Awake: 6:34am Temp 57 sleep 6+16 partly sunny overnight @ Nicktown.
We ate a small breakfast & then motored over to the Foote Castle & spent some time with the Foote boys & Melissa + Kevin.
The 1st thing I heard as I walked into the house; "our (2) year old Stir Crazy popcorn popper quit working" said Matthew. "Now that you are here, we can fix it "G Daddy" he said. "What a coincidence, I just fixed our Stir Crazy Popper yesterday," I replied.
Fortunately for the Foote Family, Kevin saved the parts from their last Stir Crazy which met its doom by falling off the kitchen refrigerator & smashing the plastic section to smithereens.
So down to the basement Matthew & I went; I had to slow Matthew down a little as he was a little too eager to see the wires. "1st lets get organized & gather the tools we'll need for taking this unit apart," I remind him. It turns out, getting the proper tools was the most challenging part of the fix; although Kevin is somewhat organized, the selection of tools available were not really suitable for what we had to do. Matthew however, was very patient & understanding & that made our time together...fun.
We got the VTVM meter out & checked the non-operational heat sensor control unit from the (2) year old popper....sure enough, it was definitely defunct. Next we dug out the heat sensor from the old broken popper in the bag of parts & checked that sensor; it tested good. Now all we have to do is swap those sensors & re-assemble the unit. Oops, Kevin called from the kitchen: "Dinner is ready, come on up."
Dinner: Hamburgers with all the trimmings, corn on the cob, mixed salad &
Bing cherries.
After dinner, Matthew & I finished our project & then plugged the unit into a 120 volt receptacle to make sure it was heating....it was, so we took the next step. In the kitchen, we put (5) kernels in a little olive oil in the popper to check & make sure the heat was regulated; the kernels popped. Since that test also passed we think the newer Stir Crazy popper has been born again.
The remainder of the afternoon was spent outdoors, mostly in the back yard & alley: walking with Andrew on the sidewalk while he rode his tricycle; playing Frisbee with Matthew & Andrew, pushing Nathan on a few of the riding toys, & watching Matthew as he rode his bike with training wheels.
Before we left, we had a special 4th of July dessert, a raspberry, blueberry cheesecake (red, white & blue), largely made by Matthew under Melissa's supervision. The cake was very good, but the little guys did not like it, saying it was an "adult cake." Melissa, anticipating their reaction, had mint chocolate chip milk shakes standing ready.
It was another good day with the Footes.
Evening movie: "Possessed" with Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, Raymond Massey, Geraldine Brooks & Stanley Ridges. Crawford gives fine performance in intelligent study of woman whose subtle mental problems lead to ruin. Brooks, as Massey's daughter, is radiant in her film debut. 1947. Good story which was handled well.
Lights out: 11:32pm
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