post on social media (take that for what it is worth), “the average person lives in 11 homes in there lifetime.” It doesn’t detail if a college dorm is considering a “home,”  but if I eliminate them … I’m up to EIGHT that I call “a residence.” In pondering my […]

Wow, the Backporch 14 years ago! Where do the years go? #TBT

| December 23, 2021

While posting to the blog yesterday, I noticed a “Year(s) Ago On This Day” post archiving the stamped concrete was being pour/stamped for our backporch – 14 years ago). And even more shocking is that we were building our house back in the winter and spring of 1996! (click on house photo below of Katelyn, […]

A couple days of photos leftover from the weekend: Part 1

| December 8, 2021

Since part one of a couple of blog photo posts will be pubic and not include family, I’ll archive it first. I finished (hopefully) the NINE trailer loads of leaves I mulched and raked in the front yard this year. Oh for the pre-Global Warming and now Climate Change days of burning leaves rather than […]

Advice: Consider replacing the wax ring seal on your toilet

| December 5, 2021

It might be a good idea to replace, or at least check, the wax ring seal on your toilet … as the line goes, “ask me how I know.” It seems ours was fine for 25 years, but at some point decided to drip when flushed. Slowly but surely the drip turned into a wet […]

Archive: Long curtain rod without center support ideas?

| October 19, 2021

While tuned into Fox Business over lunch last week, a segment highlighting people bulldozing beautiful homes in New York’s Long Island’s West Hamptons in order to build even more beautiful dream homes. One such multi-million dollar house featured a long window treatment rod similar to my thoughts for our new windows. For us it is […]

How do you prevent birds from hitting picture windows?

| October 7, 2021

… Boom …  Our new windows are really not that clean, but obviously the reflective quality is not helpful and looks painful for birds flying into them. I’m starting to wonder if we should rig up some kind of netting or thin sunshade? The latest bird to hit the window left a “dust” imprint clear […]

The cooler weather has us enjoying working in the backyard

| October 2, 2021

As summer turned to autumn, Brenda and I found ourselves enjoying a few more evenings and weekends walking around and working in the backyard. Last week it was cleaning up “the mound” (although we have a few) and getting it ready for winter. I dug out some deeper rooted plants that had spread and planted […]

Office project patching update photos and banana bread #TBT

| September 16, 2021

Here are a few leftover project photos from the weekend for Throwback Thursday #TBT to add to the personal archive. Normally we make banana bread in the full-size Bosch oven when our bananas go soft and brown, but  I keep trying to get the convection baking setting correct on our toaster oven – not bad […]

Archive: Labor Day 2021 Iron Fence and Gate Painting

| September 7, 2021

It was a home maintenance project that has been done before, but I’m still not fond of wire-brushing and repainting railings, our iron fence or rear gate … but since there was time at home this past Labor Day weekend, the project was started and finally finished. Besides digging out the rock at the base […]

Driveway project: Day 1 of the planned 2 day concrete pour

| August 28, 2021

Friday was Day One, of what is the longest day of the planned two day driveway pour (Day 2 on Monday). The crew was at the house before 5:30AM with spot lights, last minute prep and ready for the first truck of concrete which was scheduled to arrive at 6AM – was here at 6:15. […]

After a few stressful issues and some additional charges, our driveway project is moving forward and back on track

| August 25, 2021

We finally got the final grading, under the concrete pipes and extra gravel ($) issue semi-resolved and have the driveway project back on track while the weather is good … although very hot. Thankfully I was able to get the stumps taken care of since our contractor did not want to risk damaging the underground […]

The “replacing our driveway project” is finally underway $$

| August 18, 2021

It is a month and a half late, but concrete companies and for that matter most construction companies are very busy this summer. The COVID19pandemic has put most projects behind and perhaps we should be thankful to be on their schedule. Tearing out (video from Canary Security Cam) and re-concreting a driveway is one of […]

Reflecting on our backporch addition and landscaping #TBT

| August 5, 2021

In making this a Throwback Thursday #TBT post, it is interesting to look at a blog post from 2007 when we added our backporch and stamped concrete and as it is now while contemplating how to cut back our landscaping and trees. At one point we were thinking it was taking so long to mature […]

Slow, but not necessarily steady, progress on my home office

| July 17, 2021

Slow progress on my home office as I continue to work in disarray; I am missing my accessory junk … including a small hanging TV. I don’t necessarily “watch” business television, instead listen to the stream via SiriusXM to my Aftershokz Aeropex headset. Occasionally though, do still find it helpful to have a video image […]

Replaced a failed sump pump check valve after heavy rains

| June 26, 2021

Last weekend we had thunderstorms and tornado warning that dumped buckets of rain in our area. Thankfully no damage or serious flooding, but I did check on the sump and backyard pumps … I even added my spare pump to the pit in order to keep the water that builds up in the retention area […]

Moving ahead a little bit with the mini split AC installation

| June 15, 2021

This past weekend I moved forward in getting the mini split AC unit installed in my home office. I started the planned chair rail  and cork wall (insulation, sound deadening and a place to pin maps, etc). I’m not sure about the can of worms I’ve opened, but I spent half the day on Saturday […]

Bought a high efficient HVAC mini split unit for the home office

| May 29, 2021

A separate air conditioning unit has long been on my “want list” for my home office. I’ve contemplated adding a high efficiency minisplit inverter unit for years to better balance the southwest corner upstairs office in our house. It has never really been comfortable in the summer with multiple computers, printers and gadgets, especially in […]

Is there a high quality, maintenance-free garage door and opener?

| February 23, 2021

One of the most unappreciated attributes often overlooked when dating and looking for a life partner is that of a handyman, or to be a little more politically correct, a “handyperson.” I do know that having the Mister Fix-it gene, or is it a learned skill (???), has been one of my strong traits, but […]

A snowy 2021 February stay-at-home day and a few idea photos

| February 10, 2021

We received a surprise snowfall on Monday night this week and it caught most of us, including the weather people and snowplows off-guard. Brenda worked until close in Oxford, Ohio and it took her nearly an hour and a half to drive home .. no salt on the roads and very few snowplows were out. […]

Tech Friday: Our small Echo Dot on the Home Theater ceiling

| January 29, 2021

Now that the wiring in the basement is no longer laying on the floor in order to feed the kitchen television cable extender and ceiling repairs are finished up, I’ve been cleaning up and moving things back into the home theater and game room areas. With some fresh paint everything looks pretty good, so I […]

The wire from the TV signal box is now in the basement ceiling

| January 16, 2021

My wife is great … and her decorating and building taste as to what “looks” nice grows on a person after nearly 40 years of marriage … but I still grumble about some of the decision she makes. One of them was wanting a drywall ceiling rather than something removable when we finished the basement. […]

Archiving pre-sale Zillow photos of Mom and DadC’s house #TBT

| December 3, 2020

As a ‘still listed’ page owner according to my Zillow update emails of my parents house listing in Sidney, Ohio, I realized that it will not be long before those pages and photos disappear. I likely still have the original photos on a compact flash drive card (who can still read those), but probably won’t […]

Assembling a simple (cough, cough) swing set for grandkids

| September 6, 2020

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Archive: Stay around home 2020 mini-vacation family photos

| August 11, 2020

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Out and about, yardwork, flowers and more rain

| May 24, 2020

It has been a slow start to getting our yard in shape. By now we usually have the pool open and flowers planned, but for some reason (probably rain) we are not ready for summer. Thankfully though, Saturday was nice most of the day. I waited as long as possible to add a few brown […]

The Library, Music Room, Bookshelves project in nearly finished

| April 30, 2020

Rather than close out the month of April 2020 with some depressing topic related to COVID19, I’ll post a photo for book lovers (right) and collectors along with a saved newspaper article clipped with a photo to highlight a future project (steps/ladder for the bookshelves) and the latest in the seemingly SLOW progress of putting […]

The weekend (weekdays) bookshelves and painting project

| March 21, 2020

The painting projects continue without a need to rush or complete anything quickly. Finished the ceiling paint, some patching and trim area and “might” paint the first coat of paint that Brenda has picked on Saturday – “Bermuda Sand” (which is more yellow than the pink sand color that comes to mind – see below). […]

Updates: Mudroom painting, steps treads and a coffee warmer

| December 3, 2019

The more time I spend in the basement workshop, the more I enjoy having my coffee with me and “warm.” Usually I just use an insulated stainless steel coffee container, but lately I’ve gone back to a ceramic cup so it can easily go into the microwave for warming. When sidetracked by projects or working […]

Tech Friday: Growing pains with “person detection” AI at Wyze

| November 29, 2019

With the advent of decent quality inexpensive home security products and cameras, it has never be easier to keep an eye on “motion” that happens around a business or home. The key for most of us is to find the least expensive quality “small” product … in our case the Wyze cams have beat out […]

To complain or not to complain, that is the question …

| November 5, 2019

This past summer we replaced the gutters on our house with a premium GutterShutter version. I particularly liked the heavier gauge aluminum, larger size, strong hangers and sensible “shutter” to keep out debris. So far we are happy with the upgrade. Current Nov2019 condition vs the Previous Aug2019 complaint Unfortunately after three service calls to […]

Productive home chores weekend while watching Dorian

| September 3, 2019

The approaching hurricane kept my attention this Labor Day weekend (writing this for Tuesday on Sunday) as there was really nothing I could do to prepare the condo in Delray Beach or our boat Encore (in the water) in preparation for the approaching storm. Likely when this posts, we will either have dodged a bullet […]

Our new home Internet Mesh network is up and running

| August 14, 2019

Our current NetGear Nighthawk R7000 router has been exceptionally stable considering the issues I’ve had with cheaper routers and networked devices in the past. I’m pretty happy with it, but in order to get solid coverage, had to add a WiFi Range Extender to cover the detached garage and poolhouse (and yet still have weak […]

Falling back on fiberglass and autobody skills for house repairs

| July 30, 2019

The summer of 2019 around our house has meant more repairs and maintenance updates than usual. This means weekends have been busy with house projects and in also finding and hiring help to complete the updates that are too overwhelming for this one “aging” guy to handle on his own (although my 60th birthday celebrations […]

Music Monday: Felt like a Kenny Chesney and George Strait song

| June 17, 2019

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Happy Birthday to our son Taylor. He is 30th this year.

| June 10, 2019

From 3 years old (photo) to 30 years old this year in 2019 … the years of watching Taylor grow up have zipped way too fast. I suspect every parent and grandparent has said that at one time or another? Birthday “year” celebrations, become “decade” celebrations, and we no long even contemplate the candles on […]

Ticks, screwy metal things and working on mulch landscaping

| June 5, 2019

Nasty bugger … thankfully I think I caught this guy (or any of his buddies) before sucking my blood. Nowadays with Lyme Disease you can’t be to careful with letting ticks bite or burrow. I’m not sure our area is considered risky, but I don’t want to chance getting infected either (I thnk this guy […]

Belated spring yard chores, pool opening and patio cleaning

| May 25, 2019

It feels a late start to opening the “mudhole” … I mean “muddy” pool … this year as our trips to Florida have set me back on the usual spring chores. I think the earliest we have opened the pool as been March, but this year is about the latest that I can recall, although […]

Archiving a house for sale and testing OneDrive photo embed

| April 11, 2019

If you are looking for a grand home with too many features to mention and a lot of room both inside and out, look no further; 8000 Green Lake Drive in Liberty Township, Ohio is featured in the Pulse Journal this week and listed by Keller Williams Advisor’s Realty. (archiving photos in OneDrive – see […]

An of branded Smart Home plug fail … so what’ inside?

| April 11, 2019

A Smartthings- like plug that I used with the Amazon Echo virtual assistant failed this past week, so I took it to the workbench in order to diagnose. I suspected that I was not really going to be able to fix it, but was curious as to what what inside anyway (sort of hoping, but […]

Autumn chores and dinner for our Red Tailed Hawk

| November 5, 2018

It seems later in the season that usual to be just starting to rake leaves and get in a final mow before winter, but the weather was dry after a long stretch of rain, so chores for me it was. My back is now sore and contemplating taking an Advil as the muscle tighten. There […]

Set up the Wyze Cam Pan temporarily but have motion issues

| October 8, 2018

The new low cost Wyze Cam Pan that I bought to put in the Delray Beach Condo arrived this past weekend and so opted to set it up temporarily at home. So far so good with the image and impressive panning control with even motion tracking (less impressive though). The reason I chose the Wyze […]

Tech Friday: The Amazon Echo will soon have Whisper Mode

| October 5, 2018

The Amazon Echo has been a fun gadget to use and have in our home since Katelyn and Drew gave it to us for Christmas. After having our granddaughter Annalyn with us for a few days last week, I realized we don’t always have the volume set appropriately especially when she is sleeping. Hm … […]

Tech Friday: The inexpensive Wyze Cam now supports Alexa

| July 20, 2018

I’ve been using the Wyze Cam to keep an eye on our Florida condo for a couple of months now … and besides an issue with a low-cost router overheating, it has been excellent. I’ve been thinking about adding a second one with the adjustable viewing angle, but it is not on the high priority […]

A new Hunter outdoor ceiling fan after 20 years from the other

| June 21, 2018

Last weekend I notice one of the ceiling fans was no longer working … we could have used it with temperatures in the 90s – hey, it’s summer weather and to be expected in Cincinnati. Anyway, after taking apart the old Hunter fan, I could tell the inside was “growly” which indicated some corrosion. I […]

Thoughts on remotely resetting or rebooting network hardware

| June 16, 2018

Frustration in tech land! Power out – now the cable modem or router won’t reboot properly! If you haven’t following along with my updating the progress on the Florida condo, I’ve been adding bits and pieces to “home automation” besides the normal “construction updates” to the kitchen (and eventually bathroom).  Most of it has been […]

Coyotes still hang around in our Liberty Twp, Ohio backyard

| June 4, 2018

It continues to surprise me how coyotes can continue to live in and around relatively populated areas like Liberty Township, Ohio … but as mentioned several times in the past, we continues to see them boldly hunting rabbits and other small animals (keep an eye on your small dogs and cats!). While mowing the lawn, […]

Spoiling our granddaughter by taking her to The Cone!

| May 12, 2018

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It looks like spring is not quite ready to arrive this year

| March 21, 2018

Wouldn’t you know it … as soon as I take the snow blower and chains off our multi-use John Deere tractor  that I use to clear our driveway … we get a forecast of more snow. Murphy’s Law I suppose? Earlier in March as the weather warmed, so Brenda asked when I would have the […]

Tech Friday: A 2nd Amazon Echo – the Dot now streams music

| March 2, 2018

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Finished covering the risers while watching the Daytona 500

| February 18, 2018

Sunday was the perfect day to finish up “covering” the lifts for the rear row of our new home theater seats. Now all 8 seats have a great view … even in recline mode. After building the “boxes” a week or so ago, I picked up some closeout brown polyester outdoor furniture upholstery material at […]

Finished assembling seating for our home theater – almost done

| February 11, 2018

iPhone panoramic of home theater from the rear Finally the correct seat came in and I was able to assemble the last of our eight home theater seats for the home archive. The sizing and spacing is near perfect and even without the riser that I am planning to add to the rear row, the […]

So much for new home theater seating for Super Bowl 52

| February 4, 2018

This is what I get for procrastinating until this weekend — TWO right hand seats! The boxes containing the long delayed leather home theater seats (ie. basement flood of 2013) arrived a couple weeks ago but I waited until this weekend to unpack since I was out of town last weekend. I unboxed them and […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog