Completed Successes

My partial successes from the other day have been shifted over to the smashingly successful column. I had to pat myself on the back for a job well done on troubleshooting and installing the timer for the espresso machine. I ended up buying another timer at Home Depot since the old one wasn't function properly. The new one did exactly what it was supposed to do so for fun, I took the old one apart to see what was inside. The innards weren't too shocking, just a motor for the clock and some contacts that were supposed to connect and disconnect when actuated by the posts on the dial. The contacts were stuck together though which would explain why the timer wasn't turning off manually or when the "off" posts passed. After doing some cleaning, I cycled the clock manually to make sure everything was working properly and then installed the timer in its new home. The new timer went back to Home Depot and the $50 back in my pocket.


The whole thing is starting to come together nicely and I am being so green, minus the whole 220v, 12L boiler commercial machine for limited home use bit. I didn't have to think about remembering to turn the machine on before bed or worry about waiting 45 minutes for the boiler to come to temperature. It turned on at 4:30ish as expected and all I had to do was pull some shots before taking Dempsey out for his morning constitutional.


Right now, I only have one set of on/off posts installed. I can't really think of a good reason to have an afternoon schedule set during the summer, but come wintertime when I need extra motivation to get on the trainer, I might want to come home to an espresso machine all fired up and ready to go. While standing near the espresso machine, I did some head scratching on the whole counter top issue. I might consider gluing the blocks in place as opposed to making the top and then installing it. The stainless steel option is starting to look more appealing, but I will forge ahead, boldly and blindly, hoping all the while for the best . . .

Saturday afternoon, Steve and I went out to the truck to kick the tires a couple times and get the horn installed all proper like. All it took was some wiring, some soldering, some fishing aforementioned wiring through the firewall, and selecting placement for the auxiliary button. The good news is that the horn now toots Dixie. The even better news is that the horn can be used for everyday attention-getting purposes, as long as you don't hold the button down. With a short press, you get a random (choice of one out of five) trumpet blast that is sure to stop any offending traffic in its tracks.

What better way to celebrate than to break out the fryer and dine on some fried scrimps? It had been a while since I dunked food into hot oil and fried shrimp sounded like a good idea. With the sky and the contents of the pantry being the limit, we cranked the oil to 350 and started making a variety of different flavors of tempura batter. The discovery of the evening which should have come as no surprise, is that Old Bay mixed into the tempura batter makes one hell of a tasty fried shrimp. There will come a day that I try to fry anything and everything I can get my hands on, but Saturday was not that day.