Author Topic: Life in America - I made the move. (Read 1305549 times)

Mr Zog · « **Reply #7420 on:** June 25, 2019, 04:38:54 am »

Jeez guys...

Ok, wait, let me go get a pic quickly

We have a shop called "Publix", and they sometimes have specials called "BOGO". That means Buy One, Get One (free). They had tubs of strawberries on BOGO the other day, and because it is strawberry season now, they are relatively cheap. So Mrs Zog picked up a couple of tubs

The cake she baked was frikken lovely, hence it not lasting very long. And now the second one is heading the same way

It is also still moerofa hot. I goit this pic of the temp gauge in my work van the other afternoon late (almost 6pm). Add the humidity, and the "feels like" temp is in the very high 30's, even low 40's.

Mr Zog · « **Reply #7421 on:** June 25, 2019, 04:51:55 am »

Some days I am just fucking stupid

But I'll get to that in a bit.

I finished off at work a bit earlier than usual, so as soon as I got home I grabbed my tools and got busy adding the 2x4's to the last 3 shutters in the front of the house. Got them all done in about 2 hours, and now I can relax about that side of things. The only other things that I still need to do for hurricane prep is figure out how to secure the two sheets of steel panels to the Florida room door, then do it, and figure out how to make sure that the door stays shut during a storm. Currently the little latches are fine, but will not hold up to winds exceeding 100 MPH.

After that was done I decided to fit the clutch lever to the bike. It was only supposed to be delivered tomorrow, but when I got home it was here waiting

I fitted the lever, it fits perfectly, and then decided to just clean out the carb quickly.... just because. Just because it has stood for years, and I think it needs it.

Well that is where the stupid comes in....

I removed the carb from the bike, and stripped off the float bowl. There was a build up of black sticky gunk in the bottom, so I got busy cleaning that out, and I also checked the jets. Then I put it all back together again.

Except stupid me somehow put the floats in upside down

Of course this not only caused the carb to overfill and leak out of the overflow, but it also bent the little tabs that hold the needle at the correct level in the seat, and the floats too.

Eish

So I spent the next two hours trying to get the floats level again, and set the needle at precisely the right level. I have it very close now, I think I just need to adjust the level of the floats up a fraction more, then she will run perfectly again.

DOH

Mr Zog · « **Reply #7422 on:** June 25, 2019, 05:10:30 am »

Quote from: Fudmucker on June 24, 2019, 08:40:29 am

Quote from: Sardine on June 24, 2019, 07:48:46 am
Hmm, where's that GoFundMe?

Closed already.
We need another option...

Mrs Zog closed down the Go Fund Me after you guys & gals helped us to get Tom here the last time.

I don't think we will open up another one. In the past we have asked for help, and you guys have been incredible in your generosity. But we also know that each and every one of you guys are also feeling the pinch now too,

There are many things that we would like to buy, but none of them are real necessities right now. We have lots of "wants", but no real "needs". I remember an advert on TV back in SA where a guy called Eugene "wants to need it"..... and we have lots of those. But they can all wait for now.

We have food on the table every night, and the bills are getting paid. Just.

We will get there. We just gotta have patience, and keep slogging away. Or is that Zogging away

But thanks so much for the offer guys. You have no idea how much it all means to us

And if any of you ever find yourselves this side of the world, pop in for a visit, a meal, a chat. We would love to meet all of you!

Mr Zog · « **Reply #7423 on:** June 25, 2019, 05:12:01 am »

Quote from: allan.cawood on June 25, 2019, 12:33:25 am

Quote from: Mrs. Zog on June 24, 2019, 11:18:23 pm
By the way, I am appalled and perturbed that Mr. Zog has not mentioned THE CAKE.

THE CAKE that he made me bake twice in two days... the first one I baked on Saturday afternoon. He polished it off with hardly a crumb left. It was gone by Sunday morning (I had some too).

The repeat, by request, is in the oven right now.

Did someone say cake???

I cannot believe that someone as hard working at Mr Zog would demolish off an entire cake without posting pictures for us to see his progress

No fear Mr Zog, my SWAMBO also bakes (has a small catering business) ... and some of those cakes (I get to test them ALL) are so good ... I’d eat it all in one sitting

Been following this thread (lurking) for a while now ... and yes I’ve read from Page 1. I think it’s awesome what you have accomplished in a relatively short period of time.
We are also looking at potentially moving to the USA (my folks and boet live in Bristol, CT - 16yrs now) ... Dad has already lined up potential work which I’m contracting to already from here.
Having said the above, 1 day, I’d like to meet Mr and Mrs Zog in person, shake their hands ... you are both inspirational to us all.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You will always be welcome in our little home Allan

TeeJay · « **Reply #7424 on:** June 25, 2019, 06:02:57 am »

Such a humble man you are Gary

in my eyes

Fudmucker · « **Reply #7425 on:** June 25, 2019, 06:15:57 am »

Quote from: Mr Zog on June 25, 2019, 04:51:55 am

The only other things that I still need to do for hurricane prep is figure out how to secure the two sheets of steel panels to the Florida room door, then do it, and figure out how to make sure that the door stays shut during a storm. Currently the little latches are fine, but will not hold up to winds exceeding 100 MPH.

Does that door open IN or OUT?

Post pix and the collective wisdom of WD will be at your side.

(I think we're better than Google!)

OomD · « **Reply #7426 on:** June 25, 2019, 06:59:55 am »

Oh man that cake looks good, and it could not go to a more hard-working deserving couple.

Mrs. Zog · « **Reply #7427 on:** June 25, 2019, 05:07:38 pm »

We had a Falcon Heavy launch last night, in the middle of the night at 2:30. I woke up because the windows were rattling like mad. Then a few minutes later got the sonic booms from the booster re-entry, which also shook the windows. We're about 25 miles south of Cape Canaveral. Sometimes there are reports of windows breaking closer to the launch site, up in Cocoa Beach and Titusville. It used to be pretty regular, window breakage, when the Space Shuttle was still going. Collateral damage

Mr. Zog and the doggles slept through it. It's all that cake eating, lizard chasing, and squirrel watching. Wears them out.

Mrs. Zog · « **Reply #7428 on:** June 25, 2019, 09:59:24 pm »

So I get this guy to come in and replace my water heater... he's supposedly the best of the best, real hot sh*t.

All that, and now my water is yellow. Hmph.

Fudmucker · « **Reply #7429 on:** June 25, 2019, 10:11:25 pm »

Quote from: Mrs. Zog on June 25, 2019, 09:59:24 pm

So I get this guy to come in and replace my water heater... he's supposedly the best of the best, real hot sh*t.

All that, and now my water is yellow. Hmph.

Were you wearing your very short house coat when this hot-shot plumbing guy came to do the work ?

Perhaps you need to do so when you call him back to do a proper job...

Quote from: Mrs. Zog on June 25, 2019, 05:07:38 pm

Mr. Zog and the doggles slept through it. It's all that cake eating, lizard chasing, and squirrel watching. Wears them out.

It's the deep, peaceful sleep of a day's honest work !

Of course housewives and moms get no such peace or sleep, despite their more-than-a-full-day's work.
That's the sad price of having multi-tasking brains.

I think the different tasks have different circadian rhythms.

Men just withdraw into their "Nothing Box" and switch off...!

Mrs. Zog · « **Reply #7430 on:** June 25, 2019, 10:14:22 pm »

Quote

Were you wearing your very short house coat when this hot-shot plumbing guy came to do the work ?

Oh, was I supposed to wear clothes? My bad...

Fudmucker · « **Reply #7431 on:** June 25, 2019, 10:18:08 pm »

Quote from: Mrs. Zog on June 25, 2019, 10:14:22 pm

Quote
Were you wearing your very short house coat when this hot-shot plumbing guy came to do the work ?

Oh, was I supposed to wear clothes? My bad...

Presentation, my dear... presentation !

The tease before the squeeze...

Mrs. Zog · « **Reply #7432 on:** June 25, 2019, 10:23:02 pm »

If that is the case, I would probably achieve maximum effectiveness with a few strategically placed bacon strips, holding a glass of Klipdrift

Fudmucker · « **Reply #7433 on:** June 25, 2019, 11:14:30 pm »

Honey coated hickory smoked bacon strips...?

Mrs. Zog · « **Reply #7434 on:** June 26, 2019, 12:25:04 am »

Perhaps... perhaps...

Mr Zog · « **Reply #7435 on:** June 26, 2019, 04:04:46 am »

You two need to get a room

Yes, the water from the water heater has turned a little bit yellow. The water heater was a used unit, and it was severely contaminated with sediment when it was removed from the previous owner. I removed both the heating elements and actually vacuumed the crap out using a thin pipe and my shop vac. But obviously there was still some minor residual in the tank. This evening after work I drained and flushed the tank again, and did get some bits out. Hopefully those were the last of them and the water can stay clear now.

Today was impressively hot. Even the weather service issued an extreme heat warning. The "feels like" temp was up to 110 degrees F, that is around 43 deg C. I know it was hot, I was out there working in it. Staying cool wasn't possible, staying dry completely impossible. I spent the day with wet clothes, even my underpants were soaked through. Drinking lots of fluids was the only option.

I have managed to get 2 hours off work tomorrow morning, and I have loaded the bike onto the back of my bakkie so I can take it to the local DMV and see if I can get it registered

Hold thumbs people!!!

I even took it for a quick spin around the back yard this eveing

jaybiker · « **Reply #7436 on:** June 26, 2019, 08:56:24 am »

Good luck with the bike. And watch out for that N+1 factor.

JoeR · « **Reply #7437 on:** June 26, 2019, 11:47:11 am »

a safe journey at all times!

thabogrobler · « **Reply #7438 on:** June 26, 2019, 07:37:10 pm »

Quote from: Mrs. Zog on June 25, 2019, 09:59:24 pm

So I get this guy to come in and replace my water heater... he's supposedly the best of the best, real hot sh*t.

All that, and now my water is yellow. Hmph.

Some customers is just impossible to please!

Bikerboer1973 · « **Reply #7439 on:** June 26, 2019, 09:16:10 pm »

Quote from: Mrs. Zog on June 25, 2019, 10:23:02 pm

If that is the case, I would probably achieve maximum effectiveness with a few strategically placed bacon strips, holding a glass of Klipdrift