Morning all,

Another chilly day here with a high in the 50s.  

Glad to hear the Florida gangs' meet up went well.

The backdrops arrived and I need to make a level line on the present backdrop and figure how I'm going to pkut them up by myself.  Need to get some black paint to cover the top of the present backdrop as well.  That will probably work out over the next few days.  Hope to finish the Barber shop today, and watch the Red Sox who can't seem to score any runs. 

Jeff

Morning all,

Much cooler today with a high in the low 50s.  We missed most of the bad storms yesterday.

Termite guy said the issue looks like ants, not termites, so that was good news.  Had a lawn care guy come by as we have a lot of dead spots in the lawn.   He thinks it's "summer patch" and now we have a new lawn care guy with an attack plan.  The guy we've used for years had no idea what the issue was, and was hard to get a hold of (it took several emails and calls for him to look and we're still waiting on his estimate 2 weeks out), so we'll be letting him go.

Here's a cool early "bookmobile" from a car show my brother and I went to a few weeks ago.

Jeff

Thanks, Mike.  I don't know where it will go on the Empire, but I'm sure I'll find it a spot.

Jeff

Thank you, Curt.

Jef

James, it's pretty subtle over the front door.   I really should know better than to try to stress them.

Jeff

Thanks, Dave.  I tend to think of these breaks as "instant weathering", as long as there isn't too much damage.

Jeff

Morning all,

It's 62 F and headed to 82 F later.  Bad storms, possible hail/tornadoes in the forecast for this afternoon.  

I plan to mow this morning, but waiting for the Terminix man presently.  We had the termite issue last year when the siding was put on.  Wife noted some grainy debris around the back door yesterday.  I think it's dirt versus chewed up wood, as we tend to have ant issues in the spring, especially when we get a lot of rain, but it's not going to hurt to have the experts come and take a look.

Hope to finish the barber shop kit today, we'll see.

Jeff

I forgot to take any pics of the roof assembly.  It's a flat wood piece with lines on it to line up the supplied black "tarpaper".  I had some green tarpaper from a previous build that worked well.  

Here's the finished model.  The pictures are a bit stark, the roof looks better in person, though it could probably use a slight amount of grey pastels drawn across it.  

A fun kit, even if I did screw up the walls and break one of them.

Jeff

Thanks, guys.  I've only used the spackle for mortar a couple of other times, but I think I like it better than just using paint or the Robert's Brick Mortar.  

The windows were next.  A template is the next best thing to precut window material.  Glued them in with Micro Kleer.

I forgot to make sure the windows fit in the castings, which should be done before painting the castings, but they fit perfectly.  Whew!

Jeff

Morning all,

Headed to 80 F today (27 C) today.  No rain in the forecast for the first time in a few days. 

Yesterday had online meeting with investment folks to transfer my retirement accounts to my IRA.  They noted that the company had not yet listed me as retired.     I called HR and they said it can take up to FIVE WEEKS for that.  I asked if they could expedite it and it was fixed later in the day.  Now will need another appointment with the accounts folks.  

Trip to Costco later to pick up new glasses.  Probably a walk later today as well.

Finished one of the kits, we'll see if I can get the other done today.

Jeff

What a project!  Great work!

Jeff

Morning all,

All you procrastinators need to finish your taxes today or file for an extension.   I've already spent the refund.  

Headed to 75 F (24 C) today with strong storms tonight.  Yesterday it was sunny and we had a minute or so of large marble sized hail.  Weird.  

Hope to get to the kits today.  1:1 jobs the last two days kinda wore me out.  Still a little sore today.

Jeff

Classic grain facility.  Building that's been added onto over the years again and again. Beautiful work, Mike. 

Jeff

Morning all,

Up to 83 F today (28 C) today.  Storms late afternoon.  

Stiff and sore from doing some work yesterday.  Some dry wall repair and painting primer on the shower ceiling.  Overhead work and up and down the ladder a thousand times.  Got in a two mile plus walk while stuff was drying as well.  Some more 1:1 work outside today.  

Too tired to do any kit work yesterday, maybe today. 

Jeff

Wow.  Beautiful work.

Jeff