And yet another winter in New Hampshire, 2013-2014.

November 9, 2013 and we have the first real snow in Manchester, NH. It is a good day to stay inside, even more so since we’ve got our heating system running reliably. As the weather became colder we had some mornings that were a bit crisp because the furnace had stopped working. We had already replaced the logic board, fan delay relay and gas solenoid valve so the only original parts are the over-temperature switch and the sail switch. In an emergency I can wire past the over-temp switch but the sail switch gets checked by the new aftermarket logic board every cycle. Well, ours was staying closed indicating that the blower was running when it wasn’t and the logic board was keeping the fan from starting. Traditionally this means that there is a bit of fluff holding the switch in the on position but since ours was still the original switch and you have to remove and replace the entire furnace to clean the sail switch I ordered up a replacement. Lucky call on my part since the switch itself was hanging up in the closed position. So all back together and we have reliable heat all night long, although I miss the savings in propane use and battery charge I had when the furnace was failing in the middle of the night!

Of course the gods of all things mechanical are all knowing and all powerful and once they saw my defeat of the great god Murphy, they caused my generator to fail. The same day, after dark when I went outside to start the generator for the evening battery charge and dinner preparation event, my push of the start button was greeted with a flash of light sent by the great gods of all things mechanical. Or the braided ground strap giving up the ghost in an arc of electricity. Tired and cold it took my addled brain to find the source of the problem but after three attempt to start the Onan with power from different sources I finally realized that it wasn’t power coming in that was the problem but the power return path. Once the weather clears and the roads are again safe for man and beast I’ll hit the local Home Depot for more #4 cable and some connectors and create a new ground strap.

Sad to say but our stalker is back again this year. I’ve tried to engage him in conversation but his conversational skill set seems to be limited to “This ain’t no f***’n campground.” Since he’s elderly has a red Ford pick-up truck which sports a vanity “County” license plate and lives in New Hampshire I have him tagged in my mind as a Republican.

I wouldn’t have a problem with him except that he’s mean spirited. Last winter he herded a total of seven families to the defunct Lowe’s in Hooksett, NH then complained that the homeless were parked there. The adjacent WalMart posted their parking lot warning that trucks and RV’s will be towed away at anytime day or night which makes it difficult for us since we use the Hooksett, NH WalMart supercenter for food and medicine although whenever we can we shop at the Market Basket next door because the food Market Basket sells is of higher quality and less expensive.
Working with the rule of two steps forward and one step back, Lynn is recovering from total joint replacement surgery on a 30 year old injury. This is the before picture, I haven’t been able to score a copy of the after picture yet. What was found during the surgery was a bone spur that had carved a notch in the tibia that required cadaver bone to fill.