Getting Stuff Done.

Well, I slept too many hours for several days, so at 4 am, I was just laying in bed not tired.  So I got up and decided to DO SOMETHING!

Early morning TV is awful, even the usual political channels.  So I did something I haven't done in a while.  I turned on the stereo.  Which was actually funny because I had to figure out how to do it.  No, I'm not stupid, it's just that there are so many options that it took a while to find just "music".  LOL!

Made breakfast.  Fed the cats.  Cleaned the litter boxes.  Emailed my trash collection company about the busted-up bin.  Did 2 loads of laundry.  Emptied the dishwasher.  Well, what do you do at 6 am? 

I had a package to return to Amazon.  Loki had an issue peeing on the bed a few times and I ordered a mattress protector.  Didn't realize it was a form-fitted kind (I have a waterbed).  I could buy a flat one, but I've been using a tarp to cover the bed.  Seems to be working.  But today was the last day I could return it, so I went to Staples as soon as they were open.  

That requires a QR code inside the box and outside for Staples to create a label.  The outside QR printout was too large and fuzzy.  So they cut the box open.  The inside one scanned perfectly.  And the person there said they cut the boxes open anyway to stuff the returns into plastic bags.  Who knew?  And I already have an email crediting my account.  

But at least that was done.

So I went to Petsmart to fill up the cat's pantry.  9 cases of regular Stinky Goodness and 2 cases of Marley's kidney care Hills stuff.  $400!  If I didn't have more money than Donald Trump actually does (joke, maybe), that would be a problem.  I mean, 45 pounds of cats costs more to feed than I spend on my own food at 165 pounds.  And I eat well...

And I bought a new 'betta splendens' while I was there. 

I normally keep a blue and a red one (in seperate tanks).  I was sad when the blue one died last week after a few years (they don't live long even naturally).  They display wonderfully when they see each other, but it exhausts them so I keep a piece of cardboard between the tanks most times.

And then I bought a new refrigerator (LG LRDCS2603D).  I had been planning to for months.  High Consumer Reports rating among bottom-freezers. But website pics don't show everything so I wanted to actually look at one.   I walked in to Home Depot (local DIY store) to just make sure I understood the shelves and freezer divisions.  

I walked out with a receipt and a delivery date, LOL.  No, they didn't trick me or anything.  I knew what I wanted.  I just needed to put my hands on the shelves and crispers and temperature controls.  It will be delivered Wed 27th.

But it has an ice-maker.  Which needs a water line to it.  I can make enough ice manually to suit my needs for my 6 pm cocktail, but it sure seems easier. to just always have more ice without effort.  Many of my recipes say "bathe in ice-water".  I've never had enough ice to do that, so maybe that will be good.

I had to laugh about one part of the sale.  The top door is reversible but the standard is on the wrong side for my kitchen.  The charged a penny for reversing it.  Seriously, it is right on the receipt.  The ink must cost them a penny.  LOL!

The Home Depot guy said to make sure the waterline extension ended with a shut-off valve directly behind the refrigerator.  I don't know why but he stressed that.

But the ice-maker function meant I had to decide on a plumber.  Many calls and questions about labor cost structure.   I looked at Yelp and a few other sites.   I decided on one that had good local ratings and experience and cost structure.

One I declined charged $150 per hour from leaving the previous job. Who gets $150 per hour for just driving, LOL?  Another I declined specifically said the shut-off valve would be in the basement (see above), so I told him I didn't think he was the right person for me.  

I'm hoping I have a good plumber to do the work.  It is pretty straight-forward, so I don't expect any technical difficulties.  But I won't know the cost until he examines the existing pipes and run-lines.  But he will arrive prepared to do the work immediately.  

That will be expensive ice for a while, but I probably grow to love it...

I am probably best off just accepting the plumbing cost...  Waiting for contractors to arrive in a 4 hour window drives me crazy.  They all probably cost the same, so avoiding the aggravation of waiting around is probably worth just having one person come to do the work.  For some things, it is worth getting estimates from multiple contractors.  For smaller matters, not so much.

The ancient basement fridge (37 years old) is probably costing me a lot in inefficiency.  And the local electric company will actually pay me $50 to have them haul it away.  And good riddance to it.  I have had to chip away ice every few months from below the top-freezer for years.  

Why do I want 2 refrigerators you may ask?  The basement one is mostly a root cellar and for more freezing capacity.  I keep the cool part at 40F and the freezer part on full cold (0 F)for long-storage.  Buying large amounts of meat  a few times a year to freeze is both convenient and cheaper.  And I keep my garden seeds and "beer for bread" in the cool part too.

Now it's time to gt to the basement and plant some tomatoes and peppers and melons and flowers...

Well, after I call The Mews in and give them lunch.

A "representative" lunch...

Two Busy Days - Saturday

 Saturday and today were busy.  I just sort of blew off Sunday (I got up late and had to real "get up and go").

Saturday was outside stuff and not much went well (some did).

I started by soaking the ground around the birdfeeder pole, using a 5 gallon bucket with a small hole drilled in the bottom so that the water would drip slowly but deeply.  And then did it again.  When I installed it, I had the thought that a base of 10" black iron pipes in a square would keep the feeder pole upright forever.  Not quite, as it turned out.  It tilted any way.  Frost-heave, I suppose.

The idea was to get the soil muddy at the base so I could wiggle it level again and then use stakes and rope to hold it level while the soil dried.  It is said that "everyone has a brilliant idea that will not work".  This did not work.

When I wiggled the post, it seemed to move slightly.  But then the pole broke!  The feeder fell to the ground and also broke.  The seeds spilled everywhere.  Really, both the top and the base separated from the seed box part.  I laid on my back (the weather was decent and I was warm), watched clouds passing overhead and asked to myself "why me"?  Why now?  I had other things to do...

I shouldn't have been surprised at the collapse and breakege.  I built it 25 years ago and have made a few half-assed repairs on it since then.  Not to say "sour grapes", but I was planning to build a new one anyway.  Now I just have a more immediate reason to do so.

The bird feeder is back up, temporarily.  I pounded a 6' metal rebar stake into the ground 2' and used some zip-ties to attach the birdfeeder pole to it.  Then I applying a heavy layer of outdoor wood glue to the base and fit the seed box onto it.  Scooped up all the seeds I could and added them in.  The top was actually undamaged so that fit back on.

Then I used rope around 2 trees to triangulate pressure on the new support stake to get the birdfeeder pole level again.  It should last the Winter.  By then, I will have built a new one.  Same design, I like it.

The barrel and flat disc defeats the squirrels completely.  The board across the center bothers the blackbirds and starling somewhat (because they are large and don't fit under well) and the overhanging top keeps the seeds in the tray dry.  And it is made of cedar, which discourages bird mites.

And that was just the start of the day!  The weather forecast is for a snowy Winter.  So I decided it was time to bring the snow-blower into the garage.  I pulled it out of the toolshed.  I pulled the starter rope a few times and nothing happened, but it also has an electric starter.  

So I dragged out my heavy-duty outdoor extension cords.  I could find the snowblower plug.  Fell free to laugh, but I had pulled out the roto-tiller, which has no electric starter!  I sure had to laugh at myself about that one.So I got out the actual snowblower.  Plugged it in.  It started right up.  

Which matters, because it is heavy and is nearly impossible to move unpowered.  I had to make space in the garage (which seems to get more clutterred every year).  But there is a usual space for it.  I just had to move the stuff that was there to "elsewhere".

Got the Holiday lights (blue) lit again.  They stayed up last year.  Partly, I was lazy, and partly my neighbor (who helped me so much when I fell off the extension ladder almost 3 years ago) screams at me if I so much get on a 6' stepladder.  But I plugged them in an outdoor outlet, and set the timer.  They come on right at dark.  

I also had a female (the ones with berries  -  some people don't know that) holly tree with some drooping branches and I pruned them.  One big branch is hanging on the front door.  I put 2 smaller ones per side of the mailbox post.  I tend to try to look natural.  

Speaking of holiday decorations, I have seen people driving around with wreathes on the front of their cars.  I used to laugh, but I found a white one with pinecones at Walmart at a decent price and decided to do it.  I like it!

And that wasn't the end of the day.  The street end of my driveway is "barely" lower than the street and lawn.  Rain collects there.  I use a small grub-hoe to scoop a path into the lawn for drainage.  I really have to set in a perforated pipe there for better drainage.  But Sunday was not that day.

I ended Sunday with 3 loads of washer/drier loads.  Then made dinner.  After that, it was just TV and cats on my lap til bedtime.  And two joined me there all night.

Back, Maybe

 I hate computer problems.  Well, who loves them other that repair-people?  I've solved some of them (I hope).  Email is still bad, but I can read my cavebear address on AOL and the marksmews and yardenman ones on apple (but still can't reply from them).  I got my RAM increased from 8 GB to 16.  Took a onsite tech guy 2 hours and I couldn't have done that myself in any length of time.  It took some really special tools and a steady hand.

I can't swear that the RAM increase helped, but it sure can't hurt.  And I am still fighting to connect a new color toner printer with no success.  But that doesn't prevent me from blogging...

More importantly, it seems I have solved the routine involuntary shutdowns for now.  It was due to outdated apps.  Not that I don't update them when suggested, but some aren't good at telling you that.  And possibly an outdated external hard drive.  I've disconnected it for now.

But, for all practical purposes, I am back.

I didn't waste my "time off".  I got my covid booster shot.  I reorganized my basement planting shelves.  I collected every unused box in the house and stacked them within each other (I had a LOT sitting around).  

I finally received the 3 acrylic tabletop covers I ordered in November.  One for the new dining table to show off the detail work on the top, and 1 each for the 2 computer tables (Easier cleaning).  I have one older computer offline for games and security (I keep my passwords in an Excel file there - "they" can't hack an offline computer).  One came damaged though.  Naturally, for the dining table.  

If it was on a computer table cover, I would have set it to the back and ignored it.  But you can't hide anything on a dining table.  The manufacturer is sending a replacement in a week. 

They don't want the damaged piece back.  I can actually use it.  I do stuff with plastic sometimes, and I can cut it apart for topping some tool stands and such.  And an acrylic cover for my gardening table makes it relatively waterproof.

I spent some time researching flowerbed catalogs.  One specializes in self-sowing annuals.  Another offers both large collections of perennial plants and seed packets for pollinators, deer-resistance, and at good prices.

I've learned that perennials can be difficult to grow to flowering from seeds.  Many take 3-5 years to finally bloom.  Most places want about $6 per plant.  This place offers them $3-4 per plant (In large quantities).  Well, I have 500 sq ft to fill, so large quantities is good.  So, I'm spent time deciding of the individual plants (there are about 4 dozen to choose among).  

I covered more weed-vine areas with box cardboard.  I'll leave it there until they are dead.  It doesn't look great, but the vines have caused problems for years so months or even a year is worth it.  Ive tried digging and I've tried spraying with organic stuff, but it hasn't worked.

I've been researching refrigerators and chest freezers.  My old basement refrigerator (basically a root-cellar and freezer is failing.  It is so old, the value of the food I keep in it is probably less than the cost of running it.  I chipped off 4" of frost in the refrigerator section the other dasy.  

So the upstairs one goes to the basement and I get a new one for upstairs...  And a small basement chest freezer for long-term storage.  I buy large chunks of meats on good sales and then divide them into 4 oz bits for future use.

I got the aquarium renovated!  It was a sad mess.  Fish-shit all over the bottom, algae on the sides, plastic plants looking real dull and old...  That took an hour a day for 2 weeks.  I have a gadget that siphons debris .  Large 2" mouth.  You get the tube siphoning and stick the mouth into the sand.  It sucks up the fish shit.   You lift it and and the heavy sand falls out.  Then move it to the next spot. 

There are a LOT of "spots" in a 30 gallon aquarium; it was tedious.  And the fish-shit moves around as you do it.  So you have to wait for it to settle and do it again.  Took days to get the sand mostly cleaned. It's "OK" now.  "OK" is a lot better than "horrible". 

Had it been Summer, I would have netted all the fish into a smaller older aquarium for a few days, and drained the big one to hose the sand clean, bleach it mildly, and then overfill it several times to eliminate the bleach.  Then  let it stand inside again with water to age a couple days.  I might in Summer.

But for now, I have live plants set into the sand and I need them to grow roots.  And I want the youngest batch of fancy guppies to grow large before I restock it with some larger mid-level community fish (cherry barbs and serpa tetras) so they won't get eaten.  

I have been cutting saved big cardboard boxes into 2" strips.  Those are to cover the paths in my garden in order to smother weeds.  I'm saving the biggest pieces to smother vines in parts of the flowerbeds.  Things kind of got out of control last year..

Got Lori to the vet for rabies and follow-up shots.  I just tell them "whatever shots" they think best.  In 50 years of cats, I've never had one that had a problem with any shots, so "OK".  She is soon to get spayed.  But they want her to go into heat once to establish an in-between time for an easier operation.  THAT is new to me; vets always used to do it just by age.  Well, whatever is "better" is good.  Vets learn better ways through time like every other profession.

I did other routine stuff.  Kept the birdfeeders filled, cooked, cleaned the basement a bit.  Not like I was sitting on my butt watching TV.  Fought with the computer...

Probably some other stuff that escapes me at the moment...

But I think we are pretty much "more functional" again.