lmagna

I was reluctant to switch to electronic books as well. Still kind of feel that way for many research books that have pictures, and some others. But for general reading I have fallen in love with my kindle Fire. It is only the first generation so it is pretty much limited to just reading, but it does that pretty well. I find that I can read in bed at night without disturbing my wife, (When I get back to the point where I can get back upstairs and sleep in my bed again). I can change the font size to make things a little easier to read with eyes that admittedly are not as good as they once were. A smaller advantage is that I can carry multiple books at the same time without the bulk or weight penalty. The only shortcoming is that it needs charging, but then it can run for quite some time on a single charge. I suspect the new ones can do all this and more.

That HAS to be the "Eagle" look at the BIG bird on the bow! Can't wait to fork over my well earned $6000! Unfortunately someone probably will.

Luckily it isn't dreams for me. It is just my brain that has not kept up with current events. Kind of like suddenly looking into a mirror and wondering who that old clunker in the picture is and where he came from? The worst I have done so far was to buy a couple of new somewhat expensive backpacks even after it was obvious to everyone else that I would probably never be able to use them. They are still sitting in my gear room with the tags still on them. Even now, (Today) I was sitting here thinking that as soon as I can walk on my ankle again, I should load up and head out somewhere that has lots of rushing water and plenty of green trees with few people! (This house is REALLY getting to me) I am pretty certain that within a mile reality would kick in but as I am not in any pain now the less logical part of my mind refuses to face reality. I have no idea what I would do if I had real dreams where I was actually doing all of these things. I think the disappointment when I woke up would break me.

Sand blasting sand should do a great job even though it may be a little harsh on your polisher as well. An extra pIus is that you can get it from work! I kind of wonder how Kitty litter, or what ever you may call it where you live, would do?

I don't know if your tumbler system is the same as mine Sam, but mine not only cleans the brass but coats it with a lube to assist in resizing when you get to the reload stage. I think I would be more inclined to clean them with a chemical. If you don't want them to be black and still don't want to paint them you may want to try this formula: https://www.sciencecompany.com/Patina-Formulas-for-Brass-Bronze-and-Copper.aspx#1 With some practice it may give you the brown color you are used to with the wooden pins.

The 12mm look fine to me. (For what that is worth) It is about the same size as the wooden pins.

Those are great looking davits Steve. I think I would have preferred davits made from brass with a one piece deck shoe that could be pined to the deck, but like you said 32 is a daunting number. As for the awnings, I think that you will find that almost any materiel other than tissue will hold up OK under normal pond conditions if your frame is solid. Painted silk span or hankie weight Nylon will also do just fine. Now all you need to do is locate a dozen enjoyable looking women dressed like Rosie the Riveter!

The Lance Armstrong comment as a reference was referring more to the "No pain no gain" concept of endurance training rather than anything to do with bicycles. I have thought of getting a bicycle a few times, but unlike you we have seasons here and I'm afraid the stupid thing would just sit in the back yard rusting away. Stationary bikes bore me to tears! My oldest son may have the right idea though. He trains for marathons and cycling is part of his training. He has a frame where he sets his bike making it into a stationary bike and has a large screen TV placed in front, where he can see major race courses all over the world. There is some kind of feedback system that feeds resistance to the wheels so that when he is looking at a hill on the screen his pedaling is harder, and when going downhill. easier. The oddest thing for me is that just a couple of years ago I was wearing a pack and hiking the coast and parts of the Pacific Crest trail with a couple of friends. My mind still believes it can do stuff like that but then reality sets in. If I could still do stuff like that I would probably disappear into the backwoods and become part Sasquatch!

I Have done much the same through Silver Sneakers since I turned 65 as like yours it was "Included" in my insurance program. Plus the local YMCA is only a couple of blocks away! But I am not of the Lance Armstrong type of mentality and only went once a week and only for a couple of hours. Mostly to the pool for some endurance work after getting a pulmonary embolism after my last back surgery. It gives me the workout I need without the back strain caused by jogging. I will probably go back after I am up and about again as I will have a lot to try to correct by that point no matter how hard I work at it here at home. It is virtually certain that the speed bag will NOT be included though! I was never any good at that thing, (It appears that I have no rhythm or coordination) and run as much risk of hurting myself as doing anything graceful! It has only been about three weeks now and I was amazed at how fast a half hour of bending and lifting the bad leg combined with hopping around the house like a rabbit on the good leg and a walker took it's tole. Luckily his time is limited to an hour and a half so he left me alive!

Too bad I can't send my PT guy over to you at least once a week! He has been coming to the house twice a week since I got out of the hospital. At first we worked on being able to get out of the house so I could make it to my followup doctors appointments after the surgery, so the work and stuff seemed to have meaning. But now that we have done that it was boot camp time today. No rhyme or reason just work! By the time he was done I ended up having to take a nap for a couple of hours! He wants me to do the exercises three times a day and will be back next week to work me over again and expects me to do more! I think I need a place to hide!

Great work and another milestone reached!

Sorry to hear about your wife's latest tests. My wife also has had kind of the same thing. Lost one kidney then three years latter part of the other to cancer. All has been well as far as the cancer issues until last Christmas when on her annual checkup they found two growths. One on her remaining kidney and the other next to her spine behind her heart in a hard to get to location. Several MRIs, CAT scans and a bunch of stuff later and they determined that the one on her kidney was just a cyst, but were unable to determine what the other was without a biopsy that was a little touchy because of the location. They were able to do the biopsy successfully and the day after I shattered my ankle two weeks ago, in fact at the same time I was in surgery getting it repaired, she got the answer that the other growth is not cancer! It is actually even stranger, but that is a story for another time. She was there when I woke up with good news and I wish the same for you, without the broken ankle!

We talk about my wife's driving all the time around here. Sometimes she gets mad and sometimes she gets mad at herself. She just this minute left the house to get to a doctor appt about a mile away. One that I would have normally taken her to. She talked her girlfriend into doing it this time. Her last words in going out the door were "I didn't used to be afraid of driving places." I told her that that was a long time ago and that I used to hang out of the doors of helicopters yet now I am afraid of getting down four stairs that don't have a railing without crawling on all fours! It is interesting that you use the racing to the light and stopping hard style of driving for your friend's wife. When we came back from the hospital, (The first time I have ridden with my wife driving in years) that is exactly how she drove! No squealing tires but my nerves were still pretty frayed by the time we got the few blocks to our home.

No.......... You just voluntarily lock, (Commit) yourself away in the "work room"!

How did you figure that one out Grant? But even that is only partly true to be honest. She is becoming all too aware about her driving. With me being unable to get out of the house she has had to start doing the grocery shopping by herself. She takes our 16 year old son, (adopted grandson) to help. I have been working with him on driving but he does not have a drivers license yet. Anyway when they went the other day a neighbor parked in the space we normally use and she had to try and parallel park in front of the house when she returned. She had to finally give up, and then our son tried and failed as well. So he called over another neighbor who was outside and they had him park the car for them. My wife was very upset and embarrassed. To add insult to injury, the neighbor who had taken her parking space in front of our house came out from her house across the street at about that time and got into her car and drove off! Nope, need to keep the guns locked up John. No need to frighten the natives too much. Besides he was helping me escape from my prison! I may have a different opinion when he spends his whole time making me move my leg and ankle here and there for a full hour twice a week! Chewie is useless! all he does is jump up on my chest and trample all over me looking for crumbs of food I may have dropped while eating in my recliner or on the couch rather than at the table!