Biopt6

Monday-10-21-2013

I used up the materials I bought and got this far. I need to go to Home Depot tomorrow for the rest of the deck boards.

           

10-22

Craig Lyon came to visit me today. I expected him around ten o’ clock. I made a trip to home depot and bought 25 more 2X4s, and was back by ten. 

 

 

Craig got here around eleven and we had a good visit.

10-23

I hit it early this morning, and, by one, I had the rest of the boards down. Here’s what it looks like now.

   

   

  

    Opie wouldn’t reach across the gap to eat. I had to move the dishes to this side of the gap. Everybody’s a critic. I’ll close the gap when I get time.

 

10-24

I mowed John’s yard today. Mike called me and said he was dumping some firewood, so I wanted to get done with John and have Mike help me with

a few things. We went to Tower Mart and got gas, then, we started my push mower, and the splitter. Once we got it going, I towed it around back.

We split most of the big stuff in the yard, and threw it on the porch.

Later in the evening, I put the last clamps on the chain link fence, trimmed some trees, and called it a day. He left me a spark plug wrench/ air cleaner

tool, so I need to take off all the air cleaners and wash them.

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10-25

The receipt above is for two bags of grain. There is tax on the one, because it is used by horse owners, and horses are considered a taxable luxury. Thanks.

This is what our critters eat. Goat, ducks, eighteen Canadian honkers, etc. I went early this morning and got feed. When I got back, I got out my grinder

and put in a diamond bit, and sharpened my chain saw. I cut up some of the mulberry branches I removed to accommodate the deck.

After a short break, Denise and I went up to Johns. She showed me where to find the nut rakes, and I picked up the branches I  trimmed the day before.

The nuts are good, and I would like to pick them up before I finish mowing.

No energy today.

10-29

Denise caught me with both dogs this morning.

          

          

I took a couple days rest. Didn’t accomplish anything over the weekend. I did make a good stew Monday. I was doggysitting. I did some things

outside, but I can’t remember what. That is one of the reasons I try to make an entry every day.  Today I worked on the front steps. I attached them

to the deck and built up the surrounding area.

          

I put the tractor to bed with the battery charger. I had to pump up the right front tire. I hope it isn’t leaking.

          

Now I need to go back outside and hook up the float charger. That will keep the battery full without overcharging. We aren’t expecting rain.

I can leave the float charger on ‘til I need it again.

10-30

Denise and I went to Contractors Warehouse to price patio sliders. We found one we like for three hundred fifty dollars. I’ll probably borrow from

Denise until I can pay her back. She gets paid Friday.

10-31 Halloween

Denise and mom working on the computer. Patricia is a crocheting fanatic. She has hundreds of patterns she got off the internet.

 

 

          

Maria called me today and asked me to take out the tree that had fallen in the breezeway. It was a foot in diameter, and fell against the above wall.

 

 

          

I didn’t have the strength to haul it out, but Maria said she and Robert would do it.

  

I have never seen an Oleander that was that diameter! Dangerous to burn. The smoke is highly toxic.

  

She asked me about the pool pump, and I told her I would take care of it. It is a large pump because of the sand and gravel filter that it uses, plus there

was a solar panel, requiring more power. I called my neighbor, Tim, and he said he would order it Monday for around 250 dollars, including a seal.

 

 

         

 

          

 

          

 

November first, Payday for Denise! We went to HD Supply and ordered a slider for the back deck. The guy talked me into 22 extra dollars for

“Low E” glass.

          

 

          

                                                                                                                                                           Checkin on the dogs J.

 

           

Looking back in the store.

 

          

The job’s never done ‘till the paperwork is finished. The guys delivered the same day, and put it on the porch for me J.

          

I got up early, and by one o’clock I had siding on, and the door in.

          

 

          

 

          

 

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 I was exhausted, but Maria called, and gave me 250 dollars cash. I will close for today. I need a rest!

Sunday, 11-3

          

Got the rest of the OSB up, and replaced the trim.

       

Now I can rest!

 

11-4-2013

I am resting today. Denise and I moved the old slider around back, then she went on daughter duty. I made another beef stew. In a few minutes

I need to add the meat to the veggies. I will take pictures of my scrap pile. I am amazed how much construction trash I created!

 

11-5-13

I took another day of rest. The pool pump should be ready today. Tim called me at four and had the motor. Denise was at singin’ Lori’s. Picked her up at

five.

11-6

 Finished up putting the pump back in. I had a little trouble figuring out the valves, but finally got the polaris moving. I left it to run, and went back up

around four.

  

 

  

I set the timer to shut off the motor, and I didn’t like the way it sounded, so I moved the pegs around to give it 24 more hours, and I will go back tomorrow  and see what the problem is. Will close for today.

 

 

Thursday 11-7-2013

 

          

 

          

The wiring diagram for the timer was online, so I checked it. It was ok. Robert and Maria showed up today. Robert helped me with the pool.

He got out the old pool cleaner, and I photo’ed them side by side. I asked Tim to try to find an old Polaris. They work better than anything.

The pump is working well, and after twenty four hours, the water has gone from muddy to crystal clear. The cleaner doesn’t reach the whole pool.

Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

 

11-14-13

Once again, I am getting behind in my writing. A couple reasons. First, I have been really busy with the tractor, the deck, and the new sliding glass door.

I am not a young man anymore, and my physical limitations are increasingly frustrating. My brain doesn’t work the same, and that is a problem, also.

When I finish at the end of the day, sometimes I’m too tired to take pictures, or, write.

 

The other thing is that my little laptop is so full, and I am short on virtual memory, the “word” program goes into auto-recovery every few minutes.

I am in desperate need of a new laptop. I have given up on the idea of owning the full blown computer system, as I have the minimac that Steve brought.

It does everything that I need, and I thought that I could get away with this laptop for writing only, but the new programs take up too much space.

I will struggle along with what I have until my finances are caught up again. I will continue to take dated photos, and try to describe them briefly.

  

The solids are settling out of the wine.           Beautiful fall colors, looking towards the oranges.   There are lots of oranges.

 

  

                                                                      Looking back towards the house from the oranges.

 

  

Fall colors at the neighbors.                               Denise’s weird “hybrid” is still blooming.    Beautiful colors in the lower half of the orchard.

 

  

                                                                                                                                                        Sunday, I smoked a turkey for Tim.

Thanks for helping with John’s pool.

 

  

                                                                                  Patricia’s Halloween Tree.                               The decorations are crocheted.

  

          Topped off by a wicked witch.                                HE HE HE                                     A half dozen ghosts, each one different.

  

                    Tombstone                                                   candycorn and pumpkin                                mummy     (daddy?)

  

              A wise owl                                                    raggedy Ann                                                 A bat in the belfry

  

GHOSTS              GHOSTS                  GHOSTS                   GHOSTS                 GHOSTS                GHOSTS            GHOSTS

  

 

I was supposed to have a lazy Sunday, but Mike showed up, and we ran the splitter half a day.

http://youtu.be/mINyheffhN8  Mike splitting wood

 

 

 

11-11-13

I got out today and closed in the upper area. Cutting and measuring were difficult and tiring.   Caught my puppies cheek to cheek. J

  

Wednesday was payday. Paid my bills, and cooked. Laid around and accomplished nothing.

 

11-14-13

Finally closed in the eave on the west half.

  

                                                                                                                                                            Reattached all the tin.

several days nov 007

 

 

  

Saturday a piggy shaped meat loaf.                 Mike and I spent the morning splitting wood.

  

          Sunday, I fired up the tractor and moved some firewood. I pulled that stump, and poured lye in the hole.

  

I put the charger on the tractor, and took a shot of two lucky pigeons on the way in. I went out after dark and put the float charger on.

 

 

 

11-18-13 Monday

I spent the day covering everything, in preparation for the first rain of the fall season. It has been several months since we had rain, and

I have the earth torn up, so it will be interesting to see where the puddles are this year.

I’ll take some photos of the storm tomorrow.

I may have fixed the problem I was having with virtual memory. I was trying to find out what was using up all the memory, and I went to

“documents” and found nothing but I checked “recent documents” and there was a copy of everything I have opened since Todd got my

laptop back to me. I couldn’t find an easy way to delete them all, so I spent a half hour deleting them one at a time. Later, I found that I could

delete multiples through “Filezilla”. This speeded things up, but now on startup, it runs slow. I guess I’ll have to bother Todd to find out what’s cookin’.

 

11-19-13

We only got the slightest splatter of rain. It came before we woke up this morning. It made water spots on everything, and a little collected on the rim

of the inverted wheelbarrow.

It is nearly one o’clock, and nothing in sight. If we get anything significant, I will write a few more lines.

I went out earlier, and cut some more branches out of the two mulberry trees that are crowding my chestnut leaf oak. It is really starting to lean.

I’m watching the five o’clock news. Still no sign of rain, and nothing on doppler.

6:30

It’s raining (sprinkling). We were promised one half inch. Come on mother nature!

Can’t see outside, so I paid my property taxes online.

 

 

Now I’m broke. Might as well go to bed!

 

11-20-2013

We got .78 inches of rain total.

I went turkey hunting today. Can’t get a cheap turkey without spending thirty dollars in groceries.

I was cleaning up the photos in this (biopt6). I got an hour’s worth of work done. The program kept going into “autosave”. It finally dumped all

my changes. Apparently I haven’t solved the virtual memory problem. I just really need a new laptop! It just went into autosave, and

I have done almost nothing.

I will close biopt6, and begin pt7.

 

To be continued

http://www.petesmemories.com/biopt7.html