The Relaxing World Of Ethan And Cheryl.

Running = Resting?

Even in the Cold?

What do you do after a very long Stocking and Christmas Season?   Rest!  Cheryl was just saying the other day that she was happy that Stockings AND Christmas was over.   All that craziness in the stores and everywhere else.  We did not want to be a part of that... so what do middle age Seasonal Crafters do? 

Shorts Weather in December In Iowa

Pretty Windy day. 

Oh!  Lots of stuff!   We run and Bike.   Provided the weather is pleasant enough.   Even then, we still go out... because... What else is there to do?

6 Day Mushroom Puzzle

The cat is NOT helping.  (Note:
He is  positioned on MY side of the
Puzzle!) 

We have been putting a Puzzle together for the last 6 days.  Julie got us a Mushroom Puzzle, and it has captured our attention.   We worked on it every day for several hours at a sitting.   Most of the time, the cat did NOT help.   (Even though I think he Thought he  was helping.)

Puzzle Complete!

Time to Hodge Podge it up!

  We finally finished it yesterday.   I ModgePodge-ed it up and now it sits on top of the shelves...  waiting for its final destination.

Gaping hole in the Living room! I can fix this!

With the weather being somewhat pleasant,  I also took the opportunity to work on the broken window.   Did I mention the Broken Window?    AH,   During that cold snow storm in November,  I was closing all the windows and the front living room one broke.  "Plink!"   Just snapped in two.   I hardly touched it, but the windows here are very old and with the cold, the age, and the crappy construction of the '50's,  I'm sure they all added up to the window breaking.  ( As for me...I was totally gentle with the thing.   I know because two other windows have cracks in them with just our attempts to wash them!)  I was Being Careful!   

Pane of Glass... Check! 

First!  Buy a new window pane.  Check!

Remove Old glass.  Check! 

Glass is sharp.  Make sure you wear
gloves...

Second!  Remove old broken glass.   Not too tough with most of it gone already.   I had to scrape off the ancient seal and keep an eye out for the small metal pane holders in the frame.  Two on each side.

Remove old puddy.

And the Pane Holders 

Ask Cheryl  For a Helping Hand. Check! 

Third!   Replace the glass.   Cheryl helped here.   She had to hold on to the pane on the inside while I pressed in the pane holders. 

Seal it up with New Silicone!   Check!

Marvel at my awesomeness!   Check Check CHECK! 

Fourth!   Seal it up!    A little silicon and we are done!   Easy!   So easy even I could do it!. 

It is all for nothing in the end, because our landlords are planning to replace OUR (Because we are the only apartment left  with  old windows.) apartment windows next summer/spring/ fall/ year.... Sometime in the future....  We hope!   But for the mean time,  we at least do not have a gaping hole in our living room!

Replace the Front Purge Valve.

A Clue!    Charcoal in the Valve!   How did it get there?
 Hmmm...Failing Charcoal Canister maybe???

And last.  The Subie.   The Check engine light came Back on again.... suggesting that all that work I did a few days ago did not solve the problem.   Well...  It was not the Vent Control valve in the back, but the Purge Control Solenoid in the front!   I was wondering if the charcoal canister was polluting the parts as we replaced them.  I was RIGHT!   Because when I removed the Purge Control Solenoid,  Charcoal came out of it!   It also was not working when I attached it to the battery.   After clearing and cleaning it  a bit, it works perfectly!   Hopefully the Check Engine light will stay away for some time now. 

Cheryl' focuses her artistic skills towards Pudding? 

As for Cheryl...  With the Holiday season over,  she has turned her Treat making Ideas to fancy Pudding.    She has been getting rather creative with her little concoctions.  Thankfully,  I have not been a part of the Pudding craze.   I have all those pounds to lose after the Holidays without any help from Pudding.  But they do look pretty cool.

Time to Hug Up on the Cat.

The Internet has been a little mean lately.   We apparently burned through 10 gigs of Internet  in 2 days after stockings were over.  I'm a little suspicious on how they figure out how much we have used, but for now,  I will cross my fingers that this post will make it.   It is longer than my normal "limited Internet" postings.  But lots of stuff has been happening on our "Not much going on" time here at Allenbrite Studio's/   Thanks for stopping in... And not to see if the pics will download.