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Tried to do a few outside chores today, warm and sunny so the snow is all collapsing and heavy. Hard to walk, sink into the drift but then when pulling my foot out it catches on the ice crust. Going out to the burn barrel with the trash I must have looked like a drunken sailor with a floppy duffelbag.
Too many drifts to carry totes to the shop building or stow the donate boxes in the truck but I keep clearing things out of the upstairs. My dining and living rooms look like a poorly managed storage unit.
Don’t get discouraged 😊. You just keep cleaning and stacking it in the living and dining room. The day you get to take it all away, it will make such a big impression, you will see the result of all your hard work 💕
 
We never got any snow and its already getting hot out.
I managed to cut a plywood scrap that I had my brother bring in. It was almost 9' long. Took a long time because I didn't have the right blades. I literally left a puddle of sweat. Got the top board in place with my brother's help (my left arm still can't go high enough). Battery ran out so I'm charging it and will finish driving screws in.
 
Struggling to get stuff done here- part one of the portfolio due in a few days whilst co-editing a literary journal, meetings with prospective college supervisors for my Masters, car is due MOT today - that won't go well- and I accidentally lined up other appointments, double booking myself. The weather is giving a cold blast next week, so I'm holding off on planting seed potatoes, but I desperately need to get my cabbage seedlings into the raised beds. I'd like to say this weekend but who am I fooling?! Hope everyone is staying well!
 
Today is going to be better than yesterday, 2023 can (REDACTED). Briggs died at the Vet at 6:00 am yesterday. Bring in trash cans, Beer run are the order of the day.
Are you aware that Jesus is a dog lover
It’s True, He gives them tummy rubs and scratches their ears,
Sorry to hear you lost a friend,
 
Briggs died at the Vet at 6:00 am yesterday.
I'm so sorry about your small friend! Death is never easy.

I will walk first.
Walk dogs and then give all 3 baths.
Go through SO many shirts that were bought to list on ebay and never gotten to. Donating to a Church rummage sale.
Recently got a safe deposit box for important papers. Need to get those papers or copies readied for box.
Honestly, that sounds like more than enough for today.

We caught the third puppy of 4 in a live trap, yesterday afternoon! One to go. I haven't seen or heard the last one for a few days, though. We will see.
 
Dade, I'm sorry about poor Briggs. It always sucks when our furry friends pass. I'm worrying about Fippy because he's getting up there in age, looks like his vision is going, and is losing weight.

I finished screwing in the plywood and met with the AC guy this morning. Compressor is dead and I don't even know if they make replacement parts. Can't find any online. Might have to replace the whole thing & that won't be cheap.

Going to nap and then get measurements before I go to the store to get lumber and check mail. Dogs woke me up at 6am barking at something.
 
Busy morning, was planning on hitting the office early today to get a lot done on my in person day when I heard cheeping coming from the incubator. My calendar says they weren't supposed to hatch until tomorrow but 7 little quail chicks are in there dry and fluffy - I'm sure I probably did the math wrong! So I ran around and got the brooder all set up and heating up and got some food and water in the incubator for them. Quite an exciting morning!
 
Got to town after a short dog walk today. Were supposed to get snow about newish 1 to 3 inches, not much but wanted to get my errands done.
The dogs are enjoying some beef bones I picked up at the butcher shop. Our local butcher saves bones for dogs. The last two times I get some she just gave them to me. I'm not sure if it's because I've taken my animals to her but..dogs are happy. I always offer to pay but she insists. Ok!
Going to get material ready for another rug n listen to some news or docs.
Tomorrow is tax day n a trip down to Onterio, Or. Gotta get a few things..
 
I moved a gorilla cart from the remodel property to the bottom of The Ridge after refilling the tires. It will be used when I top off the garden beds in the near future weather permitting.

Picked up a cubic yard of special mix ( 1/2 leaf compost 1/2 mushroom manure) and puled it in the corner of the newly acquired back field. This allows me retire the pile I kept in my backyard and make it easier to mow the grass behind my existing gardens. I will be using some of the special mix tomorrow. There are maybe a dozen or moreover grape vine cuttings setting leaves and will get transplanted into their own pots tomorrow an expected rain day.

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The other gorilla cart got more air in the tires before I cleaned up branches in the back field. The branches will be used in the new hugelkulture based steel raised bed. Logs will come from the stacks of cord wood stashed on The Ridge.

I started to clean up the two old raised beds that will be replaced by the new raised bed. I am going to have to figure out how to handle the fingerling potatoes walking onions that are in those boxes now.

Tomorrow looks like a day of reporting grape vines.

Behave

Ben
 
We got a new little-buddy today.:D
5cu/ft chest freezer for the garage. $219. :thumbs:
Notice that it is 'flood-ready' sitting on 7-3/4" blocks, on a 3" up-level slab.;)
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When water rises above 3", they shut off the power so idiots won't electrocute themselves.:mad:
When that happens, there is a mad rush on ice, and then there is none.gaah
Guess who can keep that little thing running with a generator only one hour per day?:D
 
Tried to do a few outside chores today, warm and sunny so the snow is all collapsing and heavy. Hard to walk, sink into the drift but then when pulling my foot out it catches on the ice crust. Going out to the burn barrel with the trash I must have looked like a drunken sailor with a floppy duffelbag.
Too many drifts to carry totes to the shop building or stow the donate boxes in the truck but I keep clearing things out of the upstairs. My dining and living rooms look like a poorly managed storage unit.
I have some of the same challenges. I am not trying to carry stuff in deep snow, but I am often trying to get stuff out of the house. I have a pile in the garage that needs to go to the thrift shop. I am continuing to go through my home, clean and organize what I have. It helps to think about what you have accomplished, rather than what you have left to do. I lay in bed in the early morning and think of what I want to get accomplished that day. Some days I have great successes, other days, not so much.
 
@dademoss , so sorry about your loss. It is a tough one.

I continue to work on getting seeds organized and seedlings started. I have misplaced some seeds and have looked and looked for them. I'm sure I'll find them one day soon, but maybe not soon enough to plant them to start seedlings.

I have had a runny nose this week, along with a sore throat, coughing and sneezing. I took a Covid test and that was negative. I am glad I have tissues with lotion in them, because my nose could be raw otherwise. I need to figure out what over the counter medication I can use to dry this up.

D dog and I spent a couple hours at the park this morning. We were ready to go home when other people and dogs came that she really likes. She played hard and laid down on her side, resting. I was able to visit with a woman and 3 men who I had not seen in a while. Interesting conversations. One is a new father! Another is in the energy business and talked about how he is aware of the threats on our power grid, that he knows about, but cannot divulge specifics about. Two of these guys are avid cooks, and share recipes. I think their wives do not cook, they do.
 
Hope you feel better soon, Weedy!
Went into Walmart in the bigger town with husband so he could get a haircut. Bought some groceries while I was there, and some more sweatpants for mom. Took nacho cheese sauce out of the freeze dryer. Plumbers were here this morning...twins broke the upstairs bathroom faucet, it was leaking water down to the first floor, so they put in a new one, fixed an outside hydrant near the turkeys, and changed out our RO filters we ordered.
 
Tried to do a few outside chores today, warm and sunny so the snow is all collapsing and heavy. Hard to walk, sink into the drift but then when pulling my foot out it catches on the ice crust. Going out to the burn barrel with the trash I must have looked like a drunken sailor with a floppy duffelbag.
Too many drifts to carry totes to the shop building or stow the donate boxes in the truck but I keep clearing things out of the upstairs. My dining and living rooms look like a poorly managed storage unit.
Your post reminds me of buffalo ny, lived there. I do not miss it a bit. One year the drift across my front yard got so deep... I could just see the top of the mailman's head in the path I shoveled for him.

I serviced catscans so had to drive in that mess. I also saw people getting scans because of falling on the ice. So you be careful!

------------------------

Had a quiet day. It's a mess outside. It's rained almost all of the last 24hrs. It stopped for a few hours this afternoon but started back up just after supper. Bad storms expected in the morning.
 
A good burst to start the day- dropped one son to college bus- it's 1.5 hours away so he commutes, one son to work and husband too one daughter to another bus because she's working in the city today and staying the weekend. All the animals are fed, I've a wash on, a pot of leek and potato soup, all the heels of bread gathered from the freezer, and I've made stuffing. I finished sorting and clearing the chest freezer, and am beginning to restick. I'll head to my local butcher now for a tub of chicken breasts at cost price, and then the recycling centre before spending a day at the desk. Other daughter is back from college and is heading to work, and the lads are all off to a concert tonight- it will be a quiet house. Can't believe it's March already!
 
Just got home from work. After a few days of snow even though the temps were at or above freezing it was 18* outside at 4am and everything was crunchy walking from the truck to the house. Maybe I should have taken my jacket to work? Heck, Wednesday at 4am it was 40* here and snowing. I guess finally having clear skies let the heat out.

Yesterday my Banks Power Monster Ram intake system arrived and after I eat a big bowl of chili I will follow their directions and make sure I have every part that belongs in the kit. I do not have any other "go fast" parts on my truck but their tests show this system allows 88% better airflow over the stock system and the reduced back pressure between the turbo and the engine allows the turbo to work less and it reduces the strain on the turbo and reduces the exhaust temperatures by about 200* or more at cruising speed. It makes sense, less back pressure so the turbo can spin easier and better air flow to the engine allowing more power production that will turn the turbo faster improving boost and creating more power. It isn't a perpetual motion machine but I should see much better throttle response and better mileage. They have a very informative video on their airflow testing and comparison to the other brands products, plus after watching videos by others who installed this showed lower exhaust temps and performance. I am not expecting the moon, and I don't buy into the claims of most companies that say adding their product to your vehicle will get you 50 more horsepower, but For safety reasons I felt the need to get rid of the factory part that is known to fail and install something decent that I believe will work without problems. Besides, what's a thousand dollars to the average Joe trying to dig himself out of a financial hole?
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Work was rather annoying tonight. Our boss is off until Tuesday so an assistant manager was running the show. He was getting frustrated at the roller belt we use to send boxes from the truck to the sorting area. It kept stopping and boxes kept falling to the floor. I explained to him the problem and he said we should ask to have it replaced. That lead to a 10 minute conversation where I told him I have been asking for that for 2 years and we have put in repair requests but nothing gets fixed or replaced. His reply was "they are buying 2 new forklifts for the store but they can't afford a conveyor belt." I expect nothing from this conversation. He may know what he knows but he always has the deer in the headlights look, and even if he did pass it along to the store manager it was within the last couple of weeks where the store manager said the conveyor belts are too expensive to replace. He doesn't care, he doesn't have to do the work and deal with the problems, he just has to tell us to work faster so we can get done within the time frame the computer sets for us for each truck load. Ugh, I hate incompetent leadership.

I have been sleeping better. Usually 4 to 6 hours at a time of good sleep. It is still to soon to claim victory but I think my latest assortment of natural supplements are helping with the insomnia. The extra sleep has helped me feel better during the day and I think that is a circle effect on helping me fall asleep easier and sleeping better.

I will end this with...... Our direct from the rancher ground beef makes way better chili than anything we ever bought at a store or butcher shop. Mmmm, mmm good.
 
It's pouring outside so not going to be a fun day. I wished it as summer. Looked at the weather and it looks like it will get really cold next weekend if they are correct. Was hoping winter was gone but a good thing I didn't already plant anything outside.

Went to the dump yesterday and to the feed store. Talked to my friend in Florida for a while. Made zuccinie casserole out of frozen ones from last summer and they turned out gummy. I wonder what I did wrong freezing or cooking them. I blanched them in boiling water for a minute before freezing.
 
Oh one more thing, and I don't know where I should post this and don't want to create a new thread so here it goes...
It appears some of our neighbors ( all modern Amish) have left, 3 families. We have known these people for almost 7 years, we get hay from them, they have bought goats from us and we were fairly friendly with each other. I would have thought they could have at least come the quarter mile up the road and said bye.....
I called one of them and left a message, but nobody called me back. The cell phone is still in service and has a voice mail. I can't imagine anything we could have done to offend all of them.....how weird.
We didn't see anyone move, but we can't see their houses from up here and in winter only go shopping every few weeks, so they could have moved. All their animals are gone too.
Thoughts?
 
They could of moved to another church district. If there's problems with the church, the amish don't cause a fuss, they move to a district that they agree with. For instance, if they are in a district that is getting lenient with things they allow....cell phones, tractor tires, rubber buggy tires, etc....and they do not agree as a family, then they would move. The Old Order amish do this, but I don't know about the modern amish. It seems that they would of had a farm sale or something before the move. I doubt it was you offending them. Maybe an elderly family member somewhere else needed their farm run. That happens alot, and then the elderly person would live in a small house on the property, and the younger ones would take over the farm.
 

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