Wrote a letter

To someone else this time!  No photo. Does this mean it's a failure? Only we can decide

Cast iron griddle

I seasoned these cast iron pans recently.

I cook breakfast every morning in the little skillet, quesadillas on the flat pan, and spaghetti sauce in the large skillet. The griddle was intimidating. It sits on two stove eyes, it's the heaviest of all my pieces, I'd never cooked on it before.

I put both eyes on super low and let it sit for about 10 minutes to make sure everything was warmed up evenly. Then I put on the carrots and tofu and cooked until the carrots softened and the tofu firmed. I put the fish on its own side at the same time adding onions and the frozen broccoli to the veggie side.

The griddle has a rough texture which is noisy against the spatchula, otherwise it worked well; nothing stuck to the pan it was pretty great. A bed of rice with furikake, slamin salmon Alaskin sockeye and mixed veggies. You're welcome, Wife.

Cooking noms

Completed noms

Differential Oil

I have 2006 Subaru Forester X. It has 47.5k miles. It has AWD with two differentials. Today I changed the rear differential oil and the front differential oil / manual transmission oil.

Magnets holding on to shards

The rear oil is a pretty simple process, you can access the differential case without using ramps. Make sure the car is level and the parking break is engaged. It uses a 13mm socket which is .512". Most ratchets are .5". You probably don't need to purchase the 13mm socket.Tools needed:

• 5" ratchet.
• oil pan
• differential oil. My Subaru takes about .8 of a quart.

Begin with warm oil. To change the oil, remove the top (fill) plug to relieve pressure, then remove the bottom (drain) plug. Let it drain. Examine the drain plug, it has a magnet on it that catches pieces of the differential gears. If you see large chunks then you may need to have it checked out by a pro, though changing the oil might be the preventative maintenance needed. Clean the plug and, once it is drained, screw it back in. Pour the new oil into the fill hole on the top.

This can be tricky because there is not a lot of vertical room in which to pour down. Some quarts have a mechanism to squeeze it out, others don't. It is full when the oil starts to spill out of the top fill plug, now screw in the top plug. Tighten both the top and bottom plug as tight as you can.

The front differential oil is shared with the manual transmission. If you have an automatic transmission it will have its own oil and you should not mix them. Tools you'll need:

• .5" ratchet.
• T70 Torx bit
• oil pan
• differential oil. My Subaru takes about 3.8 quarts
• tube and funnel
• clean cloth to wipe the dip stick

The front drain plug does not use the same 13mm socket, it uses a T70 Torx bit. I found mine at Advance, most auto shoppes carry them, it was $6. To drain, unscrew the T70 bit. This case has about 4 quarts of oil so be prepared for such a large amount of fluid. Be sure to check the plug for shards again and clean off the plug before replacing it. Once it is drained, screw it back in. 

The fill plug is on the top side of the same case, accessed through the hood.  It is in the center of the engine compartment all the way back against the firewall. It is a bit tricky to find it, but it has a yellow handle and is pretty deep in the back.  I have a very poor picture here, with the firewall to the left.

I recommend a tube and funnel, make sure the tube is all the way in the fill hole to so you won't spill any, differential oil is stinky. Fill it up, when you've emptied 3 quarts, begin fill slowly and stop to check the dip stick frequently. Differentials do not like being too full or too empty.

My thoughts on which kind of differential fluid: do not use a fluid marked for Limited Slip or LS. The additives in LS oil does not work well with the synchronizers in the Subaru manual transmissions. Many Subaru fora recommend a mix of Motul 300 and Redline oils. I don't like the idea of mixing oils as they will separate over night and they'll have to remix every time you start driving the car. YMMV but I feel find putting just the high end Motul in. Motul is difficult to find locally, I ordered mine from Annapolis Subaru, a vendor on SubaruForester.org. I got a slight discount. The range of prices for the dealership to change differential fluid is between $200 and $300. If I'm already doing this work myself then I can justify spending more on high end fluid. Especially for such a vital part of my car.

This maintenance greatly improves shifting. Shifting is smooth an much easier to get in to gear. Motul is rated for low temperatures so I'm hoping to glean that benefit on the -9F mornings here in Mass.

Doing my own car maintenance is very satisfying. It saves some money but I mostly enjoy having a deeper understanding of my car and how cars work in general. 

Outlet insulators

Insulation is my favorite!
Generally:

• you only have to do it once
• it's always on
• it's good for heat and cold

This pack I think came from my dad, I put it to use.I made sure to apply them to all the exterior walls first. This house is pretty old and drafty, this may help but I doubt I'll notice it in temperature nor in the heating bill.
It was a fun project and I got to work with my hands.

Writing a letter

I wrote a letter to my aunt and uncle.
I had a root canal today, so today's TaD has to be simple. This is my cat, Merlot:

Merlot

She desperately wants to eat but her dinner isn't until for another 1.5 hrs.  She also woke me up early this morning and I'm upset with her about that so I don't feel bad putting this unflattering picture of her on Internet.

Season the cast iron

This took about 45 minutes.

The larger rimmed skillet is the first cast iron that I bought, about a year ago from Target with a gift card left over from our wedding. I had been looking for some at the thrift stores but realized I'd never find a pan season for my vegetarian. There's nothing romantic about Target but it was cheap. The smaller rimmed skillet is a gift from my aunt for my vegetarian who has hard time lifting the larger heavy pan.

The other two are from a friend. For these I used the salt and oil method to clean them up again. I heated all the pans individually and rubbed them down with olive oil, heated them up even higher and coated them again. Then fancy photography.

Clean the fridge

I had a snow day from work today so I decided to take on a task a little more involved: cleaning the fridge.
It's not very interesting to write about and less to photograph. There were lots of things that expired about 3 weeks ago. I think they all were purchased around the time I cleaned at the end of last summer. That means I'm on a twice a year clean the fridge schedule which seems fair to me.

Oil tools

Like many, I have a tool box of mixed and matched tools assembled slowly over time and from various sources; a tool box from dad, wrenches from friends, pliers from family, and some of the wife's tools all combined into our well stocked toolbox.

Last summer I found some 3 in 1 oil in my mother-in-law's garage not being used. I put it to use on our tools. First I scrubbed everything down with steel wool, then oiled the hinges and worked it in to make sure everything opens and closes easily. I cleaned off all the grime and lastly left a thin cover of oil over all the exposed metal parts.

A little bit of elbow grease went a long way to restoring these tools and preserving them for my future. I think a strong collection of tools can not only be useful in life but also an important gift to my kids.

I  can live easily without tools, I did for years. I didn't notice what needed fixing or if I did just didn't fix it. Having the tools means I now put them to work. As soon as I begin fixing I get into the habit of it and start fixing everything I can. I carry a Leather person on me at work now and I suffer when I leave it at home.

Before

After

Thing-a-day day one is a success.  I was let go early from work early today, so I was able to flush out day one well and start off with success.