Record Flooding

The rains started last night and we knew flooding would follow.

It it going to be a record flood for us, parts of the closest real town 

will be underwater before it is over and if the situation is the same

as in 2008, we'll be blocked on the other side too.  The house will be fine,

we're on a ridge top but the roads around us will be under.

And here we have our granddaughter, Taylor, with us

and the power is blinking

and we have a well.

No Power, No water, No toilets!!!

Except, I filled up the deep claw foot tub with water to flush with

and we have a couple of large water coolers (construction site size)

for drinking. We ran to the gas station during a lull and got fuel

for the generator and milk and the required beer for the hubby!

The county road was just about to go under when we were out,

one lane flooded in some places, both lanes but shallow in others.

When my husband went down to check out situation later, it 

was under. The next county road borders a creek and it

was under too.  There is a low water bridge there that we

use to judge how much rain we have had.  You always turn

your head to look, even on nice days. 

Our neighbor's place- down on the county road.

There is a deep culvert here with huge pipes.

They lost the drive last year, as did the neighbor to their

right.  This one is holding although under water now but the

other drive is lost again. They may be able to go across

the grass and use this drive once the water recedes, 

as long as this holds too.  The heaviest rain is yet to arrive and 

won't stop until Monday night.

The ground was already saturated before the rains .

This is the driveway across from our road,

they have a creek that goes through their place

and it's normally shallow but way over its banks now.

This is their creek today.

This is the run of from the small lake/pond along

the county road.  Our lake will likely go over the spillway which will put

even more water down the road.  There are some people

that will be building just below the dam (something 

I would not do).  They have a metal shed down actually below the dam.

They seem to be staying in it, not sure if all the time 

or just from time to time; however,

I would not want to be in it with this water so high.

When the previous owners lived there water took out

that area and the driveway.  The house, which was higher

up the hillside burned down

(when he set it on fire after trying to shoot his wife!!)

Yeah, glad they are not there anymore.

This is their place.  The water rose a lot.

My husband said it went down but with 

the heaviest rain the next two days, it 

will get right back up again.

This is the water coming down our

culvert onto the main road, really

coming down fast.

We will be fine up here but we keep losing power 

for short periods of time.  I have flash lights ready

plus an Energizer flash light that plugs into the wall

and turns on like a night light if the power goes out.

The light will stay on for a good bit of time so you are

able to navigate.  It is always plugged in so always charged.

I hope we can get Taylor to her mom tomorrow, it's not fun

for her to be trapped here if we lose power, especially on

winter break when she could be having some fun with her mom.

Warning from the City of Pacific Police Dept.

Pacific Residents and those living around the Meramec River. With the latest expected rainfall totals we are projected to see the Meramec River rise above flood levels that could affect the southeast corner of town like in 2008. If you or someone you know live near the Meramec River within the southeast corner of town please use caution and keep watch of the river at all times. Last time we reached these levels 20-30 homes were affected, some of those were bought out by FEMA and have been torn down, some of them were raised to stay dry at this level. Just exercise caution as flood waters can rise quickly. We are expected to crest on Dec 30th at 6 pm we will see roads (Hwy N, Hwy F/O, Denton, Jefferson and possibly Rt 66 near east end plaza) close temporarily until the water recedes.The water is supposed to recede between Dec 

31st and Jan 1st. DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH FLOOD WATER! Stay tuned to your local news stations for any further developments and we will keep you updated via social media.

Sunrise Dec 20 2015

I had my first glimpse through the bedroom window,

the sunlight barely inching over the ridge top, simply

a deeply pink, thin line.  I knew I would never be able

to capture it because it exists for only seconds, which

was the case.  Pre-dawn is so beautiful.

I found the camera and memory stick (which is 

never in the camera) and as quietly as I could, 

walked out to the deck to snap this shot.  

It's a great camera but I only know Auto settings right now.

It was truly gorgeous, more than the camera shows you.

Suddenly the whole sky turned purple, pink, yellow and orange.

Now, just a few minutes later, I am starting to see the bright spot

where the sun will soon pop over the hills.  The breeze is starting

to blow with the trees swinging left to right and deep purple turns

to a lilac blue.  

Pretty soon my little guys will start to dance,

swinging back and forth, all day until the 

sun goes down.  It sort of makes you want

to mimic them which would be great exercise!

Yes, I know Halloween is over but Santa wanted a 

dancing partner and we get a kick out of watching them.

It doesn't take much to amuse us.

It might be a little nontraditional, but our favorite Santa rides a Harley.

And where do you go to visit a Harley riding Santa?

To Bourbeuse Valley Harley-Davidson where, in December,

children of all ages line up to sit on Santa's Harley and spend

some quality time discussing how good (or bad) they have been.

I'm sure ALL the children who visited Santa this year were 

very, very good. I know Taylor has been.

You can read about our first experience at the link below.

It's funny how things work, one little snow storm changed

my whole view of those "dangerous" Harley riders!!

Santa Rides a Harley

What more can you ask for than a selfie with Santa?

While Taylor loved the purses, stuffed animals and clothing

she and Pops started scoping out their next bike.  No, not

this one, which is really great looking, but a nice comfortable

one where grandma would be happy riding.

We're not really getting one, it's just Pops and Taylor daydreaming!

Taylor's New Old Bike

Taylor has a great new-old bike!  How pretty is this?

A friend of ours (from elementary school) came into town

to help his parents clean out the garage and other things.  He

contacted us and asked if we could come over because there 

were some really interesting things that he wanted to know

if Tom would like to restore.  One of them was this great

old bike that had been his sister's.  It still had the receipt and

full instructions with it.  The receipt looks to be dated 1987.

This was a super way for Taylor to have a new bike

and to learn to work on one.  It was an unusually warm 

weekend so Taylor washed and dried it.

My husband purchased the tires, brake pads, etc. 

and they set up shop in the garage.  Pretty soon it

was looking brand new again and it was time to ride.

But it's dark!

No fear, Tom hopped on his 4-wheeler and

followed Taylor down our gravel road!

We're a dead end road on a ridge top

with only about 6 houses on the road,

 all either family or friends of ours.

She'll need some practice on a 10 speed,

she really hasn't had much bike experience

so even starting and stopping are challenging for her.

We'll take her to the state park where it is paved

and let her practice then she'll be ready to 

ride the bike trails with us when the weather improves.

  

Possum Grape AR

Possum Grape, Arkansas

In all the years we have driven to Hot Springs, AR I have 

always loved the name of this town.  I know it's a horrible

photo but we were in last week's driving rains as we 

drove back to the St Louis area.  It was the best I could do

under the circumstances.  

It appears that the residents couldn't decide on what to 

call the town:  Possum or Grape, so they just joined them

together.  What a great address to have- Possum Grape!

It would make a great topic of conversation when 

you meet a stranger, especially one from a large city.

We also drop the ball every time we travel to Hot Springs.

There is a junction in the road with one leading to 

Success, Arkansas. It's not as if the sign isn't staring us

in the face.  You would think we'd learn but we 

never take that road to success. 

Some day I would like to stop into these towns with 

unusual names, take a few photos to remember them and

learn a little about the history.  Then when we retire we'll have

to give Possum Grape some thought, or maybe we will finally

take that road to Success!

  

The Sort of Mail I Am Starting to Get

I am doomed!

This says it all.

This is the sort of mail I am starting to get.

It's no secret, I've used some of these already!!

Uggggh.

Cupcake Wars and Thanksgiving Travels

Taylor and the Cupcake (Wars)

We spent Thanksgiving with my mom in Hot Springs, AR this 

year, gathering at a neighbor's house where everyone brought

their special dish and enjoyed an afternoon of delicious food

and good company.  The weather is still relatively warm there,

this was one of the first years they did not eat outside. Still,

much warmer than the St Louis (MO) area. A blanket of rain

was on the way so there were a few spits here and there

but we were able to linger on the deck for a great deal of the time.

We ate at our favorite Hot Springs restaurant, Mr Whiskers,

which offers shrimp, catfish, oysters, chicken and hamburgers 

among other things.  They make their own sauces and the 

food is cooked to perfection. It's delicious!  We talked for

days about what we were going to get when we arrived in 

Hot Springs.  Yes, it's that good.

On Friday I helped mom decorate while Tom drove Taylor into

town for a quick trip to one of her favorite stores and some bbq.

The downtown is store after store, small businesses, with pretty

things to wear, delicious restaurants, interesting things for tourists

to do and of course the bath houses for which they are famous.

Taylor stopped into the cupcake store, Fat Bottom Girls, and standing right 

in front of her was the winner of Cupcake Wars.  

Taylor must follow this show because my husband 

said her eyes lit up and she could only ramble on about how

excited she was to actually meet the winner.  

Apparently it was "the greatest day in her life!"

The owner gave Taylor a free cupcake which she

ate of course but also brought the box home to show her mom.

The weather was so nice we sat outside on mom's deck

watching the lights on the dam and listening to the 

occasional dog bark or boat drive by.

Mom has many carolers that she displays during the holiday,

these are only the ones on the mantle.

We decorated her tree.

I found an ornament I made back in 1980.

This one Mom made back then too.

We drove back Saturday, in the driving rain but fortunately

ahead of the flooding they anticipate.  It was still a rough go 

through parts of Arkansas, the asphalt roads gathered a stream

of water where the tire tracks were causing a lot of hydroplaning,

streams were roaring, coming out of their banks.  The Lake Hamilton

dam (Carpenter Dam) was wide open with the river so 

high on the river side that I wondered if anyone was being flooded there.  

They lost the bridge one year when they had to quickly open the dam.

There is a series of lakes starting with Lake Ouachita which leads

to Lake Hamilton and then Lake Catherine.

I posted this photo from our last trip of an abandoned barn.  A few

months later it has collapsed.  I couldn't get a good photo this year due

to the rains but I was sorry to see it go.

We're back home now and ready to do some pretty good

pre-Christmas cleaning.  I'll have the hubby get out the decorations

and put the tree up soon. It sure is a lot colder up here!  I'm missing

that light jacket weather!

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving.

Mason Jar Topper by Tom Usher

Wood turned mason jar lid.

My husband made this cute mason jar lid from

some scrap wood that he had in the garage.

I'll let him do a guest post below.

I glued up a piece of hard maple and a scrap of poplar that was laying around the shop. Having never done this before I didn't want to waste any expensive lumber. There is a dowel rod in the center holding the pieces together. A joint made with end grain up against long grain is inherently weak so it has to be reinforced.

The lathe is set up and ready to turn the top. I used a set of long nosed jaws on the chuck for the additional gripping power on the maple block that would become the handle. It will take a considerable amount of abuse during turning and I wouldn't want it to break off. The drill is a 2 7/8" Forstner bit.

The bit is held in the tailstock and it does not revolve. The wood spins in the chuck and the bit is slowly pushed into it with a crank on the rear of the tailstock. 

               After the hole is drilled I roughed the material to shape with a

 fingernail bowl gouge.

I continued shaping with the gouge until I got the shape that seemed right. Is it? Who knows?! That's what I really like about turning. Unlike most of the insanely persnickety trim work I usually do in my day job it's fun to just kick back and let the material sort of dictate the final product.

After I sanded the top I flipped it round on the chuck and supported it from the inside.  I slid the tailstock with the live center in it up to the maple block that had been in the chuck up to this point. This way the work was completely supported as I roughed out the top with a roughing gouge. Supporting the work with the chuck from the inside is not as secure as when it's clamped between the jaws.

It gets a little tricky where the two pieces of wood meet because the grains run perpendicular to each other. That can cause the gouges to catch and ruin the job. I used a little finesse, a scraper and a skew to finish off the connected area and a small spindle gouge to shape the top.

I sanded it down and just put a simple finish on it. Then I took a mason jar ring and glued it into the top on the small ledge that I left in it for that purpose. I used the normal tacky glue that you find in most craft stores.

And there you have it. That's the first time I've made one of these tops and now I have at least a small feel for it. I'm going to make good use of a whole lot of scraps around here making more. I've got plenty of walnut, maple, oak and all kinds of exotics that are too small for most things but ought to glue up just fine for this.

Taylor and the Gyroscope Plus a Chemistry Lesson

Who says kids are only interested in electronic gadgets?

Enough of staring into phones or tablets, we're moving to 

some hands on experience and a little "hidden" schooling too!

My husband stopped into a nice hobby shop and found a 

gyroscope for Taylor.  She was absolutely thrilled, like having 

a little space station right on the tip of her finger.  She would

wind the string, pull and watch it spin:  on her finger, in its stand,

absolutely sideways and ever going-- although the photo stops

the action.  She had a ball with it.

We also got her a chemistry set that has many different 

experiments that build upon each other.  Pops and Taylor

got to geek out at the dining room table going through

several of the experiments on Saturday and Sunday.

We have our son's old set in the attic so I'll dig into that and 

see what else is still good.  There is a microscope somewhere.

We will build on this kit, upgrading to more advanced kits

as she learns.  We're wondering where you buy chemicals these

days, it used to be the pharmacy carried it when we were kids

but with elevate security maybe you have to order on line now?

She requested her great grandmother's mostaccioli recipe 

for dinner.  You start with a chuck roast that cooks all day in 

the crock pot in tomato sauce and other ingredients until

it breaks down and just falls apart into beefy pulled meat.

You add the cooked noodles and it is almost instantly gone if

there is any sort of crowd.  We had a couple of plates left

over for lunch the next day after everyone had their fill

the night before.  Delicious stuff!

We topped it off with a cookie cake when her mom arrived 

from work.  We ended up the evening sitting by the fire pit,

both Taylor and my daughter spending the night.  Then up for

church on Sunday morning.  

Lathe Upgrade- Seam Rippers, Pens and More

Wood working is both an occupation and passion for my 

carpenter husband who has converted our garage into

his shop with the exception of a space for my car at night.

Our newest acquisition is a Nova 1624/44 wood lathe upgrade from his old

Craig's list acquired Craftsman which had limitations due 

to size and stabilization. He will be able to use this

both personally and in his occupation.  

The first order of business was to create a handle for 

one of the tools that came with the lathe.

He has orders for seam rippers as well.  These are

the first creations using the new tool.  The image below

will show how the seam ripper pulls out of the end, 

is reinserted so the ripper is exposed and can then

be pushed back inside for storage.  

There is no set shape to these, it is all free hand.

He has also been creating pens, these were on the old 

lathe.  He has an order to turn a pen for a friend's daughter

made from a walnut tree that grew outside the daughter's room.

He will also make a wooden business card holder from the same tree.

There are so many things he can make from bottle stoppers,

furniture, rolling pens, kitchen utensils, toys, ornaments, etc.

I'll post about his mason jar toppers on a separate post.

He's going to give me lessons so I can try turning so that should

be fun.  

Update on Medical

I'm feeling better but on quite a few meds for my 

now full blown colitis.  I have to consult with the Dr. on

the steroid, it seems to play around with my blood sugar

and I have to eat something or have a hard candy to feel

better.  Also I am experiencing some lower leg and foot swelling.

All in all I am doing better than the last couple of months and

hope to avoid another hospital stay!!!!