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.
Got almost nothing done today, really hate cfs sometimes. I needed a steel cattle panel first thing, wanted to finish a little section of fence and hang a gate. I made calls, one more for the list of shortages. My ace in the hole who always has such items were also out. He was pretty sure he'd have some in at the end of the week. Soooooo...

I needed the horse and donkey in that pen so they'd have access to hay. Plan B, I ran a temporary electric fence around the gate area. Funny, when they were colts they got in an area they shouldn't have, hot fences on 3 sides. They learned a valuable lesson that day, don't mess with the tiny wires! They've never forgotten!

So I didn't even hook up a fence charger, they won't touch my temp fence.

Got the calf fed, carried 20g of water... need to get him moved to his winter home so I can bring in a tank of water. No more carrying 5gal buckets of water.

Did nothing else but the normal chores.
 
Mutt.

My father was half Italian (Caputo) and my mother was half Hungarian (Deak). My father's side came over on the Mayflower so American.

This is 4 generation taken almost 13 years ago. All wearing bibs.

View attachment 75930

Being a numbers guys...
Olivia was 0
Nathan was 25
I was 50
My father was 75.

Ben
Other than years, all look much alike 😁
 
Went back to my hometown with my daughter, to visit Mom at the nursing home. We had a chili supper in the big activity room there. My middle brother's two daughters were there along with the 5 little girls they have. So it was chaos trying to keep track of them all. We don't get to see my Air Force niece or her little ones very often, so it was nice to see them. The little ones warmed up to me pretty quick and I chased them around the tables while they giggled and screamed as loud as they could. Then all 5 of the girls latched on to my daughter and kept her busy. They all had a great time...View attachment 75408

Your daughter is quite the beautiful young lady.

The other 5 little ones are as cute a buttons too!
 
Thank you Grimm

We're having a lazy night at my place. I got new glasses today, and I need to go back and get them adjusted better tomorrow. Made chili for supper, put just a bit too much spice in it. Booked my flight to and from Yuma, AZ for the job in El Centro, CA next month. Rental cars have gotten crazy expensive - a Toyota Corolla was $69 a day! Now my daughter and I are watching CSI Miami reruns and playing on our phones. Tomorrow I have to take her to Des Moines to the orthodontist.
 
I started to do some paying work, and then needed my sand blaster, decided that running my big electric compressor would be a good test for my newly acquired PTO generator, Had to modify the tractor hitch to fit the home built "trailer" that the gen is mounted to. then the pto shaft hadn't been kept clean, as in sat somewhere wet, so I had to clean it up to get it to mate with the little tractor, did some pre run maintenance: changed the gear box oil twice, blew the spider webs out of the brush box, then a Bil showed up, so story time commenced, and then another Bil showed up just as the first one was getting ready to leave, so more story time, then the sun started to set, it got cold everybody went home, I decided to test my generator, The 115 volt side didn't work , opened the box found a couple of not connected wires, figured that out, and it made light, then I tried the buzzbox welder that had been mounted on the trailer with the gen, surprise it works. now for the thing I set out to do 6 hours ago, try to spin up the compressor, The engine wouldn't hold the load on hi pto, switched to std 540 pto, (engine has to run much faster), almost spun the compressor up but the clutch slipped, it was able to run my smaller 1 hp compressor. So Tomorrow bigger tractor, and see where that goes, or go the responsible route and just plug the compressor in to the wall and get the job done, but why be responsible, I am unsupervised and wore my warning label off a long time ago.
 
I've had this one 7 years , it's the 2500 with 5.9 Cummins diesel....bomb proof.
Never did anything but put brake pads on it . 226,000 miles on it.
I wouldn't own the hemi.

Jim

Thats what I have too. Almost 300,000 (mostly towing) miles. Aside from regular maintenance we've had the transmission rebuilt and replaced the starter and injector pump.
 
I slept for about 9 hours, still felt tired. Waited for my friend to respond to messages-- he had said he wanted to be up "early early" but he slept until almost 11:30am. He had to be at work at 5 so we had to make good use of our time. Went to the hardware store to check prices on things and see what fittings they had-- didn't have what we needed. Popped in to Tractor Supply to grab Cattle Cubes for the cows so I could distract them while we doublechecked inventory on the repair parts/fittings for the water lines. I stepped in a fresh pile of cow crap getting out of my truck. Fun times. It was nice outside though. I went to take a deep breath but unfortunately only smelled the cow crap. LOL.

Went to Lowes to grab fittings for the plumbing and ceiling tiles for my friend's nursery. He's already put most of them up. I held the one-eyed kitten while he was getting ready. Popped in to my favorite restaurant with my friend but he had to go sit in the car with heated seat because he still has 9 kidney stones to pass & he wasn't feeling well. Dropped him off at home, grabbed food for Mom, and headed home.

Found that my brother had taken out kitchen and bathroom trash (has hell frozen over?) without me having to nag him. In return I went into his room and picked up some of his laundry. Filled one of the tall baskets. His back has been bothering him so he has trouble bending & I figure if I reward him for doing stuff he's supposed to do it encourages him to keep doing it. Still need to get another basket and pick up more so we can then finish getting trash out of his room. But, I need to work on kitchen and the hallway to the laundry room a bit more before I touch his room again. Showed my friend some sketches of waterline paths & discussed what fittings will go where and so forth. Printed out a sketch of the layout of the house and we can draw on it to mark where stuff will go.

Kitties are piled on me to keep warm.

Tomorrow I'll have to get up early and pick up my friend, get him some breakfast (he works better on a full stomach) turn off the power to the AC/water heater/water pumps so that nobody gets zapped by the AC's wires & water doesn't pour out. Hardest part is going to be fitting through some of the areas we need to go for getting the waterlines run. My friend is skinny enough to squeeze through most of it, but I'm not. If we can also get the hot water valve on the shower fixed, I will take a hot shower in my own home for the first time in over a year. Been taking cold showers at home, sink baths with hot water in the kitchen sink since February, and hot showers at my friend's house.

Anyone have suggestions for pulling PEX in a cramped crawlspace where there's not even enough room to crawl military style in some places? (I was able to crawl military style under some spots but nearly got stuck in others).
 
Found that my brother had taken out kitchen and bathroom trash (has hell frozen over?) without me having to nag him. In return I went into his room and picked up some of his laundry.

Filled one of the tall baskets. His back has been bothering him so he has trouble bending & I figure if I reward him for doing stuff he's supposed to do it encourages him to keep doing it.

Kitties are piled on me to keep warm.

Tomorrow I'll have to get up early........... Hardest part is going to be fitting through some of the areas we need to go for getting the waterlines run

It's going to be cold in the morning! Freeze warnings to Montgomery AL. I wouldn't want to be crawling through panels or under a house etc. A crappy job made worse on a cold day...

Didn't you say there was a rattlesnake under your house recently? Here you go! Snake tongs, different styles. I've seen them at WM for $30. You're brother could use it the rest of the time. A 2-fer! 😁

snake tongs.jpg
 
Finished the drywall tape and mud in the garage today. Still have the pantry, living room/kitchen ceiling, and the master bedroom to tape and mud. Someone stuck a holiday in this week to muck up the works or I would say it would al be done this week. May still happen but tomorrow I need to cull a turkey and a duck for Thanksgiving dinner, we need to wrap a tarp around the horse area so he has a sheltered place for the winter, we need to wrap the chicken and turkey areas in plastic tp keep them out of the whether this winter. and I need to change the oil and rotate the tires on 3 vehicles this week.
Easy Peasy?
 
I slept for about 9 hours, still felt tired. Waited for my friend to respond to messages-- he had said he wanted to be up "early early" but he slept until almost 11:30am. He had to be at work at 5 so we had to make good use of our time. Went to the hardware store to check prices on things and see what fittings they had-- didn't have what we needed. Popped in to Tractor Supply to grab Cattle Cubes for the cows so I could distract them while we doublechecked inventory on the repair parts/fittings for the water lines. I stepped in a fresh pile of cow crap getting out of my truck. Fun times. It was nice outside though. I went to take a deep breath but unfortunately only smelled the cow crap. LOL.

Went to Lowes to grab fittings for the plumbing and ceiling tiles for my friend's nursery. He's already put most of them up. I held the one-eyed kitten while he was getting ready. Popped in to my favorite restaurant with my friend but he had to go sit in the car with heated seat because he still has 9 kidney stones to pass & he wasn't feeling well. Dropped him off at home, grabbed food for Mom, and headed home.

Found that my brother had taken out kitchen and bathroom trash (has hell frozen over?) without me having to nag him. In return I went into his room and picked up some of his laundry. Filled one of the tall baskets. His back has been bothering him so he has trouble bending & I figure if I reward him for doing stuff he's supposed to do it encourages him to keep doing it. Still need to get another basket and pick up more so we can then finish getting trash out of his room. But, I need to work on kitchen and the hallway to the laundry room a bit more before I touch his room again. Showed my friend some sketches of waterline paths & discussed what fittings will go where and so forth. Printed out a sketch of the layout of the house and we can draw on it to mark where stuff will go.

Kitties are piled on me to keep warm.

Tomorrow I'll have to get up early and pick up my friend, get him some breakfast (he works better on a full stomach) turn off the power to the AC/water heater/water pumps so that nobody gets zapped by the AC's wires & water doesn't pour out. Hardest part is going to be fitting through some of the areas we need to go for getting the waterlines run. My friend is skinny enough to squeeze through most of it, but I'm not. If we can also get the hot water valve on the shower fixed, I will take a hot shower in my own home for the first time in over a year. Been taking cold showers at home, sink baths with hot water in the kitchen sink since February, and hot showers at my friend's house.

Anyone have suggestions for pulling PEX in a cramped crawlspace where there's not even enough room to crawl military style in some places? (I was able to crawl military style under some spots but nearly got stuck in others).
Use a long pole to fish a rope through. Use rope to pull in PEX.

Ben
 
Today has been nutty! Seems like I've just run around in circles: places saying they have something then not having it etc. They are beginning to put the Christmas decorations up down town. I'm actually glad to see them. We need festive amongst all the doom and gloom. Also, it looks like it's snowing on the mountains 😊 ❄ I'm not trying to drive in it or pull a trailer anywhere so I love it! Now if I could just stay home and bake cookies.
 
Y'all ain't gonna believe this.

We drove home late yesterday afternoon with a brand new Honda Ridgeline ($45,000 ,taxes and all fees included) . Guy came and picked up the my Dodge shortly after.

Then about 6pm the Honda dealer called and wanted a picture of my DD 214(army discharge). I sent it.
Got a call this morning and told me that I didn't qualify for the $500 military discount they gave me. We went back and forth for an hour...then he said I have to pay the $500.
I said I will not , but I'll bring the vehicle back and you will hand me my down payment as I hand you the keys. ( I wasn't that nice).

Soooo wife and I took the vehicle back (50 miles) got my money back , and warned them about the breach of contract, court cost that's possible for the contract that we signed.
Anyway , now I have no truck.

I will remedy that soon I'm sure.

Jim
 
Last edited:
Y'all ain't gonna believe this.

We drove home late yesterday afternoon with a brand new Honda Ridgeline ($45,000 ,taxes and all fees included) . Guy came and picked up the my Dodge shortly after.

Then about 6pm the Honda dealer called and wanted a picture of my DD 214(army discharge). I sent it.
Got a call this morning and told me that I didn't qualify for the $500 military discount they gave me. We went back and forth for an hour...then he said I have to pay the $500.
I said I will not , but I'll bring the vehicle back and you will hand me my down payment as I hand you the keys. ( I wasn't that nice).

Soooo wife and I took the vehicle back (50 miles) got my money back , and warned them about the breach of court cost that's possible for the contract that we signed.
Anyway , now I have no truck.

I will remedy that soon I'm sure.

Jim
I am guessing they will be calling soon to notify you to come get your rig! Wow. Hope you get it all worked out without too much trouble.
 
I am guessing they will be calling soon to notify you to come get your rig! Wow. Hope you get it all worked out without too much trouble.
Before I left the dealer, they wanted to look at other ways of working it out.
Being the grumpy old vet that I am.
I told them I wouldn't buy it now if they gave me $10,000 off.

I doubt they will call.
There are other dealers and other trucks.

Jim
 
Another day at remodeling. Finished putting in the kitchen outlets.

20211123_141414_HDR.jpg


Then moved to installing the led lighting in the basement. Before...

20211123_145434.jpg


After

20211123_155010_HDR.jpg


Nice to have decent lighting!

Started to run wires between junction boxes and I am ready to finish up the kitchen outlets tomorrow if I am productive.

I do have to give some thought for the under cabinet lighting...

Sticking with it.

Ben
 
I do have to give some thought for the under cabinet lighting...

Sticking with it.

Ben

Just an idea @ben,

This is what I'm using.
Easy install , comes with strip double back tape and thin metal strips that stick to tape the lights magnetic attach. Remove once a month or longer to recharge USB .
Lots of light. 54 LEDs. Motion sense, off, or on.

Work great and very bright.
Amazon.

IMG_20211123_205056158.jpg
IMG_20211123_205045646.jpg
IMG_20211123_205022994.jpg
IMG_20211123_205007338.jpg
IMG_20211123_205203237_HDR.jpg
IMG_20211123_205155537.jpg
IMG_20211123_205937471.jpg
IMG_20211123_205143382_HDR.jpg


Jim
 
Before I left the dealer, they wanted to look at other ways of working it out.
Being the grumpy old vet that I am.
I told them I wouldn't buy it now if they gave me $10,000 off.

I doubt they will call.
There are other dealers and other trucks.

Jim
That new Ford Maverick sure looks interesting, Jim. It would do almost everything the Ridgeline can do, its a crossover/truck, and it'll be cheaper with better gas mileage. I bet the Ford dealer would be happy to talk to you about it. And probably wouldn't try to hose you in the process.

I would seriously put that Honda dealership all over social media along with the BBB and Google reviews. That place sounds shady as hell...
 
@Spikedriver , There are none at any Ford dealers .
Some reviews make it sound too small for me. Even the Ranger is not enough room for me.

The Colorado is very roomy, but it does not come with bells and whistles I want.
Going to Toyota dealer tomorrow, he's has several 2021s and 2022s.
Gotta see if I can fit in it.

Jim
 
@Spikedriver , There are none at any Ford dealers .
Some reviews make it sound too small for me. Even the Ranger is not enough room for me.

The Colorado is very roomy, but it does not come with bells and whistles I want.
Going to Toyota dealer tomorrow, he's has several 2021s and 2022s.
Gotta see if I can fit in it.

Jim
There are 5 Mavericks for sale within 100 miles of me but only one high end Lariat model. From what I've seen of reviews and specs, it's as wide as the Ranger so it's similar to the Ridgeline. It's been getting stellar reviews from Car & Driver, Motor Trend, etc.

If you're really set on a Ridgeline, I bet another dealer would work something out where they'd meet you halfway to exchange the vehicle. Things are pretty competitive amongst car dealers, somebody will go the extra mile for you...
 
@Spikedriver , not set on Ridgeline. That ordeal soured me to Honda.

I'll be trying the Tacoma tomorrow.

Jim
Just my experience, Jim -

If you're worried about comfort be absolutely sure to get a higher end model. The ones without power seats are horrible. The seat position is very low and can't be raised, there's no adjustment for height. With the power seats you have a 10 way adjustment and there's a lot of adjustment range. Mine is just an SR5 model, but it's got the power seats and they're some of the best seats I've ever sat in...
 
Don't know where today went. Did the animals, husband's breakfast, laundry, clean up. We went to the bigger town to get hospital records for when I was in ER for a few hrs in Sept with pneumonia. Our "One Share" catastrophic insurance said they're not paying any of the $5K we were billed. I think ER billed it as not an emergency, and I think I'll also be switching insurance next year. Then off to the clinic for husband's weekly allergy shot, got chic fil a salad for lunch, and an Aldi shop. Cooked a large pumpkin for pies, cooked a 25.5 lb turkey for freezer meat, then cooked dinner. Husband is taking a "nap". He is taking my cousin Harry to the train station at 3 in the morning. Harry is going to Kentucky for Thanksgiving via Amtrak. That train never comes in to town at a decent hour, ever.
 
Took daughter to her orthodontist appointment. They told us that she's almost done with the braces. Should only be a couple more appointments before the braces come off. Thank God for dental insurance.

Afterward we went to an outlet mall. She needed some new shoes. New Balance is her preferred brand and we found her a pair. I couldn't convince her that Merrill hiking boots would be better for her... :LOL:

After that we stopped at a boutique ice cream shop, the kind that chops and folds the ice cream. Her mouth was hurting from the brace adjustments so ice cream was the only thing she could eat. :dancing: That's her story and she's sticking to it. Tonight we played dominoes for a whole and now she's in bed and I'm watching old Magnum P.I. reruns. I feel kind of lame, but I'm really enjoying it...
 
I really tried to be responsible, but then it started to snow, so I improved some stuff, and then got a bigger tractor hooked to the pto gen, at almost dark, this time I found out that there may be a bit of a wiring problem, but no clutches slipped, , a small amount of electrical smoke was released, not a point of failure amount, but enough to stop the experiment til day light.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top