The_whingnut's road to ........................

[the_whingnut]

pictures of today's activities!

making Cheese

bottling apple jack

brewing milk wine

baking bread

assorted jugs / bottles of boozes

dandelion wine was going to be bottled but it was too................ wow to drink.
i added some oak cubes to help mellow it.

 

[Avalon1984]

Wow...look at all the things you got done. I must ask though, how many hours does your day have? Mine seemes to go by too fast to even start half of those projects

 

[the_whingnut]

most things here are a two person operation Bubbles and I can get stuff done when we want to do them but then again, its doning things we want to do!

two batches of bread one of all-purpose flour and one of bread flour,
two batches of wine milk and apple jack,
and two batches of cheese farmers and mozzarella.

 

[Dawn419]

The garden, cheese and booze pix are great, thanks for sharing!

Dandelion wine is on my list of "wanna do" but it's like the blackberry wine, just can't seem to get enough harvest to actually do the project. We'll get there, eventually!

 

[the_whingnut]

the past week wasn't as happening as the week prior, but we are still doing what we do. i picked up some loaf pans and cooling racks, attempted white loaf bread, and drove to Providence twice to help out a shipmate. The milk wine is fermenting nicely. I picked up a marine battery and charger/keeper for $50 bucks both new. My tomatoes are flowering, the pepper plants are flowering, the basil is bushy and my garden is under attack by Japanese beetles from Monday to today they have consumed 1/3 of my basil. i have been picking them off as i find them and looking for more ways to keep them out.

i on my first trip up to Providence and back i saw my temp come up on the truck and eased into a shell station near the house. the temp gage wasn't too high, i wasn't blowing steam, nothing smelled hot :/ . so i drove the last mile to the house easy, got home and popped the hood everything was dry, the hoses felt empty, but no leaks to been seen. until i put my hand down on the radiator freaking cap was loose. I think what happen is when i replaced my alternator a month or two ago i bumped my cap. i have only been driving short trips in it. I filled the radiator back up replaced the cap and burped the system.

now i have been watching my temp gage and looking for leaks since last Thursday. yesterday i pulled the truck into the shop and started looking it over for leaks, and checking my oil (just in case the head gasket is leaking). i found no water in my oil and one very tiny leak. i haven't lost any noticeable amount of fluid.

now that i'm poking around i said freak it put in on the lift. the truck is a 03 gmc sonoma 4.3L 5 speed with 151,000 miles, it has never had a brake job (still stops fine), has had the heater core replaced, new thermostat, and alternator. and i have been out to sea a lot. so lets look it over.

well the brakes will still work but need replacement front and back :/

front rotors need replacement :/

time for an oil change :/

brake fluid needs flushing :/

trans gear oil need replacing :/

rearend dope needs replacing :/

i found that one of my studs was cross threaded and the lug nut was missing (thank you tire shop (whole other rant about mechanics / oil change places in military towns))

and on top of all that the freaking air fresher smells bland!!!!!!!!!!

Now my dad has been looking after the truck he take good care of my cars while i'm gone. he replaced the thermostat and the radiator for me when they both failed while he and my sister was driving it back to TN.

but i have been putting off the heavy maintenance for a while, now it caught up to me. thankfully its when i can do the work myself.

so i will be working on that stuff thursday or friday when the shop is open again. lots of work. probably get it done in one day. i'm looking at 4 bucks an hour for the lift use, 250 bucks in parts, and 1.50 for a new air freshener.

i am going to hold off on the intake antifreeze leak it will be addressed i just am lacking the funds to have it done (i can't do that work myself too much electronics to break)

 

[Icu4dzs]

Whingnut,
GREAT WEBSITE!!!! I love it. Being an amateur at pretty much everything, I really enjoyed the plasma cutting table project.
I have a Hobart Handler 135, a Lincoln 216, an O-A rig with Smith handles and an old Airco 225 stick welder. I am really in need of teaching because everything I do is a crap shoot!
I did like Amazing Blaze! He was really good!
Be cool
Trim sends
//BT//

 

[the_whingnut]

the Weldingtipsandtricks website is a very good one and its run by a very good welder. One day in time i will attain that level of knowledge

well got the brakes fixed on the truck all i can say is they where a PITA. but fixed
all the other stuff it needs are slowly happening.

swapped out my razor last week for a new one i can handle using one disposible razor once a month vs my old one a week.

I ended up making a soap/pepper tea spray for my basil the japanese beetles do go away when i spray but the moment the stuff washes off from watering or rain its a buffet.

i finally have tomatoes and peppers on the plants!

i'm going to try my hand at making loaf bread again some time this week. maybe it will be ok this time.

 

[the_whingnut]

i am not doing to good on making loaf bread. i think its the water i'm using or old yeast. its the only variables from my last place.

well a nice couple gave us a piano last Wednesday and i found out they do pottery (French / Indian war & revolutionary era) they expressed an interest in my home brewing so i think we might be about to teach each other on the styles and hopefully work out something beneficial for both house holds.

we are heading out today for our biweekly grocery shopping then its off to gather the stuff for the home laundry soap. i have a really nasty set of my welding coveralls (Nomex / cotton) that have been on a hot nasty damp week in the shop w/ a friday morning grill session for the students so if the homemade stuff can clean these nasty things i'm sold (i know it will work on my none working clothes) and i will start keeping some for the shop washer.

i'll have pictures to follow of the milk wine (transfer to secondary tomorrow) and the garden.

we ended up having our new bath tub flood out our townhouse so the place will be f'd up for a few days.

see you guys later.

 

[the_whingnut]

busy day in the WHingnut and Bubbles household.

we are watching my buddies rats so the dog and the rats spent last night staring down each other until they all fell asleep on the floor in the kitchen.

i made breakfast for us and had coffee while Maintenance looked over our soggy foyar and newly refurbished bathroom. long story short someone forgot to do the job right or didn't check the work now it all has to come back out and we spent another couple days with Jerry the plumber in our house.

we spent the day grocery shopping. i trip to a local farmers stand,
the butcher in Salem,
homedepot in waterford,
all over groton.

we got everything to make good stock, lots of fresh food, and lots of stuff to make low chemical cleaning stuff for the house.

we also did it cutting our home operating budget by about a 100 bucks for the second pay period in a row.

So :bun

we got home and got cooking

making Kraut, cheese, bread, pickled onions, started cooking stock, made some liquid laundry soap using the 2 gal recipe here in the forums with pink Zote ( i like the citronella smell) and we added some tea tree oil for extra smells, also made some All purpose cleaner too.

this evening i had the pleasure of enjoying some homebrew on my patio, looking over my garden, smelling the stock cook off, smelling the wood smoke from my fire pit all while the old dog sat at my feet. i had a perfect southern evening........................in new England.

 

[the_whingnut]

PICTURES!
tomatoes and peppers

peppers and basil

herbs

and Bear!

unfortunately i had to trim my tomato plants to keep them for running over my peppers i hope it doesn't hurt my plants too much.

next year the spacing will be a lot better.