What's everybody doing today?

[Wingnut]

Waging war on these pesky wasps that have gotten out of control on my property... I found two small nests and nuked 'em with poison last night, but I think there must be a huge hidden nest on the neighbor's property, the same elderly folks who are clueless about the huge ant nests on their property. Next time I see those people, I'm gonna ask 'em if they need some help dealing with the pesky wasp and ant nests.

Anyway, I killed over a dozen wasps at the birdbaths this morning, did it the old-fashioned way with a rolled-up newspaper, so that led to some unwanted excitement & a few fear-filled moments. These wasps are nasty, they have big ol' stingers which will probably hurt if they ever catch me, lol. But I hammered those wasps today, and I'll continue to keep an eye out for more of 'em, with the newspaper handy if I need it.

Now I'm back inside, to heck with that heat, got the A/C cranked already and I only plan on doing some painting today, "cutting in" corners in the kitchen. Oh, boy, my favorite pastime... I'm just gonna take it slow and easy with this trim work, no need to rush the finish when I have 8 days until my self-imposed deadline. I'll knock out one small area at a time, and eventually it'll get done... break days in between, no doubt.

 

[Magus]

More rain. tinkering and jamming out.

 

[Swing]

Going to get aunt and puppy dog to take to vet to have dog's eyes checked.

 

[snappy1]

I must have been bored.
Made a chocolate pie and froze it.
Made croutons from old bread that I found when I put pie in freezer.
Made oatmeal for dog treats.
Purged entire medicine closet in bathroom plus cabinet in office. What I purged went into a large tote to use for trade if needed in the future. My stepdaughter does coupons and brought 4 suitcases of health and beauty aid stuff when she came to visit a couple of years ago. More than we will use in our life time. So will be barter material.

 

[INresponse]

First full day at the new job my myself. The boss had a vacation planned, he left yesterday about 11am and should be back next Wednesday. It's not a big deal but I still don't know where all the odd tools are located so sometimes I am on an extended hunt around the shop. Spent over a half hour searching the web to verify the snow blower didn't have an air filter. It was taken apart last week and everything was set aside waiting for the new carburator.. I didn't remember an air filter but some models had them and some did not and the internet listed the part but I didn't recall seeing it last week. Figured it out and on to the next project.
Yesterday we hooked up the redneck pool heater. I connected the return line from the filter to a T-fitting and ran 3 lengths of half inch black irrigation tubbing coiled up in the sun then stuck the ends down to the bottom of the pool to mix the sun warmed water in with the cold water at the bottom. It should only take a couple days to raise the water temp up to the 80's.
Aside from that, not much on my end.

 

[Neb]

I picked up supplies to finish the fold up cage yesterday ans rhen visited the eldest granddaughter to talk math and algebra. The remote learning due to china flu did not serve her well. Dealing with fractions is stuff she has been struggling with. I have her creating a notebook of facts she needs to solve problems.

Today I did a full test out of the lawn tractor after we changed the transmission fluid. It did fine but I realized I will need tire chains to handle the steep hills on my property.

After mowing everything I verified the lawn tractor is compatible with my gorilla cart. It was a pleasant experience hauling the cart from place to place cutting branches that wanted to nock my hat off while mowing. Then hauled the cart full of branches to where I dump stuff.

A big improvement over hauling it by hand.

I did discover an unexpected surprise will doing the trimming. It looks like there is an old elder berry bush in the mix. If I am correct I can foresee some more fermentation in our future.



Ben

 

[Grimm]

Soooooo... K thinks I am nuts. Last month I bought a rotating clothesline from Lehmans. Love it but K swears he hated using a clothesline because he had to as a kid (his dad had a gambling problem so they did not own a washer or dryer and the family's laundry had to be washed at the laundry mat but hung to dry at home...!). Personally I had to as well as a kid BUT we did have a dryer. The summer was when we used it and that is my intent now as well. Why not let the heat dry my clothes and save some money on gas/electricity at the same time.

 

[Bacpacker]

I picked up supplies to finish the fold up cage yesterday ans rhen visited the eldest granddaughter to talk math and algebra. The remote learning due to china flu did not serve her well. Dealing with fractions is stuff she has been struggling with. I have her creating a notebook of facts she needs to solve problems.

Today I did a full test out of the lawn tractor after we changed the transmission fluid. It did fine but I realized I will need tire chains to handle the steep hills on my property.

After mowing everything I verified the lawn tractor is compatible with my gorilla cart. It was a pleasant experience hauling the cart from place to place cutting branches that wanted to nock my hat off while mowing. Then hauled the cart full of branches to where I dump stuff.

View attachment 110543

A big improvement over hauling it by hand.

I did discover an unexpected surprise will doing the trimming. It looks like there is an old elder berry bush in the mix. If I am correct I can foresee some more fermentation in our future.



Ben

Great report Neb. You are gonna love using it and the trailer. Trust me on this.

 

[backlash]

After a long discussion with my wife we decided to sell our Toyota.
We realized we don't need two vehicles and the Highlander was the one to go since we need the truck to haul our new travel trailer.
I got a quote from Kelly Bluebook on line that seemed fair to us so we sold it back to the dealer we purchased it from 2.5 years ago.
If we find we need a second vehicle then we can always buy one but I don't really see a need.
A side note.
Our bank wanted to put a seven day hold on the check. I explained to the teller that was unacceptable. The manager released the funds immediately.
I guess she didn't want me telling her that was bull s. again.

 

[Wingnut]

Wasp wars continue... I've killed at least two dozen wasps today with a rolled-up newspaper, making this more of a wasp-killin' day than a paintin' day. Meh, I have time left before my deadline... but I'll have to make a greater effort on that trim work manana, it ain't gonna do itself, that's for sure.

Beer-thirty now, another round of wasp-killin' later once it cools off... it's hot out there!

These wasps should've been in Greek Mythology: kill one, and five grow back, lol... there's an unlimited supply.

 

[Morgan101]

Wasp wars continue... I've killed at least two dozen wasps today with a rolled-up newspaper, making this more of a wasp-killin' day than a paintin' day. Meh, I have time left before my deadline... but I'll have to make a greater effort on that trim work manana, it ain't gonna do itself, that's for sure.

Beer-thirty now, another round of wasp-killin' later once it cools off... it's hot out there!

These wasps should've been in Greek Mythology: kill one, and five grow back, lol... there's an unlimited supply.

Can you find the nest? If so get them early in the morning when they are all at home asleep. Dose the nest heavily with wasp spray and you can get them all at one time. It has worked for me, but the nest was close.

I actually cleaned out my car today. There was a lot a junk that got put away or put in its place. I had gotten into a very bad habit of throwing everything into the back seat. Now I can actually see the back seat and have room for passengers. The trunk is organized also. This has been a long time coming.

 

[ABR]

Finally home. Felt like I drove in circles all day picking up and dropping of family and dogs to various places. Hot as hades again and I'm beat. Didn't sleep much at all last night so that certainly doesn't help. Got the tack for SOs horse that I'm bringing home next week. Hasn’t been used in several years so it needs a good cleaning and some neetsfoot. It was kept upstairs so not too much mildew, just a little on the fenders.

Mini rant: Since my SO worked at a plant and had a bizarre schedule his farrier would come and trim his horse in the pasture and SO would leave money in the mailbox for him. Great guy did great work. Awhile ago that guy retired and a new guy took over with the same deal. SO had been freakishly busy the last 6ish months so didn't really mess with the horse during that time. I was looking at his horse with his mom today and making sure that I had a halter that fits and checked his feet because we didn't know when he was last trimmed. From the looks of his feet he hasn’t been trimmed in MONTHS. I guess the new farrier was showing up and just taking the money without actually trimming him!

 

[zannej]

Finally got my air fryer delivery yesterday but I had to nag the hell out of Fedex to get it. Now they have another delivery that is "delayed" and appears to be lost. I mentioned in rant thread that I'm frustrated with all the delivery problems. My Amazon order was sent to California (from TX) and then back to TX and now seems to be lost. And that's the part I really need. Might have to cancel, re-order, and hope they actually send it this time.

went into town to the hardware store to see if they had that part or something similar. Nope. Ugh.

Too hot to do much today. But I did clean up the counter and set up the new air fryer.

 

[INresponse]

Soooooo... K thinks I am nuts. Last month I bought a rotating clothesline from Lehmans. Love it but K swears he hated using a clothesline because he had to as a kid (his dad had a gambling problem so they did not own a washer or dryer and the family's laundry had to be washed at the laundry mat but hung to dry at home...!). Personally I had to as well as a kid BUT we did have a dryer. The summer was when we used it and that is my intent now as well. Why not let the heat dry my clothes and save some money on gas/electricity at the same time.

When I first bought my property and was living in my trailer I bought a used washer and electric dryer and ran them off the generator. Even though the dryer had heat it was faster to hang dry the clothes. By the time I finished hanging them the first ones were dry. I worked my way back down the line folding and stacking in the wash basket. 20 minutes from wash machine to put away in the trailer. The benefits of living in the desert.

 

[Amish Heart]

Little granddaughter had swim lessons, and husband had foot doc appt, and little granddaughter had her last sewing class and finished the jammie bottoms. We also went to Atwoods and picked up two 10 by 10 by 6 dog kennels for turkey runs. Heck of a time fitting in the truck bed, and glad I had straps. Not fun unloading when I got home. Got in some weeding time after dinner, and the neighbor's horse, "Bets", is now on the other side of the milkhouse. She's enjoying all the grass growing there that's way overgrown. They usually take her out on Sundays, so we'll see lots of her. Just have to remember the hot wire is where it's at. It'll help our neighbor save on feed. And she'll mow and fertilize that area.

 

[LadyLocust]

Little granddaughter had swim lessons, and husband had foot doc appt, and little granddaughter had her last sewing class and finished the jammie bottoms. We also went to Atwoods and picked up two 10 by 10 by 6 dog kennels for turkey runs. Heck of a time fitting in the truck bed, and glad I had straps. Not fun unloading when I got home. Got in some weeding time after dinner, and the neighbor's horse, "Bets", is now on the other side of the milkhouse. She's enjoying all the grass growing there that's way overgrown. They usually take her out on Sundays, so we'll see lots of her. Just have to remember the hot wire is where it's at. It'll help our neighbor save on feed. And she'll mow and fertilize that area.

How is Mom doing?

 

[Amish Heart]

I haven't seen her yet this week, but will tomorrow. She has a doc appt at 1, and I always go with her. This is her regular doc, so doubt that anything will change, but am interested to see what her blood tests show. She had blood drawn today. We have a "care" meeting with her nursing home next Wednesday, so I'll get input from the nurses, the nutritionist, and the physical therapists. We put my Florida sis on speaker phone, and my husband comes, too.

 

[zannej]

Hope your mom is feeling better, Amish.

INResponse, my parents lived in the desert when they first go married. I'd have to ask mom what town- somewhere out in California. I'd rather have dry heat than wet heat.

Scrubbed the side of my tub, scrubbed the floor next to the tub (to prepare for putting down baseboard and trim and stuff-- don't want dirt under it that may spring out later. Patched a mouse-chewed spot on the vinyl. Cleaned the hallway somewhat. Last night I cleaned the countertop and setup the new air fryer.

Went into town to look for a plumbing part but no luck. Checked post office-- box was empty. Grabbed a sandwich from Walmart and came home.

Dog is hogging my cooling pillow right now. LOL.

 

[Pearl]

Can you find the nest? If so get them early in the morning when they are all at home asleep. Dose the nest heavily with wasp spray and you can get them all at one time. It has worked for me, but the nest was close.

I actually cleaned out my car today. There was a lot a junk that got put away or put in its place. I had gotten into a very bad habit of throwing everything into the back seat. Now I can actually see the back seat and have room for passengers. The trunk is organized also. This has been a long time coming.

You didn't put anything in the basement did you??

 

[Morgan101]

You didn't put anything in the basement did you??

Great point!! No. Nothing went into the basement. What was put away went back in its proper place. Funny thing is my wife had a young girl come over to help her with chores, and they went into the basement. I wanted to ask her if she tied a rope around her waist to find her way out.

 

[Magus]

Took a couple more steps toward fixing my shop!

 

[Magpie]

Spent a few hours outside, eying up what I can do without bending or lifting. Not much its seems, though I will have to plant out parsnip seedlings and make some new hen boxes. The anti-inflammatories must be kicking in. Sat down at my desk with a fresh cup of coffee, to find a full lukewarm coffee I apparently only made ten minutes before!

 

[Flight]

Well, for me, I was in a head-on collision this past Friday. I'm fine; the other person was good. Both vehicles were almost stopped when we hit, so basically we just kissed each other's bumpers. My Ford 550 that I was driving got the worst of it the truck will need a new bumper and a transmission cooler for sure and who know what else at this time, and the Jeep needs a new bumper. We both hit the brakes so hard that we were digging into the hard-packed gravel. The other vehicle was moving too fast for the narrow road, and I estimate the Jeep skidded for about 100 feet. here is the kicker, the other vehicle was hurrying up to help me load the truck for some returns ( I work for a lumber yard making deliveries).

I found out yesterday that the estimate for repairs will be around $10,000 (Canadian) for the truck I was driving. I'm sure that will change once the repair shop gets into the nitty-gritty of it.

 

[Pearl]

Great point!! No. Nothing went into the basement. What was put away went back in its proper place. Funny thing is my wife had a young girl come over to help her with chores, and they went into the basement. I wanted to ask her if she tied a rope around her waist to find her way out.

You could hide dirty dishes down there

 

[UrbanHunter]

Got an order of irrigation fittings last night, the package included hard candy.... I now need a dentist appointment to remove a broken tooth.... Note to self, don't do that.... again...

 

[Pearl]

Three small carpet cleaning jobs today! All at a senior apartment complex. I usually pick up a few more when other residents see me unloading the machine! Slight chance of showers this morning, hope it holds off, makes this kind of workday much harder!!

 

[LadyLocust]

We had a customer appreciation even yesterday. Had wood fired pizza. Good turn out but wowza! I got peopled out. Y'all would be proud of me - I behaved myself and didn't bite anybody
Was awake for a couple hours during the night last night. I try not to work on Fridays, but will be making a run to the powder-coater today. Just waiting for the call that the trailer is ready.

 

[Pearl]

Three small carpet cleaning jobs today! All at a senior apartment complex. I usually pick up a few more when other residents see me unloading the machine! Slight chance of showers this morning, hope it holds off, makes this kind of workday much harder!!

Slight chance of showers turned into some area wide thunderstorms!! So I am home! Got my carpet jobs rescheduled for next week. Going to clean my bathrooms, vacuum, doing a load of laundry too! Not sure what else will get done, got a list........

 

[Wingnut]

Wasp Wars continue... killed a dozen more this morning, half a dozen with spray as they were building a new nest right above my door! Didn't notice it at first, and got stung for my trouble... *fortunately* I got stung on the back of my hard head, where there are few nerve endings and my skull is hard as a rock, so the sting wasn't too bad, lol. I've been stung on the back of the neck before (by a killer bee), and THAT hurt, but this was NOTHING like the neck sting. That's also when I noticed the new nest being built, so the sting backfired on the wasp colony, and they got a shot of poison for their trouble.

I'm gonna hafta be more vigilant and check under the porch rafters and home eaves every morning... do a walkaround inspection just like in truck driving, lol. Gonna buy another can of wasp spray pronto, I've been using 'Spider Killer' since I'm out of the wasp spray... the 'Spider Killer' works, but ya gotta get close enough to zap the wasps at the nests. Thrust out arm, spray, and retreat... lol. Makes for some exciting moments, I'll be glad to get the wasp spray again. These Wasp Wars are getting old, I've been whacking the goldurned things like some mob hit man, but they keep a-comin'...

Oh, yeah, I took down the hummer feeders as well, gotta cut supply lines for the wasps as I wage war... no more free sugar treats. It's kinda hard on the hummers, but they have plenty of flowers to hit up, and there's still plenty of water in the birdbaths, I'm not gonna empty those. In fact, that's where many wasps die, getting whacked by the rolled-up newspaper and then stomped in the dirt. Once the wasp problem is solved, I may replace the hummer feeders, but for now they have been removed from the equation. Hopefully the wasp problem will soon go away, and I can return to my normal life.

Sometimes the high desert throws curves at ya... the insects here are fierce, especially the social insects in colonies. Ants, wasps, hornets, killer bees... the regular honeybees are fine, they're not aggressive like the killer bees, so I don't target them, only the wasps and other pests. I actually like regular honeybees around to help with pollination, so they're good to go... and I can usually empty & replenish the birdbaths without the regular bees getting all worked up and aggro. Ya just gotta move slowly, lol... but with the wasps, ya want a quick swat with the rolled-up newspaper. Like I said, it makes for exciting moments, lol.

Anyway, I'll be painting for the rest of the day, working on that trim in the kitchen. Lots of masking to do in each section... oh, boy. I'm getting low on blue masking tape, but I have other types of tape to use instead, no way I'm going to town today in this heat. It did cloud up, but I'm not sure that'll last... we're still under a 'heat advisory' in the forecast. High wind warning too this afternoon, but that shouldn't affect me indoors. Feels like the wasp sting has died down completely: I've been accused of being hard-headed in more ways than one, but in this case, that's a plus, lol. I can put my head through drywall and never feel it... one time I was riding shotgun when a friend wrecked his car, running off the road into a ditch & embankment, and my head smashed the windshield out in a big ol' spider-webbed "soup bowl" ding, but I never even felt it, lol.

P.S. That same friend knocked the rearview mirror off the inside of the windshield with his face, so he was all torn up and looked like he'd been in a barroom brawl, lol... karma catching up to him for getting crazy behind the wheel.

 

[Magus]

More rain. might as well put pontoons on Winnie and float to the coast.