I mentioned in the wider coronavirus thread that I was starting to feel a little aimless and demotivated in just wandering through TV shows/video games/movies/books without any real focus during the lockdown. In my defence, because of a recent injury, I have basically been socially distancing in my flat for 8 weeks already.
So I'm probably going to try some sort of project with a bit of structure just to slightly organise the huge amount of free time rattling around my flat I have and wondered if anyone has started anything like this during lockdown?
Has anyone decided to get into sourdough starters? Or finish the "great book" you could never get into? Or complete Gossip Girl?
(I may steal your ideas :ph34r:)
So far I've got back into cooking (invariably batch cooking). But that doesn't count.
Finish a spec script I've had in the backburner for the last 4-5 years.
I played Fallout 4 on survival difficulty.
It is great fun.
I am still working, just from home, so that's plenty.
Not getting sucked into a perpetual round of video conferences.
Schooling my kids while also working full time.
I might start learning German.
Quote from: The Larch on April 01, 2020, 06:05:55 AM
I might start learning German.
Viel Erfolg!
I might restart Duolingo for Spanish. And I am adding bits and pieces to my new apartment (bought some plants, some furniture pieces, pictures etc.).
My work will likely resume next Monday (from home), which will keep me busy. I also have to work through a time intensive online training for work.
Quote from: Gups on April 01, 2020, 05:55:39 AM
Not getting sucked into a perpetual round of video conferences.
Amen.
Getting my feet wet with Machine Learning.
Quote from: Zanza on April 01, 2020, 06:20:14 AM
Quote from: The Larch on April 01, 2020, 06:05:55 AM
I might start learning German.
Viel Erfolg!
I might restart Duolingo for Spanish.
Let's do a language exchange! :w00t:
I have less time working from home than normally, thanks to work impinging more on my free time, and often having to do a few things on Fridays, too (my day off).
I'm still trying to get my free time organized. I have phases where I get absorbed by a topic for a a few years before burning out and moving on. Examples: pro baseball, streaming, writing ...
Still trying to land on a new one. :D
In the pipeline are currently 3D modeling, learning Latin, and about 2 dozen different games I desperately want to learn/try. :lol:
Watching my toenails grow.
Good topic,Shelf; I should have a think*.
Oh that's an idea, taking up thinking. :hmm:
So far my only lockdown project has been thinking about all the lockdown projects I'd be able to do. :( For some reason it's even more difficult getting started on them now than it is in normal times. I guess the proximity of work to your home makes it hard to coherently structure and compartmentalize your day.
Just finished Thucydides, he was decent. Going to re-read the Gospels and Paul's epistles now that I've got the proper historical context to read between the lines and then finally dive into the 5th century Christological debates because why the hell not. :hmm: After that I'm going to tear through the Icelandic sagas, maybe study Old English in the process. Now's probably a great time to sink your teeth into all the Western heavyweights you always promised yourself you'd get around to. Augustine, Origen, Aquinas, Dante. Feel free to add suggestions.
I started in on Cervantes but goddamn those sentences are long.
I'm still working more or less fulltime, but in an effort to limit screen time:
- 98 unread books
- 5 unbuilt model kits
- hundreds to photo negatives to be digitized
- Several board games to be mastered
- Try my hand at drawing
- Duolingo
- keep some kind of workout regime going
- if all else fails, taxes and/or death
I am still working fulltime and have three kids. Sometimes I feel kind of frustrated that I am staying home so much yet am not getting many projects done, but then when I think about it it isn't too surprising.
This is kind of the same routine for me. Retired and working part time mornings 5 to 6 hours, usually three days a week. Working from home it's the same thing, just no commute. :) So I have plenty of free time anyways. That said, I do more cleaning around the house and will be starting my garden soon though it'll be much smaller than last year.
One thing I am noticing is the time I normally lose to commuting, which was about one hour each way. I am getting more free time and more sleep. It is quite nice, and I will definitely miss that if I survive the pandemic and have to go back to regular working.
I've been doing a lot of yardwork, something I enjoy, but is usually too time consuming to give so much attention to. Cooking a lot of stews and soups from scratch and baking. I've been giving parts of the house the Marie Kondo treatment. I've been drawing and I thought I might catch up on reading books.
I own an old truck that can get detailed and have some rust spots sanded off and repainted.
Daily exercise has become even more important than usual as I'm starting to get cabin fever.
If I had the time, I'd definitely be doing language study -working on French and German. Unfortunately I don't - still have some client work to do (knock wood) plus running a school system out of my house.
Quote from: Tamas on April 01, 2020, 05:15:42 AM
I am still working, just from home, so that's plenty.
Same. Otherwise, I've been "catching up" on some of my old Steam games that I never got around to playing. Banner Saga 2 was completed last week--this week is Banner Saga 3.
After that, no clue.
I was kinda looking forward to a little lockdown leasure, but work is as busy as ever. Turns out I ninety-nine percent of what I do for work, I can do at home. Also turns out that medical regulatory stuff is in demand. 😉
If I had the time, I'd like to do lots of work on my playing card project.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 01, 2020, 07:41:38 AM
I started in on Cervantes but goddamn those sentences are long.
English translation?
Literary Spanish tends towards long sentences and Cervantes certainly was fond of that.
Since I am an essential worker, I have to be creative to be bored at the same level as the shut ins. When I get home each day I take a shower and immediately sit around in my PJs saying "There's nothing to do" until my wife gives me a glass of wine. Then I go stand at a window and complain about all the people who are out and about. I had 20 birdwatchers sent to prison last week.
Quote from: celedhring on April 01, 2020, 10:51:51 AM
English translation?
Literary Spanish tends towards long sentences and Cervantes certainly was fond of that.
English. It takes me 15 minutes to get through one sentence as is.
To repeat my favorite Henry Kissinger quote, "Senator, you know that in one minute I don't even get to the verb."
still working full time
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 01, 2020, 10:54:31 AM
Quote from: celedhring on April 01, 2020, 10:51:51 AM
English translation?
Literary Spanish tends towards long sentences and Cervantes certainly was fond of that.
English. It takes me 15 minutes to get through one sentence as is.
To repeat my favorite Henry Kissinger quote, "Senator, you know that in one minute I don't even get to the verb."
So loud, in fact, were the shouts of Don Quixote, that the landlord opening the gate of the inn in all haste, came out in dismay, and ran to see who was uttering such cries, and those who were outside joined him. Maritornes, who had been by this time roused up by the same outcry, suspecting what it was, ran to the loft and, without anyone seeing her, untied the halter by which Don Quixote was suspended, and down he came to the ground in the sight of the landlord and the travellers, who approaching asked him what was the matter with him that he shouted so. He without replying a word took the rope off his wrist, and rising to his feet leaped upon Rocinante, braced his buckler on his arm, put his lance in rest, and making a considerable circuit of the plain came back at a half-gallop exclaiming:
"Whoever shall say that I have been enchanted with just cause, provided my lady the Princess Micomicona grants me permission to do so, I give him the lie, challenge him and defy him to single combat."Doesn't seem so bad. But then again, German has (or at least had) a tendency towards long sentences, so I might be accustomed to it. :P Compare also Mark Twain's famous rant, "The Awful German Language": https://www.cs.utah.edu/~gback/awfgrmlg.html
(Though his sentences are not exactly short, either:
An average sentence, in a German newspaper, is a sublime and impressive curiosity; it occupies a quarter of a column; it contains all the ten parts of speech -- not in regular order, but mixed; it is built mainly of compound words constructed by the writer on the spot, and not to be found in any dictionary -- six or seven words compacted into one, without joint or seam -- that is, without hyphens; it treats of fourteen or fifteen different subjects, each inclosed in a parenthesis of its own, with here and there extra parentheses which reinclose three or four of the minor parentheses, making pens within pens: finally, all the parentheses and reparentheses are massed together between a couple of king-parentheses, one of which is placed in the first line of the majestic sentence and the other in the middle of the last line of it -- after which comes the VERB, and you find out for the first time what the man has been talking about; and after the verb -- merely by way of ornament, as far as I can make out -- the writer shovels in "haben sind gewesen gehabt haben geworden sein," or words to that effect, and the monument is finished.)
There's a novel I mean to write.
But I continue working from home and don't really have any leisure time to myself outside of that.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 01, 2020, 10:54:31 AM
Quote from: celedhring on April 01, 2020, 10:51:51 AM
English translation?
Literary Spanish tends towards long sentences and Cervantes certainly was fond of that.
English. It takes me 15 minutes to get through one sentence as is.
To repeat my favorite Henry Kissinger quote, "Senator, you know that in one minute I don't even get to the verb."
Cormac McCarthy occasionally throws in very long incomprehensible sentences.
QuoteA legion of horribles, hundreds in number, half naked or clad in costumes attic or biblical or wardrobed out of a fevered dream with the skins of animals and silk finery and pieces of uniform still tracked with the blood of prior owners, coats of slain dragoons, frogged and braided cavalry jackets, one in a stovepipe hat and one with an umbrella and one in white stockings and a bloodstained weddingveil and some in headgear of cranefeathers or rawhide helmets that bore the horns of bull or buffalo and one in a pigeontailed coat worn backwards and otherwise naked and one in the armor of a spanish conquistador, the breastplate and pauldrons deeply dented with old blows of mace or saber done in another country by men whose very bones were dust and many with their braids spliced up with the hair of other beasts until they trailed upon the ground and their horses' ears and tails worked with bits of brightly colored cloth and one whose horse's whole head was painted crimson red and all the horsemen's faces gaudy and grotesque with daubings like a company of mounted clowns, death hilarious, all howling in a barbarous tongue and riding down upon them like a horde from a hell more horrible yet than the brimstone land of christian reckoning, screeching and yammering and clothed in smoke like those vaporous beings in regions beyond right knowing where the eye wanders and the lip jerks and drools.
Still working, but I have some additional free time. My plan is to finish up the Duolingo Spanish course and put a serious dent in the reverse (English for Spanish speakers.) Strangely, my ultimate goal is to read Don Quixote in Spanish; but that's a long way away. I plan to at least get through some of the Boom first.
I've also been putting up food. So far I've made pickled eggs :Canuck:, a specialty of my college town of Houghton, Michigan. (I'm guessing because of the Cornish influence in the region. :unsure: Pasties (the meat pie, not the nipple coverings) are also a specialty of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.)
I'm working on five historical book recreations, making three dresses, and one skirt.
Mostly, I'm just cooking and baking, though. :blush:
Quote from: merithyn on April 01, 2020, 02:13:13 PM
I'm working on five historical book recreations, making three dresses, and one skirt.
Mostly, I'm just cooking and baking, though. :blush:
:cool: Nice.
I had considered doing a woodwork project or two for the garden, but my inexperience with power tools and a shed full of sharp traditional tools, would be an accident waiting to happen. And not a good idea to risk going to a hospital at the moment.
For projects, mostly just cleaning/decluttering. Still working, and Mrs B is busy trying to home-school the kids, so we don't have a massive amount of free time.
Where I've noticed it is A: the commute. If I work from home there isn't one. If I do have to go to the office/court it takes half the time. Definitely getting more sleep than before.
B: the weekend. Weekends used to be non-stop with kids activities (mostly hockey). Now there's... nothing.
Not on lockdown, so I will try as many bourbons as I can.
Quote from: Legbiter on April 01, 2020, 07:37:53 AM
Just finished Thucydides, he was decent. Going to re-read the Gospels and Paul's epistles now that I've got the proper historical context to read between the lines and then finally dive into the 5th century Christological debates because why the hell not. :hmm: After that I'm going to tear through the Icelandic sagas, maybe study Old English in the process. Now's probably a great time to sink your teeth into all the Western heavyweights you always promised yourself you'd get around to. Augustine, Origen, Aquinas, Dante. Feel free to add suggestions.
Working from home now part time so my routine hasn't changed much, but I do have a list of books I've been working on for a while. Europe between the Oceans, Sapiens (a bit like Guns, Germs and Steel), a history of Rome, and a couple of novels, mostly sci-fi and fantasy. I just read different ones depending on mood, not always reading one book through at a time.
Quote from: Valmy on April 01, 2020, 07:51:25 AM
I am still working fulltime and have three kids. Sometimes I feel kind of frustrated that I am staying home so much yet am not getting many projects done, but then when I think about it it isn't too surprising.
Same, except one kid, a two year old.
I'm actually reading a lot less now that I'm not on the Metro for two hours a day, and the time saved by not commuting is mostly spent playing with my son. I highly recommend having a toddler on hand if you need to be quarantined, because you will definitely not be bored.
Iormlund, if you're learning machine learning using Python, I can send you some books and online courses that helped me.
Yeah, I have a 6 & 8 years old, I am not bored!
Damn, enough arseing around, I need to get organized;
I wonder if there's a useful computer programming language I'd be able to learn?
What needs to be organised in the house?
Knowing the "right" programming language is not as important as people think. If you know your basics you can make the jump between languages relatively easily.
That been said, I always recommend starting with Python. Simply because it forces you to learn good habits from the start, plus it has tons of resources online.
Learn to manage memory, it is dieing skill in the young ones.
Quote from: Iormlund on April 03, 2020, 10:44:24 AM
Knowing the "right" programming language is not as important as people think. If you know your basics you can make the jump between languages relatively easily.
That been said, I always recommend starting with Python. Simply because it forces you to learn good habits from the start, plus it has tons of resources online.
Thanks Iorm I shall look into that this weekend
Quote from: merithyn on April 01, 2020, 02:13:13 PM
I'm working on five historical book recreations, making three dresses, and one skirt.
Mostly, I'm just cooking and baking, though. :blush:
Those are relaxing and productive projects! :) I have a sewing machine at the house but never really learned to use it much.
Almost time to plant all the seedlings I've had in the living room for months. The tomatoes are over a foot high already, but the weather just hasn't been there yet. Once it starts, I'll have plenty to do for a while.
Quote from: KRonn on April 03, 2020, 06:13:37 PM
Quote from: merithyn on April 01, 2020, 02:13:13 PM
I'm working on five historical book recreations, making three dresses, and one skirt.
Mostly, I'm just cooking and baking, though. :blush:
Those are relaxing and productive projects! :) I have a sewing machine at the house but never really learned to use it much.
I'd be happy to give you a tutorial on making masks, if you're interested. :) Or anything else, really. I've been sewing for a really long while. Most beginner things I can handle. :)
My project has started. Picked up the keys to my new h ouse on Wed, first day of cleaning today. The lockdown has disrupted my big plans but there's a fair bit I want to do to the garden in particular. And finally start home brewing
Quote from: Tyr on April 10, 2020, 11:12:51 AM
My project has started. Picked up the keys to my new h ouse on Wed, first day of cleaning today. The lockdown has disrupted my big plans but there's a fair bit I want to do to the garden in particular. And finally start home brewing
Congrats!! :w00t:
Well, I've fallen back on a staple. :lol:
Renault FT-17:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EVPLWuQUUAgus07?format=jpg&name=small)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EVPLXnjU8AI2EBE?format=jpg&name=small)
M7 Priest:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EVUA-rCWsAAM6ei?format=jpg&name=small)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EVUA-rBWkAADPzA?format=jpg&name=small)
Still to go: A7V, KV-2, T-72 M1, Leopard 2A4. :blush:
And I just realized that I messed up the rear hatch (you shouldn't see the row of studs). Slight disassembly required :lol: :blush:
I like the photography Syt.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 11, 2020, 04:40:02 AM
I like the photography Syt.
Thanks. Fixed the back end in the meantime.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EVUExjaXgAYjk6s?format=jpg&name=medium)
You must have a pretty big place to have shelves for all these.
I make do.
Finished the A7V. This was a lot of fun to build. And it's satisfying how the sides fit nicely into place.
I have to change the settings on my cam, this looks weirdly proportioned.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EVZKweVXgAYlL0y?format=jpg&name=small)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EVZKxMIWoAIHroc?format=jpg&name=small)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EVZKx42WsAAboqI?format=jpg&name=small)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EVZKyguWAAA5ZWZ?format=jpg&name=small)
These look great, I wish I had more space but it's already taken up by Star Wars legos :blush:
Do they have a Mark VII or similar? I could use it for an Indiana Jones diorama :nerd:
Quote from: celedhring on April 12, 2020, 05:53:27 AM
These look great, I wish I had more space but it's already taken up by Star Wars legos :blush:
Do they have a Mark VII or similar? I could use it for an Indiana Jones diorama :nerd:
They have a Mk. I:
(https://cobi.pl/gfx/cobi2/_thumbs/de/sklep_oferta/10168/tank-mark-i,2972-front,k3djZatnlKiRlOvRlmRk-.jpg)
You'd have to add the turret (much like the props department for Last Crusade did).
Or you copy this:
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d3/dd/ec/d3ddec0de71ea04b519eddf209b04295.jpg)
First model in 25 years or so, paint skills need some work :lol:
(https://i.imgur.com/UPfnZTU.jpg)
Quote from: Maladict on April 12, 2020, 10:17:48 AM
First model in 25 years or so, paint skills need some work :lol:
(https://i.imgur.com/UPfnZTU.jpg)
:cool:
Excellent Mal. Fiat something G2000 ??? :unsure:
Fiat G55 - I think :nerd:
Quote from: Maladict on April 12, 2020, 10:17:48 AM
First model in 25 years or so, paint skills need some work :lol:
(https://i.imgur.com/UPfnZTU.jpg)
Nice work. :)
Macchi C.205
This was a warmup, now on to ships.
Finished the KV-2. Such a beautiful tank. :wub:
I saw that Cobi had a KV-2 in their collection before, but it appears they've added detail since then.
Comparison old:
(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rvXBGuqbwwM/maxresdefault.jpg)
New:
(https://cdn.webshopapp.com/shops/279863/files/305729679/cobi-cobi-world-of-tanks-3039-kv-2.jpg)
Unfortunately, though, this is part of their World of Tanks series, which means that instead of the high quality prints you get on their usual models, you're left with inferior stickers for "customization." <_<
The plane models I have from them had the same issue, but it seems that with newer models they're also replacing stickers with prints. :thumbsup:
Anyways, this was again a lot of fun. Suggestion if you build one of their tanks - do the tracks first. It's by far the most tedious/mind numbing thing about these sets. They have 3 sizes of tracks - small, medium, large. The large ones (like on this one, or the Tiger) are easy enough, but the other two can be fiddly (esp. when you have to assemble 50 of them into one track), and on some models the tracks are really tight on the wheels, so closing them on the model can be a bit annoying. The Hetzer and Pz-IV were the worst. I tried adding a link to the chain, but then it would be too long. <_<
Note that of the 595 pieces in this model, about 100 are tracks and wheels (70 track links, 12 wheels, with 12 rubber rims, plus 12 inner wheels).
Anyways, here's the model:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EVeGzWeXQAEHpo1?format=jpg&name=small)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EVeG2WmWAAAHfgN?format=jpg&name=small)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EVeG5oHXYAAyVUU?format=jpg&name=small)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EVeG7poXQAAVs9R?format=jpg&name=small)
Working on my new place. Tore apart the master bedroom, hacking into the void above the stairs that so many houses waste, found this awesome retro wallpaper.
(https://i.ibb.co/8jn9P1T/20200413-164027.jpg)
That wallpaper's magnificent! :o :w00t:
Never really figured either of you to go gaga over floral print. :hmm:
Cool projects and model pics, enjoy! I went to clear out my five earth boxes in a corner of my garden, and after doing so I decided to plant cool weather broccoli and cauliflower. It might be early but I think they should do ok. If no, I can replant in a couple weeks. Later I'll plant a couple rows of heat tolerant varieties of the same veggies. Just planting a small garden this year. Going to fertilize much of the garden soil and give it a rest for a year.
I'm attempting to not buy anything on-line, especially from Amazon as I don't know the safety condition the warehouse workers are labouring under.
So I'm trying to make do and mending stuff:
Over the weekend, I had to repair a tyre for a dog pram, yes I thought that too, obviously the shops/online are closed for the 4 day holiday, so I took an old 27 inch bike tyre, stripped it off of it's wire beading, a difficult job. And then I fed that inside the small 16 inch tyre wrapping it in on itself a couple of times, makes quite a good solid tyre with a little give.
Need a pair of shoes I could keep solely outside and use only for going into shops in the town, found some nice walking books but with a largely detached sole, glued it back on with a weird glue I found, stuck a old mallet inside the shoe for weight and 24 hours later I've got something usable.
Next up, found an old interview suit, I may need this, but no dry cleaners open, so I shall attempt to lightly wash it and hang it to dry, should be an interesting experiment. :D
I've just ordered a Raspberry Pi kit to play around with and create a file server. I'm holding off on getting more until I play with this one first.
I also created a partition on my drive to install Linux (Debian) and mess with that. Needed to order a USB flash drive because the only one I could find no longer works.
Not having to commute or go out shopping is giving me a lot more time, even though I also spend most of it with my son.
Quote from: Maladict on April 12, 2020, 10:17:48 AM
First model in 25 years or so, paint skills need some work :lol:
(https://i.imgur.com/UPfnZTU.jpg)
:w00t: Sweet!
Quote from: mongers on April 15, 2020, 09:42:46 AM
I'm attempting to not buy anything on-line, especially from Amazon as I don't know the safety condition the warehouse workers are labouring under.
So I'm trying to make do and mending stuff:
Over the weekend, I had to repair a tyre for a dog pram, yes I thought that too, obviously the shops/online are closed for the 4 day holiday, so I took an old 27 inch bike tyre, stripped it off of it's wire beading, a difficult job. And then I fed that inside the small 16 inch tyre wrapping it in on itself a couple of times, makes quite a good solid tyre with a little give.
Need a pair of shoes I could keep solely outside and use only for going into shops in the town, found some nice walking books but with a largely detached sole, glued it back on with a weird glue I found, stuck a old mallet inside the shoe for weight and 24 hours later I've got something usable.
Next up, found an old interview suit, I may need this, but no dry cleaners open, so I shall attempt to lightly wash it and hang it to dry, should be an interesting experiment. :D
Good stuff, mending things is becoming an endangered skill.
Quote from: Maladict on April 16, 2020, 03:58:24 PM
Quote from: mongers on April 15, 2020, 09:42:46 AM
I'm attempting to not buy anything on-line, especially from Amazon as I don't know the safety condition the warehouse workers are labouring under.
So I'm trying to make do and mending stuff:
Over the weekend, I had to repair a tyre for a dog pram, yes I thought that too, obviously the shops/online are closed for the 4 day holiday, so I took an old 27 inch bike tyre, stripped it off of it's wire beading, a difficult job. And then I fed that inside the small 16 inch tyre wrapping it in on itself a couple of times, makes quite a good solid tyre with a little give.
Need a pair of shoes I could keep solely outside and use only for going into shops in the town, found some nice walking books but with a largely detached sole, glued it back on with a weird glue I found, stuck a old mallet inside the shoe for weight and 24 hours later I've got something usable.
Next up, found an old interview suit, I may need this, but no dry cleaners open, so I shall attempt to lightly wash it and hang it to dry, should be an interesting experiment. :D
Good stuff, mending things is becoming an endangered skill.
Quite true! I remember as a kid my mother would repair holes in socks, and patches in pants were common. Holes in shirts were stitched up, etc. But they grew up during the depression so that all was necessary and normal for them.
Quote from: KRonn on April 21, 2020, 09:35:59 AM
Quite true! I remember as a kid my mother would repair holes in socks, and patches in pants were common. Holes in shirts were stitched up, etc. But they grew up during the depression so that all was necessary and normal for them.
Indeed KRonn, I think that attitude and those sorts of skills will be needed again in our post-virus world.
In some parts of the North here, the expression was/is 'From clogs to clogs in three generations'*
* the expression no doubt will turn out to be entirely made up, sometime in the 1970s/80s.
Quote from: Syt on April 01, 2020, 06:39:30 AM
I have less time working from home than normally, thanks to work impinging more on my free time, and often having to do a few things on Fridays, too (my day off).
This; work is impinging on my leisure time (and vivid Covid nightmares) more than ever. Trying to get fitter again (C25K, Zoom workouts with PT next-door neighbour). But no time for reading stockpiled books, making art, decorating or spring-cleaning the flat.
I have zero intention of taking up baking or crochet.
Quote from: Savonarola on April 01, 2020, 02:06:39 PM
Still working, but I have some additional free time. My plan is to finish up the Duolingo Spanish course and put a serious dent in the reverse (English for Spanish speakers.) Strangely, my ultimate goal is to read Don Quixote in Spanish; but that's a long way away. I plan to at least get through some of the Boom first.
I've also been putting up food. So far I've made pickled eggs :Canuck:, a specialty of my college town of Houghton, Michigan. (I'm guessing because of the Cornish influence in the region. :unsure: Pasties (the meat pie, not the nipple coverings) are also a specialty of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.)
Back at work and I didn't finish Duolingo Spanish (I did make some progress and got up at least to level 2 on all the lessons.) They've expanded the Spanish tree a couple times since I started (several years ago.) There are a number of lessons now which teach some European Spanish like the vosotros form or "Coger." It's pretty incomplete, though; it's always "Felicidades" never "Enhorabuena" or "Jugo" rather than "Zumo" or "Bien" rather than "Vale."
I also started on "La Sombra del Viento" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
I did make several iterations of pickled eggs as well as tomato sauce, pepper sauce, salsa, pho broth, Texas style chili, Cincinnati style chili and white chili. My wife made me stop after I completely filled up our chest freezer. :Embarrass:
How did everyone else do with their lock down projects?
Quote from: Savonarola on June 12, 2020, 03:23:10 PM
How did everyone else do with their lock down projects?
I was never in lock down, but I did manage to pack on weight - so the worst of all worlds.
So in lockdown 3 - I've decided on a new project :ph34r:
Going to build a database of my cookbooks :o :ph34r:
I love cooking so have literally shelves of cookbooks which I do use semi-regularly. But I'm thinking of moving more to getting a regular veg box and obviously want to avoid multiple runs to the shops for extra ingrediences. So want to develope some way to input ingredients and work out some dishes especially when the eccentric veg arrives (kohlrabi? :blink:).
I'm sure it's been done, but I've never found it done well. A business idea of mine has been to build something similar, but linked to online recipes. And then some clever algorithm to generate weekly shopping lists where all products on the weekly shopping list can be used in recipes for the week. Then the customer also adds in whatever breakfast-food and snacks and cleaning stuff that they usually buy and you get a complete shopping list that can be ordered at a local shop. And if I find a recipe I want to make it can be input to the algorithm and the shopping list and extra recipes build around the stuff in the requested recipe.
The services I've seen doing similar has not been complete, they almost always lack the extra stuff besides dinner that a household needs, like coffee and soft drinks or toothpaste and whatever. And they aren't individual.
Yeah so I think my intention is to just have ingredient lists and page references to my various books.
The idea was prompted because whenever I subscribe to veg box I always have too much food waste. This is because I have my sort of go-to repertoire that I know and cook regularly. Then, despite all my books, I'll use them say once a week to cook something special/interesting but that's normally based on what I fancy rather than what's in the veg box.
So my theory is if I build this list of recipes that just list the recipe name, ingredients, page reference then when I get a veg box I can basically tick off the veg I get each week and then have a list of options. Hopefully it'll get rid of my food waste issues and also force me out of my standard go to repertoire.
In theory :ph34r:
I've been slowly making a Google drive folder with individual pages of typed up recipes and then modifying them as needed to suit our tastes (like adding bell pepper to a Thai red curry recipe).
Good shout on then using a search function to bring up those using a particular ingredient.
It has begun. This will be a large project :ph34r:
Me: Get a subscription to a veg box. Maybe go for a seasonal one so you have to cook out of your comfort zone. It'll be fun!
Me, faced with a box of padron peppers, fennel and an avocado: The fuck? :blink: :weep:
Yeah we abandoned that after too much variation of random veg. Just felt a lot wastage or unappetising meals.
Quote from: Sheilbh on January 13, 2021, 12:20:02 PM
Me: Get a subscription to a veg box. Maybe go for a seasonal one so you have to cook out of your comfort zone. It'll be fun!
Me, faced with a box of padron peppers, fennel and an avocado: The fuck? :blink: :weep:
My approach with vegetables; chop everything up and throw it in a pan, cover with tomato sauce, herbs, etc.... all of the vitamins, none of the horrid taste.
Quote from: Tyr on January 13, 2021, 12:34:36 PM
My approach with vegetables; chop everything up and throw it in a pan, cover with tomato sauce, herbs, etc.... all of the vitamins, none of the horrid taste.
:lol:
I only know one way of cooking padron peppers - like I think that's the only thing you can do with them. I think I'll do some seafood pasta with the fennel - maybe :hmm:
Quote from: Tyr on January 13, 2021, 12:34:36 PM
Quote from: Sheilbh on January 13, 2021, 12:20:02 PM
Me: Get a subscription to a veg box. Maybe go for a seasonal one so you have to cook out of your comfort zone. It'll be fun!
Me, faced with a box of padron peppers, fennel and an avocado: The fuck? :blink: :weep:
My approach with vegetables; chop everything up and throw it in a pan, cover with tomato sauce, herbs, etc.... all of the vitamins, none of the horrid taste.
:lol:
Quote from: Tyr on January 13, 2021, 12:34:36 PM
Quote from: Sheilbh on January 13, 2021, 12:20:02 PM
Me: Get a subscription to a veg box. Maybe go for a seasonal one so you have to cook out of your comfort zone. It'll be fun!
Me, faced with a box of padron peppers, fennel and an avocado: The fuck? :blink: :weep:
My approach with vegetables; chop everything up and throw it in a pan, cover with tomato sauce, herbs, etc.... all of the vitamins, none of the horrid taste.
And if all else fails, smother with cheese. :lol:
Quote from: Maladict on January 13, 2021, 12:39:58 PM
Quote from: Tyr on January 13, 2021, 12:34:36 PM
Quote from: Sheilbh on January 13, 2021, 12:20:02 PM
Me: Get a subscription to a veg box. Maybe go for a seasonal one so you have to cook out of your comfort zone. It'll be fun!
Me, faced with a box of padron peppers, fennel and an avocado: The fuck? :blink: :weep:
My approach with vegetables; chop everything up and throw it in a pan, cover with tomato sauce, herbs, etc.... all of the vitamins, none of the horrid taste.
And if all else fails, smother with cheese. :lol:
Youve been chatting to my girlfriend.
Quote from: Sheilbh on January 13, 2021, 12:36:44 PM
I only know one way of cooking padron peppers - like I think that's the only thing you can do with them. I think I'll do some seafood pasta with the fennel - maybe :hmm:
Blistered padron peppers?
Quote from: Jacob on January 13, 2021, 02:30:59 PM
Quote from: Sheilbh on January 13, 2021, 12:36:44 PM
I only know one way of cooking padron peppers - like I think that's the only thing you can do with them. I think I'll do some seafood pasta with the fennel - maybe :hmm:
Blistered padron peppers?
Yeah with some sea salt. I don't know what else you can do with them really :mellow:
Quote from: Tyr on January 13, 2021, 01:58:40 PM
Quote from: Maladict on January 13, 2021, 12:39:58 PM
Quote from: Tyr on January 13, 2021, 12:34:36 PM
Quote from: Sheilbh on January 13, 2021, 12:20:02 PM
Me: Get a subscription to a veg box. Maybe go for a seasonal one so you have to cook out of your comfort zone. It'll be fun!
Me, faced with a box of padron peppers, fennel and an avocado: The fuck? :blink: :weep:
My approach with vegetables; chop everything up and throw it in a pan, cover with tomato sauce, herbs, etc.... all of the vitamins, none of the horrid taste.
And if all else fails, smother with cheese. :lol:
Youve been chatting to my girlfriend.
You have chosen... wisely.
I've been digitizing hundreds of old old photo negatives. Working from home does have some benefits.
Quote from: Sheilbh on January 13, 2021, 12:36:44 PM
Quote from: Tyr on January 13, 2021, 12:34:36 PM
My approach with vegetables; chop everything up and throw it in a pan, cover with tomato sauce, herbs, etc.... all of the vitamins, none of the horrid taste.
:lol:
I only know one way of cooking padron peppers - like I think that's the only thing you can do with them. I think I'll do some seafood pasta with the fennel - maybe :hmm:
They should be rather similar to italian friggitelli, although the friggitelli are probably sweeter.
May I suggest stuffing the peppers with a mix of ground breadcrumb, anchovies, pine nuts and a little of raisins, some olive oil and salt, then cook them in the oven for about half an hour.
L.
Quote from: Pedrito on January 13, 2021, 03:32:38 PM
They should be rather similar to italian friggitelli, although the friggitelli are probably sweeter.
May I suggest stuffing the peppers with a mix of ground breadcrumb, anchovies, pine nuts and a little of raisins, some olive oil and salt, then cook them in the oven for about half an hour.
L.
:w00t: :wub: :hug:
I generally eat a lot of fish, but I go vegan for Lent every year and the thing I miss most is anchovies. I think it is for me what bacon is for most people. I constantly add anchovies to things and am never really unhappy about the decision :blush:
Quote from: Maladict on January 13, 2021, 02:44:18 PM
I've been digitizing hundreds of old old photo negatives. Working from home does have some benefits.
It's something I did several years ago, and I digitized some a couple hundreds of rolls, 36mm and some 120 :wacko:
Now, I want to digitize all the old rolls my dad shot when we were kids, should be a nice nostalgia trip.
Are you using a dedicated photo scanner? And which software?
Oh, and my half-lockdown project is refitting the laundry room to a temporary darkroom and starting some B&W printing again :cool:
L.
Quote from: Sheilbh on January 13, 2021, 03:36:52 PM
Quote from: Pedrito on January 13, 2021, 03:32:38 PM
They should be rather similar to italian friggitelli, although the friggitelli are probably sweeter.
May I suggest stuffing the peppers with a mix of ground breadcrumb, anchovies, pine nuts and a little of raisins, some olive oil and salt, then cook them in the oven for about half an hour.
L.
:w00t: :wub: :hug:
I generally eat a lot of fish, but I go vegan for Lent every year and the thing I miss most is anchovies. I think it is for me what bacon is for most people. I constantly add anchovies to things and am never really unhappy about the decision :blush:
Oh, anchovies supply just the right (read: largely exaggerated, and delicious) amount of umami to so many different dishes, it's difficult to give up them.
You should try pizza with anchovies and bufala mozzarella :mmm:
L.
Quote from: Pedrito on January 13, 2021, 03:42:05 PM
Quote from: Maladict on January 13, 2021, 02:44:18 PM
I've been digitizing hundreds of old old photo negatives. Working from home does have some benefits.
It's something I did several years ago, and I digitized some a couple hundreds of rolls, 36mm and some 120 :wacko:
Now, I want to digitize all the old rolls my dad shot when we were kids, should be a nice nostalgia trip.
Are you using a dedicated photo scanner? And which software?
Oh, and my half-lockdown project is refitting the laundry room to a temporary darkroom and starting some B&W printing again :cool:
L.
Yeah same for me, loads of 35mm film, a bunch of slides and a few 120s.
Also some dreadful APS film, biggest scam there ever was. They also prove to be particularly painful to digitize.
I'm using an old Canon 9000F fitted with Digitaliza custom film holders, they keep the film much flatter than the flimsy generic ones.
It gets me pretty decent results, although some films have noticably degraded over the years. Slides hold up best, typically, as well as the 120s surprisingly.
All scanning software is dreadful, Silverfast and Vuescan the least so. I'm using Vuescan, I can't remember what made me choose it (I did try both).
Quote from: Sheilbh on January 13, 2021, 02:33:37 PM
Quote from: Jacob on January 13, 2021, 02:30:59 PM
Quote from: Sheilbh on January 13, 2021, 12:36:44 PM
I only know one way of cooking padron peppers - like I think that's the only thing you can do with them. I think I'll do some seafood pasta with the fennel - maybe :hmm:
Blistered padron peppers?
Yeah with some sea salt. I don't know what else you can do with them really :mellow:
That's the proper way of doing them, fried in olive oil and topped with sea salt. Padrón peppers (which btw, are NOT in season at the moment, I have no idea where they may have sourced them from) is not really the most versatile veggie.
Fennel is magic in a simple pasta sauce. Chop it up, fry it gently and for a long time with onion and bacon. When all browned and sweet add garlic and dab some Worcestershire sauce and let that boil in. Add cream, let boil and presto, a ridiculously good pasta sauce. Treat it like a carbonara.
Quote from: Pedrito on January 13, 2021, 03:42:05 PM
Quote from: Maladict on January 13, 2021, 02:44:18 PM
I've been digitizing hundreds of old old photo negatives. Working from home does have some benefits.
It's something I did several years ago, and I digitized some a couple hundreds of rolls, 36mm and some 120 :wacko:
Now, I want to digitize all the old rolls my dad shot when we were kids, should be a nice nostalgia trip.
Are you using a dedicated photo scanner? And which software?
Oh, and my half-lockdown project is refitting the laundry room to a temporary darkroom and starting some B&W printing again :cool:
L.
:)
OMG, that's both neat and rather cool.
Quote from: Maladict on January 13, 2021, 03:57:42 PM
Yeah same for me, loads of 35mm film, a bunch of slides and a few 120s.
Also some dreadful APS film, biggest scam there ever was. They also prove to be particularly painful to digitize.
I'm using an old Canon 9000F fitted with Digitaliza custom film holders, they keep the film much flatter than the flimsy generic ones.
It gets me pretty decent results, although some films have noticably degraded over the years. Slides hold up best, typically, as well as the 120s surprisingly.
All scanning software is dreadful, Silverfast and Vuescan the least so. I'm using Vuescan, I can't remember what made me choose it (I did try both).
That's interesting, maybe I should give that a go.
About ten years ago I found some processed 120 slide film, that appeared largely black, but held up to the light there was some grossly underexposed images. Handheld exposure of 1-2 seconds against the light from a scanner(only usable even light source to hand) I managed to pull out a few images.
Quote from: Maladict on January 13, 2021, 03:57:42 PM
Yeah same for me, loads of 35mm film, a bunch of slides and a few 120s.
Also some dreadful APS film, biggest scam there ever was. They also prove to be particularly painful to digitize.
I'm using an old Canon 9000F fitted with Digitaliza custom film holders, they keep the film much flatter than the flimsy generic ones.
It gets me pretty decent results, although some films have noticably degraded over the years. Slides hold up best, typically, as well as the 120s surprisingly.
All scanning software is dreadful, Silverfast and Vuescan the least so. I'm using Vuescan, I can't remember what made me choose it (I did try both).
I've been using an old but very reliable Epson flatbed scanner, the 4990 Perfection, and I always had more than acceptable results, for an amateur - some rolls that at the time were digitized with relatively low dps will be rescanned some time in the future.
Which kind of film degraded? Color or B&W? home- or lab-developed?
And I'm with you about the generally user-adverse quality of scanning software; I've used mainly Vuescan too, but the choice was simply the lesser evil. Nice to know about the custom film holders, I'll check them out :)
L.
Quote from: Pedrito on January 14, 2021, 03:36:19 AM
I've been using an old but very reliable Epson flatbed scanner, the 4990 Perfection, and I always had more than acceptable results, for an amateur - some rolls that at the time were digitized with relatively low dps will be rescanned some time in the future.
Which kind of film degraded? Color or B&W? home- or lab-developed?
Yeah some of those old flatbeds do a pretty good job, even outperforming newer versions.
A couple of rolls are washed-out and faded compared to the prints. Others seem to have shrunk a bit, making it hard to get them into the film holder. One of the labs had the annoying custom of mounting the film onto a cardboard strip, using some kind of glue. It takes a bit of force to get them off, and some of the older film tears very easily :(
For the first 6 months of lockdown my project was mainly don't spend money & wait. Since mid september that has failed. While some of it is due to my father passing away & not vanity projects but I've spent (or commited to) 20 large.
Quote from: mongers on January 13, 2021, 07:22:31 PM
Quote from: Pedrito on January 13, 2021, 03:42:05 PM
Quote from: Maladict on January 13, 2021, 02:44:18 PM
I've been digitizing hundreds of old old photo negatives. Working from home does have some benefits.
It's something I did several years ago, and I digitized some a couple hundreds of rolls, 36mm and some 120 :wacko:
Now, I want to digitize all the old rolls my dad shot when we were kids, should be a nice nostalgia trip.
Are you using a dedicated photo scanner? And which software?
Oh, and my half-lockdown project is refitting the laundry room to a temporary darkroom and starting some B&W printing again :cool:
L.
:)
OMG, that's both neat and rather cool.
...and being the darkroom a land of endless tinkering and experimentation, I've decided to try electronics and programming - both fields I know zilch about - and in the last couple of weeks I've built an Arduino-based programmable timer for the enlarger.
I did not start from scratch, naturally: several people on different photography forums tried their hand at it, with different degrees of success. I was lucky enough to find someone who published not only the Arduino sketch, but good documentation too, so I only needed to get the components and put them together.
Easier said than done, for sure, but I've learnt a lot of things about electronics - mainly to keep my fingers away from the tip of the soldering iron -, and have yet to test my mettle with the programming part.
I am frankly surprised to say that the thing works perfectly 80% of the time.
L.
Quote from: Pedrito on March 29, 2021, 02:05:05 PM
Quote from: mongers on January 13, 2021, 07:22:31 PM
Quote from: Pedrito on January 13, 2021, 03:42:05 PM
Quote from: Maladict on January 13, 2021, 02:44:18 PM
I've been digitizing hundreds of old old photo negatives. Working from home does have some benefits.
It's something I did several years ago, and I digitized some a couple hundreds of rolls, 36mm and some 120 :wacko:
Now, I want to digitize all the old rolls my dad shot when we were kids, should be a nice nostalgia trip.
Are you using a dedicated photo scanner? And which software?
Oh, and my half-lockdown project is refitting the laundry room to a temporary darkroom and starting some B&W printing again :cool:
L.
:)
OMG, that's both neat and rather cool.
...and being the darkroom a land of endless tinkering and experimentation, I've decided to try electronics and programming - both fields I know zilch about - and in the last couple of weeks I've built an Arduino-based programmable timer for the enlarger.
I did not start from scratch, naturally: several people on different photography forums tried their hand at it, with different degrees of success. I was lucky enough to find someone who published not only the Arduino sketch, but good documentation too, so I only needed to get the components and put them together.
Easier said than done, for sure, but I've learnt a lot of things about electronics - mainly to keep my fingers away from the tip of the soldering iron -, and have yet to test my mettle with the programming part.
I am frankly surprised to say that the thing works perfectly 80% of the time.
L.
:cool:
Damn, Pedrito you're putting some of us to shame; that's a real neat project.
This is (a) wonderful and (b) rather puts my "projects" to shame:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jun/01/michelangelo-of-middlesbrough-hailed-for-27000-hour-model
Quote'Michelangelo of Middlesbrough' hailed for 27,000-hour model project
Lockdown hobbyist painted 1m tiny cobbles for scale model of Yorkshire town's demolished St Hilda's district
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/065cafb940fe97d986fb2c706f30051df5cbd39f/369_205_5131_3080/master/5131.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=27e9b38b98a903ec0b30504bf808a4e2)
Steve Waller spent the last nine years working full-time on his scale model. Photograph: Richard Rayner
Alex Mistlin
Tue 1 Jun 2021 18.35 BST
Lockdown has inspired many of us to take up new hobbies, but for one Middlesbrough man, the pandemic just meant more time to devote to a mammoth project already nine years in the making.
"It was business as usual," says Steve Waller, 61, a model artist and historian known affectionately as the "Michelangelo of Middlesbrough" who has spent almost a decade recreating the town's historical St Hilda's district in his bedroom.
Since the project began in 2012, Waller has spent an average of 12 hours a day carving and hand-painting the model village which he calls "a labour of love and hate".
The model features 50 municipal buildings, including Middlesbrough's first town hall and 300 terrace houses, all hand-carved from balsa wood and glued together with resin from Waller's local pound shop.
While Waller's obsession predates Covid-19, it was born out of similar circumstances. Having suffered a slipped disc after diving for a cricket ball, he was unable to leave the house.
"I know lots of people have struggled for purpose over the last year, so it's been nice to have that clarity," he says. "I was always fascinated with my great-uncle, who was killed in the Somme. I was laid up in Middlesbrough and started thinking about the town as he'd have known it, the way the streets would have been then. I started to plot routes he'd have taken and it mushroomed from there."
Waller says he never set out to model the entire town, but once he started – first with the town hall, and then with Ayresome cemetery (now Ayresome Gardens) – he found the process of carving and painting the models to be too therapeutic to stop.
"My magnum opus started out with a grim determination to say 'I can do this', and then it becomes a bit like an addiction, a drug. I have terrible days with it where I have to admit defeat but when you're having a great day and your hands are working like magic I try and keep going because the next day you might not have the same touch."
The model is based on exact plans from the 1830s for the now demolished district. But the scene itself is not of the town then.
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/dc89d975818c784b741980291661d59b6bd32285/0_0_5645_3669/master/5645.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=1369c24f8bccf8b2cc2d52653bdcbcf5)
Steve's labour of love has recreated the area out of balsa wood with every building made and painted by hand including a million individual tiles and cobbles. Photograph: Richard Rayner
"I've tried to make it a cross-section of different eras in Middlesbrough," says Waller. "There's always a measure of artistic licence with this sort of thing and I can't work miracles, but I've tried my best to capture Middlesbrough the way it was so it will never be forgotten."
Waller is retired now but for the last decade he's worked on the model while caring for his mother full-time. She died in March 2020, just before the first lockdown, but he says he continues working on the model in her memory.
"Poor old mother didn't live to see it finished but she knew it was going to be a winner. I said to her in the care home before she died of Alzheimer's: 'We're going to be famous.'"
The sprawling project forced Waller out of his bedroom and on to a camp bed in his kitchen, but he's excited to be getting his space back soon – the council have found him a studio in town where he can complete the project.
Waller is especially thankful to have had the support of the Middlesbrough mayor, Andy Preston, and he says he can't wait to donate it to the council when it's done.
Lauding the "incredible" scale model, Preston said: "When it's finished, I would like it to be the centrepiece of an exhibition and gathering to celebrate that amazing part of Middlesbrough – an area that was so savagely demolished."
Waller has spent 27,000 hours on the project and painted over 1m tiny cobbles and roof tiles and his dedication has invited comparisons to another old master, Michelangelo.
But while Waller's endurance could rival the man who painted the Sistine Chapel, his ultimate aim has never been that grand. "I just got my head down and kept going. The back injury makes it hard to lie in, anyway."
My project has been to clean out my basement and organize the stuff down there. It was in a shocking, hoarding-house like state, so very necessary.
To do that, I had to first clean out and organize my garage, so I had some place to store stuff - I have a double sized garage in the back yard (a legacy of having a 90 year old house) so, in theory, lots of storage space - which had become cluttered with tons of worthless clutter.
The bikes took up a lot of room - I got wall hooks for them. To do that, I had to learn how to properly drill holes into brick. While I was at it, I installed tool mounts as well.
Cleaned out the cold room, and put in a simple wine rack - we had been storing bottles of wine in cardboard boxes, a less than ideal solution. Then cleaned out the furnace room, the laundry room, the corridor ... just have the rec room to do.
The amount of clutter I've gotten rid of is incredible. Problem is that there are certain things I can't get rid of until the pandemic is over - I have lots of electronics that have to go to a special disposal/recycling site, and lots of books to donate.
From January to May I labored to turn this:
(https://scontent-hou1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/185224961_10224042967763169_7787566793803674778_n.jpg?_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=b9115d&_nc_ohc=Z_C85boivEAAX8CwL6h&tn=5JxXKxteiTJ4dvvT&_nc_ht=scontent-hou1-1.xx&oh=9241502c442a3d70ca58f0cf93e26819&oe=60DA69EA)
into this:
(https://scontent-hou1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/184312073_10224042970843246_4227422033878349581_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=b9115d&_nc_ohc=1jfqkE1aAh0AX9xtcUa&_nc_ht=scontent-hou1-1.xx&oh=92e255411b1f9aea2feaffd4e45b2d1d&oe=60DC49A4)
Granted my wife was the management team, I was just the muscle.
Woah that's a lot of hard work!
Are you going to grow vines on that metal trellis archway thing? That will look awesome.
Travis in the west bastion and Crockett in the east?
Speaking of yards - I put up a gazebo in mine, and put together a table setting. For flooring, I just used some bamboo mats, which seems to work okay - I was not willing to do actual hardscaping, as that was too much work for me!
https://i.imgur.com/3wOwiZC.jpg
Quote from: Malthus on June 01, 2021, 02:27:27 PM
Woah that's a lot of hard work!
Are you going to grow vines on that metal trellis archway thing? That will look awesome.
Oh yeah it was insane. Every part of that project was absolutely a pain in the ass.
The plan is for those two flowery herbs to grow around the trellis thingy. I obviously don't have much to do with the actual gardening part :P
Quote from: Admiral Yi on June 01, 2021, 02:30:00 PM
Travis in the west bastion and Crockett in the east?
Damn right. We will have a wooden stockade and a cannon emplacement across the open entrance.
Heh a couple of tons of stone blocks and gravel to haul I see - this is exactly why I did not want to do hardscaping.
I looked up how to install a flagstone flooring for the gazebo - the first step was to dig up a few binches of the yard area, and put in landscape fabric, then several inches of gravel, tamp the whole down, level it ... that was too much work for me. 😄
Quote from: Malthus on June 01, 2021, 03:12:41 PM
Heh a couple of tons of stone blocks and gravel to haul I see - this is exactly why I did not want to do hardscaping.
I had to rent this horrible horrible sod cutting machine to cut the sod out, damn thing practically broke every bone in my body. Then I had to cut the sod pieces out with a landscaping knife and haul the pieces away with a wheelbarrow. Then I laid down landscaping fabric. So that all sucked. And let me tell you once the grass was gone the place turned into a place reminiscent of Passchendaele every time it rained, well without the dead bodies and machine guns and barbed wire and lice and stuff.
Then a company came and dumped a huge pile of locally quarried gravel on my front yard which I hauled back there one wheelbarrow at a time. Once that was done another company deposited three massive pallets of locally quarried white limestone on my front yard which I had to haul back there one wheelbarrow at a time. And after that was done a company dumped a massive ton of garden soil on my front yard which I then hauled back there one wheelbarrow at a time. So...gardening sucks.
But hey I did this thing. So that's nice.
Quote from: Malthus on June 01, 2021, 02:34:28 PM
Speaking of yards - I put up a gazebo in mine, and put together a table setting. For flooring, I just used some bamboo mats, which seems to work okay - I was not willing to do actual hardscaping, as that was too much work for me!
https://i.imgur.com/3wOwiZC.jpg
Nice! You have a nice backyard for having an urban home as well.
Quote from: Valmy on June 01, 2021, 03:18:10 PM
Quote from: Malthus on June 01, 2021, 03:12:41 PM
Heh a couple of tons of stone blocks and gravel to haul I see - this is exactly why I did not want to do hardscaping.
I had to rent this horrible horrible sod cutting machine to cut the sod out, damn thing practically broke every bone in my body. Then I had to cut the sod pieces out with a landscaping knife and haul the pieces away with a wheelbarrow. Then I laid down landscaping fabric. So that all sucked. And let me tell you once the grass was gone the place turned into a place reminiscent of Passchendaele every time it rained, well without the dead bodies and machine guns and barbed wire and lice and stuff.
Then a company came and dumped a huge pile of locally quarried gravel on my front yard which I hauled back there one wheelbarrow at a time. Once that was done another company deposited three massive pallets of locally quarried white limestone on my front yard which I had to haul back there one wheelbarrow at a time. And after that was done a company dumped a massive ton of garden soil on my front yard which I then hauled back there one wheelbarrow at a time. So...gardening sucks.
But hey I did this thing. So that's nice.
My back hurt just reading this. 😄