Our Tiny (10 x 12) Cabin

[Gary O]

 
 So, we whipped down to the cabin to do a little shake, rattle and roll.

OK, we didn’t whip. There’s really no way to ‘whip’ 250 miles…on land….in a Jeep…..with a trailer……and two lithe aging geriatric boomers.
But once there, we set to work.
Yup, right away.
And our first task really didn’t take that long…about fifteen minutes of flailing of limbs and screaming of lungs I’d say, but it was quite the relief to actually get ourselves out of the Jeep and stretch those jaws of life that keep following me around.
(My hind end you say.....yeah, my hind end)

OK, seriously folks, my lady and I have a regimen.
We both get a good nap in on the way down, mine usually occurs somewhere half way into the mind numbing 100 miles of straight away on I-5….quite refreshing, really. I s’pose the wife should drive during those times.

Once at the cabin, we both start unloading the Jeep, trailer, and the cabin.

‘The cabin you say’

Yeah, the cabin.
The cabin that’s full of tools, and a large generator on a four wheel cart. Our lovely generator of which we dubbed ‘Jenny’.
Good ol’ Jenny.
And what a trickster she is.
She always likes to confuse me by having her fuel valve in the wrong position. Yeah, the fuel valve. The one that is like none other, because it is right smack on an ‘L’ connector, so if you’re a weary geezer like myself, you won’t remember if you turned the sucker off or not, and the pointy thing that's present on all vavles but this one, no matter which way you turn it is not in parallel with anything. Yeah, that valve.
So, I crank my ever loving guts out (and that’s a lot of guts), and all she does is chuckle a bit. Then after oh, say, five minutes, five minutes of wheezing,  wheezing from twenty minutes of my wonderfully aerobic rope pulling ceremony, a light goes on. Yeah, a light. Because during my flailing of arms, and when I might have possibly done a little Irish jig on little Jenny, the valve may have been moved, and the little darling fired up, thus turning on the lights, yeah the lights.

Shake, rattle and roll you say.

Well, we put on some shakes.
Then we noticed the rattling of our bones as we rolled into bed.

But

That wasn’t the fun part.

The fun part you say.

Yeah, the fun part.
We loaded up a second table saw that I’d picked up from a friend for just $100. One’a those Craftsman jobs, thats worth, oh say, $50 at HF.
Full of glee that we now had something that would produce a straight cut, I picked up my guts and plugged ‘er in.
It ran, or rather turned maybe two revolutions.
There was a flash.

A flash you say.

Yeah, a flash.
My brain flashed onto page seventeen of Jenny’s manual, showing that if anyone was dumb enough to think a generator of her size would have enough juice to handle the power surge of a table saw, surely that same person would forget the air compressor.
So, yeah, after unrolling the airlines, and setting up the staplers, I noticed they were curiously missing the female connectors that I was ready to deftly press their male connectors into. The ones that happened to be connected to Ol’ Pancake the air compressor….that happened to still be in the corner of my shop, just a whippy 250 miles north.
It suddenly dawned on me that I was giving my wife a wonderful example of an incredulous look, holding two empty male connectors…..(don't even go there)....

The jaunt to town really didn’t take that long, what with a tidy round trip of 120 miles….and a $169 new Ol’ Pancake, and whatever the #$%&!+&# price of gas jumped to (I no longer look), we were ready to shake.
Turns out I needed a small crane to install the shakes.

A crane you say.

Yeah, a crane,
and some sorta belly bag that I could lie face down on, so my lovely wife could hoist me up and down to the level of row I was on, and she’d apply oxygen whenever I had to bend over for, say, ten seconds….yeah, a crane.

Truly, the trip was, as usual, a grand distraction, and we can’t wait to go again.

Here’s what we managed to accomplish in spite of ourselves;




you may recall it looked like this...no?...well it did.

 

And now, presto (presto meaning 'MOTHER OF GOD, MY BACK!!!)



and finally, this is a photo of my Jeep….one nanosecond after a chickadee had remarkably landed on the limb in the foreground there and flitted away….turns out, my hand is much slower than my eye…..



Well, it's now approaching eleven pm, and I'm going to soak.

Soak you say

Yeah, soak.
Soak in a tub of scotch....OK, it's water, but the Irish Spring does give it a kick.

G'Nite chy'all
 

[OlJarhead]

I know that dance well!  However I learned a trick to defeat the jenny   Just don't shut the valve off EVER!

I also know the 'Chainsaw Dance'.  DO you?  It's easy, forget that you need to close the choke after it coughs and then dance around the yard like a yahoo  (pronounced Yay Who in my neck of the woods) trying to pull start the stupid chainsaw 700 and 50 THOUSAND times....all the while singing the 'children close your ears because grandpa is trying to start his chainsaw' song...know that one?  It goes kinda like this $#@%! $#@(*&##  and a $@@$%!! too!

Glad you got the shakes up though and just think, now you can leave one new old pancake at the cabin to keep jenny happy

Cheers
Erik

[Gary O]

And that, Mr Erik, is a comforting thought.
I will never forget ol’ Pancake anymore.
However, there is the possibility of the two getting together one day in the near future.

I have learned to make a checklist for such things.
The key is filling out the haves and needs right before leaving camp.

I know the list is around here somewhere……..


Yes, the chain saw dance.
I darn near dislocated both shoulders on an old McCulloch.
Turns out, if you leave gas in ‘em all winter, the diaphragm gets all stiff and persnickety.

Huh, don’t touch the valve, ever……..that may just work!

Happy trails, Pard

[rick91351]

Yes, the chain saw dance.
I darn near dislocated both shoulders on an old McCulloch.
Turns out, if you leave gas in ‘em all winter, the diaphragm gets all stiff and persnickety.

Was that one of those Mc's that had about the same displacement as a 49 Chevy pickup and the bar was sort of shaped aero-dynamic like a squished beaver tail?  Then they vibrated so bad your hands went to sleep and stayed there for about three days and nine hours 57 minutes.  At the end of the day you might have fell a tree and a half, you would have finished that fall but the gas boiling because what seemed to be a two gallon tank was located on top of the cylinder head.  It was a patented design to cook the gas to well done then vapor lock which was okay because your thumb was wore out pushing on the damn oiler button.    Or another model?   

Cussing at its finest cultured by chainsaws.  Ever notice when its 110 degrees and you just give it a little tug and it is off and running.  But a nice 50 degree day just a little breeze, jerk jerk huff huff puff puff.  Dirty rotten no good #$%#$%^$%%)#$)%#$@@#$%_  and   ^%%^((^#+@#  the chain %$($%(@_ spark plug fouled and !@($(@+@#$ how old is this @@_#$ fuel. 

Just got back from the ranch, I would like to report that the big Echo #%$)#$$!+# and the #$)@#+#@#$.  Then late afternoon ZOOOMMM ROOOOOARRRAOOORRRRR.  Back had already given out and the day was done or so I thought..............

[OlJarhead]

 

LMOA  I love it -- so I'm NOT the only one!

Funny thing though, these new fangled Husky's and Stihl's have a very effective choke so I'm not doing that dance too often any more   But man of man have I done that!  Cussing and swearing and hopping all over the place with my wife laughing in the back ground saying something like "Look kids, he's doing the chain saw dance again"!

[Gary O]

 

Old McCulloch owners, unite!

There's gotta be a clinic for us somewhere..........

[rick91351]

LMOA  I love it -- so I'm NOT the only one!

Funny thing though, these new fangled Husky's and Stihl's have a very effective choke so I'm not doing that dance too often any more   But man of man have I done that!  Cussing and swearing and hopping all over the place with my wife laughing in the back ground saying something like "Look kids, he's doing the chain saw dance again"!

My Echo is really not that bad to start.  I think it is just imprinted that it is going to be from the Mc era.  For myself - small engines be it lawn mower, chain saw, weed-eater or my tank sprayer are something I just do not do it well.  I would love to take a small engine repair class or sit on the corner of some ones work bench.         

One thing about the Echo; it will stay running when I set it down.  The old Homelite had a force-field around it.  It would sit there idling until you reached down to pick it up and you broke the plane.  The invisible field would be broken and it would quit.  Six inch away quit, every stinking time.

I still like that saw better than any I have run.  With a 24 inch bar it just felt good and balanced well for me.  Parts for it are like almost impossible.  The jug is almost wore out.  I still run it once in a while.

The Echo will saw better the the Homelite.  But when I started using it I could not find the kill switch with my thumb.  Little tiny mico toggle.  I kid my friend that owns the saw shop that sold it to me .  I tell him it is hard to start.  At least it gets you limbered up to use the saw.     He says it should start first couple pulls bring it in and he will adjust it.  I tell him I will take it like it is.  At least when I get it fired up it runs.  That's  way more than the Homelite ever would do!  Most likely the reason it has lasted me twenty years.  Hard to wear something out when it is sits in your shop or sits under my work bench waiting for me to take it in.  He counters with something like the reason that has lasted that long is the good care they in the saw shop have given it.  Way better care than I ever did.  We have known each other for about thirty five years so you can say stuff like that..............

Sorry for the thread drift Gary......             

[Gary O]

'Thread drift'? 'Thread drift'?

Have you seen suma these pages?

[Gary O]

So, wunna my projects today was to build a back seat for my grandmonkeys, since we’re gonna haul their narrow behinds down to the cabin with us this time.
The Wrangler has been a back seat virgin up to now.

Had some 2x2 and thin ply, so, banged out the bench seat.

Simple frame but needed a bit of a slant for the back rest.
22.5° was right on, and made the little pressure brace behind perfect at 45° on one end and 22.5° on the other (both positive settings on the miter saw).

I can tell I’m getting’ slow of foot, ‘cause this took a good portion of the morning, aside from trimming the grapes, mowing, trimming the lawn, and watching cabi make sun tea….and watching the tea get some color….
I’ve still gotta drill a slot for the seat belts and make a couple cup holders…monkeys get thirsty too.


Made the frame and kitted the components






Just need a slot for the seat belts...and need to steal the lawn chair cushions...I may cut the back rest down a bit...looks a tad high



Can't wait for the 250 mile 'are we there yet' conversation

[CjAl]

 . i would have given you one if you were close.

let me know what the ticket says when you get pulled over 

[Gary O]

 HAH... Now I will shorten the back rest for sure….
Luckily, there are very few cops in that neck-o-the-woods.

When they were smaller, I just strapped their booster seats to the floor.

[CjAl]

no idea how many times i have wanted to rip the rear seat out of my tj. even folded up it takes up a huge portion of a limited space.

[Gary O]

 Yeah, bought mine new in ’99. They called it a ‘stripper’, no extras, no radio, no nothing, and no back seat.
I put a tool box back there…love it.
It has a hasp lock.
Funny thing, my Wrangler is a rag top, so I don’t leave any of my hope diamonds in it.
I drilled a couple slots in the bottom of the tool box and ran a strap thru the loops in the floor.
I’d love to catch some jerk pulling his guts out trying lift that box.

[rick91351]

Yeah, bought mine new in ’99. They called it a ‘stripper’, no extras, no radio, no nothing, and no back seat.
snip................................................................................

Are you says you bought a stripper in '99'  Bragging?     no extras, no tunes, no nothing, and no back seat..................      Lap dance?? ...... maybe a cheap hotel room......  What is a stripper with out tunes!!     Oh well back to the thread drift..........     Sorry -- Wow --- I'm embarrassed you would post something such as that..... I'm embarrassed I bit.  Well back to the padded room.....  Sorry play time is over....

[MountainDon]

I can not remember the brand but I had a very nice rear seat and storage box combination when I had my CJ5. A heavy gauge steel box was the base, it bolted thru the floor. The hinged lid was lockable. The rear seat attached to the lid with a quick disconnect system. The seat would still fold and flip forward or could be removed. The steel storage box stayed and kept the contents safe and dry. ... Might have been a Bestop product, but not sure.

[CjAl]

sounds like a tuffy box

[Gary O]

There’s some great product on the market for Jeeps, all makes.
The one item that eludes me is a good console…so I made one.



It is a first go at it, and the next one w/be with pvc. Still, it was under $10…..
and notice the time worn 'character' of the driver's seat


and the seat for the monkey pods (sans cushion)

[CjAl]

i am surprised you have belts back there.

it is 4 wheel drive isnt it? i never knew they made two wheel drive jeeps untill i moved to TX

[Gary O]

  I had the belts from the time I strapped ‘em to their booster seats a few years back.
Just secured them to the floor loops.
Oh, it’s 4wd…huh, never knew there were options for Wranglers

[Gary O]

We’re back from the cabin.
Only our 2nd trip this year.

One word…..

anguish

It’s a 250 mi (400 km) trip.
Half way there the aroma of burning motor oil woke me up.
Popped the hood.
The engine is throwing oil.
Not good.
Dip stick reads full.
Huh.

I drive 30 mi.
Stop, recheck.

Now there’s a fizzing pinhole leak in the radiator housing.
Hoookaaay.
Turn around?
….what would MacGyver do?

He would build a helicopter out of the fan, generator, flashlight battery, and discarded garbage can he found on the roadside and proceed to the cabin.

There’s no garbage can.

But

I have a plan

I drive 300 yards and order a senior coffee at McDonalds…..
……and leave a rather hefty McPoop in their McToilet.

So, I’m not MacGyver…..but all obstacles of thought blockage have been removed.
Now I can proceed to the auto parts store and get some trusty JB Weld, 2 gal of antifreeze, and 8 quarts of oil.

We ARE going to the cabin.
But first, we ARE getting over the mountain.
But, even before that, I AM going to wait for the JB Weld to cure.

So we set there and finish off the bag of grapes we were going to munch on at the cabin.
Of course it’s dark, and after finishing off the grapes, I realize that the fingers that so gingerly popped grapes in my hirsute gaping yap are the same ones that so delicately kneaded the piece of JB Weld to activate the catalyst.
The flashlight is securely packed deep under food, clothing, books, guns, tools, and toilet paper.
So, my MacGyver like instincts direct me to the head lights, reading the caution statement in the MSDS about washing your hands immediately after kneading the JB Weld, and something in so many words about kissing yer hind end g’bye if you are stupid enough to eat grapes right after using.

Actually, it reads:

INGESTION:
      INGESTION CAN CAUSE GASTROINTESTINAL IRRITATION, NAUSEA, VOMITING, DIARRHEA.

Whew, nothing abnormal.

We get to the cabin.
All is well…….with the exception of the niggling feeling of angst about the trip home.
I steeled my mind to think happy thoughts….

What would Bob Ross do?
He’d paint happy trees…….
and take six more hits, then paint happy clouds.
I have nothing to hit but the bed.
….and read, and flop, and moan, and read.

Pancakes and sausage in the morn, at the picnic table….good coffee.
(happy thoughts)

We create huge slash piles for burning after the 2nd snow.
That night the moon, the 2nd full moon this month, a blue one, shows the way without flashlight as me and my fair lady walk the meadow….I stepped in only three gofer holes.
(happy holes)

Truly, once there, it was, as always, a wonderful, much needed, experience.
And…….., we made it back.
…and it only took two quarts of oil.

My Wrangler now sits in the carport, mocking me, dripping oil from every surface of the engine compartment, onto two of my fair lady’s cookie sheets, while I contemplate happy thoughts of steam cleaning said compartment tomorrow to find the source of true happiness…….and a good brazer….day after tomorrow.

So, tonight, as we rest, and both peck away at our keyboards…….watching (no kidding) ‘Survivor Man’, my lady will occasionally look fondly in my direction, with a tender look of admiration (‘My MacGyver’), and I…..I return the look of affection (‘My Lady of the cabin and kitchen’) with the happy thought that she’ll be even that much more fonder (grammar check) when she finds out I’m pre oiling her cookie sheets.

Happy thoughts, my lady, happy thoughts.

[MikeOnBike]

Gary, glad to hear you and the missus made it home safely.  A couple of weeks ago my old pickup did me the favor of springing a leak two days before I left town to go up to the cabin.  Both of the bottom radiator hoses turned to sieves at the same time.  Turns out they were original hoses.  My bad I should have changed them years ago.  All three radiator hoses are now new.

We are headed your way next summer so I can bicycle more of the coast highway.  I hope we get a chance to meet up.

[Barry Broome]

Gary, I do admire your writing!

[Gary O]

Gary, glad to hear you and the missus made it home safely.  A couple of weeks ago my old pickup did me the favor of springing a leak two days before I left town to go up to the cabin.  Both of the bottom radiator hoses turned to sieves at the same time.  Turns out they were original hoses.  My bad I should have changed them years ago.  All three radiator hoses are now new.

We are headed your way next summer so I can bicycle more of the coast highway.  I hope we get a chance to meet up.

Hey Mike

Sometimes you so remind me of me.
Not the bike riding part.
I’m a Lazy Boy purist.
Got the Olympic bronze medal of Flat Buttitis to prove it.

No, I mean the sincere promise to do something you’ve (I’ve) been meaning to do.
And I know you will, same as changing out the hoses……

Now, I’ve gotta clean out the gutters since the rainy season is coming and the wisteria has wrapped themselves several times around the drain pipes…three years ago
….but, wait, there’s a replay of a rerun of the 1988 Olympics showing curling as a demonstration event, and the kid on the US team is runnin’ around draped with the flag, lookin’ for his dad, right after they won the fourth draw……. THIS…is gonna be good.

See you next summer, Mike

(serious, really, no I mean it, I’m not kiddin’ this time…..)

[Gary O]

Gary, I do admire your writing!

I gotta say, Weez…….. I do too.

OK OK, smartassedness aside.
I am getting a bit serious with it, and have compiled close to 300 pages of my next book.
I say ‘compiled’.
It’s a compile on the floor of my den.
I lost heart after finding out that I’d copied three chapters twice….OK, so I’ve got 217 pages in my compile.
Oh, and I lost heart again a few days ago when I’d taken a search adventure on the web and a virus ogre jumped out and snatched every consarn file I had…even some basic programs.
‘Restore’ brought back the programs, but those files are somewhere on the outskirts of ‘Poof’ville.

S-o-o-o-o, will restart writing and compiling this winter, and the 183 pages should be back up to a respectable 300 or more by spring….and will put any words of depth and profundity (that seem to stream forth from both fingertips) onto a zip drive…..and keep that in my gun cabinet of which the key is……

 

[rick91351]

I thought about writing one once     maybe I ought to read one first........

Stay after it Gary!