What did you do today?

House Repair Talk

Help Support House Repair Talk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Happy Thanksgiving, Redneck... I'm not a fan of Ham or Turkey... Ham because it's a Sodium Bomb and Turkey because it's dry... My Sister said to cook the Turkey in a roaster on the counter and cook it upside down and it will be juicy throughout.
I sometimes cook a half turkey or whole turkey in the microwave and everyone seems to like it because it is moist... and that's another reason I get the biggest microwave with the 16" platter...
I'll put Bar-B-Q sauce or something all over the turkey wrap that in paper towels and then wrap it with microwavable clear plastic wrap and then nuke it...
Nuking ears of sweet corn in the husk is another use for the big platter... big enough to still spin with big things on it...
 
The contractor for my Brother's shop couldn't figure out where to put the studs, as in the studs were 15" or 14 1/2... I forget the exact details, but when we were wiring outlets and putting up the OSB panels, he was griping about them being "in the business" but having no idea what they were doing. "They aren't Lawyers or Accountants 5 days a week then they go play Carpentry, this IS THEIR JOB."...

The shop frame LOOKED okay, but then put up the 8 foot panels and when they don't work, insert swear words.
They go 16" or 24" apart... and you don't measure that distance one at a time... you stretch a tape measure the entire distance of the wall and then mark off the appropriate spots...
 
A friend (lives near Savannah, GA) makes sculpted tree islands on his property by placing leaves around groups of trees. He got the idea from golf courses.
I'd be concerned the leaves would cause the rain water to run off instead of soaking down into the tree roots... of course it rains about every night in Georgia so plenty of water there...
 
I worked on the back porch today for 5 hours, took a few breaks while out there. I got rid of a bookcase, took a bunch of kitchen stuff out there, put about 30 empty boxes out there, a chest of drawers, TONS of plastic tubs/organizers, an electric fireplace, a lamp and some miscellaneous metal kitchen wall hanging and stuff. I broke a collectable Cracker Barrell stackable 4 compartment thing.... dropped one piece thinking it was only 3 pieces. It apparently sells for like $60.... not anymore 😳. Then I searched this mid century metal canister type thing.
20221010_162543.jpg

Its kind of neat, idk that I think its neat enough to keep. I have another bookcase to take off the porch and the microwave stand that this thing is sitting on. Then I have a wicker sort of bookcase to get rid of. There's an entertainment center out there that my daughter wants to put in her room. I think her tv will fit in it and then it has 2 big drawers she can put things in. It will have to be scrubbed.... then there are 2 4 drawer metal filing cabinets that I need to go through and an 10ish square foot area to go back through again. Then, I will need to pull the carpet layers up roll them up and tape them to put in the dumpster when it comes. Larry is going to come back tomorrow and cut the rest of the bush outback down and then start on the fence lines.

I **should** be cleaning because the electrician will be here tomorrow evening, maybe in a little bit... maybe in the morning. I work better under pressure and I am sooooooo sick of cleaning currently. I am basically down to the storage unit of my moms stuff, which is still a lot of stuff, however; I woke up with a renewed sense of hope that my house doesn't have to be this way much longer (even if It takes a year). I am tired of being embarrassed of it. I just want to come home, relax and be able to feel some pride in having been a teenage parent who dropped out of high-school, had a baby, got a GED, Drivers license at 25, went to college at 32 and graduated @34 and again @48 and am a first generation college GRADUATE. I deserve to own all the hard work I have put in and stop living like a pauper.


Ok. Enough of that.....

I made bucket steak with mashed potatoes and gravy and peas for dinner. (Cube steak cooked in cream of mushroom soup undiluted in crockpot). It was pretty good.

I'm kind of excited for the electrician to come tomorrow. Maybe I shouldn't be lol, but it still feels like hopeful change!

I hope you all have had a wonderful day!
 
Made ribs again, this time St. Louis style.

I seasoned them, wrapped in foil, and baked at 250F for about 3 hours, then turned off the oven and took them out after another three hours. Then after draining the fat I cut them individually and grilled them, brushing with BBQ sauce and turning over and over.

Easily among the best ribs I've ever had. The meat almost fell off the bone, almost melted in my mouth, but held on and had just enough meaty texture to be satisfying.
 
Shan, you're not whining. It's understandable. You were left with a lot to deal with. I wonder if the burning smell could have been the burning in phase of the new vent fan. Sometime there is an odor to new electronics. I had it with some new appliances. Something about a coating burning off. But if it wasn't on that might not be it. I hope the electrician figures out what it was. I totally understand not being able to find someone reliable.

Around here, even if their name is on their truck it doesn't mean they are reliable. One of the plumbers in town has his name on the truck and is absolutely terrible.

Redneck, I'm glad you got to see your grandkids and had a good time.

Spicoli, the food sounds good.

I'm fighting allergies and feeling tired but my back is doing better. I went to Samsclub today & my brother couldn't do much lifting bc his deltoid and rotator cuff are not cooperating. I went through that awhile back so I understand. An old frail looking man in a riding cart rolled up to us in the parking lot and asked my brother if he could please help. He had a bunch of cases of water. I told him my brother had injured his shoulder and that I would help. My brother explained it was his rotator cuff and the old man said it was best if he didn't take any chances on making it worse so I loaded the cases into his truck for him and he thanked me. Also stopped at the Chinese place and discussed traveling and language with the owner. He was saying how they speak Cantonese in Hong Kong and Hokkien in Taiwan. He speaks Mandarin. He talked about going to Singapore 40 years ago and how he liked the Kway teow (not sure on the spelling-- it's a noodle dish).

I was feeling a bit lightheaded so I wasn't up to cooking when I got home. Allergies are getting to me. I need to find my nasal spray.

Flyover, what is st louis style? Those ribs sound delicious. We used to get some ribs from Kroger that my elderly friend would cook on a wood-burning stove. They would fall off the bone. I miss those.
 
Flyover, what is st louis style?
As I understand it, you can buy two kinds of pork ribs at the store, typically: baby back, and St. Louis style. Baby back has shorter bones of a more consistent length, and each bone has a round cross section. St. Louis style has bones that range from quite long to very short, with a flatter profile, and the cartilage is softer and easier to chew. The claim I've heard is there is usually more meat on the St Louis style, though in my experience so far I haven't seen much difference. But the St. Louis style bones are a bit straighter, which I've found makes them easier to grill, and I like being able to easily eat that cartilage.

Edit: I just looked it up. Wikipedia has better info. Pork ribs - Wikipedia
 
Last edited:
Shan... Were you holding on to that mountain of stuff because your Mom refused to let it go?

Buzz... Did you make up that microwave Turkey story? That qualifies for a Cousin Eddie award!

Flyover... Have you tried Ribs in a crockpot? I would skip all cooking with foil, while "they" say it's safe to use, I say it leads to Alzheimers, plus it makes food taste metallic...

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=crockpot+ribs
 
I have eaten crockpot pork shoulder. Though it is good it is missing that char that BBQ fans love so much. I did see that the guy in the video charred the ribs later in the oven which might work out OK. I don't eat pork nowadays so can't try it.
 
Last edited:
I guess I could do ribs in the crock pot (I'd still finish them on the grill), but it seems messier and I'd have to cut them up to fit inside.

That reminds me, one of our Black Friday gifts to ourselves this year is going to be a bigger crock pot and food processor. Right now both are rather small, and I want to be able to make a week's worth of hummus instead of a day's worth. I've been told my hummus is so good I could sell it.
 
Ribs in a Crockpot are INSANE... I have also done plenty of Pork Shoulder for Pulled Pork sammiches... Yummm...

Hummus reminds me of Tofu, no thanks.

If you are in the market for a Crock / Food Processor, watch for deals on Brickseek, especially the time of year we are in..

https://brickseek.com/
 
I like hummus but have never made it from scratch I just use canned chickpeas for the base so no cooking. I also occasionally toss some canned chickpeas in salads.
 
Last edited:
@Spicoli43, why on earth would hummus remind you of tofu?? I hate tofu; everyone says "it just takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with" nah that's a lie, I've tried it every which way and it always tastes like TOFU.

Hummus on the other hand tastes delicious. If you make it right it should be salty and lemony and tahini-y, with a little puddle of olive oil in the middle, sprinkled ever so slightly with paprika. I make it from scratch, starting with dried garbanzos, water, salt, and a dash of baking soda in the slow cooker for 6-8 hours.

Brickseek looks interesting, I'll check it out. Thanks for the link!

What's the big difference with ribs in a crock pot? And, are you talking about just the first step, to be finished on the grill, or do you do them entirely in the crock pot?
 
Mushed up Vegetable thing.

I probably had Hummus in Iraq, but only remember 18 Metric tons of Rice. Maybe I'll try it this Winter when I'm bored.

Entirely in the crock pot... I don't do Ribs on the BBQ, nothing charred for me... Just cut a slab in half, put it in with a little water or ACV, spices and Sauce... Those 14000 videos will probably say the same thing.

Brickseek can be great, I got several things over the years, like 75 reams of printer paper for 25 cents each... I have no idea what I was thinking, and I now have 73 reams of printer paper left.

If you see something at Walmart for $49.99 discounted on the site to $4.99, write down the UPC / description / Item number etc. and go find it. It will probably be $49.99 in the store, take it to the computer department register or whatever and have them price check it.
 
I got up this morning, looked out the window, and realized the Democrat junkies would murder another 75 Americans today... men, women, children, toddlers, babies...
Am I the only person bothered by that?
 
Buzz... Did you make up that microwave Turkey story? That qualifies for a Cousin Eddie award!

Flyover... Have you tried Ribs in a crockpot? I would skip all cooking with foil, while "they" say it's safe to use, I say it leads to Alzheimers, plus it makes food taste metallic...
I can give you my brother's phone number and you can ask him... he liked it so well he asked me how I cooked it... and he's a hunter who eats all kinds of critters...
.
I cook with aluminum foil, but then discard it... don't store food in foil because after a while hold the foil up to light and it looks like the stars in the sky with all the holes in it from the aluminum dissolving out and falling onto your food. And, yes, the only place aluminum is found in the human body is in the nodule lumps in the brains of Alzheimer's victims... And have to wonder if MONEY is coloring the results of studies of this...
https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/guide/controversial-claims-risk-factors
 
I take it easy on charring since a lot of it is as bad as smoking...
I've heard that but don't know of anyone getting cancer from charbroiling. However that may only be because prices force moderation.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top