REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

In the garden, and RAIN!!!!

POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Tuesday, November 1, 2022 17:55
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Friday, May 17, 2019 5:40 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Two Grey Whales, a mother and calf got stuck in Boundary Bay last week. Caught as the tide was going out. Wildlife Rescue were called and watched for a while. Luckily momma and calf got out of the bay and back into open water.

Same thing happened the week before in Washington state. Different outcome. Whales couldn't get out and unfortunately even with human help died.

Meaning you watched them? From your balcony, or on-site?



Meaning I saw that on my local news last week and forgot to post it.

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Saturday, May 18, 2019 1:11 PM

BRENDA


Out for a walk in the sun.

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Saturday, May 18, 2019 6:25 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Massive L-shaped couch out of my house (if not quite yet out of my life). It's sitting tight in the garage for now. Got a line out to a friend who might want it. If not, I'm looking for a nice sunny day to put it curbside since it would be a real shame if it got trashed. It's in great shape.

I've decided that I'm throwing out my trusty lazyboy couch too. I have a futon that I cleaned up real nice, and that's where I'm sleeping from now on. Super light weight and easy to move around to clean behind and underneath.

I took up one of the area rugs, and as soon as I make more progress, the other one is coming out of the living room too. Polished about half of the room (hardwood floors), and put those cool little felt pads under the coffee table and the futon.

So much more room already. I'm on a mission now. By the end of my vacation if nothing else gets finished, I'm going to have gotten rid of 80% of everything I own. All my shit that I don't need.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!


Super stoked that I was able to get all of that out to the garage without any help. If nothing else, I can walk away from the job when it's over knowing that I really got myself back into shape over the last year and a half. :)

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Saturday, May 18, 2019 9:04 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Good for you!!

Meanwhile, I'm still weeding (the perennial chore!) and just about finishing up painting the back bedroom (only the trim and some touch-up to go),.

Gotta boogey b4 my 'shrooms and beef brun.

Awesome news, SIX!

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

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Saturday, May 18, 2019 9:30 PM

BRENDA


Got a small donation made to a local thrift shop yesterday morning. Also got some puzzles taken over to my senior centre yesterday evening when I was out.

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Sunday, May 19, 2019 2:59 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
6ix, could you do me a favor?

Hop over to the Unemployment Rate thread, look at the JSF-URF-1 Table that I posted on 3 May.

Let me know how that looks on your computer display. If it wraps, let me know at what letter or column it wraps.


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Sunday, May 19, 2019 3:04 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Oh. I meant to reply to that. Not sure why I didn't.

I didn't see any formatting errors on my side.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Sunday, May 19, 2019 4:05 PM

BRENDA


Bright lazy Sunday.

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Sunday, May 19, 2019 4:43 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Lazy here too...

Not bright though.


Kind of overwhelmed with what needs to be done ATM. I'm going to feel a lot better come Thursday when I can get rid of the next big round of trash. Kind of my bottleneck right now. Also going to have to see if they were able to get any boxes for me at work because I really need to start packing up things that I plan on taking with me but are just in the way right now.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Sunday, May 19, 2019 10:00 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Lazy here too...

Not bright though.


Kind of overwhelmed with what needs to be done ATM. I'm going to feel a lot better come Thursday when I can get rid of the next big round of trash. Kind of my bottleneck right now. Also going to have to see if they were able to get any boxes for me at work because I really need to start packing up things that I plan on taking with me but are just in the way right now.

Do Right, Be Right. :)



Been there many of times over the years Jack.

I'm going to do some more unboxing tomorrow after I come back from a walk. I know I bought hand soap before I moved but with the move it is now buried. So, I have to do that tomorrow.

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Sunday, May 19, 2019 10:01 PM

BRENDA


Gearing up for the series finale of "Game of Thrones" but first "Best Baker in America".

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Monday, May 20, 2019 12:24 AM

BRENDA


Well, that was very well.

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Monday, May 20, 2019 1:10 PM

BRENDA


Rain today.

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Monday, May 20, 2019 5:36 PM

BRENDA


3 more boxes and a bin down.

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Monday, May 20, 2019 7:36 PM

BRENDA


Seems I have mislaid another piece of writing. I really, really hate that.

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Monday, May 20, 2019 8:59 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Well... my friend doesn't want my couch, and my brother doesn't want the two high-back lazyboy chairs. Given the mouse problem I've got, that's probably not the worst thing in the world. I cleaned them down real good, didn't notice any droppings on or inside them, and the covering underneath the pieces was still intact without holes in them. But again, if some random stranger is going to take the stuff I won't feel bad about it. I'd always be wondering if somebody I knew took them. So it's for the best.

Verified with the city that the garbage company will take the entire L-shaped couch on trash day. I'm to call them if they don't. In even better news, I don't have to plan a special trip to get rid of any electronics. Turns out my city will come and remove them on trash day after scheduling a special pickup. Going to get rid of my two tube tvs, the innards from the projection screen that I didn't keep, and some old tech that I should have gotten rid of a long time ago.

I forgot to ask if they would take a projection screen. Breaks my heart to get rid of the nice one, but it's another 300+ lbs out of my life and I've got a reasonable sized flat screen to tide me over for a while until more funds are available. I still may choose to break the TV down myself though. There's some nice stuff inside those TVs. I'm not sure if the good one is constructed as well as that ancient one my folks gave me, but if it is, there might be another really nice base with high quality castors on the bottom. I salvaged that from the old TV and it's going to be a cinch wheeling out the pieces of the couch on that.



These mice gotta go. Got bait stations all over the place. I'm going to find and clean up all of the traps and get them going too. I'm sure they've been around for a while given the amount of poop I'm finding when I remove furniture and the fact that I can hear them in the walls when I've been quiet for a few hours.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Monday, May 20, 2019 9:37 PM

BRENDA


Wow! Jack. Mice not good. Hope you can get rid of them.

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Monday, May 20, 2019 10:09 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Well... my friend doesn't want my couch, and my brother doesn't want the two high-back lazyboy chairs. Given the mouse problem I've got, that's probably not the worst thing in the world. I cleaned them down real good, didn't notice any droppings on or inside them, and the covering underneath the pieces was still intact without holes in them. But again, if some random stranger is going to take the stuff I won't feel bad about it. I'd always be wondering if somebody I knew took them. So it's for the best.

Verified with the city that the garbage company will take the entire L-shaped couch on trash day. I'm to call them if they don't. In even better news, I don't have to plan a special trip to get rid of any electronics. Turns out my city will come and remove them on trash day after scheduling a special pickup. Going to get rid of my two tube tvs, the innards from the projection screen that I didn't keep, and some old tech that I should have gotten rid of a long time ago.

I forgot to ask if they would take a projection screen. Breaks my heart to get rid of the nice one, but it's another 300+ lbs out of my life and I've got a reasonable sized flat screen to tide me over for a while until more funds are available. I still may choose to break the TV down myself though. There's some nice stuff inside those TVs. I'm not sure if the good one is constructed as well as that ancient one my folks gave me, but if it is, there might be another really nice base with high quality castors on the bottom. I salvaged that from the old TV and it's going to be a cinch wheeling out the pieces of the couch on that.

Well, someone should put that in a woman's magazine ... how to lose 600 pounds in one week!



Quote:


These mice gotta go. Got bait stations all over the place. I'm going to find and clean up all of the traps and get them going too. I'm sure they've been around for a while given the amount of poop I'm finding when I remove furniture and the fact that I can hear them in the walls when I've been quiet for a few hours.

I have a very active little dog with a strong prey drive (rat terrier) who's looking for work. I wish I could loan her out, she'd do a great job with your mice and be a real happy camper too.

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

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Tuesday, May 21, 2019 7:40 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Yeah... the hits just keep coming. *sigh*


Not a single bite of any of the traps.

Granted, that L-shaped couch has been there for about 4 years now, and I have gotten rid of mice in the past. The "evidence" might have been old news.

I'm only assuming I've got mice in the walls. I haven't actually seen anything yet. There are two holes in the soil at the front of the house that I've seen. Jesus, I'm hoping it's not rats.

If not mice, ground squirrels maybe?

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, May 21, 2019 1:06 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Yeah... the hits just keep coming. *sigh*


Not a single bite of any of the traps.

Granted, that L-shaped couch has been there for about 4 years now, and I have gotten rid of mice in the past. The "evidence" might have been old news.

I'm only assuming I've got mice in the walls. I haven't actually seen anything yet. There are two holes in the soil at the front of the house that I've seen. Jesus, I'm hoping it's not rats.

If not mice, ground squirrels maybe?

Do Right, Be Right. :)



Those holes in the front yard could be moles, Jack.

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Tuesday, May 21, 2019 1:07 PM

BRENDA


Found one piece of writing I thought I had lost. Yay! me.

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Tuesday, May 21, 2019 1:15 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Yeah... the hits just keep coming. *sigh*


Not a single bite of any of the traps.

Bait with bacon. There isn't a critter alive who doesn't like bacon. Peanut butter doesn't work. But if you bait it (with bacon), they will come - whoever "they" happen to be!

Quote:

Granted, that L-shaped couch has been there for about 4 years now, and I have gotten rid of mice in the past. The "evidence" might have been old news.

I'm only assuming I've got mice in the walls. I haven't actually seen anything yet. There are two holes in the soil at the front of the house that I've seen. Jesus, I'm hoping it's not rats.

If not mice, ground squirrels maybe?

Or moles. Here we have something called "Pocket gophers" too, but I don't know if they extend all the way to your state.

Unlikely to be house rats, they like to live in walls and attics.

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

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Tuesday, May 21, 2019 1:33 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Those holes in the front yard could be moles, Jack.



Yeah. I thought of that. It's possible, but they're not the same type of moles I had years ago if they are since they're not tearing up my lawn and just making mounds that I've crushed down.

I think they're unrelated to what is actually in my house.

Mice don't growl... I don't believe moles and rats do either.

Don't think it's squirrels either. Some people describe noises they make as "growling", but that's not what I'm hearing. Granted, it's somewhat muffled because the attic was "finished" with drywall, and they're living in there somewhere around above my front door (which is also above the living room, which is where I have been hearing the most activity).

I can't be sure, but I do believe I have a racoon problem. Ugggh....


If that's what I'm seeing here, it might not be that bad if I can harass them enough. It would be the mama having her babies up in there because it was dark and quiet. Emphasis on WAS. I've been going up and banging on the walls every hour or so, and I've got my clock radio on full blast playing some Rush Limbaugh right up against the wall where I've been banging and I hear the growling. (Any music/noise should be good, but the site I heard specifically said that they don't like human voices) When I go up and turn of the radio and listen, I still hear the growling, so I've got whatever it is on edge.

Not so quiet anymore, is it bitches! I can empathize. 5 minutes of listening to Rush would have me growling and on edge too.




If it is a racoon, poisoning it is not the answer. Chances are this early in the year and the fact that this just recently started means that there are a litter of babies, and they'd die up there leaving a stench. If the mother decides a mistake was made, she may choose to move the entire liter and get the F out of Dodge. It was recommended to make it bad for them for about 3 days to see if they leave on their own before taking any other steps.

Then I'll have to figure out how the hell they got in. I can't even begin to imagine how they got up in there. Roof was brand new when I bought the house and from the ground it looks to be damn near perfect. There's certainly not holes anywhere that are allowing rainwater into the home.

Some tree branches are above the roof. Do raccoons climb trees?



EDIT: Yes. Yes they do.

Quote:

Raccoons expertly climb trees to escape danger, nest, and gain access to the roofs of buildings. Tree hollows are actually some of raccoons favorite denning sites as they provide shelter from predators and the elements, so property owners may see adults climbing trunks to their nests. Since they have sharp claws, raccoons in trees mark up the bark as they climb. Finally, individuals might be alerted to infestations of the pest by the presence of raccoon latrines in yards.


Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, May 21, 2019 4:55 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Silence all day...

Haven't heard any activity for a few hours now. The last two times I went up and banged around on the walls I wasn't met with movement or growling. Doesn't mean much at this point though. That could be anything. Maybe mama finally decided that it was alright to go out and forage even with the radio blaring.


Tomorrow is supposed to be dry and sunny and hot. It's been cold and wet and rainy all day today.

Going to keep at the harassment the rest of the day and throughout the night, and tomorrow in between gettting all of that huge crap out to the curb I'm going to be doing some investigating and seeing how they might be getting in.

I suspect it might be because of all the stuff I recently exposed in the porch, because this has never been a problem before. But timing with everything in my life right now seems to be just terrible and this might just all be an unfortunate coincidence coming from yet somewhere else.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, May 21, 2019 5:25 PM

BRENDA


Another bin emptied. Found some books, collectables and a couple of games. One game I will leave for now but the other can be donated. I don't play backgammon.

Books include Star Trek, James Herriot, he of "All Creatures Great and Small" fame. Miami Vice, Dr. Who, fictionalized account of my distant Aunt Sacajawea that I bought when I was in high school, my dad's "According to Hoyle" book and my grandmother's bible. These books also include 4 that should have gone to a friend years ago but I just never got them to her. Have to messenger her and see if she wants them if not they can be donated as well.

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Tuesday, May 21, 2019 8:47 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Silence all day...

Haven't heard any activity for a few hours now. The last two times I went up and banged around on the walls I wasn't met with movement or growling. Doesn't mean much at this point though. That could be anything. Maybe mama finally decided that it was alright to go out and forage even with the radio blaring.


Tomorrow is supposed to be dry and sunny and hot. It's been cold and wet and rainy all day today.

Going to keep at the harassment the rest of the day and throughout the night, and tomorrow in between gettting all of that huge crap out to the curb I'm going to be doing some investigating and seeing how they might be getting in.

I suspect it might be because of all the stuff I recently exposed in the porch, because this has never been a problem before. But timing with everything in my life right now seems to be just terrible and this might just all be an unfortunate coincidence coming from yet somewhere else.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

Not sure about raccoons, but most critters I trap with Oil of Anis. Like what they make licorice with.

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Tuesday, May 21, 2019 10:46 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Yeah.... I haven't gotten to the trapping phase yet. Going to see if the harassment thing works first. From what I read, racoon mothers are extremely protective of their young and will move the entire litter if she feels she made a mistake and the place she picked wasn't safe.

She's still up there alright. She may have been out foraging earlier like I assumed. Compared to the last few days and nights, there's been almost zero movement activity. As soon as I hear anything, I'm stomping up the stairs and banging all over the walls up there. Even took to bringing some pans up there to make even louder noises and I started scratching at the walls too.

I'm thinking there may be a chance that once I'm sleeping for a while and she can test the waters she might just get the family out while the getting is good.


I'm going to do that for a few days.


Then I'm going to drill a few holes in the drywall and start poking stuff in there while making a bunch of noise.

If they're as smart as I'm hearing they are, I don't want them to get the feeling that I'm all bark and no bite.

Progressive danger awaits if they don't leave.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Wednesday, May 22, 2019 2:56 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


They're quiet, and likely really scared, but they're still up there. I don't get any growling anymore. Just some very hard to hear shifting around when I'm banging. I wish I could read animals minds. I wonder if Mama is contemplating the risk/reward ratio for trying to remove the litter or to just keep camping out.

Maybe I'm giving her more agency than she deserves, but then again the behavior patterns have clearly changed. She's not walking around here like she owns the place anymore. That's of little peace of mind to me though when I know I have to do something before the litter matures and I have an exponential problem.



In other news, got tons of stuff out to the street today. The giant couch is out, and the 2nd couch in the basement is staged in the garage. I'm hoping somebody takes the good one so I can throw the other one out tomorrow instead of waiting for next week. Also got 2 old tube TVs and the projection screen TV out there. Gotta go through my attic today and figure out what other tech is getting pitched.

Should be able to get the 2nd rug out of there and at least polish up the floors on about 3/4 of the living room now. An absolute must is cleaning off the flat screen and TV stand that have been in the basement for years so I at least have a TV to watch tonight. I'm going to miss my 52" beast until I get a bigger TV someday, but it's worth watching a 40" TV in the meantime now that I've got another major thing out.


Oh... and once I get that TV and stand up in the living room, I've got all of the furniture out of my basement. All that's left down there now is a shelf unit to roll my smokes on and some workout equipment. :)


Starting next week.... removing the bedroom sets from the 2nd floor and/or clearing out all of the shit from my garage.



Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Wednesday, May 22, 2019 7:46 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


It would be great if you could get some money for all that stuff

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

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Wednesday, May 22, 2019 9:06 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Yeah... well the plan was to keep those tubes and sell 'em for a thousand bucks each 10 or 15 years from now when nobody had them anymore, but I'm not taking them when I move, and they're two giant problems out of my life now. The 52" is still really nice. I used it this morning before I got to work.

Sucks that nobody took any of it. 3 TV's and a great L-shaped couch, and it looks like it's going to rain soon. :(

Unbelievably, somebody took a crappy $25 printer that ran out of ink years ago and a whole box of the innards of the other projection screen that I tore down last week. I have no clue what somebody would want that for.

If I didn't have so much other stuff I want to get rid of, I would have took my time and tried to sell the couch, but att this rate, I could throw out my one piece a week and still be getting rid of furniture 2 months from now if nobody takes any of it.

Some nice smaller pieces coming up though, so I imagine if the weather is nice I can probably get rid of a ton of it in a single week by just putting out a new piece every time somebody grabs one.

THERE'S SO MUCH SPACE NOW!!! I LOVE IT!



I'm exhausted. I managed to do all of that, mow the lawn and clean up a lot of stuff and get my flat screen up and working in the living room.

I think I'm going to eat and then sleep for about 12 hours. :)

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Wednesday, May 22, 2019 10:17 PM

BRENDA


Got some stuff to get ready for donation tomorrow.

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Thursday, May 23, 2019 3:53 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Been battling some sort of infection; it started with a crackling/popping left ear. the after a week the left side of my throat got sore. The my WHOLE throat got sore ... and I mean REALLY sore, like strep-throat sore. Then I lost my voice and developed a cough. After two weeks I threw in the towel and saw a doctor, and just started a short course of antibiotics. I hope I feel better soon because I feel terrible!

But I discovered that the old cures work. Honey ... works at least as well as ibuprofen, and the two work pretty well together.

I think tommorrow I'm going to try the old peasant's trick: Honey (kills germs) and some sort of hard liquor (kills germs), lemon juice (vita C) and hot water. If it doesn't help at least I won't be focusing on the pain so much.

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

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Thursday, May 23, 2019 12:01 PM

BRENDA


Bright sunny day here. Out in a bit.

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Thursday, May 23, 2019 6:28 PM

BRENDA


Donation made and I found a copy of "Gladiator" there. So I bought it.

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Friday, May 24, 2019 12:20 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Gladiator. That's one sexy ass.



Racoon Confirmed! :)

Learned a bit about my house today too. Would have learned more but, yanno, there's a racoon living up there now....

My suspicions that she found her way up there after I exposed stuff with the porch were confirmed too. I was on the phone with my brother when I said quietly into the phone after going out to the porch for a smoke "shhhh! you hear that!". My brother could hear her crawling on the ceiling above me too. I must have walked out right while she was in the middle of doing something because that is about 15 to 20 feet east of where I'd usually find her in the walls of the house proper.

She was panicing too, hearing me talking loudly right below her.

My brother reminded me of a door that I hadn't even thought about in the attic for years in a room that had boxes in front of it. It's just a 2'x 2' wooden thing leading out onto the porch roof. I went up to it (thinking in my mind that it was just a tiny piece of wood, but thankfully it was at least 1" thick and it's VERY hard to open inward to the house over the carpet installed there. If she ever tried getting into it, she wouldn't ever have been able to force it open. It doesn't have a knob, and I had to get a flathead screwdriver to pry it open just an inch and shine a flashlight in there.

Back and forth the light went. For a few minutes at least...

Then I saw the shine. Those beady little eyes reflecting the light back at me. She must not have noticed right away that I was looking right at her because when she did, she ducked her head behind some insulation. The entire time I was going through this process with the door she didn't make a single sound.

Once she hid, I began barking and being as loud as I could. Banging on the wall and scratching it. She didn't make a sound. I would have started slamming the door a bunch of times, but like I said the thing can barely be opened.

I've never looked up there before. I guess I always assumed that was closed off from the porch roof, but it might be wide open into the house. Either that, or she gnawed her way in there. If she actually did that, then I guess I'll consider myself lucky that's where she gnawed in instead of the finished inside of the attic.


I haven't heard a peep out of her since then. I'd imagine she's pretty terrified right now.



I've got a boom box in the garage. During the middle of the day while she's most likely to be out foraging if she hasn't left for good, I'm going to put on a rediculous amount of clothing and figure out a way to protect my head, just so I don't get bit in case she is still up there, and I'm going to put the radio right in there and turn it up twice as loud as the alarm clock that's been keeping her quiet from outside of her dwelling.



I've got to admit, she was really cute the way she had her head poked out and quickly hid it when she realized that I was looking right at her. I almost feel bad having to evict her. Hopefully she makes this easy and painless.

Then I have to find a way to make sure another one doesn't try the same thing once she gets the message.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Friday, May 24, 2019 1:40 AM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Gladiator. That's one sexy ass.



Racoon Confirmed! :)

Learned a bit about my house today too. Would have learned more but, yanno, there's a racoon living up there now....

My suspicions that she found her way up there after I exposed stuff with the porch were confirmed too. I was on the phone with my brother when I said quietly into the phone after going out to the porch for a smoke "shhhh! you hear that!". My brother could hear her crawling on the ceiling above me too. I must have walked out right while she was in the middle of doing something because that is about 15 to 20 feet east of where I'd usually find her in the walls of the house proper.

She was panicing too, hearing me talking loudly right below her.

My brother reminded me of a door that I hadn't even thought about in the attic for years in a room that had boxes in front of it. It's just a 2'x 2' wooden thing leading out onto the porch roof. I went up to it (thinking in my mind that it was just a tiny piece of wood, but thankfully it was at least 1" thick and it's VERY hard to open inward to the house over the carpet installed there. If she ever tried getting into it, she wouldn't ever have been able to force it open. It doesn't have a knob, and I had to get a flathead screwdriver to pry it open just an inch and shine a flashlight in there.

Back and forth the light went. For a few minutes at least...

Then I saw the shine. Those beady little eyes reflecting the light back at me. She must not have noticed right away that I was looking right at her because when she did, she ducked her head behind some insulation. The entire time I was going through this process with the door she didn't make a single sound.

Once she hid, I began barking and being as loud as I could. Banging on the wall and scratching it. She didn't make a sound. I would have started slamming the door a bunch of times, but like I said the thing can barely be opened.

I've never looked up there before. I guess I always assumed that was closed off from the porch roof, but it might be wide open into the house. Either that, or she gnawed her way in there. If she actually did that, then I guess I'll consider myself lucky that's where she gnawed in instead of the finished inside of the attic.


I haven't heard a peep out of her since then. I'd imagine she's pretty terrified right now.



I've got a boom box in the garage. During the middle of the day while she's most likely to be out foraging if she hasn't left for good, I'm going to put on a rediculous amount of clothing and figure out a way to protect my head, just so I don't get bit in case she is still up there, and I'm going to put the radio right in there and turn it up twice as loud as the alarm clock that's been keeping her quiet from outside of her dwelling.



I've got to admit, she was really cute the way she had her head poked out and quickly hid it when she realized that I was looking right at her. I almost feel bad having to evict her. Hopefully she makes this easy and painless.

Then I have to find a way to make sure another one doesn't try the same thing once she gets the message.

Do Right, Be Right. :)



That it is.

I knew people that had a raccoon living under the front stairs of their house and while she and I think she had babies, were out the man boarded up all the holes under the stairs so they couldn't get back in.

That is all you can do is board everything up Jack to keep her out and from maybe having a family in your attic.

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Friday, May 24, 2019 3:54 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


I used to think that raccoons were cute until I was faced down by one that I truly think might have been rabid.

They're destructive and aggressive critters and - worse- they commonly carry two parasites that can be spread to people. One is the common roundworm, the other can wind up eating your brain

https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/baylisascaris/index.html

While infection is rare, if you wind up cleaning up the area, wear gloves and an N95 mask.


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

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Friday, May 24, 2019 8:59 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
That it is.

I knew people that had a raccoon living under the front stairs of their house and while she and I think she had babies, were out the man boarded up all the holes under the stairs so they couldn't get back in.

That is all you can do is board everything up Jack to keep her out and from maybe having a family in your attic.



It's almost sure that there are already babies up there. It doesn't sound like racoons are likely to take up residence in an attic for other reasons and it should always assume there is a litter involved.

Here's the website I had found the first night that I suspected it was a racoon. It's up by you Brenda :)

https://www.torontowildlifecentre.com/wildlife-emergency-rescue-hotlin
e/conflicts-with-wildlife/common-raccoon-problems/raccoons-living-in-attic
/

Unless your neighbor is sure that the babies were out with the mother, he may have separated them. Chances are that he didn't though because she would have come back and tried destroying everything to get back to them.

Quote:

What to do if a raccoon is living in the attic
Be patient with a mother raccoon in the attic

Your first option is to do nothing at all. Raccoons typically live in attic dens for short periods. Raccoon babies are independent by the end of summer, when they leave the den and disperse from their family groups. Raccoon mothers commonly move their babies between den sites during the nesting season, so she may leave on her own. If you wait until the babies are grown and/or have left, then you can close off the access point to prevent other raccoons from using the attic as a den in the future.

Trapping and relocating a raccoon might seem like the “humane” option, but it isn’t. Relocated raccoons don’t tend to survive when they’re moved off of their home territory. Relocated mother raccoons leave behind babies who will die without a mother to care for them. A mother raccoon relocated with her babies will be so frightened she will abandon them when faced with a new, unknown territory. In Ontario, it is illegal to relocate any wild animal more than 1km from where it was found.





Once I am pretty damn sure that they're out for good, I need to at least board up however they got into the house proper. If I'm not tearing down the porch, it doesn't have to be a pretty solution. If I do tear it down, it will end up being covered in new plywood and that entire side of the house will have new siding put up.

Unfortunately, there's no real way of keeping them out of the porch now that demo had started. The "paper test" mentioned on the website will not work. There are literal cubic feet of entry access into the porch now.


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I used to think that raccoons were cute until I was faced down by one that I truly think might have been rabid.

They're destructive and aggressive critters and - worse- they commonly carry two parasites that can be spread to people. One is the common roundworm, the other can wind up eating your brain

https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/baylisascaris/index.html

While infection is rare, if you wind up cleaning up the area, wear gloves and an N95 mask.



I don't take anything for granted, and I'm not going to take any chances, but I seriously doubt that this racoon is rabid. That's not to say at all that it isn't carrying the disease which can take months and even sometimes years to reach the point where there are visible clinical signs, at which point the animal will die within 5 to 10 days. The animal can only spread the rabies virus when the clinical signs onset.

Those parasites though... Yeah. I read about them. They kind of scare the shit out of me.

I'm going to have to go up there at some point and figure out a way from keeping any more from getting in until I solve the porch dilemma. Since nothing smells up there, I might not be too keen on trying to clean anything up though because of the parasite potential. Assuming she didn't have to gnaw through a wall to get into the attic behind the drywall, she may have actually caused very little damage to anything besides moving insulation around. The part of the house she's in is very spacious for a racoon nest. There's ductwork to a vent up there, and a minimal amount of electric for the overhead porch light and the over the sink light which haven't stopped working, but other than that, if she hasn't damaged any of the joists while squatting, damage should be minimal. I can't imagine any reason why she would have damaged the wood once inside. I know that squirrels will tear up wood keeping their teeth sharp. I haven't read anywhere that racoons will do the same.

I've lived here 8 years and never even seen the inside of the area that she's dwelling now because it's covered by drywall. I can't imagine many people who weren't doing a major demolition project would, and given the date of the home construction I would think that any licensed company who would do such a thing would already be wearing protective gear simply because of the risk of any products that contained asbestos.

Because I don't think there is any way I can keep them from getting back into the porch attic until it's either torn down or fixed, I think I'm just going to leave a loud boom box up there if that makes the current tennants move. Maybe I'll even buy one of those ultrasonic boxes that have a motion sensor and alarm with strobing lights to boot. I saw one on Amazon for about $60. I'm a bit skeptical about the ultrasonic stuff, but a loud buzz and strobing lights should do the trick.

Thanks for the tips.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Friday, May 24, 2019 12:22 PM

BRENDA


JACK, I'm fairly certain that they saw all of them leave the property before the man began boarding up everything. These people wouldn't have wanted an angry mama around their house.

We have lots of wild critters up here that are city residents. Coons, coyotes, bears come down out of the mountains to forage. Especially on the North Shore which is another section of Vancouver. These are usually black bears but they scare people and can be dangerous if they think they are being provoked.

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Friday, May 24, 2019 12:23 PM

BRENDA


Looks like the rain is back and I am out in a minute. Things to do.

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Friday, May 24, 2019 12:28 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


I think they forage at night and sleep during the day, I've seen them mostly at night (except the one that I think was rabid) so if you want to cause maximum annoyance, I presume you're supposed to play your boom box during the day, when she's (they're) home?

I really like the idea of driving him/her/them out with annoyance. Getting them to leave voluntarily is a lot less messy than killing or trapping them.

*****

It sounds like you're making fantastic progress on the cleanup! I'm so jealous! This week I managed to have a doctor's appointment for either me or dear daughter every day of the week except today, which is the day that we're going out to lunch with her auntie. That really kills the schedule! Now that I'm on the mend (with antibiotics) I hope to finish up painting that room FINALLY and then we can start moving our stuff in. I must have been running a mild infection for a long time, I can't believe how much better I feel overall, let's hope it lasts! Also, I got the radiology and bloodwork results from the Rheumatologist. Osteoarthritis here and there, plus some tendonosis, rotator cuff, and plantar fasciitis. Nothing terrible. Bloodwork shows mild rheumatoid factor plus mild non-specific inflammation (sed rate, CRP) which Dr suggested treating me for if I wanted (not). I figured out that that horrible crisis of "pain everywhere all the time" really was probably from levaquin bc the Dr knew how to make the osteo hurt by pressing on various joints - but that's not where I was hurting. Since it's not the osteo and the rheumatoid isn't showing up on xray, by process of elimination it must have been the levaquin. It's nice to know that it's something that will eventually go away on its own without treatment. I have to say that horrible reaction to levaquin was about on-par with my reaction to statins, which was equally horrible. I can chalk up two meds to avoid!

*****

But how's the job situation? On leave? Still working? Quit? Getting unemployment? Fingers crossed that it all works out for you!

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

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Friday, May 24, 2019 12:55 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


BRENDA, it sounds like you're able to ge out and about much more easily that before! I'm STILL so happy for you! I can imagine you in your new, heated apartment with sunshine and view, and space for your things so you can get organized. Just OOC, what are the things you appreciate most in your new place? Indoor laundry? No hill to confront? Enough hot water and electrical outlets? Actual kitchen area?

I read that you too are unboxing and unloading. Isn't it great to be able to strip down and organize your things, putting them where you need/want them??

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

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Friday, May 24, 2019 1:09 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I think they forage at night and sleep during the day, I've seen them mostly at night (except the one that I think was rabid) so if you want to cause maximum annoyance, I presume you're supposed to play your boom box during the day, when she's (they're) home?

I really like the idea of driving him/her/them out with annoyance. Getting them to leave voluntarily is a lot less messy than killing or trapping them.

*****

It sounds like you're making fantastic progress on the cleanup! I'm so jealous! This week I managed to have a doctor's appointment for either me or dear daughter every day of the week except today, which is the day that we're going out to lunch with her auntie. That really kills the schedule! Now that I'm on the mend (with antibiotics) I hope to finish up painting that room FINALLY and then we can start moving our stuff in. I must have been running a mild infection for a long time, I can't believe how much better I feel overall, let's hope it lasts! Also, I got the radiology and bloodwork results from the Rheumatologist. Osteoarthritis here and there, plus some tendonosis, rotator cuff, and plantar fasciitis. Nothing terrible. Bloodwork shows mild rheumatoid factor plus mild non-specific inflammation (sed rate, CRP) which Dr suggested treating me for if I wanted (not). I figured out that that horrible crisis of "pain everywhere all the time" really was probably from levaquin bc the Dr knew how to make the osteo hurt by pressing on various joints - but that's not where I was hurting. Since it's not the osteo and the rheumatoid isn't showing up on xray, by process of elimination it must have been the levaquin. It's nice to know that it's something that will eventually go away on its own without treatment. I have to say that horrible reaction to levaquin was about on-par with my reaction to statins, which was equally horrible. I can chalk up two meds to avoid!

*****

But how's the job situation? On leave? Still working? Quit? Getting unemployment? Fingers crossed that it all works out for you!

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

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .



Glad to hear there's probable good news for your health issues. Hope your doctor is right and it clears up on its own now. :)


Job situation is kind of in limbo while I'm on the unpaid vacation that I had scheduled a few months back when I was going to have my step-dad's help with the porch. I haven't actually been able to address that situation at all so far though, and i'm going on two weeks into it. At least I'm getting a lot of other stuff done that has been neglected for years. I'm hoping to have gotten rid of everything except for just enough stuff to rent a small 12 foot truck for moving. That may be a bit too ambitious, given how much tools I have, but getting all of this furniture I don't need and never use has been liberating. At least it's keeping me in good spirits while everything else in my life is up in the air.

I likely will be filing for unemployment at the end of next month. I do have a possible lead on another overnight job close to home though. I'm hoping I can work out something with them that would allow me plenty of time on the side to work on the house too. This would only be about 2 miles round trip to work too, instead of nearly 40. I'm not jumping on it just yet because it's actually not really even fair to a potential future employer to apply when I don't even know if I'm just going to try dumping the house ultimately or not. But I was told that they're "always hiring, especially overnights" and that if I were to call back every day for three days after I applied online that he guarantees me that I'll have a job there.

I just happened to ask about potential employment while I was there picking up some boxes for packing (I wasn't going to pay $150 for cardboard boxes at Home Depot).

Now I have to find a roll of packing tape. I know I have a couple of them in the house, but who the hell knows where they're at. I found a much more expensive roll of weatherproof tape I never used when I was going to insulate pipes in the crawl, but I'd rather not use that since it's 5 times as expensive. I mentioned before I have a lot of tech that I absolutely will get around to doing stuff with that I don't want to let go. I've been wrapping them up tight and now I need to start packing all of that up. By the end of the weekend I don't want anything in my living room but the futon, the coffee table, the TV stand/TV and a few peripherals underneath it. Basement is basically clear now. Garage is still full enough where I can't get my car in there until I can dump more furniture, but I'm going to talk to two of my neighbors next week and ask them if they mind me bringing stuff to their curbs so I can get 3 pieces out on trash day.

Gotta try doing something about the raccoons in the mean time too. :)



Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Friday, May 24, 2019 6:25 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
BRENDA, it sounds like you're able to ge out and about much more easily that before! I'm STILL so happy for you! I can imagine you in your new, heated apartment with sunshine and view, and space for your things so you can get organized. Just OOC, what are the things you appreciate most in your new place? Indoor laundry? No hill to confront? Enough hot water and electrical outlets? Actual kitchen area?

I read that you too are unboxing and unloading. Isn't it great to be able to strip down and organize your things, putting them where you need/want them??

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

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .



Hi SIG. Yes, I can.

I appreciate the indoor laundry and no hills to confront. Also the manager is really good. So that is another bonus someone who knows what they are doing. I do appreciate enough outlets and kitchen area with storage space and more than enough hot water.

Also nice to be able to watch tv if I want to or not. Depending what is on and how I feel.

It is fantastic to be able to unbox and see what is what after everything being in boxes for so many years. Like I said upthread, I've found stuff I was worried that I had lost. Thank goodness I didn't.

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Saturday, May 25, 2019 12:28 PM

BRENDA


Laundry then going to work in the rain.

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Saturday, May 25, 2019 7:16 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Slowly making progress. I managed to wrap up and box about 90% of the electronics that I don't use everyday that are going to come with me when I leave. Up in the attic now, which seems counter-intuitive, but by this time tomorrow I should have the living room floors completely polished and everything I don't use every day out of there, and all of the furniture except for essentials out of there.

Then I have to work on the "overflow" that's littering my kitchen and making it hard to do anything in there. Most of what's in there is going to goodwill.

Can't get rid of my books until my brother comes on Monday. Have a few I'm keeping as well as a collection of American history I'm keeping, but other than that I'm giving away about 150 books and the bookshelf. When my brother comes I'm going to be getting the king sized bed staged in the garage as well as a dumpy old dresser that doesn't belong to either of the good sets. Going to have to really figure out what I want to do with the two good sets after that.

Tentatively, my friend is coming over on Tuesday to check out the porch situation. Hopefully I have more of an idea what I'm going to do at that point because that's the nucleus of all of my problems right now and I can't really make a plan about anything until I figure out what I'm doing with it.


Damned racoon is still up there. I'm not sure what to do about that at this point. I really don't want to have to poison them out.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Saturday, May 25, 2019 8:46 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


If you don't mind trapping her, you can get Have a Heart live traps, they're really easy to set up. We used to have a feral cat problem and I managed to trap four of the six cats including the queen (damn she was a productive mom!) and spay/neuter them for release. Also managed to catch a few possums unintentionally. They're about $40, o wish I could lend you mine! Your biggest problem will be releasing the critter because it will be PISSED. Also you don't want a return so maybe not bother until you've figured out your porch and at least sealed up wherever she came in from?

They sell coyote urine online too, that might scare it away.

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

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Saturday, May 25, 2019 10:55 PM

BRENDA


Good thing I didn't a bus today to do my laundry. I forgot about a parade that was going through my city. Which means that bus that I took a couple of months ago was detoured because of it.

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Sunday, May 26, 2019 10:49 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
If you don't mind trapping her, you can get Have a Heart live traps, they're really easy to set up. We used to have a feral cat problem and I managed to trap four of the six cats including the queen (damn she was a productive mom!) and spay/neuter them for release. Also managed to catch a few possums unintentionally. They're about $40, o wish I could lend you mine! Your biggest problem will be releasing the critter because it will be PISSED. Also you don't want a return so maybe not bother until you've figured out your porch and at least sealed up wherever she came in from?



Yeah... I'm not really going to poison her. I was just a bit agitated yesterday. Like you said, trapping it might not even be a great idea because if I relocated them she might just go back and until I button up the porch here's really nothing at this point to stop another one from coming in between now and September (the months where they do this sort of thing).

Kind of bummed that my harassment isn't making them go. That's not to say that having the radio blaring wouldn't deter new ones from coming in once she's gone (it might), but if it's not enough to force her to leave after the fact I can't count on it.

If the racoon was the only real issue I had in life right now, I wouldn't have times where I was being so negative about it. It's kind of the shit flavored icing on my shit cake that I'm eating at the moment. I usually expect the worst to happen so I'm not let down when it does or I'm wonderfully surprised when it doesn't. I just can't seem to remember a time where so many things just went wrong all at once.

I'm not whining though. And I know full well that most of this is my fault. I drank for years and did nothing to improve my life while letting everything slip away. Sure, it was great getting sober, and I have made quite a few improvements in the last few years, but when it came to my house I didn't change my behavior at all. At least not in any meaningful way. On top of that, I've watched my neighbor behind me let his garage rot to the point where I'd be surprised if the plywood is the only thing keeping it up at this point. I've really felt bad for him since his breadwinning wife split town and left him with the kid. His grass is currently over 2 feet tall again. I'm sure he's done nothing about the ant problem he's had for years that made their way up to my property to become my problem as well. Once I figure out how to fix my own pest problems here, I have to come to terms with the fact that if I sell before he gets forced out and somebody razes the structures and rebuilds that it's going to severely impact whatever I could expect to get when I sell the house.

However bad I have let my own situation become, in the last 4-5 years he's let it get 10 times as bad. I did him no favors by not calling code enforcement on him. And now, at least until I figure out the next steps with the porch, I really can't.





Oh well.... Enough venting.


Living room is looking great now. :)

I just have one last fancy end table type thing to clean up and around and the living room will be finally clean and polished. I'm going to keep that unit since it's small and lightweight, and currently it is home to my network gear, phone, copier/fax machine and paper. The mice shit on that thing too. At least I kept the drawer closed.

Still not a single mouse caught in any of the various traps, and more importantly, no new crap where I've already cleaned over the last 10 or so days. I actually wonder if the racoon is keeping any new ones from getting in? No matter though. Once all of the big furniture is gone and I keep any of the smaller existing furniture a good length from the walls, and I don't pile any new crap up and around any of it, I shouldn't get any more that the traps won't quickly take care of. (WHICH WILL BE EASY TO DO SINCE I WILL NOT TAKE A SINGLE NEW THING IN MY HOUSE WITHOUT GETTING RID OF SOMETHING IT'S REPLACING UNTIL I LEAVE!!!!)

I'm glad I didn't make a trip to Goodwill first. I had grabbed a ton of old towels and sheets when my parents left, as well as a few brand new sets. I was planning on giving away all of the old stuff. All of those dressers I need were stuffed to the gills with that crap.

But it turns out that it makes excellent packing material for my electronics.

I'm just about out of that stuff now, but there will still be more to pack. I figure I could stand to throw out about half of my clothes at least (seriously, I have stuff from 15-20 years ago that I never got rid of and haven't worn once since I moved in). I need to finish packing stuff I know I won't use before I leave and using that for filler before I give the rest away or throw it out.

It looks like I should easily be able to put the tech stuff in my car when I move instead of loading it into the truck, which was my initial goal. Except for a box or two of various odds and ends like cables and plugs that I haven't packed up, all that will be unpacked is a few computers and game systems that I use for entertainment and the internet. Also have 2 large computer monitors I'm keeping as well as my brothers 40" flat screen, but that shouldn't be too hard to wedge in somewhere safely for the trip when the time comes.


Hopefully, I make my first trip to Goodwill today to drop off stuff. Have to find out what time they close early on Sunday. I'm going to give away all of the Christmas stuff I got from my mom except for sentimental ones like the birthday ornaments when I was a kid. I know there are a few high quality things in there that my niece will love, so I'm going to put those aside for her for when I see her and my bro this week.

Also a bunch of my kitchen stuff is going to go. I had taken a nice set that my grandma and grandpa had when we were kids, but I did exactly what I knew I would do when I had 12 place settings again. I let the dishes pile up in both sinks until it's an hour long chore to wash them. I'm getting rid of everything but two place settings. If I ever entertain again here, which is rather unlikely, it's to the dollar store I go for paper plates and plastic cups. I don't need that crap either.



Brother should be coming tomorrow, and my friend should be coming on Tuesday to check out the porch. Bro's going to help me get the king bed staged in the garage as well as a crap dresser. Then I'll talk to a few of my neighbors about putting out a piece of furniture with their trash on Thursday. I should be able to get rid of everything but the two bedroom sets by then. I'm starting to think I may just hold on to the really fancy antique set for the move. I was planning on keeping two dressers anyhow, and all that is left is the full sized bed and a very small end table with it. Since it doesn't look like any friends and family want it, I might keep it since it definitely has real value. I mean, once I get everything out of the Master bedroom, that stuff is going to take up very little real estate in the large bedroom. Since the floors and ceiling were already finished upstairs and all that is left to do in the bedrooms is the trim and the closet doors, it will be very easy to work around.

I can always dump the mattress and boxspring too and make it even smaller. It was another old freebie from my folks, and I doubt they could even tell me now where they even got it from over the years.

I was pretty pleasantly surprised at the state of the attic overall. I had forgotten just how much I had thrown out 4-5 years ago when I did the last purge. I guess I had assumed that I had added just as much crap up there as I did the rest of the house, but aside from all the Christmas stuff I had been given, it looks as though I didn't accuumulate much and all of the new stuff just ended up clogging up the bedrooms and my living room. So... not much up there I need to go through. :)

The garage though....

After trash day I really need to go through that and make some tough decisions. I think there's at least 6 broken things out there I never got around to fixing. Do I just throw them out? Man... so much crap out there to deal with once I get the staged furniture out of it.


Wish me luck, and the motivation to put in as many hours today as I did yesterday.







Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Sunday, May 26, 2019 11:37 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Good luck SIX!

I know that finding the porch situation was definitely an unexpected knock, but look at it this way: You still have your job (even if you don't like the situation) and you still have your house, and better yet, you have your health.

You also have the prospect of another job closer to home, which ... btw ... I would make a strict dollars-and-cents decision on: Are you likely to earn more money at this new job than you would at your current employer (with daytime hours) or that you might get with unemployment? I would not think about whether or not it would be "fair" to them to take a job if you're going to move because they aren't "fair" in return; THEY would make a strict dollar-and-cents decision on you too. Generally speaking, employers aren't "loyal" to their employees so they don't deserve any loyalty in return. And if you decide you want the closer job and they hire you, with your work ethic and your previous experience you will be helping them make money from day 1, which is more than most employers can hope for!

I hate to keep harping on the job situation but it's only as bad as you make it. You can be jobless and income-less if you make a stupid decision, and your situation - which seems bad now- can become a whole lot worse all of a sudden and you will look back on today with fond regret. So make you decisions cautiously; don't jump off the metaphorical cliff.

That was your Depression-era granny talking to you!

*****

I wish I was able to make progress too! Last week I was sick all week, and running back and forth to various doctors and the pharmacy for dear daughter or for myself. But even when I'm NOT sick it seems I can barely scrape an hour together here or there for the "big" projects. Between walking the dog (up to an hour) and kitchen cleanup (up to an hour) and cooking for the family with all of our food intolerances and allergies (a couple of hours) ... well, there goes at least three hours a day! Pfffft!!!

And then dear daughter and I have a lunch date every Friday (to get her out of the house and used to talking with wait staff, at least) and the yard needs hours of maintenance every week (which it's not getting... and it shows!) and every couple of weeks I have to tackle the mail and bills and take dear daughter out to drop off our recycling ... plus we spend at least three hours and day watching television with her, talking about plot lines and characters and who's doing what and why and how it could have been written differently and when it stops making sense/being realistic (To this day she still can't make a sharp division between TV and reality) ... MORE hours per day! Pffft!!!

And then there is the time I spend here which ... to be honest, I really can't afford, so I'm going to go "cold turkey" on Firefly for a while, some time in the near future.

All that means that progress on the "big" projects is incremental at best. Since I was sick or at the doctor's or pharmacy all last week, it seems, I plan on FINALLY finishing the room painting in the next few days, and then we can start moving things back into our bedroom, parsing as we go. Altho we've already given away boxes and boxes of books (to our local library) and clothes and household items (to St Vincent de Paul) we still have computer parts and furniture and I too, have a 12-piece set of very nice china that I inherited from my MIL, in addition to my daily tableware, that I'd like to sell, along with the china cabinet that's holding it.

And dear daughter has hoarding tendencies so going thru HER stash ... it's going to be a struggle over every item, I'm sure.

At least dear daughter can be tasked with laundry and floor cleaning, and she does help me paint and pull weeds, provided I set her up with a task that doesn't need too much decision making!

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

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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