What R you doing today?

[Rembee]

Here in the Deep South its Spring Time!
I fertilized the blueberries, which are in full bloom, I fertilized the muscadines which are just starting to leaf out, I planted tomatoes and peppers and seeded zucchini and white scallop squash. Tomorrow I will be sowing bush beans, cucumbers and radishes.

 

[mainshipfred]

Finally got my lazy butt in gear and almost finished my 19 blending bench trials. Now all I have to do is figure the percentages based on the quantities I have and do the bulk blend and let them sit a few weeks before the final adjustments an bottling.

Italian Trio: 60% Sangiovese, 20% Alicante, 20% Nebbiolo, Alicante might be considered a French grape although the Italian winemakers seen to prefer it.
Cab Sauv: 80% Cab, 5% PV, 7.5%Tannat, 7.5% of a 1 gallon jug I forgot to label and don't know what it is but I think it's a mixture of Tannat, PV and Norton.
PV: 80% PV, 10% Cab Sauv, 10% Tannat this one I think is going to be a winner.
And then there will be the "Kitchen Sink" with all the left overs.

I also have 50 liters of 2020 S African Cab and Shiraz but going to let them sit in the barrels a little longer. Might wait and blend them with the other 2020s.

 

[sour_grapes]

Last weekend, I had a nice visit by @Rice_Guy, and he generously gave me 10L of rhubarb juice. I got that thawed during the week, and started fermenting it today. I raised the SG to ~1.082 or so, and pitched 71B. Fingers crossed! I am a country wine maker now!

 

[Rice_Guy]

! I am a country wine maker now!

and a very good grape wine maker

 

[wpt-me]

Setting up some turning (lathe) projects for an upcoming craft show in N.H. in June. and finishing
a couple of customer orders.

Bill

 

[Khristyjeff]

Setting up some turning (lathe) projects for an upcoming craft show in N.H. in June. and finishing
a couple of customer orders.

Bill

I just bought a lathe (ok, 9 months ago). but may need some encouragement to get me started.

Love to see any items you've turned. Thanks.

 

[wpt-me]

I am sorry just not very computer savvy. Need to get grandson to show me how to get pictures up again!!
Have watched some utube to learn how to turn. lLessons from turning club is a good option.

Bill

 

[Ajmassa]

wine room is under water

 

[sour_grapes]

Aw, crikey. What happened, AJ?

 

[Ajmassa]

Aw, crikey. What happened, AJ?

water table gradually rising on my property? underground stream? neighbors pool leaking? not exactly sure just yet. but my sump pump basins (have 2 down there) have been filling nonstop lately. the float failed overnight on one of them. whole room was under water.

 

[ibglowin]

Looks like Black Gold, Texas Tea to me!

wine room is under water

 

[jgmann67]

Feel your pain AJ.

Lost everything in my basement back in 2003 - heavy rains after installing a pool in the backyard. Water seeks the path of least resistance... 18 inches of water in a finished basement. Tore out walls, floors... literally everything.

 

[Ajmassa]

Feel your pain AJ.

Lost everything in my basement back in 2003 - heavy rains after installing a pool in the backyard. Water seeks the path of least resistance... 18 inches of water in a finished basement. Tore out walls, floors... literally everything.

not true! sounds like you had some real pain. finished basement ripped out? yeah that’s brutal.

mine is unfinished down there. for this exact reason.

waiting on some info from the township. once root cause is determined can come up with a drainage plan then i can waterproof properly. then i can build a knocked out wine room. she’s overwhelmed and already been pushing to sell. but guess what?

 

[jgmann67]

not true! sounds like you had some real pain. finished basement ripped out? yeah that’s brutal.

mine is unfinished down there. for this exact reason.

waiting on some info from the township. once root cause is determined can come up with a drainage plan then i can waterproof properly. then i can build a knocked out wine room. she’s overwhelmed and already been pushing to sell. but guess what?
View attachment 73534

a year later we installed a French drain system in the basement. But, I waited another six years before refinishing it. No puddles or anything so I figured it was safe enough to rebuild. Learned a lot about construction and finish work that summer.

 

[Jovimaple]

Previous owners of our home had a leaky basement so they installed drain tile and a sump pump in late 2014. So far it has worked for us but I do worry about the sump failing someday. Hubby wants carpeting downstairs. Past owners put down tile and laminate or vinyl - not sure which but that's the part we want to change. I think I have him convinced to go with engineered hardwood with a rug. For some reason that seems a lot easier to dry out in case of flood than carpeting. We have been here almost 2 years with no issues and the first year was a very wet spring/summer.

So instead of dealing with a wet basement today, I am going to bottle my second batch of DB! I also sweetened my first SP yesterday- ended up adding more lemon juice to top it off because I thought it was tasting a little blah and the additional lemon juice made it awesome! (3 gallon+ a little more using 64 oz lemon juice, then added another 12 oz yesterday.)

 

[Rice_Guy]

Cleaning the freezer today, rhubarb is up! ,, going to smoke a turkey.

but I do worry about the sump failing someday. Hubby wants carpeting downstairs. Past owners put down tile and laminate or vinyl - not sure which but that's the part we want to change. I think I have him convinced to go with engineered hardwood with a rug.

* as a landlord who has to deal with floors I put a lot of “LVT” (luxury vinyl tile) in places where it may get wet. LVT is an Extremely easy install, wears well and I’ve even pulled a flooded floor dried it and reinstalled the same planks. I also am a fan of 9 ft by 12 ft “dorm” carpets on top of LVT or epoxy or laminate (AKA heavy cardboard/ but not in wet areas) ,,, dorm rugs are easier to fix than wall to wall carpeting.
I would not put a floor in which is wood or cellulose fiber anyplace where there is likely spilled water, or humidity through a slab.

 

[Ajmassa]

So instead of dealing with a wet basement today, I am going to bottle my second batch of DB! I also sweetened my first SP yesterday- ended up adding more lemon juice to top it off because I thought it was tasting a little blah and the additional lemon juice made it awesome! (3 gallon+ a little more using 64 oz lemon juice, then added another 12 oz yesterday.)

very nice! i should be putting my basement back together. but instead i’m on the links—- just finished 18 and about to go out for margaritas. Doing anything constructive later on is TBD.

 

[Ivywoods]

Jovimaple-As Rice_Guy said I would not consider putting engineered wood on a basement floor. LVT would be a much better choice where there is a chance of any moisture. You can test your floor before putting anything down. Take about a 12"x12" piece of aluminum foil, tape it to the basement floor, running the tape all the way around so it is sealed. Leave it there for a week or so before removing it. You should do this in several areas. If it is damp under the foil when you remove it you should reconsider your options for putting any flooring down.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Jovimaple-As Rice_Guy said I would not consider putting engineered wood on a basement floor. LVT would be a much better choice where there is a chance of any moisture. You can test your floor before putting anything down. Take about a 12"x12" piece of aluminum foil, tape it to the basement floor, running the tape all the way around so it is sealed. Leave it there for a week or so before removing it. You should do this in several areas. If it is damp under the foil when you remove it you should reconsider your options for putting any flooring down.

Another test is take a sample of several floor samples and put them in a bucket of water for a week.

 

[Ajmassa]

posted about golfing and margaritas over the weekend. well margaritas never happened. ended up rushing over to say our goodbyes to my grandfather— who lived a very long and very happy life. it wasn’t sudden or unexpected- but still sucked nonetheless.

So my head wasn’t really in the game and i left my damn wallet on my bumper leaving home depot yesterday. And it was not the greatest neighborhood in philly. i didn’t notice till the end of the work day. went crazy retracing my route looking for it. checked all nearby stores, did a lost property police report etc etc. Sucker was gone. by then was 7pm, still over an hour away from home, gas light was on, banks were closed and i had nothing. was a shit day to say the least.

well maybe someone up there was lookin out for me. got a phone call from the person who found my wallet. business card inside had my phone number on it. That extra stress of all the BS involved with a lost wallet and the gajillion things online needing to update- was just immediately lifted with the help of a couple good dudes who happened to be driving behind me at the time.

no real reason for posting this. i guess just to say— i’m thankful good people exist and were lookin out for me out in an unfortunate situation. feeling grateful.