MadTripper.com

Christmas is a few, short days away. Jess and I finished up our shopping yesterday which is always fun. Seeing as we have had snow and ice storms leading up to the holiday, finding time to get out has been challenging. I'm not a huge fan of mingling with lots of people to begin with so Jess is often challenged to get me out to the stores. Every year I say to my wife, "Lets just do it all online next year." We never end up doing it. We order a few items through the net but the bulk is done the traditional way of wading through herds of people trying to find the items on our list (Jess loves this part so my purchase online suggestion will never work). This brings up an interesting note and perhaps one of the big reasons I dislike going to most "Wal-Mart" type stores.
While picking up stocking stuffers and last minute items, Jess and I were in the local Wal-Mart. There was a man pushing a cart with his son in the child seat and I'm not sure what happened but the end result was the father smacking his, I don't know, 3 year old right in the forehead and then yelling at him. Don't get me wrong, I pretty much demand our children act accordingly just as my parents did with me however striking a child in the head/face is just plain ignorant and wrong. Perhaps on another day I would have done the same to him but that would just open up some type of Wal-Mart throw-down which may have led me to being banned from Wally World.....hmmm, on second thought that might have worked just right.
So this seems to be the type of scene during the holiday season and probably most every day at Wal-Mart and most likely the reason I detest visiting these stores. I do find that if I'm up and out early enough, the experience is much more pleasant. Just me and the cashiers and all is well.

Beyond that, Jess' family comes to our house for Christmas Dinner. A few years ago, we managed to begin the traditions of hosting my family for Turkey Day and her side for Christmas. This does a few things for us. First off, we don't have to switch one side one year and the other the next for both holidays, this leaves only Easter to be swapped. The trade off is a huge amount of work to prepare everything but I enjoy kitchen time especially large meals and lots going on. The other beautiful byproduct is that our children, and we, don't have to travel on Christmas day. Being raised in a broken home, I had to travel way too many places growing up. It seemed like you would open your gifts and then it was time to pick a small one to take with your for the day. I refuse to do the same with our children. They get the whole day to hang out in their jammies and play with whatever items Santa brought them (as do Jess and I). We do gain a houseful around 1pm but I'm typically still in my pajama pants and probably starting on some hard cider.
Last year, I did an all Italian meal and since that went over so well, I'm going to repeat with a few minor changes. I'll start today by making homemade pasta for the lasagna, manicotti and other pasta based dishes. I may make the dough for stromboli but I'll be off Christmas Eve so it might work better the day before. Other than that, we'll do a large salad bowl and some steamed vegetables.

Below is a picture from last Christmas. I made a bunch of angelhair pasta which I will probably omit this year. There are also some of the lasagna noodles I had made. They ended up a little heavier than I like so I will hand roll them this year.



A vegetable based tomato sauce which I didn't like as much as some others I have tried since then.



Two stromboli; one traditional and one with just ham, pepperoni and cheeses.




So that pretty much sums up this week. Lots of food, family and Wal-Mart avoidance. I hope everyone has a nice holiday and stay safe.

After about a month of searching, Jess and I picked up a new vehicle that can handle the five of us for normal travel. I'm sure most people could have accomplished getting a new vehicle in less time however we, errr I, had our hearts set on getting a Toyota Land Cruiser. I spent quite a bit of time searching for a newer model and probably the same amount of time searching for an older model as well. The newer models made more sense for us as a family vehicle but the older models are just awesome. Well, as we found out, they are both awesome.

I found one in North Carolina and Jess and I seriously considered flying down and driving it up. Unfortunately, adding the travel expense was a bit too much for a 1991 with 246K miles on it. I'm sure most people reading this are thinking that mileage like that requires only a fools interest. Well, I may be a fool but it isn't applicable in this case. With normal maintenance, these vehicles can see 400K miles.

In the meantime, I also stumbled on a 1978 FJ40. The vehicle needs some love but it is inspected and would help with getting my 1974 back in order since I would have something to check when piecing everything back together. Not really a family vehicle but the price is reasonable. This option hasn't been ruled out at the moment but I'd rather get rid of some of our other vehicles first. By the way, the Talon sold yesterday so we are back to our five vehicles instead of six. How have I managed to collect so many? I'm not sure but I think it has something to do with my Uncle Bob. At least I'll blame him for the moment.

I also stumbled on a few in the Philly and New Jersey area however these units were on Ebay and I'm just not comfortable purchasing something major like a vehicle on Ebay. I suppose if the right deal would have come along and I could physically inspect it, my opinion would be different.

During my search, I also found one of the best forums around, iH8mud.com. This site is designated for all things Land Cruiser however is filled with some very knowledgeable people that are more than happy to hand out help and opinions on any issue you might encounter. Of course like most forums, they have a classified section which is where I found a 97 Land Cruiser in Schenectady, NY. This was about as close as I could find.

I was able to travel north 2.5 hours and check the vehicle out in the beginning of March and everything seemed very tight and well maintained. The asking price was very reasonable mainly because the seller was looking for better mpg and she is near retirement. She wasn't even advertising it other than having her friend list it in the classifieds on the Mud forums. The vehicle had 208K for mileage but as I said, mileage isn't a huge factor for these units.

After trying to figure out the best way to financially handle everything, Jess and I traveled back up to Schenectady and purchased our new rig. Jess turned around and drove back down and I followed about an hour later. Everything went well and the vehicle felt as solid as any I have driven. Jess hopped in and drove it from Montrose down to our house and she was impressed as well. I was a bit nervous that she would feel the vehicle is too large. It is a large vehicle weighing in around 6400 lbs but since you have a clear view out all sides, it is fairly easy to drive and maneuver.

Of course the next phase was inspection, tags, blah blah blah. Inspection went well except it needs brakes and there is a little front bearing play. After purchasing new brake pads, I realized that one of the pistons on the passenger side caliper was hung. I thought about rebuilding it however timewise, it is easier to just replace it and to be honest, the price for a remanned unit is reasonable.

This brings me to maintenance. Not only are these vehicles amazing as far as capability and quality, they are designed so that you can do most maintenance and repairs yourself. The brake pad replacement is perhaps the easiest I've ever seen on any vehicle, including a bicycle. You simply remove the rim/tire, pull a spring clip, pull two pins, pull the old brake pads, insert new pads and reverse the procedure. No reaching around to unhook the calipers and as I said, just easy.

I'm off to do an oil change today and possibly change the transmission fluid as well. I'd like to get all of the fluids baselined so I know where the unit stands. I suppose I've rambled enough for the time being. Here is a photo of the new unit for your enjoyment.




Just to see what the other vehicle looks like, here ya go. I know, its awesome!



And last but not least, here is a whole gallery of where my 74 stands. Lots of work ahead!!

1974 FJ40

I have been following presidential candidates for the last few weeks. Particularly, Ron Paul but I really wanted to check all the candidates out and give them a fair shot. My concerns during this election are civil liberties, 2nd amendment, and the war(s) in the Middle East. There are more of course but these top my conerns at the moment.

Ron Paul really intrigues me and I plan on supporting him. I had a conversation recently and the person I was speaking with said that she felt like she would be throwing a vote away because she knew he couldn't win. In this election I finally feel comfortable in that, there is a representative that has the same ideals I do and I'm excited. I can only hope more people do the research and vote for the person that represents their feelings as well, even if it isn't for Paul.

Huckabee is also an interesting candidate although I couldn't get a clear postion on civil liberties. I had thought about McCain but after reviewing his position, I don't plan on sending any support his way, even if he is a Navy Veteran.

Check this site out if you are looking for some solid information on each candidate. They try to even the board by having a set of issues and responses along with voting records for each candidate.

http://selectsmart.com

Jessie pointed out USA Today has an 11 question setup as well.

Candidate Match Game

Over the weekend Jessie suggested I bottle some cider for the upcoming holidays. I haven't had any time to devote to this hobby so it was nice to finally "take a break".

I chose to bottle the 3 gallon carboy which has been sitting for about a year. I had racked it 3 or 4 times in the beginning stages so the final result was very clear.





I did a write up on a brewing site Craig and I run so feel free to check out the gory details there.

Brew Monkies

Saturday I purchased the items necessary to hook our oven up. We have been in the house since June 1st with little need for the oven due to summer weather and lack of time. There have been a few occasions where we would have liked to use it however the toaster oven got us through. We are planning on having Thanksgiving at our home so the oven wasn't going to be able to remain stagnant very much longer.

I ran the wire from the breaker box up through the wall next to the oven and had the pigtails all set. Fortunately, my friend Mike swung by to tie it all together. Jess and I had plans Saturday evening so we didn't have a chance to try it out that particular day.

I've had this idea for a banana roll for quite some time. As my wife discovered, I'm not the first to think of it but neither here nor there, I had never heard of them.

Sunday morning I woke up and started getting things in order. I used an existing pumpkin roll recipe however I substituted mashed banana for the pumpkin and omitted the ginger. Other than cooking it a little too long and I would have liked to add some pecans or walnuts, the roll came out very good. I plan on making a few over the holiday season.

In the afternoon, I made a loaf of bread. Nothing too spectacular as I had some frozen loaves in the freezer waiting for the oven as well.

For dinner, I made two chicken wing pizzas. I didn't have any pizza sauce or canned tomatoes so I used the following which came out pretty good.

About 3oz of tomato paste
1 stick butter
1/4 or so cup franks red hot
basil, oregano, cilantro to taste
1 cup boiled chicken, chopped
mozzerella

The children felt it was a tad spicy but Jess and I enjoyed it.

Over the weekend, I decided to make some pasta. It started after work on Friday with Varenyky. These are basically pierogies Ukraine style. I have the recipe in the archives if you are intrigued. I spent about 3 hours mostly because l'm not very well versed with our pasta machine. Of course hand stuffing 4 dozen ravioli sized pastas with cheddar mashed potatoes can take some time. I placed all of the stuffed pasta onto a cookie sheet with wax paper and froze it for packaging. We haven't tried it yet but should be a good meal as opposed to Mrs. T's.

Saturday morning I woke before the rest of the family and was still in the mood to use the pasta machine. So I used a recipe I had stuffed in the pasta maker box and started. I tried fetuccini at first however decided on angel hair instead. I kneaded the mixture accordingly and let it sit for 5 or so minutes covered. Once I clamped the roller onto the counter. I proceeded to roll the pasta out to level 6 on my machine, 7 being the thinnest setting. After I rolled it all out into long scarves, it dried slightly and I was able to cut it into angel hair. I placed the pasta on a spare shower rod hanging in the kitchen to let it dry.

That evening, we cooked it up with some chicken, basil, and parmesan. The flavor of the pasta was tremendous. You could easily eat it without any additional flavoring. Much better than any store bought version could think about becoming.

I now wonder a few things. I'd like to make pasta once every couple months and store it. With the raw eggs in the recipe, the initial thought is that it must be used or frozen. I believe that drying it out would prevent most bacteria from growing as long as it was dried well. Additionally, moving the pasta, especially angel hair, can pretty much break it with ease. One suggestion is to make "nests" but then I question whether or not it will dry completely enough to prevent bacteria. Perhaps a short run in the oven on low would get it to the appropriate storage condition.

I may pick up some semolina and try just olive oil. Perhaps I'll post results.

If you haven't made pasta at home, I suggest giving it a shot. The quality and flavor is a whole other food and quite honestly, store bought attempts fall very short.

Jessie has asked me several times as to why we don't have a "normal" lawnmower. About three years ago I became frustrated with our 1987 John Deere and traded it in on a Toro zero turn model. Both are 38" cut decks however my time on the mower was cut in half with the new unit. My wife tried driving it a few times but didn't really feel comfortable on it.

So, I was helping a friend unload some projects and he had an old lawnmower that was slotted as a fixer upper. I asked him about it and he said that he didn't have plans for it so I could have it if I wanted to troubleshoot it and get it running. Of course I am always getting my hands into something so I didn't think for long before agreeing to take it off his hands.

The unit is a 1967 Wheel Horse Lawn Ranger. The deck is 32" and it has a 3 speed transmission. We did some research and found it came stock with a 6hp Tecumseh engine. After cleaning the carbeurator and checking the oil, we fired it up. It really didn't take much effort and there wasn't anything noticeably wrong with the exception of some bearings on the deck.

At this point, we have replaced the bearings and started to paint the entire unit. The deck has been sanded and painted, a few cracks have been welded, and the hood has sanded.

I'm sure this isn't exactly what my wife was expecting however she probably wouldn't expect any less from me. Pictures will follow.

After much research and discussion, we decided to try our hand at raising some chickens. I could go on about the difference in the egg quality from store bought to your own raised versions however that is only a by-product of the original intention which was to have a decent garden.


We wanted to put a garden in however between building a house, moving, and the addition of our second son, there was little time to play in the dirt this spring. So I resolved to start preparing an area which would work for us next spring. While doing some light reading, I stumbled on an article about raising chickens in a fenced in area that was basically split in half. Chickens ran around on one side while you plant your garden on the other. In the fall, you move the chickens into the garden area for cleanup detail and begin prepping the soil where the chickens had been for next years garden. As you can imagine, the ground receives a nice saturation of fertilizer via chicken waste. I won't really go into much more detail however you can view the article here.


So I've read and read and read and read about raising chickens (which by the way is a great sleeping pill in the evening and late night). I had spent plenty of time around horses and cows as I was growing up however never really had any experience with chickens. Fortunately, 3 of my 5 neighbors and several people at work currently have chickens. Additionally, there is a vast well of information on the net on how to take an egg and make it a chicken the correct way.


We ordered 26 random chicks from Murray McMurray. (I should add here that I ordered them while my wife lay sleeping and having no clue what I was enlisting our family for. She knew I was going to get a few chickens but when I told her I ordered 26 her eyes flew wide open. God bless her for putting up with my crazy ideas!) Specifically, we ordered the "Special Assorted Bargain" which I thought would be the most fun. There are some really crazy looking chickens out there! Most of my neighbors and friends have the common Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, and Leghorns. I can always fall back on them if I need to have some more incubated which is a nice insurance policy. We ordered them last Thursday and they arrived this morning. We lost one during transit however the rest of them seem to be doing very well.


The next venture is to build a chicken coop on the old harverstore base behind our house in addition to the fencing which will keep them in and predators out. I'll update as need be but for now, here are a couple images and a link to more.


I'm sure there are simpler ways to develop land for a garden however this way seems to be the most fun!

I have been looking for a recipe application to house my recipes for a while. I looked at some commercial types and also creating my own database. The problem has been that I wanted to incorporate the list into my current website so I could access it at almost any time.
In case you didn't know, I have a content management system loaded as my web site. I've always liked this system and have been using it on and off for about 6 years. Well in my search, I found a recipe plug-in and it works great. Take a look on the right hand menu and you'll see Recipe Archive.
I was able to take all of my recipes and list them with all the details needed. Now I can add recipes anywhere I have internet access and this includes my phone. Pretty simple and sweet.

One of the items we wanted in our new house was a central vac system. If you have ever priced these bad boys out, you will see they can be very expensive for just a base system. Fortunately, I found a system that can be built for a fraction of a purchased system and so far, works as well or better. Unfortunately, the article isn't published on the web however the magazine is BackWoods Home and the issue is #97, January/February 2006. Visit their site at www.backwoodshome.com. I used David Lee's information to get a basic idea of how to design my system however made some changes which of course added cost but gave us the full central vac effect. I won't compare every change I made but the basic differences in our system vs. the article are hose and attachments as well as vacuum placement. Dave suggested a pool cleaning hose and placement of the vac outside in a weather-proof cabinet. As you will read, I took a different path on both.



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