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  1. other dog

    Cheap Smoker Oven

    By other dog,

    I have another favorite cooking tool in the back yard too-the outdoor electric smoker range. My best friend "Traveling Kid" ( he died of a heart attack a few years ago,while driving a truck. He was just past the scales on rt. 58 in Suffolk,Va.) told me how to make it,and it works great-if you don't mind an old electric range in your yard.I had mine in the shed in Appomattox,now i've got one out back behind a small metal shed,kind've out of sight. All you need is an old stove with a drawer in the bottom to store pots and pans.You remove all the wires,pull the insulation out of the bottom of the oven-leave the rest,on the sides and top-then drill some holes through the bottom.You'll have 2 bottoms with empty space in between when you pull the insulation out,and I drilled some holes from inside the oven,then turned it over and drilled some from the bottom-that way the holes aren't straight through,but the heat and smoke still get through to the oven but not flames.Then you just use the drawer for a fire box,using wood and/or charcoal and you've got a cheap smoker that works great.I've cooked turkeys in it,boston butts,chicken on a can,venison,and lots of other stuff.You can use a gas stove too,and they're already ready-you don't have to fool with getting the insulation out or drilling holes,because they've got a burner in the bottom,and you just put a fire in there and you're ready to smoke.
  2. other dog

    Stewed Out

    By other dog,

    The stew went well,it was delicious and everyone seemed to have a good time. Had a little bit left over,but not a lot.There was enough where some people took some home with them though.I'm tired as a dog,and tomorrow i've got to boil the pot out again,clean it,and reseason it,but i'm gonna call it a day now and go to bed.
  3. other dog

    Stewing

    By other dog,

    Got the stew on and bubbling away.Had to go to Avon,Oh. Thursday,but I got unloaded and reloaded pretty quick,unloaded in Roanoke last night,and came home and cut up meat,potatoes,and onions until after 1am.Got that cooking now-that's the hardest part,the raw ingredients.After they're done it's just a matter of opening cans and dumping them in.Gotta go now,don't wanna let the pot boil dry or burn anything,or i'll have to go buy 300 cans of Dinty Moore before anybody gets here.
  4. other dog

    Same 'ol Same 'ol

    By other dog,

    Once again I have returned from a week of hauling freight up and down our nation's highways...nothing exciting or out of the ordinary happened,which is good.I went to Avon,Oh. Monday,reloaded at Macedonia for Roanoke,then took a load from Dillwyn to Zelienople,Pa. and reloaded at Pittsburgh back to Lynchburg.Got that off this morning and picked up a load of Kyanite at Dillwyn going to Fremont,Oh. to deliver Monday. I'll be leaving Sunday. Next weekend i'm making a stew,and I wish you all could come. I have a 7 1/2 gallon cast iron stew pot,and make it over a wood fire.I'm not bragging but lot's of people say it's the best stew they ever ate.I make it the same way every time, so it comes out seasoned the same with the same ingredients,right at 7 1/2 gallons.The pot is full,and there's always plenty.If any's left over I can freeze it.That's a lot of stew,but 20-30 people can put away a lot of stew,though last year I had a very light turnout. I just use beef,potatoes,onions,tomatoes,corn,green beans,peas,butterbeans (some people call them lima beans,I call them butterbeans ),secret herbs and spices,worcestershire sauce,and butter-no,land 'o lakes margarine actually.No poke salad though.
  5. other dog

    Frost

    By other dog,

    They're calling for frost tonight and tomorrow night so I picked all my tomatoes that were ripe,or showing any sign of ripening.Then I went back and picked the biggest and best looking of the green ones.I'm gonna wrap them in newspaper,put them in a box and put them in a closet to see if they'll keep for a while.Shame the biggest and best looking tomatoes are on the vines now that it's about to frost,but they just didn't get any rain until last week.I've got a pepper plant that's still blooming and I pulled that up too and brought it in.If anyone wants a tomato just let me know,there's plenty more green ones out there- they're free,shipping and handling is $39.95 each.
  6. other dog

    New Boots For Jo

    By other dog,

    I've been out seeing how much money I could spend today,or so it seems anyway.I went to the drug store and got a prescription filled, stopped by the cell phone battery store to get a new battery,then had to go to Altavista to the shoe shop to get my boots I was having resoled.Made the mistake of criticising ( that just doesn't look right-maybe I can't spell criticizing either ) Jobyna's driving along the way,and how she pays attention to everything except what she's supposed to be doing,which is driving. Pretty quiet trip to Altavista.When we got to the shoe shop I saw her looking at a pair of Justin boots when I was about to pay for my repair job,and ended up buying them for her. They were $135 and the pair right beside them was $100,but she didn't like them,even though they looked pretty much the same to me.I get most of my shoes from Sportsman's Guide or Wal-Mart way cheaper,but sometimes ya just gotta do what ya gotta do.Anyway,all is well again.Lesson learned. ...and it finally rained,for the first time since the last time.Good rain too,just what we needed-over 4 inches total, but spread over 3 days.
  7. other dog

    Dark

    By other dog,

    I forgot to mention it was dark when I dropped that piece of chicken.All I could see was the glowing charcoal.I just got in,unloaded lumber in Eighty Four,Pa. this morning and went to Neville Island and picked up a light load (18,000 lbs.) of rejected steel beams to take back to Petersburg Monday. I unloaded in Curwensville,Pa. Monday morning and had to go to Pittsburgh to reload.I ran 879 to 286 to 119 to rt.22 to 376 into Pittsburgh.When I got on 22 I noticed a truck back behind me a ways in the left lane passing everything.When I stopped at a red light he got back in the left lane so he could pass me like I was tied to a stump,but I was empty and pulled away easily.When he got his speed back up though,he passed me like I was backing up-right there in front of the Mack place in New Alexandria.Watt's Mack,I believe it is. Anyway,at the top of the hill just west of Watt's there's a turnout there on the right,for left turns and u-turns.All of a sudden the truck whipped off in there,and I couldn't see what was going on because he was pulling a van,but when I passed by I could see-there were several carloads of D.O.T. men in there.My first thought was panic because I thought maybe they were pulling everybody in,and it was too late for me.They're gonna run me down,i'm in a heap of trouble now !...but no,they never even looked at me as I drove by,but there's no doubt if the other guy hadn't been in such a hurry and passed me when he did i'd have been next in line,and the next victim.
  8. other dog

    On Sale...again

    By other dog,

    Went over to Wal-Mart a while ago to get some film developed. I'm gonna stop looking at the cameras that are right next to the counter where you drop your film off-now the camera I paid $199.99 for is down to $129.99
  10. other dog

    D'oh!

    By other dog,

    ...and then I was cooking the three chicken breastesess on the grill,and when they were done I moved the whole grill grate over to the side that wasn't over the charcoal.So the one that's twice as big as the other two could cook a little longer,I moved it back over the coals with the tongs,and forgot the grate was over top of the other one,and dropped it right into the coals and ashes.I brought it in and washed it off and put it back on-on the grate this time. I'm gonna eat it anyway.
  11. other dog
    Well,sometimes it doesn't pay to plan to make a few extra bucks.Never did get anything to go with the magnet,so I took it by itself.I might as well have left the day I loaded it as it turned out.Then I could have gotten another load this week,but no, gotta be greedy,try to get two loads in one! I did make an adventure out of it though-I went across rt. 33 from Harrisonburg over to I-79, since I only had 8,000 lbs. on. That's a great adventure no matter what you've got. Hope the boss doesn't read this-"33?!! are you crazy? you must've lost your #@%&ing mind!". There's several 4 and 4 1/2 mile 9% grades across there,and the curves....I've been across there before,but I must admit it's not really a good place for a truck if you don't have to be. I went from Boardman to Aurora and picked up a load of roller coaster track at Geauga Lake Park,where they're closing the amusement park,and took it to King's Dominion in Doswell,Va. where they're gonna put it back up.(I would have said reassemble it,but I don't know how to spell "reassemble") They said when I loaded it that there would be over 100 truckloads shipped to get it all to Va. Might end up over there again next week -i'm loaded with Kyanite now going to Curwensville,Pa. I must be off now,but if anyone has any questions,feel free to ax...I just try to put a little humor in to relieve the job related stress.
  12. other dog

    Mountain Country

    By other dog,

    I unloaded a load of pipe right on top of a mountain ( well actually on the side of a mountain-everything in Cumberland,Md. is either on top of,the side of,or at the bottom of a mountain ) Monday morning,then went to Boardman,Oh. and picked up a magnet,then went to Macedonia and got a load of coils going to Roanoke.After I got the coils off I went to Petersburg and delivered the magnet and picked up another one going back to Boardman to be refurbished-they make new electro magnets there and also refurbish old ones.It's not very big,about 4' long and maybe 2' wide,and it was already pretty late when I got it loaded,so I brought it back to the shop in Concord,Va. in hopes of getting a load of Kyanite or something to go with it. They had a load going to Buffalo at the yard that was just 2 beams,about 8,000 lbs. so maybe that will work out-that would make a good paying load too,and light.The magnet is small,but it weighs about 8,000 lbs,so i'd be a little over with a load of kyanite.It's just a shame to take that little magnet by itself with all that trailer floor left over.
  13. other dog
    I just got back from the Appomattox Railroad Festival parade and it was a good time.Looked like a really big turnout this year,and lots of parade entries.Only bad part is when you're in it you don't get to see it. They threw me out this year,so I had to make an early exit-they said not to throw candy,but they didn't say not to throw cans of beer and cigarettes to the kids,and I wanted to give them SOMETHING you know...(I am kidding of course,let me make that perfectly clear-I didn't throw anything,but lot's of other people were still throwing candy)
  14. other dog
    I went to Raleigh with a load of steel on a side kit trailer this morning,got lost, ( kind of par for the course for me ) then came back to the shop and tied down a load of pipe going to Cumberland,Md. for Monday delivery. The guys in the shop had discovered that an empty Pepsi bottle explodes much louder than the windshield washer jugs.I guess they just ran out of the jugs and had to find something else.The Pepsi bottles take much more pressure to explode-then they'll blow off of the fitting and go flying across the shop,or the yard.They fired 2 of them at me out of a piece of exhaust stack when I was strapping my load down-Kevin had it on his shoulder like a grenade launcher while Tom applied the air, but I was out of range and the wind was throwing their aim off anyway. But,as they say,all good things come to an end. Todd (boss man) sent word down from the office that if he heard any more noise he was going to "fire the whole bunch".Tom put his impact wrench down and said "well I can't change this tire then,the impact wrench makes too much noise". I just left and came home.
  15. other dog
    The Appomattox Railroad Festival and Parade is this weekend.Last year Tom at the shop put the big "Mack" sign on the water tank on the mixer the morning of the parade. I had to burn the frost off of it with a hair dryer first,and we tilted a space heater up inside the shop to try to warm it up so the decal would stick. When I stopped by the shop to get fuel before I went to Seneca Tuesday it was 94 degrees. Still no rain ....speaking of Tom at the shop ( I'm Tom too ),he's discovered a new form of entertainment (?)-he took the top off a windshield washer fluid jug,drilled a hole in it and screwed an air line chuck into it.Then he connects an air line to it that has a shut-off on the wall,sets the empty jug by the tool box or under a trailer and waits for an unsuspecting victim to walk by,then he turns the air on and the jug explodes like a cannon firing. I think he's gotten about everybody-i'll be glad when he runs out of empty jugs.I think when I fill my washer tank if the jug is empty i'll cut a hole in it with my pocket knife.
  16. other dog

    Too Tired

    By other dog,

    I left Sunday and went to Cleveland,brought coils back to Roanoke,then loaded treated lumber at Moneta and went to Seneca,Pa. and finally went to Kent,Oh. and picked up 2 new 48' aluminum Fontaine trailers. They bought Ravens trailers,so you can't get a Ravens anymore,but I suppose these are the same trailer,just different name.They came from the old Ravens factory.Just got in with them a little while ago,so i'm too tired to write anything tonight. Maybe later...zzzzzz
  17. other dog

    Air Leak

    By other dog,

    well sh...oot! sometimes it doesn't pay to try to save a couple of bucks. I got my power steering hose made,$34.00 and went to put it on. First thing I did though was to take the air line off that I put on yesterday and put some thread tape on the fittings. It only took a few minutes,it was easy to get to. The power steering hose was much more difficult ,but I got that on and started the truck and turned the wheel back and forth then refilled the reservoir and was good to go,until I pushed the brake button in and heard the air leaking.The old line just had a small pinhole in it,and there was one on the shelf at the shop with the right fittings,it was just longer,so I put that on. They don't use that type air line at all anymore,the rubber hose type. And it's no good,it was leaking around the swivel part of the fitting,not around the threads. I saw similar airlines at the parts store hanging on the wall,and should have gotten one,but they're closed now. Now i've gotta get one and get it on by Saturday morning.
  18. other dog

    #@%&! Taxes!

    By other dog,

    I'm off to Car Quest to see about getting a new line made.Just wrote a check to pay my real estate taxes- $239.00. I sold my house in Appomattox on 1 and 1/4 acres and bought this place,a single wide on .73 acres for $28,500 and now they've asessed it at $59,000 at tax time.I don't know whether to feel like I got a heckuva deal or if I got screwed big time. Gotta wait 'til later to pay the vehicle taxes-about $270.00.They asessed the mixer at less than half what I paid for it. I would take offense at that,but i'm afraid it would make my taxes go up. I must be off.
  19. other dog

    What's Up ?

    By other dog,

    What did I do this week ,if anything?...oh, I remember- I went to Negley, Oh. with a van load because my return load from Follansbee,WV to Richmond had to be in a van. Didn't have any 48 footers at the yard so I had to pull a 53. Tight spot at N.B.Handy in Richmond,got to blind side back to the dock,and it's much easier with a 48' trailer because it's so cramped in there. The windows in the sleeper and motorized mirrors really come in handy there. Then I went to Seneca,Pa. with a load of treated lumber.Had to pull a 53' flat up there because they were putting 8 new tires on my regular trailer,a 48' aluminum Ravens. Nothing like a Ravens,in my opinion.I keep my beveled wood and coil racks in the tool box and my tarps , straps, and long 4x4s on the front of the trailer,and I had to transfer the beveled wood,coil racks,and tarps to the trailer I was pulling because I either had to bring back 2 new trailers from Kent,Oh. or load coils at Sharon,Pa. Got to Seneca that night and when I got to 84 Lumber there wasn't room enough to get off the road if I pulled up to the gate,so I figured i'd turn around and go back to the Wal-Mart and park,at least until somebody ran me out of there. I didn't see a good turn around spot and went on to Oil City and turned around,down the 14 mile 21% grade,then had to drag the load back up the 21 mile 19% grade to go to Wal-Mart.Funny thing was,it was only 6 miles to Oil City from where I turned off of 322 onto 257,and it was a mile to 84 Lumber. And I never did need the wood or tarps,I ended up going to Sugar Creek,Oh. to get a load of bricks going to Lynchburg. Now I'm loaded with Kyanite on my regular trailer,the one with the new tires, to deliver Monday in Cleveland. I even got a chance to replace a leaking air line on the mixer this evening,and took the power steering line off that was leaking. I'll try to get a new one made tomorrow and get it back on there-the Appomattox Railroad Festival and parade is next weekend.
  20. other dog

    Good Week

    By other dog,

    Since I was here last i've unloaded the lumber in Moneta,been to Petersburg and got a load of beams and delivered them in Garden City,Ga, and picked up another load of lumber in Estill,S.C. Got 8' 6x6s this time,but I didn't have any trouble with it sliding. This and the pipe to Weaverville from last week should give me a pretty good week for the first time in a long time. And if I go out tomorrow I should have 2 loads on next week's check. It's about time to make a pickup payment,the electric bill's laying here,and gotta pay my real estate taxes-there's never a shortage of something to pay.
  21. other dog

    Or Not

    By other dog,

    Well,I've got one load "in the hole" since I deadheaded home.My week wasn't near as good as I expected-should have left that load in Plymouth,it really wasn't worth fooling with,and I invested those two 3 liter Mountain Dews in it. As slow as it's been anything's better than nothing I guess,but it's a tremendous letdown to run as hard as I did and not even bring home $500....geez! About the only thing that would cheer me up is if Jim MacMahon showed up here with a big ol' check in his hand.
  22. other dog

    Sunny Florida

    By other dog,

    After I unloaded the second load of lumber I went to Orlando.Wasn't real happy with going that far on Thursday,and sure enough I deadheaded all the way back.Left there about 10 this morning and got back at 9 tonight. Didn't see any alligators,no bikinis,and only 1 armadillo. Looked like he was mashed about a week ago.
  23. other dog

    Slick Boards

    By other dog,

    Unloaded that steel in Wilmington this morning and went up to Plymouth,N.C. to load a load of lumber,16' 2x10s.Had to weigh in and out,and where I loaded was a good ways from the scales,so I threw 2 straps across each stack of lumber to go weigh out.The weight was OK, so I just eased on out to the truckstop across the road to finish strapping down.It was about a half mile away,and there's a stop light at the end of the road,truckstop's straight across.When I got parked I saw that the inside boards on the top bundle of the front stack had already started to slide out of the bundle,so I went in the store and bought 2- 3 liter bottles of Mountain Dew. I poured the Mountain Dew on the boards that were sliding out, shoved them back in by hand, then poured the rest all over the top of the whole load. Put about 3 more straps on each stack and tightened them as tight as I could get 'em,and didn't have any more trouble-even when I had to brake hard to keep from running over that van that was doing about 40 mph in a 70 and a car was beside me...it's the sugar.
  24. other dog

    Moping Around

    By other dog,

    I talked to Old Bill,the Diesel Gypsy, this morning on Skype so I feel a little better about not being in Winchester. The case of beer I bought didn't hurt either. Then I went over to Altavista to mail him the last "Ice Road Truckers" tape-I put the " Trick My Truck" B-model episode on it too. Also had a few extra copies of "Wheels of Time" and ''Old Time Trucks" to send,and it cost $14 and some change to mail it. And that was the cheapest way to mail it. The faster 'express mail' was 40-some dollars,so I told the guy at the post office to strap it on the mule's back and send it on it's way. Maybe it'll be there before Christmas! Then I stopped by Food Lion to pick up a few things,and almost kept it under $100-total came to $100.04. By the way,do any of you guys have Skype? Or as Paul Van Scott once said "It would be good to know if anyone's reading this"
  25. other dog

    ...or Not

    By other dog,

    My load to Richmond was a Bobcat and attachments-a set of forks,an auger and trencher,like on a ditch witch-some straw,a machine that looked like an overgrown tiller,and 6 big holly trees.Yeah,it was a landscaping job.Right in a residential area with narrow streets,and a tri-axle lowboy.Had to detatch and unload everything right in the street.Fortunately there wasn't a lot of traffic moving in the area-got there about 10am.Caught hell getting turned around and out of there though.But it was a good load-it was exactly 100 miles from the shop to the jobsite,and it paid me $150.I left the shop at 8am and got back at 1:30. Then I went back to the shop and picked up my regular trailer and took a load of pipe to Weaverville,N.C.-just north of Ashville.This evening I went by Staley,N.C. on the way in and picked up a load of structural steel for Monday morning delivery in Wilmington,so for the sad news I just don't see how I can make it to the Winchester show.It's about 200 miles,and I hate-just hate-to miss it,but by the time I drove all the way up there,then drove back,then gotta leave Sunday-well,I might be biting off more than I could chew.I ain't as young as I used to be.Besides,things have been kinda slow lately and I really couldn't afford to go...but if I didn't have to go out Sunday,I would go anyway...dang it,this is the first time I've ever missed Winchester.About the only thing that would cheer me up is if Johnny Carson's former sidekick Fred MacMurry showed up here with a check from publishers clearinghouse.

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