Missing sailing but appreciating a Cape Horn installation video

| December 6, 2020

Sometime the best part of keeping a daily blog is that provides a place to archive tidbits for future reference. The Sailing Uma “gear review” tagged YouTube clip on their channel has a fantastic installation video for the Cape Horn Wind Vane self-steering gear that I might need when taking apart ours for repair. Currently […]

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 […]

Our family is getting into the 2020 Christmas decorating spirit

| December 1, 2020

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Memories of Grandmothers and Aprons plus photos #TBT

| November 26, 2020

Since I’m pre-writing this by a few days for Throwback Thursday #TBT, I realized just before post it that  it will also be Thanksgiving on Thursday. Our family won’t be getting together as usual (same for a lot of families for a COVID19 resurgence), but ours was planned that way since we rotate holidays; Katelyn, […]

Ellerie’s Christmas project and decorating before Thanksgiving

| November 25, 2020

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Apple Mac announcement event this past week along with some fun babysitting Annalyn and Ellerie in Perrysburg, Ohio

| November 14, 2020

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Archive: 1958 Packard Hawk electrical issues, schematics and an Indian Summer bike ride for Annalyn and Ellerie

| November 12, 2020

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Family Filler: A couple of great leftover weekend photos

| November 4, 2020

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Waiting for a Halloween updates from my granddaughters

| November 1, 2020

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Ellerie was dedicated at Waterville Community Church

| October 27, 2020

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Archive: A couple family photos from this past week

| October 17, 2020

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Most parents and grandparents have room for improvement

| October 11, 2020

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My son Taylor has been busy professionally and personally

| October 10, 2020

As a dad who has always kept up and archived the “goings-on” with Taylor and Katelyn on MyDesultoryBlog, I realized that grandchildren steal the limelight most of the time … that is just the way it is. But … that doesn’t mean life doesn’t keep moving along for adult children in the work-a-day world either. […]

The Old Wooden Ladder: Shag carpet and “The Pig” #TBT

| October 8, 2020

While doing some the pool house garage cleaning and reorganizing over the past couple of weeks, a piece of the old shag carpeting I duct taped onto the old wooden ladder I acquired in the 1980s fell off. As usual, it triggered memories. First, the good times Brenda and I had with our sailboat Brenich, […]

An inexpensive Sailrite LSZ-1 sewing machine cart is finished

| October 7, 2020

The Sailrite LSZ-1 sewing machine cart is complete and turned out great. Everything worked as planned (a rarity for me) and didn’t have to purchase anything new. The wider oak material was sitting in my stock shelf, the edge banding for the fold out table stripped from the glass top of my recently disassembled printing […]

Archive: Some books to bookshelves and granddaughter photos

| October 6, 2020

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Cleaning, reorganizing, some sanding and new ZipGuard finsih

| October 4, 2020

In my goal to gain space in the poolhouse garage (a failure) and clearing out and cleaning the east-side wall, I shifted my attention to the beat-up bench top. Part of this was just clearing the workbench of junk, then reorganizing and cleaning each shelf. The boxes have been sort-of shuffled (drawers ignored), but I […]

What to do with my antique letterpress type galley trays #TBT

| October 1, 2020

While clearing out a little more garage clutter this past weekend in order to gain some space as the weather changes (things are getting too crowded), I finally ripped apart an old type galley cabinets that I hauled from my building in Cuyahoga Falls years ago. Consolidated Printing and Publishing Co. wasn’t really an old […]

Remembering my mom’s birthday with an Oldsmobile photo

| September 29, 2020

My mother’s birthday isn’t one that I mark with a blog post every year, but since I ran across this old photo of my mom in East Tawas Michigan, I set it aside (along with one from me in my new suede coat back in high school). I spotted the Kodachrome slide of Mom next […]

A semi-portable thickness planer for my woodworking shop

| September 27, 2020

When bragging that my latest sewing cart project had zero cost in it, I held off until the end of the post to mention that I was spending money and would post about that on Sunday. Well here it is: I bought my first planer; it’s a semi-portable DeWalt DW735, with the “X” option (extra […]

A sign of Autumn and our 1987 Mercedes Benz 560SEL #TBT

| September 24, 2020

We had our first taste of cooler fall weather for 2020 last week as the hot 80+ degree days of August and early September gave way to pleasant mid-to-high 70s and cooler evenings dipping into the 40s. Brr, my body has not adjusted yet. As autumn approaches and the temperatures are more tolerable in the […]

A couple granddaughter photos from Brenda’s babysitting

| September 22, 2020

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I’m missing sailing, but here are a few new knot tying ideas

| September 20, 2020

Most people who enjoy sailing and undertake the sport/activity as a hobby, also enjoy learning how to handle the many sheets and lines (ropes) that are used aboard a sailboat. I’ve been sailing off and on my entire life and find myself relying on a few knots that I’m confident about. Oh, I also enjoy […]

Paintied the hinges and door hardware for the pool changing room

| September 19, 2020

It has taken me most of the second half of the summer, but I’m finally finishing the poolhouse changing room … more work than I thought. The damage done by Katelyn’s “late” pet rabbit Pumpy Umpy was significant enough to require lower drywall (greenboard) and all new casing and baseboard trim. Part of my slowdown […]

Our granddaughter Ellerie has her first tooth … and big eyes!

| September 17, 2020

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Photos of a few new hardwood trees from my brother’s nursery

| September 15, 2020

It has been eleven years since we last purchased a few trees from my brother Ron’s retirement avocation – a nursery dedicated to NativeOhioPlants. He started planting trees years before so after he retired from the Air Force in 2018, it was a natural to make it a part time business. It’s not too big […]

Another Jimmy Buffett 2020 stay-at-home video memory

| September 14, 2020

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Archive: Brenda’s flowers, busy working bees and babysitting

| September 9, 2020

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

| September 6, 2020

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An updated shade sail photo and a granddaughter photo too

| August 28, 2020

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A memory from 2010! What happened to my children? #TBT

| August 27, 2020

Love this photo, although Katelyn and Taylor do look the same to me … well, add 10 years. I saw this photo from our Bermuda cruise in 2010 and thought, “I’m so glad we took as many trips as we did each year as a family!” The early years of traveling may have been on […]

Reminiscing and thinking about our Hudson Ohio house #TBT

| August 20, 2020

Let me get this out before someone tells me I’ve lost my mind: I love our current house and property in SW Ohio … as well as the community we live in just north of Cincinnati. Brenda and I could not be more blessed with our lives, our family and all that we have worked […]

A weekend Brenda birthday photo and Jimmy Buffett video

| August 18, 2020

We are really enjoying the time we have to stay around home this summer amidst Coronavirus concerns … although Brenda has never stopped going to work … she works in an “essential business” – pharmacy. We certainly enjoyed having Katelyn, Drew, Annalyn and Ellerie to our house for a mini-vacation for several days earlier this […]

Saving a custom Mercedes Benz W123 “LaPickup” photo

| August 15, 2020

Since I’ve highlighted a couple other “functional” versions of the Mercedes Benz W123, here’s another owner conversion. (see ONE, TWO … and THREE just for the humor). I do find myself constantly needing (well “wanting” really) a pickup truck, but can usually put things in my Honda Odyssey “work vehicle” or hitch up the utility […]

Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife and a few leftover photos

| August 12, 2020

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Archive: Stay around home 2020 mini-vacation family photos

| August 11, 2020

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Archive: Damaged drywall and moldings in the changing room

| July 28, 2020

I started long overdue “Pumpy Umpy” damage repair of the changing room in the pool house. Hopefully I’ll stay focused and get it finished up before the end of the summer? Instead of using drywall, I’ve opted to use Greenboard even though it isn’t a wet room or floor. The area needed new drywall isn’t […]

Archive: Ellerie our 2nd granddaughter is 5 months old!

| July 26, 2020

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Social networking with like-minded friends about cars and remembering camping with my family when growing up #TBT

| July 23, 2020

Having the comradery of social media friends who enjoy similar interests doesn’t necessarily replace face to face friendships, but at least during the Coronavirus pandemic it is a way to stay connected. There are a few of us like-minded car guys who sort of have an appreciation for the mundane cars and share stories, photos and […]

Planning ahead for a stay-at-home visit with our granddaughter

| July 22, 2020

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Wouldn’t it be nice to cool off in the pool on hot summer days?

| July 10, 2020

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Archive: Just a couple family photos from the 4th of July

| July 7, 2020

Archiving a few leftover 4th of July weekend family photos, but really, my phone/camera was not all that handy since I spent most of the weekend in swim trunks. Still we had a great couple of days relaxing with Taylor and Megan … and Brenda did not have to work! Katelyn, Drew, Annalyn and Ellerie […]

Idea: Using eggshells as planters to grow seedlings

| July 2, 2020

Every once in a while an idea triggers me into thinking … “I’m going to try this!” Last week I stumbled across a Lifehacker post that was worth archiving. Using biodegradable eggshells to start seedlings … and after losing half the $60 in flower flats we purchased this year, I may give this one a […]

Winding down June 2020 with a couple granddaughter photos

| June 30, 2020

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Archive: Flying down and driving back from hurricane prep

| June 28, 2020

Flew on the airlines for the first time since COVID19 to Florida via Baltimore (photo BWI terminal above) last week and thankfully the flights and negotiating the airport was uneventful. Besides a computer glitch which backed up lines on check in, everything else went smoothly. It is yet to be seen if the rise in […]

Woodworking idea to better clamp a table saw featherboard

| June 27, 2020

I’ve used the same combination of featherboards on my table saw for years (photo left). I also have a Shopsmith commercial featherboard which fits the smaller table perfectly, but it only works to hold larger sized pieces against the fence on my cabinet saw. Then there is the temporary one that I made 40 years […]

Forgot to archive my 2020 Father’s Day conversation #TBT

| June 25, 2020

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A new Weber grill, some assembly and Father’s Day grill brush

| June 23, 2020

We replaced our rusting “hand-me-down” rebuilt grill from 2016 (thanks Jeff) this year with a new natural gas Weber Spirit S-315 stainless steel grill set up. So far it is a great grill and perfectly sized for our family. For those looking at it, be sure you know that there is some assembly involved if […]

Music Monday: An hour with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

| June 22, 2020

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A long winded reader answer with a bit of my Internet history

| June 20, 2020

A couple weeks ago I shared an old automotive link from MyDesultoryBlog.com on Twitter and one of my automotive buddies sent me a private message asking about the name of my blog (now nearly 7000 posts). The conversation had me contemplate the early decisions and thoughts .. or lack of thought .. when all of […]

Archive: Last weekend chores, yardwork photos and memories

| June 18, 2020

Last weekend was great weather for working in the yard … something both Brenda and I do enjoy when it doesn’t become a rush to finish chore. I’ve been steadily working on the area under the “now” larger pines that we planted to help shade the west side of our back porch. Unfortunately one of […]

We had a great time with the family last weekend

| June 9, 2020

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Tech Friday: i-Device Wallpapers .. the Bompa edition

| May 29, 2020

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Later and more work than usual in opening the pool this year

| May 26, 2020

It is never as easy as expected? I’m accustom to opening the pool each season now that I’ve been doing it for 20+ years in Cincinnati and another 5 or so in Hudson before that. Each season it should get easier, right? Nope. There always something … and the job is MUCH more challenging to […]

Happy Birthday Ron! Did you know you had a doppelgänger?

| May 21, 2020

Happy Birthday to my brother today. Although it is not every year I mentioned birthdays, particularly for those of us who prefer the year count be ignored, but this year with social distancing and lack of a physically connecting, I’ll post a birthday wish to Ron. Happy Birthday! While I’m thinking about it, I came […]

Woodworking: Finished my Scrapwood Challenge project

| May 20, 2020

Several posts ago I mentioned that I was participating in the Makers Mob woodworking 6-week Scrapwood Challenge as part of the stay-at-home COVID19 orders. I can’t say that this project is anything great, but it did give me something to do in the evenings besides tweet political garbage or watch more outrage and debate from […]

Nothing like a heavy and steady rain to add to our water woes

| May 19, 2020

The heavy rain overnight continued to add to our COVID19 spring misery, as SW Ohio is under flood warning. The warning started last night and after double checking our Zoeller pumps (shouldn’t really expecting them to do much considering just how much rain comes down). Two of the pumps keep our basement from flooding and […]

John Deere 330 maintenance and a few photos from a friend

| May 19, 2020

As mentioned on Sunday, the delayed Amazon shipment of the Kubota fuel pump set my maintenance and repair plans back a bit, but I did get around to replacing the previously substituted fuel filter in the John Deere 330. We mostly use the old John Deere diesel tractor for trailer duty (and snowblowing), but ever […]

Archive: The birth announcement for Ellerie Frances Oostra

| May 17, 2020

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Happy Birthday to a great mom and best daughter in the world

| May 14, 2020

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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