16-25 May, 2013 - Birthdays, Reloading, Garden, Mobile Home Levelling, Makeshift Wood Clamps and more.

We did some preliminary garden work this week.  It's still kind of early for serious planting but I got the tiller out and "we" churned up some dirt.

I don't know if you've seen the advertising for Troy Built tillers but you really can operate them with one hand (at least in the "Horse" models). In this photo I'm just driving it to the spot I'm going to work up.  When I tilled up a section Scott was riding in the same place and "helping" steer.

 

He quickly abandoned me and the tiller when he found out how much fun it was to run barefoot in the freshly tilled soil.

 

We put together a makeshift green house for the tomatoes and pepper plants waiting in the cabin.  We still need to finish the sides.

In the meantime all the people who were going to help our Son-in Law level his mobile home had excuses to not show up (funny how that happens about the time real physical labor is needed!) so we made a trip into town to help him do it.  It's been a few years since I've done one but we got it blocked and leveled in a couple of hours.

 

Scott loves the playground.  Susan got this photo of him climbing the inside of the slide.

 

He made an "airplane" out of Lego blocks. 

 

I was bringing more stuff in from the camper when he spotted my hydration pack.  Of course he had to give it a try.



 

For the old timers on this blog our way of making toast isn't new.  But just in case some new people haven't seen our "toaster" here it is.  We use a sheet of aluminum foil on top of the wood stove.  We found it works best if you fold the top over the bread.  Otherwise the bread curls and dries out.

 

It works pretty good.  You just turn the toaster over to do the other side.

 

 

We had a door from one of our kid's houses that needed the edges glued.  I ran out of C-clamps so I improvised using some 2x4's and twine.  It works as good as the clamp.  It's just not as convenient.

 

We awoke to snow on Thursday morning.  Susan's birthday was on Friday so we booked a motel in Kalispell that had a hot tub and pool and spent the night there for her birthday.  The pool and hot tub were a welcome relief from the snow and slushy rain!



 

 

Scott (as usual) was busy exploring everything.  He decided it was nap time in one of the drawers.

 

Now he's parading around in a pair of my socks.

 

Some of the kids came up Saturday to celebrate Susan's birthday so Scott spent time playing with his youngest cousin.

 

They actually did quite well together considering Tommy's age.

 

I keep hearing people say they don't have room to reload ammo.  This is the loading set-up I used while in Nevada in our converted, 14 foot U-Haul truck.  The measurements are 8 in. wide X 5 in. tall X 12 in. long.  All you need is a dry, wind free area to work in.

 

 

Everything I need to reload 200 rounds of .223 ammo is in the box.  (Except the press which I prefer keeping in it's original box.)

 

I purchased the electronic scale from the Bass Pro Shop in Las Vegas.  It was only needed if I switched the type of powder I was using.

 

 

The scale was not necessary as long as I used WW 748 powder so I put all of the essential items in the box to show how they fit.  The scale would have fit also if I took it out of the box.  I prefer keeping it in the box because it can be easily broken. I used a Lee dipper with that powder.  If you have a scale you can make a dipper from an old shell case.  Just weigh out the right amount of powder; poor it into a case, then file the case down to the correct height.  If you want to get fancy solder a wire handle to the brass case.  I recommend that you keep the loads a couple of grains under the maximum load when using a dipper just in case you overfill it.  In my experience ball powder works best when using dippers.

 

You can also purchase a Lee Loader in the caliber needed or go with the Lyman 310 Tool.  The downside of a Lee Loader is the need for hammering.  The downside for the Lyman 310 is die availability (very limited caliber selection).  Both only neck size cases.

 

Using my equipment shown above I can use small-base dies so the cartridges will function in semi-auto firearms like the AR-15.

 

There's more info on reloading in my book The Beginner's Guide to Reloading Ammunition: With Space and Money Saving Tips for Apartment Dwellers and Those on a Budget, available in both print and Kindle versions at: http://www.amazon.com/Beginners-Guide-Reloading-Ammunition-Apartment/dp/148207379X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369589833&sr=1-1&keywords=steven+gregersen

 

And yes, this is a shameless plug for my book!