My Dog-Made Doggie Door

My dogs greeted me at the door of the mobile home today. That is bad because they are supposed to be sequestered in the hallway. I looked at my panel partition and saw that they had done some remodeling of their own. They added a doggie-door.

Luckily they did not get in to anything in the living room. I have been leaving them unsupervised for a few hours at night to see if they are trust-worthy. On Tuesday they got in to my tool shelf and pulled out a carbon filter. In their defense it did kind of look like a chew bone. They had fun shredding it and I had not-so-much fun picking up the tiny pieces. Yesterday they got in to the trash can and shredded some paper. I put the lid on the trash can now.

I will be buying a muzzle for my dog who is going to stay at a friend's house. I don't want him to chew up her mail. If I bought 2 more muzzles then I could leave the dogs in the living room without worrying. Anyway, back to the hole, I thought about buying a piece of plywood to block the hole but plywood is heavy and almost $40 a sheet. I think it's time for another door. I can find one at the Habitat Store for around $20 and a door will be easier to manage than sliding a half sheet of plywood across the hallway. Plus it looks better and will keep the dust out and heat/AC in. Yep, the dogs have given me another chore for this weekend. What did I do with all of my time before I had dogs? Oh ya, I watched a lot more TV.

3 Years Down

2 more days until the weekend. So close yet so far. I have been at my current job for 3 years. I am now eligible for long term disability insurance. Although I don't plan to work at this job forever, it is a nice assurance to have for the moment. I certainly hope I never have to use it. Many people in the company started right out of high school or college and have worked there their whole lives. I can't imagine that. The funny thing is that with changing technology, customers, vendors, equipment, and other employees, there is always something new to learn. But the old-timers get to say "remember when things were simpler?". And we new people get to say "why are we so slow to modernize?". It's a difficult thing to balance.

Anyway, what is most important to me is vacation time. I have to wait until I've been there 5 years before I get 3 weeks. 2 more years to go. I wonder if I'll make it. I had 3 weeks vacation at my last job and it was very hard to have to go back to only 2. When my mortgage is paid off I hope to take a few extra days of leave without pay just to give myself a little more time to get things done. I think an extra week of "mental health days" sounds good to me. I don't know if I'll be able to do that but if not, 365 days off sound good to me too.

Only 8 More Days

Only 8 more days of work until my vacation. 8 days is nothing right? Our Christmas party (really it's just a dinner) is Saturday and some people are already talking about what they will wear. I can't see buying a special outfit just for one dinner. I have a thrift store blouse that I haven't worn to work yet. I think I can get away with wearing it over a black dress I already have. My only problem is shoes. One guy who is critical of everyone else's clothing said that his girlfriend has over 200 pairs. I said she could lend me one pair for the dinner, that way at least he can't comment on my shoes.

I wonder if I can bring home enough leftovers to make lunches for a few days. I did that last year and was, of course, teased for it. The alternative is to waste the food or stuff myself. I don't see anything wrong with making a good meal last even longer.

Strange Days Of The Dog

My dog is a licker and is not letting his wound heal. I should have left his collar on longer but he was driving me crazy in the RV. Those plastic collars really hurt when jabbed in to your leg by a goofy dog. Now I have to put the collar back. Do I let him sleep in the RV and hope he wakes me up when he needs to go potty? Or do I go sleep with the dogs in the mobile home even though one is cranky and the other attacks my dog when he has the collar on? Well, he just fell asleep on my couch so maybe he has answered my question for me. I'd better go to bed. I have a feeling I am not going to get a good night's rest.

Ran Out Of Weekend

I didn't get a chance to add my door to my new wall this weekend. It was one of those projects that wasn't as simple as it sounded. I ran out of room to work so I started moving things around. The corner where the fireplace used to be still had all of the bricks around it so I carted them outside while the dogs ran around. I took 2 bricks out and counted 3 dogs to make sure none had escaped, then went back for 2 more bricks, and on and on. Then vacuumed all the dirt and rearranged my stuff so I had an open area.

Only one more weekend to work on my wall before I go off to visit family for Christmas. I was finally able to get a hold of the rescue dog lady and she said that I can take my dogs to a kennel across town for a reduced rate. That's a relief because the price at the kennel near me is $16 per day. I was hoping for $10. If I ever get a real house with a yard I think baby sitting animals would be a good part time job. Maybe if I'm a snowbird I can pet sit half of the year and spend the other half travelling. But that's a long way off. I certainly don't have any extra room for animals right now.

Just Relaxing

The weather was chilly today (chilly to Arizonans). I accomplished my few necessary chores, get propane, buy water, and the rest of the time I bummed around with my dog, took a nap and cooked some stew in the slow cooker. I also tried to line up a dog-sitter but didn't have much luck. I'll have to keep trying and hopefully I can work something out.

I added up all of my bills for November and I still have $1,000 left from my weekend job. I'm sure I'll spend that in December. I didn't get any Christmas shopping done. I think I'm in denial. But tomorrow is full of promise so maybe I will get more done then.

Merry Christmas To Me

I bought myself a dog for Christmas. My foster dog got neutered today and once I paid his $83 vet bill, he was mine.

Poor doggy is dazed and confused from the anesthesia. Kitty is getting brave enough to come out and check him out.

I think the dog and I will take it easy this weekend. The only thing I have to do is get propane and fill up my water bottles. It I feel ambitious I can add the door to my wall project. The one thing I don't want to do is drive in to town again. I'm tired of driving. This would be a good weekend to get some online shopping done too.

Another Trip To The Mexican Dentist

I drove all the way back to the Mexican dentist today. 1 1/2 hours each way. My finished crown is now securely glued in my mouth and it feels very natural. I am very happy with the dentist and even more happy with the price. Because he was running late again today I asked for the "late dentist discount" and he gave me $10 off. The total cost of my crown was $270. Of course I had to take a day off of work, pay for the gas to get there and pay for parking but it was still less than the US price of $580 after insurance and the ability to get an appointment during a holiday week made all the difference.

Since I was not carpooling, I wanted to do as many chores as I could and loaded up 2 big bags of trash to take to the dumpster behind work. First I had to go to the dentist so I drove my trash all the way to the border. On the way back up there is a checkpoint where they look for smuggled people or drugs. It didn't dawn on me until I was approaching the checkpoint that I have two big garbage bags full of stuff in the car with me. I mean, these bags were so big I could have fit a person inside...or maybe a few small children. Anyway, the agent says, "What do you have in the bags? Clothes?". "No, trash", I say. "Trash?", he says, "Ok, go ahead". I guess I didn't look suspicious enough. I always like to take my trash for a scenic 3 hour drive before I throw it away. haha.

Before I went back to work I ran in to the Habitat Store and grabbed a small 24" door. They did have some prehung doors but I found them to be too heavy for me to drag around by myself so I went with the little door for $10 and a door knob for $5. Now that I know my door size I can finish my wall this weekend...except that I just remembered that I am all out of insulation. Oh well. I can frame it at least.

Into The 20's

No, I'm not talking about the weather. I'm talking about my mortgage. I checked my balance online to see if my normal payment went through for December. It did and that brings my total below $30k for a grand total of $29,740. It feels good to finally be in the 20's. Now I just need to stay focused. Next goal: the teens!

Back To One Day At A Time

I am really glad that I have reached the one year point in my mortgage payoff plan...even if I might have to add a month or two because of unforeseen circumstances. It is a huge milestone and yet the thought of another whole year of scraping my money together and going to work every day and jumping through hoops does not motivate me. I need to focus on getting through each day. Because when I get through one day then I am one day closer to Friday and when I get to Friday then I have conquered a whole week and when I do that 4 1/2 times then I have put a whole month behind me. And I only have to do that 12 more times before my mortgage will be gone. That sounds a little more doable.

I will try not to think about all the stumbling blocks of last year...the trashed rental house, the cost of fixing the rental house, late rent, doctor bills, dentist bills, air conditioning repair, fridge repair, spending too much on the dogs to make myself feel better (although that did work). This next year is a blank slate and it begins with trying not to over-spend on Christmas, then trying to not let my job drive me crazy, then the possibility of my renter moving out and having to put in new carpet (I am dreading this already). Ok, I'll stop there. I need to go back to focusing on one day at a time. Tomorrow is Wednesday. Only 3 more days of work until the weekend. I can do this!

Mortgage Payoff Progress For November

I finally made my November extra mortgage payment today. I could have done it last Wednesday but I forgot to look up how much to pay from my spreadsheet at work. So I waited until today and made a payment of $2,436 for a new mortgage amount of $30,222 (until tomorrow when my normal mortgage payment goes through, then it will slip below $30k, Yea!).

If I don't pay anymore extra then my mortgage will be paid off in 4 years and 8 months. If I sold as much stuff as possible including my RV, I could pay it off in 7 months. If I stick with the plan to sell some things now and some things after the mortgage is paid off, I will have it paid off in one year! At least I hope it is only one year. A lot can happen in a year and with my dying computer, recent broken tooth, tumultuous renters, and my soon to be adopted dog, I'm sure that one year deadline will be a bit flexible.

Oh ya, and when I came home today the power had been out. All of the clocks were blinking and my refrigerator was making noise. I shut it off and reset it on the electric setting. Then I checked the temperature since it had been off for who knows how long. The fridge said 10 degrees. Oooo...guess what that means? That means the power surge most likely fried the fridge's little circuit board brain. If I remember from last time I think it will work ok on the propane setting. I was hoping to get away from that propane filling chore this winter. Remember when we had this discussion the last time the fridge died? I said I needed a whole RV surge suppressor but didn't want to pay $300. I was hoping to make it out of this RV before it happened again but I wasn't quick enough. Now I get to pay the repairman.

It Can't Be Over Already

Chores I have accomplished this 4 day weekend...2 posts for dog yard installed, box of items donated to charity, 8 feet of wall built. Here are my dogs helping me with my wall.



I took a nap today which gave me a lot less time to work but it was oh so nice. It rained all day although still not enough to help with the digging of holes. I tried to dig a new hole and only the top inch was wet. It was too chilly outside so I did most of my work inside...except for a load of laundry, adding bleach to my water tanks and attempting to hook up some gutter to my green house. I almost bought more gutter at Home Depot but didn't think I needed a whole 10 feet length which is how it is sold. Turns out I do need all 10 feet. Well, I missed this rain but maybe I'll have it set up for next time.

Back on my wall, the liquid nails that I bought to help stabilize things did not work like I had hoped. I ended up screwing metal brackets to the top and bottom of the studs. Luckily I already had brackets so I didn't have to make another trip to the store. Then it was time to insulate the wall and let's just say...I made a mess of it. Then I tried to screw the panelling on, which did not work at all. I was very frustrated by then and took out my anger on the wall with a hammer and nails. That worked although the wall is a little bit bumpy in places where I hit it too hard.



Eight feet down, now I need a door and three more feet of wall. I wish I could finish this project before I have to go back to work but sadly my vacation fun time is over. I suppose I need to earn more money to pay for what I just bought, $170 worth of building supplies and power tools. That wasn't in the budget. And then I need to pay for all of my other plans...a bathroom, water system, heating and cooling, window, kitchen, etc.... I am thrilled that it is starting to take shape.