Some Good Things

I complain sometimes.  Well, the things that go wrong bother me.  I don't like failures.  But some things have been going right.

1.  In spite of all my measurements for the new double compost bin,  I failed to  account for the 1/2" hardware cloth on the top accurately enough.  I missed it by an inch.  And an inch is enough for mice and even rats (though we don't have rats here to my knowledge).  A rat in the yard?  Marley would catch those easily.  LOL!

So, today, I added 3" boards to the top . I found 6" wide pressure-treated boards among my collection of excess wood.  I cut them to length and then ripped them in half the long way.  I glued and screwed them under the top frames.  That narrowed the gap to be covered with 36 inch 1/2"mesh to 32"'

Even a mouse can't get through 1/2" mesh wire.  Tomorrow, I attach the 1/2" mesh.  That will complete my compost bins.  Well, OK, I can add some chain to hold the tops at 110 degrees when lifted, but for now they can rest on the fence and that is fine.  I'm declaring the project "complete".

2.  The first compost bin is now a foot deep of kitchen waste and cut weeds.  I have a trash barrel full of old soil and dumped an inch on the top.  That will encourage worms to move there.  I am also setting a small area of good lawn covered with a tarp.  That will stay damp and encourage more worms to the surface.  And I will pound a metal stake into the edge.  When I pound it later, the worms will come the surface.  A trick I learned from Dad.  I will collect them and drop them in the compost bin where they will think they have gone to Heaven.

3.  I had the trailer full of old pressure-treated lumber from the old framed beds of 20 years ago and more from the original 25 year old compost bin.  I hesitated to bring the load to the landfill when it was raining every few days because of the mud and then just never quite got around to it this month.

I finally went there yesterday.  The landfill is more user-friendly!  Small customers like me get to just drive a few 100 feet to a dumpster and toss it in.  They haul it to the real landfill area later.  They don't want cars stuck in their mud.  And there was even a guy there to help me unload my trailer!  OK, I know he was doing "community-service work" paying for some minor crime, but he was friendly and I didn't ask for details.

4.  I took out my electric chain saw and tested it to check that the chain was properly tightened.  In the coming few days, I have 6' long  6" diameter oak logs to cut up into 1" "coins" (like cutting a carrot into round pieces) for use in the smoker,  2  dwarf apple trees to cut down (the squirrels steal all the unripe apples anyway).  More good smoker wood there.  And a bunch of shrubs I no longer want and never loved.  And there are new junk trees that have grown 5' high and must be stopped.

5.  And speaking of unwanted stuff, there are the wild blackberries covering an 1/8 acre after I removed a few trees shading the garden..  You can't win sometimes.  I am debating on how to remove them.  Cutting them down with a hedge trimmer works, but drops them all on me thorns and all and they are hard to pull off.  The chain saw is worse because it is shorter and I have to really get under them.

No brush remover company wants to accept the job.  It is either too small a job for them, or they want to use equipment too large for the area (there are spots I don't want scraped clean 6" deep because there are 100s of daffodils planted there.

I think I need crazy handyman with a steel-bladed weed whacker.

6.  I took 4 wheelbarrow-loads of garden pots out of the basement to the new shelves in the old toolshed.  Every wheelbarrow load makes the basement easier to get around in.  I am even close to being able to have a fire in the fireplace.  I have piles of old scrap wood waiting to be burned.

Between the garden stuff being moved to the toolshed shelves and the scrap wood being burned, I will have 100 more square feet of usable space.  That will be wonderful.

One small improvement every day...

7.  I made pizzas 2 nights.  Hadn't made one for a few years.     They weren't round, but they were good.  And I had dough left over, so I made a calzone filled with bell peppers, cubed smoked pork, an italian cheese blend, and crushed simmered canned tomatoes.

I've never made one before.  It was an experiment.  I made it way too stuffed and large.  Crimping the edges was tricky.  And getting it onto the pizza paddle was delicate.  But nothing broke and with the cornstarch on the paddle, it slid off onto the 400F pizza stone perfectly.

I would normally have cooked it at 500 (and the recipe DID say 400), but I had beets baking on the top shelf so I waited.  The crust was supposed to be "golden at 14 minutes".  14 minutes came and went.

I finally accepted the crust "done" after 24 minutes.  And it turned out GREAT!

On the other hand, why bother?  It is just a pizza folded in half.  I'll just make pizza more often.

Funny story:  My sister and hubby visited me 10 years ago and I made pizza then and referred to them having made it for me when I visited them a few years ago.  She kept trying to "shush" me and I didn't catch on at first.  Oops, 2nd marriage...  It was the first guy who made pizzas...  Yeah, I'm dense...

8.  The Washington Nationals baseball team won a playoff game!  They are notorious for losing them.  So when they were losing in the 8th inning 3-1 I was expecting the worst.  But when they scored 5 runs suddenly, I was shocked.  Maybe they have a chance.

I try not to refer to the home teams as "we".  I'm not on the teams.  But I'm glad when they win.   Not sure "why".  Yeah, it is a bit irrational.  Maybe it is because the core of the team are long-term members.  And it is a "built" team, not a purchased one.  Even most of the new guys are from the AAA farm clubs.  That makes an odd difference.

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.

More New Neighbor, Part 2

I have to laugh.  When the contractors arrived at 8 am, I went over and greeted them a "good morning" and asked if the owner was around.  They said "no" but would arrive in about 20 minutes.    So I waited, and when a guy in a pickup truck arrived in 20 minutes, I went over to introduce myself.

He wasn't the owner.  The workers considered him the "owner" perhgaps because he is their boss. He wasn't actually the owner, LOL! The workers are not native-english speakers (just a fact), so I can understand that "boss" and owner" may seem very similar.

But I talked to him (the boss) and we discussed the fence, the trees shading my garden,  and where the property line actually was.  He agreed that they would not paint my fence, and that he would give the card I had made with the my name, address, phone number and email to the actual owner (but he feared giving me the same information would get him in trouble).  I understand contractors can be cautious about that.

The main thing is that he seemed to understand the fence was not their's to paint and he would have the actual owner contact me by email or phone.  Hopefully, that will start a discussion.  I understand the new owner wants a particular look on the inside of his yard.  But I equally want an exterior view of the outside of mine.  A besides, it IS my fence. 

But until I get some assurance from the actual owner that he won't just tell his contractor to paint the fence anyway, I won't be sure.

It will be interesting to see what happens next.  I want the new owner to contact me be email so that it is all on the record.  If he calls on the telephone, I will insist on a followup email about what we discuss.

More New Neighbor

I stepped out on the deck this morning, and noticed the contractors were spray-painting the inside surfaces of all the fences around the yard.  Fortunately, they started on the far side from me.

The new owner doesn't actually own any of those fences.  They were all built by neighbors.  The only fence the new owner owns is the small amount from the side of the house to the other fences.

I might be the only person who knows that.  AFAIK, I am the only person residing here who knows who built the fences.  All the neighbors are newer than me.  So maybe they don't care.  But I do.

I deliberately set my fence 1' inside the property line.   I did that partially because my Dad said it would give me the right to repair the outside of my fence if I had a difficult neighbor.  But it also occurred to me that the neighbors could mess with my fence claiming a shared ownership.

Which means they couldn't damage it with trellises, hooks for planting vines that would dig into it, huge hooks from the fence to a tree for hammocks (one tried), or paint it.  That 1' beyond the fence is still MINE, for access for repairs and not damaging the fence.

So I walked into the neighbor yard and asked the contractor if he intended to paint the MY fence.  He said that was his instructions.  I  asked for the telephone number of the owner. He claimed not to have it or be able to get it.  I advised him that the fence between the properties was ENTIRELY on my property and they were not allowed to paint, replace boards, or do anything connecting to my fence.

He repeated that he had instructions.  I declared I would have the police here promptly if they touched my fence in any way.  That stopped him.  I told him to have the owner visit or contact me to discuss the matter.

I have a few ideas and facts respecting property here and in general.

1.  There is no neighborhood association here.  That is a MAJOR reason I stay.  I want the freedom to do as I please.

2.  I have lived here 30 years and neighbors come and go every 5 years or so.  I pay little attention to them so long as they don't throw loud late-night parties or get into screaming domestic violence fights at 3 am.  Both have happened with some neighbors frequently.

3.  You can't touch my property.  Including the fence,

4.  My view of my property from the outside (street and from the neighbors' views) are mine to control.  I control what people view from the street about my house.  I equally control how they see the OUTSIDE of my fence (and mentioning again the fence is all set in 1' from the property line, so the fence is ALL MINE)!

That also means the neighbors have to see my fence (on my property) as I choose to present it. They don't get to paint it to suit them.

5.  I like natural wood and earthen tones.   I can enforce that on my OWN fence.

Can't wait to see what happens tomorrow.

I've tried to identify the new owner, to nor success.  The County tax assessment site show the owner as the the guy who abandoned the house a year ago.  A bank owned it after him and it sold the property to an individual.  I can't identify the actual owner at this point.  County records seem to be almost a year out of date.

I might be open to some negotiations.  There are some junk trees that shade my garden that could be removed if the roots are grinded out and not allowed to grow back.  There is a specific mulberry tree (that they pruned heavily but will grow out more branches in respose) that I would like to see removed entirely (roots ground out for thorough killing) that shades another part of my yard.. 

If the new owner agrees to do that, I might allow the painting of the outside of my fence. 

 

My Crazy New Neighbor

The foreclosed hose next door has had contractors there for 3 or 4 months now.  I appreciated the clearing of some trees.  The original contractors wouldn't tell me who the owner is.  OK, I don't blame them.  They might get in trouble. 

But this week, they painted the bricks on the front of the house.  Its a color I'm not sure how to describe.  "Dried Blood" seems closest.

Then they planted some evergreens in the front.  2' away from the foundation and 3' apart.  After they left, I saw the labels were still on the plants.  Arborvitae Smarang or something like that.  It will grow 15' tall and 5' wide.  LOL!

I really can't wait to meet this person.  Either they are a totally whacko, or they may be the most "interesting" neighbor ever. 

And I say that cautiously because the lady next door on the other side has metallic frizzy purple hair and wears only black.

There has been pounding going on there for 2 months.  I haven't been able to think of any renovation requiring 2 months of hammering.  The truck in the driveway always says "Cabinets".  Maybe they are digging down and building a really fancy "end of world" shelter complete with rec room, LOL!.

The tree-cutting was interesting.  First, the workers cut all the branches of the overgrown apple tree below 10'.  And then a couple scrub trees (that weren't shading my yard). 

Then a week later they cut it down entirely.  I tried to ask them for them if I could have the wood (apple wood, smoker grill, good flavor) but none of them spoke English.

Somewhere in there, the owner must have been around, but I couldn't just stand there shouting "hello" all day.  When whoever it is moves in, I'll probably recognize he/she/them.  Oh for all I know it will be the cabinet truck guy doing work for himself..

No problem, just I'd like to talk to the owner before they get all settled and decide they love that tree I want cut.

A Week In The Life.

Some of you know that I don't live a regulary-scheduled life, LOL!

So here is the past Tuesday through Saturday:

1.  Stayed up all night Tuesday 8pm - Thursday 8 am visiting cat blogs, processing camera pictures, and shifting between a gardening forum and an atheist forum.  Yeah, that 36 hours.  Went through a 1.5 l bottle of wine and 4 packs of cigs (hey, it WAS 36 hours). 

2.  Visiting my cat-friends takes about 2 hours, and then I get email notifications to new posts and I comment.  I always comment.

3.  I love reading posts at the gardening site and spent a total of a few hours there.  Sometimes there are questions I know something about and I answer.  I've been veggie and flower gardening for a few decades, so I have some experience.  I I have a good library to consult when I'm not sure.  I consulted my Peterson Guide of Eastern Trees when somewhere was trying to identify the specific one in her back yard.  It was one I have never seen, but the leaf shape was unique, so I mentioned it.

Sometimes there is new information I value.  Sometimes I ask questions.  I am new to growing Venus Fly Traps (for example) , so I'm the one asking questions there. 

4.  The atheist forum takes a lot of time.  There are atheists, agnostics, and theists there, and many of the posts are long and factual.  It takes some time to reply to those well.  I probably spend a lot of time there.  I joined this forum October last year and have over 4500 posts there now. 

Mostly, I discuss everyday events with other atheists.  Yes, atheists discuss almost everything from politics to cooking, to movies.  But it does mean we don't have a religious view on them.  Atheists may have a more reality-based approach to life, but we also love sci-fi and can do the "willing suspension of disbelief" as well as anyone if not better.

5.  I tend to switch back between the gardening and atheist forums.  I use up all the threads in one and go back to the other.  I don't mean that I post fast.  I give a lot of thought to each.  My interest is to answer posts carefully, well, and in detail without be overly long.

You can always tell tell the theists' posts by length.  They go on forever before they start quoting religious texts to get to their point.    I treat them kindly, with facts.  They can decide whether to change their minds if they want. 

6.  After a long time on the computer, I usually feed the cats (yes I fed them regularly before) but always make sure to feed them a good meal before I go to bed.  Because staying up that long means I'll sleep 12 hours after.

7.  When I got up Friday, I started on making a hinged top for the new compost bin.  Sometimes you build things by measurement.  But having the compost bin built, I simply put boards on the top and marked the edges for cutting.  Friday, I cut a lot of boards to size.  I glued and clamped some but even with mosquito repellent all over me, they were fierce around my eyes and fingers.  I worked fast and ran.

8.  Saturday afternoon (after another 12 hours in bed- I did have to catch up)  I went out to complete the top.  Fortunately, it was windy and the mosquitoes have trouble with winds over 10 mph.  I got the entire top structure completed.  OK, not the screening, the wood structure.  The hinging was perfect.  The 2 bins now have tops that lift up smoothly.  All I have to do now is attach 1/2 wire mesh to the top and add a few spacer boards under it.  That will leave no space for even a mouse to get inside.

9.  Added a lot more garden stuff into the old toolshed with the new shelves.  Every day, I will clear more basement space.  Weeded the Fall garden a bit.  Not many weeds left.  A year of weeding as removed most and I suspect there aren't many viable weed seeds left there.  Which means I can FINALLY tackle the part of the backyard overgrown with wild blackberries soon.

There is always SOMETHING that needed attention "last year", and I am always behind on some part of the yard.  On the other hand, suppose I caught up with everything?  What would I do?  OK, fix up the house better...

I'll do that when Winter arrives...

Projects

Well, I got the toolshed shelves finished.  Sometimes you have to stop seeking perfection and "just do it"!

I got the shelves to match up in the corners.  The bottom left shelf ended up 1/4" out of level.  But its a 25+ year old shed, nothing about it is level or square anymore, and it needs a new roof.  So I'm not going to worry about it.

I had to put 2x4 boards behind the shelves to keep small items falling out the back (the sheves are on exposed 4" studs).  I would have used 1x4 boards, but I bought 10" wide boards instead of 12" wide boards and the brackets would have stuck out otherwise and not allowed me to use the front screw hole in the tip of the bracket.  A 10" bracket IS 10" long; a 10" board is only 9 1/2".

Just moving some pots to the new shelves gained me 16 sq ft of basement space, and I have lots of garden stuff still to move.  I expect to recover about 50 sq ft when I transfer more "stuff" from the basement to the shelves.  And there will be more shed floorspace  to store power equipment I seldom use (but use a lot when I need it) when I take small amounts of some stuff out of large boxes and add them to the shelves. 

That will make more sense when I fill the shelves and get some of the equipment stored in there.  I'll take pictures.

In 30 years, I've accumulated a lot of equipment.  Snow-blower, tiller, chipper/shredder, lawn-roller, aerator...

Those things are cluttering up the garage and the REAL shed.  Yes, I have 2 sheds.  More importantly though, it frees up room in the basement for woodworking, and I am determined to make the basement easier to do work in. 

And with Winter coming on, I have some wood-working projects in mind to occupy my time

Fall Plants

I went to Walmart today.  I am perfectly happy shopping at Walmart for brand-name stuff and AFAICT, their generic stuff is just fine.  They buy their generic dishwashing liquid and aspirin from the major manufacturers anyway.  On the other hand, they also sell the cheapest appliances (like M/W ovens that are near the bottom of the Consumer Reports ratings and I don't buy those. 

And they usually have cheap plants and yard supplies.  The same brand of Product X is typically 10-20% cheaper at Walmart than at Home Depot or Lowes and I want to reward cheaper prices.   My cardinals can't tell where I buy black oil sunflower seed and the cats can't tell where I get the Tidy Cats litter buckets from.  And keep in mind it is not a question of small local stores versus Walmart.  The small local stores are all gone.  It is between Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's, and sometimes Safeway around here.  I would mention Giant Food, but I buy mostly fresh produce abnd Giant's is pathetic.

So I wanted Mums and pansies and various odd stuff today.  I saw that Safeway was selling 1 gallon Mums for $9.99.  Home Depot and Lowe's (between which is never a penny of difference) $10.98, and Walmart $3.99.  Guess where I bought 4 pots?

They didn't have pansies yet.  Next month...

The Mums were beautiful and healthy.  I already had 2 orange from last year.  Now I also have 2 yellow and 2 red. 

The deck pots of Summer Marigolds and Salvia have been great this year...

The Salvia have been so good this year, the hummingbirds visit them first and only "top off" at my nectar feeders.  Next year, I will have lots more Salvia.

Now, THIS is where Walmart fails.  I want nice pots to set the plain black plastic ones into until I plant them in more permanent spots in November.  Walmart was done with planters in August.  They have Christmas stuff up now!

Well, I have saucers to hold rainwater. and I water the deck plants every other day when there is not 1" of rain.  Tjey should look great until dormancy and planting.

Those Toolshed Shelves

Those shelves are becoming annoying.  I mentioned last post that I made a template to rest on the floor from a scrap board, thinking that I couldn't possibly have any problems knowing where it drill in the exposed studs to make the shelves perfectly level.


After I got the shelf boards cut a little shorter than the narrow wall of the shed, they all went onto the template-installed brackets beautifully (after I flipped it to account for some brackets having holes on the left instead of the right like the bracket I used to make the template.  I had checked the level on the floor under them first, and it was fine.

So yesterday from the project for the day. I set about installing 2 more shelves abbutting the new ones.  I predrilled holes just like in the first, accounting for the number of brackets I had remaining.  The shelving boards were nice and flat, how could anything go wrong?


The cruelty of the Universe is SUBTLE and unending...

I attached the 40 shelf brackets.  I placed the shelf board on the brackets.  To assure the shelves abutted  the previous ones, I clamped the ends together.  The shelf was 1/2" above the bracket nearest the previous shelf.

HUH?  How was that possible? 

I placed the board template next to the bracket; it was in the right place.  All 4 brackets were.  I was frustrated.  It is possible to be both frustrated and patient at the same tie.  "Frustrated" is a momentary annoyance, "patience" is long term.  Patience usually solves frustrations.

I removed the brackets.  I physically held  a bracket up under the shelf and marked new spots to drill.  I drilled.  I reinstalled the bracket.  Then I checked the shelf for level with a 4' long level.  It was 1/2" off.  Worse, it leaned forward a bit.

Frustrating.  I'm not obsessively perfectionist, but I do want shelves to be pretty much level.  So redid the brackets, changing exchanging the left-hole brackets for right-hole ones to make the holes a bit apart so the lag screws wouldnt get into the wrong holes. 

Then I loosened the clamps holding the shelf to the previous one.  It popped down 1/2".

ARGGGGHHHH! 

I went away from the toolshed for the day.  Trying to solve problems when you are frustrated is not a good idea!

So I went back at it this afternoon.  Well, I should mention something about the shed.  It was built almost 30 years ago.  Because local property assessment laws said a ground-contact outbuilding would be taxed but a "temporary" one (such as a shed set on cinder blocks would not), I built it that way. 

Over the years, apparently, the cinder blocks have settled a bit, and the shed (basically just an empty box with a floor and roof) had slowly twisted to adjust.  The floor is no longer level.  The wall studs are no longer perfectly vertical.  Nothing about it, in fact, is still square! 

Damn!  Well, the structure is still sound.  I do not intend to rebuilt it just to make the shelves level!  But I still wanted the shelves to be level.  So with the new shelf board clamped to the previous new shelf, propped the far end of the new shelf to were it was level lengthwise and and narrow-wise.

Surely the brackets would fit squarely under the shelf...  HA!

Well, I have some packets of shims.  These were as long as the brackets, going from 1/4" to 0.  Holding the shim against the stud and holding the bracket to the shim, it was utterly, perfectly level!

I glued the shim to the stud and went off to weed the garden for 30 minutes while the glue dried.  I went back, knowing I would see the bracket fit perfectly under the shelf!  How could it be otherwise?

HA!

It was 1/4" off.

The cruelty of the Universe is subtle and UNENDING...

I can't make shelves level in both directions in a shed box that isn't square in any dimensions.  I'm sure a professional could, but apparently I can't!

I'm going to just put the last 2 shelves on as best I can, screw a 1"x2" board on the front of the shelves so nothing can fall off, and call it done.  Declare victory and walk away.

I have too many other things to do...

And I should mention that I have a newer real toolshed next to it.  Concrete floor, build like a small house, solid.  Yes, I have that much gardening stuff to need the old one too.  I think I'll have some company build a 2nd like it to store the stuff in the old one and be rid of it.

But I still want the old one until then.  I have 1/4 of my basement filled with stuff that belongs in a garden shed.  And until THAT stuff is removed, I can't set up my shop equipment without crawling over stuff everytime I want to use a tool. 

Fill the old shed with stuff from the basement, organize the basement, do woodworking over the Winter.  That's the plan...

But I still can't believe how frustrating just adding level shelves were...

Shelves Et Al

I made a template for brackets for the shelves in the toolshed.  It didn't work.  The brackets had offset holes.  But it turned out some were on the left and some were on the right.  So I still had tpo "wing it".  Worked.

An 8'x12' toolshed doesn't mean the INSIDES are that size.  I went crazy cutting the shelves down to lenth to fit.  And 1/4" short so they could expand from humidity.

I saw a groundhog at the far end of the yard yesterday.  He saw me too and went to his borrow.  Under the toolshed!  I have to chase it out.

But first, I have to clear 50'x50' of brambles.  Several possibilities.  Hire someone (tried that and failed.  Too small an area for them to bother with).  Tried cutting them with a hedge trimmer then a chain saw.  The brambles just kept falling on me with difficukty getting loose of them.

It looks like I am finally going to have to use the gas weed whacker with the steel blades.  It scares me, but if I am careful...

I'll make sure the neighbor is available in case of an accident.

Saw a picture of a cool way to make a circular saw 45 degree angle cutter in a woodworking magazine.   Cheap materials but great results.  Bought the hardboard piece today.  If it works, I'll show pictures.

The Neighbor

I have to laugh.  I have not yet met the new neighbor.  But he/she has a lot of contractors doing a LOT of outside and inside work.  Which is good I suppose; means they care about the property

But I had to laugh because the contractors first trimmed up the trees 12" high.  OK, a little more light in my yard.

But then they came back and cut down every single tree in the yard (trimmed before or not) EXCEPT the only ones that shaded my yard.  It is to cry...

BUT, a little positive manipulation...  I talked to the Boss worker.  Told him he might score some points about this one tree.  A mulberry tree.  The berries fall on the ground.  You step on them and you stain the bottoms of your shoes.  Then you do inside and it stains the carpet.

That's true.  It is why I cut down mine years ago and where their's came from.  He said he would tell the owner.

If that doesn't work, I will point out to the new owner that the berries attract mice and rats.  Not that we HAVE rats around here, but the new owner won't know that. 

I am only slightly embarrassed about telling a fib.  OK, a lie.  But I sure would like that tree to be gone.

I wonder if I could bribe the workers...  Somewhere between $20 and $50?  $100?  They get paid by the hour for their work anyway...  And the more hours the better, right?