Projects for 2017

2017 has been a busy year for me thus far.  I have had several projects to work on and some are still in the works.  Janie works with a laptop computer and spends hours a day processing internet orders for Sullivansupply.com.  She gets tired of sitting and it help for her to stand for awhile.  She use to use a round table with some wooden boxes stacked on top of it.  I made her a folding pulpit that can be stored out of the way when not in use.  

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Janie's old and new stand up desk.

 The biggest project by far is the roof of the cottage.  It is in terrible shape.  The shingles I put on it more than 20 years ago where 15 year shingles.  The roof leaked until I patched it recently.  I am going to put a metal roof on it and that required some major modification as you can see from the following pictures.

The shape of the cottage roof was not compatible with metal roofing.  So I drew up a configuration
that would.  I started this project and hope to have it finished by the end of the year.  The roof does not leak right now but its just a mater of time before it does.

The above picture is the back side of the cottage roof.

The above picture is of the front side of the cottage roof.

The far left side was where the leak occurred.

The plan is to cover the walls with metal also. The roof will

be white and the walls and trim will be another color.

I made a rocket stove out of an amo can.

YouTube video of the making of the rocket stove

I converted the florescent lights in the kitchen at the cottage to LED bulbs.  It was quick and easy to do and the light is way better!!

I installed an RV electrical outlet to the side of the fellowship hall at the church.  We had water and sewer hookups for an RV but not electricity.  Now we have everything an RV needs and we have had 2 missionaries use it already.

The project that will be ongoing for years to come is the task of controlling diabetes.  On January 31st I was diagnosed with diabetes.  I weighed 192 pounds my blood sugar was 381 and my A1C was 13.5.  The doctor put me on 2000 mg of metformin a day and gave me a diet plan.  I have done what he said and have lost 21 pounds and am now off of the metformin altogether.  My blood pressure also went down and the doctor had to reduce the amount of medication for that as well.  My A1C is now 6.0 and my blood sugar without meds is averaging  91.
The diet I am on is low carb no sugar.  I eat 1/2 cup of oatmeal each morning with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter.  Natural peanut butter has no sugar and must be kept in the refrigerator.  I sometimes add a 1/2 cup of blueberries to my oatmeal as well.  Lunch consists of baked fish or chicken, dark green veggies like spinach and asparagus and supper is usually a salad with ranch dressing.  For a snack or desert I blend a pint of whipping creme with a block of cream cheese and stir in a quart of blue berries, a pint of raspberries, and a quart of cut up strawberries.  This makes a huge bowl and I keep it in the refrigerator and eat a 1/2 cup serving twice a day.  I don't eat bread, corn, or potatoes.  I do not eat anything with sugar, dextrose or any other ingredient that ends with "ose".  I do not eat artificial sweeteners of any kind.  I have 1/3 cup of milk a day.  I still drink a quart and a 1/2 of water first thing each morning and wait an hour before eating breakfast.

God bless and thank you for your prayers.