After assembly without glue to make sure everything fits snugly, the cabinets could be glued together. The front panel is in, but not glued in, as I still need to be able to work on the inside for the cross over filter and insulation.
The four band clamps work better on this size (They are 44″/ 112cm tall) than wood clamps. I will let these dry overnight.
If you know me a little, it won’t be a surprise that eventually I want to be able to enjoy music at a higher quality level than my HomePod. So I ordered a DIY speaker kit from CSS Audio in Michigan. They offer complete kits with the goal to achieve higher quality by not paying for labor. The boxes arrived today:
Unboxed it looks like this.
This will end up in two two-way tower speakers.
I went for the better cross-over filter option, with serious size capacitors, coils and resistors. I could have just ordered the drawings, speakers and filters, but opted for the ready for assembly MDF kit, as in the end, this will make a more exact cabinet than I could make without a big sawing table.
Whilst I was outside on the deck, I heard a swarm of birds take off. The reason they did was this guy (or girl, can’t tell)
It’s a Red-Tailed Hawk (according to copilot, because I just noticed it wasn’t a vulture).
They like high vantage points like my power line pole. The picture above is zoomed in as far as I could. below shows the original picture.
It’s normal that due to wear and tear, some work has to be done every time I’m over at Ozuye myself. This time it was limited to relatively easy jobs;
The blinds in the bathroom were damaged. Instead of replacing the entire thing, I took one of the lower blinds strips (that are never used) and put that in the spot of the missing one.
The waste bin in the kitchen had a small issue that one of the blocking screws that prevents the bin from falling out when opened was misaligned.
Some people are heavy. Too heavy. The floating toilet agreed and the steel frame it is on got slightly bend out of shape. I will place a pier underneath it, so that the force is absorbed by the floor. I wanted to replace the silicone kit on it anyway, as I accidentally used kit that dries up transparent instead of white (Takes a week before it gets transparent)
The Hot Tub sensor ran out of batteries and lost connection to the display inside, so I replaced the batteries and now the hot tub (and inside temperature) can be read again.
(I will put it back to Fahrenheit before I leave)
The hot tub cover had been torn, and I was never completely happy with the design of the air cushion cover anyway, so I replaced it with a new universal inflatable cover, which in turn is kept in place and protected by a cover.
As I was taking this picture, I noticed a deer in the backdrop;
Having deer in my backyard reminds me I’m in the country side, not the city.
Today starts of with a nippy -1 C (30F) and warms up to an almost nice 16 C (60F).
This is a cold from; as you can see things will be warming up in a few days.
It’s good to see my smart mirror is still running perfectly. Sadly we still have a burn ban (lower right) so fires are not allowed. There’s no rain in the forecast for the rest of the year.
The wind was gusty yesterday but that’s gone, so with the clear skies and sun, it will be comfy outside.
As part of deep cleaning, I was cleaning all windows inside and outside. I had finished downstairs and as I was cleaning the upstairs bedroom window, I heard a strange noise coming from downstairs. As I walked down, I saw what was making the noise; a hummingbird had flown through my open door, and was now desperately trying to fly out through the picture window. I reached for it with an index finger for him/her (it’s hard to tell with a hummingbird) and within seconds it was sitting on my index finger. As I walked to the door, the little bird flew away, so luckily it wasn’t hurt.
It just goes to show that there is also a thing as too clean windows. Hopefully no other birds will mistake my picture windows for an opening. All but three windows have screens, so those are never mistaken for openings.
The deck was stained in the color Federal Blue. As that did not show anymore, it was time for a re-staining;
I ran out of stain, so got two new gallons to do the rest.
After replacing the brake pads and the battery, I thought it was time for a less vital, but fun update in light of my upcoming road trip to Big Bend; a new car stereo.
It’s not super fancy, but does have a USB link to my phone, and can play music from it. It is a big upgrade from the original 2001 Ford car stereo with only FM/AM and CD.
No Apple Car Play, but that’s ok, as my iPhone mounts just below the radio, so I can easily see that and use it hands free.
The pellet stove pipe kit arrived today and as I already had the hole in the wall, installation was pretty easy. On the outside it looks like this;
I may extend the pipe upwards a little bit, but this was taken when it was burning so you can see there’s not a lot of smoke. It actually smells quite nice as I’m currently burning Cherry “Fruity and Sweet” pellets that can also be used for the BBQ.
It took about 7 minutes to light up, which also has to do with the auger being empty when starting it
There’s a fan that recirculates living room air and passes through the hot parts of the stove. Right in front of it, it’s the best place if you’re cold.
As it’s 77 F (25C) in here and a little warmer outside I turned it off again. The fan then keeps running but the flames extinguish within a few minutes.
The only downside I can hear so far is the fact that the fan does make some noise, as does the auger. But I’m sure that when it’s cold, anyone will gladly put up with the noise in exchange for a comfortable temperature.
If you’re old enough you’ll know this is a Phil Collins reference. Not only can you hear through the wall, but you can give it a thumbs up;
The stove pipe that will come through this hole is only 3″ but this 8″ hole allows space between the thimble and the wall. Just to be sure, I will also coat the hole with heat resistant tape, as an extra safety layer.