Heating, AC, Shingles & Chipper

***Text in this color authored by Shena***

Work & Play
That's the quick summary of what got done on the addition today. They found somebody to do the roof...it was only 3/4 of a day job for one guy, so I don't know why the roofers they tried to hire in the first place didn't want to do it. It's not like the job was too big for them. Anyway, he finished shortly after lunch. Just after lunch the HVAC guy came out, and he was done by 4:00. Now all we need is for our last window to come in and the electrician to finish and we can have our first inspection. The ground dried up quite a bit, and the weather was REALLY nice (75 & sunny), so I snuck out of work about an hour early. Dad went and bought the chipper so that we could start chipping up the branches. The tree guy is going to come out on Wednesday, and so we were hoping to get a good deal of the branches out of the way before he got there. It took us about 45 minutes to get the chipper together...not hard, just time consuming getting all the bolts on in the right place. We took the chipper into the backyard and got ready to start it. A little tip for all of you out there, and I know that this is something that you don't know...engines don't run well without oil. You're welcome. Sean (one of the construction guys) had hung around to see how the chipper did, and he had taken the oil cap off the engine and looked in there and said there was already oil in it. I glanced in, but didn't look real close. I could see something just below the threads on the cap, but I just kind of took his word for it. Mistake #1. I also got crap from Sean, Shena and dad for having the instructions out as we put two pieces on the chipper. I felt a little silly with them giving me a hard time about reading the instructions. Mistake #2. HAD I FINISHED READING THE INSTRUCTIONS, it would have been very clear that "the engine is shipped without oil." We started the engine, let it run for a few seconds, then put a branch into both ends...I started to smell something...and the engine started slowing down a bit, I didn't think it should, so I immediately turned it off. Finally, I did something right. I think if we had left it running much longer it would have seized up and would have ruined the engine. I'm sure it was damaged some, but to make a long story short, we poured over a quart in the oil
tank and it still wanted more. There definitely was NOT any oil in that engine. After the engine cooled down some, we started it back up and it ran fine.

The chipping took much longer than I expected. Part of it was that we didn't actually start chipping until about 5:45 - almost 2 hours after I wanted to start. Then there was the learning curve figuring out what is the most productive way to put the branches in and which hopper to put them into (there are two for different types of branches). Once we got it figured out, we moved along a little better. Dad and I worked until we couldn't see anymore, and Shena came out and told us it was time for us to come in. I had flashbacks of mom yelling at me when I was a little kid that it was time to come inside. Part of what gives me fond memories of daylight savings time. 9:00 at night and there is still just a bit of light outside so mom has to make me come in.

After my shower, I turned on the UNC vs. Illinois championship game and watched it. I know nobody was here to hear it, but I was complaining about the illegal picks that Illinois was setting about 10 minutes into the game. In the 2nd half Billy Packer started talking about what "great, solid" picks they were setting and how UNC needed to work harder to get through the picks. I don't know what else they could have done other than just run over the guys setting picks. Maybe they should have done that once or twice to get the officials to call it one way or the other. It is impossible to guard somebody when they have an offensive lineman blocking for them. Finally, with 2:37 left to go in the game Packer pulled his head out and pointed out that the picks were illegal. I'm just glad UNC won the game. I think Illinois was handed a gift when they beat Arizona. The officials in that game simply quit calling fouls against Illinois at all. It was like they had called their limit on them so they didn't want to call anymore because it might make their foul ratio look bad. Granted, there were some bad passes at the end of the game, but Illinois was hacking away trying to steal the ball. That's my rant for tonight.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
Cade was bugging all day to have Family Home Evening. He and Kelson came out and helped us put together the shredder and also helped Shena work in the flower beds. When I got in at 9:00, he was asking again if it was time for FHE yet. I took a quick shower and then we had a quick lesson on "Hard Work." It makes me happy to know that he cares that much about it. Also reminds me know where my priorities should be.

Shena mowed the yard and started clearing weeds out of the flower beds. So while I'm making a big mess in the back, she is trying to make the front of our house look presentable. She did a good job. We still need at least another day to finish the beds, but we'll get it done. It's just the back of the house that is going to take a while to look decent again.

Arellano Update
Mom and Dad came over to help with all the work tonight. Mom went and got dinner for us at Cook Out, dad helped me put together the chipper and then helped me until it was too dark to see.

Christensen Update
None to report that I know of.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 1:45 am - 7:30 - Like I said yesterday, the daylight savings time messes me up for a week or two. If I had opened my eyes at 6:30, I would have gotten up, but neither Shena or I moved until about 7:25. Didn't hear from the boys until 7:40.

TODAY:
Breakfast: None

Lunch: 2 peanut butter and raspberry jam sandwiches on wheat, milk

Dinner: Cook Out - cheeseburger, to tom, no onion, fries, chocolate banana milkshake - had a little tree dust too...not on purpose, just breathed it in - yummy.