In the garden, and RAIN!!!! by SIGNYM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Well, I went and bought a small laundry hamper and turned it upside down to use as a writing table of sorts. Still not really high enough, so might have to get something else to add to it.

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Hi Brenda!

IDK how expensive or cheap this kind of thing might be, but have you considered ordering something like this?

Quote:

If you want to do some internet checking, after looking around a bit, the name for this category of furniture is called

drop front desk

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:

I can't order anything on line but looking for something better wouldn't hurt then maybe when I can get some help, I can get it.

Yeah, I have no idea where or how things can be done up there!
Down here I've found some quite serviceable things at Target - the individual barstool and kitchen chair for one-off uses. They have small pieces of furniture for sale that you can have delivered (with some assembly required).
There even are space-saving wall-mounted versions of desks.

I truly wish I could help Brenda! Sometimes it's nice to have a helping hand for that extra boost to get you over the effort-hill.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 2:16 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
How hot is it getting in your house, and what temp/humidity level do you need it to be for comfortable sleep?

Lately on hot days over 100F during the day inside generally, except the bedroom which I keep at 77F during the day; over 125F outside. Humidity goes up and down - lower during the day when it's hotter ~35%, much higher during the night when it's cooler ~80%.

I think it might be a problem with the mattress. It's very heavy which means it holds a lot of heat. So even if I lower the temp to 70F for the nite, the mattress is still at 77F for quite a while.

I need a new mattress anyway, this one is at least 20-25 years old iirc. In the meantime, I'm going to do the marine underlay mat and see if it helps.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 3:33 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Well, I went and bought a small laundry hamper and turned it upside down to use as a writing table of sorts. Still not really high enough, so might have to get something else to add to it.

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Hi Brenda!

IDK how expensive or cheap this kind of thing might be, but have you considered ordering something like this?

Quote:

If you want to do some internet checking, after looking around a bit, the name for this category of furniture is called

drop front desk
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:

I can't order anything on line but looking for something better wouldn't hurt then maybe when I can get some help, I can get it.
Yeah, I have no idea where or how things can be done up there!
Down here I've found some quite serviceable things at Target - the individual barstool and kitchen chair for one-off uses. They have small pieces of furniture for sale that you can have delivered (with some assembly required).
There even are space-saving wall-mounted versions of desks.

I truly wish I could help Brenda! Sometimes it's nice to have a helping hand for that extra boost to get you over the effort-hill.

No Targets in Canada anymore and when they were here they were in bigger malls than I have in my city. So getting on a bus and off with the item too hard. Wall mounting won't work for the area that I need to put the item in.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 3:37 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
You are right. It's not just the cost but my ability to get it home. I was looking for that at Walmart but they don't have any in stock right now. I'm thinking about checking out my local Salvation Army Thrift store in the next couple of days for something better.

I'm wondering if possibly you could have WalMart deliver something to you if you paid for it with cash in the store.

I've never tried that, but it might be worth looking into if you find something you feel is worth the price but getting it home is a deal breaker.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

I have no idea if Walmart delivers. I would have to look into that.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 3:51 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:

No Targets in Canada anymore and when they were here they were in bigger malls than I have in my city. So getting on a bus and off with the item too hard. Wall mounting won't work for the area that I need to put the item in.

No Targets! Gosh, it's almost like you live in a foreign country from me or something!

At least you now know about wallmounting and that it won't work for you!

I find internet searches are good for figuring out 'what's out there' and maybe introducing me to things I didn't know about or options I never considered.

But yeah, you can go to stores where you can look at what's available, try them out, maybe even measure them, and so on, and once you decide and purchase them in-store you can have them delivered.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 8:02 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
How hot is it getting in your house, and what temp/humidity level do you need it to be for comfortable sleep?
Lately on hot days over 100F during the day inside generally, except the bedroom which I keep at 77F during the day; over 125F outside. Humidity goes up and down - lower during the day when it's hotter ~35%, much higher during the night when it's cooler ~80%.

I think it might be a problem with the mattress. It's very heavy which means it holds a lot of heat. So even if I lower the temp to 70F for the nite, the mattress is still at 77F for quite a while.

I need a new mattress anyway, this one is at least 20-25 years old iirc. In the meantime, I'm going to do the marine underlay mat and see if it helps.

There is a saying in the mattress-world: If you wake up with a sore back you need better support, if you wake up with sore hips and shoulders you need better cushioning. What if you wake up with both sore??

Anyway. "support" and "cushioning" aren't inverses of each other. "Support" means that youe spine stays straight and "cushioning" means softness. The ideal mattress will conform to your body shape and distribute pressure evenly.

FWIW I've spent a few decades and a few thousand dollars looking for a mattress that works for both hubby and me.

We had a VERY firm traditional mattress, but even tho hubby loved it, it left my hips and shoulders sore.

I had a sleep study done a number of years ago, and they used Tempur-Pedic, and it was the most uncomfortable night I even spent! Apparently I like to shift around in my sleep a lot, and this did such a great job conforming to my body I felt like a fly trapped in amber!

So we got a "sleep number" mattress with independently-controlled sides. Hubby could never get it as firm as he wanted, and as for me their "closed cell" foam soon collapsed, and it wound up not being as soft and I needed to keep pressure points from hurting. However, several guests hve really liked that sleep number mattress, so maybe we're both just being too picky.

So we got a "purple" mattress, which promised both support and cushioning. As it turns out only the top layer is made of that "purple" stuff, the rest is closed-foan. It was great for both of us for the first year but the underlying closed foam eventually collapsed a bit, leaving "dents" for hips and shoulders. I find it the most comfortable mattress overall because my arthritic shoulders and hips really appreciate soft, soft, soft, but hubby's back does not appreciate "sag" so we're going to swap matresses (again) and go back to the sleep number.

And then there is the leather sofa, which is leather over 5" of the firmest possible furmiture grade PU foam (possibly open-cell) which seems ideal.

Maybe we need a leather mattress????

I think overall most people who've tried the sleep number (in our guest bedroom) really like it. Since it's mostly air it doesn't retain a lot of heat. It's other advantage is that it's really light to move around, unlike anything based on closed foam (which is like moving a HEAVY slab of jello!) If you get the sleep number, get the one with the most cushioning. If there was some way I could get that "purple" layer on top of the sleep number it might provide the ideal cushioning and support.

Hope this helps!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 8:23 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

There is a saying in the mattress-world: If you wake up with a sore back you need better support, if you wake up with sore hips and shoulders you need better cushioning. What if you wake up with both sore?? That would be me. (And also, feeling like the base of my right thumb is literally broken, it's so painful.)

WOW. That's a lot of real world experience!

THANKS for all the information!

ETA: just as a theoretical consideration ... if you're a side sleeper and your shoulders and hips are 2' across, and your waist is 1' across, the difference on either side of your spine between the width of the waist and that of the shoulders and hips is 0.5'.

If you're sleeping on your side, and you want to keep your spine in a perfect straight line, your hips and shoulders would have to be in 0.5' divots. But those are very deep divots and difficult to shift around out of. And that would be VERY uncomfortable.

Keeping one's spine 'perfectly' aligned is an impossible to fulfill goal!

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 10:21 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
How hot is it getting in your house, and what temp/humidity level do you need it to be for comfortable sleep?
Lately on hot days over 100F during the day inside generally, except the bedroom which I keep at 77F during the day; over 125F outside. Humidity goes up and down - lower during the day when it's hotter ~35%, much higher during the night when it's cooler ~80%.

I think it might be a problem with the mattress. It's very heavy which means it holds a lot of heat. So even if I lower the temp to 70F for the nite, the mattress is still at 77F for quite a while.

I need a new mattress anyway, this one is at least 20-25 years old iirc. In the meantime, I'm going to do the marine underlay mat and see if it helps.

Geez. You've been getting up to 125 degrees? That the "feels like" temperature, right, not the legit temp?

35% humidity would be nice. I don't think we've seen south of 55 or 60% in months. At least it's dry heat during the day, but unless you guys seriously cool off at night by you, that's got to be miserable to be in the mid 80's overnight with 80% or more humidity too.

Our hottest day (possibly for the year looking at the accuweather forecast through the end of August), is Sunday. 97 with a feel of 105, if I remember correctly. Saturday won't be much better at 93. My A/C shouldn't have any problems keeping up with that, but I'll probably have it on overnight while I sleep both days and run it about 18 hours each day.

My bill is coming up in a few days. Kind of scared to see what it's going to be. I've definitely been running that thing a hell of a lot more than I told myself I would when I got it. Along with a 180watt boxfan that blows so loud you can hardly watch TV when it's on to bring that cool air everywhere else.

As for mattresses, I got rid of my King size bed last summer along with the very comfortable L shaped couch that was too big for my very big living room. I sleep on a futon now. No problems keeping that cool. But I wouldn't recommend sleeping on a futon to anybody outside of their 20's. It's even a pretty nice one and my back has certainly seen better days.

Hope the underlay works for you. I know from many years of experience how miserable it is to try to sleep when you're sweating on the bed.

When you look for a new mattress, maybe it's time to treat yourself to one of those fancy ones you see on TV? I'm sure at least one of them have to be climate controlled.

Nothing I'd ever buy of course, so forgive me for spending your money for you.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 10:33 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
You are right. It's not just the cost but my ability to get it home. I was looking for that at Walmart but they don't have any in stock right now. I'm thinking about checking out my local Salvation Army Thrift store in the next couple of days for something better.

I'm wondering if possibly you could have WalMart deliver something to you if you paid for it with cash in the store.

I've never tried that, but it might be worth looking into if you find something you feel is worth the price but getting it home is a deal breaker.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

I have no idea if Walmart delivers. I would have to look into that.

Well, I know that they do deliver, because I could order something online right now with a credit card and shipped anywhere that I wanted to. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they'll deliver from the store itself if you buy something with cash. It's like that with a lot of stores by me, such as the big box home improvement stores and the warehouse stores too.

I imagine that they would do it for you. A sale is a sale.

..........

.....

....

Hey... I didn't even know this was an option. Check this out:

https://www.walmart.com/help/article/pay-for-walmart-com-orders-in-per
son/389ed8fac7e7430180e86320867f994a

Quote:
Pay for Walmart.com Orders in Person

You can start a Walmart.com order online and finish it in-store. Just add items to your cart, proceed to checkout, and select Pay with Cash as your payment option. Though this option is called Pay With Cash, you'll have 48 hours to pay in person using any of the following payment methods:

Any credit or debit card accepted in Walmart stores
Cash
Check
EBT (must select cash option in the debit reader)
Money order
Walmart gift card

We'll ship your order to you after you pay at the register. If you do not pay in person within 48 hours, your order is automatically canceled.

Can't say for sure that this works in Canada too, but no reason to believe that it wouldn't.

This could actually help you out a lot getting things you'd need to your house without a credit card since a store like Walmart carries so many different things. Plus if you've got the ability to go through their online selection you've got access to a lot of things they don't even carry in the store.

I'd definitely call or talk to the customer service desk and ask them about it.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 10:33 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Quote:
Geez. You've been getting up to 125 degrees? That the "feels like" temperature, right, not the legit temp?

Legit temp, the one the thermometer outside my window reads.

Quote:
When you look for a new mattress, maybe it's time to treat yourself to one of those fancy ones you see on TV? I'm sure at least one of them have to be climate controlled.
Nothing I'd ever buy of course, so forgive me for spending your money for you.

When one gets to be my age, a good night's sleep is harder to come by, and might require an investment.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 11:20 AM

You probably need more air conditioners too. I wouldn't rule that out. Your old ones are probably fine but just can't keep up. 125 real temp is just gross, even if the humidity is reasonable. I don't think I've ever lived anywhere where it's reached 125 real temp for a single minute. You in the middle of a desert or something?

Do Right, Be Right. :)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 11:22 AM

Looks like we ended up getting just about an inch of rain last night. Not as much as it could have been, but still less than I was hoping for to test the roof patch. Not that we really need 2 or 3 inches here, but it would have been nice if we had a 10 or 15 minute downpour to really test.

Not a drop inside though. I'm probably good. I'm just going to have to try to push that one down deep in the back of my mind for now and not worry about it until we get a real rain around here again.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 11:24 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

No, just inland of SoCal, away from the temperature-moderating ocean. But I am within as short drive of a desert.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 11:40 AM

That's unfortunate...

I think I'd still trade you my floodplain for your hot weather though.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 1:19 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:

No Targets in Canada anymore and when they were here they were in bigger malls than I have in my city. So getting on a bus and off with the item too hard. Wall mounting won't work for the area that I need to put the item in.
No Targets! Gosh, it's almost like you live in a foreign country from me or something!

At least you now know about wallmounting and that it won't work for you!

I find internet searches are good for figuring out 'what's out there' and maybe introducing me to things I didn't know about or options I never considered.

But yeah, you can go to stores where you can look at what's available, try them out, maybe even measure them, and so on, and once you decide and purchase them in-store you can have them delivered.

They got no business so they pulled out.

Going to have a look see at a Thrift store today. And maybe check the internet tonight.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 1:20 PM

Out for my walk and I am debating about hauling my umbrella along for the ride.

Later peeps.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 5:46 PM

My local Walmart doesn't do home deliveries. Stopped at the customer service desk.

Also local Salvation Army thrift shop doesn't have anything really useful to me in.

So, I am stuck with the make do for now.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 9:54 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
My local Walmart doesn't do home deliveries. Stopped at the customer service desk.

I just want to make sure that you didn't talk to somebody who didn't get what you're talking about here, Brenda...

It looks like it's a corporatewide thing. Granted, I can't say for sure if that's just in the US or not, but I'm going to see if I can do a little digging for you.

When you say "your local Walmart doesn't do home deliveries", I think it's possible you were asking the wrong question.

It wouldn't be your local Walmart delivering anything. It would be from a warehouse (similar to Amazon), or from one of many, many, many 3rd party sellers that use the Walmart Online storefront (similar to 3rd party companies on Amazon).

You'd simply make the order online, but instead of paying with a credit card you would select the "pay cash at store" option. All the local Walmart would be doing in this transaction is taking your printed out order form at the service counter, taking your money and putting it in the system that you paid, and then giving you a receipt for the money.

After that, the warehouse or 3rd party seller would ship the product to you.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 10:01 PM

Productive day.

Turns out the fascia and sub fascia on the garage that I never replaced is all good, so all I had to do was beat a few spots back into shape and throw some extra nails in it. I'll wash it down and give it a fresh coat of paint along with the rest of the aluminum on the garage before the gutters go up. (Eventually I'm going to paint all of the aluminum since the garage service door looks great and I want all of the white to be that clean looking).

Made my repairs to all the sub fascia on the back of the house and threw the primer up there. Only one spot left on the front of the house that I need to repair and paint and it's all ready for new fascia that I need to put a fabrication order in for.

Tomorrow, I'm going to caulk the hell out of everything too wherever it could use it since it's all exposed. Probably don't need to do that since the new fascia is going up and after the gutters go up I'll be using gutter aprons, but it can't hurt nothing and caulk is cheap.

I also finally tore out the crappy rusted chain link fence that had been shifting and looking awful. That was a job and a half. Hopefully the light haulers come and take that all away. Don't know if the city will pick it up and I'd rather not burn through a couple of sawzall blades to get them into my trash cans.

Then I found time to just barely mow my lawn again before the sun went down.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 16, 2020 11:46 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
My local Walmart doesn't do home deliveries. Stopped at the customer service desk.

I just want to make sure that you didn't talk to somebody who didn't get what you're talking about here, Brenda...

It looks like it's a corporatewide thing. Granted, I can't say for sure if that's just in the US or not, but I'm going to see if I can do a little digging for you.

When you say "your local Walmart doesn't do home deliveries", I think it's possible you were asking the wrong question.

It wouldn't be your local Walmart delivering anything. It would be from a warehouse (similar to Amazon), or from one of many, many, many 3rd party sellers that use the Walmart Online storefront (similar to 3rd party companies on Amazon).

You'd simply make the order online, but instead of paying with a credit card you would select the "pay cash at store" option. All the local Walmart would be doing in this transaction is taking your printed out order form at the service counter, taking your money and putting it in the system that you paid, and then giving you a receipt for the money.

After that, the warehouse or 3rd party seller would ship the product to you.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

I see. I will look at the website.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, July 17, 2020 1:40 AM

I just looked at it again and it looks like you should be able to pay for it at any register, and not necessarily just the customer service desk.

If you have the ability to do so, I'd print out that page and take it back up there and ask them if this applies to Canada too. It probably does.

Damn... I tweaked my back getting that fence out today. Tomorrow is going to be a blast.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, July 17, 2020 2:50 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Productive day.

Turns out the fascia and sub fascia on the garage that I never replaced is all good, so all I had to do was beat a few spots back into shape and throw some extra nails in it. I'll wash it down and give it a fresh coat of paint along with the rest of the aluminum on the garage before the gutters go up. (Eventually I'm going to paint all of the aluminum since the garage service door looks great and I want all of the white to be that clean looking).

Made my repairs to all the sub fascia on the back of the house and threw the primer up there. Only one spot left on the front of the house that I need to repair and paint and it's all ready for new fascia that I need to put a fabrication order in for.

Tomorrow, I'm going to caulk the hell out of everything too wherever it could use it since it's all exposed. Probably don't need to do that since the new fascia is going up and after the gutters go up I'll be using gutter aprons, but it can't hurt nothing and caulk is cheap.

I also finally tore out the crappy rusted chain link fence that had been shifting and looking awful. That was a job and a half. Hopefully the light haulers come and take that all away. Don't know if the city will pick it up and I'd rather not burn through a couple of sawzall blades to get them into my trash cans.

Then I found time to just barely mow my lawn again before the sun went down.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

I think I got tired just thinking about that!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, July 17, 2020 2:54 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Hey KIKI, how's the weather been? We had a deep marine layer this AM which didn't break up until noon, and last night the outdoor temp got down to 65-66.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, July 17, 2020 3:11 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

So. Been running around taking care of a lot of little errands... paying the few bills that come by mail, grocery shopping, online ordering, more grocery shopping, picking up some stuff at the pharmacy (OTC).

When I got home I took the dog for a short walk, and on the way back I stopped to look at the front yard (which I've been cleaning up) and instead of thinking about what else I should do with it and where I need to weed, I noticed that it looked .... pretty. The kind of pretty I would take a photo of. It had many of the elements that I like: the setting sun was casting dappled shade thru the island oak (which is about 15' tall by now) and backlighting the pheasant's tail grass and purple three-awn (grass). That's the kind of "look" that I'm looking for.

As I've been walking the neighborhood I've been noticing what elements I respond to and what I don't. I like some sort of shelter or green boundary on both sides to create an "outdoor room". A tree or two, dependent on yard size, because I like looking at shade. It can't be too close to the house or it will overwhelm the building. A wide welcoming patio or front porch. Walkable pathways throughout the yard/garden, separated by low-growing plants, and plants in discrete bunches. A little wild looking. I think I got that.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, July 17, 2020 5:18 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Hey KIKI, how's the weather been? We had a deep marine layer this AM which didn't break up until noon, and last night the outdoor temp got down to 65-66.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

No marine layer here in the AM, but high clouds to the west and significantly moderating temps!

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, July 17, 2020 5:19 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
So. Been running around taking care of a lot of little errands... paying the few bills that come by mail, grocery shopping, online ordering, more grocery shopping, picking up some stuff at the pharmacy (OTC).

When I got home I took the dog for a short walk, and on the way back I stopped to look at the front yard (which I've been cleaning up) and instead of thinking about what else I should do with it and where I need to weed, I noticed that it looked .... pretty. The kind of pretty I would take a photo of. It had many of the elements that I like: the setting sun was casting dappled shade thru the island oak (which is about 15' tall by now) and backlighting the pheasant's tail grass and purple three-awn (grass). That's the kind of "look" that I'm looking for.

As I've been walking the neighborhood I've been noticing what elements I respond to and what I don't. I like some sort of shelter or green boundary on both sides to create an "outdoor room". A tree or two, dependent on yard size, because I like looking at shade. It can't be too close to the house or it will overwhelm the building. A wide welcoming patio or front porch. Walkable pathways throughout the yard/garden, separated by low-growing plants, and plants in discrete bunches. A little wild looking. I think I got that.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

I've been doing the same with the house.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, July 17, 2020 10:54 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM: I think I got tired just thinking about that!

Yeah.

Had to make the best use out of yesterday that I could. Except for a few hours after noon, it was a rather comfortable day, especially for the heavy work. I certainly didn't want to be tearing out that fence this weekend when it's 97 with 80% humidity and feels like 105.

So...I have no fence now.

I don't really know what to think about that one. It's not as if my yard were boxed in already. I had a 15 foot space on the side of my garage that wasn't fenced in already, so if I had a dog it could have just run away. In fact, many years ago I was working on something outside in my garage and almost shit my pants when I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw a huge beast walk right into my service door! It was (thankfully) a very well behaved dog, that was about the size of a deer. He was just coming by to check out what I was doing I guess. Even let me pet him. I was going to do something about it, but once we went outside he started walking away and I wasn't going to try to forcibly keep him there until I was able to get animal control to come by. I'd never seen that dog in the neighborhood before or since that day.

The fence was between the garage and the side of the house, at the end of a driveway that is about as long as the neighbor's entire front yard across the street from me. It's not as if it's keeping people right on the street from coming in my yard, and this is a low traffic area anyhow. I would always forget things like tools and my shop vac out in my back porch which doesn't lock and they'd still be there in the morning when I woke up.

So... I don't have the functionality of a fence now, but it just makes my property look so much nicer now that it's gone.

I just really need to get back into the habit of stretching again. I'm still strong and in shape, but without the regular workout of the old job keeping that bounce in my step, a major job like this plays hell on my body. That sledgehammer is at least 20lbs if not 25lbs, and though I tried to use it as little as possible and figure out better solutions (like using a sawzall to cut the bottom of the posts with 60lbs of concrete off instead of the sledge), it still got quite a workout.

There was also a large and extremely heavy concrete border that was cracked and terrible along the driveway that needed to be removed. It was already in 3 pieces, so I was able to get it out of there without breaking it down further, but I'll have to at least break up the large piece before throwing it out. It's probably around 300lbs and I was able to move it about 10 feet over to get it out of the way, but there's no way 40 year old Jack can lift that into a garbage can, and it would probably just break the can it even if I were able to.

I think I'm going to take it easy today. I would like to get the last piece of fascia repaired and painted, tack up the soffit panels in the back and do any caulking that I wanted to get done before the day is over.

Other than that, I thought I might call up that paint place to see if they have my old info on file for the color match and I've got some laundry to do and the kitchen could use a quick cleaning.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, July 17, 2020 10:58 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
So. Been running around taking care of a lot of little errands... paying the few bills that come by mail, grocery shopping, online ordering, more grocery shopping, picking up some stuff at the pharmacy (OTC).

When I got home I took the dog for a short walk, and on the way back I stopped to look at the front yard (which I've been cleaning up) and instead of thinking about what else I should do with it and where I need to weed, I noticed that it looked .... pretty. The kind of pretty I would take a photo of. It had many of the elements that I like: the setting sun was casting dappled shade thru the island oak (which is about 15' tall by now) and backlighting the pheasant's tail grass and purple three-awn (grass). That's the kind of "look" that I'm looking for.

As I've been walking the neighborhood I've been noticing what elements I respond to and what I don't. I like some sort of shelter or green boundary on both sides to create an "outdoor room". A tree or two, dependent on yard size, because I like looking at shade. It can't be too close to the house or it will overwhelm the building. A wide welcoming patio or front porch. Walkable pathways throughout the yard/garden, separated by low-growing plants, and plants in discrete bunches. A little wild looking. I think I got that.

That sounds nice.

It is really cool when you can look back after a lot of work and planning and be happy with what you see.

Right now, I'm willing to settle for "doesn't look like it's falling apart from the street".

I think I got that.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, July 17, 2020 1:43 PM

Out for a walk in the rain. In the last 2 weeks we've had almost a July's full amount of rain.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, July 18, 2020 1:04 PM

Well.......... Shit.

Little wrench in the plans here.

After mulling it over for quite a bit, I decided to replace the fascia board on the overhang because of rot in the corner. I was just going to build it up and seal it up before covering it with aluminum, but after digging a bit out I realized that I had gone past the fascia and was digging a bit of the bottom of the header that I have my jack propped up under.

Good news: I just saved myself from jacking up under what I thought was a header that spanned all the way and tied into the roof of the actual house.

Bad news: I can't jack anything there, and honestly without doing thousands of dollars worth of damange I don't think I can find a safe spot to jack.

It's not a header. There IS no header. The board I am propped under now only spans roughly 3.5 feet. It IS under a notched out rafter that would be directly above the "wall" where the window on the overhang is drywalled inside, but instead of doing that all the way back like I thought it would, it terminates at the next rafter. The board that I discovered was a bit rotten is just a 16" green 2x4 that is tied into the other side of that rafter and into the one behind it that is too deep to reach and can just barely be seen with a flashlight.

And there is some minor ant damage up there. That explains the ants that were climing up that pillar a few years back before I finally got that problem under control. It doesn't look to be much more than superficial, but I think I'm going to have to start tearing out drywall in the finished attic while the jacks are under there. I'll start where the known problem areas are and hope I don't end up having to take it all down.

Maybe if I'm lucky I can reinforce things from inside in a way that would allow me to do the jacking without having to take stuff apart outside. Drywall is cheap and easy to replace. Re-siding and having new aluminum fabricated isn't.

Oh well... As bad as this news is, it's still good information to have. I wanted to jack that overhang up probably at least another 2" to make it level and I'm afraid that if I did that without knowing more of the full picture I would have snapped something clean off and had a disaster on my hands. (Maybe not... I'm not a structural engineer, but since it wasn't constructed like it should have been I don't want to take the chance without knowing more first).

So I ran out and got some new 8' 1x8 green board, used the rotten fascia as a template and cut it down to 6 1/2" with a 45 angle down to 6 to fit up tight under the roof tar paper like the old one was. (and learned how to adjust my table saw for 0 to 90 degree miters in the process, which is awesome).

Then I threw 20 nails into it straight through the 2x4's I thought were headers, and even through the extra 2x4 I built out and affixed with 6 patio screws for the jacking. Once I remove the boards that the columns are affixed to in prep for the new colums, I'll throw a few more in there.

It's only a 1x8, but it's not split at all and it's green board. I'm thinking that it should help me to be able to jack everything up at least a little bit, although I think I've decided on a much better spot for the columns when I wrap it up this time. I think I'm going to put them so they're under the 2x4 that is under the rafter in between the drywall inside and the siding on the outside. This way the columns are actually doing something other than being decoration that was pulling the overhang down.

At the end of the day, I also have to be happy that the overhang did go back up more than an inch on its own when removing the columns too. If everything was dryrotted and trashed by the ants in any important spots, that never would have happened.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, July 19, 2020 12:09 AM

Just read a story written around characters in 1920s Paris.

Wonder if I will ever get to see Paris?

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, July 19, 2020 12:55 AM

Good luck. :)

I've never been more than 250 miles away from any place I've ever sat down.

Can't imagine that there is any reason why I ever would want to either.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, July 19, 2020 3:19 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

The world is a pretty amazing place. I've been to the northeast (Boston, business) Florida (family business) the southwest (jobs) up and down the west coast (vacation) Dallas (family business) and a couple of places in between, and they all felt very different.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, July 19, 2020 6:32 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

My favorite places of all time were Toronto, ON and Chicago (downtown). I suspect I would love Vancouver, BC. I've been a lot of places over the years, from Ganado on the Navajo reservation to Key West, Florida to Madison, Wisconsin to Moro Bay, California and middle of nowhere Grand Junction, Colorado ... among the maybe couple dozen total.

Of course those places no longer exist as I remember them. But I was happy to experience how different they all were.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, July 19, 2020 1:51 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Just as an aside, I made a killer of a dinner a few days ago. It was the same as before: zucchini parmagiana layered with ground turkey and sauce (Alfredo for dd and me, marinara for hubby) and fresh basil (DAMN am I glad I planted five basil plants! I use it for Italian and Thai dishes, and I use a lot of it! There's nothing compared to fresh basil!) but I was very careful how I made it, and family LOVED it!

I used an unconscionable amount of grapeseed oil for frying the egg-washed, floured/parmesaned zucchini to a perfect golden brown, but there must be something good for people in grapeseed oil because we ALL slept well that night, with fewer aches and pains than usual.

So, maybe cooking with grapeseed oil is a good thing?

*****

Also, on advice of my doctor I made another stab at going back on statin, which I had stopped taking about four weeks ago bc it had finally caught up with me resulting in "everything hurting" again. Well, it took a couple of days longer into the re-trial than she thought for the aches and pains to start up again, (seven days instead of five) but sure enough... the finger joints that were already hurting hurt worse and started popping, my shoulders that were more-or-less OK before started hurting enough to keep me awake, the rest of my tendons and ligaments (feet, elbows, ankles etc) started twinging at random, and I started feeling very, very tired.

I bring this up to say that I stopped taking it last night, and I feel GREAT!!!

I don't always feel this good, but what an unusally good morning this is!

OH HAPPY DAY!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, July 19, 2020 2:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
The world is a pretty amazing place. I've been to the northeast (Boston, business) Florida (family business) the southwest (jobs) up and down the west coast (vacation) Dallas (family business) and a couple of places in between, and they all felt very different.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

That is why I want to travel. The world IS an amazing place. I've been as far east in Canada as Edmonton and Calgary Alberta and in the US, Washington State and Northern California. The US trips were to visit my dad's sisters who lived down there and meet cousins.

I have always wanted to visit Paris. To walk around a city almost a 1,000 years old as an archaeology student at heart that would be amazing.

So many places on my bucket list in Europe and North Africa. Egypt being the biggie there. Japan and maybe walk along part of the Great Wall.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, July 19, 2020 2:25 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Good luck. :)

I've never been more than 250 miles away from any place I've ever sat down.

Can't imagine that there is any reason why I ever would want to either.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

There is a whole world outside your corner of the US. New things to see and experience.

I have friends like that express the same sentiment as you. They have no desire to see anything really outside of their own part of Canada. I can't imagine living in that mindset.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, July 19, 2020 3:56 PM

Phone call from the manager. Building is getting the intercom system upgraded. Hope whoever they get in to do it does a better job than the idjits who did the fire alarms.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, July 19, 2020 4:36 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Good luck. :)

I've never been more than 250 miles away from any place I've ever sat down.

Can't imagine that there is any reason why I ever would want to either.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

There is a whole world outside your corner of the US. New things to see and experience.

I have friends like that express the same sentiment as you. They have no desire to see anything really outside of their own part of Canada. I can't imagine living in that mindset.

Eh... To each their own. I'd never tell anybody not to travel if that's what they want to do and they can afford the cost and time to do it.

I'm just not all that moved by the wonders of the world is all, and people are generally the same no matter where you go once you peel away the superficial layers.

Anything I'd want to see that isn't right here I can see in high def on the TV.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, July 19, 2020 5:54 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
SignyM:
The world is a pretty amazing place. I've been to the northeast (Boston, business) Florida (family business) the southwest (jobs) up and down the west coast (vacation) Dallas (family business) and a couple of places in between, and they all felt very different.

BRENDA: That is why I want to travel. The world IS an amazing place. I've been as far east in Canada as Edmonton and Calgary Alberta and in the US, Washington State and Northern California. The US trips were to visit my dad's sisters who lived down there and meet cousins.

I have always wanted to visit Paris. To walk around a city almost a 1,000 years old as an archaeology student at heart that would be amazing.

So many places on my bucket list in Europe and North Africa. Egypt being the biggie there. Japan and maybe walk along part of the Great Wall.

Wow, you have adventurous travel ambitions! I would be worried about getting lost, not knowing the language, or actual danger (Egypt).

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, July 19, 2020 6:01 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
SIX:

I've never been more than 250 miles away from any place I've ever sat down.
Can't imagine that there is any reason why I ever would want to either.

BRENDA: There is a whole world outside your corner of the US. New things to see and experience.
I have friends like that express the same sentiment as you. They have no desire to see anything really outside of their own part of Canada. I can't imagine living in that mindset.

SIX: Eh... To each their own. I'd never tell anybody not to travel if that's what they want to do and they can afford the cost and time to do it.
I'm just not all that moved by the wonders of the world is all, and people are generally the same no matter where you go once you peel away the superficial layers.

I think you say that because you've never met anyone that isn't from around where you live, or who hasn't been westernized.

If you were to travel, you would find a very socially-minded people in Newfoundland, PEI, and Nova Scotia. You would find that people in Argentina assume petty corruption ... the kind that would upset most Americans ... to be part of life. You would find Asians to be very conformist. Even tho we mostly need/want the same things (food, water, shelter, sleep, sex, safety, acceptance, purpose, agency) many people have very different ideas on how to achieve them.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, July 19, 2020 8:10 PM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

I think JACK's very limited life is how he assumes he can speak for 'everyone' and 'nobody' ... without the smallest recognition he's exemplifying the Dunning-Kruger phenomenon.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, July 20, 2020 3:28 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Good luck. :)

I've never been more than 250 miles away from any place I've ever sat down.

Can't imagine that there is any reason why I ever would want to either.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

There is a whole world outside your corner of the US. New things to see and experience.

I have friends like that express the same sentiment as you. They have no desire to see anything really outside of their own part of Canada. I can't imagine living in that mindset.

Eh... To each their own. I'd never tell anybody not to travel if that's what they want to do and they can afford the cost and time to do it.

I'm just not all that moved by the wonders of the world is all, and people are generally the same no matter where you go once you peel away the superficial layers.

Anything I'd want to see that isn't right here I can see in high def on the TV.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

That is your choice as well.

Of course people are all the same basically. But it is the things we have in common that makes the world amazing. The different ideas on food and music. Those are in my opinion worth experiencing.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, July 20, 2020 3:32 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
SignyM:
The world is a pretty amazing place. I've been to the northeast (Boston, business) Florida (family business) the southwest (jobs) up and down the west coast (vacation) Dallas (family business) and a couple of places in between, and they all felt very different.

BRENDA: That is why I want to travel. The world IS an amazing place. I've been as far east in Canada as Edmonton and Calgary Alberta and in the US, Washington State and Northern California. The US trips were to visit my dad's sisters who lived down there and meet cousins.

I have always wanted to visit Paris. To walk around a city almost a 1,000 years old as an archaeology student at heart that would be amazing.

So many places on my bucket list in Europe and North Africa. Egypt being the biggie there. Japan and maybe walk along part of the Great Wall.
Wow, you have adventurous travel ambitions! I would be worried about getting lost, not knowing the language, or actual danger (Egypt).

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

I know I do and maybe one day. I know about the danger too. My cousin mentioned that when I talked about going to Egypt. Heck, she said people down in Louisanna were crazy and there by my wanting to go down there was crazy too.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, July 20, 2020 10:50 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
I think JACK's very limited life is how he assumes he can speak for 'everyone' and 'nobody' ... without the smallest recognition he's exemplifying the Dunning-Kruger phenomenon.

We've already gone over this.

I'm the side of the Dunning-Kruger coin where I just get frustrated because I keep forgetting that most people aren't on my level so I have to walk around with extremely lowered expectations and on the rare occasion that it benefits me or I actually care to do so I need to dumb everything down for other people.

I envy you for never having to think about those things.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, July 20, 2020 11:31 AM

THG

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
I've figured out it's due to the heat even tho the bedroom has AC, and the fact that my mattress heats up too much where I'm laying down on it. I figured it out because I can sleep elsewhere, but I'm EXTREMELY uncomfortable in bed because ... for whatever reason I'm ultra-sensitive to the sensation of sticking to the linens.

So today I ordered a polymer random mesh made for boats that you put under your mattress. The original onboard intention was to allow for air circulation underneath, to keep mattresses from molding (because, on ships, mattresses are placed on solid plywood and never get a chance to dry out underneath).

It was cheap, and I think it'll allow for cooling.

How hot is it getting in your house, and what temp/humidity level do you need it to be for comfortable sleep?

The $400 A/C I bought has done fine by me and it's cooling roughly 1,500 sq feet. Granted, it's not as hot here, but it's probably quite a bit more humid.

Maybe it's time for a new A/C unit. The one I bought is out of stock right now, so you'd either have to buy a smaller 5,000 or 10,000BTU version, or the 15,000BTU if you have a window large enough to accommodate it and have an extra $600 or $700 lying around.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

Do Right, Be Right. :)

Stupid people don't know they're stupid, and they certainly don't realize how obvious it is to others.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, July 20, 2020 11:40 AM

Why, idiot?

Do Right, Be Right. :)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 23, 2020 3:15 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Dang but my back is bad again starting Wed AM when I got out of bed, and it never worked itself out. Sigh. Another day gone of creeping around bent over and hardly anything done. I guess I'll be doing the heating pad tonight and hope tomorrow is better.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, July 23, 2020 3:21 AM