What's everybody doing today?

Homesteading & Country Living Forum

Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Did you look for the other one? Where there's a Cheech there's gotta be a Chong. 😂🤣😂

Haha, Curmudgeon, you funneh... there'll probably be a grasshopper party out there next time I look, like teenagers when the folks are out of town, lol. When the music gets too loud, I'll shut down the par-tay... don't need the 'rurales' (kountry kops) showing up at my door! ;)
 
Watered a bit today just to keep things going till the monsoon arrives, a 30% chance of rain is in the forecast for tomorrow & Friday. Hope it materializes, because we need it badly here in these drought conditions. :confused:

Ironically, the weed plants are doing best out there in the yard, five MMJ numbers which are healthy & happy, lol... saw a grasshopper on one plant today, thing must have been stoned out of its mind, lol. :oops:

Meh, let the critter get high on my weed, it's not like I really care that much about it, it's more of a soil amendment experiment than anything else... that and it's the first time I can legally grow dope, go figure. :rolleyes:

Shifted more boxes from the shop building to the mud room, so I can start working through 'em and sorting out what I want to keep and what I want to donate. Already started a donation pile, and it's growing too! :)

Of course, it's nice to see the really cool stuff again, things I'm definitely gonna keep... my home is starting to look the way it should, with awesome artwork & cool decor. Found my coffee table books, but I'm still looking for the tartan tablecloth. 🤔

Anyway, I gotta get cleaned up and hit town for that double-stick tape or adhesive strips/squares. I have some very nice posters which are totally old school, '60s & '70s travel posters from the Med, along with some Western posters. 🤠

Gotta buy some 'Spider Killer' at the Depot, I found another one of those nasty black spiders near my stuff in the shop building... it was actually under a box that I shifted, and these things are big & fast, so it's time for chemical warfare. 💀

That metal shop building is on a smooth slab, and it'll eventually be a workshop, once I clear the boxes out of it and donate some stuff as well. Those spiders gotta go, they've been trying to establish a foothold but I want 'em outta there... 😠

Otherwise, it's all good, gonna sort through more boxes today and get stuff where it needs to be... hopefully I find that tartan cloth I use for the coffee table, dunno where I stowed it when I was loading boxes. Hopefully I find it today. Cheers!!! :cool:
Don't get bit by a Black Widow (spider, figured I better add that😁), NOT NICE! Learned that the hard way!!
 
Pearl, without that spider clarification, the name "Black Widow" is RACIST!!! :oops:

"Huh? Wha'? [rubs eyes] Oh, I was just having a bad libtard dream..." ;)

Never made it to town, and it's too hot to go now, so maybe tomorrow... I started searching through boxes and I eventually found my tartan cloth for the coffee table, so I'm happy! I also located some items I've wanted to fill gaps in the home decor, plus some books and stuff for the shelf unit under the TV. :)

Another reason why I put off the trip to town: I thought maybe I could use a tiny drill bit to get those tacks into the hard paneling, but evidently the smallest bit I have is 1/16", which is still too large for the tacks. Meh, it was worth a look, I have tons of tacks, but I reckon I'll go with the tape or adhesive strips/squares after all. :rolleyes:

No big deal, I can spend the afternoon puttering around and putting stuff on these shelves, and I can square away the coffee table too, now that I've found everything I need. It's gonna look great, I have the full-on 'conversation pit' and TV-viewing area in my living room (or great room), using two sofas at a right angle... very comfortable! The cats approve!!! 😻
 
Pearl, without that spider clarification, the name "Black Widow" is RACIST!!! :oops:

"Huh? Wha'? [rubs eyes] Oh, I was just having a bad libtard dream..." ;)

Never made it to town, and it's too hot to go now, so maybe tomorrow... I started searching through boxes and I eventually found my tartan cloth for the coffee table, so I'm happy! I also located some items I've wanted to fill gaps in the home decor, plus some books and stuff for the shelf unit under the TV. :)

Another reason why I put off the trip to town: I thought maybe I could use a tiny drill bit to get those tacks into the hard paneling, but evidently the smallest bit I have is 1/16", which is still too large for the tacks. Meh, it was worth a look, I have tons of tacks, but I reckon I'll go with the tape or adhesive strips/squares after all. :rolleyes:

No big deal, I can spend the afternoon puttering around and putting stuff on these shelves, and I can square away the coffee table too, now that I've found everything I need. It's gonna look great, I have the full-on 'conversation pit' and TV-viewing area in my living room (or great room), using two sofas at a right angle... very comfortable! The cats approve!!! 😻
Have you considered using a tack as a drill bit?

I have used nails, paper clips coat hangers as drill bit. Worth a try?

Ben
 
i took care or that chair. It was not as bad as I thought. I thought the tenon at the top of one of the legs was broken. Glued up the loose joints and moved on.

Worked on some steel shelving with the shelves stuck on the upright supports. There is just enough rust on the uprights to prevent the shelves from moving. Hit it with PB blaster and head to the garage for a file and wire brush. Noticed 3 large heads of broccoli which I harvested and put in a bowl of water in the fridge as a surprise for The Princess.

I managed to get one shelf free and moved to the next. Same problem with rust. Sprayed it with PB blaster and let it soak in.

Nuff for today.

Ben
 
BTW, I waged war upon Brown Widows after those arachnid cousins infested our yard in Coronado... things are even WORSE than Black Widows, they pack a meaner punch with their venom and they're quite fast. Unlike the Black Widow, which hangs out under woodpiles and whatnot, the Brown Widow is active in the garden, spinning ugly webs down low between homes, flower pots, patio furniture, etc. They like hiding under the pot rims, which is why I swapped out all pots with rims in our yard in Coronado... didn't want my elderly mom getting bitten by one of those nasty critters, a bite would've finished her off before her time. :oops:

I wrote a letter to the local rag about the dangers presented by the Brown Widow spider, particularly to kids and the elderly, and the editor had the sense to print a warning in the paper, complete with photo. Just doing my part to help folks avoid grief... one gal got bitten by a Brown Widow which crawled into her garden gloves, and she said the pain was "worse than childbirth." Those spiders are nasty, they're quick and agile and they have large fangs visible to the eye, plus their venom is powerful... ugh. I'm not afraid of spiders in general, I actually like having the harmless ones in my yard for bug control, but the venomous ones gotta go. Especially the Black & Brown Widows... :confused:

I won't kill a tarantula, they're basically harmless, but the Widows aren't welcome on my property. I must have killed a thousand Brown Widows in Coronado over a period of several years, they are difficult to eradicate once they establish a foothold. The best method of killing them was to give each spider a squirt of 'Spider Killer' as it hung upside-down in its web... best time was after dark, or early in the morning while it was still dark. I'd wear a headlamp and patrol the entire yard, blasting each one I found and stomping it afterward. Had to destroy the egg sacs too, they look like WWII naval mines. If ya don't destroy the egg sacs, the whole area will be reinfested. Tough critters to eradicate, that's for sure. 🕷
 
Okey-dokey, spent some time unloading boxes and distributing stuff to various rooms. Found me dear departed mum's lighthouse collection, now it's set up on a corner table in the living room. These are ceramic lighthouse models, one of 'em actually lights up... it's the Old Point Loma Lighthouse which can be found on my nautical chart of San Diego Bay, lol. I also have one of those Himalayan salt lamps on that same table, it lights up too so it makes for a nice touch at night, with a soft glow that illuminates the other lighthouses. I'll post a pic in a moment, I may still rearrange things too, I'm just pulling stuff out of boxes right now... and it's cool, reliving my past as I unload this stuff. :)

Hmm... perhaps I should start a new thread for my home decor, I have heaps of photos. Lemme go do that, lol... ;)
 
Okey-dokey, spent some time unloading boxes and distributing stuff to various rooms. Found me dear departed mum's lighthouse collection, now it's set up on a corner table in the living room. These are ceramic lighthouse models, one of 'em actually lights up... it's the Old Point Loma Lighthouse which can be found on my nautical chart of San Diego Bay, lol. I also have one of those Himalayan salt lamps on that same table, it lights up too so it makes for a nice touch at night, with a soft glow that illuminates the other lighthouses. I'll post a pic in a moment, I may still rearrange things too, I'm just pulling stuff out of boxes right now... and it's cool, reliving my past as I unload this stuff. :)

Hmm... perhaps I should start a new thread for my home decor, I have heaps of photos. Lemme go do that, lol... ;)
Show us the light houses.

Ben
 
I survived today. It's sure been a nutty week. Actually got quite a bit done - if I missed something please wait to tell me until tomorrow between 8-5 ;) One more day of crazy (hope that's all).
Day before yesterday made Hubby homemade icecream.
Yesterday he got a rhubarb pie (his favorite).
Today, I made him oatmeal monsters.
Tomorrow is his birthday - I'm treating for lunch for him and the guys too. It will be a tough day, big push to get an urgent gub. job done before Monday. Friday he is leaving with his bro. to go to bros. property up north just a ways and work on a skidster and do a little fishing. It'll be good for both of them. I will get a weekend to hopefully play in the garden. Will see what trouble I can get into.
 
Hi @Amish Heart Haven't said Hi or picked on you lately or anything 😁 Hope all is well. Pick on the kids for me. Give little GD a hug and a noogie and tell her it's from some strange lady on the internet who likes kids with good senses of humor. When I taught pre-k, we had "pick on" days. Whoever's turn it was to be picked on got blamed/credit for everything good or bad and got to be the helper (it was all kind and never became anything mean). They loved pick on day and would ask when they could be picked on.
 
Our little (part time) post office lady called first thing this morning and said we had chicks in and they were cold. Were put in the air conditioned building for awhile. So I went down to pick up the baby turkeys. There she was, sitting on the post office steps with the box of babies, waiting for me. It was already hot outside, so it was her way of keeping them warm. They look ok, so we'll see. Turkey babies are finnicky.
Spent the rest of the morning outside with the animals and garden till lunchtime. Then it was so hot, couldn't take it anymore. Went into the bigger town with husband and little granddaughter. Husband was going to PT, and was dropping us off at Aldi to fill a cart. BUT tire pressure starting going down, found a nail in our truck tire. He cancelled PT, we found a tire place, and they fixed it. Pleasant place, pretty old, but they had a help yourself soda machine, a popsicle freezer, Jurassic Park on tv, and a nice three legged dog to pet. We managed. Did the Aldi shopping and got home kinda late. Still have some dry goods to put away.
 
Ha Ha Lady L. We pick on little granddaughter all the time! I'll let her know. She was so bummed about the nail in the tire today till she saw the three legged dog. I told her it's name was Lucky. It wasn't.
She will be busy doing her eye rolls tomorrow and pretending she's older than 10. We'll be picking up my mom tomorrow for lunch and for the dentist. That'll bring on the eye rolls. She wants to go, though, because she knows that Thursday is "bin shopping" at the salvage store in the bigger town. She knows I'll buy whatever for her because stuff is only 99 cents. We'll go there after we bring mom back to her place.
 
If you go to a chain pharmacy, their software switches to generic automatically. It's cheaper for corporate so they make more profit. Ask them to put a forced note on your profile so that it appears whenever the script is refilling. Of course that depends on if it gets read and acted on. That's what I do when I have special circumstances for patients. Some of them I just remember on my own or my pharmacist (who's been there for 30 years) remembers. If the pharmacy has a website or app where you can refill and manage your scripts just check ahead of time and give them a call.

Levothyroxine is the generic for Synthroid. The only coupon you'll be able to get for the generic would be the GoodRx cards or ask the pharmacy if they have other discount cards available. If you look online for one, try Scriptsave, BuzzRx, or Singlecare.
My mother has a note in her file to only get Levothyroxine because she reacted badly to other meds. The weird thing is, the Euthyrox was over $30 but the Levothyroxine was only $10. They have forgotten and filled the wrong stuff for my mother in the past so I always have to check to make sure they got it right. Not only did they refill mine rather quickly, when I requested a switch for my brother because he was getting sick, they refilled his. They let me pick up his prescriptions and my mother's prescriptions (but they have seen me with both my mother and brother while picking up prescriptions before).

So my son’s hip issue had been put on the back burner until after his bone marrow transplant. But he was in so much pain on Monday they decided to xray it.

Turns out, he’s been walking around with a broken hip! 😮

And he’s getting a hip replacement today! They’re moving fast on the hip so they can hopefully keep a large part of the bone marrow transplant schedule intact. Really appreciate the surgeon and team squeezing him in after hours on what’s normally a non-surgery day for them.

So that’s what I’m doing today, lol

@mosquitomountainman, you remain in my family’s prayers - been keeping up with some of Sue’s posts. No words of wisdom to offer, just praying for the best.
Oh no! Please give your son a hug from me. He doesn't know me, but it sounds like he could use a hug. You may have said elsewhere but my memory sucks. How old is he? I hope the surgery goes well and that he heals quickly from it. That is a lot for a single person to go through.

BTW, I waged war upon Brown Widows after those arachnid cousins infested our yard in Coronado... things are even WORSE than Black Widows, they pack a meaner punch with their venom and they're quite fast. Unlike the Black Widow, which hangs out under woodpiles and whatnot, the Brown Widow is active in the garden, spinning ugly webs down low between homes, flower pots, patio furniture, etc. They like hiding under the pot rims, which is why I swapped out all pots with rims in our yard in Coronado... didn't want my elderly mom getting bitten by one of those nasty critters, a bite would've finished her off before her time. :oops:

I wrote a letter to the local rag about the dangers presented by the Brown Widow spider, particularly to kids and the elderly, and the editor had the sense to print a warning in the paper, complete with photo. Just doing my part to help folks avoid grief... one gal got bitten by a Brown Widow which crawled into her garden gloves, and she said the pain was "worse than childbirth." Those spiders are nasty, they're quick and agile and they have large fangs visible to the eye, plus their venom is powerful... ugh. I'm not afraid of spiders in general, I actually like having the harmless ones in my yard for bug control, but the venomous ones gotta go. Especially the Black & Brown Widows... :confused:

I won't kill a tarantula, they're basically harmless, but the Widows aren't welcome on my property. I must have killed a thousand Brown Widows in Coronado over a period of several years, they are difficult to eradicate once they establish a foothold. The best method of killing them was to give each spider a squirt of 'Spider Killer' as it hung upside-down in its web... best time was after dark, or early in the morning while it was still dark. I'd wear a headlamp and patrol the entire yard, blasting each one I found and stomping it afterward. Had to destroy the egg sacs too, they look like WWII naval mines. If ya don't destroy the egg sacs, the whole area will be reinfested. Tough critters to eradicate, that's for sure. 🕷
I don't have a problem with most spiders but black widows and brown recluses are on my instant kill list. I hadn't heard of brown widows before. We once had a black widow who nested in our kitchen window (between window and screen) and hatched over 100 little ones. We could see the red dots on their tiny bodies and the mother was right there with them. Went around to the screen side with some RAID and eradicated them.

Amish_heart, that was nice of your post office lady to do that. My local post office is so understaffed that the lady there doesn't have time to do stuff like that.

Speaking of understaffed, they just said the local prison is understaffed by 116 people but that, despite having the funding, BOP won't hire more people and are forcing their current employees to work mandatory overtime (for which they do not get overtime pay). 18 hour work days for current staff. So someone complained to the news and they are "looking into it". There are a LOT of unemployed people in town who have been applying for jobs there and getting rejected.

I picked up groceries and Rxs, heated up leftovers for Mom, played Elder Scrolls Online, put the puppies up and am now relaxing with a cat on my shoulder. I'm waiting until 11 to eat since I just took my medicine at 10. I'll have to see if I can get Mom to eat too.
 
Slept kind of decent last night and woke up feeling pretty good so I actually made progress on the house. I had to cut a piece of plywood for under the eve where I am finally connecting the outdoor electrical outlets, just an 18"x24" piece for starters to make the electrical connection easier. From this first box (which is actually the last box on the circuit) I am running conduit back across the eave (existing wiring was run inside the attic) and then down the outside wall to the edge of the future "boat desk designed" patio. Progress was slow at first because I had to keep going to the garage for tools and different screws or supplies but once I had all that gathered I made good progress. A neighbor stopped to ask what I was doing, when I mentioned plywood he asked if I needed plywood. At $27.00 a sheet for new, HECK YEAH I DO! He had leftover from when his garage was built a couple years ago so I took the 4 scrap pieces and 2 new pieces, leaving him a few more full sheets which I can still take if needed. I will need to notch a few sections to fit around the natural gas pipe and the conduit so the scraps will be perfect for that. I needed one more fitting to connect the conduit into the exterior electric box so I made a shopping list for that part and a few other items, put away the important tools, and went swimming in the pool before leaving for work.

Picked up what I needed before clocking in at Home Depot, AND there was still a stack of brand new coco-coir WELCOME door mats in the breakroom for employees only at $1.00 each so grabbed 10 of them (because my GF told me to) and they will be our new entrance path for the back door to help keep dirt and mud out of the back room. I think they are about 30"x40" and normally $10 each, We have been using an old rug outside but this will be half a step up from rustic redneck. I actually bought 3 of the plain ones, just a decorative black trim around the edge, the night before and I will place a template on them and paint my own design on them with FlexSeal, which is made in a variety of colors that can be ordered on line because stores usually only have Black on the shelf. I think the front mat will have my "Funny Farm Ranch" logo and I suspect the other two will have chickens or a goose on them if the GF and her daughters have their way.

Sweet dreams for now, and good morning for you early risers.
 
Ordered a freezer yesterday, planned to pick it up this morning, got ready to go and walked out into a thunderstorm... :( The last thing I want to to is have a freezer in the bed of my truck and heavy rain to go with it... I will have to rearrange my schedule around the weather radar..

Last day of the work week and I'm ready, yesterday started early and ended late. Lots of paperwork this time of year...
 
The Princess said...

It's cold in the basement and hot in the bedroom.

With that I received my marching orders for the day.

My place has three floors with her office in the basement and all og the bedrooms are on the second floor. Between heating and cooling system I have to adjust my duct work.

In winter I have to deliver a lot of got air to her office. Hot air rising to the second floor is good and keeps the bedrooms warm. I block off the air return on the second floor so the cold air is being pulled from the first floor.

For the cooling season I have turn it upside down throttling the cold air to the office and pulling hot air from the second floor. Closing of 5he air to her office is straight forward but pulling got air from the ceiling is shall we say, a work in progress.

I had run a 10" return line through a void in the walls of the first floor last year.

20220616_133232.jpg


Those open ducts are about 12" above floor level which is not enough to pull air from the ceiling. Since I had collection of duct components I cobbled together extension to pull hot air from the ceiling.

20220616_134848.jpg


It ain't pretty but seems to be working. Lets call it a proof of concept. :rolleyes:

The Princess will be the final judge.

Returned to the shelving.

20220616_145409_HDR.jpg


I am down to one corner that I have to free up. Getting close!

Nuff for now.

Ben
 
Last edited:
Hot, hot, hot! Another scorcher. I went to town for a few errands but on the way back I did something fun. I went plant hunting. There is a small creek by a church. Every winter I tell myself that next summer I’d get permission to hunt that creek.

Today saw a car and a guy sitting on the steps at the church so I stopped. I introduced myself, he was a deacon there. While talking the guy’s elderly mom stopped. She recognized me and knew my parents. So I was told to search away!

I found yellowroot right away, 50ft from the parking lot. That makes the 3rd new place to harvest I’ve found so far this spring.

pl yellowrootaaa a.JPG
 
Last edited:
Long day today. Took the granddaughter's "bin" shopping in the bigger town, and let the older granddaughter drive so she can earn her permit time. The bin prices are now changed from 99 cents to 1.99 each. Bummer. We bought stuff anyway. Back home for lunch, then out again to pick up mom for her dentist appt. Visited with the other 6 residents while they finished their lunch. They are a crack up. Back to moms after the dentist, then back home for a few minutes and to change vehicles. Picked up my favorite cousin, her daughter, and the granddaughter because they needed to go to Walmart to pick up RX's and fill carts. Didn't make it out to the garden today, but got the greenhouse plants watered. Made dinner a little late. Busy day. Tomorrow will be quieter.
 
Good morning Spikedriver, and everyone!! I have a "declutter" job today!! One of the older couples I clean for has a daughter who is a mild hoarder!! The mom and I are going to her apartment to do some cleaning out. Daughter wants it done but can't/won't do it herself! Should be interesting!!
 
Good morning Spikedriver, and everyone!! I have a "declutter" job today!! One of the older couples I clean for has a daughter who is a mild hoarder!! The mom and I are going to her apartment to do some cleaning out. Daughter wants it done but can't/won't do it herself! Should be interesting!!
Big black garbage bags!
 
Back
Top