Firearms Friday: Miscellaneous Parts

This summarizes the majority of the spare parts that I have... 

When sorting through the boxes, drawers, and safes around my work bench it is amazing how much stuff that I am able to uncover. Not only is it a useful exercise in updating my parts inventory but it is also a means to reorganize all the miscellaneous items that got put aside at one point or another but never properly cataloged. Not get me wrong, anything with a serial number is well documented but anyone that does any gunsmithing or replaces parts knows that there are always pieces that simply get consumed by the workbench.

However, what I find to be the most interesting part of the process if not finding the useful parts and pieces that I can either use right away or store in my bench for later but the parts that I have no idea how I got them. Well, that isn’t completely true. Many of the items revealed during the excavation are from firearms that I used to own. We all have that miscellaneous box or drawer of parts laying around full of items that we thought we would use but never did. Before we knew it, the parts had been swallowed by the work bench and the firearm was sold or traded.

Then there are the parts to firearms that I never owned. These come about because of three very simple reasons: I hope to own that particular make/model in the future; I didn’t read the box, bag, or description closely enough and bought the wrong nonreturnable item; or, it was too good of a deal on a part that I can easily use for trade fodder. I know that I am not alone in having some things fall into one of these three categories.

At this point it is a matter of pulling together all of the different parts and separating them into a system that will work moving forward. Actually, it is more about updating the current system. This basically comes down to parts that I expect to use immediately, backup parts and those that were swapped out, parts that I will use in the future upon acquisition of the correct firearm, and those that will be exclusively used for trade fodder or will be sold. Of course, this is all in the hope that I will be able to maintain this means of organization moving forward and now that my wife and I have settled down that is actually a possibility.

Mortgage Monday: No More Rent

Since we’ve been together, my wife and I have always written a rent check every month. The amounts may have varied over the years but the one thing that remained constant was the fact that we didn’t own the place in which we lived. It is a rather disconcerting notion when, at the end of the year, you look back and see all of the money that you gave to someone else without having anything really to show for it. It is primarily because of this that we have been wanting to buy a place of our own for years.

While it has taken longer than expected and it had happened under circumstances that we both wish could have been different, we are no longer writing rent checks. Now we find ourselves flipping through the payment book sent to us from our bank knowing that with each page that we turn we own a little bit more of our home. And with each month we add just a little extra, as much as we can, in order to shorten that three decade commitment a little bit at a time.

It really is a different experience when writing these checks (actually, setting up the automatic payment and watching the funds evaporate from our account). There is a goal in mind with a clearly defined payment period. There is certainty and stability in the payments we are now making and, to a certain extent, we look forward to making these payments as each check or transfer is one less that we have to make in order to own our home in its entirety.

Owning our own house also allows for the freedom to change or keep things the same as we see fit. There are few limitations especially without the presence of a homeowner’s dictatorship/association. It is true that we have to maintain everything ourselves but we can also fix things ourselves without the potential repercussions from a landlord and we can chose who we want to do the work if we find it is beyond our limited knowledge and experience. We are able to make things right in our own way in our own time.

We also have the peace of mind knowing that we are staying in the same place. There is no lease and we don’t have to worry about our rent going up next year or the owner deciding that they no longer want to have tenants. We have a place that offers us permanence and stability for the two of us and, more importantly, for our son. This is the home where our son is going to grow up and that is an amazing feeling.

Sunday Search: Land

The photo above is the barn on the original homestead for the Teaford family on Kerr's Creek, Virginia.  

Land is an important part of family history. It gives us the connection to previous generations, decades, centuries, and sometimes millennia after the lives of our ancestors. Knowing where we come from and finding those roots has always been something that has been of particular interest to me. This is part of what has driven me in recent years to find that land of our own where my wife and I can raise our family… and actual place, a piece of this earth, that we own. This was also important to the first generation of my family in the late 18^th century.

From Nellie Teaford Wood’s book which is included on the family website:

In 1780 Jacob Düfford bought his first farm in Augusta County at the foot of Sugar Loaf Mountain, a small round hill on property now part of Silverbrook Farms. With his wife Christenah and six children he came from Shenandoah County, where he had resided since 1774 on land in the Fairfax Grant.

Düfford had arrived in Philadelphia on the ship Hero on 27 October 1764, but his origin has eluded researchers. That he spoke and read and wrote German is established by his signatures in Philadelphia and in October 1792 in Virginia. He joined 193 residents in petitioning the Virginia General Assembly, citing their unacquaintance with the English "language" to publish laws in German so that "they may more cheerfully comply" because they have "always contributed their part of the support of government."

Virginia State claims show that he, along with other "Augusta Germans," did his part by furnishing flour for the Revolutionary army in 1780. 

…

The immigrant Jacob died intestate in 1801, owning three farms. The papers settling the estate in Augusta County Courthouse offer a wealth of genealogical and historical information. 

We didn’t have much when came to this country, colony actually, but we worked and slowly accumulated land. This was particularly important during this time in history as only landowners could vote and have any say in such petitions as the one to which he affixed his name in 1792. In the end, over the course of his life, Jacob had acquired over 200 acres in Augusta County. Makes my nearly 3 acres, purchased 235 years after Jacob bought his first farm, seem almost inconsequential in comparison.

In the years since that first generation, the family has seen land come and go in the family but those original farms, while not in the family, still exist. They still remain as a connection to our past regardless of who currently holds the deed. Being able to go down to Virginia, gather with those who have this same connection, and enjoy the area where we know our family has been for hundreds of years is something that we were able to enjoy over the summer and an experience I look forward to revisiting many times over in the future.

Firearms Friday: More Space

A similarly blank canvas...

When my wife and I first saw what would become our home, we pretty much knew what we were going to do with each of the spaces and rooms. Actually, we found a house with enough room that we had to put some effort into figuring out what each of the rooms would be after we filled the spaces that we knew we needed (this is how our son ended up with two playrooms). Two of the spaces that we were able to immediately figure out were my office (the former formal living room) and my work bench and safe space (the dry and clean unfinished basement).

Let’s just say that I have a very understanding wife. In our former rental I had taken over the basement with a combination office and work area. Now I have more room than I really know what to do with as the basement covers the entire footprint of the house with nothing else down there except the basic equipment (i.e. boiler, well filters, electrical panel, etc). There was already a small work bench tucked in the corner and now that small section is significantly expanded. I might be taking up an eighth of the space and that is pretty spread out.

For the first time I am going to be able to keep the vices, cleaning kits, and tools out and organized. This is a bit of an odd situation for me as I have always needed to put things away at the end of the day with the previous work spaces that I have had. In addition to being more convenient and feeling like it is a more permanent space, it is also much more efficient. With all those items already out and ready to be used, I am able to immediately start working on a project seconds after I open the safe.

Being able to separate my office from my work space is something that I have been looking forward to for some time now. Work is work. It is a completely different atmosphere and mentality. Relaxing at the bench is just that… it is a means to forget things for a little bit and focus on the small projects and working with my hands. Now that we have the space, and the fact that I have an understanding wife, I am able to have those two areas to myself. Hopefully this means that you will be reading about some long overdue updates to a variety of projects that I have mentioned before… at least after I get everything organized.

TMI Tuesday: Baby Gets A Bigger Room

The long day began with our usual morning routine which quickly changed once we got in our cars and met up at our son’s daycare. Today we both wanted to be there when we dropped him off as things were going to be quite different when we picked him up. It was a great feeling telling him “You have fun at school, mommy and daddy are going to go get you a bigger room!” From that daycare we drove to another… we haven’t been very happy with where our son has been spending his days.

Our appointment began as the last of the children were dripped off by their parents and as soon as we had a moment to sit a look around, we knew that this was a completely different place than where our son was currently spending his time. By the end of the tour there wasn’t a question in our mind as to whether we wanted to change his daycare it was all a matter of when would he be able to start. While we were going to make the switch anyway the fact that it was a $100 per week cheaper made that decision a lot easier.

From there we drove up the road a few miles where we met with a brother from the lodge and his wife. It was a relatively quick meeting as we were all running quite a bit behind schedule and before we knew it we were up against the clock to get to our next appointment. We arrived slightly passed the time we had hoped to arrive but things seemed to work out as our room wasn’t quite ready. This gave us an opportunity to talk with all those who greeted us at the front door. At this point part of me was eager to get things moving while another part as nervous about the changes which were about to occur.

The delays seemed longer in the moment than they do in hindsight. I guess it was all the excitement and anticipation of the day. Looking back it seems like mere moments between the first handshakes to the final signature to the disbursement of checks. While all the leg work and preparations may have been time consuming, it was all worth the effort when we were handed the keys to our new home and our son’s bigger bedroom. Now we can finally call ourselves homeowners and now we have a place where we can see ourselves raising our family for many years to come. It is a great new feeling to have especially when you go to pick up your son and tell him that we found a place where he will grow up.

Where To Go? What To Do?

 

I have been having the constant debate with myself lately of whether or not we should move once our lease is up or whether we should stay where we are with the hope of saving enough money to buy our own place next year. I know which one makes the most sense but I also know what the best thing is for both of us. However, even with both of those considerations, it is not a clear cut decision as it would seem upon initial glance.

Where we are now is not a place where we are comfortable… we don’t enjoy the community that is around us and it leaves us needing to escape whenever we can by getting in the car and going somewhere else. The rent is great and the people we encounter in our own building are nice but the congested location and overall discomfort that we feel in the area doesn’t allow for us the relaxation that a ‘home’ should have. We know the area and it is close to family and friends but there is only so much that can tie us to a place where we are not comfortable.

We have looked for a place to move, somewhere that checked the majority of the boxes on our lists of what we are looking for in a community and a home. It has been a time consuming project that has occupied our minds and has put a number of miles on the car but it seems as though we have finally found a location for serious consideration north on Route 309. The prices are reasonable and the land, overall, seems less densely packed, both positives in our view. It is also close to all the stores that we would need on a regular basis which my wife prefers.

In the times we have visited is seems to be a comfortable area and also a location that meets our commuting requirements. While it keeps my wife’s commute the same, maybe a little shorter, it cuts my commute by nearly a third. However, when it comes to driving to work there are many more alternate routes for the two of us in comparison to our current location. As a bonus, there is at least one range about 5-10 minutes down the road which my wife is indifferent to by a definite perk for me.

What is overlooked time and again by many people is the simple cost of moving. We want to move north and be somewhere that is comfortable and convenient for both of us but it would seriously put a dent in our home owning aspirations and delay that goal by at least an additional year. But, the most important thing about a going home at the end of the day is being comfortable and looking forward to walking through the door. For that reason, it may be the most prudent to delay homeownership and move somewhere where we are comfortable and feel like we are at home.

But, really, it is still up in the air as I am sure my mind will go back and forth many times every 24 hour period. So, you are going to have to keep reading to find out if the move happens or if I will continue to write from the same apartment where this all started. What would you do in this situation?