What's everybody doing today?

[jishinsjourney]

We live in
Douglas County--Oregon and they start having a fair pretty soon, funny thing is that a lot of states have a Douglas County, I seem to remember that Colorado had a Douglas County that was not too far from the Jefferson County that we lived in. Aspen, like many other "conversion" trees, kind of just grow up and die, where I lived in Washington Alder was a conversion tree, they are called conversion tree because when they die and rot down they make good nutrients for the evergreen trees that are planted or start on their own, around here in Oregon, Madrone trees are considered conversion trees and when they don't die and rot, timber companies use helicopters to spray herbicide (really bad stuff) on the Madrones to speed up the process, wish they would just let the firewood cutters get that wood, as it's the best firewood we have around.

Didn’t know aspens were nutrient-fixers! Good to know. Gives us more reason to keep them around, aside from just liking how they look. I’m sure most of our property could still use that.

Yep, Douglas County CO is pretty close to JeffCo. I haven’t been out to that area recently, though we did visit Golden last year and enjoyed that very much. We’re technically living in Arapahoe, but in the part of Aurora that really should belong to Douglas instead of Arapahoe. It’s not actually attached to the rest of Aurora!

 

[Magus]

OK, I gotta ask. how many people in here smoke those left handed cigarettes?

 

[Spikedriver]

OK, I gotta ask. how many people in here smoke those left handed cigarettes?

Probably more than the ones that admit it...

I do not. I am subject to a random whiz quiz at work, at any time, so the risk isn't worth the reward.

Can't say it never crossed my mind though...

 

[Magus]

Heh...You're probably right!

 

[INresponse]

Bath enclosure prepped for tile. This is what I worked on the last couple weeks. It will be a while before I get to install the tile. I need to do the same for the master bath and then get an inspection prior to doing the tile.

So for now I have my trailer trash shower curtains in place so I can use the shower. It is crap like this that makes me tired of working on this place. Maybe i will call for an inspection this week and just finish this main bath before starting on the master. GF and her kids will be gone for a week so they will be out of the way. We shall see. =-)

 

[Bacpacker]

Probably more than the ones that admit it...

I do not. I am subject to a random whiz quiz at work, at any time, so the risk isn't worth the reward.

Can't say it never crossed my mind though...

Same here. Not worth the risk

 

[goshengirl]

That's awesome @INresponse!
I understand what you mean about being tired of it all. I'd wanted tile in the bath, but I've never done it before - like so many things with this house build - and I've just gotten so tired. Tired of the work, tired of learning new things, tired of feeling in over my head. Decided to go without tile and ordered a tub/shower surround. Still haven't put it up yet.

 

[INresponse]

That's awesome @INresponse!
I understand what you mean about being tired of it all. I'd wanted tile in the bath, but I've never done it before - like so many things with this house build - and I've just gotten so tired. Tired of the work, tired of learning new things, tired of feeling in over my head. Decided to go without tile and ordered a tub/shower surround. Still haven't put it up yet.

Thank you. When I bought the property and started building I never felt in over my head. But after a few years of financial hardship caused by the ex that kept rearing up a few times a year for several years... that wore on me. Then the lack of help was the kicker that made me start to hate every bit of work i had to do. That caused medical issues and a few medical bills to add into the mix. A couple weeks ago when I started working on the bathroom I actually started feeling better, but two weeks of work on the bathroom along with my work at Home Depot tired out my body a bit. I took yesterday and today off and today was the only day I actually had to rest. Hopefully I feel rested tomorrow. Thinking about having the inspector out to just look at the one bathroom has me feeling a bit better about the situation. I think finishing the first one will be better for me mentally as opposed to pushing to get the second one done over the next 2 or 3 weeks. The master still needs the tub set, the plumbing done, the water lines and faucet stuff done, and all the extra 2x4's and backing blocks to secure the cement boards. I think that should wait and just finish the first one.

 

[txcatlady]

Clem, I still have several unpacked moving boxes sitting in the mud room and in the shed... once I'm done with the home rehab work, I'll crack 'em open and see what's in there. Whatever I don't need or want will get donated, pronto... but I'll keep whatever might be useful, I have plenty of storage room in the metal shed or shop building.

Just finished a brutal weeding & scorching session, I reckon I killed a couple thousand puncturevines today, many young plants only 2" or 3" high but in a broad carpet. That flamethrower is working wonders with these broad carpeted areas of goathead vines... the burly flame just shrivels the noxious weeds to nothing, lol.

Somehow, this reminds me of a guy I knew in the USA INF, we called him "The Colonel" because he did this comical saluting routine... well, one day "The Colonel" told me how he went fishing back home in Oregon, and when he hooked a live worm as bait, the worm SCREAMED, lol. I told "The Colonel" to go easy on the 'shrooms next time...

This morning, I heard hundreds & hundreds of puncturevines screaming as the flamethrower reduced them to ashes, lol... the scorched earth policy is working, I reckon it'll be hard for the vines to make a comeback after they've gone under the torch. I still have several smaller carpeted areas to burn, but I'm satisfied with my progress so far...

I usually drink fruit juice or a smoothie before I enter the latest battle in the Goathead War, but when I call it a day and I walk into my home drenched with sweat, I drink cold sweet tea straight from the fridge... about a quart of it, followed by a quart of water, lol. I'll tell ya, that tea sure hits the spot after waging war on goatheads... later comes the beer, lol.

I've already showered and I'm looking at an easy afternoon, talking to friends on the phone (long distance) and watching a movie or reading a Western. Gonna take the remaining BBQd tri-tip and make steak & eggs with it, after I sautee some onion & Hatch chiles... add vine-ripened tomato and cheese to the mix as well. I'm thinking it won't suck, lol...

Manana, another thrilling installment (i.e. battle) in the Goathead War!!! Turning point reached today!!!

My battle with grassburs or sticker burs is promising. I was told to fertilize heavily and keep it mowed. Never been able to do that until this year. Lots of water due to drought and mowing. Walk yard often and pull up any that I see and put in burn barrel. I found 2 before mowing Friday. The grass will grow and smother out the sticker burs over time. Now the puncture weed I can compare it to careless weed. Long tap root that almost always breaks off half way down and covered with thorns above ground. Somehow got started in my syrup tubs. Painful

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

..... I think that I should wait and just finish the first one.

That's what we started doing. One room at a time and it has to be completely finished.

I had to do bucket showers out in the yard for a full summer before I quit spreading myself too thin and got the job done in one bathroom.

Renos will still take forever, but being able to check a room off the list feels good. You will never regret being able to see something fully completed while slowly plugging along on the next room.

 

[INresponse]

That's what we started doing. One room at a time and it has to be completely finished.

I had to do bucket showers out in the yard for a full summer before I quit spreading myself too thin and got the job done in one bathroom.

Renos will still take forever, but being able to check a room off the list feels good. You will never regret being able to see something fully completed while slowly plugging along on the next room.

I wish it was a reno, I am still trying to finish the initial build before more sh-tuff gets broken.

 

[sonya123]

OK, I gotta ask. how many people in here smoke those left handed cigarettes?

I have a medical "license" for my anxiety and panic attack issues but what works best for me ( it got my off benzoids and works great) is relatively low THC and high CBD. I don't really get "high" I just smoke enough to prevent anxiety. It also has to be Indica only but I am growing some to see if it can replace the expensive dispensary stuff

 

[sonya123]

It is not supposed to rain today yeah! But still humid
Canned a bunch of tomato sauce yesterday and husband picked 2 more 5 gallon buckets full. I sure hope we sell a lot at the market next weekend and they stay good till then
I look at our to do list and get depressed. We seem to have gotten very little done this summer so far. We just barely keep up with every day chores. The weather is part of the problem

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

INresponse,

I am aware of that.

But you are just one guy. We gutted the whole inside of our old farm house right down to the stone walls which we also had to repair.

Then we built a house within a house to shore up the floors and add insulation, electrical and plumbing. When you are living in the place at the same time, it's rough. A stone walled house at -35° is even worse. That's when we we got serious about one room at a time with a list of priorities.

All I had for a kitchen was a sink on 2 x 4s and a stove. No bathrooms. I did laundry on an old gas powered ringer washer on the porch. That really sucked in the winter as well.

I never unpacked my stuff and it was still in boxes 12 years later when we moved and were still only 2/3 done.

 

[goshengirl]

@INresponse I should clarify that I didn’t mean to make it sound as if you were (or felt) in over your head. That just came out in my list of why I’m tired - I’m feeling really in touch with that reason at the moment. I’ve tackled some pretty big firsts in this home build, and at one point I was happy about that. But now I’m just tired, so instead of being enthusiastic about learning something new and tacking the next project, I feel more easily overwhelmed than I did when this build first started.

On your place, I would have been like you, wanting to get both bathrooms to the inspection point together. But @ClemKadiddlehopper offers great first-hand perspective for finishing one room at a time. And most important is listening to your own body - that positive response you felt at the idea of completing one bathroom should drive your work.

 

[Magpie]

We've been here 23 years this summer, and only fixed a broken piece of cement at the back door (part of the original cottage) two days ago, even though it always bugged us. You get to things eventually. I congratulate the people in the thread above for tacking it alone. My one piece of advice to anyone starting gutting/ renovating etc is to get one room done as quickly as you can, whether it be a living room or bedroom, and make it as nice as you can. That way, at the end of your day, you can go in, shut the door, and pretend its all ok never ever bring tools or anything into it that reminds you of what has yet to be done!
So today is an assessment of yesterday- which went great and enough leftovers for dinner, so no cooking. Today is preparing for NY visitors, arriving on Tues and Wed mornings. Setting up extra beds, etc. Spent a few hours in the poly watering and transplanting seedlings. Began a new outdoor raised strawberry bed with the cuttings I've been rooting, lifted second lot of onions and cleaned chicken house. Have peas to pick, but it might be something for the city visitors to do! The body is a little tired but we shall party on!

 

[jishinsjourney]

Groceries, laundry, and garden for me today, then putting up some melon balls and we have a retrospective for the game jam.…..

plus PT. I’m so tired of PT, mostly because I’d like that daily half-hour of my life back, but it is helping.

 

[Wingnut]

Another 3 solid hours of goathead death... the flamethrower is working wonders in the areas 'carpeted' with young vines. But I'm out of propane again, and I'm exhausted from the ongoing war... good news is that the end is in sight, just a few more areas to go under the torch. I don't believe I'll EVER destroy all of the vines, there will be some little vine here or there which escapes notice, but I'm killing these blasted things by the truckload, lol.

I see that other site members are also doing home rehab work... a tough gig when you're working on your own, as I am. But I'm gearing up to paint the bathrooms and kitchen, this Goathead War took precedence because these vines have to go, PRONTO, before they get any worse. To make myself feel better, I pushed my 'deadline' for interior home rehab all the way back to Christmas, so now I'm ahead of the game, lol. It's a psychological trick... no hurry, no worry.

Well, I drank all my beer last night after burning that weed... so I gotta make a store run for beer, propane, iced tea and lemonade, plus whatever else I might need, I'll have to check the fridge. I'm gonna buy the unsweetened tea and mix it with lemonade, that's always a good thirst quencher when I come in from the Goathead War. That sweet tea was so good that I finished the gallon, so it's time to buy more fluids... gotta have nonalcoholic drinks when I'm thirsty.

Guess I'd better get cleaned up, so I can get this store run done. I had to sit down in front of the fan for a while, these weeding & torching sessions have been brutal, lol. However, I'm hoping for a big payoff when the number of goatheads in my yard is drastically reduced. It has been a tough struggle, these vines are invasive & aggressive, and they just don't quit... but they're slowly being eliminated, and hopefully I'll soon be done with 'em for the season. Cheers!!!

 

[Plainflatlander]

As far as remodeling here I am very fortunate to have a BIL who owns a home improvement co. What he and his help can do in a day would take me a week. He remodeled both bathrooms to studs and in short order.

 

[Wingnut]

Haha, I hear ya... I'm pretty handy with tools, and I usually stick to some sort of schedule, but I got burned out on the home rehab a while ago. Now I'm just gearing up to do more painting, one bathroom at a time... and the kitchen too. The work will go fast enough once I get started, I just needed a break form the rehab work. This is the third home I've rehabbed in six or seven years, so I've seen my share of rehab work lately. It'll eventually get done, I'm satisfied with my progress so far... but you're right, it's nice to have help, lol.

P.S. When I moved from Kalifornia to Arizona, I didn't set out to flip homes, but I wound up buying & selling two homes in Arizona before moving on to New Mexico. Made good money, but it wasn't my intention to flip homes, and it still isn't my intention, lol. But with the world the way it has been in recent years, I didn't have much choice, so I went ahead and flipped those Arizona homes. Meh, I had good times in each home, two years in Show Low and three in Benson... I got to ride my dirt bikes in the White Mountains, plus I rode to Cochise Stronghold near Benson. Great adventures!!!

I still miss my 8' pool table, which I had set up in each home... didn't wanna move it again, so I sold it with my last home.

 

[Chaosdawn]

I'm at work today. I'm still exhausted from last week. We took two days to drive from Venice, FL to MA with a fully loaded truck and towing the boat. Drove 15 hours on Wed, were delayed by traffic from two accidents and then a torrential thunderstorm in GA. Made it to VA around 9:30pm, showered and slept. Drove 13 hours on Thurs, slight delay due to extremely bumpy crap roads causing the plastic housing on one of the (non-essential) trailer lights to crack, leaving it dangling by the wires. Wasn't pleased to have to pull over twice on a busy highway to try to tie it up, but made it to next exit and found some duct tape. I probably wrapped it a little more than needed but I was annoyed and didn't want to deal with it again. Got home around 8:30pm, unloaded some stuff then crashed.

Friday we retrieved my car from the airport, DH went to insurance agent about new truck and I went home and with my son got bed risers on the spare bed and made some room to unload the rest of the stuff. I still haven't unpacked everything, we took quite a bit, DH was having trouble parting with things so we just took them and we'll deal with it later. Extra room under the bed will help.

Sat we did some work/exploring on the boat. I've never been in that boat and I know very very little about boats. I'm learning now. lol Figured out some stuff but still need to go through FIL's rods and tackle. Yesterday I went shopping then to my parents' house, my dad fell and twisted his ankle and it's swollen so he can't really walk right now. So I did laundry, dishes, vacuumed and dumped the trash. I'll do more cleaning next week.

Then I was finally able to get my late tomato seedlings planted out in the garden, we'll see if I get anything before a frost. Everything else is doing ok for the most part, considering we're still in a moderate drought. I need a couple more days to sleep though. It's so hot and sticky in FL, I was looking forward to coming home to cooler weather but NOPE, it's just as hot and humid here. Ugh.

 

[Tank-Girl]

Today I get my windscreen fixed!
Yay!
I'm fixing any major obvious faults on the car now while the parts are available.

 

[Wingnut]

In the transportation industry, the slightest chip or crack in a windshield will earn a ticket from the D.O.T., lol. Best to swap out a bad one, it'll keep the revenue collectors off your back.

Made it back from the store, now I'm set with plenty o' beer and a fresh propane tank to carry on the Goathead War manana... many goathead soldiers died this morning, many more will die tomorrow, lol.

Dunno what I'll do this afternoon, probably read a Western or watch a movie... the Goathead War is my sole project right now, as it needs to be waged PRONTO. A truckload of goatheads went out with the trash pickup this morning...

I picked up some Benadryl and Sting-Kill for insect bites & stings, I seem to be collecting a few... might be a pesky skeeter in my home, since I've discovered fresh bites the past two mornings. Meh, it's 'Bug Season!'

Sitting in me dear departed mum's rocking chair on the unscreened front porch at dusk while drunk yesterday evening probably didn't help... but it felt good to sit in the padded rocker, lol. Goldurned bugs won't last forever, blast 'em...

 

[Neb]

The Princess is on vacation this week so things are different. She woke me to tell me we had a power outage and the UPS for the fiber coming into the hose wasn't working. Turns out I failed to connect the battery when I put it in. My bad!

Then we put a call into AMAC about medicare and all of that stuff. I has them skip over the dental because I am going on more than a year without teeth and don't like dentures. The wife was happy with what we heard.

Then back to the greenhouse project. It took a hit yesterday when dropped off another 5'archery target. That will require another visit to The Ridge.

I managed to fix the window and it only cost me two screws. Found and ordered a threshold for under the storm door. That ran about $20 but still in line with my ghetto budget plans.

Then The Princess produced a puzzle to solve. A set of hanging baskets where the chains were tangled. I used the same technique I used to solve Rubic cubes. Took it apart and put it back together.

Ben

 

[snappy1]

Walked first.
Went to Walmart for 2 tires. Ended up ordering them online for delivery.
Went to see health insurance lady. She doesn't believe dh will lose va disability pension when we switch to social security. We will get a paper drawn up tomorrow. Without va pension, I should qualify for assistance with part B because of low income.
Came home and cut okra and picked figs.
Put away dehydrated marshmallows.
Did 2 loads of laundry
Cleaned out front shed- big job.
I'm done!

 

[Tank-Girl]

My car has to be in the shop to get the windscreen replaced and I'm doubled over with cancer fevers, cramps and poops.
I'm going to have to suck it up and take the car in because that windscreen was special order and had to be shipped from across the country for this job which is going to take an hour and a half.

This is going to suck.

 

[Spikedriver]

@Wingnut you used to live in Benson? I spent January of '21 working on the tracks around there. We had our morning meetings by the old depot and the guys liked to go to a bar out by a rodeo arena after work. My biggest impression of Benson was that it was cold in the morning! I drove from Iowa where it was 15° early in the morning, looking forward to warm Arizona weather. But on the first day it was 25° when we met for work at 6AM. I remember thinking, did I really drive 1400 miles for this crap? I could have stayed home if I wanted to be cold. But it was pretty nice in the afternoons there...

 

[snappy1]

This morning, walked first.
Walked dogs.
Washed rugs.
Worked on bookkeeping stuff with a little success. Not much.
Going to see VA advocate in a little while. Get a paper saying DH won't have disability pension and social security at the same time.
When I come home will clean baths.
Put away salsa that was canned a couple of days ago.

 

[Wingnut]

Yes, Spikedriver, that would be the aptly-named Arena Bar, lol. Benson gets cold in the winter, due to its elevation... pushing 3600', it's nowhere near as high as Show Low at 6300'+, but there's snow on the ground after winter storms. Hard freezes will kill some young fruit trees if they're not protected; don't ask me how I know this. The daily range of temperature can easily span 50 degrees or more, but I'd say that happens more often in spring and fall, it seems to only span 30 or 40 degrees in summer & winter. Still, you can freeze in the morning and walk around in shorts by midafternoon, lol. The golf course was popular when I worked there... plenty o' duffers cruising around in carts, lol.

The trains roll through Benson day & night, but thankfully my home was far enough away from the tracks (and high on a hill), so the rail noise didn't really affect me. More like the "lonesome whistle" of Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, David Allan Coe, et al... I will say this, some engineers liked to lay on the horn while going through town. One engineer in particular would REALLY lay it on, my personal hypothesis is that he was jilted by some gal in Benson, or else he received a police citation and this was his way of getting some payback, lol. That guy would just lay on the horn like nobody's business, you could always recognize his signature style at 0300, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

In the late 1870s and early 1880s, Benson was the station where one detrained and took the stagecoach to Tombstone... now I-10 parallels the railroad. I had a stellar view of the San Pedro Valley from my home on the hill, friends & I would watch westbound freight trains make their way down the grade to the east before crossing the valley. The eastbound trains had a long pull up that same grade. Either direction, there was a pretty steep grade to pull... sometimes trains would get hung up on the west side, and the cars would block crossings in Benson for minutes or hours, lol. Luckily, a detour and highway bridge would take motorists around the problem. No shortage of trains in Benson, that's for sure!

 

[Pearl]

Got home early today, one of my clients had strep throat. So I FINISHED Bear's new yard fence!! Just had the hot fence to do, two strands at the top, hang and set up the energizer. Don't know if he'd actually climb or jump the fence, but no worries or wondering now!! Knowing GSDs, climbing, jumping, and figuring things out is part of the breed!! So I'm done working in the hot sun, time for a fast shower and a nap!!