Luxury of Time

Nephew update:  He has a job at Mc Donald's.  I shipped 3 boxes and his golf clubs for arrival on Friday (Note to self, never ship golf clubs again.  Too expensive.)  There are 6-8 more boxes but I am going to wait to ship them until he asks for them since some things should be shipped straight to college in August.  His grandfather is trying to convince him to buy a laptop instead of a gaming computer.  I'm staying out of it.  That's about all I know.  He doesn't communicate much so I'm going to assume that no news is good news.    

This was mid-sorting.

Now that I'm not worrying about my nephew's whereabouts, meals, homework, screen-time, etc... my brain has so much time to think about all of the things I've been putting off.  I threw out all of the trash in nephew's room and put 85% of the stuff in boxes on the bed which I have left open so that I can find things.  I cleaned out any food that I bought for nephew and that I don't want to eat like Kraft Mac and Cheese and Hamburger Helper.  I'm going to drop it off at my tenant's house along with a big bag of dog food donated from the dog rescue and a table top bbq with leftover charcoal.  I'm really not the bbq type.

Today I took a half day off to wait for the water delivery truck to deliver 3,500 gallons of water to my new tank at the mobile home/barn-shed property.  The guy filled my 3,000 gallon tank, then put around 300 gallons in another tank.  Then I thought we could empty the truck into the 300 gallon tank but when it was filling, suddenly water started pouring out.  There was a 2 foot crack starting halfway around the tank.  Dismayed, I tried to think of how to save my water and ended up stuffing a plastic grocery bag inside so that it poked through the crack and slowed the leak to a trickle.  I wasn't planning on having to transfer water today but it was clear that it would leak out if I left it so I set up the pump and hose.  I suspect it got cracked when the neighbors helped my tenant get water when he was living here.  They took the tank in the back of their pickup and it looks like it was shoved out too many times.  The tank was very old and brittle so I'm not surprised.  I'm going to try to repair it and still use it for rainwater collection like I had planned.

Crack in tank with temporary plastic bag fix.

 While I was waiting for the water to transfer to the other tank, I dropped off 3 bags of clothes and 1 box of toys with a friend.  She'll find a new home for everything.  I stopped at Dairy Queen for a hot dog and drink and drove back to finish up the water transfer.  As soon as I pulled up I realized there was something wrong with the car and, sure enough, the passenger side tire had a side-wall gash.  Not wanting to use the cheap car jack on gravel, I called AAA.  I figured they would arrive by the time I finished transferring the water.  Unfortunately, they got lost and I ran out of drinkable water (I wasn't expecting to be there that long).  Next time I go out to there I must remember to bring reserves.  It was 105F out there.  Too hot!  I miss not having a refrigerator there since I moved it to the rental house but I will bring the fridge from my house as soon as I find a nicer replacement.  At least I had a window A/C which I stood in front of whenever I wasn't moving stuff around outside.

AAA arrived and changed the tire and I drove slowly to the tire shop.  A coworker picked me up so that I could spend 2 hours going through my email.  I'm going to have a lot to do tomorrow to catch up.  My coworker dropped my off at the tire store on the way home and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the tire was under warranty and they only charged me $10 for labor. That was a relief. I'm glad I am safely at home now and I have crossed a few more chores off of my list.

Here's a layout of my property so that you know what I am talking about.  This is not where I am currently living, it's just used for storage at this point, but it is where I hope to retire someday soon.  I put the water tank on the hill to use gravity to my advantage and for ease of filling.  Eventually, I would like to have all rainwater catchment but I don't have enough roof area yet.

1- Shed. 2- Mobile home. 3- Barn-shed (someday tiny house) 4- New water tank.

This is the memorial tree for my father that my coworkers gave me almost two years ago.  It has more than doubled in size.

Just a reminder that the rattlesnakes are nearby in case I forget. This was under the water tank when we tipped it up along with a fat packrat.

Next Items on the List:

-Bring food and bbq to tenant.
-Dog adoption event.
-Pick a day to go look at houses with Mom.

It's nice to be making progress.

We're All Graduated!

The week I have been both looking forward to and dreading is finally over. It has been the end goal ever since my nephew came back to live with me two years ago. GRADUATION WEEK! and all that went with it. It began with my birthday, then Mother's Day, the Choir concert, Honor's night, Choir Awards Banquet, Choir Lock-In, Graduation, my sister visiting, and celebratory dinner with nephew, sister and mother. Whew, done. 

My sister went home today after taking my nephew shopping for college clothes. We went to a final doctor's appointment for a booster shot and enough asthma and allergy medicine to hold my nephew over until he goes to Minnesota on Saturday where he will be magically cured of all that ails him. Well, at least, it seems that he doesn't have as many allergic reactions back there which is funny because "the desert" used to be the place for less allergies. But, his grandfather doesn't have pets except for the next door dog which visits and there is less dust although there is more mold. 

For the remaining days until he leaves, we will shovel through his room and make the appropriate piles for immediate use, college use, and storage. Then I will ship his things off to Minnesota including the golf clubs which were shipped here from Minnesota but never used because he lost interest. His grandfather golfs so hopefully they will get some use again.

It's an exciting time of change and possibilities for us. My nephew is excited because he has enough money to buy his own gaming computer now with no parental controls or screen time limits (I keep warning him that he still has to do his homework or reap the consequences). And I am excited to get on with the cleaning out of this house and selling of it so that the mortgage and home equity line of credit can be paid off before my mother and I buy a house together. The weather has moved in to the 100's this week so that puts a bit of a damper on my enthusiasm but at least I will have less to do on the weekends and less grocery shopping. It's time for super-saver frugal mode while I eat all of the leftovers in the house and get organized once again.

Checking the List

Checking things off the list, one by one.  My nephew's high school choir concert was on Monday.  He came out of his room with black pants that were too tight and too short.  Good thing I saw him before he left for rehearsal because he didn't remember that I had bought him new pants a few weeks ago.  Pants changed and he was looking good.

Still working on his mustache.

Only a few days left of classes and then finals for him.  He is looking forward to the break and doesn't even mind that the weather in Minnesota is going to be freezing.  Last Saturday, I did my monthly 4 hours of trying to get my foster dogs adopted.  No luck.  Then I dropped off the dogs and picked up my nephew for volunteering at the cat shelter.  After that we had dinner at Culver's and then pants shopping at Kohl's so that I don't look neglectful when my nephew tries to wear shorts in the snow at his grandfather's house.  At least I provided appropriate clothing.  Whether he wears it or not is up to him. 

The next day I made lasagna which I meant to make for Thanksgiving but we actually had turkey instead.  The ingredients were getting old so I had to put them together.  I introduced my nephew to the movie "Scrooged" with Bill Murray.  He said he didn't need to watch it once the ghosts arrived because he knew what would happen but the movie kept him entertained enough that he kept watching.  Maybe next weekend we will watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  Lol.

This Thursday is our company audit.  It always makes me nervous because I am afraid I will be asked something that I don't know.  I've been at this company 10 years now.  I think I should know the procedures by now.  I did not expect to work there for 10 years.  5 years, maybe.  I still remember when my boss asked me what I planned to be doing in 5 years and I said I expected to have a child by then.  Turns out it did happen but I actually had a teenager instead of a newborn.  Strange how things work out.  Now that I have reached the 10 year mark, I get 4 weeks vacation!  I also got a $100/m raise for my usual annual raise.  That will be helpful.  I only took 11 days of vacation this year.  I must try harder to use my days next year because I will lose them if I don't take them by December.  I'm sure, if I put my mind to it, I will get them all used up.  That's the kind of challenge I like.

Plumbers, Dogs, and Other Things

Last week, at work, I happened to see that the toilet was plugged.  I didn't think much of it and, after several attempts, managed to unplug it.  There are only two other women in the office but I didn't want to ask them who plugged it so I didn't say anything.  Later on, one of them mentioned that the plumber had arrived to unclog the toilet.  Um, I already unplugged it.  No one told me they had called a plumber.  The plumber fussed around in the bathroom for 30 minutes and then presented the bill.  $179.  The toilet was unclogged but he snaked it and put the camera down it just to be able to charge something, I guess.  I'm really glad I didn't have to pay for that.

On Saturday, I took my dog, Sassy, to the vet for her Valley Fever test.  Her titer finally went down from 1:64 back to 1:32 where it was a year ago.  That is good because we were concerned that the medicine wasn't working and she would have to take the more expensive medicine.  Now that the VF seems to be under control, I have to decide if I want to try to get her adopted.  She was supposed to be a temporary foster but her knee replacement and VF took much longer to stabilize than I expected.  I think she would like a family with more people in it.  She loves attention and she doesn't get much with me as one of 5 dogs.  I think I will try it and see if I can find the perfect family for her. 

After the vet, my nephew and I went to volunteer at the cat shelter again.  He likes the kittens and I prefer the friendly senior cats and "GI" cats (the smelly cats with bowel issues who are in the back room and don't get many visitors).  Turns out 30 minutes in advance is not enough time for allergy medicine to block all of the histamine receptors.  He had a mild allergy attack but it wasn't as bad as before.  Next time he will take a pill at least an hour before. 

Then we went to dinner at Culvers and I used my gift cards so the total was $1.08 because I wanted cheese curds instead of fries.  When we sat down, an employee came over and offered us ice cream sundaes.  She couldn't locate the people who ordered them and said she was going to toss them out.  I happily accepted them since I had not ordered any ice cream.  One I ate and the other I took home and froze for another day.  My nephew had ordered a mint brownie sundae and had to go find it because the people working there had left it sitting on the counter.  It seems that the person making the sundaes was slow and by the time they brought the ice cream out, the other food had already been delivered to the table and the table number had been retrieved, thus, orphaned ice cream. 

After that, we went to Home Depot and I bought 6 more bags of bark mulch with the rebate card I got from buying paint last month.  $20 for bark leaves $60 on the card for more shopping later.  NO MORE SHOPPING until I get the final inspection on my barn-shed (just so that it can exist on my property, not the inside inspection).  Really, I have procrastinated long enough.  I need to get out there, post my address so the inspector can find it, measure the distance of the turn-off from the main road so I can give good directions, and post the building permit on the outside of the barn-shed so that the inspector can see it.  Then call for the inspection.  It makes me nervous because the inspector said he couldn't find the address last time and the phone number I left didn't work even though he had supposedly been out there once before for the grading inspection.  I just need to do it and stop worrying about it.    

If I Can't Grow It, Buy It

Last weekend was my weekend to relax, only it didn't happen, at least, not a lot.  On Friday, I took my mother a new flat screen TV to use as a monitor for her Chromebit computer.  The monitor that I had purchased was big but we had two issues, there is no audio jack in a Chromebit which meant I had to buy a Bluetooth speaker.  The sound quality was terrible and the charge cord broke.  I thought about buying a better Bluetooth speaker but then realized that I should have purchased a TV (build in speakers) in the first place.  Originally, I paid $100 for the HDMI monitor and $20 for the Bluetooth speaker.  The flat screen TV cost $125.  The sound is great!  No more fussing with charging or Bluetooth connectivity.  Secondly, the video buffering made watching any video impossible.  I don't know if the TV fixed this problem because it doesn't seem like it should make a difference, all I know is that the TV has no problem playing videos.  Problem solved.  I now have an extra HDMI monitor and I am hoping that my nephew can use it for the gaming computer he wants to buy.

On Saturday, I spent the morning killing weeds with a shovel.  I knew I was over-doing it but the weather was nice and I wanted them dead.  After that, I went out to fix a plumbing leak for the tenant at the mobile home.  I got it all fixed but in retrospect, I should have used a larger diameter pipe for the faucet section.  No leaks though.  

I arranged for the neighbor to bring over 300 more gallons of water.  The tenant should be able to contact the neighbor when he needs water now.  I think we have a reliable system in place.  The tenant had been cleaning and rearranging the back storage room.  While this is a good thing, I had to calm my inner-control freak since nothing was where I had put it.  All that organization from last year was gone.  I moved almost all of my stuff out to the barn-shed in a big un-organized pile and I will deal with it when I have some free time.  At least the barn-shed is vermin-free, so far. 

On Sunday, I was really sore from the weeding and moving boxes.  I had another $10 off $100 coupon and a $100 gift certificate to Home Depot.  My plan was to buy 22 bags of mulch to keep the weeds at bay.  First, I stopped at the carpet aisle to see if I could find an inexpensive piece to put in the dog area.  They love to roll around on carpet and it is easy to sweep off plus it blocks the weeds.  I found a small piece for $20 but then I saw it.  A 6' x 12' piece of premium fake grass.  I have been wanting some fake grass for a long time but the cost was too high.  This was on clearance for $104.  If it is durable, I can take it with me when I move.  I dragged it to the cash register because I didn't have a cart and happily paid for my new doggy grass carpet.  After putting it in the truck, I went back and got 4 bags of mulch for the other areas.  I think I need at least 6 more bags of mulch.  That will have to wait for another trip to Home Depot.

Back at home, I unrolled the grass and the dogs came over to investigate.  Much sniffing and rolling commenced. 

 I can actually sit down with them in the yard now.  Jimmy-dog even hobbled over and sat on me while I petted him.  They say that fake grass gets too hot to walk on in the summer.  We shall see.  We have many months to enjoy it before summer comes again.  

Plus, I could just roll it up and store it in the shed June through August.  Sometimes I buy things and they don't work out, but this time, I am very pleased with my purchase.  Time for some picnics with the dogs!

Homebody

Last weekend I did everything I could to avoid doing anything  in public.  Sure, I could have done a million things but I just wanted one day where I didn't have to get in my car and go anywhere.  I got up at 7am, fed the dogs, pulled some weeds, watered the squash plants (free seeds from the seed library!) and went back to bed for a nap.  

Baby squash plants.

The overgrown yard. Nice and green for a change.

My little weed-eating egg producing quail.

Then I got up and made fried quail eggs, bacon and tater tots.  Then there was laundry, the weekly sweeping of my bedroom, and sporadic web surfing.  At 6pm, it was less hot so my nephew and I hacked at the weeds in the front yard so that the neighbors don't think I've abandoned the place.  My nephew is saving his money to buy an Alienware computer so I pay him $10 per hour and he is semi-enthusiastic to help out.  After an hour, I made chicken alfredo for dinner and then I started watching Meet Joe Black because I knew my nephew would be so bored that he would do his Calculus homework (it worked).  It was a pretty nice day besides the heat and the sweating and sneezing from the weeds.

Three more weeks until my next 3 day weekend.  Yes, I am wishing away my life again.  In other news, my niece, the one that helped my fix up my mobile home last year, is going to Austria next week for a semester.  It is the same program that I did 23 years ago.  Wow, that was a long time.  It was an awesome experience for me and I hope she has a great time too.  I am looking forward to her updates since she will have a computer there and wifi.  When I was there we had to use pay phones and no one had a computer.  I even had a camera with film that had to be developed and then it broke and I ended up just buying postcards which really aren't the same as photos.  Technology has changed so much.  

I have no after work chores this week until Friday when we are going to the dinner theater so that my nephew can write a review for his school assignment. It is an amusing play but too long to sit through after a long day at my desk but I will do it for him.  At least they have good pizza so that's a plus.

If I Do, If I Don't

I took another half day off to take Jimmy-dog to the vet.  He had two appointments today, first at our regular vet for blood pressure and then to the surgery consultation.  They took 5 blood pressures and some were normal and some were high.  I'm beginning to wonder if their machine is broken.  The surgeon was not happy with the grainy ultrasound images that the other vet sent over so he had his own technician check the tumor.  Good news is it isn't invading the vena cava yet.  Bad news is with Jimmy-dog's heart murmur, the surgeon does not think he will survive surgery.  He would be willing to try surgery with an anesthesiologist which adds another $2k on to a $3-5k surgery with no guarantee that he will survive or that is will fix his issues. The cost is high but I had to think, if the surgery was free would I go for it? No, the odds do not sound good.

The surgeon suspects that the weakness in his hind limbs is from a different issue, a degenerative disk in his spine and it may eventually cause paralysis.  He came to this conclusion after feeling Jimmy-dog's spine and at one point Jimmy-dog yelped and turned to bite him.  So, I think we should focus on treating his symptoms.  His lack of mobility is his worst problem at the moment.  It has improved with pain medication.  Maybe there is more they can do to help him with pain management.

So, that's the Jimmy-dog update.  While I was in the vet office it was pouring rain outside.  I emailed the tenant in the mobile home and asked him if the gutters that we put up last Saturday were working.  He said they were 98% good.  It was so hot on Saturday that we just tacked the gutters up and he was going to add more gutter hangers later on.  He hasn't finished yet.  I even got my nephew to get up early on a Saturday to help hang gutters by paying him $10 and hour.  He is saving for an Alienware computer for gaming AND homework.  We only put gutters on one side of the mobile home, approximately 60', but any water collection will help.  Next step, gutters on the small shed, the barn-shed, and the green house.  The water tank that we connected to it was filling up.  It only holds 125 gallons and I told him that he should transfer the water to a larger tank now because we are supposed to get another storm tomorrow.  When I was there on Saturday, I noticed a new stain on the ceiling.  That means water leak.  That's another thing for my to-do list.  I don't have to do it myself per-se but I need to go out there and show him where the roof patch and tools are and perhaps supervise because I don't want him falling off my roof or anything. 

The back storage room where the cats used to be has been invaded by a mouse or mice.  That just kills me because we worked so hard last year to clean everything.  My tenant offered to bring two mouser cats that he had at a friend's barn.  I said an enthusiastic yes.  Maybe these cats won't disappear like my cats did.  So, now I need to organize the storage room again and remove anything that can be knocked over by cats chasing mice.  I want the cats to have easy access to all hiding places.  At first the mouse invasion kept me up at night thinking about what they could be ruining but now I have accepted the situation as helping me downsize.  After all, that was my goal for this year, right?  Get rid of stuff so that I can sell my house and move in to my tiny house after my nephew goes to college next year.  I just hadn't planned to tackle these jobs until it was at least in the 80's again.  But, mice wait for no one and I must go save my stuff and my sanity and get those chores done now.

Cooler Fun

Last Thursday, when we loaded up the luggage and dogs for the last time of Junior year, we arrived at the house in town to find water dripping off the roof.  If it had been raining, this would have been normal, but it wasn't raining.  After unloading the car, I got out the short ladder and looked for the source.  I saw a spray of water coming from the evaporative cooler.  Since I had already taken the tall ladder back out to the property, the only thing I could do was turn off the water and wait.  The next day after work, I drove out to the property to get the ladder.  I didn't get around to climbing on the roof until Saturday and I couldn't find anything obviously wrong.  I went back down, turned on the water, climbed back up and saw water spraying from where the copper tubing goes in to the cooler.  I moved it and it sprayed more water and I could see a hole, then the tubing broke off.  I turned off the water again and attempted to unscrew the fitting but the water float on the inside of the cooler just spun around.  That's when I knew I needed to call the professionals.  Of course, it was 4pm on a Saturday on a holiday weekend so they couldn't come out until Tuesday.  Luckily, the temperatures were only in the low 90's and not 108 like they predict for next weekend.

It was hot in the afternoons and I remembered that I had a broken portable cooler in the shed.  I got it out, cleaned it off and re-attached the water pump hose.  Ahhh....it worked and we had cool air for the living room, at least.  On Monday, my mother, nephew and I went back to the mobile home and collected up all of our things like food, clothes, and bedding, and cleaned as much as we could.  I nailed a board over the dog door and I hope that keeps any critters out.  I covered the south windows with extra sheets and insulation.  

There is more that I want to do, like reinforce the areas where pipes come through the walls (which is where a mouse got in) and put an awning of some sort over the door that leaks when it rains.  But 108 degrees makes me lethargic (and it hasn't even happened yet).

On Tuesday, I used a vacation day and took my nephew to get his 4 wisdom teeth extracted.  He was a sad puppy for 5 hours and then up, eating and playing video games after that.  He didn't even ask for pain medicine last night.  I know they say that the younger the better but that was amazing.  I hope the rest of his recovery goes as smoothly.  The cooler repairmen arrived at noon, replaced the copper tubing and the float and gave me a bill for $102.  Ouch, but at least it is working.  I got a nap since my room was cool again and my mother even helped pick up dog poop in the yard.  Thanks Mom!  Today I am back at work and looking forward to another weekend coming soon!  I don't have any plans outside the house so I hope I can get more de-cluttering done.  We already cleaned out both of our closets and gave the clothes to a friend.  Next, maybe I can tackle all of those surfaces that attract mail, broken things, and cool doohickies that I will definitely use one day!

A Day in My Life

I took Thursday off of work and I thought I would show you how my day went.

The main plan: Take down the pool! First step, pump the remaining water out.

I used the long extension cord from the mobile home to the pool since I have not added the right outlet down by the pool.

Next, I need the water pump which is in the shed. While in the shed, I notice light coming in from the corner. There is an inch wide gap that shouldn't be there.

Mental note to get ladder and steel wool since I don't plan to replace the wood at this time.

Notice tree that my co-workers bought in remembrance of my father.  Give it some water and admire the spring leaves which mean I haven't killed the tree, yet.

Go look for ladder in the barn-shed. Remember that I was going to cover that window. See sheer curtain that my mother left behind but don't have any screws for a curtain rod.

Go in the storage room to find screws
 Notice that the cat area needs more food and water. Let the dogs help clean up the stray cat kibbles, fill containers and find screws.

Back in the barn-shed, put up the sheer curtain although you probably can't tell the difference.

Wonder why I can't find the ladder and then remember that it is on the barn-shed porch, not in the barn-shed.

Use steel wool to plug the hole, then cover with plastic from a water jug and plenty of caulk. Also used Gorilla glue to glue down the loose shingles which may have been the way the water got in and warped the board. Added "fix shed corner" to my mental to-do list for someday.

Check on pool which has been slowly draining this whole time.

Ran out of room in the water tank which feeds the kitchen and my bathroom. Decided it was time to clean out the extra tank. Ick.

 Mopped out most of the dirty water but since the water going in wasn't clean, didn't spend that much time on it.

Was able to save around 80 gallons to water the trees later on.

Started dismantling the pool but soon realized that the pool cover was fused to the metal bars which make up the top frame. Since I won't be able to fold up the pool liner as compactly as I had planned, I decided to see if anyone I know wants my pool. No takers yet.

So, the pool is in pieces but still out on the concrete slab until I either put it in my shed or find it a new home. When I need water storage again I am going to buy some of those square tanks in the metal cages that have been recycled.

Next chore to tackle, the barn-shed tie downs. After many frustrating attempts at crimping these ferrules, I went inside and looked up a YouTube video for instructions.

Turns out I was not opening the crimping tool wide enough. Unfortunately, when opened that wide, it was impossible to get the necessary leverage while under the barn-shed to adequately crimp these things.

I gave up after one pitiful attempt. I added a bolt type cable attachment to help my first try. I have since decided to try crimping a loop on to each end of the cable out in the open where I will have plenty of room to work, running the cable from one anchor all the way across to the other anchor, then attaching with detachable metal clips which I haven't bought yet.  Tie-down saga to be continued...

So, that was my day. It was very typical for me to get distracted by other chores that need attention and de-railed by plans that don't work out and/or need more supplies.  All in all, it was a good day.

Still Time for a Pool Party

What did I accomplish on Saturday?  Let's start with what I didn't accomplish.  I didn't take down the pool.  I know, I know, that was my #1 priority.  I had estimated that there were 500 gallons left in the pool so that when I filled up the 500 gallon water tank which feeds my nephew's bathroom, I would have an empty pool.  It took 2 1/2 hours to fill up the tank and when I looked in the pool, there was still approximately 3" left.  If I had done a little math beforehand, I would have found out that there was over 1,000 gallons left in the pool.  So, I didn't need to take down the pool yet because it wasn't going to blow away in the wind.  3" of water is plenty heavy to weigh it down.  My next free weekend I will fill up my 400 gallon tank which is half empty and then move my 300 gallon tank to a shadier spot and put the rest of the water in there.  Then I will take the pool down.  The good news is that I have more water than I thought so we shouldn't have any problem making the water last until the end of the school year in May.

While I was waiting for the 500 gallon tank to fill, I worked on the snake-deterrent fence.  The 1/2 inch hardware cloth is rough to work with. My thumb was getting sore and I couldn't figure out why until I looked at my glove.  I was very surprised to see a hole.  

These were my favorite gloves, inherited from my Dad.  He even wrote his name on them when Alzheimer's disease made him paranoid that people were taking his stuff.  Oh well, time to get new ones.

I finished most of the perimeter but I have another 2 hours of work near the main entrance.  I couldn't find my wire cutters but I did have tin snips and they worked even better.  Still, digging, cutting, tying little metal ties was tedious work and it was over 80 degrees.  I had to stop at noon and went back out at 3pm when it wasn't as hot.  I know half of the country is freezing right now.  We, Arizonans, didn't mean to steal all of your heat.

Here's the other gate that I finished.  I was more worried about this side because it is close to the open area under the mobile home and I have seen a snake on this side before (years ago, but still).

It feels great to have made a lot of progress on a chore that has been hanging over my head for almost a year now.  I hope to finish it soon and move on to other things.

It was a fun to be able to work on chores around the mobile home.  I look forward to the day when the house in town is sold and I have money to work on big projects out here again.

Planning Another Chore Weekend

I saw this article in one of the local newspapers, Caution Rattlesnakes  Guess who's waking up?  The temperatures last week were in the 50's.  This week they are in the 80's.  That means the rattlesnakes are waking up and looking for love.  I've been trying to work on clearing the weeds out of the front yard (or is it now my back yard?).  The yard I am speaking of is the old yard in front of the sliding glass door where I had the snake issue before.

                        

Here is the view from the sliding door.  The weeds under the tree are especially worrisome since I can't tell if there are snakes hiding in there.  You can see the pool from this view and my extra water tank that really needs to go next to one of the buildings, although, it would be helpful if the building had gutters first.

Hopefully, the cat that visits my back room is also keeping an eye out for mice and rats under the mobile home which attract snakes.  The dogs love running out in to the old yard in the morning and evening but I'm going to have to stop that practice unless I am out there with them.  And I really need to work on finishing the 1/2" hardware cloth barrier around the chain link fence in the new front yard.  I'll be working on it this Saturday (as well as putting away the pool) since my nephew is going on a choir trip and I need to pick him up from school at midnight on Saturday.  On Sunday, we will go in to town for church, youth group, laundry and grocery shopping.  Oh, and probably a shower at the house to conserve water out at the mobile home.  Another busy weekend and they are all going to be like this until school is out in May.  I'm looking forward to summer.  Not the heat part of summer but at least I will have more free time.

More Projects Completed

Many people around here, including my nephew, had a three day weekend.  Alas, I did not.  My nephew's godfather was nearby for work and stopped by to soak up some warm weather.  He and my nephew washed all of the cars (that's 4 cars including his) and he replaced the burned out light fixture in the kitchen.  It looks much better.  One more thing off my list.

You can't see it from this angle but this light is hanging from another burned out light.  Be sure to duck!

No need to duck and this one has 2 bulbs.  More light!

Tomorrow will be another trip to the MVD so my nephew can try for his driver's permit.  He has been studying the practice tests with his aunt.  If he doesn't pass, I will sign him up for the 8 hour permit class that comes free with the behind the wheel driving course.  He will get his license eventually.  I am determined.

I don't have any other big plans at the moment.  Most of my weekends involve transporting my nephew to some choir or youth group event so I am trying to keep my plans flexible.  I'm supposed to bring a potluck dish for his youth group on Sunday.  Hmm...beans and franks?  Ambrosia?  Maybe I'll make cookies.

I am saving money for the college trip in March and one of my dogs needs his teeth cleaned which is very expensive.  I have plenty of projects to work on without buying more supplies.  My 401K is down $10K so I don't want to look at it.  It is better to just keep working and saving for the small steps like my next extra mortgage payment.

For now, I will enjoy the nice weather and keep prodding my nephew through a successful junior year (I hope).

Keeping Up

After the buying frenzy of Thanksgiving and food for the youth group, I noticed that I had accumulated 700 points on my Safeway card to be used for discount gasoline.  The closest gas station that accepts Safeway points is near my work but it is also 20 cents more than my regular gas station so I only go there when I have at least 300 points.  Today I redeemed my points for 70 cents off and filled my tank for only $1.20 per gallon.  It is too bad that my tank only holds around 12 gallons.  I could have bought up to 25 gallons at that price.  Oh well, it was fun to see the price drop so low anyway.

While checking my bank account online today, I noticed a bounced check from the company that hauled away my old refrigerator.   Not only did the $30 check bounce but the bank charged me $12 for the hassle.  I called the electric company who was running the fridge recycle program and they said that yes, they were aware of the problem and would send me a new check and refund the $12 fee.  It seems the recycling company suddenly closed and went bankrupt.  It sounds like the electric company got scammed to me but I hope that is not it.  The electric company does a lot for its customers like offering rebates, recycle programs, and my favorite, selling $8 shade trees.  I hope they don't stop their good work.

Today was the last day of school for my nephew.  He does have 3 days of finals next week and then he will be flying off to visit his family for Christmas.  I will stay here and let my brain take a break from homework due dates and project deadlines.  Next semester is already looking incredibly busy.  I think that will be a good thing.  Maybe it will go by fast.

White and New

I used up my last extra vacation day last Friday. It sure was nice to have so many 3 day weekends at the end of the year.  I hope it works out that way next year too.  So, what did I do?  Slept in until 9 and then looked around for a medium sized chore.  The stairs for the old entrance have been bothering me.  I let the dogs go out in that yard and sniff around because it is cold and, hopefully, the snakes are sleeping.  The stairs have been slowly rotting away but because the bolts are rusted, I couldn't replace them.  One step gave out last week.  I have bolt cutters now which I bought to cut the metal cable for the barn-shed tie-downs.  I also had one piece of wood which I bought over 5 years ago and 3 replacement bolts.  I cut the bolts off, drilled the holes, painted the wood, and fitted the step back on while the dogs supervised.

Can you tell which one is new?  The third step needs to be replaced next but I need another piece of wood and more bolts.  Eventually, I want to make a porch to attach to these steps.  Another future project.

Then I ate lunch and watched the very first episode of Battlestar Galactica which wasn't as corny as I thought it was going to be.  Since I had the paint out for the step, the next chore I tackled was painting the wall panel white.  I used a brush instead of a roller because I didn't want to use up a roller so it took a little longer to paint it.  Then I finished the trim along the ceiling.  There are still some visible seams on the wall that need to be patched but it looks so much better white.

After that, I was tired but there wasn't enough time for a nap before my nephew came home.  I was watching Rockford Files when he came home and he said, "Have you been sitting on the couch watching TV all day?"  Oh boy, if he ever says that to his wife he won't be married very long.  I said if he turned around he would see that the wall had magically turned white.  I doubt he understood the effort that went in to it. Most of the projects I need to do require a lot of effort for not much pizzazz but they are satisfying to me because I can check that project off in my head and move on to the next.

Today was a trip to the vet for Sassy for her Valley Fever test.  I'll find out on Tuesday or Wednesday the results.  Hopefully she is getting better.  Then I did the usual pulling weeds and grocery shopping.  I made turkey pie filling over rice with corn bread.  My nephew thought it was delicious which is good because I have a lot of leftover turkey and turkey broth to use up.  I think I will try turkey soup and biscuits next week.  

This week I need to get my Christmas shopping done so that my gifts don't arrive in January like last year.  My nephew has a choir performance but other than that it is a regular week of early mornings and homework in the evenings.  It sure will be nice to have a break soon. 

Mortgage Update for November

Last day of November!  I got this mortgage update posted just in time.  I managed to add another $1,200 to the principle which brings the total down to $41,391.  At this rate it will take me 2 years and 4 months to pay it off.  That is much too long.  As soon as my nephew goes off to college or where ever he plans to go in a year and a half when he is 18, I won't be able to hold back my plan to sell my house any longer.  Of course, I will need to do some major downsizing which will take time.

2 1/2 weeks until winter break.  My nephew is going to visit his relatives out of state and I am super excited to have 2 weeks off from being homework monitor, chauffeur, cook, and all-around responsible adult.  I don't have any projects planned at the moment but there are plenty of things that need attention.

fix plumbing in my shower
finally finish counter top next to sink
cover outdoor water pipes
hang gutter
trim door and window outside
finish indoor trim and touch up paint
skirting for barn-shed and extend fence
work on snake-proofing fence

I still have to go to my job so probably only one or two of those things will get done.  I want to save my vacation days for later in the year just in case I need to travel to visit family now that my parents aren't living close by.  So much has changed since last year at this time.  Dad is gone, Mom moved away, nephew is back with me.  I was expecting a rather uneventful year but it didn't cooperate. I hope next year is a little more predictable.

Constant Improvements

Is my weekend over already?  I miss it.  Luckily, another one will be here in 4 days.  Today was a very busy day at work with people calling and emailing me constantly. I hope tomorrow is quieter so I can catch up on all the work.

I didn't do anything fun over the weekend, just the usual errands and chores around the house.  I took my nephew to a youth group party on Saturday night.  It was one of those murder-mystery parties where everyone dresses up like their character.  Before the party he was trying to figure out if he wanted to be the murderer or not.  Turns out he wasn't.  Everyone really got in to it and I don't know where the girls all got such fancy saloon dresses but they looked so authentic.

We managed to pull his costume together with only a $3 vest and $4 hat from the Goodwill.  I finally found a use for his mother's black leather jacket!  This is only reinforcing my pack rat tendencies, I'm afraid, since I have carried that jacket around since her death in 2002.  Gee, if the tuxedo shop would send me his back-ordered vest for his choir uniform I wouldn't have had to spend $3 on another one.  Which reminds me, he has a choir event this Wednesday and he is going to have to ask his teacher to borrow a used vest again.  I hope he won't get points deducted.

So far, I have no plans for next Saturday.  I might even go out to the mobile home to work on projects.  So many projects.  My nephew was asking me what the patches on the ceiling are covering and why none of the doors in the house fit the doorways.  I was hoping he wouldn't notice.  Ok, so maybe I should continue to make the house look a little more 'put together'.  It does help my attitude when projects get finished and I would love for the kitchen to be functional.  I hate to admit I fed him another Boston Market microwave meal tonight.  I've been eyeing a pork tenderloin at the grocery store.  I've never made one but it can't be that hard, right?  It has direction right on it.  As the weather gets cooler, I have plans to make cooking my hobby again.

Digging and Digging

Finally, I got the two holes dug for the barn-shed tie downs.  On Monday, I checked my nephew's grades like I do every day because the school emails them to me.  I noticed two big zero's in English which brought his overall grade down to a D again.  69.5 to be exact.  I fumed about them for a while since I was at work and could not do anything and then decided that the new rule for this quarter would be that any late work means manual labor as well as zero's.  Last quarter, if he got the work in late then he escaped the hard labor but from now on, even if he turns it in and gets a half credit, he has to do work for me.  I knew he had done the assignments which made it extra frustrating for me that he didn't turn them in on time.  That kid is going to get stuck going to summer school even though he does the work.

So, when I got home, I got out two pairs of gloves and two shovels and we each started digging holes.  It was hard work even thought it had rained a couple of days earlier.  After 12" it was pretty much impossible so we unwrapped the digging bar.  I had heard that the digging bar makes digging in rocky soil easier but I had never used one.  

Teen labor.

 The internet was right.  Digging bars are awesome for digging up rocks.  He used the bar to pry out the rocks and I finished scooping out the dirt.  It was dark by the time we were finished and we had to use his cell phone for light.

18 inches!

 I was thrilled to get that chore done, well almost done.  I tossed a tie-down anchor in each hole and we went inside for the night.  The next day I had to work late so I didn't get home until after dark.  This morning, I heard it raining and when I checked the holes they had some water in the bottom so I scooped some Quik-crete into the holes and mixed it with dirt.  It rained again this afternoon.  Now I need to wait for the soil to dry out and then call the geo-technical engineers to see if my tie-downs will pass the 400 pound requirement.  I sure hope they do because I want to move on and do something else to the barn-shed, like, put skirting around it, build stairs, possibly even extend my fence so that it goes all the way from the mobile home to the barn-shed.

In other news, my nephew's choir class is having a fundraiser for their spring trip to a Disneyland choir competition.  They are selling super-expensive candles.  I'm really not interested in candles.  Doesn't anyone sell candy bars anymore?  I suppose it could be worse.  He could be selling magazine subscriptions.

$17 and $28 for candles.  I can't tell how big (or small) they are.

Today at work, one of my co-workers sent me a picture of this koala and said that when I was having a bad day I should look at the koala and it would make me feel better because at least I wasn't as miserable as the koala.

That made no sense to me.

First off, as a biology major drop-out, I am very interested in animals so I had to look up koalas.  This koala is in fact sleeping in the rain and not miserable.  His fur is waterproof and koalas live outside in trees so it is normal for them to get rained on.  They also sleep a lot to conserve energy.  This koala is perfectly fine.

But, being someone who cares for many animals, seeing an animal in perceived "need" does not make me feel better because I am better off than it.  I want to help it.  So, I gave the koala a coat and hat and sent it back to my coworker.

Problem solved!

Minuscule Progress is Still Progress

Another exciting edition of Daizy's Mobile Home Renovation, now showing every Saturday...forever.  Ok, not forever.  It just feels like it.

Good news, the A/C fits in the new window.  This is much better than putting the A/C in the horizontal sliding windows and trying to block off the opening above, especially when it is windy or raining or both.  Someday, I will put trim around it.  I bought the trim and it is on the floor in the bedroom.

My niece painted the bathroom wall brown.  I had extra paint in the shed that I wanted to use up.  I like it better than the wallpaper.  I suggested we try to use up another darker brown and make a sort of faux leather look but it just looked like brown poop on the wall.  Not pretty at all.

I spent a little bit of time out in the heat with the shovel and pick ax, trying to level out the fence panel.  I decided to put blocks under it instead of digging down any more.  It still needs work.  I have also changed my plan for the fence.  Because I haven't finished burying the earth anchors for the barn shed which I need to do in order to get my inspection and pay $650 (ouch), I am going to make the yard a little smaller for now.  I will buy cheaper cattle panels to fill in the gap instead of connecting the fence to the barn shed because the inspector needs room to get his equipment in there for the pull test. 

My niece and I rolled the 500 gallon water tank up and around the mobile home.  I need to clear out the weeds and old piece of plywood to the left of the tank, then stand it up and connect the tank to the water pump.  One tiny step closer to getting water to the bathroom.

We added more bungee cords to the pool tarp.  The wind was not cooperating and the bungees were only doing a so-so job.  I hope the tarp is keep the evaporation to a minimum.  We saw a snake snuggled up to the pool.  I think it was a gopher snake.  I couldn't see its head but it didn't have a rattle.  I went back for a photo but the snake had left.

And that was my exciting weekend.  My chore this week:  Buy pipe and fittings for the water tank to pump.