<b>After getting the boys to school yesterday morning I spent couple hours working with the Arduino some more before I headed out to get some work done. We had clouds around all day with chances of rain and I had the fireplace only partially removed and a bit too exposed to the elements. So the next couple hours were spent taking it all apart. It was pretty wild and still amazes me that I hardly had to use a pry bar for any of the bricks, they just lifted off by hand as the mortar was just soft powder.  

![IMG_20240321_105105.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/flemingfarm/23uQtWMLm2vQgzbvtQSJSXJEvBLL5afZSaNKPxxSMrrXMJaw7kEkAWoEz6yPnBtH9mkA2.jpg)

So much sand and ash came out from the structure and I had to keep shoveling it off into a pile to get to the base of the chimney. 

![IMG_20240321_105114.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/flemingfarm/23u65VjmYP5FNgSLyYvwAthUxUymGHzXdauY9p1G3pgaQyVsnuhKAeyXheCwuR4N1Avao.jpg)

The fire brick all came out and got set to the side while I tossed the red brick to a big pile. The metal header plates came out and I began pulling the bricks inside the wall but had to stop. I had pulled bricks so far that I could see inside the studio. There was still stuff on the mantle inside and things in front of the cardboard that had to move. By this point it was noon so I went to watch the PDC while doing chores in the house.  

![IMG_20240321_113229.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/flemingfarm/23uQpedLGRX9zC9qeBnJLmWdBunZXLLR7RxPZ6CNrQ8mh39zH8udCFgC5sjiKp2zyBv2Q.jpg)

It went faster than most as a lot of the matches were pretty lopsided. MVG lost again, (YAY) and Luke Humphries won the night. 

![IMG_20240321_133124.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/flemingfarm/23uFRhVZY9oGfxkPEfWz3q8KbTBL38JWE2Jk68pHHyN74U3wThiz3axRxEFzzqYxrkpNV.jpg)

A little bit before I had to go pick the boys up from school I got my stepper motor delivered and I got it hooked up right away to test. This then became the point of frustration for the day as I worked to make all the pieces work together.

![IMG_20240321_134304.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/flemingfarm/23tbkX3JSUrvQMiYrhcEc3BukKCz6Ug54YMPkhCUy39ZaJ6QH1utRFVurPnzZFmnRAvXV.jpg)

I got the boys home and spent an hour futzing with the motor before I could drag myself away to get back to work. With the fireplace nearly out I had to clear the inside of the studio.  

![IMG_20240321_165630.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/flemingfarm/23wWpf1yKAspmLKdJTam87Gh9HQhUXum8YpntcMtvCocpjT4MmWcMBMgJmvKdSEUSjrGj.jpg)

I had taken out a lot of bricks from the outside and only had the face to remove from the inside. 

![IMG_20240321_165638.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/flemingfarm/23uFKKhngssnumLBbv6o2F7sR2TcAvTragpMDMEwKTt6QruS5QKPRrRTn6XxeorumVQUg.jpg)

The mantle bricks lifted off with no resistance and I tossed them outside. I took it down a few courses then stepped outside to finish the removal.

![IMG_20240321_165647.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/flemingfarm/23wC12FSmJq9kNuxubXCvDpWjwkYo61JcxRu2iDcxjscrPx88F9jgcPYLn6YsV6NFjhN1.jpg)
![IMG_20240321_165951.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/flemingfarm/23tvefZms53jwjuchme7jGB4pujk7UUX8U3Q7axtCoyyFGEC9XBVa6xqzZMrfqV4y5ziL.jpg)

There is now a huge gaping hole in the wall of the studio and I have to excavate the dirt along the bottom as I have to add bricks to fill in the foundation on either side of the central concrete.  I grabbed my roll of painter's plastic and the stapler and got plastic up on the inside and outside to keep the elements out.

![IMG_20240321_171007.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/flemingfarm/23wqe8ajz23EUZXV8LNrDCvswVwzYUbMH9qW9mA6vo4jGtgNeLsF9QajjzyYsHMeXANJn.jpg)

I have all the wood I need to fill it in and will work on that these next days. Rain is forecast for the weekend so I at least want the wall up before it hits too bad.

![IMG_20240321_171950.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/flemingfarm/23vhuam7GRWaGjax1B2nUzDdLF3yS1jgRuy73GmN5DEeFCUKt61jSgoyHEqBVWyg7MsSb.jpg)

My new pile of brick that stands nearly 3 feet tall. It will all get moved this summer at some point to likely by the tool shed near the greenhouse.

![IMG_20240321_171955.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/flemingfarm/23vhyeUvGK14DjwJxyDL5bW9H5xzEgixCwJnK3NAGsMcKhwDyze2hAXZvhCcyAAdHAomY.jpg)

The Kraken came on after the NCAA wrestling championships were on which was wild to watch the "pros" and how insanely fast and strong they are, R saw a few matches. The Kraken did as expected and lost. I do it to myself watching the train wreck but it's hard to look away from the carnage. 

![IMG_20240321_200022.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/flemingfarm/23wMWDwr2wypG9QRhKXnYoo3zADUutpDgyc3nhHaZtaaq2GDfEZWVSKX7EsABrEuzgnEt.jpg)

So I have moved the stepper to an Uno to try and avoid interference and have a SUPER simple bit of code and a button. Something is up with some part and I am trying to zone in on the problem exactly. The motor won't turn CCW even with the correct code and all the wiring exactly as it should be. Today I will break out my multimeter and make sure that the motor driver is actually working. I read that it does drop a couple volts so that could be my problem as I am using just 12v for its power and might need 14v+ to get it to move correctly. 

![IMG_20240321_202812.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/flemingfarm/23xKi2HPzGGHJg6LvxUnpZLQFPJHpFcGtqTvdSaMPix5WAAvvN6aD5wNVCNzfxMMq1nPN.jpg)

Today I have to get the hole in the wall closed up, work on the motor issue, clean around the house, I get my new #lora and will set them up, the boys to and from school and J has running club this afternoon, then I will have a fire going in the pit and will grill for dinner.   

---
|*2024 Y/E Hive Goals*|Goal|Current|+/- Goal|+/Week|
:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:
HP|                     30,000 | 24,776   |+237  | 116 |
HBD Savings|             4,030 | 2,636   |/|  18  |
Hive Posting Streak Days| 1681 | 1397    |/|  6  |

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