.
.
I was sitting here thinking. I was going over some plans for the house, the plumbing war of ought 10, the disarray in which I live until I can finish the faucet and begin my slow march toward becoming fully operational, rabbits, chickens, and... other such. I found that I was wondering at when the rest of my life slows down enough so that I can get to some of these other things. And then it hit me.
It is not whether life slows down. It will, and then something will come up which is demanding, and it will cycle that way, for the rest of my life, and all of our lives really. No, waiting for my life to slow down will merely see me to living a less active life. That is not the trick. Having someone else to help will not do it either, that too could very easily become a trap. A trap for them and me, one in which I become a slave to a slave. No, that is not it at all, even less useful than having my life slow down to the point of being counter-productive.
What has to happen is, similar to my getting up in the mornings, I simply have to expand my day, use more fully my time, and push past that wall I spoke of before. If I want to advance, fix the house and yard up some, and do animal husbandry for food, I will have to stretch.
Can I do that? Can anyone do that? I think most people can, if they choose not too until inactivity traps them. For me, maybe. I am in that trap I just spoke of. Though, and to be fair, I have some rather limiting physical problems and whatever else is wrong with me. The 'whatever else' has been improving since moving the Utah, however. Whether I get more sun, get out more, feel more secure, the drier climate, the elevation, some or all of that, or something else, does not matter. I AM improving. The physical limitations are real too. My finger is now out of commission. The back and neck pain, for now, can be handled with over the counter painkillers and a half hour wait for that to work, even at their worst.
So, can I do it? Honestly, I still do not know. Until I can fully use both hands, much of my work is slow. And, while digging out of the trap of inactivity and having three weekly appointments and a ton of other demands, I do not have the energy reserves to press beyond that. I think I AM stretching. That I have only missed one appointment in what, 3 weeks, is amazing. Really really. The trick, for me, is knowing when I have to shove off the invalid cart and onto the pavement.
The trick, finally and fully, is merely to go beyond what we have been doing and how we have been living, and proactively. Waiting for things to go wrong is not the way. Looking for ways to improve our homes, updating how we do some tasks and processes, learning to eat and sleep a bit more efficiently and fully, this is the trick. It will be, even at the greatest success level, humbling. Failure comes with it, as does expense, potential illness and wounds, but too comes a sense of finally being fully alive again. I am sure hoping I can pull this off. But I do need both hands, a few less appointments, and then a good self generated push.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Zapped.
.
.
No Church, no confession. I am wiped. I ended up taking a short nap. I simply could not fight it. It was less than 2 hours though, probably more like 1 hour give or take. I simply could not get to anything and still have not done anything. I did put a little food in the engine, which might have caused the collapse, or more finalized the need for a nap.
My finger is swelling a great deal, more than usual. I am not sure if it is the heat or what. I have been typing a bit, but not all that much. Oh well.
Today, it seems, will be a day of rest whether I like it or not. Tomorrow, I will try to get up as well, and early. And, I will keep trying to make it into Church. If I can get there, if I can push past that wall... It will happen, however long it takes. I think these last few weeks, the accidents, and everything, has caused me to about shut down. On the good side, I do think it is temporary, I am awake nearly full days, and I am able to dither and do this and that on more minor scales of workload.
It is hot here today. I do not know how to get any kind of cooling in there. The windows are not at all geared toward handling window air conditioning, none of them. This is going to be a tough summer. On the good side, sleeping in the heat is not really possible. So, one way or another, I will be up most of the day. Ugh-a-chugga though.
.
No Church, no confession. I am wiped. I ended up taking a short nap. I simply could not fight it. It was less than 2 hours though, probably more like 1 hour give or take. I simply could not get to anything and still have not done anything. I did put a little food in the engine, which might have caused the collapse, or more finalized the need for a nap.
My finger is swelling a great deal, more than usual. I am not sure if it is the heat or what. I have been typing a bit, but not all that much. Oh well.
Today, it seems, will be a day of rest whether I like it or not. Tomorrow, I will try to get up as well, and early. And, I will keep trying to make it into Church. If I can get there, if I can push past that wall... It will happen, however long it takes. I think these last few weeks, the accidents, and everything, has caused me to about shut down. On the good side, I do think it is temporary, I am awake nearly full days, and I am able to dither and do this and that on more minor scales of workload.
It is hot here today. I do not know how to get any kind of cooling in there. The windows are not at all geared toward handling window air conditioning, none of them. This is going to be a tough summer. On the good side, sleeping in the heat is not really possible. So, one way or another, I will be up most of the day. Ugh-a-chugga though.
Up early.
.
.
The alarm went off at 9:00 this morning. I set it a little later in order to give myself a little better chance at waking. About the time it went off, Sam came in and demanded attention. Well, okay, I guess, whatever. So, she got scratchies, pets, and such. I think she really wanted to go out but was taking whatever she could get. At 9:12 I decided to put Sam out and turned off the alarm. And, I got up. It is tough, I feel like I've been run over, even now 2 hours later. This is the first time, in a long time, I have been able to do this for myself (getting up earlier than the trend). I can do it for appointments, sometimes, but that is really rough and temporary too. I am going to try and keep this going.
Today I hope to make it to confession and then Church. I would like to go on Sunday, but with this much trouble rising at 9:00, there is no way I could make it to Church at 10:00. To be honest, it is going to be tough to make it to confession and Church in the shape I am in. No, coffee and soda do not help, not a bit. Eating makes a nap required. Something just is not right with my body. Hmm, I could polish my shoes, work on the sink, mess with a game or two though. Those things will not help either, and I am not very clear headed so mistakes are more likely, but they would pass some time.
This feels like waking up at midnight after going to bed at 21:00 after a long day. Or, perhaps, like a hangover to those who have those. Oddly, my hangovers (or what passed for them when I used to drink more heavily) were pleasant affairs, often seeing me up early (earlier than usual), rested, and comfortable other than maybe a slight easily cured headache if I smoked along with the drink. Oh well. Drinking is out though. It is not a horrid thing, and I still have a few beers occasionally, and I never quite became an alcoholic (proper... improper?), but I did see the crest of the alcohol hill I was climbing and knew that once I reached it, it would be a harsh (mostly) one way slide down the backside of it. And that would be far worse than were I am as is. As I have told doctors I told my own self medicating side, "NO THANK YOU!".
I hope Sam is fixed. I heard cat bawling earlier and am pretty sure what that was all about. I have not been a cat owner and lived around cats otherwise for so long as to not know what that was all about. I did rush out, as soon as I heard it, to make sure it was not a regular fight. No Sam, and it had been close. I checked a bit later and she appeared (though did not want to come into the house), but bore a daughter's first beau kiss look as the daughter looks at the father coming home from a date. Yeah, I know. Ugh. Maybe she will not be lifting her tail at me so much though, for a while. Double ugh.
This finger is starting to be a real pain. It is healing, I guess. But the rate of heal is extremely slow. I still cannot fully use it. I would say it is not even fully healed at the skin level. I must baby it or it will split still. Even where the stitches tore is still visible like bloody eyelashes to either side of the the cut. And bruising, limitation in motion, and other such come and go. Oddly, just like when I fell in the river two years ago, I actually feel guilty for this cut. For many and no reasons, sort of.
Hmm, time to try and figure a way to wake up or even decide if a nap would be the only option. Nah, a nap would only make things worse. So tired, so sore, but at least it is a weekend and I can take some time taking time.
Later.
.
The alarm went off at 9:00 this morning. I set it a little later in order to give myself a little better chance at waking. About the time it went off, Sam came in and demanded attention. Well, okay, I guess, whatever. So, she got scratchies, pets, and such. I think she really wanted to go out but was taking whatever she could get. At 9:12 I decided to put Sam out and turned off the alarm. And, I got up. It is tough, I feel like I've been run over, even now 2 hours later. This is the first time, in a long time, I have been able to do this for myself (getting up earlier than the trend). I can do it for appointments, sometimes, but that is really rough and temporary too. I am going to try and keep this going.
Today I hope to make it to confession and then Church. I would like to go on Sunday, but with this much trouble rising at 9:00, there is no way I could make it to Church at 10:00. To be honest, it is going to be tough to make it to confession and Church in the shape I am in. No, coffee and soda do not help, not a bit. Eating makes a nap required. Something just is not right with my body. Hmm, I could polish my shoes, work on the sink, mess with a game or two though. Those things will not help either, and I am not very clear headed so mistakes are more likely, but they would pass some time.
This feels like waking up at midnight after going to bed at 21:00 after a long day. Or, perhaps, like a hangover to those who have those. Oddly, my hangovers (or what passed for them when I used to drink more heavily) were pleasant affairs, often seeing me up early (earlier than usual), rested, and comfortable other than maybe a slight easily cured headache if I smoked along with the drink. Oh well. Drinking is out though. It is not a horrid thing, and I still have a few beers occasionally, and I never quite became an alcoholic (proper... improper?), but I did see the crest of the alcohol hill I was climbing and knew that once I reached it, it would be a harsh (mostly) one way slide down the backside of it. And that would be far worse than were I am as is. As I have told doctors I told my own self medicating side, "NO THANK YOU!".
I hope Sam is fixed. I heard cat bawling earlier and am pretty sure what that was all about. I have not been a cat owner and lived around cats otherwise for so long as to not know what that was all about. I did rush out, as soon as I heard it, to make sure it was not a regular fight. No Sam, and it had been close. I checked a bit later and she appeared (though did not want to come into the house), but bore a daughter's first beau kiss look as the daughter looks at the father coming home from a date. Yeah, I know. Ugh. Maybe she will not be lifting her tail at me so much though, for a while. Double ugh.
This finger is starting to be a real pain. It is healing, I guess. But the rate of heal is extremely slow. I still cannot fully use it. I would say it is not even fully healed at the skin level. I must baby it or it will split still. Even where the stitches tore is still visible like bloody eyelashes to either side of the the cut. And bruising, limitation in motion, and other such come and go. Oddly, just like when I fell in the river two years ago, I actually feel guilty for this cut. For many and no reasons, sort of.
Hmm, time to try and figure a way to wake up or even decide if a nap would be the only option. Nah, a nap would only make things worse. So tired, so sore, but at least it is a weekend and I can take some time taking time.
Later.
A little relaxation and some changes.
.
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I am cooling off after a long hard week. I must admit though, in spite of my incessant whining, I am pleased to be on the road to becoming the man of the house. Perhaps I will never quite make it to bread winner, father, or possibly even husband. But then I never thought I would be in my own home either. Actually I did not think I would still be alive. I did not think I was going to see thirty, let alone on past forty. It has been a heck of a ride, but like the picture of the cat clinging to a twine, seemingly over nearly infinite ether, I am still, somehow, holding on.
I made some changes to the sidebar. Too many sites that I do not visit, ceased visiting, or which have disappeared. One of them, if I can find the new address to somewhere in my email, I will repost. His name was Daniel, a homeschooler, and a pretty decent guy. He stopped posting for a bit, I think to clear the connection with some family photos, something his wife objected too (and reasonably in my opinion, as I am a bit of a... security minded individual myself). In any case, last I heard, he had started posting again. But I was in such a funk that I could not quite get the updated email link to here. It is always good to shake up the site from time to time. Still, I hope to get this other blogger's page back up. I liked his stuff.
Bedtime, and early, tonight. It is still rather warm (hot for me) here. And yet I do believe I will be able to crash. I will continue, even though it is a weekend (maybe more so for that reason) to try and wake early tomorrow. I must seem like a fool, setting my alarm at 8:00 and not being able to rise until noon, while snoozing multiple times and resetting the alarm over and over? I do not know, all I can say is that I try my darnedest and sometimes that is all I have. Same with much of my life. I am not whole.
I have been considering writing my dreams down for the blog. There is a large collection of them. These are the 'war dreams'. No, I will not say they are true. I will say I have had them over and over for decades now. I will say sometimes I cannot tell if they are true or not. I will not say I understand why I have them, how I get them, or anything. And I certainly do not understand how they intrude on my waking time, sometimes to devastating effect on my mood, psyche, or ability to live. The therapy I received for 'general disassociation' helped immensely (they could not call it ptsd because my records show no combat training, let alone active duty participation). While that is probably true... the dreams still remain, if more like a few times a month, or at worst several days to a week at a time a few times a year.
I suppose, since it is safe to assume that these dreams are not real (at least legally and probably logically), I can write them without there being a breech of any law, protocol, or honor system. Or, that is what I am thinking. Though it would be interesting to hear what others think. It would be REALLY nice to hear if anyone has any objections or could see a real potential problem with doing this. Anyone, anyone... Bueller, Bueller. Where is Bueller?
Well, good night, Primrose...
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I am cooling off after a long hard week. I must admit though, in spite of my incessant whining, I am pleased to be on the road to becoming the man of the house. Perhaps I will never quite make it to bread winner, father, or possibly even husband. But then I never thought I would be in my own home either. Actually I did not think I would still be alive. I did not think I was going to see thirty, let alone on past forty. It has been a heck of a ride, but like the picture of the cat clinging to a twine, seemingly over nearly infinite ether, I am still, somehow, holding on.
I made some changes to the sidebar. Too many sites that I do not visit, ceased visiting, or which have disappeared. One of them, if I can find the new address to somewhere in my email, I will repost. His name was Daniel, a homeschooler, and a pretty decent guy. He stopped posting for a bit, I think to clear the connection with some family photos, something his wife objected too (and reasonably in my opinion, as I am a bit of a... security minded individual myself). In any case, last I heard, he had started posting again. But I was in such a funk that I could not quite get the updated email link to here. It is always good to shake up the site from time to time. Still, I hope to get this other blogger's page back up. I liked his stuff.
Bedtime, and early, tonight. It is still rather warm (hot for me) here. And yet I do believe I will be able to crash. I will continue, even though it is a weekend (maybe more so for that reason) to try and wake early tomorrow. I must seem like a fool, setting my alarm at 8:00 and not being able to rise until noon, while snoozing multiple times and resetting the alarm over and over? I do not know, all I can say is that I try my darnedest and sometimes that is all I have. Same with much of my life. I am not whole.
I have been considering writing my dreams down for the blog. There is a large collection of them. These are the 'war dreams'. No, I will not say they are true. I will say I have had them over and over for decades now. I will say sometimes I cannot tell if they are true or not. I will not say I understand why I have them, how I get them, or anything. And I certainly do not understand how they intrude on my waking time, sometimes to devastating effect on my mood, psyche, or ability to live. The therapy I received for 'general disassociation' helped immensely (they could not call it ptsd because my records show no combat training, let alone active duty participation). While that is probably true... the dreams still remain, if more like a few times a month, or at worst several days to a week at a time a few times a year.
I suppose, since it is safe to assume that these dreams are not real (at least legally and probably logically), I can write them without there being a breech of any law, protocol, or honor system. Or, that is what I am thinking. Though it would be interesting to hear what others think. It would be REALLY nice to hear if anyone has any objections or could see a real potential problem with doing this. Anyone, anyone... Bueller, Bueller. Where is Bueller?
Well, good night, Primrose...
Friday, June 25, 2010
Busy day, again.
.
.
I could not get up early, though I came very close. Simply put, the motor just would not turn over. I almost made it at 8:00 and at 10:00, but no go until 12:00. At least today I felt like I was close. That may sound funny, but most days when I have not been able to wake up, I do remember getting up and tinkering with the alarm one way or another, but there was no doubt I could not rise. So, I am going to keep trying. Mornings will, once again I hope, become my norm.
The temperatures around here are definitely on the rise. As the sun was pretty much set, while driving past a bank on my way home, I saw that it was still 78 F. That may have something to do with my sleep, my body might simply be trying to rest when it is cool enough for it to rest, knowing damn straight I probably cannot sleep at full sun unless maybe in fervid dream states I know I do not want to visit.
I called, again, to contact the woman with my insurance information. She, again, was not available. I know I left a voice message if I have not done so in the past. I had thought to skip this chiropractic appointment since I had nothing to give them, but decided missing one this week already to oversleeping I did not want to miss two appointments. As well, they could not find the police report that I am supposed to send to the other insurance lady. Well, I tried. I will keep on trying until it is done. There is little else I can do.
I did accomplish some things today though. I finally made it to the butcher shop and picked up a peck of meats. Brots, Mexican type brots (I hope), beef ribs (cut against the bone), hamburger, and steaks. I invited my friend over so we could test out my new grill. He paid for his part of the meat, and then some. I will have to have him over for hamburgers and brots next Friday. As well, I had been promising him I would take some pictures of his pistol, one he wants to sell, the one that bit me, and post them where I could, online, in an attempt to finally get it sold at a fair to him price. First I did not have internet, then I could not find my camera, and then today when I found it, it needed batteries. So, I got that going and did take some pictures of his pistol and will explore where and how to post the pics for sale.
As well, while I was picking up the batteries, I decided to also pick up some tomato plants. I had hoped to have cucumbers going too, but it is far too late for that and there were no plants of that nature. So, I picked up 3 or 4 tomato plants of various types, 2 different bell pepper plants, and 2 hot pepper plants. They are in the ground, watered (after dark with room(ish) temperature water). I also found some small planters to perhaps begin a small herb garden. I picked up 4 of those. There was enough dirt left over from the planting to fill those. I added the little bit of remaining water into those and the dirt inside as a final touch. None of the plants, except (I think) the orange bell peppers looked all that good. They seemed healthy enough, but not very strong. We have a place here in town that I have been meaning to visit, a garden type place. I may have to take a stroll tomorrow before Church and see if they are open and if so, what they might have. Watering the plants as I return, I suspect. The sun will only be on the plants half of the day, then it goes over the house. I suspect I can water them once shade is on them and after it has been that way for a bit.
I still have not messed with the sink. I am either feeling a little sting, I have trepidation about the outcome (or maybe more, finding that there is more to it even now), or I have simply been far too busy with far too many other things, at least within the paradigm with which I have to work? We will see. Maybe later tonight, maybe tomorrow, maybe Sunday, maybe not until next week! Heck if I know, or care, temporarily.
Time to cool off. Chill, read some news and blogs, and relax though. The steak was fantastic, having some company is always good, getting some things accomplished was nice. And it is a weekend! No calls asking for things I don't have, no appointments, no nothing unless I want it. Church, though, for the first time in... a long time. Confession first though, if I can round my butt up and get there in time. I do love Church, really. And confession too, honestly. I just hate all the pomp, circumstance, dress up, and timing (at least, all those things all at once). I really am not all that coordinated those ways.
Have a good night.
.
I could not get up early, though I came very close. Simply put, the motor just would not turn over. I almost made it at 8:00 and at 10:00, but no go until 12:00. At least today I felt like I was close. That may sound funny, but most days when I have not been able to wake up, I do remember getting up and tinkering with the alarm one way or another, but there was no doubt I could not rise. So, I am going to keep trying. Mornings will, once again I hope, become my norm.
The temperatures around here are definitely on the rise. As the sun was pretty much set, while driving past a bank on my way home, I saw that it was still 78 F. That may have something to do with my sleep, my body might simply be trying to rest when it is cool enough for it to rest, knowing damn straight I probably cannot sleep at full sun unless maybe in fervid dream states I know I do not want to visit.
I called, again, to contact the woman with my insurance information. She, again, was not available. I know I left a voice message if I have not done so in the past. I had thought to skip this chiropractic appointment since I had nothing to give them, but decided missing one this week already to oversleeping I did not want to miss two appointments. As well, they could not find the police report that I am supposed to send to the other insurance lady. Well, I tried. I will keep on trying until it is done. There is little else I can do.
I did accomplish some things today though. I finally made it to the butcher shop and picked up a peck of meats. Brots, Mexican type brots (I hope), beef ribs (cut against the bone), hamburger, and steaks. I invited my friend over so we could test out my new grill. He paid for his part of the meat, and then some. I will have to have him over for hamburgers and brots next Friday. As well, I had been promising him I would take some pictures of his pistol, one he wants to sell, the one that bit me, and post them where I could, online, in an attempt to finally get it sold at a fair to him price. First I did not have internet, then I could not find my camera, and then today when I found it, it needed batteries. So, I got that going and did take some pictures of his pistol and will explore where and how to post the pics for sale.
As well, while I was picking up the batteries, I decided to also pick up some tomato plants. I had hoped to have cucumbers going too, but it is far too late for that and there were no plants of that nature. So, I picked up 3 or 4 tomato plants of various types, 2 different bell pepper plants, and 2 hot pepper plants. They are in the ground, watered (after dark with room(ish) temperature water). I also found some small planters to perhaps begin a small herb garden. I picked up 4 of those. There was enough dirt left over from the planting to fill those. I added the little bit of remaining water into those and the dirt inside as a final touch. None of the plants, except (I think) the orange bell peppers looked all that good. They seemed healthy enough, but not very strong. We have a place here in town that I have been meaning to visit, a garden type place. I may have to take a stroll tomorrow before Church and see if they are open and if so, what they might have. Watering the plants as I return, I suspect. The sun will only be on the plants half of the day, then it goes over the house. I suspect I can water them once shade is on them and after it has been that way for a bit.
I still have not messed with the sink. I am either feeling a little sting, I have trepidation about the outcome (or maybe more, finding that there is more to it even now), or I have simply been far too busy with far too many other things, at least within the paradigm with which I have to work? We will see. Maybe later tonight, maybe tomorrow, maybe Sunday, maybe not until next week! Heck if I know, or care, temporarily.
Time to cool off. Chill, read some news and blogs, and relax though. The steak was fantastic, having some company is always good, getting some things accomplished was nice. And it is a weekend! No calls asking for things I don't have, no appointments, no nothing unless I want it. Church, though, for the first time in... a long time. Confession first though, if I can round my butt up and get there in time. I do love Church, really. And confession too, honestly. I just hate all the pomp, circumstance, dress up, and timing (at least, all those things all at once). I really am not all that coordinated those ways.
Have a good night.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
I did get some things accomplished after all.
.
.
A drive into town, a stop at Lowe's then a trip to the parking lot and back in, Wal-Mart, then home. On my first trip into Lowe's, I went to plumbing and bumbled my way to fittings. I used the coupling boards to find the sizes of fittings I would need, then went to work. I found, after a bit of looking, what I was seeking. However, I wanted to speak with a rep first, and make sure what I was getting was what I wanted. After searching a short bit, one did approach and I went through my spiel. No, he suggested, perhaps this... there are indeed two sizes of faucet flexible hosing. (I think my friend suggested that and maybe D.C.? But I did not have the ears to hear at the time, or it did not make sense, or it got lost in the tidal wash.) Fine, so, I grabbed two of those and headed for the door. But wait, I wanted to get wrenches. Fearing the cost, I approached and, low and behold, they were not as expensive as I had worried. I picked up a 10 set each of SAE and metric, plus at that cost bought a 7 pudge SAE set to boot. I bought those and headed to the vehicle. After unlocking and putting the packages in the vehicle, I remembered a shower head. So, in I go. I could not find a shower head at Lowe's with the bend, flex, etc. After speaking with a rep, he suggested that trying to rig something up would not be the best idea, easy, nor necessarily attractive. So, a simple shower head was purchased.
I then thought about simply going home. I had the things I wanted to return to Wal-Mart though, and am never sure when the next time I will have everything together, remember what I need to do, and have the time to return them, so... In I go. A long line and a single worker, of course. Surprisingly though she was a rather efficient worker, despite older age and possibly not being in the greatest of health. Of course, I could only return the shower head there, the watch had to be returned to jewelry. There was a line of one there, which was actually good. Otherwise, in the later afternoons and night, one has to go looking for someone to call someone and then wait until someone gets off a pot somewhere to go to jewelry.
So, five things have been checked off my list, two more might be, and it cost less than I thought the wrenches themselves would cost. Okay, I can do that. I am almost afraid to try the shower head and flex hoses, but I will probably do that yet tonight when I work my nerve up a hair. Shower head first, as I deem that more likely to succeed and success breeds success, or something like that.
But you know, I have finally figured out why middle aged men, who have been married 20 to 40 years, have children, and owned their own house for that long, always seem half insane. Money seems almost an enemy and something to cherish at the same time, something I thought (before) was a simple problem (like a leaking faucet or a squeaky hinge) cause them to shrink back into infant fetal positions almost literally, and why at times they can become gibberish and speak to themselves. Ah, I think I am getting it, finally. Or, some small portion of it. Women, for the most part, have NO CLUE! They just get someone to do it or expect the husband to "have it done by...". They cannot do much of it. It is not just the way their minds work, 90% of which is not mechanically minded, but also the physical strength involved. Another part, for many so do not give me examples of different, is an emotional reaction that makes the thing too difficult for many of them. Most women who have had me do mechanical, electrical, or other work like this, I have learned to do the work in their absence. They only hinder, question, and nag, none of which helps a bit.
I have heard that married men live longer than single men. But I have heard from married men that even if it were not true, regardless of the facts, it would definitely feel like longer. Ha! Seriously though, now that I have a house for a ball and chain, I might as well add the rest of the weight. There is nothing like a chip on the shoulder except being perfectly balanced with a chip on each. Ha!
.
A drive into town, a stop at Lowe's then a trip to the parking lot and back in, Wal-Mart, then home. On my first trip into Lowe's, I went to plumbing and bumbled my way to fittings. I used the coupling boards to find the sizes of fittings I would need, then went to work. I found, after a bit of looking, what I was seeking. However, I wanted to speak with a rep first, and make sure what I was getting was what I wanted. After searching a short bit, one did approach and I went through my spiel. No, he suggested, perhaps this... there are indeed two sizes of faucet flexible hosing. (I think my friend suggested that and maybe D.C.? But I did not have the ears to hear at the time, or it did not make sense, or it got lost in the tidal wash.) Fine, so, I grabbed two of those and headed for the door. But wait, I wanted to get wrenches. Fearing the cost, I approached and, low and behold, they were not as expensive as I had worried. I picked up a 10 set each of SAE and metric, plus at that cost bought a 7 pudge SAE set to boot. I bought those and headed to the vehicle. After unlocking and putting the packages in the vehicle, I remembered a shower head. So, in I go. I could not find a shower head at Lowe's with the bend, flex, etc. After speaking with a rep, he suggested that trying to rig something up would not be the best idea, easy, nor necessarily attractive. So, a simple shower head was purchased.
I then thought about simply going home. I had the things I wanted to return to Wal-Mart though, and am never sure when the next time I will have everything together, remember what I need to do, and have the time to return them, so... In I go. A long line and a single worker, of course. Surprisingly though she was a rather efficient worker, despite older age and possibly not being in the greatest of health. Of course, I could only return the shower head there, the watch had to be returned to jewelry. There was a line of one there, which was actually good. Otherwise, in the later afternoons and night, one has to go looking for someone to call someone and then wait until someone gets off a pot somewhere to go to jewelry.
So, five things have been checked off my list, two more might be, and it cost less than I thought the wrenches themselves would cost. Okay, I can do that. I am almost afraid to try the shower head and flex hoses, but I will probably do that yet tonight when I work my nerve up a hair. Shower head first, as I deem that more likely to succeed and success breeds success, or something like that.
But you know, I have finally figured out why middle aged men, who have been married 20 to 40 years, have children, and owned their own house for that long, always seem half insane. Money seems almost an enemy and something to cherish at the same time, something I thought (before) was a simple problem (like a leaking faucet or a squeaky hinge) cause them to shrink back into infant fetal positions almost literally, and why at times they can become gibberish and speak to themselves. Ah, I think I am getting it, finally. Or, some small portion of it. Women, for the most part, have NO CLUE! They just get someone to do it or expect the husband to "have it done by...". They cannot do much of it. It is not just the way their minds work, 90% of which is not mechanically minded, but also the physical strength involved. Another part, for many so do not give me examples of different, is an emotional reaction that makes the thing too difficult for many of them. Most women who have had me do mechanical, electrical, or other work like this, I have learned to do the work in their absence. They only hinder, question, and nag, none of which helps a bit.
I have heard that married men live longer than single men. But I have heard from married men that even if it were not true, regardless of the facts, it would definitely feel like longer. Ha! Seriously though, now that I have a house for a ball and chain, I might as well add the rest of the weight. There is nothing like a chip on the shoulder except being perfectly balanced with a chip on each. Ha!
Overloaded, underpowered, and sinking.
.
.
I am supposed to get the police report faxed to my insurance, get my insurance information collected and in to the chiropractor, get some female to male fittings as a possible fix for the new faucet, I have been looking for (and finally found) one of my password scribble sheets for some other business, get to the town hall to get local utilities in my name, buy airline tickets for my my Mom, and... some other stuff. Finding anything has been impossible. I am trying to do far too many things in a home that is not yet (even nearly) operational and I still have stuff in storage.
Beyond what needs to be done I seem to be crashing. It could be because I feel overwhelmed (which I do not, actually, if harried). Or it could be just the way things are and have been for a long time with me. I was able to wake a bit earlier today. I am going to try to go to sleep a bit earlier tonight. This tug of war is a pain, that of sleep and wakefulness. But at least I am staying awake a fairly decent period of time, say 12 to 16 hours a day, and that time is functional (if I am not yet up to using it more fully physically or organizationally). Still, as I have said before, when stuck I just give one (or all) project(s) a time out and then come back and hit it (or them) when and how I can.
I had hoped to do a number of things today, but finding paperwork, which I needed to do what I had hoped to do, simply did not happen. The codes will allow me to do some business, but I needed to fax something and it just is not available here and now. My chiropractor has a copy, so I will get a copy of their copy, and send that to my insurance company. However, my chiropractor needs information from my insurance company, but the woman who needs the fax is not the right woman to give me that information. So, you can see, this like the faucet, has ended up being a seemingly never-ending 'cat chases tail, tail eludes cat, everything gets a bit fuzzy, hairy, sticky, and...' tale. My whole life, right at this moment, is like that.
My finger, by the way, keeps swelling. I have been being very careful with it. Still, a bump, a jolt, a f&^)ing faucet, or the cat have jostled, pushed, pressed, bent, or otherwise gotten it every day, several times a day. Maybe I took the sling back a bit prematurely. Though I would be in even worse shape with that still on. The back is coming along, mostly. But the neck and shoulders are still a bit touchy. I have been looking for the Tylenol, as the aspirin has caffeine in it (which seems to help me wake up not a wit, yet will keep me from sleeping allllll nighttttt longgggg).
I may still go into town tonight, to look for the fittings, take back the shower head and a watch I purchased at Wal-Mart, and look for wrench sets. I would love one day were I did not have to go into town. How about 3 days. How about a week! I hate going into that town. I love the town, mind you, as towns go. I hate the traffic. With one way, mostly, from north to south, through this region of the state and Idaho, that being right through town, the main thoroughfares are busy, hostile, stupid places with accidents all the time, traffic being bumper to bumper from one side of town to the other some large part of the time, and all else foolish regarding too much traffic on too few roads, with drivers who refuse or unable to think to use conveniences like turn lanes. But more, I simply like staying home! If more people had the option to never leave their homes, they honestly would not do so. Maybe not all, but most would be quite happy getting out only a few days a week for social, business, and fun. Hiking on Tuesday, for example, in which either on the way out or way back one does business. Dinner Thursday with so-and-whozitzs at their place, home, or some agreed upon restaurant, doing more business on the way. Just saying.
Eventually I will figure some of this out and it will slow down enough that I can get a better grasp on what I am doing. I realize, too, what seems fast and busy is actually quite light. I have become a lightweight and, if I want it, will have to push through some of my own issues where I can, and try to dig in a bit. With real projects, the satisfaction gained from certain jobs which will by needs initially need to be simple, and from necessity, I am hoping to expand my world here. The cat, for example, is receiving at least decent care, attention, feeding, and water. I had been letting her out often, but that is going to stop. She vomits a bit to often. I will now be letting her out far less. I see her eat grass almost every time. I do not think she understands she does not need to do that every time she goes out. Anyway, a few times a week, and then on the back porch until she does what I know she will do.
Well, off I go. A few items, the fittings, might actually see to the kitchen sink being usable and one job off my list. I am truly hoping so.
.
I am supposed to get the police report faxed to my insurance, get my insurance information collected and in to the chiropractor, get some female to male fittings as a possible fix for the new faucet, I have been looking for (and finally found) one of my password scribble sheets for some other business, get to the town hall to get local utilities in my name, buy airline tickets for my my Mom, and... some other stuff. Finding anything has been impossible. I am trying to do far too many things in a home that is not yet (even nearly) operational and I still have stuff in storage.
Beyond what needs to be done I seem to be crashing. It could be because I feel overwhelmed (which I do not, actually, if harried). Or it could be just the way things are and have been for a long time with me. I was able to wake a bit earlier today. I am going to try to go to sleep a bit earlier tonight. This tug of war is a pain, that of sleep and wakefulness. But at least I am staying awake a fairly decent period of time, say 12 to 16 hours a day, and that time is functional (if I am not yet up to using it more fully physically or organizationally). Still, as I have said before, when stuck I just give one (or all) project(s) a time out and then come back and hit it (or them) when and how I can.
I had hoped to do a number of things today, but finding paperwork, which I needed to do what I had hoped to do, simply did not happen. The codes will allow me to do some business, but I needed to fax something and it just is not available here and now. My chiropractor has a copy, so I will get a copy of their copy, and send that to my insurance company. However, my chiropractor needs information from my insurance company, but the woman who needs the fax is not the right woman to give me that information. So, you can see, this like the faucet, has ended up being a seemingly never-ending 'cat chases tail, tail eludes cat, everything gets a bit fuzzy, hairy, sticky, and...' tale. My whole life, right at this moment, is like that.
My finger, by the way, keeps swelling. I have been being very careful with it. Still, a bump, a jolt, a f&^)ing faucet, or the cat have jostled, pushed, pressed, bent, or otherwise gotten it every day, several times a day. Maybe I took the sling back a bit prematurely. Though I would be in even worse shape with that still on. The back is coming along, mostly. But the neck and shoulders are still a bit touchy. I have been looking for the Tylenol, as the aspirin has caffeine in it (which seems to help me wake up not a wit, yet will keep me from sleeping allllll nighttttt longgggg).
I may still go into town tonight, to look for the fittings, take back the shower head and a watch I purchased at Wal-Mart, and look for wrench sets. I would love one day were I did not have to go into town. How about 3 days. How about a week! I hate going into that town. I love the town, mind you, as towns go. I hate the traffic. With one way, mostly, from north to south, through this region of the state and Idaho, that being right through town, the main thoroughfares are busy, hostile, stupid places with accidents all the time, traffic being bumper to bumper from one side of town to the other some large part of the time, and all else foolish regarding too much traffic on too few roads, with drivers who refuse or unable to think to use conveniences like turn lanes. But more, I simply like staying home! If more people had the option to never leave their homes, they honestly would not do so. Maybe not all, but most would be quite happy getting out only a few days a week for social, business, and fun. Hiking on Tuesday, for example, in which either on the way out or way back one does business. Dinner Thursday with so-and-whozitzs at their place, home, or some agreed upon restaurant, doing more business on the way. Just saying.
Eventually I will figure some of this out and it will slow down enough that I can get a better grasp on what I am doing. I realize, too, what seems fast and busy is actually quite light. I have become a lightweight and, if I want it, will have to push through some of my own issues where I can, and try to dig in a bit. With real projects, the satisfaction gained from certain jobs which will by needs initially need to be simple, and from necessity, I am hoping to expand my world here. The cat, for example, is receiving at least decent care, attention, feeding, and water. I had been letting her out often, but that is going to stop. She vomits a bit to often. I will now be letting her out far less. I see her eat grass almost every time. I do not think she understands she does not need to do that every time she goes out. Anyway, a few times a week, and then on the back porch until she does what I know she will do.
Well, off I go. A few items, the fittings, might actually see to the kitchen sink being usable and one job off my list. I am truly hoping so.
When you say...
.
.
More on the UPS. I thought about what you wrote, D.C., then when I had some quiet time, decided to look around a bit. I sort of muddled my way through some material, and from a quick and nasty, came to a few items. This as a power source and this as a solar panel controller. I have had it suggested that 25 amps, per battery (I think?), at 12 volts, should do the trick. Why a 60'ish amp power supply and a 12/24/48 volt controller? Simple, so that I could use a two battery system, potentially 3 batteries(?) for my back up. I would guess one battery could offer, what, 2 to 8 hours of backup? And I would guess that 2 or 3 batteries would only double or triple the back up time? (I am, I think, underestimating the time... though with a larger crt screen monitor and a reasonably powerful computer, maybe not.)
Well, just doing some thinking in that little space between being awake and not being awake and thought I would run this by you. If you would rather not talk shop heavily, that is cool too though. At least you know this thing really is a bee and I might be wearing a bonnet. Doh! Those have been bookmarked. The bookmarks will lead me to other items of similar natures. And, if I ever do finalize a plan of purchase attack, I will then begin price shopping. Ackh, curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back. But is that not the truth!?!
.
More on the UPS. I thought about what you wrote, D.C., then when I had some quiet time, decided to look around a bit. I sort of muddled my way through some material, and from a quick and nasty, came to a few items. This as a power source and this as a solar panel controller. I have had it suggested that 25 amps, per battery (I think?), at 12 volts, should do the trick. Why a 60'ish amp power supply and a 12/24/48 volt controller? Simple, so that I could use a two battery system, potentially 3 batteries(?) for my back up. I would guess one battery could offer, what, 2 to 8 hours of backup? And I would guess that 2 or 3 batteries would only double or triple the back up time? (I am, I think, underestimating the time... though with a larger crt screen monitor and a reasonably powerful computer, maybe not.)
Well, just doing some thinking in that little space between being awake and not being awake and thought I would run this by you. If you would rather not talk shop heavily, that is cool too though. At least you know this thing really is a bee and I might be wearing a bonnet. Doh! Those have been bookmarked. The bookmarks will lead me to other items of similar natures. And, if I ever do finalize a plan of purchase attack, I will then begin price shopping. Ackh, curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back. But is that not the truth!?!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
No! I think I might actually have a much easier plan.
.
.
An exchange fitting! That might do it. I am not sure how well it will work, though it is worth a shot. Rather than replace the (mostly) functional water valves, I may see if they have a female to male fitting which would span the sizes. Tomorrow, that is what I will do. It came to me today, but I had other things going on and could not get to the hardware store. That, I think, might be a lot easier.
As for adding valves to the outlets, that may come sooner than later. The previous owner had purchased inline water heaters to replace the existing ones. The downstairs heater is currently gas, the upstairs heater is currently electric. The replacements are correct for what exists. Now, with inline, would I really need to add disconnect valves at both the inlet and outlet piping? I do not know (though I think maybe more so than ever). Still, unless it is proscribed, I would probably go ahead with it. Of course, on those items, I do believe I will eventually have someone else install those.
When I figure out how to get the cash back as a first time home buyer, I plan on having at least a furnace installed (perhaps central air or a swamp cooler depending on how this summer goes). He might be the guy to ask. Even if he does not do this, he would very possibly have a good handle on someone else who does, what is required, how easy of a job it might be, and such. No, no, after the sink and for now, I think I'll stick with having even bigger jobs done by professionals. I am clearly out of my league. Actually, it might be a good thing the faucet "happened". I might have seriously gotten in over my head. Or, more over my head.
Breath... Breath... (kick something?) Breath... Nah, it is not really that bad. More like being somewhere you cannot bend over and having an itch on one's ankle. Yeah, something like that. Well, except for a few moments during or right after it all seems to go wrong...
.
An exchange fitting! That might do it. I am not sure how well it will work, though it is worth a shot. Rather than replace the (mostly) functional water valves, I may see if they have a female to male fitting which would span the sizes. Tomorrow, that is what I will do. It came to me today, but I had other things going on and could not get to the hardware store. That, I think, might be a lot easier.
As for adding valves to the outlets, that may come sooner than later. The previous owner had purchased inline water heaters to replace the existing ones. The downstairs heater is currently gas, the upstairs heater is currently electric. The replacements are correct for what exists. Now, with inline, would I really need to add disconnect valves at both the inlet and outlet piping? I do not know (though I think maybe more so than ever). Still, unless it is proscribed, I would probably go ahead with it. Of course, on those items, I do believe I will eventually have someone else install those.
When I figure out how to get the cash back as a first time home buyer, I plan on having at least a furnace installed (perhaps central air or a swamp cooler depending on how this summer goes). He might be the guy to ask. Even if he does not do this, he would very possibly have a good handle on someone else who does, what is required, how easy of a job it might be, and such. No, no, after the sink and for now, I think I'll stick with having even bigger jobs done by professionals. I am clearly out of my league. Actually, it might be a good thing the faucet "happened". I might have seriously gotten in over my head. Or, more over my head.
Breath... Breath... (kick something?) Breath... Nah, it is not really that bad. More like being somewhere you cannot bend over and having an itch on one's ankle. Yeah, something like that. Well, except for a few moments during or right after it all seems to go wrong...
Dremel does work.
.
.
It took a bit, and I took breaks as I was pushing the little machine pretty hard. The old faucet is now off. I initially tried to use the Dremel to sand the place under where the old faucet sat but that did not work well. Having no sandpaper of any other kind around, I looked around to see what else to use. Steel wool! I keep that for occasional use on steel and cast pots and pans. It worked well.
I then began figuring out how to get the new contraption in and what to do. I read the instructions, and they seemed pretty straight forward. Then, looking over the faucet unit, I noticed other instructions though of a very vague nature. So, I pull out the instructions again. Nothing about this whatsoever. Not a clue. So, I did what I thought the instructions were telling me to do and, being pretty sure I did all I was supposed to do, began weaving it in, setting up the sprayer, tightening the various (different from each other, but whatever!) plastic nuts on the various attachments.
Then I get to the point where I need to attach the sprayer hose to the faucet unit. The unit has 3 hose attachments and, from the instructions, it seems the shortest one is for the sprayer. Good, so I tape that up with silicon tape, hand tighten the hose nut to the pipe, and begin going through my open wrenches. Not this one, that one, the... wait a minute. Slightly larger than 9/16, the pricks used metric! Still, I brave on. I find an adjustable that fits and do gymnastic moves and some threading to get into position to tighten the nut. No small feet, trust me. But I get it into position. Then I have to tinker with the thing, as the nut is long and thin, with very thin sides upon which to secure the wrench. A few minutes of that, or so it seemed, and I get the adjustment right and am able to begin tightening... Other way! Yeah, yeah, yeah... But finally I do tighten it, but not too much. A good deal past what I suspect would be hand tight but yet with room for cranking if I need or want that.
Next, I attach the new flexible hose to the faucet side. It goes on well. Uhrm, did not tape it but I will fix that. As soon as I CHANGE THE F$*@ING WATER FAUCET TO STANDARD! Yes, not standard. I do not think anything in this house is going to be standard, or at least only every other or every third thing. This is NOT GOING TO BE FUN. I suspect I will have to turn off the water to the whole house, drain what I can, and then change both the hot and cold water shut-off valves under the sink. I will have to see if I need to do anything with the hot water heaters. If they have a shut off valve at the exit, I may not have to shut off the whole house water though... if those valves work? But first I will have to find valves that work with the old pipes AND the standard hose. Which means I will probably need to remove the valves before going into the hardware store. That is not going to happen even tomorrow.
I am still going to try and get up early tomorrow (who said I was even smart enough to quit while I am behind?). If that does work, I will get in to city hall. If not, then I will simply try to be up in time to shower and shave, or at least shower, for my appointment. I should look through my movies too. I told my friend I would bring something in to watch at his house on his DVD player. I hate watching plain tv, even the "commercial free" channels anymore. They are so packed with anti-white anti-male anti-American and all the other stuff I despise. So, a movie or three will go with me, movies I trust a bit more and like.
Thursday will not be the day either, at least to pick up the valves. I may find time to take them out though, if possible, and if I do not take them out tomorrow. Come to think of it, I am not even sure if those valves are soldered on or are screw. Ugh, I am hoping for screw but now expecting that they are soldered on. *sigh* I do have a blow torch, but no flux or solder. I have only ever done that for a few things once. It worked, but I am definitely not a professional. Oh, nope, water off outside. I might be able to turn the hot water off at the hot water heater exit (if there are indeed valves there), but I cannot turn off the cold water!
A f*)$ing faucet, that is all. A dripping faucet, put in a new one. How could this be so very hard? Nothing about this operation works as it was supposed to work. Nothing, so far, has been standard, easy, right, or anything. This is definitely a wakeup call.
I must admit, just from what I am going through with the house, I am definitely reconsidering whether I want anything to do with a woman as regards marriage and children. I can only guess that those are a couple of light years more complicated (unless you just do and ignore, planning on a divorce before too long). Ugh... Sigh! Pftftfha...
Update:
Good and bad news, though I think the good news (probably, so far, to my knowledge) outweighs the bad news. The bad news, no exit valves from the water heater (upstairs, so I will not check the downstairs water heater). That means I will have to find out if I need to do anything special, like completely dump(?) the water in the heaters, turn off the burner (for the basement one, the upper one is electric so no(?) problems there, just a switch if that is needed(?)), or whatever else. The good news is that the valves under the sink are twist not solder.
My wounded hand is getting a work out. There is little else I can do though, halfway through the project. I do have a spare kitchen sink in the laundry room, if that is a bit of a bother and I have no real place to set the dishes once washed and rinsed, if a chair, towel, and the drying rack might do somewhat. That stupid hand is going to be the end of me, along with the faucet, I think. Ugh. Oh well, I came, I saw, I dieeeeee!!! Or, uhrm, not.
Oh, and something(s) I now know I need are combination wrenches. My set, if you could call it that, is both incomplete (thanks to a thieving cousin) and has no metric whatsoever. I have been eying those fancy ones, with the snazzy closed end side wrenches that act sort of like sockets, but I am not sure I can afford a decent set of SAE and Metric, and then both in the fancy. Even a standard set, of decent quality, is not going to be cheap. These tools, however, will be used very often, on many projects, through many years. Buying decent (not the most expensive, but certainly not the cheapest) will see me through. I love buying tools, too... but not... right... now... Ugh. Well, at least I know this is not an impulse buy for shiny new thingies I will never use... probably. Bah!!!
Good night, Louise.
.
It took a bit, and I took breaks as I was pushing the little machine pretty hard. The old faucet is now off. I initially tried to use the Dremel to sand the place under where the old faucet sat but that did not work well. Having no sandpaper of any other kind around, I looked around to see what else to use. Steel wool! I keep that for occasional use on steel and cast pots and pans. It worked well.
I then began figuring out how to get the new contraption in and what to do. I read the instructions, and they seemed pretty straight forward. Then, looking over the faucet unit, I noticed other instructions though of a very vague nature. So, I pull out the instructions again. Nothing about this whatsoever. Not a clue. So, I did what I thought the instructions were telling me to do and, being pretty sure I did all I was supposed to do, began weaving it in, setting up the sprayer, tightening the various (different from each other, but whatever!) plastic nuts on the various attachments.
Then I get to the point where I need to attach the sprayer hose to the faucet unit. The unit has 3 hose attachments and, from the instructions, it seems the shortest one is for the sprayer. Good, so I tape that up with silicon tape, hand tighten the hose nut to the pipe, and begin going through my open wrenches. Not this one, that one, the... wait a minute. Slightly larger than 9/16, the pricks used metric! Still, I brave on. I find an adjustable that fits and do gymnastic moves and some threading to get into position to tighten the nut. No small feet, trust me. But I get it into position. Then I have to tinker with the thing, as the nut is long and thin, with very thin sides upon which to secure the wrench. A few minutes of that, or so it seemed, and I get the adjustment right and am able to begin tightening... Other way! Yeah, yeah, yeah... But finally I do tighten it, but not too much. A good deal past what I suspect would be hand tight but yet with room for cranking if I need or want that.
Next, I attach the new flexible hose to the faucet side. It goes on well. Uhrm, did not tape it but I will fix that. As soon as I CHANGE THE F$*@ING WATER FAUCET TO STANDARD! Yes, not standard. I do not think anything in this house is going to be standard, or at least only every other or every third thing. This is NOT GOING TO BE FUN. I suspect I will have to turn off the water to the whole house, drain what I can, and then change both the hot and cold water shut-off valves under the sink. I will have to see if I need to do anything with the hot water heaters. If they have a shut off valve at the exit, I may not have to shut off the whole house water though... if those valves work? But first I will have to find valves that work with the old pipes AND the standard hose. Which means I will probably need to remove the valves before going into the hardware store. That is not going to happen even tomorrow.
I am still going to try and get up early tomorrow (who said I was even smart enough to quit while I am behind?). If that does work, I will get in to city hall. If not, then I will simply try to be up in time to shower and shave, or at least shower, for my appointment. I should look through my movies too. I told my friend I would bring something in to watch at his house on his DVD player. I hate watching plain tv, even the "commercial free" channels anymore. They are so packed with anti-white anti-male anti-American and all the other stuff I despise. So, a movie or three will go with me, movies I trust a bit more and like.
Thursday will not be the day either, at least to pick up the valves. I may find time to take them out though, if possible, and if I do not take them out tomorrow. Come to think of it, I am not even sure if those valves are soldered on or are screw. Ugh, I am hoping for screw but now expecting that they are soldered on. *sigh* I do have a blow torch, but no flux or solder. I have only ever done that for a few things once. It worked, but I am definitely not a professional. Oh, nope, water off outside. I might be able to turn the hot water off at the hot water heater exit (if there are indeed valves there), but I cannot turn off the cold water!
A f*)$ing faucet, that is all. A dripping faucet, put in a new one. How could this be so very hard? Nothing about this operation works as it was supposed to work. Nothing, so far, has been standard, easy, right, or anything. This is definitely a wakeup call.
I must admit, just from what I am going through with the house, I am definitely reconsidering whether I want anything to do with a woman as regards marriage and children. I can only guess that those are a couple of light years more complicated (unless you just do and ignore, planning on a divorce before too long). Ugh... Sigh! Pftftfha...
Update:
Good and bad news, though I think the good news (probably, so far, to my knowledge) outweighs the bad news. The bad news, no exit valves from the water heater (upstairs, so I will not check the downstairs water heater). That means I will have to find out if I need to do anything special, like completely dump(?) the water in the heaters, turn off the burner (for the basement one, the upper one is electric so no(?) problems there, just a switch if that is needed(?)), or whatever else. The good news is that the valves under the sink are twist not solder.
My wounded hand is getting a work out. There is little else I can do though, halfway through the project. I do have a spare kitchen sink in the laundry room, if that is a bit of a bother and I have no real place to set the dishes once washed and rinsed, if a chair, towel, and the drying rack might do somewhat. That stupid hand is going to be the end of me, along with the faucet, I think. Ugh. Oh well, I came, I saw, I dieeeeee!!! Or, uhrm, not.
Oh, and something(s) I now know I need are combination wrenches. My set, if you could call it that, is both incomplete (thanks to a thieving cousin) and has no metric whatsoever. I have been eying those fancy ones, with the snazzy closed end side wrenches that act sort of like sockets, but I am not sure I can afford a decent set of SAE and Metric, and then both in the fancy. Even a standard set, of decent quality, is not going to be cheap. These tools, however, will be used very often, on many projects, through many years. Buying decent (not the most expensive, but certainly not the cheapest) will see me through. I love buying tools, too... but not... right... now... Ugh. Well, at least I know this is not an impulse buy for shiny new thingies I will never use... probably. Bah!!!
Good night, Louise.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Uhrm, nope.
.
.
Right tool, bad faucet, hard water, no go... with the tool anyway. So, I go into the interwebz and look around. It seems a Dremel, cutting disc, and some patients is what I need. Check, check, and... we will see on that last. At first I thought maybe the previous owners, the ones before them, or in any case someone had used super glue to seal the faucet. After looking at the faucet and reading a bit more, it really does just seem to be a mineral buildup seal. One more reason to get a water softener (and a reverse osmosis) system asap. Sorry, the world may be ending, or shutting down for a bit, but until it does, I would like some comforts (and the ability to work with my plumbing!).
I have been using the Dremel, cutting through what I can. Even with a rather good flashlight, though, it is not easy to see as well as I would like to see. I have cut, if seemingly not completely, a fifth to an eight (depending on how far through I really am) of the first "nut" off and worked a bit on the second. I am not sure how long the Dremel can run, continuously, so I am taking a break. At least I did not have to go buy a Dremel too. Still, this is starting to get frustrating. Whatever. I suppose, with the help of the Dremel, some patients, and that punch and chisel set, I will work my way through the gunk either tonight hopefully, or sometime tomorrow.
I had not thought about sealer goo until I ran into the problem with the socket like tool. However, after reading up a bit, it seems a gasket that (should have) come with the faucet is all I will need. Thankfully too, as I would hate to have to make another run to the hardware store, or at least sooner than the next thing or for one more thing actually (as I do need to return a shower head and find a different one). Wish me luck, please?!?
.
Right tool, bad faucet, hard water, no go... with the tool anyway. So, I go into the interwebz and look around. It seems a Dremel, cutting disc, and some patients is what I need. Check, check, and... we will see on that last. At first I thought maybe the previous owners, the ones before them, or in any case someone had used super glue to seal the faucet. After looking at the faucet and reading a bit more, it really does just seem to be a mineral buildup seal. One more reason to get a water softener (and a reverse osmosis) system asap. Sorry, the world may be ending, or shutting down for a bit, but until it does, I would like some comforts (and the ability to work with my plumbing!).
I have been using the Dremel, cutting through what I can. Even with a rather good flashlight, though, it is not easy to see as well as I would like to see. I have cut, if seemingly not completely, a fifth to an eight (depending on how far through I really am) of the first "nut" off and worked a bit on the second. I am not sure how long the Dremel can run, continuously, so I am taking a break. At least I did not have to go buy a Dremel too. Still, this is starting to get frustrating. Whatever. I suppose, with the help of the Dremel, some patients, and that punch and chisel set, I will work my way through the gunk either tonight hopefully, or sometime tomorrow.
I had not thought about sealer goo until I ran into the problem with the socket like tool. However, after reading up a bit, it seems a gasket that (should have) come with the faucet is all I will need. Thankfully too, as I would hate to have to make another run to the hardware store, or at least sooner than the next thing or for one more thing actually (as I do need to return a shower head and find a different one). Wish me luck, please?!?
Busy day.
.
.
It started late, the day that is. I tried to rise early, knowing it would probably not work. I set the alarm for 8:00 but did not rise until 12:00. I need to get up to take care of that last utility situation. But more, I want to try and be up early to get some things done in the daytime. With appointments so many days a week, a few other tasks I need to complete regarding business, and some odds and ends type work or such around as well, finding the time to do more lawn and house work has been difficult. I will just keep trying.
My previous landlords found a book about hiking trails here locally. They gave it to me, so I now have a better resource. I will be looking through it this week and figuring out when and where I will go on my first actual hike. I have not started walking to the dam lake outside of town yet, I have not had the kind of time to devote to anything like that since I moved in. I would guess it will be a 2 to 3 hour affair with nothing else doable during that time. And with getting up late plus everything else on my list, it has not been at all possible. It is, however, still on my list. Swimming really draws me, though the walk/hike will be good to get me in some kind of walking shape as well.
I did find a tool for the plumbing work needed. I could have gotten a less expensive minimalist tool or the one I did buy. The one I bought is a multi-tool which works on everything from multiple types of plastic "nuts" to the sink's drain holder basin fixture. I thought, being that I will be working on lots of plumbing eventually, that a more sure and much more versatile tool was the way to go. I forgot to take the shower head back and pick up a new one, but I will be in town again tomorrow. I have no choice.
After my appointment, I picked up my friend and we headed into the mountains. This time we went off the main road, into the mountains a goodly bit, through the mountains to the next pass, and back around. On the way we shot a few rounds and just talked. When we got back, I talked him into going to an eatery called the Smokin' Blues, I think. I can do without the Blues, I do not care for the so-called music. I think of it as the precursor to rap, actually. But smoked meats are near to my heart. Maybe too near if you believe a thing out of a doctor's mouth (which I do not). He was afraid the prices would be too steep. The food was great, the music was soft enough, and the prices were quite good. A half a chicken, for example, was right at $10. I had to try a bit of everything, and did. It cost a bit more but I now know what I like. I will continue to stop there, though might just order to go. My favorite, as might be expected, was brisket. I ordered way too much and they offer a lot on top of it, so I have munchies for tonight! I think I will be able to talk my friend into going there once or twice a month mixed in with our other usual suspects in the restaurant roundup.
A little blog reading. Maybe a comment. This post. Cat loving mixed in with those things. And now maybe the kitchen faucet. I would love to sleep after that, but I do not think I will be able to sleep. I hate that. When I cannot control my sleep and waking, I feel like a treed cat, not sure how to get down or whether to go further up to find a better path down. How to sleepppp! And still wake up at an early hour. I still have not played my games yet, but I might after the faucet is in. It will not help me sleep, but it is something entertaining to do while I cannot sleep. And, at times, it can frustrate me enough to sleep too. Bah!
Good night, or maybe, until later. Be well.
.
It started late, the day that is. I tried to rise early, knowing it would probably not work. I set the alarm for 8:00 but did not rise until 12:00. I need to get up to take care of that last utility situation. But more, I want to try and be up early to get some things done in the daytime. With appointments so many days a week, a few other tasks I need to complete regarding business, and some odds and ends type work or such around as well, finding the time to do more lawn and house work has been difficult. I will just keep trying.
My previous landlords found a book about hiking trails here locally. They gave it to me, so I now have a better resource. I will be looking through it this week and figuring out when and where I will go on my first actual hike. I have not started walking to the dam lake outside of town yet, I have not had the kind of time to devote to anything like that since I moved in. I would guess it will be a 2 to 3 hour affair with nothing else doable during that time. And with getting up late plus everything else on my list, it has not been at all possible. It is, however, still on my list. Swimming really draws me, though the walk/hike will be good to get me in some kind of walking shape as well.
I did find a tool for the plumbing work needed. I could have gotten a less expensive minimalist tool or the one I did buy. The one I bought is a multi-tool which works on everything from multiple types of plastic "nuts" to the sink's drain holder basin fixture. I thought, being that I will be working on lots of plumbing eventually, that a more sure and much more versatile tool was the way to go. I forgot to take the shower head back and pick up a new one, but I will be in town again tomorrow. I have no choice.
After my appointment, I picked up my friend and we headed into the mountains. This time we went off the main road, into the mountains a goodly bit, through the mountains to the next pass, and back around. On the way we shot a few rounds and just talked. When we got back, I talked him into going to an eatery called the Smokin' Blues, I think. I can do without the Blues, I do not care for the so-called music. I think of it as the precursor to rap, actually. But smoked meats are near to my heart. Maybe too near if you believe a thing out of a doctor's mouth (which I do not). He was afraid the prices would be too steep. The food was great, the music was soft enough, and the prices were quite good. A half a chicken, for example, was right at $10. I had to try a bit of everything, and did. It cost a bit more but I now know what I like. I will continue to stop there, though might just order to go. My favorite, as might be expected, was brisket. I ordered way too much and they offer a lot on top of it, so I have munchies for tonight! I think I will be able to talk my friend into going there once or twice a month mixed in with our other usual suspects in the restaurant roundup.
A little blog reading. Maybe a comment. This post. Cat loving mixed in with those things. And now maybe the kitchen faucet. I would love to sleep after that, but I do not think I will be able to sleep. I hate that. When I cannot control my sleep and waking, I feel like a treed cat, not sure how to get down or whether to go further up to find a better path down. How to sleepppp! And still wake up at an early hour. I still have not played my games yet, but I might after the faucet is in. It will not help me sleep, but it is something entertaining to do while I cannot sleep. And, at times, it can frustrate me enough to sleep too. Bah!
Good night, or maybe, until later. Be well.
Cannot sleep... (ugh) So...
.
.
A few things I noted while looking around the interwebz.
I thought they loved him? Perhaps Europe just does not like any American president or pResident as some folk prefers to credit the quota in chief...
Hmm, and a UPS (uninterpretable power source) you can be sure about. Perhaps it would not be cheap, but it would last as long as you want and you might learn a thing or three putting it together. Definitely for the dyi'ers. I am not sure I am up to the task or the cost, but uhrm... when has that ever stopped me? Doh! I hate, simply hate, when I get a bee in my bonnet. First, the whole bonnet business. The bee is almost secondary. Though none of that is really the point!
Does anyone else see cause and affect in any of this? I love it when socialists laud a dictator who creates national problems and then compounds them, while claiming to be the hero. This is not even a fast one, it is a slow pitch and they still miss it. Ignorance is bliss, until it kills you?
Oh, and political correctness is getting way out of bounds, here, here, and here for a few examples.
I knew of some others very like this, and long before the recession, however I could not find articles about them. This is one (of many, many) examples of our fine government at the truthful peak of performance.
And this is the last item, if not about a lighter subject, offering an upper-hand to an underdog, sort of. I certainly disagree with women, often, harshly, and beyond my means of always expressing rationally... but uhrm, I love em' and I do not like seeing them hurt or forced into something that should be an act of love or even duty if nothing else at times. So, there is this.
.
A few things I noted while looking around the interwebz.
I thought they loved him? Perhaps Europe just does not like any American president or pResident as some folk prefers to credit the quota in chief...
Hmm, and a UPS (uninterpretable power source) you can be sure about. Perhaps it would not be cheap, but it would last as long as you want and you might learn a thing or three putting it together. Definitely for the dyi'ers. I am not sure I am up to the task or the cost, but uhrm... when has that ever stopped me? Doh! I hate, simply hate, when I get a bee in my bonnet. First, the whole bonnet business. The bee is almost secondary. Though none of that is really the point!
Does anyone else see cause and affect in any of this? I love it when socialists laud a dictator who creates national problems and then compounds them, while claiming to be the hero. This is not even a fast one, it is a slow pitch and they still miss it. Ignorance is bliss, until it kills you?
Oh, and political correctness is getting way out of bounds, here, here, and here for a few examples.
I knew of some others very like this, and long before the recession, however I could not find articles about them. This is one (of many, many) examples of our fine government at the truthful peak of performance.
And this is the last item, if not about a lighter subject, offering an upper-hand to an underdog, sort of. I certainly disagree with women, often, harshly, and beyond my means of always expressing rationally... but uhrm, I love em' and I do not like seeing them hurt or forced into something that should be an act of love or even duty if nothing else at times. So, there is this.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Online at last.
.
.
It was quirky getting the Big Internet Company to finally decide whether they could or would even install internet here and then it took some time, after two weeks of dithering, to actually have internet installed, but it is done. I also had them install a phone with the package as it saved me a bit more than $120 dollars over a stand-alone internet installation fee over the period of the phone deal. Unfortunately, the phone is not quite as useful since during a power outage, it will go down as well being connected through a dual use modem. Whatever, at least I do now have a local phone number.
All utilities, save city water and garbage are now in my name and working. Internet is on, of course. Getting to town hall between 9:30 and 11:30 has been problematic to date. Today I simply could not wake up, though for a number of reasons which I will get to later. The house proper is coming together. The kitchen has been cleaned and about 1/2 of my kitchen is back together. I am washing everything as I unpack it as it has been in storage for a year. The rest of the unpacking is a bit slower, my main focus is on the kitchen. Still, some pieces, parts, clothes, and such are being roughly sorted, collected in groups of likes, with some of it coming out of the boxes and being put away more properly. For example, my camping, climbing, and reloading gear is going into what will most likely become my ammunition reloading area. All will probably fit nicely, along with the assembled reloading station and reloading components when I am finished. It is an odd little room which must have been something similar too a very old fashioned walk-in cloak room. It has a sliding door, shelving, a high enough ceiling for good use of the shelves, coat hooks all around, and hanger bars. Clothes, as they are being pulled out, are being washed and hung up properly as well. As I said though, these other things are secondary to the kitchen.
In the kitchen I ran into my first snag. The faucet was dripping. Well, I took particular umbrage at the faucet and decided to change it. Fine, a right proper response I think. Well, okay, so I attempted to turn the water off under the sink. I still do not have lefty loosey, righty tighty down when the valve is located oddly to a standard frontal position. I ended up turning the water at a higher rate and the rubber flex hose for the cold water sprang a leak! I was trying to do this late at night as I could not sleep so I thought I would make myself useful. Ugh. The faucet was cranky and I simply did not seem to be able to get it turned off. I ended up washing myself, under the sink, and right on down to the basement floor. I ran around like a chicken with one head less than usual and hopped from leg to leg, while scratching my head and making odd and sometimes threatening noises for a bit. Finally I decided to give the valve one more shot. Sure enough, this time I turned the water off. Ugh. I toweled myself, under the sink, and the floor of the kitchen off, letting the basement floor air dry, then called it a night.
I have since purchased a new faucet, new and better flex hose, and... punches and chisels. After looking around under the sink, I realized the old faucet is attached using those plastic 4 winged nuts. No tool I have or could think of would reach up into that narrow access to turn those, thus the punches and chisels. I have yet to try to undo those "nuts" yet, but it is on my list. I have not checked the flexible hoses either, though I am really hoping they are simply standard.
Beyond that, the shower nozzle in the second bathroom was springing a major leak when I tried to shower with it. I tried to tighten it only to realize the threading was so messed up the thing could not be repaired or tightened so as to work. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a flexible metal multi-hinged affair, similar to the shower head in the bathroom in the master bedroom. It, however, does not work. The hinges cannot be tightened well enough to hold the device up, so it keeps drooping. I was able to tighten it so that there were no leaks however! Ugh. So, I have to take it back. I would like to find another like it but I do not think I will buy it at Wal=Mart.
No garden has been installed. I simply have not had enough time, or the energy when I have had the time. I really hope to get it in soon, but I simply can make no promises. Digging out a 5 x 5, or better 5 x 7, area by hand through very thick dense grass is not as easy as it seems, and of course I still have physical problems.
I did have the stitches removed from my hand. I gave that hand about 4 days to heal, using it for almost nothing and using a sling to make sure it was not used. I then waited a couple of extra days before going in for the removal of the stitches in order to give the finger more time to heal after rather heavy usage that first week after it was cut. This seemed to work. I thought the hand and finger were about ready for use. While going through the boxes, I found the Dyno-Flex gyro exercise tool I used to use in Iowa. I thought I would use that to strengthen the hand a bit before really digging in. Not such a good plan, however, I think this was much better than if I had simply started ripping into work in that I was doing controlled amounts of finger and hand stress. It is surprising how weak a hand gets and how fast, by the way. After a few days of increasing usage, I realized the wound was opening again. It did not open enough for me to go back in, but it was enough to let me know I had to back off. So, another week of (only mostly, but definitely mostly) one handed work is in the offing. *sigh*
Further, I have been going to the chiropractor. He says there are no shortcuts and that this will be 3 times a week for 6 weeks, and then a re-evaluation. However, I have been feeling very rough. Last night I had to take a bunch of aspirin to get past the pain. All the pain and stiffness was in my neck, my back is doing better. But the headache, nausea, and general soreness were nearly on par with a migraine. The aspirin did the trick, but not until 3:00 or 4:00, after initially trying to sleep without taking anything at 22:00 and giving in to aspirin at 2:00 or so. I have felt very tough this way for 4 or 5 days now. Another week like this and I will simply stop going in for treatments. I will just tell him what I have told every other doctor who, when prescribing something that does not work, insists that what I really need is more of the same, just harder... "NO THANK YOU!".
Still, those are the bad things. The good things are: Having my own home; Being with a cat friend; Having a lot of projects that if complicated, annoying, expensive, and time consuming are real, have a personal impact, and are very satisfying once completed, both to mind and function(!) ; and, Being able to take care of things a bit at a time, over time, as I can, and still really getting somewhere with it all, even when it seems like I am completely stuck. When stuck, I just give it a few moments or days as may be needed, hit it again, and repeat if necessary or simply finally get that project nailed.
My mother suggests she will be coming out for a couple of weeks in July. I need to get her tickets, and with the internet up and running, that should not be a problem. Money is getting tight, and with each necessary project, I become a little more concerned. I still have to buy a lawn mower (and then use it, ugh), and probably a weed whip. A wheelbarrow would be very nice as well. The previous owners were a bit eccentric. They placed big rocks in odd places (and tried to grow evergreens on them?). Anyway, the wheelbarrow would be great for other projects as well, including creating a garden. And, I would like to get my herbs and spices going before long. But that means potting soil and some sort of planters (though yogurt cups work splendidly in the short run). Have you priced any of this stuff lately? My word, do they think we grow money? Even small pots, for example, at Wal=Mart, seem to be in the $5 and up range. Not bad unless you want 10 to 20 of them. Ugh. Ha!
But it is all good. Sorry for the length of this post, but I wanted to give you a chance to catch up as well as I could. It is not the same as if I had posted everyday. Then again, it is all meat, give or take. It might even be slightly whine lite? Ha. Tha... tha... that's all folks.
.
It was quirky getting the Big Internet Company to finally decide whether they could or would even install internet here and then it took some time, after two weeks of dithering, to actually have internet installed, but it is done. I also had them install a phone with the package as it saved me a bit more than $120 dollars over a stand-alone internet installation fee over the period of the phone deal. Unfortunately, the phone is not quite as useful since during a power outage, it will go down as well being connected through a dual use modem. Whatever, at least I do now have a local phone number.
All utilities, save city water and garbage are now in my name and working. Internet is on, of course. Getting to town hall between 9:30 and 11:30 has been problematic to date. Today I simply could not wake up, though for a number of reasons which I will get to later. The house proper is coming together. The kitchen has been cleaned and about 1/2 of my kitchen is back together. I am washing everything as I unpack it as it has been in storage for a year. The rest of the unpacking is a bit slower, my main focus is on the kitchen. Still, some pieces, parts, clothes, and such are being roughly sorted, collected in groups of likes, with some of it coming out of the boxes and being put away more properly. For example, my camping, climbing, and reloading gear is going into what will most likely become my ammunition reloading area. All will probably fit nicely, along with the assembled reloading station and reloading components when I am finished. It is an odd little room which must have been something similar too a very old fashioned walk-in cloak room. It has a sliding door, shelving, a high enough ceiling for good use of the shelves, coat hooks all around, and hanger bars. Clothes, as they are being pulled out, are being washed and hung up properly as well. As I said though, these other things are secondary to the kitchen.
In the kitchen I ran into my first snag. The faucet was dripping. Well, I took particular umbrage at the faucet and decided to change it. Fine, a right proper response I think. Well, okay, so I attempted to turn the water off under the sink. I still do not have lefty loosey, righty tighty down when the valve is located oddly to a standard frontal position. I ended up turning the water at a higher rate and the rubber flex hose for the cold water sprang a leak! I was trying to do this late at night as I could not sleep so I thought I would make myself useful. Ugh. The faucet was cranky and I simply did not seem to be able to get it turned off. I ended up washing myself, under the sink, and right on down to the basement floor. I ran around like a chicken with one head less than usual and hopped from leg to leg, while scratching my head and making odd and sometimes threatening noises for a bit. Finally I decided to give the valve one more shot. Sure enough, this time I turned the water off. Ugh. I toweled myself, under the sink, and the floor of the kitchen off, letting the basement floor air dry, then called it a night.
I have since purchased a new faucet, new and better flex hose, and... punches and chisels. After looking around under the sink, I realized the old faucet is attached using those plastic 4 winged nuts. No tool I have or could think of would reach up into that narrow access to turn those, thus the punches and chisels. I have yet to try to undo those "nuts" yet, but it is on my list. I have not checked the flexible hoses either, though I am really hoping they are simply standard.
Beyond that, the shower nozzle in the second bathroom was springing a major leak when I tried to shower with it. I tried to tighten it only to realize the threading was so messed up the thing could not be repaired or tightened so as to work. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a flexible metal multi-hinged affair, similar to the shower head in the bathroom in the master bedroom. It, however, does not work. The hinges cannot be tightened well enough to hold the device up, so it keeps drooping. I was able to tighten it so that there were no leaks however! Ugh. So, I have to take it back. I would like to find another like it but I do not think I will buy it at Wal=Mart.
No garden has been installed. I simply have not had enough time, or the energy when I have had the time. I really hope to get it in soon, but I simply can make no promises. Digging out a 5 x 5, or better 5 x 7, area by hand through very thick dense grass is not as easy as it seems, and of course I still have physical problems.
I did have the stitches removed from my hand. I gave that hand about 4 days to heal, using it for almost nothing and using a sling to make sure it was not used. I then waited a couple of extra days before going in for the removal of the stitches in order to give the finger more time to heal after rather heavy usage that first week after it was cut. This seemed to work. I thought the hand and finger were about ready for use. While going through the boxes, I found the Dyno-Flex gyro exercise tool I used to use in Iowa. I thought I would use that to strengthen the hand a bit before really digging in. Not such a good plan, however, I think this was much better than if I had simply started ripping into work in that I was doing controlled amounts of finger and hand stress. It is surprising how weak a hand gets and how fast, by the way. After a few days of increasing usage, I realized the wound was opening again. It did not open enough for me to go back in, but it was enough to let me know I had to back off. So, another week of (only mostly, but definitely mostly) one handed work is in the offing. *sigh*
Further, I have been going to the chiropractor. He says there are no shortcuts and that this will be 3 times a week for 6 weeks, and then a re-evaluation. However, I have been feeling very rough. Last night I had to take a bunch of aspirin to get past the pain. All the pain and stiffness was in my neck, my back is doing better. But the headache, nausea, and general soreness were nearly on par with a migraine. The aspirin did the trick, but not until 3:00 or 4:00, after initially trying to sleep without taking anything at 22:00 and giving in to aspirin at 2:00 or so. I have felt very tough this way for 4 or 5 days now. Another week like this and I will simply stop going in for treatments. I will just tell him what I have told every other doctor who, when prescribing something that does not work, insists that what I really need is more of the same, just harder... "NO THANK YOU!".
Still, those are the bad things. The good things are: Having my own home; Being with a cat friend; Having a lot of projects that if complicated, annoying, expensive, and time consuming are real, have a personal impact, and are very satisfying once completed, both to mind and function(!) ; and, Being able to take care of things a bit at a time, over time, as I can, and still really getting somewhere with it all, even when it seems like I am completely stuck. When stuck, I just give it a few moments or days as may be needed, hit it again, and repeat if necessary or simply finally get that project nailed.
My mother suggests she will be coming out for a couple of weeks in July. I need to get her tickets, and with the internet up and running, that should not be a problem. Money is getting tight, and with each necessary project, I become a little more concerned. I still have to buy a lawn mower (and then use it, ugh), and probably a weed whip. A wheelbarrow would be very nice as well. The previous owners were a bit eccentric. They placed big rocks in odd places (and tried to grow evergreens on them?). Anyway, the wheelbarrow would be great for other projects as well, including creating a garden. And, I would like to get my herbs and spices going before long. But that means potting soil and some sort of planters (though yogurt cups work splendidly in the short run). Have you priced any of this stuff lately? My word, do they think we grow money? Even small pots, for example, at Wal=Mart, seem to be in the $5 and up range. Not bad unless you want 10 to 20 of them. Ugh. Ha!
But it is all good. Sorry for the length of this post, but I wanted to give you a chance to catch up as well as I could. It is not the same as if I had posted everyday. Then again, it is all meat, give or take. It might even be slightly whine lite? Ha. Tha... tha... that's all folks.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Hmm? I will try this.
.
.
I am trying to blog with my cell. I could not comment, ao I did not think I could post. Out of boredom, I gave it a shot.
I am alive and well, give or take. I am also very busy, behind MY* schedule, and running short of cash. Almost all utilities are
Now in my name. Internet will be hooked up Monday. More about all then.
Just saying "I am alive!", uhrm, because I am and I can. If this works, that is???
Good night!
.
I am trying to blog with my cell. I could not comment, ao I did not think I could post. Out of boredom, I gave it a shot.
I am alive and well, give or take. I am also very busy, behind MY* schedule, and running short of cash. Almost all utilities are
Now in my name. Internet will be hooked up Monday. More about all then.
Just saying "I am alive!", uhrm, because I am and I can. If this works, that is???
Good night!
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