Remodel.2

The new dirt auger covered to keep it dry

The kitchen remodel project really warmed up the last week.   I ordered a grain auger from the local coop to convey dirt from the crawl space to the yard.   I finally got it installed last weekend and ran some dirt, but it was Valentine's Day and spending it underground was not in my best interests. I does speed up the process immensely, but I still need to figure out how to load it a little slower.  I overheated the 1 HP motor a few times and it will kick out until it cools off, dirt is definitely harder to mover than animal feed.    I also made a trip to Atlanta and made a stop at IKEA to pick up half of the cabinets we need.   Now, I have way more than I can do in several months and we will start chipping away.   We also found a really neat exhaust hood for our stove.  Futuro makes a Mimosa model that is very stylist--Italian of course-that is paintable.  The design uses wood and some molded plastic material that is can be easily.   The fact that you can paint your hood makes the variations infinite in the finished look.  This should make it fun to trim out the kitchen. I can't wait to get to that part.

One problem related  the auger was the lack of a good wiring chart.   The motor is 220 volt and I added a very slick switch from the feed to the creek water pump.  I got all the wiring done and it took all day to do the wiring of the new outlet and the motor.  I get it all set and it will not start.   Double checked everything and no luck.   The major piece of the motor wiring is a control box that is fitted with a limit switch to stop the motor when the bin is full.   That unit is where all the connections for the incoming and feeds to the motor were located..   I brought this piece inside to trouble shoot due to the lousy cold weather.   I finally worked through the very simple drawing they had and had to fix two misplaced connections.  The diagram did not match what was in the box.   One warning lite had no ground, two hots will not make it work.  Another feed to the motors was not fed properly.   I cannot imagine trying to get this running in some barn with the animals all fired up over getting fed.  But after all the changes, it started just fine and we were off and augering away.

I have started to experiment with new gear again this season.  I have been searching for some compression wear that is made for running with some style.  I finally found some stuff at Skins and have picked up some shorts, calf compression sleeves and a compression top that needs a helper to get on and off.   More on them later as I test them out, they look good and fit snug.  

I have been picking up my pace with my running and feel great.  I am doing nothing longer than 1200 meters on the treadmill now and I am looking for a chance to get outside.   Yesterday I ran 1200, then 800, then 400 then a 200 at increasing speeds for each.  That was basically the entire workout.  Today I leg work and did some dead lifts, clean and jerks and hanging power cleans.  Not a lot of reps, but some heavy weights and an incredibly thick sweat.  The humidity is back up with all the rain and I have found I feel much stronger and faster in the humid weather.  The dry weather, although less dense, is not what my body likes.  Hot and humid are my best combinations for running. My stretching is also much better is the humidity....