Thursday, October 30, 2008
HERE'S BILL
We hadn't seen Bill in some time. It was nice to get-together again. Bill is an army officer. Recently returned from Afghanistan.
Bob and Peg joined us for supper.
Bill has done extensive research on family history. We hope he will post some of his findings on the blog in the future.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
A MORE COMPLETE PICTURE
In a previous picture of the Gathering, Bob was left out because he was taking the picture. Later, he set the timer and jumped into the group before camera took the picture.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
WHY GO NORTH
We don't have to go up North to see pretty foliage in the Fall. Here are some views of our street--the downside is the leaves which need to be gathered up and put into the woods to become compost eventually.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
A GATHERING IN 2008
Pat was in town last weekend, and we had a nice get-together at the Track Nine Diner in Willington. Here are some views. Others took pictures, so some of them probably will be on the blog in addition to these.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Dad
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
REMEMBERING GRANDPA LYNCH
Monday, October 6th, 2008, was the 50th anniversary of the death of Grandpa Silas "Doc" Lynch. Peggy had a very close relationship with Pop Pop and was the last to see him on the afternoon he passed away. Peggy thought his 50th Anniversary would be an appropriate time for a remembrance at his grave, and so she called his children and their spouses together.
Peggy gave a very touching tribute to her Grandpa as a last testimonial.
We then visited the graves of Bill Hahn's parents, only a few feet away from those of Dolly and Mickey Noonan.
Not to be forgotten was Aunt Margaret, a saint of a person, who was loved by those of our children who knew her. With Margaret is Aunt Kit, also a favorite of ours.
We remember them all fondly, and pray that they rest in peace.
Should you want to visit the cemetery, it is St.Mary's Cemetery on Stanley Street in New Britain,
Thursday, October 02, 2008
YOU, TOO, COULD CONSRUCT A RAILING
NICE JOB, BOB
When you stagger down the cellar stairs carrying a huge, overloaded basket full of soggy, pungent laundry, do you wonder what you will do if you , in your haste to minimize the olfactory assault, tripped, or lost your balance and realized to your horror, that the railing you intended to install ever since you moved into the place still has not been installed and the looming mis-step could send you plummeting into eternity?
I had a contingency plan. It was to land on top of the laundry basket if the unspeakable came to pass. I never tried out the plan, and am not sure of its soundness Ergo….
After 45 years of traversing the cellar stairs thusly, I acted decisively and installed a railing of which I am very proud, and in which I have confidence should I take a nose dive down the stairs. I will admit, with no undue modesty, that my carpentry skills rank among the lowest in the Western World. That did not deter me from implementing my decision to build a railing. To safeguard my self and My charming bride of 57 winters and a good many summers is always a high priority in my hierarchy of priorities.
You will be spellbound by my clever plan.,
Attacking the question logically, I immediately measured the length of railing I would need. I then considered available resources and discovered that I had no obvious materials available with the exception of some old wooden closet bars which had become expendable when we substituted metal closet bars some years earlier.. I shrewdly noted that the bars closely resembled genuine railings and filed away
That observation.
So it was off to the builder store; I think the salesman was a little annoyed at my lack of familiarity with the hardware required as he pointed it out., but I followed his advice. and
bought it.
In further study of the engineering problems to be solved, I took a look at the railing going to our upstairs bedrooms. Looked like the same fixtures I had just bought, and the wooden closet bar looked a lot like a regular railing. I had the materials, and was ready to proceed. I even knew what it should look like.
The next problem was how to secure the new railing to the cellar stair wall. The fixtures had to be anchored to wooden studs under the plaster board. Using a hammer and a nail, I punched holes through the plaster at intervals until I located studs to which the rail fixtures had to be attached. I found that there were two available places in which to anchor the fixtures within the length of the rail. This would leave the top of the rail unattached to a solid wooden base, unless, as I Intelligently deducted, I screwed the top of the rail to the door jamb at the top of the stairs. To secure a tight fit, I would cut the top of the bar at an angle to allow it to snug up to the jamb. I would then complete that part of the task by screwing the bar to the door jamb using a one and a half inch screw when the time came.
Attaching the fixtures to the wall was done in two parts for added strength. First, the locations of the fixtures had to be reckoned keeping in mind the location of the underlying studs in order to locate them at the required angles from one another.
Then pieces of hard wood were cut to a size to allow the fixtures to be attached directly to them, thus creating units of fixture and fixture support. The wood holding the fixtures had to have sufficient length to allow enough wood at each end of the newly assembled units to allow two inch screws to be screwed through them, through the plaster underneath, and into the studs thereby making a very secure installation.
All that was left was to attach the bar to the fixtures which were now anchored to the wall. This was challenge until I realized that after the bar was turned to the desired angle, the clamp to attach the bar to the fixture had be turned also. All done.!
The job was finished, and brilliantly, in my unbiased opinion..
Now I can’t wait to go down cellar so I can hang onto the new railing. There is a feeling of accomplishment which some people seldom get in their working lives.
My old Junior High School shop teacher would be so proud of me!
When you stagger down the cellar stairs carrying a huge, overloaded basket full of soggy, pungent laundry, do you wonder what you will do if you , in your haste to minimize the olfactory assault, tripped, or lost your balance and realized to your horror, that the railing you intended to install ever since you moved into the place still has not been installed and the looming mis-step could send you plummeting into eternity?
I had a contingency plan. It was to land on top of the laundry basket if the unspeakable came to pass. I never tried out the plan, and am not sure of its soundness Ergo….
After 45 years of traversing the cellar stairs thusly, I acted decisively and installed a railing of which I am very proud, and in which I have confidence should I take a nose dive down the stairs. I will admit, with no undue modesty, that my carpentry skills rank among the lowest in the Western World. That did not deter me from implementing my decision to build a railing. To safeguard my self and My charming bride of 57 winters and a good many summers is always a high priority in my hierarchy of priorities.
You will be spellbound by my clever plan.,
Attacking the question logically, I immediately measured the length of railing I would need. I then considered available resources and discovered that I had no obvious materials available with the exception of some old wooden closet bars which had become expendable when we substituted metal closet bars some years earlier.. I shrewdly noted that the bars closely resembled genuine railings and filed away
That observation.
So it was off to the builder store; I think the salesman was a little annoyed at my lack of familiarity with the hardware required as he pointed it out., but I followed his advice. and
bought it.
In further study of the engineering problems to be solved, I took a look at the railing going to our upstairs bedrooms. Looked like the same fixtures I had just bought, and the wooden closet bar looked a lot like a regular railing. I had the materials, and was ready to proceed. I even knew what it should look like.
The next problem was how to secure the new railing to the cellar stair wall. The fixtures had to be anchored to wooden studs under the plaster board. Using a hammer and a nail, I punched holes through the plaster at intervals until I located studs to which the rail fixtures had to be attached. I found that there were two available places in which to anchor the fixtures within the length of the rail. This would leave the top of the rail unattached to a solid wooden base, unless, as I Intelligently deducted, I screwed the top of the rail to the door jamb at the top of the stairs. To secure a tight fit, I would cut the top of the bar at an angle to allow it to snug up to the jamb. I would then complete that part of the task by screwing the bar to the door jamb using a one and a half inch screw when the time came.
Attaching the fixtures to the wall was done in two parts for added strength. First, the locations of the fixtures had to be reckoned keeping in mind the location of the underlying studs in order to locate them at the required angles from one another.
Then pieces of hard wood were cut to a size to allow the fixtures to be attached directly to them, thus creating units of fixture and fixture support. The wood holding the fixtures had to have sufficient length to allow enough wood at each end of the newly assembled units to allow two inch screws to be screwed through them, through the plaster underneath, and into the studs thereby making a very secure installation.
All that was left was to attach the bar to the fixtures which were now anchored to the wall. This was challenge until I realized that after the bar was turned to the desired angle, the clamp to attach the bar to the fixture had be turned also. All done.!
The job was finished, and brilliantly, in my unbiased opinion..
Now I can’t wait to go down cellar so I can hang onto the new railing. There is a feeling of accomplishment which some people seldom get in their working lives.
My old Junior High School shop teacher would be so proud of me!
THE CELLAR PROJECT
Maybe it shouldn't have been a project, but Noonaski certainly turned it into one.
It is never a good idea to fall down the cellar stairs, and is a very bad idea to do so at the age of Moe and Noonski. The remedy: Install a railing where none existed.
