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.
Fixed my breakfast, made the bed, brushed the tooth and shaved the whiskers.

Wife is in a frenzy preparing the house for a hen party at noon. At her request I've closed the windows and turn on the air conditioning.
Fortuitous, while the wife is hosting, I'll be working odd jobs at the church :dancing:. WILL be back home after her party is over.
 
Had a late meeting last night and up early this morning seeing the kids off. The kids and grandkids are all going to the beach for a few days. It already seems quiet around here. So many things I could do but I’m not sure what I actually will do. I’m hoping the answer is in the bottom of this coffee pot. 😆
 
Fortuitous, while the wife is hosting, I'll be working odd jobs at the church :dancing:. WILL be back home after her party is over.

😆. You are a wise man!!! My hubby does the same thing except he always manages to need to come back to the house for something he “forgot” and comes out with a plate of food. H’s not interested in the hen party but he’s going to get the goodies anyway 😆. Will you need to come back home to pick up a tool too?
 
Took my daughter to the mall in Ames. She wanted a new pair of denim shorts for summer - she only had one pair that fits. We found a pretty good deal on a pair from an expensive brand that she likes, for only $16. They're a bit short for my tastes - she's my teen daughter, and ankle length is too short for me - but she likes them and her butt isn't hanging out so I guess they're OK.

Afterward we went to B-Bops, which is a burger chain here in Central Iowa. They have the best fries in the world and their burgers are the next best thing to In 'n' Out. Then we hit a store called Main Street Magic which sells board games. We were looking for a cooperative game, but didn't find one that sounded good. They have a kitty that lives in the store there and it decided it likes my daughter:
View attachment 87297

We finished the day with a drive through The Ledges and now we're just chilling at home...
If you and your daughter happen to wander through Cincinnati, I know a place with cats that would love a good home :

http://www.ohioalleycat.org/
 
Ugh, Urban, don't know how you never sleep.
Am up and will be getting ready to take the neighbor lady shopping. Rain today, so no watering.
I do go to bed early, last night I was down at 10PM, but I usually only sleep about 4 or 5 hours a night. I do find that if I sit still in a recliner I fall asleep really easily. But, as long as I keep moving I'm fine.....
 
If you and your daughter happen to wander through Cincinnati, I know a place with cats that would love a good home :

http://www.ohioalleycat.org/
My daughter would want all of them. She and her mom used to have around a dozen barn cats. However, something destroyed their little cat colony. They all disappeared one by one and now there are none left. All the neighboring acreages lost their barn cats too. I think it's coyotes killing the cats, but whatever it is, they don't survive unless they're brought inside...
 
Going to the Depot to buy another 100' heavy-duty garden hose, that'll cut down on the hose-schlepping-and-dragging in this .44-acre yard. Not the biggest yard I've ever seen, but having that second hose will make my life a bit easier... and I'll be more inclined to water those trees on the southern end of the property, since I won't have to unhook the hose and drag it from one spigot to another. Been doing that since I arrived, and it's time to ramp up the efficiency, lol. Things are looking a little better on the financial side too, so maybe I'll stick around and not go through the hassle of relocation anytime soon. The way things are going across this formerly-great nation, it might be better to stay put for a while, as my monthly utility bills and property taxes are pretty low here in NM. Fuel is pretty cheap too, $4.29 per gallon compared to $6.75 or higher in Kalifornia... my friend told me that's the going price for regular unleaded back in my old stamping grounds. Jeez, I don't miss that leftist dump, don't miss the insane traffic either... :oops:

I think I'm going to buy some seed packs and try to get my veggie garden up and running... a bit late, but we still have the monsoon around the corner, and I can actually afford to buy bags of soil and steer manure right now. I'd like to try melons too, I think they might do well here in this sandy soil. I know they do well in Green River, Utah, and it's pretty dry there... the river supplies enough water for irrigation, same way my community well(s) will supply it here. So I may look into all of that at the Depot or Lowe's, as I'm heading there anyway to bag that extra garden hose. Gotta buy a nozzle too, I use those nozzles with the pistol grips & lever triggers, they work best here. The adjustable kind, so I can go from jet to spray pronto, that's important here on this property. I also like to blast the car every once in a while, I don't bother washing it much anymore due to the dust here... dust in the country, who would've THUNK it? I still have my detailing kit, it just hasn't seemed like a big priority lately... nobody here in BFE gives a damn what my car looks like, lol. ;)
I'M OFF TO GET CLEANED UP AND HANDLE MY BUSINESS, Y'ALL BE GOOD... HASTA LUEGO!!! :Dancing Chicken:
 
Got most of our big stuff loaded into the container to be shipped to the property.
My whole pantry is packed up, and we are taking that up to the climate controlled space today.
House closed escrow yesterday and we officially have no more mortgage. It was so fun cancelling the automatic payments today.
Our daughter graduates 6/10, and we are busy getting ready for that as well as getting all the last minute stuff she will need for college. Thankfully the college pays for all their costs associated with the volleyball team, including shoes! She needed a new pair badly. Found a great deal on a 2020 MacBook Air for her.

Crappy thing that happened this last weekend- Hubs and she went to Seattle (UW) for her last club volleyball tournament. The crosstrek had the back window broken out and the GHB and other things were stolen out of the back. I hate thieves. Plus its taking forever to get a replacement back window ordered! I had to work over Memorial day weekend, there was a huge accident at the ORV park in town and multiple pediatric traumas were coming in, it was quite a busy weekend! Our neighbors across from us at the RV park were partying until 12 am and I had to be up by 4 am for work. Needless to say when I got home, I almost slept for 14 hours straight. Barely made the 3 hour drive home, I had to stop several times to get some fresh air and wake up!
Hope you all have a great day.
 
Walked and played in garden for a while while.
Paid bills and researched online bookkeeping as godaddy bookkeeping is retiring their website this month.
Taking dh to copd doctor this afternoon and will stop by Walmart.
Bible study tonight at 6:30.

I'm tired. Less than 4 hours sleep last night and just over 4 hours the night before.
 
Still cold and wet here through yesterday - no complaints, it's really helping green up our lawn & gardens. Just too cold and we to be puttering around outdoors. Checked my chicken eggs in the incubator, and none of them are developing. Either my roo is shooting blanks, or he's not doing his job because he thinks it's still winter. I think I'll separate him from the ladies for a couple of days and put a light back in the coop with him to simulate actual spring in there. Plenty of free roosters available in my area, so I can replace him if needed.
 
Going to the Depot to buy another 100' heavy-duty garden hose, that'll cut down on the hose-schlepping-and-dragging in this .44-acre yard. Not the biggest yard I've ever seen, but having that second hose will make my life a bit easier... and I'll be more inclined to water those trees on the southern end of the property, since I won't have to unhook the hose and drag it from one spigot to another. Been doing that since I arrived, and it's time to ramp up the efficiency, lol.

Something to consider, I just ran water lines to various areas around our property using 1/2" black irrigation tubing with a hose end on each end. At the water faucet I used a splitter, one for the hose and one for the new water line. I leave the water on all the time and control it with another shut off valve at the other end. If your ground is soft enough you can dig a trench and bury it 6 inches or so to prevent tripping or getting driven over. The irrigation tubing will last many years where a hose may only last a year or two.

Use the ones that clamp on, similar to this or with a barbed end and a hose clamp. I used the barb and hose clamp when I did mine.
https://www.amazon.com/Orbit-Univer...ip+Irrigation+Fittings&qid=1654110064&sr=8-57
 
That's an idea for the future, should I actually stick around and not go deeper into the woods. I'm still trying to get up the drive to finish off this home rehab effort, lol... but at least I'm making plans again, I really went through a bad slump there in terms of motivation. Now I feel more chipper, lol... and all the tools & materials are still there in the 'War Room!' :oops:

I'll start tomorrow morning by planting these Jalapenos & melons, the garden is still in the experimental stages due to the need for soil amendment. However, some plants & young trees are doing well, I'm just keeping an eye on 'em. I know this: if I'm here next year, I'm gonna lay out a nice big veggie garden and keep adding to the fruit orchard. :cool:
 
My daughter would want all of them. She and her mom used to have around a dozen barn cats. However, something destroyed their little cat colony. They all disappeared one by one and now there are none left. All the neighboring acreages lost their barn cats too. I think it's coyotes killing the cats, but whatever it is, they don't survive unless they're brought inside...
Lots of nice housecats available at the rescue😺
 
Spent 6 hours at church totally replacing a bathroom exhaust fan/light in a parsonage and fluorescent light bulbs at the church. Church didn’t have spare bulbs so I drove into the city Hardware. $4 for a single four flourecent bulb, bought 8. A few of the light fixtures have weak ballasts. Came home, put the tools away and shower. Then I ordered four foot LED replacement bulbs and no shunt tombstones to convert. I’ll convert those fluorescent lights before I’ll buy ballasts.
 
Spent 6 hours at church totally replacing a bathroom exhaust fan/light in a parsonage and fluorescent light bulbs at the church. Church didn’t have spare bulbs so I drove into the city Hardware. $4 for a single four flourecent bulb, bought 8. A few of the light fixtures have weak ballasts. Came home, put the tools away and shower. Then I ordered four foot LED replacement bulbs and no shunt tombstones to convert. I’ll convert those fluorescent lights before I’ll buy ballasts.
I orederd a bunch of the cheapest shop lights I could find on Amazon.


LEONLITE 4 FT Garage LED... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081F5RMH5?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Gutted them and used a hot glue gun to glue LED strips into existing fixtures. Worked a treat and no more replacing bulbs is a bonus.

Ben
 
Yard work, sprayed weeds, burned a big pile of stuff, and got the automatic waterer hooked up to my Wife's hanging flower baskets.
June first and we just planted tomatoes. Everything is about a month late for gardening.
No fresh tomatoes till August. :cry:

I replaced all my shop lights with 4' LED fixtures.
I have very few lights that aren't led.
I have a bunch of smart LED bulbs so I just say good morning or good night to turn them on and off.
 
Last edited:
Yesterday I mowed the neglected grass at the remodel place. It had been about a month and the grass was knee high. A lot of clearing the mower deck. The good news is the grass had gone to seed so that saves me a bundle on grass seed. The yard was almost all clay last year which we had shoveled out if the basement. The cut grass will help build up the soil quality of the yard.

Today I finished up the weeding of the raspberry patch. At least that is one project that is DONE!

Tomorrow will be dryer repairman day. My son has a dryer that is making a nasty sound and he wants some assistance figuring out what is up with that.

Ben
 
Daughter and I are having a lazy day. We've played a board game called "Horrified", made tacos, sorted some laundry, and fiddled with our phones. I was up early but for some reason I was very tired around 9 and I sat in my chair and took a nap. That's gonna bite me in the butt when I try to sleep tonight.

I think we'll probably go for a bike ride or a walk later. I'll go to the gym and lift while she video calls her friend that moved to Arizona. Planning on making chili for supper too...
 
Ok so I was going to go work on a broken composter and see if it could be salvaged but it's raining. I'm enlisting my wormies to help out some but granted, the composter will have to be repaired or replaced soon. In the meantime I am going to repair some clothing. It seems this is an issue with the pack. I tried repairing them with my treadle this morning before the rain hit and it did well so since it's been raining and the repair likely needs to be made or will need to be made on all of them, I can set up the treadle in case the power goes out and I can just treadle on.
 
Landshark went through a heat cycle when I was away getting radiation treatment.
Her foster career had two young male pups that were too young to breed her.
I'm surpised she didn't kill the pups because her aggression levels increase when she comes into heat.
And now she is going through a phantom pregnancy the dog has turned into a raging hose beast.
She's totally fine with me even if she has that thousand foot death stare down pat that gives you pause, REAL PAUSE...and you know she has the goods to back it up.
She has to be kept inside and let out behind the 5 strand electric fence for toileting and that's it.
Her body is telling her she's in pup.
She's getting round bodied and her teats have grown.
The foster carer assured me she took great pains she was kept apart while she was in heat and I believe her and these symptoms she is showing is typical of her other heat cycyles.
Now, unfortunately we are going to have to go through the delivery of her phantom litter....yes she goes into labour
and then her being upset and distressed when she can't find the phantom puppies...crying, refusing to settle, refusing to eat.
She dropped a lot of weight last time.
I was unable to get her desexed after her last heat/ phantom pregnancy because of all my health issues but now I REALLY have to get it done this time.
If I get sick again it'll make it easier on her foster carer, I won't have a hormonal serial killer in my yard, hopefully she'll be calmer and she'll need less food.

There's no way on God's green earth I would EVER breed her because of her issues even though to look at her she's a spectacular example of the breed now that she's maturing.
 
I have never heard of a phatom pregnancy. How weird is that? Maybe she'll be calmer when she gets fixed.
Dinner just about ready. Shopped till we dropped today. Filled up carts, filled up the truck. It's amazing to me that our neighbor only does shopping every 3 to 4 weeks. First time I heard one of the amish use the word hyperinflation. Word is getting out. We've had rain most of the day. My other next door farm neighbor came by last night and I loaded up her wagon with baby chickens. Fourteen of them, about a month old. She was down to seven. She brought over a bucket of guinea eggs, our guineas have been nesting at their place. So we stuck them in the incubator, have no clue if they're fertile or not.
 
Update on what I am doing. I made the repairs on what I could. Some items need washing. I'll wait for those. But I made them on my old girl...she's still sewing at 99!
20220601_181734.jpg
 
Update on what I am doing. I made the repairs on what I could. Some items need washing. I'll wait for those. But I made them on my old girl...she's still sewing at 99!View attachment 87339
She's a beauty! And don't you love how quiet it is to sew with them, just barely the bobbin turning. 😁
Yard work, sprayed weeds, burned a big pile of stuff, and got the automatic waterer hooked up to my Wife's hanging flower baskets.
June first and we just planted tomatoes. Everything is about a month late for gardening.
No fresh tomatoes till August. :cry:

I replaced all my shop lights with 4' LED fixtures.
I have very few lights that aren't led.
I have a bunch of smart LED bulbs so I just say good morning or good night to turn them on and off.
If mine are on earlier, I'll let you know. A few of the plants are about a foot tall. A couple smaller, but I think I need to amend the soil on the high corner of the little plot they are in.
@DrJenner & @snappy1 You two need to get some sleep. And @UrbanHunter too. You have to take care of yourself so you can continue to take care of others 💕 Aren't you glad I'm here to be your mom (heehee)
Worked today. Gorgeous out. I've been trying to get some weeding done each day so that later in the season it's not so bad. We'll see how it goes. It's supposed to thunder and rain for the next few days.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top