Karsoncookie

Christmas eve - Relatively simple. Kept it light, more snack-like. We smoked a 5 lb whole Duck to 149f, BBQ rubbed, Deviled eggs, Cold Broccoli carrots Cauliflower/ Ranch, Homemade Pimento cheese dip, good crackers, and some hot Bread Rolls. Pecan pie (but w Walnuts) and Sweet Potato pie. Christmas Day - Finished the awesome leftovers. Hope all have a Great Holiday Season celebrating their Faith. Marc

Coytee - You may want to try Salt / Vinegar potato chips. Available from many retailers, by different producers. Interestingly, I have found the BEST, AND cheapest at Walmart. "Magic" brand, I think 99 cents a 7.5 ounce bag, next to me now. Maybe $1.00. Have boughten many times there. SOOOOOOO good, at least for me. The Best. Unrolled the bag and eating them as I type. Marc

I have fabricated three different Al items from scratch, mostly w heavy wall tubing. I did ALL the design, cutting, coping, deburring, bending, jigging, etc., had Pros do the final welding. My point is, the $600 for all the designing, deciding on dimensions, and material and HOURS of thinking,getting the tube properly bent, labor and then the welding, is NOT unreasonable whatsoever. And I'm all about loving making stuff and saving $. It AIN'T gonna be a one weekend job , not even close, unless an experienced guy has drawings and is totally tooled up for that. Now, if you can have the original you want to clone in your shop, that would help ALOT. Like TONS. Or the dimensions talked about above. Or even a number of photos that you can scale off of at least. I do not intend to be a downer, but like Clint said .. "A Man's gotta know his limitations" On the other hand , a great learning experience if someone is looking for a project. my 2 cents. Marc

Emailed him this - I have had a pair of Klipsch LaScalas for years, with a very basic Yamaha I think 80W per channel receiver. Looking to upgrade my amp. What might you have? I do lean to "vintage" gently used, rather than new. I do not live near Indiana, but have a friend lives in Speedway. Marc

Here's a shot of the tub on sand I talked about above - And the patio area overall - Unfortunately lost the house in the crash 8 yr ago. Ha !! And heres the old bus - More photos -- http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3171-Fm-1781-Rockport-TX-78382/87139424_zpid/ Marc

Youthman - 55years ago.............. Idyllic times ---- Seemingly, ........... Although, a slight bummer, now I think known as "buzz kill", is the fact that Adlai Stevenson just sat down w Gromyko Re: Cuban Missile removal as that burger hit tht plate. Sooo, ......Enjoy that vision as long as you can. Marc (Previously known as the poster Lars). The Bear is hibernating,actually now just drowsy, and NOT dead. Schizo ? Not at all, , just multitask thinking.

I don't know where I read about the sand vs concrete tub foundation. Maybe something about the revised thread, or my Adult beverages. I hope you read my post about the firept being a Youthgroup project. It should cost like very ballpark $300 TOTAL, and even then, only because delivered rock and Sakrete where you live is top dollar. I don't understand the need for this scientific radiant and other crap. I'ts a darn ring of rock to contain a fire in. Campers often make rudimentary ones. NO cost, other then gathering and placing rock labor time. Sorry, but WTF ??????????????????????????????? Marc (AKA previously Lars), but now "keeping it real", (as per the DonaldMeister).

Choosing contractors for ANYTHING major, is a TOTALLY separate issue. Remember the ?Romanian? guy on Liam Neeson's movie "Taken" ? "Good Luck" Funny, but true stuff. Marc

If the Hot tub is NOT mechanically connected to anything, like a deck at the top level, the sand base, on virgin earth is MORE than adequate, So what if is moves 1/4" or even 1/2" over the years??? If nothing is directly tied to it, no big deal. Absolutely the way I would go. I have done it before - 8 yrs ago - small, fully inground, fiberglass pool on virgin soil with average 6" sand, water settled,for final exact grading to exact correct elevation, Intimately connected to a concrete surrounding patio, and, secondly, NOW currently building a "Hottub" on a sand pad, NOT mechanically intimate to a wood deck, although by appearance connected/ continuous like but with VERY close proximity, but still Free floating. This holds true no matter how big the tub is. Exception would be, if it was a built in place tub,( NOT premade like ffiberglass, Acrylic, unit body tub), bhut like stone, concrete done in situ, etc. THEN, a monolithic foundation. Marc

Oh I'm so EXCITE now! The stone firepit can be a Youthgroup experience. Buy the stone, have it delivered to driveway, have the kids loosely lay it up. When looks good to you, take it down in a patterened organized fashion. The group mixes concrete, lays it all up, and participates in ALL cleanup. Dang bonding, practical confidence building, building experience etc. etc. In a few years, the fruits will show in their lives. WIN WIN WIN. Seriously, I am excited for your possibilitys. Ohhh - And I did own and maitain a small inground pool in TX for 3 yrs, till we moved. Marc

BINGO !! Understand every word. Hey, that's Bang for the bonding Buck. Sounds great. Marc

I always need to consider Bang for the Buck. You can save THOUSANDS if you approach from that angle. I8 years ago I spent $1500 on a used full size schoolbus, and was invested 2,600 man hours and 18K in parts/ matl. When it was all done, I realized It was just as fun and nice to be in as a 1M+ converted Prevost or VanHool. Used it for 15 yrs almost or totally "fulltime", and traveled w my kids to Christian music fests and Fairs as vendors for 8 of the early years. For 15% of the cost, other than my labor of love time. A great example of bang for buck, oh, and digressing the "bonding" as in my above post. At 30 yrs of age, the Kids still cherish those years, often uncomfortable. And like 7heavenlyplaces said just above, ferreting out good deals. Like the pavement - Absolutely plain concrete best BFB. Upgrade to Acid Washed for a dramatic end result. Still WAY cheaper than pavers, stamped concrete or whatever. Like just above, nothing like built in stone benches. Spendy, not movable, spendy. But then, also PROBABLY best for resale time, is to build in the expected norms of your neighborhood. Marc

Too many posts for me to read through all, So, I'll just say what I think. #1 - Cryogenically suspend your kids; Freeze them at this point in Time. # Thaw them out in ? 10? years when (hopefully) you are in a "better" financial condition. Otherwise.......... The precious Time window you have with them will fly by and be gone WAYY faster than you think. You say the Kids often have friends over. I assume you and the Missus enjoy that, overall. Adding the pool opens up a whole world of weekends w pool, patio, outdoor cooking, the firepit w S'Mores, possible occasional Friday night Pool partys w "Campout" for your kids friends or Youth group. Maybe, a bit more though, a BYOB, B meaning Beanbag chair, Movie in the Theatre as well, for the smaller well behaved group anyway. NO- NOO- soda or snacks in there, only water. Tremendous bonding experiences, in a safe environment, many will be remembered by them after you pass. Part of your Legacy, the important part being the effect you had by actions. -----NO diving board, way more injury possibility.------- From a $ standpoint - Google map Aerial, and see what % of homes in your IMMEDIATE area have in ground pools. The higher the %, the more it may be "expected" when shopping for a home there. In most other places, as said before and as you know, usually a financial White Elephant. CALL a couple experienced Realtors that intimately work your area, and get their takes on how pool affects resale, and recoup %. Continued blessings as you continue your work for the best Boss. Marc

These Brides are currently available (W/ Family)- Na Zdarovya !! No, not the one in the middle, but the one on far right - For you "Mature" lovers, the one on the right is "Aktiv work seeking hUsband lubov" Good luck, Lars

There is a lot, ALOT, of bullshit on the web for "fancier" breeds of both Cats and Dogs, but you probably know that. MANY MANY scam ads, fishing for your $. Did you search Petfinder w your zipcode/ miles distance? I know what you want is not common, but you still should do that, and keep in mind the Privilege of adopting a Rescue Animal. We have four Pups like that. Petfinder.com, It IS a very good, comprehensive website, but with a poor search function that needs patience and brains and some perseverance digging/ drilling around within it. Good luck, Lars

Speaking of ketchup, we use it to cook whole chickens. Rinse the chicken, and pat dry - Don't want excess water introduced. Get a bigg bowl, 1and 1/2 C any cheap ketchup, 1/2 C brown sugar, Yes, 1/2 cup packed --or more , ... 2 Tbsp Worcestershire, copious black pepper, 2-3 tsp garlic powder, dry parsley or similar to taste, Tbsp of Soy sauce if you want, NO salt, (ketchup has plenty), and whatever else you figure in the pool, maybe a touch of liquid smoke or whatever. mix up good, dump chicken in the bigg bowl, rub inside and outside w the sauce. Breast down, we use Pyrex pan, and pour more sauce on top, pat around to cover as thick as you can Reserve 1/2C sauce, for after you turn the bird. This is where the no water/ added helps, the thicker the sauce , the better. 350 F or whatever oven, for like 45 min. No foil, no cover. Then, with a big fork up the ***, and a couple layer paper towels, flip to breast side up. Pour and hand distribute remaining sauce. You need to rub it on, like buttering a brick, or it all rolls off. Continue baking, till deep thigh is 160-165F. Ballpark Ballpark estimate - 30 minutes longer. Remove and loosely drape w kitchen towel. You can attack it right away, we let it sit for 30 minutes, have yet another beverage, then sit down to cut up and enjoy, much easier to handle, still plenty hot to serve. PLEASSSe, DON'T overcook it. Pull when deep thigh like 160-165F., but then cover as above and let sit. The breast was done a long time ago, it cooks faster, so just measure at deep thigh. Nowhere else needed. For immediate attack, bake till deep thigh to 165. Debone whats left, for awesome cold mayo/ miracle whip chicken salad "BBQ" flavor next day, with a few big Tbsp of the juice (NO fat) in the mix. And we add fine chopped fresh celery, roasted red bell peppers if ya got em, and fresh cilantro big time, maybe a bit of Balsamic Vinegar. If you're still w me, actually, we don't eat the "salad" cold the next day, ( even though you can if you want cold)but put it on nice bread open face (micro to hot before putting on bread, then in oven w cheese)w cheeses on top in toaster oven. Kinda like a "Tuna Melt" Think I'm nuts?? Try it. And actually, even though I'm a cheese afficionado, prefer Velveeta for this till it melts, starts to turn brown, until all totally hot and toasty. Lars

BigStew - Seriously, did you tell the anti ketchup Dr. this?? I find my balance at age 59 to be WAY worse than 54 and younger. Like I can just be walking around the house, allasudden my arms instinctively go up like a tightrope walker in attempt to regain. Never have fallen, but feel somewhat unsteady on my feet somewhat always. Never had this before, oh.., 54 yr old. For years now, I have lived in areas of rural TX where we do not have Hot Wheels types of overpasses like you do, and we really don't travel for a few yrs now, so I don't know, BUT I can imagine I may feel like you do if I did. Interesting you don't experience this as a passenger. So it comes to my mind... somekinda Anxiety type thing, certainly can be unconcious, rather than more Physical cause. Just thinking, I do care. Lars

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Jason - Do you cook from scratch much? Let me know if you're open to that. Lars

Sure, totally understand that, totally agree suitable stuff not to hard to find if we are flexible and don't have our heart set on a specific. BUT but he wants a SPECIFIC look, feel, texture, fiber color blend, etc. And I'm assuming by the application of the photo, (probably anyway, but not positively)what he wants is a coarse like stiff hard grille fabric, so marketed as such. Not at fabric stores , at least 99% of cases. Otherwise I totally agree w you. Go eat some egg rolls. Hugs. Lars

What I want to know is - Does the carpet match the drapes???? Lars

Often you can request a sample swatch. Lars Jason - Respectfully, finding something "local" even if you live in downtown Chicago, will be more difficult than the worst needle in a haystack.

In the meantime, check here if you haven't yet - Let us know how it turns out for you. Just be prepared to pay $. Lars https://www.google.com/search?q=vintage+speaker+cloth&espv=2&biw=1745&bih=885&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi634m9qprPAhXCOz4KHfQgDYwQ_AUIBygC#tbm=isch&q=white+vintage+speaker+cloth https://www.google.com/search?q=vintage+speaker+cloth&espv=2&biw=1745&bih=885&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi634m9qprPAhXCOz4KHfQgDYwQ_AUIBygC

Are you able to get close up pics? These look like maybe not in your possession, if not, just source of the photo may lead to more detective usable lead info. And also, is it really just the color that you like? There's probably way more to it than just color - Texture, blending of differing color fibers as you mentioned, etc. Give more info. PHOTO close up. Lars

All watts are equal, but some are more equal then others. AWESOME AWESOME book, w so many implications, political and other. OK, I've had a beverage or two, but just thought of that. Lars