Friday, February 5, 2016

Lots of Projects, No Money

I just finished booking two tickets to Ohio and 3 nights in a hotel for my nephew's campus tour of his parents' alma mater.  $1,500 so far and that doesn't include food, transportation to and from the airport, or dog-sitting.  It is the only long distance college visit I plan to make.  If he wants to see more schools, he can visit campuses while he is in California and Minnesota visiting relatives over the summer.  I do not like travel because it is so expensive and because I hate leaving my dogs to be cared for by strangers.  I worry about them the whole time.  I'm going to take my cat-cam and bring it to the house so I can watch the dogs remotely while I am gone.  I wish I had a remote dog biscuit dispenser too, although, my big dog would just camp out in front of it and eat all the treats.

Since I am broke this month, I am doing more research on the projects that I would like to do at the property.  Of course, this makes me want to run out and buy stuff for the projects but I must hold back.  This youtube channel has been very informative: Homesteadonomics  I know all of the theory already but it is so helpful to see the projects step by step.  The next tool I want to buy is an angle grinder because this fellow used one to cut metal roofing panels and it looked so easy.  I could finally cut the jagged aluminum siding around my new window and add the trim.  Just another one of the many projects on my list.

My nephew had another driving lesson this week.  He is going to drive me to my mother's house tomorrow to set up her internet.  I hope he does well, for my nerves' sake.  The water tank connected to his bathroom is super low on water.  If he conserves water it might last until next weekend when he has a school trip out of town and I am planning to transfer the rest of the water out of the pool in to his tank and then put the pool away.  I haven't looked at the water in the pool for a while.  Hopefully, it is still ok and will last us until school gets out at the end of May.  If not, I may be hauling water from the house in 50 gallon barrels so that I don't have to pay another $300 to get the pool filled again.

Once again, so many plans, so little time and money.  I just keep working at it one day at a time.

8 comments:

Lizzie@her MFW Homeworld said...

wow, i am going to stop moaning thats jamal's college is 350 miles away, at the other end of England!

Kim said...

You have really taken on a lot of responsibility with your nephew. Kudos to you for giving him so many opportunities. Your reward will be a happy, educated, and self-sufficient young man.

Anonymous said...

yikes that is a pricey trip! Try and have some fun yourself though, while you are there. The only time I remember you getting out of town is for dental work in Mexico lol.

Abigail @ipickuppennies said...

Wow, that's a very pricey trip. He's a lucky kid! We lived up in Alaska, so I didn't visit a single campus. I went off pictures in brochures and hoped for the best.

I guess I'm lucky because I never fret too much when we board a pet. Then again, cats are easier to placate than dogs. But Sandy was very dog-like in her desperation for attention, so I was a tad worried that she wouldn't get enough attention. But she was always content when I picked her up after a few days.

Glad you're planning for future projects, rather than jumping in only when you're ready to start. That's something I've done in the past. I always *mean* to look it up ahead of time but... yeah.

Daizy said...

It's only a $550, 5 1/2 your plane trip. OK, that does seem kinda far.

Daizy said...

I hope so! He doesn't have much of a safety net after he turns 18 so I want to get him going in the right direction. After college I moved in with my sister, then parents, then other sister, then other sister before I finally got out on my own. I hope it doesn't take him that long.

Daizy said...

Ya, Mexico for dental work wasn't much fun. I used to go visit my family in Washington but since my parents and nephew moved here in 2011, I haven't travelled except for going to Minnesota for my nephew's grandmother's funeral. This time I will be able to see 2 nieces, my nephew and finally meet his wife and baby. It should be fun.

Daizy said...

If never boarded a pet because mine like to bite strangers and it gets expensive with 4 dogs. I've always hired someone to house sit. This time I am just paying someone to visit twice a day. She only charges $15 a day. I hope the low cost does not mean sub-par service.