Showing posts with label Problems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Problems. Show all posts

Monday, February 26, 2024

Growing Tomatoes And Some other Garden Items

I have 2 major problems growing tomatoes the past few years.  First, my enclosed raised bed garden is shaded by neighbors' junk volunteer trees as they have grown larger.  Second, a sunnier spot where I've grown them for 5 years has built up levels of tomato diseases and insect pathogens that just kill them.  I'll plant corn and some other crops there for a few years.

One problem with planting them elsewhere is that tomatoes like fairly soft rich soil and I don't really have space like that elsewhere.  So I thought about planting them in the best sunlight I have.  But that's where my meadow bed is.  And tomatoes don't like competition.

So I thought of using pots.  Tomato roots need space, so 5 gallon buckets are a bit small for my large heirloom tomatoes.  I looked at small trash barrels, but they were too large and a bit expensive.  So I looked up large deck pots, which were also expensive.

I did, however, find 10 gallon "nursery pots" at only $10 each in a pack of 10 pots.  That sounds perfect!  They arrived last week.





The first thing I noticed upon opening the box were some pieces.  Sure enough, one had a broken rim.  I was quite annoyed of course.  But get this,  they sent 11 pots!  So I still had the good 10 promised.  And the broken was is still actually functional.

So...  I'll put the pots around the outer edge of the meadow bed for the best sunlight.  I'll buy a trailerload of mixed 1/2 topsoil 1/2 compost from the local nursery and grow tomatoes in it for a couple of years.  Then I'll add that soil to the raised beds.  Or I'll put plastic trash bags over them and solarize the soil.

Solarization is usually used on large flat areas, but should work on pots just as well.  It might even work better.  One warning I read is that some harmful soil insects can move deeply enough into flat soil to escape the heat.  They can't do that in a pot!

That may seem like a lot of work.  But I love heirloom tomatoes!  And once you have had a homegrown heirloom tomato (not a chilled-for-shipping store-bought) one, you will never look at grocery store tomatoes the same way.

So I am hoping for a decent tomato crop after several years of frustration.

Monday, February 5, 2024

Lori Update, Part 2

So we were at the Vet, 


discussing Lori's long-lasting diarrhea problem.  The vet has prescribed a few meds.  There was
originally Fluoxetine to reduce her stress about Loki and Binq joining us, a pro-biotic to improve her digestion, and of course an anti-diarrheal (generic Immodium).    None seemed to help much.

Stress is hard to manage but Fluoxetine would help, and the Vet said the anti-diarrheal should work in just a couple days and the pro-biotic would help.  That was "then".  Lori's problems are mostly unchanged.

I say "mostly", because she does seem to be getting slowly used to Loki and Binq.  Hisses are not automatic.  She no longer ambushes them with an attack (mild ones because she is smaller).  

A week ago, I saw her sniff noses with Loki.  And most times now, she can simply walk past Loki or Binq calmly.  But it very slow progress.  There are still brief paw-whaps, but not like it was the first month.  Mostly, Lori just wishes they would "go away".

So the vet and I discussed other possible meds a few weeks ago.  Fluoxetine does mention diarrhea as a side effect (among many).  The vet said it is very rare, but has to be listed on the medical sheet if any cats in the testing had it.  

One suggestion was Amitriptyline.  I tried it.  She wouldn't eat any food with it for 3 days (and maybe a reason she had lost weight).  I gave up on that (and the Vet admitted it tasted bad to most cats).  And some of you warned against it as "zombie-stuff", which I appreciated, not knowing anything about it.  

So on the Friday vet visit, we decided to start over, with the idea that Lori was very gradually accepting the presence of Loki and Binq so physical distress was becoming the more likely problem.

So, more of the anti-diarrheal and pro-biotics, assuming the stress wasn't the major factor.  And the Vet suggested it could be the food.  Also, we are trying Metronidazole (as Benzoate) 125 mg/ml Susp 10 ml Chicken-Marshmallow.  It is an antibiotic and antiprotozoal medication.  The Vet tried a dose in-office of a formulation most cats will accept (butter/cream flavor).  She spit that right out.  So they called Wedgewood Cat Pharmacy, who suggested the "chicken/marshmallow".  It should arrive in 2 weeks.  Hopefully, Lori will accept that.

Originally they said (there are several vets and I trust them all) to give Lori one brand/flavor constantly.  So she has been eating Fancy Food 'Chicken Feast' exclusively for at least a month.  I'm going to change her to a fishy food and see if that helps.

She has happily eaten various flavors before, but the vet says there is a possibility she has developed a problem with one.  So we will see if a different one lessens her digestive problems.

We discussed various ways of getting meds into her.  I've tried about all of them.  Simply adding a pill to her food doesn't work (there is an empty bowl with the pill sitting at the bottom).  Pill-shooters don't work.  Pill pockets work for some meds (if dusted with powdered freeze-dried chicken).  

My best luck has been with crushing a pill with a spoon on a plastic placemat and scraping that into her bowl and mixing it in.  She will almost always eat that, especially if she has the privacy of the closed bedroom.

The newest pro-biotic comes with paste and pills.  Paste (orally from a plunger) and pill ground up.  Lori fights the oral paste.  For a small animal, she is suprisingly strong!  The towel-burrito trip barely helps.  But I've learned that if I just smear it on her lips, she will lick it off and ingest it.  

Tomorrow:  Keeping track of meds...


Saturday, December 16, 2023

Ailments

 I aged slowly, but age is catching up with me now a bit suddenly.  Leg cramps, calf cramps, ankle cramps, rib cramps.  Left pointer finger has developed "trigger finger".  

And my fingers go all clenched up sometimes.  Mom developed that around 80 as part of developing Parkinson's.  I hope there are less-serious reasons for that.  For me, it seems to be a delayed reaction to gripping things for some time.  I do yardwork, I prepare a lot of fresh veggies for dinner; and it seems to happen a couple hours later.  

I use a 4% lidocaine ointment and sometimes Aspercreme.  It helps eventually.  I will add this to my list of Doctor questions.  

But it means it is getting hard to type these days.  I better look into voice dictation apps.  I read about them years ago, but I thought they would be better by now, but they don't seem to be.  What you see on my blogs and emails is heavily edited for spelling errors (manually, I don't trust auto-correct).  I type very badly.  But I may have to soon.

Don't get me wrong.  90% of the day, I am just fine.  But I really can't write legible script anymore and manual print has become more of a slight art than a way to write quickly.  You should see me trying to write a check.  Every letter and number is individually-created carefully.

I think I actually don't get enough salt in my food.  I prepare everything fresh, and I don't add much to my food.  But if I drink some pickle juice, the fingers get better within minutes.  Another thing to ask my Doctor!

I get cold too.  I went shopping the other day and it was 45F with a brisk breeze.  I was wearing a winter jacket.  And I saw some young guy walking to the store in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt!  I suppose I was like that once.  But it was really annoying!

Getting old can be really annoying.  But I feel like it is happening too suddenly.  Sorry for complaining.  So many people my age have serious problems.  But these are mine and I live with them.  ðŸ˜¡

Sunday, October 30, 2022

Laughable But Awful Instructions

I "love" 😖 the instructions that come with some equipment.  I have an battery self-propelled Ryobi mower (which I actually do love).  Nice quiet walk-behind and the batteries last pretty long.  Well, some of the lawn was covered deeply in leaves.  I usually just use the riding mower to shred them into the lawn, but I am redoing my compost bin and wanted to add the leaves to it.  

Between the 2 mowers, it looked like the electric one was easiest to attach a collection bag to, so last night I got the parts out of the shed and opened the manual.  There is a metal rod frame and a mesh cover.  The cover has some plastic attachments like slit plastic tubing to hold the bag to the frame.  The instctions were fairly simple.  

Basically, just turn the cover upside down, slide in the frame upside down, and slip the plastic attachments over the frame.   Yeah right!  If the manual was alive, it would have cackled evilly as I read that.  

It took 45 minutes of frustrating effort to do that one simple thing.  I finally had to use a screwdriver as a wedge to pry the attachment open, a plier to squeeze the tubing partly onto the frame, and that was just the first inch!  I needed a clamp to hold that in place while I did the next inch.  There were about 24" in 5 pieces.

When I finally got one section done, I had to use a rubber mallet to really complete the attachment tubing firmly.  I used some BAD WORDS...

I did get better at it on the other sections.  As with most one-time jobs, I was pretty good at it by the time I was done.  If the mesh cover was 1/8th" larger, it would have been so much easier.  I suppose Ryobi saves $1 per cover not adding that 1/8"...  And of course my time and effort is not an expense to them.

I'm sorry I didn't take pictures, but it wouldn't really have shown much of the trouble it was to attach.  Nor would it have been possible most of the time, since I needed both hands to hold everything in place while doing the work.

On the other hand, it was a fine tight attachment when completed, and I won't have to do it again.  I hope the cover lasts as long as the mower.  All that was needed was to attach the collection bag.  But it was dark by then so I decided to tackle that this morning (dreading some complicated troublesome attachment procedure).

So, this morning I took the collection bag and manual to the shed to see how bad that might be.  It went right on as simple as you please!  Lift the back cover of the mower, set the bottom front of the bag on a little ledge on the mower, lift the back slightly, and two 1" rods on the bag frame slip into 2 metal slots on the mower.  

That part was very nicely-designed!  And I will compliment the design for another reason.  There is a carrying hand on the bag frame.  It is placed perfectly.  When I lifted the filled bag off the mower, the bag tilted back slightly as to not spill any of the contents.  Someone had to have done some testing on that!

RYOBI 20 in. 40-Volt Brushless Lithium-Ion Cordless Self-Propelled Walk ...

Tomorrow:  Using the mower on the leaves and getting them to the compost bin...


Saturday, July 30, 2022

Tree Work

I have some tree work needed.  There is a large dead beech tree, a small dead tree, a stump of a small tree that blew over weeks ago, a "cluster of volunteers" near the front door, a burning bush shrub that has gotten  smothered by "volunteers", a non-fruiting wild cherry tree right against the fence, and surface tree roots from a neighbor's silver maple (which should have never been planted between our houses) which are reaching my house foundation.

The last few years have been hard on trees here (and elsewhere too).  Some of the work I could do myself with a working chain saw.  But I can't keep a gas one working, and for some reason, I can't get the chain on the electric one properly tightened and that makes it dangerous.  

So since the large dead beech needed professional removal anyway, I called 3 contractors for quotes.  All 3 have done some work here before.  Two visited.  

One gave the best price and has equipment that will best control the 2 tree-falls (I have 2 small ornamental trees that are nearby), but won't grind out the neighbor's tree roots on my property closer than 10' to the property line, but will use their cherry-picker machine to get up high enough to remove the branches overhanging my house.  They say that while it is legal for me to remove the roots right to the property line, they get too much trouble from neighbors and they avoid it.

The other offerred a bid $300 more and agrees to grind out the neighbor's tree roots right to the property line but can't cut down over-hanging limbs because they are "climbers" (no cherry-picker equipment) and can't climb the neighbor's tree.

Both agree to grind out all the stumps of the felled trees and "volunteer" patches and remove all debris.  Both offer good prices, $1800 and $2100.  I expected it to be $2500-3000, so no complaints there about either bid.  It is the slight differences in the work they can do that is making me hesitate to choose.  I'll be thinking about that this weekend.

It really comes down to that neighbor's tree roots.  I don't have the best relationship with that neighbor.  They are the ones who:

1.  Tried to burn down my fence.  Ok, they weren't actually trying, but when they first moved in 2 years ago, they piled dead tree branches next to my wood fence and under low-hanging dry trees and started burning them without even a hose that could reach the spot.  I had to demand they put it out.  When the woman there ignored me at first, I said I would call the Fire Department.  I offerred to put it out with my garden hose.  She and a daughter hauled pails of water from a wading pool to quench the flames.  I stayed there (hose-ready) for a while.

2.  A month later, a guy there (I think it is a divorce when the ex visited every couple weeks to help) was thrashing around 10' inside my yard with a gas-power metal-bladed trimmer to cut away grass next to a tree of mine.  I ran out to tell him to stop.  He wouldn't turn off the gas-trimmer so I had to raise my voice to be heard.  Finally he turned it off and then complained I was yelling at him.  

He said he didn't know where the property line was.  So I pointed out that the backyard fence offerred a clear line through the front yard, but mostly I just pointed out where it was.  I was initially angry, but I calm down pretty fast.  He stopped.  Maybe I should plant a row of shrubs.  

BTW, the ornamental tree the guy was attacking for the tallish grass growing close to it with the gas whacker died the next Summer.  I can't say he caused it, but I can't say he didn't either.  There were shallow cuts in the bark.

So I don't have the best relationship with them.  I haven't done anything to bother them, but some people just count up disagreements without considering who is actually to blame.  And if they needed some help, I would gladly give it.

  -------

Which returns us to the neighbor's tree.  Some limbs are over-hanging my house.  The roots are threatening my foundation and are above lawn level.  I checked my County regulations and I have a clear right to remove both limbs and roots.  Mowing the grass over them is like driving over railroad ties.

But I think they are going to go ape-shit when I do either.  I suppose I should print out the County regulation on that to hand to them when they object.

Ahh, the joys of neighbors...

Friday, July 22, 2022

Printing Passwords

My printer is trying to drive me crazy!

All I wanted to do was set up my user names and passwords safely.  And to me, that means beyond "password managers".  I'm kind of primitive.  I like mine completely offline.   So I set up a spreadsheet on my old offline Mac (used for some old games I like) and printed them from there years ago.

Over the course of time, there have been many password changes and my scribbled changes finally became unusable.  There is just "so much" space on a page and "so many" arrows you can draw to the new ones.  And most of the sites were old or no longer visited.

So I decided to redo it all.  First. legal size paper gave more columns.  Second, wider rows give more room for written changes.  Setting up the spreadsheet was easy.  Filling it in was easy.  I got rid of a decade of scribbles and 2/3s of the sites I visited.  And using the Excel sort function (A-Z) made them easier to find.

But I still had to print the spreadsheet.  My old color inkjet printer cartridges were all dried up.  So I had to move the spreadsheet to the online Mac.  Naturally, I disconnected the internet connection before moving the saved spreadsheet to the Mac with the laser printer.  There isn't much point in saving passwords if you allow the file to be stored online!

Computers hate me.  The flashdrive wouldn't load in the newer (temporarily offline) Mac for 30 minutes.  I tried everything.  Finally got it to be recognized after enough restarts.  Made sure the spreadsheet was still legal size paper settings and one-sided printing (my Mac is convinced I want 2-sided printing by default).  

And it wouldn't print!  Well, OK, I didn't know where to stick legal sized paper in.  This laser printer is new to me.  I only bought it because the color toner doesn't dry up like color inkjet cartridges do.  Actually, it does "too damn much".  There are 3 places to put paper, and the display menu is designed for a genius (which I am not).  And there were a couple of odd pieces of plastic with it that I didn't know the purpose of. 

Monday, June 13, 2022

A Confusing Day

My garage door opener saved me from buying a new router!

I got up today ready to get some good work outside.  It was warm, but low humidity.  I got the newspaper, made lunch and turned on the TV to listen to the House Committee hearings.  Sat down with lunch to read the paper.

The TV has been shutting off the signal sometimes.  I have to reset it, but it comes back.  Today it really lost the cable signal.  There were a few familiar messages about resetting the source, press "B" for troubleshootings, etc.  I did and it said it was rebooting.  Then it said my coaxial cable was disconnected.  It wasn't.

The cable insisted it was.  I checked everything.  And I had phone dial tone and the computer showed my email.  I went back to the TV tried everything to reboot it again.  Then I saw a slightly different message.  It said either the settop box or the router was disconnected.

I don't have a router on the cable box (or it is built-in).  The tv and computer are on separate splices!.  But I went and looked at the computer router.  UH OH!  Red light...  I checked those and all were tight.  There is a button on the front to reboot.  I did that.  Red light again.  I unplugged the router and thew cable settop box and ate lunch.

Plugged all back in, red light again.  Decided to call the cable company; no dial tone.  Checked the computer and this time tried to open a new bookmark.  Nothing.  Damn, the previous time I was just seeing a saved cache image and didn't realize it.

So there I was, unable to contact the cable company by phone or computer.  Constant red light on the router.  The router must have died!  Disconnected it to bring to the local Best Buy (tech store for those who have different similar stores).

Got in the car and pressed the garage door opener button.  Nothing happened!  I used a few bad words meaning essentially "WHAT NOW".  I mean, the opener is a battery-powered radio signal device.How could that be connected to the cable problem.

Sometimes, I feel like Job from the Bible.  Constant problems out of "nowhere".  But I thought about it for a minute.  The garage door opener is battery-powered, but the garage door itself is NOT!  There was an electric failure somewhere, likely a tripped circuit-breaker.

So I confidently went to the circuit box to reset the tripped switch.  None were tripped...  ARRGGGHH!

Well, there is a small lever on the garage door to allow opening it manually.  I was about to do that, when I glanced at the main incoming cable connection.  It requires power from a standard electrical plug.  And the only plug near it is my GFI circuit.

I don't want to over-explain, but GFI (ground fault interrupter) is a safety plug that shuts off power in case of some short-circuiting (usually for bathroom of kitchen plugs where water is involved).  There is a little green light showing it is "on".  Mine little green light was off...  You press a small button on it to reset it.

I pressed.  It reset.  I hooked the router back up to the computer.  After a couple minutes of blinking, the router came back on and NO RED LIGHT!

I checked the computer and it uploaded new email.  The phone had dial tone again.  I turned on the tv with uncertainty.  It came on normally!  HURRAY.  Everything was working again.

Thank goodness the garage door didn't open.  And I don't know why it didn't.  The power for the garagedoor comes from a different plug I would think was attached to the GFI circuit. I suppose if I had tried some other plugs around the house, they might have been dead too.  For that matter, I have no idea why the computer router has anything to do with the TV circuit.  I suppose the router at the computer "talks" to the main incoming cable box.

So, I was relieved to not have to buy a new router (or worry about compatibility issues).  

But by that time, it was almost 5 pm and I sure wasn't going to get much useful work done outside then! I decided to prepare dinner, catch up on the political news, and (now) start to catch up on computer stuff (emails, blogging, ask the internet a few questions, find a couple of lost passwords, etc).

It wasn't exactly a typical day, but solving stupid problems like this are becoming more frequent than they ought to be!  I had planned to transplant 40 meadow seedlings today.  Tomorrow is forecast to rain most of the day.  So it will be Wednesday.  At least the soil will be softer from the rain...

Saturday, March 19, 2022

Annoying Stuff Again

I hate to keep being all negative because it is all "generally" minor, but the list continues grows...   

1.  The computer continues to restart randomly.  It doesn't seem to be any particular program.  I only use about 5.  But sometimes it is fine for days with them, and sometimes it is several times and hour.  The message I get means there is most likely an outdated program or one that has fallen into incompatiblity.

I thought maybe I had gotten lucky the other day.  I have Microsoft Office 365 for Mac.  I did get a few screen alerts that my "Microsoft Updater Assistant is no longer active".  So I found it for download and installed.  No change.  I think I need to open every single program/app and check the update status.  That probably won't help.  ðŸ˜ž

2.  The color toner printer still won't communicate with the computer.  I noticed at one site about using a special printer cable.  It has a small square plug.  I have one somewhere.  I had it in my hands 2 weeks ago, but I can't find it now.  It is probably in that weird place where you put "things you don't want to lose track of".  ðŸ˜¡

3.  I mentioned that the garden enclosure pipes were bent and/or fallen from a heavy January snowfall.  The good news is that the weather is warming enough to work outside.  The bad news is now I have to actually go out and do it.  

4.  I keep my passwords on a spreadsheet printed out from an old standalone computer.  That's unhackable!  But the printout is so old and over-written with changes that it has become unusable.  I have to completely redo the whole thing.  I have 1Password but don't like the idea.  If someone breaks into that, they get get everything.  My password is Really Difficult, but no password is unhackable.  And a Really Difficult password to hack is also Really Annoying to enter every time.

I wonder if there is a fingerprint/face ID external plugin?  That should be safe.  But for now, I will just go back to a printout from the standalone.  That's a lot of really careful typing!  ðŸ˜’

5.  Lori has been in heat again since Tuesday.  That's the 3rd time in 7 weeks!  Hopefully, it will end today.  It better end soon, because she is scheduled for a 3rd try at a spay on Monday.  If it gets delayed again, I may lose my mind.  At least the platelet count confusion is all cleared up now.

6.  I'm having a terrible time leaving comments when The Mews visit their friends.  Autofill wont't work on Firefox or Safari lately, and when it does, the comments don't go through.  I read, just am having trouble leaving comments.

7.  The heat pump is making odd noises lately.  I expect a failure soon.  25 years ago, when the first one failed, I considered having underground pipes installed for one (about $15,000).  Underground temps stay about 50F or like that, and that is very efficient for heat pumps.  I didn't know I would stay here so long.  It would have paid for itself by now.

8.  New problem!  And this one is a bit long.  My kitchen sink suddenly started leaking Thursday night.  I had run the dishwasher and the garbage disposal and run the faucet, so I couldn't tell the cause.  I stuck a small bucket under the drips.  The next morning, I just ran the faucet and it dripped.  Seemed like good news, as it suggested there was just a loose connection somewhere.

But when I went to empty the inch of water in the bucket, I discovered the entire bottom of the cabinet was flooded.  An entire 75 container of dishwasher detergent pods are fused and everything in cardboard is soaked.  OK, that is really minor stuff.  But I'm more worried that the cabinet floor will rot and leaked water into the basement below where I will see it ruining ceiling tiles a few days.

I couldn't find and loose connections.  I'm no plumber anyway.  So I called one around Noon Friday.  They were booked for the day, but could come out 3-5 pm on overtime ($250/hour).   I asked about today (Sat).  Overtime again.  And no Sunday work.  And on Monday I am busy with Lori and her spay and picking her up after.  So it would have been Tuesday before regular rates.  I decided I couldn't get along without running water in the sink for 4 days.

So I said OK come Friday 3-5.  The plumber came by promptly, took one look and said your garbage disposal needs to be replaced.  He said it was leaking from the bottom.  Well, I could see that but leaks from above always drip off the lowest point.  I was unsure.  The faucet drain, the disposal, the sprayer, and the dishwasher all go through mutual connections.

He showed me that the water was coming out of 2 small holes in the bottom.  Apparently they are there for that reason.  OK.  I asked him if he had a disposal in the truck.  He said yes, but it would cost $550.  He said, well there is the labor and parts and everything.

I got burned by the "I have one in the truck" thing before as part of a heat pump repair once.  The repairman did work on the heat pump, but it kept cycling from heat to cool.  He said I had a bad thermostat that didn't match my equipment, but he "had one in the truck".  For $400...  

Given that the house was about 95F and I had barely slept for the 2 days it took them to arrive (I wilt over 75F), I very reluctantly agreed.  It didn't help.  To save you from a longer story, go to the end of this post where you can skip it if you want.

Back to the plumber...  This guy was offerring a $550 replacement job for a new garbage disposal.  I said, you know I can just buy a new one at Home Depot and install it myself in 30 minutes.  He looked at me with a slight smile, so I told him I had installed this one and the previous one.  I can't do actual plumbing (finding leak sources, fitting pipes, soldering copper connections, etc), but replacing equipment was easy enough.  

He was more than generous about the visit and didn't charge me.  Well, it was 2 minutes and I was on his way to another local customer.  And I have had them to service for me before.  He said to call them if I had a problem.  Or if I bought one myself and needed help.  That was more than fair.

What I didn't know was that disposals have changed since the last time I bought one to install.  I went straight to Consumer Report magazine site to find the best  models at a good price.  The best have plug-in cords and narrower openings so you can't reach in lest you also stupidly turn it on while retrieving a dropped object in there.  The silly thing is that a child's hand can fit in.  And I don't have an plugin electrical outlet under the sink.

So I had to research new disposals for an hour.  Some were expensive and bragged about grinding up bones and peach pits.  I don't do that.  Some bragged they ground the material fine enough to be suitable for septic tanks.  I don't have one.  Some bragged about outlet plug-ins.  I don't have one down there.  Some bragged about "continuous feed" or oppositely "bulk feed" (which are oddly expensive for reasons I do not know).

I finally found the best-rated hard-wired, continuous feed, reasonably priced model, according to CR I could get quickly (tomorrow) from Amazon (cheapest).  It isn't the top-rated, but all the better ones need an electrical outlet for plug-in.  It will probably last 10 years.

BTW, when the plumber guy asked how I installed them myself, I smiled.  They are awkward to hold in place AND attach bolts at the same time.  I told him I just stuck a scissors-jack under them and twister the handle tight.  He blinked and I could see him thinking "I should get one".

Well, when you live alone and have to hold awkward things in place, you thing of things like that.  LOL!

   ----------------

The case of the wretched and rip-off heat pump (and eventually fixed) repair.

This is in the past, so not really important.  It is about how some individuals try to rip you off but the company can fix.  But as long as you are here, read on...

I don't have great luck with heat pumps.  They die after about 8 years.  2 of my neighbors have had theirs for 15 years.

So my heat pump died some 8 years ago in August.  I called the company that installed it.  They sent an idiot.  He worked on the outside unit and hooked up some testing equipment.  First, he said it was running properly, but then decided it needed more coolant.  He added more.  It seemed to work.  The air from the vents was cool.  He left.

Then I realized the heat pump was always on, recycling between cooling and heating every few minutes.  I called the company and they sent the same guy out.  Well, it made sense, he had just worked on the unit.

He decided my thermostat had failed.  He had one in the truck.  $400.  I was desperate, so OK.  The cooling came on and I was thrilled.  It seemed to work.  He left.  Then the heat/cooling cycling returned after mere minutes.  And I could hear whistling noises through the internal unit.

I called the company and told them about it saying they better send an actual expert this time.  They did, the next morning.  I said "it sounds over-pressured".  Well, professionals hate amateur guesses.  But he heard the whistling noises too when he arrived and agreed..  I also explained about the thermostat (and complained about the price).  Apparently, some repairmen get to sell parts for their own profit on the side.

The guy who came out was an actual manager of the business.  He agreed the repair had been done badly.  The higher than normal coolant pressure (whistling noises) was likely to have caused damage (and he gave me a brief nod for identifying that).  

He had the entire internal mechanical structure of the heat pump replaced at no cost.  And he examined the thermostat.  

This part is truly weird.  Thermostats display degrees in whole digits.  But some actually operate in 1/2 degrees.  And apparently, that matters but can be changed.  I'm not sure about how that works.  But, in any case, the real expert also adjusted the thermostat to match the heat pump (way out of my depth here).  



Saturday, May 8, 2021

A Particular Wine

We all have some favorite things.  I have the misfortune to like things that are not popular.  They tend to disappear.  I hate that.  

The latest one is my favorite brand of wine.  Not that I drink a lot of it; 2 glasses of wine with dinner.  But, as far as I am concerned it goes well with most everything I usually cook.  And it is cheap.  I don't see the point of drinking a $20 bottle of wine with a $5 home-cooked meal.  Wine is an "accompaniment", not the focus.

But I do enjoy the couple of glasses.  So when the local wine shop wasn't selling enough of it to support the shelf space, they were kind enough to special order a few cases at a time for me.  I appreciated it.  Now they have trouble even getting it from their supplier.  

The store is actually a wine/liquor/butcher/deli store and they have great specials each week, so I shop there often anywhere.  There aren't many places where you can get filet mignon trimmed and sliced to order for $10.99 sometimes or Delmonico steaks for $8.99.  Their deli dept is great, too.  

Oddly, they are the only store I know of around here where you can get actually ripe Golden Delicious apple.  

But they are having trouble getting the wine (Twisted Cellars brand Old vine Zinfandel).

Twisted Zinfandel Old Vines 1.5L

There is a place in Maryland that gets it, but they don't ship and it is a hour drive away to pick up.  There is a store in New York State that will ship, but it's an extra several dollars per bottle.  I ordered 8 cases from them 2 weeks ago.  And if the local store gets more (usually 4 cases when they can get it), I'll buy all they have.  Anything to keep them trying to get it.

I have a large basement that is mostly underground so it stays at 68F.  It will keep red wine OK.  I wouldn't mind a year's supply, LOL!

I'm down to 1 case.  And just tonight I got an email saying I could expect the NY shipment of 8 cases on on Saturday.  Which means I have to stay around to sign for the delivery, but that's OK.  I leave the house about once a week.  

Hurray!

Update:  It arrived.  I was expecting a call to assure delivery between 2 pm and 6 pm, so I laid in bed after 1 pm fully dressed (I'm a real night owl sometimes and only went to bed the at 8 am), but there was just a knock on the door at 3 pm.  I was out and ready to sign for the delivery (the website said I had to) but the the UPS guy said they don't.  

But hey, 8 cases of 1.5 L bottles.  I'm good for many months!


Friday, April 23, 2021

Darn Ouchies!

I get so tired of muscle cramps sometimes.  During the day, I can get finger-clenches  and rib muscle cramps.  At night I can get thigh or calf cramps.   It used to be seem there were causes.  If I did too much gripping of shovels while gardening, I got finger-clenches a few hours later.  If I lifted too much, I got rib muscle cramps.  If I just did too much walking, I got leg cramps in bed.

Now it doesn't even seem connected to physical activity.  I got finger-clenches a few days ago after just mowing the lawn and I don't exactly keep it in a death-grip.  Tonight I got them and I didn't do ANYTHING active.  Sometimes just holding a knife while preparing dinner causes it.

I try to stay hydrated.  I take a supplemental potassium tablet.  I have a good diet (not a "diet" diet, just good fresh foods with some meat and several colorful veggies).  A low dosage Ibuprophen helps.  Ointment rubs with aspirin or lidocaine help the finger clenches and rib muscle cramps.  

I saw that basketball players use a sort of rolling pin for leg cramps. so I bought one.  It's hard to use by yourself.  Walking around for 10 minutes usually works.

Mom had the finger-clenching thing and that was the first sign of Parkinson's.  I hope it isn't that.  Dad had lumbar muscle cramps in his 60s but that went away.  Neither are around to ask questions of.  I wish I had asked more questions of them, but who thinks about aging at 50?

I am beginning to wonder if the finger-clenches are from typing.  I'm a bad typist and a fussy writer.  I almost redo half my typing most days.  I took typing in high school, but never mastered touch-typing.  Well, my fingers and brain don't communicate all that well.  I can't play a musical instrument for the same reason. 

But that is just my latest thought about the causes.  I have no really good reason for the cause.  My Dr says these things can happen for many reasons and there isn't much that can be done about it.

I suspect the real cause is DDT exposure.  When I was a kid in the 50s, the town I lived in sent mosquito-fogger trucks around several days a week at twilight.  It was a DDT fog and supposedly harmless to people.  But we kids loved riding our bikes in and out of the fog.  

I developed hand-tremors after that and they remain to this day.  I got bad enough soon after that and I never could build a decent model kit (glue got everywhere).  These days, I have to be really careful handling a mug of tea or bowl of soup.  

It's OK; I'm just complaining out load.  Attaching notes to tumbleweeds, as some people say...  

Mom used to tell me that getting old isn't for sissies.   Dad was actually fortunate in a way.  He went into dementia before his physical health failed, so he really didn't understand what was going wrong.  

Yeah, I'm only 70, but I see what is coming.  It probably won't get better.  I see the downhill slope more lately.    I don't mean to worry anyone; I'm still mentally and physically active and enjoy my life.  But life passes in only one direction.  I'll never be 30 again.  Heck, I'd love to be 50.  Tell that to a 20 year old, LOL!

And I expect to be "compos mentis" til around 85-90.  That will have been a good run and better than average.  Lots of great experiences, lots of good meals, and lots of special cats.  And as Frank Sinatra sang once, love was good to me a few times.

I probably shouldn't even really post this, but my finger is over the button and...

Sunday, December 13, 2020

Computer Update

I have finally had to accept that  I can't stay on a 2011 Mac Mini with an old keyboard and High Sierra anymore.  But moving too far forward has problems too.  

I've spent the last whole day and night learning about options.  What I have is no longer supported.  The newest stuff has problems (both the newest Apple M1 chip and the Big Sur Operating System have difficulties according to Mac Forums).

I have settled on a middle ground.  I ordered a:

Maci Mini
3.0GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz)
8GB 2666MHz DDR4
Intel UHD Graphics 630
1TB SSD storage
3.0GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz)
8GB 2666MHz DDR4
Intel UHD Graphics 630
1TB SSD storage
Mohave Operating System

That will allow me to use some 3rd party apps like Word and Excel and maybe Firefox (because I'm on Safari and it fights me on edits and formatting).

On the other hand, it will help me with standard apps like Photos (I was using iPhotos, and I miss it - much easier to use).  Switching from iPhotos was a real PITA.  The organization is harder.  But there isn't much choice.  I catch on a little bit better each time.

To prepare for a new computer, I spent hours deleting old files, got on The Cloud and off it (doesn't do what *I* want).  I did a full backup.  The new computer is 2 weeks away, (it is non-standard, Built To Order) but I think I can manage until then...

Firefox is failing for me, and that's where my Feedly is.  It won't load.  I have it on Safari too, and it doesn't like autofilling my email and URL, but I think I solved that.  One step at a time.

Have to mention that I bought a color toner printer.  A 

Canon Color imageCLASS MF644Cdw Wireless Color Laser All-In-One Printer.  I got tired of the inkjet color cartridges drying out every few months. Toner lasts 4 years.  Damn thing weighs a ton though.  


But, after the pain, I think I'll be good for 5-6 years.  Hoping...

Thursday, September 3, 2020

MANY ODD THINGS

Sometimes, a few days are just odd stuff:

1.  Got a first cucumber.  Mmm, good!
2.  First tomato fruit on the vine.  I planted late because I kept waiting for the rain to stop.  It hasn't yet.
3.  The flat Italian beans are finally coming in.  I have some every day.
4.  Watched a hornet catch some bug and eat it.  I made sure not to bother it.
5.  Found a dead possum in the backyard.  I put it in the drainage easement (wearing heavy rubber gloves).  There, it will decay fast and produce no smell as the water carries everything away. 
6.  Finally figured out the new car "Auto Stop&Start".  The description from the dealer was useless.  Finally looked it up in the manual.  Obvious.  Could have saved 3 months of annoyance.
7.  Figured out the cruise control, too.  The buttons to push made sense after looking at the manual, but icons are never clear UNTIL you see what the designer meant by it. 
8.  Have to call the bank.  They ordered checks for me at "no charge" and charged me.  I called in August and they agreed to issue a credit.  And they ordered new checks because there was an error in my name.  The new checks arrived perfectly, and the statement showed the credit.  But then they charged me for the new checks.  So, another call to fix that.
9.  I called a tech support place for help in getting my AOL email to my Apple email (much easier to use).  It cost #9.95 but "OK, they fixed it".  But the credit card statement had another 6 charges of $0.10 each for a bunch of "charities.  I issued a complaint to my credit card company.  They probably wondered why I bothered about 6 $0.10 charges.  Well, the charges would have continued.  And the credit card company had to do all the work resolving the issue. 
10.  My new Subaru came with an oddly small towing hitch.  1.25" coupler bar.  I ordered larger parts to adapt from Amazon.  Then realized it didn't matter.  The towing capacity is only that of the weakest part.  Amazon let me return them for free.  I love Amazon!
11.  Black-eyed Susans are taking over spots in my yard.  It started with a volunteer  10 years ago.  They have been finding places they like better ever since.  And since they bloom all Summer, I'm spreading them to let them find more places they like..
12.  Same with purple coneflowers.  They don't spread as quickly, but they do spread.  A yardful of yellow Black-Eyed-Susans and Purple Coneflowers wouldn't be the worst thing (and I have other perrenials.
13.  The Washington National baseball team is driving me crazy.  They won The World Series last year, but can't win a game this year.  They are the 2nd worst team.  They either win by like 12-2 or lose 5-4. 
14.  The basement heat pump has a tube to the laundry tub for pumping out collected water.  Heat pumps are also de-humidifiers.  Various things can go wrong.  The collection reservoir can get blocked with algae, the pan in the inside can get tilted over time and spill into the bottom (caused water to seep out at floor level.  I got overflow 2 weeks ago.  I cleared the tube with stiff wire, added a bit of bleach to the reservoir,  and laid down old towels to absorb the floor seepage.  It worked.
15.  If the rain doesn't stop for a few days, I am going to go quite mad.  The oil squishes everywhere I walk.  The grass lawn loves it!  And do the weeds everywhere.  And the Asian Tiger Mosquitos!!! 
16.  I really have to solve the chair problem.  The old one has a back to short to support my head, te new one doesn't allow me to cross my feet so the cats have "The Lap".  A big recliner I bought falls forward so much I slide off it.  I need to turn the big one over and limit its forward movement.  It's a great chair otherwise. 

There is more, but I have to stop somewhere...

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

9-11

I will never forget 9-11.


My parents remembered The Great Depression and WWII as defining moments.  We both remember the John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King assasinations.  I remember Vietnam and 9-11 and Mass Shootings more.

We think of animals as "wild" and sometimes "cruel".  They are just trying to survive.  We are the wild ones.  We don't do things like that for survival.  We do them because some of us are afraid, scared, cruel, uncaring, and fanatical.

We humans are sometimes inspired creators of beauty, invention, creative thought, and civilization.  Discoverers of mysteries of the universe.  So far as I know, no other living creature has ever looked at the stars and wondered what they were or deliberately took action to find out.  No other animal has ever contemplated its own death or what happens afterwards.

Only we.  And yet we kill each other not for food.  We cause pain for no purpose.  We commit mayhem, destruction, and death to our own kind.  We create the 4 Horsemen Of The Apocolypse in our own image because they are US...

Too many of us think "it's not the Earth the meek inherit, its the dirt". *   Way too often, we don't value those who just live peacefully; we admire those who command others and take without helping.

In the past 2 decades, we have seen the rise of hate-filled people finding each other (when once they were isolated and feeling alone) organizing themselves via the internet.  Mass murders are becoming common, as individuals are encouraged by each other to commit mayhem.

As an even minor matter, flash mobs are increasing.  Lately, people driving ATV have started to swarm areas of some cities, terrorize pedestrians and car drivers and then suddenly disappear along paths where police cars cannot follow.

Does that remind you of A Clockwork Orange"?

I'm not saying this is new.  And I don't want to say society is falling apart or that the newest generation is evil.  The ancient Greeks even complained about that.

What I'm saying is that we need to reorganize our society to provide more early intervention and therapy rather than just build more prisons and punish those different from we more peaceful types.  I think there are usually causes for hate.  And if those are addressed, the later problems won't occur as often.

* One of the most perfect songs ever written about unethical attitude was "The 7 Deadly Virtues" sung by Mordred in 'Camelot'.

"The seven deadly virtues, those ghastly little traps
Oh no, my liege, they were not meant for me
Those seven deadly virtues were made for other chaps
Who love a life of failure and ennui
Take courage-now there's a sport
An invitation to the state of rigor mort
And purity-a noble yen
And very restful every now and then
I find humility means to be hurt
It's not the earth the meek inherit, it's the dirt
Honesty is fatal, it should be taboo
Diligence-a fate I would hate
If charity means giving, I give it to you
And fidelity is only for your mate
You'll never find a virtue unstatusing my quo or making my Beelzebubble burst
Let others take the high road, I will take the low
I cannot wait to rush in where angels fear to go
With all those seven deadly virtues free and happy little me has not been cursed"

I have to add more.  I was sitting at the computer today and listening to the radio and they mentioned  the exact time the 3rd plane hit the Pentagon.  I worked sort of near there. 

I felt a thump up through our solid building.  I didn't know what it was at the time, but I understood after.   We were all focussed on the World Trade Centers at the time.  Part of our office was "Emergency Management", so we had several TVs around.  We were watching the towers fall in disbelief.

I don't recall the timeline of events all that well now.  We were just shocked and stunned.  I could know better even just re-reading the posts from the time, but that not the point. 

I was and still now so angry that anyone could do such things. 

My day went something like this (and if I have some events out of place, forgive me):

1.  Hey (Division Director) a plane just crashed into one of the Towers in NYC.

2.  OMG, a 2nd one hit (dawning awareness).

3.  I feel a thump through the building.

4.  Smoke on the horizon.

5.  The first Tower falls in real time. 

6.  We realize the Pentagon has been hit.

7.  The second tower falls.  Many in the conference room think it is a replay but I shout "its the other one".

8.  We are all just stunned.  Thought the first was a horrible accident.  It all seems incomprehensible. 

9.  It all starts to sink in. 

10.  All employees are dismissed.  "Leave now"!

11.  My office is on the top floor.  We have some roof access.  We see smoke from the Pentagon.

12.  The streets are clogged.  No one is moving.  I tell my carpool, we aren't leaving.  We are only a couple blocks away from The White House, but this old building is all stone.  We are safer her until the streets clear.

13.  We hear about a 4th plane coming for DC.  Most remaining people head to the basement.  I stand on the roof watching.  We aren't the target.  If it hits us, I want to watch.  OK, I 'm crazy.  But I wanted to see.

14.  That plane went down in Pennsylvania the radio says.  We don't know why.

15.  I watch fighter planes circling around DC.

16.  The streets are clearing.  I tell the carpool we can leave.  I'm the driver that day.

17.  Some roads are blocked.  I end up up on an unfamiliar path, but finally recognize a road,  The roads there are completely empty. 

18.  My whole carpool is crying.  So am I.  I use nearly a whole box of tissues keeping my vision "sort of' clear.  The roads are empty though...

I don't recall much the next couple of days.  I don't even remember if I went to work the next day.  That doesn't matter. 

What matters is that I developed a hate of the specific people who did that and I will not let it go. 

"Never forgive, never forget".
 


Friday, July 12, 2019

Surprises, And Not Good Ones

This is becoming a really difficult few weeks.  Some of which I have mentioned, but it is worth listing all of  it (and positively noting that none are matters of life and death)...

First, I got the riding mower back from the repair shop after a month with only half the work I THOUGHT I was getting done.  Granted, they didn't try to charge me for what they didn't do, but they wanted another 3 weeks to get to get at it, so I passed.  I CAN actually change the oil and filter and sharpen the blades (the undone work) myself but its a pain and they could have done it so easily while they had it.  I had even called them later in the day I brought it to them to confirm it was on the repair list (they said yes).

Second, the monsoon damage (6"+ of sudden rain) Monday flooding the drainage easement.  When I moved here almost 33 years ago, I knew my new street was at the bottom of a large sloped neighborhood, but it seemed that the drainage was well-managed with drainage easements and storm drains.  I was wrong.  Also, I was not aware that property owners were responsible for the drainage easement further than 6' from the storm drains.

Storms usually bring tree debris down that covers the storm drain grate.  That can be removed easily sometimes, and the County willingly does it when stuff is all wedged together and called about it.  This time was different.  For reasons I do not know, cubic yards/meters of clay and gravel flowed down the easement for the first time ever.  The storm drain grate was entirely covered with it.

The easement itself (which WAS almost 2' deep) is entirely filled to lawn level with gravel about 20' upslope and most of that is NOT County responsibility.  I spoke to my neighbor about it (we are co-responsible for the easement maintenance).  I have no idea what it would cost and return the easement to full functionality.  My neighbor is upset because they are they are nearly broke.  I can legally enforce shared costs, but I'm not looking forward to having to fight about it.  But if it isn't dredged, future storms will make matters worse and they care less about their yard than I do.

Third, the monsoon damage again. My basement got soaked an inch.  The builder did poor work on the sunken patio originally (no drainage), and I've had water in the basement several times over the years.  I learned after the first time that if I dug a 4' deep ditch through the lawn downslope, all was well.  But those fill in over time and I usually redig it each year before hurricane season.

We are getting heavier rains here earlier each year and I waited too long.  Climate change is real.  The last Spring frost of the year is about a day earlier each couple years and the first frost in Fall is later.  The first heat wave of the year  comes sooner and occurs later too.

I need to at least bury some perforated drainage pipe along the lawn edge of the patio and attach it to solid drainage pipe emptying into the lower front lawn.  But it always seems there is something more immediately to do.  So I didn't do it earlier this year or last year.

The basement was a real mess!  This time I had a lot of boxes on the floor.  The stuff like lawn fertilizer have plastic bags inside, so they weren't damaged, but I had some boards standing up against walls, cardboard boxes I was planning to use to store books while the computer room going to be changed from 32 year old carpet to linoleum.  And Iza likes to poop outside the litter boxes, so that was a real mess.

I used the wet/dry shop vac to suck up most of the water and moved the litter boxes to dry area where Iza wouldn't "go" is the wet spots.  Today, it dried enough for me to scrape the cement floor of all the kicked-out scoopable litter and poops.  I love Iza dearly, but pooping in the litter boxes is not one of the things she does best...

After that, I mopped the whole litterbox area with soapy water, mopped it with clean water, and sucked up the remaining water with the shop vac.  It wasn't a thrill.  I rinsed out the mop frequently in the laundry tub, but it wasn't exactly dry,  and I don't have a mop-wringer tub so I had to squeeze the mop dryish by hand.

I should mention that I was the oldest child at 15 when my younger sister was born.  I changed a LOT of diapers.  And that was when you had to slosh soiled cloth diapers around in the toilet before you could even put them in the bucket the diaper cleaning truck came by to pick them up for professional cleaning.

Fourth, monsoon damage again.  I had a masonry repair company estimator here today.  Here is what he told me after investigating all the broken cinder blocks and spaces around it...

The wall is a "retaining wall" (there is soil filled in behind it).  A retaining wall should be set outside of the cement slab and 3' deep so that water pressure cannot push it in.  The top caps need special  grout to help hold the top solid.  My retaining wall was built ON the cement slab and the tops were attached with regular grout.

He said the entire 2 1/2 sides needed to be removed, a 3' deep trench dug outside the cement slab, and that there was rebar involved and removal of the old cinderblocks.

Quick estimate - $15,000

And I should have a drain installed to prevent future basement next to the sliding glass doors $2,300.

I said no way!  I could have my failing asphalt driveway removed, the foundation rebuilt and pounded solid, and a new concrete driveway installed for that.  I have an estimate for that...

I asked about just forcing the existing cinder block wall force back into place, using construction adhesive against the broken edges and bolting a 2"x10" board or serious metal bar on top.

He said he wouldn't do that as a professional and that his insurance company wouldn't warranty the work if he did.

I thanked him for coming by to explain all that and that I understood his reasons for not doing some cheap patchwork and that I might be back in touch because the repair does really have to be done.  I might add that contractors generally hate being the first ones on site because the customer learns things about what to ask the next estimator.  And it's true...  I learned a lot.

So after he left, I decided to see if I could lever the broken wall parts back in place.  There are 2 6"x6" wooden deck support posts in the patio set 3' deep and surrounded by 2' wide in cement.   I found a 4"x4" post that straddled them, and a 4x4 post that just reached  cinderblock wall.  I figured that with the right angle of leverage, I might be able to push the broken parts back in place after liberally covering the broken edges with construction adhesive.  That stuff is stronger than the grout used between cinder blocks so it ought to hold.

I understand how levers work most effectively.  The longer the lever, the more force is applied.  I set 4x4 posts up as efficiently as possible.  I couldn't move the wall at all!  30 minutes work at 92F and 95% humidity and pulling as hard as I could left me exhausted and drenched in sweat.  I may take the car jack and see if I can get some better force tomorrow.

If that doesn't work, I think I will find some less-perfectionist company to suggest something less expensive.

I have several home renovation projects in mind.  But given the numerous ones and these new problems, I think I might be better off combining them into a large list and hiring a general contractor.  I did that once and the total cost was about half of the estimated costs from individual contractors.  The downside of that is that I need to empty whole rooms (and OMC the cluttered basement!) at the same time (almost like moving out)...

I wish I had had the nerve to move away 5 years ago...  Maybe I should consider that again and leave it as a fixer-upper.  I get offers in the mail every day.




Tuesday, January 29, 2019

TV Chairs

I have 2 smallish swivel/rocker easy chairs from back when Skeeter was new here.  They are worn out and I always disliked that the back is a little too low to lean my head back.  Looking for replacements has not been successful.  Swivel/rocker easy chairs are not easy to find with higher backs in black.  The recliner chair I bought didn't work because I sit on the chair to eat dinner while watching TV and the recliner tilts too far forward and I slide out. 

So I got the idea that what I needed was a soft computer chair without the wheels installed.  I sat in a bunch and decided on one I liked.   The assembly was difficult.  The holes for the bolts that held the back and arms and seat didn't match up perfectly, but with some force applied with bar clamps, I got everything together.  I moved it into place in front of the TV.  And hated it! 

It wasn't as soft as I thought.  You SINK into an easy chair, but you SIT in a computer chair.  Not the same thing...  Yeah, that's by design, but in the store, it seemed the computer chair was soft enough.  

Naturally, I had waited too long to return it.  So I put the old chair back in place.  I suppose I could build a light wooden frame to screw into the back and velcro a pillow on it to raise the back 6" so I could rest my head back.  I might see if there is a way I can stop the recliner from tilting too far forward (without stopping the reclining movement) because it really IS comfortable otherwise.

But I think I'll keep looking for a better one...

Saturday, September 8, 2018

Another Day In The Life, Part 1

So, I decided to renovate the lawn.  That means cutting the grass down to 1",  aerating the lawn, collecting all the grass-clippings so that new seed can reach the ground and get some sunlight, and watering the lawn slightly 2x a day to keep the seeds moist.

I thought I had the timing perfect.  Aerate the lawn with my core aerator (pulls 3"x1/4" plugs of soil out of the ground and deposits them on the surface.  That allows air and water and fertilizer to get deep into the soil, and reduces compaction.

And since I was going to be dragging the aerator across the lawn with the riding mower, I would mow the grass short in a pattern that threw the grass clippings into just a couple of 4" wide rows.

Then I would rake the grass up and save it for the compost pile.  Then spread the grass seed.  The weather forecast was for occasional rain for the next week.  Perfect for the seeds to germinate in 80 degree temps.

Well, that was the PLAN...

The aerator has a tray on the top for putting heavy stuff on the top to make the aerator tubes sink deeply. 
I bought solid cinder blocks for it years ago.  And I added more weight this time (the ground was a bit dry).
No plan works...  As soon as I started (1 pm Wednesday), I discovered the aerator tires were flat and one was tire was off the wheel.  I had to take all the heavy stuff off and raise the end of the aerator off the ground supported by bricks.  Taking off the tire was awkward.  There was one bolt on the outside and 2 on the inside.  Only the farthest inside bolt held by a wrench allowed the outside bolt to be loosened.  With the wheel off, I had to reinflate the tire.

Of COURSE it didn't have a tube inside.  That would have been too easy.  I had to get the tire re-seated onto the metal wheel in order to get any air to stay in it.  I know from past experience that pressure on the outside of the tire can get the tire re-seated onto the wheel.  I spent an hour struggling to do that, to no avail.  Well, I worked at a tire company briefly, and I remembered they had an air-pressurized tube that went around small tires to press the tire to the wheel.  I don't have one of those.  I was dripping with sweat and worn out, so I stopped for an hour.  Drank 3 glasses of water.

When I was cooled down, I tried to think of ways to squeeze the tire onto the wheel.  I have an air pump to add a lot of air through the valve all at once.  With that attached to the valve, I tried twisting a rope around it, and I tried turning a loop of rope with a crowbar.  That didn't work.  I tried putting the tire in my bench vise and using some wood clamps across the tire in 3 directions.  That didn't work.

Damn!  I finally thought of ratcheting straps (like you use to hold a boat to a trailer.  That was awkward.  12' of strap around a 8" tire takes a lot of winding.  And the straps I had only get to 6' short (from 12').  I finally managed to hook the end of the strap at a point where the ratchet would really tighten.

It didn't work.  Well, not the 1st time or the 2nd or the 3rd or 4th.    But eventually, by pounding the sides of the tire with a rubber mallet, the seal finally caught suddenly!  YAY, HOORAY, and HALALULEAH!!!  It caught suddenly and filled...  I couldn't find anything on the tire that said what PSI to fill it, but I went for 12 as that seemed tight but with a slight "give".

So I brought it back outside and put the wheel back on the axle.  Being a sensible type, I also  checked the other tire.  It was at "0" but the bead to the wheel had not broken.  So I dragged the air pump outside and filled it to 12 psi too.

By that time it was 5 pm.  I decided to stop for the day and make dinner.

Thursday, I went all around the yard, aerating and mowing at the same time (very slowly so the aerator tubes could sink into the soil).  Just before I was done, the mower ran out of gas.  Well, I had more gas in the can, so I refilled it.  And then the mower wouldn't start again! 

OK, I guess I put a lot of stress on the riding mower hauling the aerator around with all that weight on it.  But why the mower wouldn't start was confusing.  I'm barely competent with gas engines.  I thought maybe I flooded the carburator.  I decided to stop for the day and I covered the mower with a tarp due to the possibility of rain.

And the next day is tomorrow's post...

Friday, February 2, 2018

My Medical Insurance

You all know what it is like talking to you medical insurance company right?  Bad.

Wrong.  I just spent 90 minutes talking to mine and it was WONDERFUL.  Sharaya explained everything to me, told me about the things they covered and how to get fancy virtual tests covered and all that. 

I now have a primary care doctor (and I can change that easily if I want after a visit).  I can get a back specialist directly after one visit to my new primary care doctor and she says I can get virtual tests done with a simple co-pay in the network (and apparently all such specialists are covered) and my primary doctor will actually pay attention to those. 

She said that is the way their coverage is going; high-tech...  United health Care.

I haven't tested it yet, but she was so positive I nearly fell off my chair.  I will call one of the doctors she emailed me today about my back and a annual physical.

But she was so great I had to post this first...

Saturday, November 25, 2017

Hose Reel 3

The rotating hose reel project has been a real challenge.  Every time I think I has something right, it's wrong.

The original plan had a 6"x6"x5' post (a leftover from when the deck was built 3 years ago).  Leftovers are always useful for SOMETHING eventually.  That part stayed. 

I was thinking that the turntable construction needed 12" boards across it for stability and some other boards as braces on the sides. 

But it occurred to me that metal angle brackets would to that side strength.  And then I realized the more metal brackets could replace ALL the boards.  And a lot easier to install...

So what was first a rather complicated structure of 12" carriage bolts and 10" lag screws became a simpler build of 3" deck screws into angle brackets. 

So I dragged the 6"x6"x5' post into the basement and clamped it upright in my bench vise.  I needed two 3" angle brackets on the front and back and two 4" brackets on the sides.

But then I decided that having 2 brackets on each side of the post was even sturdier.  One is good, two are better!  I've never seen anything I can't over-build...

I had some 3" brackets and screwed them in.  I had to buy some 4" brackets.  To my surprise, all the DIY stores were CLOSED on Thanksgiving day.   They are even open on Easter!  Walmart was open though.  But they had only 3" brackets.  So I got the 4" ones Friday.  

Reality is cruel!  When I went to attach the 4" brackets, the screws hit the 3" bracket screws!  ARGH...  I don't have a picture of the 3" brackets screwed in, but the dots mark the spots
I decided to offset/lower the 3"brackets  by adding a strip of 1/2" plywood cut to size (more good use of scraps).  That caused all the attachment screws to miss each other.
 Here, you can see the plywood strips, and brackets successfully attached...  4" ones here...
And 3" ones on the othe sides.
Note how the bracket screw holes are now offset from each other...
The post, with the turntable top is now complete, and has strong as can reasonably be made!

Tomorrow, installing the post outside...

Sunday, October 8, 2017

A Less Than Great Week

My normal routines have gone entirely out of whack this past week or so.  Too many annoyances...

Let me say clearly,that my troubles are minor compared with many peoples'.  But they are MY troubles and on my mind constantly. 

1.  I just can't seem to get in tough with the owner of the neighboring property.  The contractors won't tell me (don't want to get in trouble).  The County tax records still list the previous owner and I know ownership passed to a bank and then the property was sold.

I need to talk to the actual owner or whoever is managing the contractors renovating the property.  I can't find the person, though the contractor boss says 'he".  I am worried every day they will start painting or tearing down MY fence when I'm not looking.

WHY I care if they paint it is a whole separate post and I will try to get to that soon.  Meanwhile, it is my fence on my property and I claim the right to decide how it looks.

2.  My beloved 60" plasma HDTV died Wednesday.  It just went *blink* and then nothing.  It is only 3 1/2 years old.  The soonest appointment for a repair I could get is next Wednesday.  Actually, I called Samsung for trouble-shooting advice hoping for some rebooting advice.  I didn't know that repairs on those things were even possible. 

The Sumsung service desk says it sounds like a power supply problem.  I have my doubts, since there is a little red power "on" indicator and it is lit.  But maybe there is a circuit past that which can be replaced. 

Anyway, the idea of having no TV at all for week was just too much, so I went to Walmart and bought a 24" model for $138.  Plus, I wanted tit as a test o know if it was the TV or just some cable or the cable box etc.

Right out of the box, the new little TV came right on.  It's the 60" that is having the problem.  Plus I can show that to the repair person.  Having a small TV isn't bad.  Since I have MSNBC on most of the day, I listen to TV more than I watch it.  Who needs to watch talking heads?

But The Washington Nationals baseball team are in the playoffs, and watching THAT on a small TV is annoying.  But I'm old enough to remember our first family 12" B&W TV and then years later thinking a color 20" TV was just "amazing".  So I pulled the TV stand closer to the chair and got used to it.  4 days of "tiny" TV isn't the worst thing.  Some people drink water from polluted creeks...

But I'll still be happy to see the big screen again.

3.  I mentioned a couple weeks ago getting the metal spout of a gas can stuck in the car's fuel inlet.  The dealership did the job removing it just fine.  How they did it is not something I expect to have to know for future situations, but they did suggest I have the timing belt and all drive belts replaced.  Not from wear, but due to age.  They wanted $1000 for that.  My automatic response was no because there was no actual problem.  It wasn't like they said "we looked at your timing belt and it is worn out".

But now everytime I start the car I worry.  Some problems you can see developing.  The engine is hart to start, the engine runs rough while driving, there are noises, the brakes squeal, etc.    But when a timing belt breaks, everything just STOPS all at once and nothing first. 

It's like falling off a cliff.  The falling isn't the problem.  The problem is the sudden "THUD".  A broken timing belt is a "THUD".  That happened on a previous car, and lucky that I was directly in front of a good local repair shop.  They just pushed it into the shop and replaced the timing belt in an hour!  I doubt I would be so lucky again.

I think I may pay for the whole belt assembly.  I've been lucky.  No sense pushing my luck.  The Toyota Highlander is 12 years old.  It only has about 28,000 miles on it.  But it has mostly been stop-and-go traffic commuting and local errands, and that is really hard on an engine.  I want to keep the current car running until there is a good SUV hybrid or fuel cell model available.  I like SUVs for the height and cargo capacity.  And since I don't drive much, gas mileage isn't a concern.

4.  I'm listing information about Iza to bring to the vet.  My thanks to everyone who mentioned things to ask about.  I want to talk to the vet about a plan of exams rather that just bring Iza to the vet and say "do stuff"  I want the vet to think about it, advise me of what tests he indends to perform, and them look them up before I agree. 

But I'll do anything within reason to make her life (and mine) better.  My regular vet of 30 years gets the first chance to identify her problems.  I trust him a lot because of years of good attntion but also because HE was the one who found Ayla had almost a whole ovary after the breeder's vet did 2 failed spay operations.  But he might not be so skilled/equipped at detailed tests.   I know of a certified feline specialist (an annoying hour drive away because of few bridges across a river but closest - 40 road miles, 10 as the crows fly) and will go there if my regular vet can't find the problems. 

But to be clear, the feline specialist vet wanted $1700 for exploratory surgery and my vet did it for $400.






Monday, April 3, 2017

The Daily Grind

You would think that, being retired, I would have all the time I need to do the things I want to do.  Sadly, no.  My activities expand to fill all available time.

Thursday was a great example (I'm behind a few days in my posts).

I started off the day with a haircut.  It had been 2 months...

I bought a new microwave oven a month ago.  After a couple weeks, it arced and popped twice even burned a black tunnel through a sweet potato.  It is more wattage and interior size than my previous one.  Trust me, I know not to put anything metal in the M/W after 25 years of them, LOL!  Keeping a pyrex measuring cup of water in it stopped the problem, but made me realize that it is designed to cook larger quantities of food than I routinely do.

And I decided there was no way I was going to get along with having a pyrex cup of water in the M/W for the next 8-10 years.  So I called Amazon about returning it.  I order a LOT of stuff from them, so they are forgiving about the occasional return.  They emailed a return label.

I repacked it so carefully I even put the peel-off plastic wrap back on!  I keep EVERYTHING from a box for 90 days, just for reasons like this.  But I had to get it back to UPS eventually and I wasn't looking forward to it.  The darn box was so big I could barely get my hands around it to carry it to the car, and the distance from customer parking to the UPS input desk seemed more than I wanted to do.  But I have a little handcart and that made it a lot easier.

Then I pulled it in the the input desk, the guy said "Wow, what are you shipping"?  I said I had a bad shoulder (sometimes a small lie eases conversation).  He casually picked it up and placed in on his counter.  Hey, he looked 25, and I'm not.  It's something you start to get used to in your 60s.

That taken care of, I drove home, where I discovered that another UPS guy had delivered a 50# bag of Nyger seed for the goldfinches.  I buy it that way because it is really cheaper per pound.  But the M/W was only 35# and this was 50#.  Yet I could lift it because it was a smaller box!  I could get my arms around it.

Ladies, when you complain that you can't reach to top shelfs of kitchen cabinets or lift heavier objects, I understand.  I'm 66 and 5'6".  I know the problems.  I have a few 2 step stepladders around the house for a reason.  Every time I buy a new pair of pants I have to bring then to an alterations guy saying make the inseam 25".  And he goes "Are you sure"?  Yeah...

Anyway, I was able to carry the 50# bag of Nyger seed to the basement (not easily).  So at the workbench, I had a 50# bag of nyger seeds and two 35# buckets of kitty litter and 2 cases of wine.  And 4 litter boxes to clean.  I knew what the next couple of hours was going to be like.

I used to buy kitty litter in 12# plastic jugs.  I saved them.  It is worth the effort to transfer it from the buckets to the jugs.  And I found a 12" funnel to help.  So I set the 12# jugs on a bucket on the floor and lift the 35# tubs to dump it into them through the huge funnel.  I can handle a 35# tub of litter but not a 35# box with a M/W in it.  Smaller!  30 minutes of pouring and I have 5 12# jugs easier to handle for the next few weeks.  Done!

Now I have the 50# bag of nyger seed (I should actually weigh those some day to make sure the supplier is honest).  I got it up on the workbench laying flat, put a 5 gallon bucket right underneth a corner overhanging the bench and cut it open carefully.  As I saw the spilling seeds were going right into the bucket slowly, I cut it open a bit more.  When the bucket was 3/4 filled I lifted the cut corner to prevent further flow.  Stuck a brick under the corner.

Remember the kitty litter jugs I mentioned I saved?   I have more.  I use them for nyger seed too.  They are rectangular and fit perfectly into my freezer with little wasted space and that keeps the seed lasting longer.  Goldfinches won't eat "old" seed, which is one reason I won't buy the smaller bags in department stores.  They sit around, get heated, and the birds don't want them.  The 50# bags come straight from a producer and straight into the freezer.

So with the workbench FINALLY cleared, I could FINALLY clean the litter boxes.  I try to do that daily, but I KNOW I've waited too long when they gather around waiting for the cleaning.  Or maybe they just find it amazing that I do that and like to watch.  Who knows what cats think?

I have found it easier to just lift the litterboxes to the workbench one at a time.  It is easier on my knees and I get to sweep away the loose litter around them.   I sweep the spilled litter (not output) into a dustpan and toss it back in a litterbox.  Waste not, want not.  The cats don't mind; litter material is litter material.

But that wasn't the end of the afternoon.  I had 3 flats of flower seedlings emerging on the bottom shelf and the lights were 12" away.  Way too far.  But 2 bulbs were burned out.  I have what I think is a very good rule.  Cats and plants get what they need before I do.  They can't take care of themselves indoors.

So I had to haul out 3 flats of seedlings, find 2 bulbs, and replace them.  The bottom shelf is the worst.  I had to place bulbs toward the back of the shelf and so crawled in on my back over the shelf.  Which is bad.  When I twist around like that, I usually get some back or rib muscle spasms.

They didn't want to go in.  It took 3 frustrating minutes to get one in, only 1 to get the other.  But 4 minutes on your back in discomfort is never fun.  But I did it and crawled back out.  Sure enough, soon as I stood up, muscle cramps!  Never fun.  But I won't stop gardening because of that.  Its worth it.

After that, since it was still daylight and heavy rains are coming today, I re-planted snow peas where the previous planting didn't come up.  I planted 20 originally and 9 came up.  So I planted 11 more.

And then, just to make sure all my seedlings were growing close the the indoors lights, I took all the flats off the shelves and rearranged the 6-packs.  Some seeds were 2" tall and some just emerging, so the re-arrangement was needed.  Now I have flats of newly-emerging seeds and taller ones grouped together. and each growing as close to the lights as possible.

All are as close to the light bulbs as possible. Matched in heightss

Then I made dinner, watched an hour of political talk TV and came here!  To blog personally and catly.

Quite a Day! 

Looking Up

 While I was outside with The Mews, I laid back and looked up.  I thought the tree branches and the clouds were kind of nice. Nothing import...