Season's
Greetings from Hansville
Volume
XXXI
December 2008
Well, another year in the Logbook, and we're still kickin'.
Cold. It was a cold spring (didn't get one single pear on
my pear trees), cold summer, and now it's a cold winter. This
global warming stuff missed this part of the globe.
Our House December 21, 2008 - a foot of snow on the ground
Being
a dumb engineer, I record a lot of things. And being cheap,
(frugal), I try to minimize running the furnace. I note that I
ran the heat until June 20th, and started it up again Sept 23rd (when
the house temp fell to 59 degrees F) - a 9 month heating season!
Nine years of records here have shown a steady heating increase of 60-90
days, or over 40%. Where IS that Goricle?
We are always busy - it beats some of the alternatives!
R E M O D E L
I N G
Perpetually remodeling, improving, as you know. I am a
compulsive doer. Although I am hardly in love with the store, I
AM a major supporter of Home Depot and visit weekly to load up with a
new batch of paint, lumber, sealant, etc. This year we worked both upstairs and downstairs.
My stated goal is to
complete these activities while I am still alive, but I may have to
continue working on a few unfinished things afterwards. I'll probably get buried with my To-Do List.
O F F I C E
One major project was the conversion of my former swimming pool area into my Grand Office.
As you may recall from last year - I filled in our swimming pool. This shows the before and after as recorded last year.
The
final action was pouring a 5-6 inch concrete slab over the insulated
floor and hot water radiant heating pipes. Now, a concrete
slab must dry - at least a month per inch - so I had to wait until
March this year to consider putting down a floor covering and occupying
the room. Not to worry - lots of actions needed to be undertaken.
First - The
plumbing, pump, valves, etc for the floor heating system had to be installed, debugged,
and declared operational. It really works great - it even heats
the upstairs (to a degree) with it's large thermal mass.
Then, I
refinished all the walls, the ceiling, and the window sills. Sealed all
the cracks etc with 20+ tubes of caulking.
My able assistant Chiba helped me throughout, or I never would have finished on time.
I converted the former pump room into a large
storage closet, with shelves on all four walls. Hung pictures and
stuff throughout.
Then, seeing as how I was going to need a lot
of juice (electric, that is), I wired up the whole room. (Pools
have NO wiring, due to electric shock hazard concerns.) I ran 5
new 120 volt AC circuits into the room, supporting about 30 outlets.
Then, one 240 volt AC circuit to support my radio's amplifier.
After wiring installation was covered up, you'd hardly know it was there!
I installed a new sub-box just devoted to powering this room.
Next was a 0 - 150 volt AC variable AC system for my
experimenting. Then a 0-20 volt 30 Amp DC system - much of
my ham gear runs on DC. And finally, a phone line and a Cat 6
Ethernet system to support a 10.6 Mbs Internet connection.
Radio
equipment needs attention paid to grounding issues, so I built a very
elaborate ground system, including about 400+ feet of wire embedded in
the concrete.
Most of the double
pane windows were bad - i.e. they were fogged up by moisture
entering through failed seals. These were all replaced.
Next, six sets of mini-blinds were installed in the new
window locations.
In March, I'd finished all the preps just in
time for declaring the room DRY. I began with 86% relative humidity, and was pumping
3-6 gallons of water out per day using a dehumidifier.
By March,
the humidity had dropped to 40% and no water was coming out.
A moisture test of the concrete showed it dry - so out came the
carpet layers.
With the carpet down - I was ready to OCCUPY my
new office ! Man, does this look great?
First I moved my computer down from my upstairs
"temporary" (8+ years) office. With the phone and the computer
relocated, I was commited - no turning back. It took a month to
move the rest of the junk out and clear that upstairs room.
Operational at last - Lookin' good!
Hey - Nice view!
Next, I reassembled my big steelcase
desk, must weigh 300 lbs - after 2 years in pieces in the garage, and built a new wood top
for it. Then -- in came my radio gear from the
woodshop, and all the antenna lead-in cabling (I have six antennas) had to be spliced /
extended/ / re-routed into the new room.
Because
I am very active on so many ham radio nets - I had to make sure I could stay 'on
the air' and, after much advance preparation, -- did the needed transfers in just a few hours.
Back on the Air again
Next,
I built a parallel radio station for all my old radios - Vintage Gear, its called - -
that is all still operational. 50 year old tube radios that can still
strut their stuff. In the Fall, I built another computer - a
super high powered rig, for my regular use, and moved my old computer
to my radio station, where I use it to control all my newer radio gear.
U P S T A I R S
G U E S T B E D R O O M
With
the upstairs office cleaned out, It got cleaned, then painted and
wall-papered. Likewise for the Guest Bath. We then moved
everything out of the entire East End (including Dot's sewing room), and
put down new carpeting. The old office became the Guest
Bedroom it was intended to be , waaay back at the beginning.
Looks really nice - if I have to say so myself.
If you're reading this, you're welcome. Private
bath, Private deck with an ocean view, and very favorable rates!
Before and After - Well, there's no excuse for not visiting now!
S E W I N G R O O M
Next
project was building furniture for Dot's Sewing Room, now that the bed
and the temporary folding table were moved out. A
computer desk, with Internet (full 10 Mbps+ Ethernet Cat 6 cabling), phone, sewing machine table, old
Singer sewing machine (she has a "Vintage" station, just like I do for my
radios.) Then a bookcase, and finally, a large new work table for
laying out her projects, complete with drawer units. Also
complete shelves for the closet, and a large full size mirror to admire
her handiwork in.
The
computer desk under final construction - (in the Entry Way !) -
and the sewing machine table getting finished in my shop.
After setup and installation -- in use!
M A S T E R B E D R O O M
By this time, I was on a roll, so I moved to
the West end. Painted and wall-papered the Master Bedroom, Master
Bath, and the Laundry. Put new carpet down in the Master BR. Added mini-blinds.
Before - and - After
L A U N D R Y
I
tiled the Laundry floor and installed shelves in that room, and the
Master BR walk-in closet, as well. More paint and wallpaper.
Finally, I installed a mirrored medicine
cabinet in the Master Bath and a new light bar fixture.
N E W C L O S E T
As
I write this, I've just completed building an all new closet with
mirrored doors and shelves in a previously empty alcove space in the Master BR.
Looks really good - if I have to say so myself
K I T C H E N
In
the Kitchen, I wall-papered, and finally installed the stained glass
window from the Farm. I removed it when we left, and built a wood
frame for it. It's not in quite as good location as at the Farm, but
still looks pretty good, and reminds us of the Farm. Also
installed the old crank phone - also from the Farm - still fully
operational. I took these two items as a condition of sale, and I'm glad we did.
Before - and - After
I
built new platform / storage units for the
microwave and toaster oven, giving us more counter space.
Overhauled the down-draft vent system. And finally, ripped
out the old cook top, and installed a fancy new glass top unit. And a
new xenon light fixture. Next for the Kitchen - a new
hardwood floor, and a cook book wall unit. I
think I've already found the materials.
W A L L a n d F L O W E R B E D
What else? Ahh,
yes - a wall with raised flower bed about 100 ft long running
between us and our neighbor to the west . It solves a water
problem that he has and which he declined to get fixed, despite my offers of help, over a 9 year
period. It looks like a flower bed but its really a dam. I stocked it with quite a nice
assortment of plants and
think it looks really nice. Also had installed an additional water catch
basin and piping to carry (his) storm water to the beach. My neighbor
is mad at me for moving forward without him - --- 9 years of asking is
long enough, I say.
D O T
Looks just like her Mom - -- she says...
Q U I L T
Dot
finished her second major quilt in January. I'm not sure - I
think this one took 6 - 8 years, and I showed some of her progress
pictures earlier. It's supposed to represent the colors of the sea and the sky
we see in front of our place.
T R I P H O M E
In
July and August, Dot went back to Montreal and the Magdalen Islands for
a few weeks. She saw all her relatives and her school mates from
way back when.
Havre-Aubert
- her home town
The ancestral home, where she was born - foreground (Left) and looking opposite - at the bend in the road (Right)
She seemed to have had a great time - as you can see
here. She also missed all the fun back here in Hansville - moving
everything in and out of the West End, carpeting, painting, etc etc.
That girl knows how to time things!!!
Here she is .... while I was painting and wallpapering........
Sister Viola in Montreal (earlier photo.)
Here's a great picture of her with sisters Marie-Anna and Martha
and brother Louis-Philippe.......the last of the boys
M E D I C A L
In January, we
ran into one of those potholes that life seems to throw at all of us
periodically. We made a run down Hood Canal, and stopped and
bought some fresh oysters - Oh boy! My favorite! We had an
oyster dinner that nite (raw, of course.) The next day, she got
sick, with diarrhea. Sometimes, oysters can do that to you. You
can have an allergic reaction. Or they're bad. Since I had no problem, we
assumed they were not tainted. After the diarrhea persisted for 5
days, we went to her gastro-enterologist. An Ultrasound revealed
a mass on her pancreas. Whew! That was a heart stopper -
pancreatic cancer is deadly. This was followed up with a
CAT scan and biopsy. Good news and bad news. The good news
- not pancreatic cancer. The bad news - it was another form of
cancer - lymphoma, which comes in assorted flavors. NHL - not the National
Hockey League - but Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma - cancer of the Lymphatic System
Now we got
transferred to an oncologist, and more tests and scans. The range
of possible diagnoses was explored, followed by the wide range of possible
treatments. A lot of fast internet research, and then a second
opinion. There's a lot of decision making involved in going
forward, and the patient needs to be the Captain of the treatment ship
- in my opinion. Of course, everything is in terms of
probabilities and possibilities and outcomes and
results are "not-guaranteed." Boy, we got to see a lot of Doctors -
five in two days I think, was the record.
A
radiation regimen was decided upon, and so, that's
how we spent the first four months of the year - going to Swedish
Hospital's Cancer Center every day. Up and out at 6 AM, and,
since it's on the Mainland - we single handedly supported the ferry
system for many months. Dot got through the radiation regimen in quite
good shape, with only a couple of bad days. A combination of
support from "Dr. Bob", along with some "tough love" on occasion.
Since I do all the shopping and cooking, I had to add a new skill
set to my repertoire. Another cookbook - just what I needed! - Cooking for Cancer Patients.
Since she needed a special diet, I learned how to prepare two
different courses for each meal. If I get laid off from my current job, I'm ready to hire out as a
short-order cook.
A follow-up scan a few months later was
inconclusive, but, happily, (very happily) - one performed about 10 days ago, has
now been reported as very positive - "clear" was the oncologist's
description. So, we are very hopeful going forward.
On-going tests and such will likely occupy the rest of her life,
but after a lot of tough emotional times, we are able to smile once again.
My Museum of Flight Activities
My aviation and Museum activities have consumed huge amounts of time, working on the 727, B-52, and Constellation.
7 2 7 P R O T O T Y P E
Major
progress was made
on the 727 restoration. Electrical power was put on in October
for the first time in about 10 years and hydraulic power was turned on
in November for the first time in 17 years. I decided to kick
myself upstairs to Project Manager, and made my able side-kick T.C.
Howard, who was doing all the day-to-day work, into the 727 Crew
Chief.
B - 5 2
When
the airport management decided they no longer had ramp space for the
B-52, I began a quest to find her a new honored home. I'm
currently working with the U.S. Air Force to see if we can't locate it
on a piece of property they own. She's currently been moved onto
the grass near the Control Tower. This is the first airplane I
will have had to save TWICE!
C O N S T E L L A T I O N
In
July, I went back
again to Rome, New York to check on the repair and restoration progress
of my
Super Connie. The airplane had been reassembled and was sitting
out on the ramp. The airplane was really pretty sad after 42
years of neglect, and required a lot (read expensive) of repair work.
Since then, the repairs were completed, and in
November, repainting was accomplished. After three and a half
years, the airplane looks
sensational !
C L I P P E R
With
the Connie
getting close to the end of its acquisition, restoration, and repaint
cycle,
etc, I began getting itchy feet for my next project. The most
glamorous airplane in aviation history -- that does not exist anywhere,
-- is
also the most difficult to obtain. Not much different than
landing a man on the moon! It's the Boeing 314 Clipper - a flying
boat from 1939. Out of 12 built, only two exist (if you can call
it that), and they are sunk in the ocean. I linked up with a
professional diving team, in the Summer of 2007, and have built a web page on the proposed
retrieval and restoration from 17,000 ft of water near Hawaii.
After release onto the Internet, this web page received over 1 million hits and has been reprinted
in three magazines. There also are at least four knock-offs
circulating on the internet.
The
local NBC TV station made a second TV show about my Museum activities.
Good pictures of the Clipper and some of the other
airplanes. You can see the video on YouTube here.
V
I S I T O R S
Despite having this great new Guest BR, we've only had one customer - Fred
Coyle came from a few days. Fred lives in Victoria and was a
life-long Air Canada employee - but before that worked for Maritime
Central Airways (MCA) in Charlottetown. Dot worked there too.
He's the unofficial MCA historian, and we visited the Boeing 247
in Everett, that flew for MCA in the 1940s.
P A S S I N G S
It
was an especially sad 2008, as Dot's brother Charles passed away
October 17th. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer in the
Spring, and had to wait over 6 months for surgery - one more in a long
list of friends and relatives benefiting from the wonderful Canadian
health system so many Americans aspire to. I tried desperately to
get him into the system in Seattle, but without success. When he
finally had his operation, the operation was totally botched up, with a
rib coming loose and piercing his lung. He died in short order -
would have been much better off having skipped the health care process
altogether.
At least Dot got to spend time with him in Montreal
during her July visit. She knew it might be the last time she saw
him - and it was.
A sad final picture together in August.
Charles was more than a brother-in-law to me
-- he was a good friend and I miss his hearty laugh and huge smile.
He enjoyed my bad jokes and gave them a big belly laugh every
time. He and Berthe visited us a few years back - we had a great
time. Charles was the Family Genealogist, and had accumulated records for about 8700 Cormier family individuals!
Here's Charles enjoying one of my jokes while
trying to beat me in our cooking competition. Laughter releases good hormones!
Click here for a picture
page I put together of Charles and Berthe's visit with us, and
other pictures from his life.
This man knew how to smile!!!
And, he made others smile as well.... I'm sure gonna miss him..................
This picture -- from last year's photo "snaps" section:
L-R: Jacques, Charles, Dot, Armand and Henri
Sadly, all four of the brothers in this snap - now gone.......
Another big loss was Irene Aube,
also in Montreal. She died July 27, but we didn't find out until
a few weeks ago. Irene was the receptionist at Nordair in
Montreal while I was working there. Her desk and phone
switchboard were at the top of the stairs, and everyone passed her
scrutiny. Irene knew everyone, and everything, that was going on.
After Nordair disappeared into Canadian Pacific, and everyone
retired, she continued as the Nordair unofficial historian with tales
and news about everyone. Irene loved Hawaii and went every year.
We met with her during the six years we lived there. In
fact, it was very shortly after arriving there in 1972, and while
still living in a hotel, that we met her walking down Kalakaua Ave one
evening. What a great surprise!
March
3 in Charlottetown, the wonderful pairing of our Twin cousins, Sisters
Ann and Mary Sullivan, was broken up with the passing of Sister Ann, at
the young age of 96. Because they were identical twins, and
dressed in the same habits, it could sometimes be tough to tell them
apart. But, their personalities were different. Sister Ann
was the quiet one. She's on the right (I think.)
On
Dec 24, long time good friend Bob Mills passed after a short hospital
stay in Annapolis, Nova Scotia. Bob was the retired Chief Pilot
for Eastern Provincial Airways, based in Gander, Newfoundland. I
was their Boeing rep when they got their first 737s. Bob began
work as a pilot for Maritime Central Airways in Charlottetown, PEI, in
the early 1940s. He flew de Havilland Rapides at the outset.
Dot also worked for MCA in Charlottetown, and her first boss
there, Kay, was Bob's wife.
Among the airplanes Bob flew was the
Boeing 247. In fact, he flew a certain airplane to Chicago in the late
40s when MCA sold it to a U.S. operator. That very airplane,
still airworthy, is currently here in the Museum's collection. We have
been trying to get Bob out here for the last few years, to sit again in
the left seat of the same airplane he flew 60 years ago. This
spring - we almost made it - but as usual he chickened out at the last
minute - so the reunion of pilot and airplane was never to be.
Bob once got some sort of award from Douglas Aircraft for making the most landings on a
DC-3 - I don't recall the number, but I think it was 20,000 - maybe
even 25,000. He ended his career flying 737s.
This picture was taken in Charlottetown in June 2008.
We talked to Bob frequently, including just a few days before he died. He was 89.
On June 23, Dot's 1st cousin Cecile Lebourdais passed away in Sherbrooke, Quebec. She was 96.
Also
passing were the wives of two of my good friends - Nordair pilots -
Lile, wife of Paddy Szrajer, and Anne, wife of Red Martindale.
Like my Dad, I think both Paddy and Red thought their wives would
survive them.. Not always to be.
You can see some of the Obits here.
Well,
we hope we haven't worn you out - we did a lot - but, we also did leave out quite a bit!
We had a White Christmas! Hope you did too.
Hope this finds you well, and the New Year brings you
much joy and happiness. And Good Health. Enjoy every day!
Peace..........
Bob and Dot
You can follow my activities in much
more
detail on my site - located here:
http://www.rbogash.com/
or our Family activities in my Family section:
http://www.rbogash.com/Family.html
Well, until next year.....God willing, ....."that's all folks"
My "Vintage" Station
