In the garden, and RAIN!!!!

POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Thursday, December 25, 2025 04:27
VIEWED: 1008332
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SIGNYM

Saturday, July 2, 2022 8:32 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Sunshine would be nice.

I was just cleaning out my gutters of other people's tree-crap during torrential rain. That was after almost getting stung by hornets that made a hive in an external electrical box I was trying to map where it would have been coming from outside the garage. When I finally killed them off and cleaned it out I got my multimeter out and turned the breaker back on, only to be suckerpunched by buckets of rain with zero forewarning and it's been raining ever since. None of this was in the forecast.

At least I didn't get stung or electrocuted.

Today sucks. I'm done working until tomorrow.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

Kinda like the lightning storm that blew up out of nowhere around here. Crazy weather!
I'm glad too, that you didn't get stung or electrocuted. That would have really put a cap on a bad day!

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

6IXSTRINGJACK

Saturday, July 2, 2022 11:27 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Sunshine would be nice.

I was just cleaning out my gutters of other people's tree-crap during torrential rain. That was after almost getting stung by hornets that made a hive in an external electrical box I was trying to map where it would have been coming from outside the garage. When I finally killed them off and cleaned it out I got my multimeter out and turned the breaker back on, only to be suckerpunched by buckets of rain with zero forewarning and it's been raining ever since. None of this was in the forecast.

At least I didn't get stung or electrocuted.

Today sucks. I'm done working until tomorrow.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus
Kinda like the lightning storm that blew up out of nowhere around here. Crazy weather!
I'm glad too, that you didn't get stung or electrocuted. That would have really put a cap on a bad day!

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

Yeah. It was just a really weird day all around with the timing of everything. I'm not overly superstitious or anything, but I took all of that that as a sign that maybe I should take a break from work.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

BRENDA

Saturday, July 2, 2022 11:20 PM (P)

Out soon on another bright sunny day. Couple of things to do.

BRENDA

Sunday, July 3, 2022 2:45 AM (P)

Back from my walk and just having a sit down.

SIGNYM

Sunday, July 3, 2022 5:59 AM (P)

Glad your weather was nice, BRENDA!

*****

I FINALLY managed to clear out the other veggie patch. Tomorrow I should be able to weed whack a fair portion of the frontyrd in preparation for digging it up/out.

Oh, and I made the best roast beef, quite by accident. I had a 1.5 lb piece of tri tip in the freezer, and I was going to make a stuffed- mushroom flavored beef hash (cubed beef, potatoes, shrooms, onion, thyme, s&p, maybe a little parmesan) but in order to prep the beef I decided to roast it first. I've never roasted tri tip before, I always braised it. It came out SO GOOD I served it that way, and had the potatoes, shrooms, onions and thyme on the side. With a big salad and strawberries for dessert.

It's been a long time since I had roast beef, and it was yummy.

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

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, July 3, 2022 8:13 AM (P)

It looked like maybe I wasn't going to work today either, but I got my ass in gear around 1:00PM and got back to it.

I took that external outlet back apart so I could test the one coming up from the post and verified that yes, the old romex going down from the box outside of the garage does power that post that probably was used to power the filter on a pool at some point. I will likely be removing that, but I might now just cut it down below the surface and keep it buried rather than disturb my grass the whole length.

A few wasps had already come back and were trying to build a new hive. I had to take care of them again and clean that thing out before capping the box off so they couldn't get back in before I get around to removing all of that.

I ran all of the conduit, boxes and wires I'll need for everything else in the front of the garage and installed another box outside at the front. It's capped off overnight because I don't have the materials on hand to finish it. I think I might actually go with GFCI receptacles outside instead of standard ones. Probably overkill though because I decided to also add switches inside the garage that can turn those off when they're not in use. Did that to the front already, but I need to do it to the back one tomorrow after I get more supplies.

I was also able to power up the ANCIENT light that is over the garage door. I knew it was a massive bulb, but I've never seen anything like this in my life. I unscrewed it to see if I could put a small LED bulb in there temporarily until I get a LED motion sensor light, but the socket is twice the size of a standard bulb socket.

So after I got a box up there I attached the wires and wouldn't you know it fired up. Who knows how long it's been since that light had even been turned on. There hasn't been any power even remotely close to it for the 12 years that I've lived here.

It's LOUD... It buzzes. It's a greenish-blue color. It reminds me more of a bug zapper than a light bulb. When looking at it through my tablet you can see a weird "scanline" effect reminiscent of old CRT televisions. I wouldn't be surprised if it sucks up 800 watts.

I disconnected it and capped off those wires in the box for now. Should be fairly easy to modernize that and get some real light on that side of the property at night finally.

So except for those things I still need to do, all the electric is done in the garage besides whatever solution I'm going to come up with in the 1/2 garage part over my workbench. It's time to get those dusty old florescent lights out of there and get something much brighter that will use a fraction of the juice.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

BRENDA

Sunday, July 3, 2022 9:38 AM (P)

Yeah, the weather has been good the last few days SIG. Suppose to be heading into a rain at some point tonight. Computer is reading temp at 18C which is about 66F. That is down from around 23C this afternoon.

BRENDA

Sunday, July 3, 2022 11:38 PM (P)

Rain here today on a quiet Sunday.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Monday, July 4, 2022 4:43 AM (P)

I ended up taking out the work I did on the outside outlets in the front and back and starting over on the wiring.

I decided after talking to my friend's dad that I should splurge for the GFCI outlets since I was doing the work right now. I could always do it later, but why not just do it now?

So now the final boxes inside that lead to the outside outlets have both a GFCI with a double outlet and a flapper switch with a new shiny 4"x4" box that accommodates the flapper style size.

I put the switch after the GFCI, because it doesn't make sense to turn off both the exterior and the final interior outlet with the switch off. This is now officially overkill, but damn if it ain't impressive. These are now the safest exterior outlets in a residential home in America.

I also bought brand new covers since I only had one and it was terribly beat up. The new ones are WAY better anyhow and have plenty of cushion seal action going on. Even though my old boxes are grey, I got white covers to match my aluminum. I'm actually going to clean off the old boxes, tape cardboard all around the siding around them and then spray them down with the rustoleum spray I got a month or two back on a huge sale at $2 per can.

I decided to buy EVERYTHING I needed to finish the electrical work in the garage instead of waiting on the rest. The only thing left to do now is the electric coming from the single switch that controls the 4 florescent lights. I just need to do a bit of minor construction work for my boxes, then I'm going to hard pipe everything in.

Maybe it will be finished tomorrow?

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

SIGNYM

Monday, July 4, 2022 8:44 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I ended up taking out the work I did on the outside outlets in the front and back and starting over on the wiring.

I decided after talking to my friend's dad that I should splurge for the GFCI outlets since I was doing the work right now. I could always do it later, but why not just do it now?

So now the final boxes inside that lead to the outside outlets have both a GFCI with a double outlet and a flapper switch with a new shiny 4"x4" box that accommodates the flapper style size.

I put the switch after the GFCI, because it doesn't make sense to turn off both the exterior and the final interior outlet with the switch off. This is now officially overkill, but damn if it ain't impressive. These are now the safest exterior outlets in a residential home in America.

I also bought brand new covers since I only had one and it was terribly beat up. The new ones are WAY better anyhow and have plenty of cushion seal action going on. Even though my old boxes are grey, I got white covers to match my aluminum. I'm actually going to clean off the old boxes, tape cardboard all around the siding around them and then spray them down with the rustoleum spray I got a month or two back on a huge sale at $2 per can.

I decided to buy EVERYTHING I needed to finish the electrical work in the garage instead of waiting on the rest. The only thing left to do now is the electric coming from the single switch that controls the 4 florescent lights. I just need to do a bit of minor construction work for my boxes, then I'm going to hard pipe everything in.

Maybe it will be finished tomorrow?

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

And won't it be great when it's finally done?

To me, that's the difference between a chore and a project. Chores have to be done over and over..

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

SIGNYM

Monday, July 4, 2022 8:52 AM (P)

Speaking of chores... I cut down some weeds with clippers and weed whacked the rest, raked up and binned up. Just on the larger part of the front yard. Then I ran out of bin space, energy, and trimmer string all at about the same time. But the largest part of the front yard looks significantly better.

Watering the property today for its monthly once-over (the vegetables need water nearly every day, some parts need water every two weeks, others parts get by on once a month... I have our property on a strict water budget) and at the end/beginning of each month I pick the coolest day to water, and water everything.

So tomorrow if I can recover from today I'll put in a new spool of trimmer string and finish the yard. That's just step#1: doing a quick cleanup to prep the yard for digging up/regrading.

Did a bunch of piddly stuff too. Now it's time to make dinner.

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

6IXSTRINGJACK

Monday, July 4, 2022 9:24 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
And won't it be great when it's finally done?

To me, that's the difference between a chore and a project. Chores have to be done over and over..

Yeah. But it's all about the journey too. I'm really enjoying working on this. I'm going to have to make sure I use the garage a lot to make it worth all the time, effort and money.

I do hate chores though. I REALLY need to spend some time cleaning the house again. I have a habit of letting that go pretty bad when I get this deep into a project.

Thankfully, I had a LOT of electrical stuff that my step-dad gave me years and years ago when we were going to work on this together but time got away from us. I can only imagine that the price of most of the stuff would have made this project prohibitively expensive.

Hell... After spending another $70 today, I wouldn't doubt that I've already put $300 out of my own pocket into the porch and garage electrical work, and as of yet I haven't had to buy any copper wire or conduit. And I already had all the tools. I've only had to buy boxes, plates porcelain fixtures, a 50ft length of flex conduit, some connectors, LED bulbs and GFCI outlets. This stuff is stupid expensive right now.

Most people would have just thrown romex up everywhere and called it a day.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

6IXSTRINGJACK

Monday, July 4, 2022 9:26 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Speaking of chores... I cut down some weeds with clippers and weed whacked the rest, raked up and binned up. Just on the larger part of the front yard. Then I ran out of bin space, energy, and trimmer string all at about the same time. But the largest part of the front yard looks significantly better.

Watering the property today for its monthly once-over (the vegetables need water nearly every day, some parts need water every two weeks, others parts get by on once a month... I have our property on a strict water budget) and at the end/beginning of each month I pick the coolest day to water, and water everything.

So tomorrow if I can recover from today I'll put in a new spool of trimmer string and finish the yard. That's just step#1: doing a quick cleanup to prep the yard for digging up/regrading.

Did a bunch of piddly stuff too. Now it's time to make dinner.

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

Glad you're keeping up with the stuff that needs keeping up with.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

BRENDA

Monday, July 4, 2022 11:15 PM (P)

Out for a walk soon on what could be a rainy Monday.

SIGNYM

Tuesday, July 5, 2022 12:20 AM (P)

Quote:
SIX
Glad you're keeping up with the stuff that needs keeping up with.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

Me too!
One of the benefits of a six-month backlog is that things get so bad, it's easy to make a huge improvement.

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

SIGNYM

Tuesday, July 5, 2022 12:21 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Out for a walk soon on what could be a rainy Monday.

I hope it stays dry for your walk.

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

BRENDA

Tuesday, July 5, 2022 3:38 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Out for a walk soon on what could be a rainy Monday.
I hope it stays dry for your walk.

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

Nope. It rained then stopped then rained again. It stopped on my way home. I was down by the river and if it had been dry I would have taken a walk along the boardwalk. But part of the boardwalk is closed because even so close to the mouth, the Fraser is running too high and fast. Hence the closing.

SIGNYM

Tuesday, July 5, 2022 3:55 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Out for a walk soon on what could be a rainy Monday.
I hope it stays dry for your walk.

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

Nope. It rained then stopped then rained again. It stopped on my way home. I was down by the river and if it had been dry I would have taken a walk along the boardwalk. But part of the boardwalk is closed because even so close to the mouth, the Fraser is running too high and fast. Hence the closing.

. Is that bc of snowmelt, rain, or a combination?

Fast-running rivers are scary. I don't even trust the bridges to withstand the ice chunkc and tree trunks roaring thru.

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

SIGNYM

Tuesday, July 5, 2022 4:02 AM (P)

Today was weedwhacking most of the star pine area, but I got a slow start and got too damn hot to finish. In any case, I filled a 33 gal bin instead
Whew!!!

Now that I did a quick cleanup I see how much thete is to go.
But I'm beat. Was kinda staggering around a bit towards the end. Got in to shower, toss my close in a hot water wash (still dealing with mysterious bug bites, maybe chiggers) and take a nap!

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

BRENDA

Tuesday, July 5, 2022 5:09 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Out for a walk soon on what could be a rainy Monday.
I hope it stays dry for your walk.

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

Nope. It rained then stopped then rained again. It stopped on my way home. I was down by the river and if it had been dry I would have taken a walk along the boardwalk. But part of the boardwalk is closed because even so close to the mouth, the Fraser is running too high and fast. Hence the closing.
. Is that bc of snowmelt, rain, or a combination?

Fast-running rivers are scary. I don't even trust the bridges to withstand the ice chunkc and tree trunks roaring thru.

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

It's a combination rain and snowmelt.

Rivers like the Thompson and others have been on high water watch for weeks because of the rain and snowmelt.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Tuesday, July 5, 2022 8:27 AM (P)

Garage electric ALMOST finished.

I ended up installing 3 more light sockets over the work bench instead of two in the 1/2 garage, so I needed to go back to the store in between working. They're all up and running now. 9 new overhead lights that leave a shadowless workshop from practically any angle. I've only got 3000 lumen light bulbs over the workbench now because I can't find the ones I bought before, but that's still 45,000 Lumens that weren't in there before. It will be 54,000 when I get those other bulbs.

All I have to do to wrap it up tomorrow is swap out the two light switches for some white flappers and put the new cover on that box, then I want to swap out two old brown outlets on the workbench side for new white ones and put metal covers on them instead of the plastic that were on them before.

I would have done it tonight, but I would have had to cut the circuit with all the lights.

Tomorrow I'll get that done and clean the garage up and probably work on chores for the rest of the day.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

BRENDA

Tuesday, July 5, 2022 11:31 PM (P)

Out for my walk on what looks to be a dry day. Sitting at around 66F.

SIGNYM

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 2:22 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Out for my walk on what looks to be a dry day. Sitting at around 66F.

I hope it's sunny. At least it's not raining!

You'll live to be 100, BRENDA. With your orderly life and regular exercise you should have a long life to look forward to.

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

SIGNYM

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 2:26 AM (P)

Got a late start again today. But since I weed whacked the front yard, I turned my attention to planting, and managed to walk the dog and plant the okra (10 plants grouped together in twos) and muskmelon (6 plants grouped together in threes).

I know it's time to quit when I start staggering around, tho. So now I check the weather forecast and the local sale papers and make up a menu for a week and a grocery list.

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

BRENDA

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 3:29 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Out for my walk on what looks to be a dry day. Sitting at around 66F.
I hope it's sunny. At least it's not raining!

You'll live to be 100, BRENDA. With your orderly life and regular exercise you should have a long life to look forward to.

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

It was sunny and dry. Reached 70F today and I, silly me put on a jacket. Regretted it on my way home. But there was also some cloud cover.

From your words to the Universe's eyes.

Thanks SIG. I'd like to be the one in my family that makes it to 100.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 4:33 AM (P)

Garage electric is done.

Also cleaned up everything, did a few minor fixes I still wanted to do here and there, pulled out the rest of the stray nails and screws in studs that I didn't need and got the low-voltage wires to the garage door opener put up a lot better than they used to be and out of the way of my big ladder.

Even mowed the front lawn, but in retrospect I probably shouldn't have done that at 4PM when it's 90 degrees out with a real feel of 110 degrees. I feel like I'm paying for that one right now.

I hadn't even cut a single blade and my pants and shirt were already soaked through with sweat from working in that hot garage all day.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

BRENDA

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 9:42 AM (P)

I am off to mah jong in the morning. I know I normally play on Thursday, but we are cancelled Thursday for the thrift sale that is being run at the local senior's centre on Saturday. Anyways, long story short got a call yesterday from the lady who runs the group saying that she managed to get us a room to play in. All the rooms are usually taken up with donations.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 10:36 PM (P)

I slept in really late, but other than that there seem to be no ill effects from mowing the lawn in that heat yesterday.

I'm not going to mow the back yard. We've recently had a little bit of rain, but the back gets baked and is still quite brown.

I'm going to clean up the house today. I should have done that yesterday and mowed today since it's much cooler outside now. Oops.

Maybe I'll think about getting the contact paper on my new pantry shelves. They've had enough time to cure.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

SIGNYM

Thursday, July 7, 2022 2:08 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I slept in really late, but other than that there seem to be no ill effects from mowing the lawn in that heat yesterday.

I was worried about you, mowing in that heat and humidity!

Quote:
I'm not going to mow the back yard. We've recently had a little bit of rain, but the back gets baked and is still quite brown.
That short of rain???

Quote:
I'm going to clean up the house today. I should have done that yesterday and mowed today since it's much cooler outside now. Oops.

Maybe I'll think about getting the contact paper on my new pantry shelves. They've had enough time to cure.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

Sounds like a plan!

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

6IXSTRINGJACK

Thursday, July 7, 2022 2:16 AM (P)

Yeah. I haven't heard the word drought bandied about yet, but where last year was a normal amount of rainfall compared to the 5 or 6 years of constant flood conditions before that, we've had very little here this year... even during the spring.

Not that we're "Chicago" here, but I just looked and last year was the 17th driest on record with 20.15". We've certainly come nowhere near that amount this year. I'm having a hard time finding any cumulative data on 2022 though.

I'm fine. That was a dumb thing to do yesterday but I figured since I was going to take a shower soon anyhow I might as well get that done while I was already supremely gross from working out in the garage all day. When I took a break I couldn't even sit in the front of the porch like I usually do because it was just god awful hot with the sun beating directly on me at that hour of day. I probably drank a gallon and a half of water yesterday.

Hopefully my friend can come through on the door today. No biggie if he can't though. It will probably take months before I can get my friend's dad to get over here and help me install it.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

SIGNYM

Thursday, July 7, 2022 2:25 AM (P)

Well, I've been pressing pretty hard to get the yardwork under control. Planting was kind of high up on the priority list bc it's already pretty late in the season. So this AM I planted the rest of the tomatoes and peppers, and a couple rows of beets. Planting is almost finished, except the chives and garlic. Cleaning up the front yard was also high up in the list, but now it's at least been weed whacked and raked so fire hazard is down. There is still a lot of weeding to do in the back, but that can wait. It's mostly tall grasses. I plan on putting down a lot of mulch after weeding to suppress future weed growth.

Did some laundry sanitizing today, still battling the mites (???) that are bugging me (ahem!). If they're chiggers they love tall grasses, so I'm going to have to be extra-diligent to shower and change my clothes after yardwork. I'll probably weed whack the backyard grasses down and rake them up first to reduce the mite population b4 I do any extensive weeding.

But for today I need to come up with another weekly menu and grocery list and walk the dog and clean up the kitchen.

Over the next few days, in between Dr visits and infusions, I'll dust, sweep and vacuum the house. Once that's done things can go back to a dull roar and I can chip away at a steady pace.

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

6IXSTRINGJACK

Thursday, July 7, 2022 7:32 AM (P)

Sounds like we had surprisingly similar days Sigs. Mostly chores done on my end.

We did pick up that shed door though. My friend's dad knows it's here, so hopefully I'll finally get to use the shed again after years of going without it.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

BRENDA

Thursday, July 7, 2022 9:19 AM (P)

Got back today at almost 4pm. No luck at mah jong this morning or this afternoon. Got talked into playing after lunch today. We could have kept playing till around 5pm, but one of our small group, just 3 players couldn't do anything wrong. So, I and the other lady thought we should knock off at around 3:30.

Been a long time since I've played so long. *L* Made for a fun but frustrating day.

BRENDA

Thursday, July 7, 2022 9:20 AM (P)

Also some spotty rain on my way home and maybe some more tomorrow.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Thursday, July 7, 2022 10:03 AM (P)

Rain here too, Brenda. At least it cooled off though. They say it was only 75 degrees today, but it was so humid it still felt like 90 until around 3PM. Really nice right now though.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

6IXSTRINGJACK

Thursday, July 7, 2022 10:17 AM (P)

Garage Pictures

Just six of them. I take a LOT of pictures... Unfortunately, I didn't have any pictures from 2019 before I began dehoarding the garage when I could barely fit my car in there though.

Here's my old broken down and beat up dressers and cabinets that were just a huge waste of space. I made the most of the wood though and was able to use the sides and tops for the tops of the shelves.

Here's the finished wall of shelves... All 18 of them.

Like I said, the tops were mostly from the dressers and cabinets. I also made a few tops out of leftover plywood from when my buddy and I jacked up my porch and fixed the busted floor 3 years ago. The fronts of the shelves are from old hardwood flooring I had on hand. I also used the hardwood flooring for the braces on the sides of the legs (which also doubled as convenient brackets to place the extra shelving I added last minute in the center of the top row of shelving. The backs which you can't see are made from pallets I took from one of my old overnight jobs. The faceplates that tied the shelving together and made them look nice were made from the sides and backs of the dresser drawers. On either sides of the ends I used 1/8" plywood that came from the backs of the dressers to box them in. The legs were mostly made of 2x4s. Some I had leftover from when we installed windows on my porch last year, some I got from neighbors and friends, others I ripped down from green 4x4's that my old neighbor threw out when they took out the pool.

I only had to buy one single broken 2x8 piece of "value wood" for $0.89 to rip down for the final 2x4 leg I was missing, and I went through 5 or 6 200pc wood screw sets, 4 of them were free after rebate, the others were like $2 or $3 bucks. Total cost well under $10, and I kept a lot of stuff out of the landfill.

If you can see the white cord coming from the ceiling toward the right of the picture, that was to my only real source of light while doing this work. It was a plug in 4' LED bulb. Pretty bright, but not ideal for all that marking and cutting.

Here's one of those GFCI protected outlets I was telling you about. It's one of two I installed to protect the external outlets. The switch after it is so I can manually turn it off when I'm not going to be using it.

Not pictured is the 20 new outlets all around the garage.

This was what the area over my workbench looked like 2 days ago before I took out the florescent fixtures. (In the morning during daylight)

Don't mind the drawers and the over the toilet storage cabinet that are blocking the light from the window. I'm going to be making my two missing kitchen drawers from the former and I will be sanding down and painting the latter white before I rehab my bathroom.

That's what it looked like after I put the porcelain sockets and new LED bulbs. (At night, after dark)

Finally, there's a pic of how bright the garage is now after dark.

And yes... That's about 30 quarts of Shell oil I've got stocked up on those shelves. Got an insane deal on them with no limit about 4 months back.

You can also see from the first pic how my 12' ladder hung so low I'd hit my head on it but I'd gotten it high and level. Now you need to be over 6'2" to hit your head on it.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

BRENDA

Thursday, July 7, 2022 11:58 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Rain here too, Brenda. At least it cooled off though. They say it was only 75 degrees today, but it was so humid it still felt like 90 until around 3PM. Really nice right now though.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

If my area got lucky it cracked about 20C during the day. At almost 11pm it is 56F.

BRENDA

Thursday, July 7, 2022 11:59 AM (P)

That is a fantastic amount of work SIX. You should feel really proud of yourself for all of it.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Thursday, July 7, 2022 7:46 PM (P)

Thanks Brenda.

It was fun working on it too... except for when I was up on a ladder where it was over 100 degrees most days.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

BRENDA

Thursday, July 7, 2022 11:06 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Thanks Brenda.

It was fun working on it too... except for when I was up on a ladder where it was over 100 degrees most days.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

That wouldn't have been fun. I can understand that.

BRENDA

Thursday, July 7, 2022 11:07 PM (P)

Anyways out for my walk soon and computer icon showing rain and cloud but through the curtains I can see sun. Crazy weather.

Things to do. Later peeps.

SIGNYM

Friday, July 8, 2022 12:35 AM (P)

That was prodigious amount of work, SIX.
What an improvement!
And for so little $$!

You're an inspiration.

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

BRENDA

Friday, July 8, 2022 2:49 AM (P)

Back from my walk and all is done for today. Got some ground lamb from a Safeway store I go to on occasion and the meat was a reasonable price too. That will do for my supper over the weekend. Meds refilled and the hot dog/ hamburger place in the strip mall where the Safeway is was open today. I got lunch there and spoke to the people for a minute. They were very busy. But it was good to see them back and open.

SIGNYM

Friday, July 8, 2022 12:07 PM (P)

Yes, it's good that things are opening up again.
I'm going to start going out again too. No longer immune compromised.

*****

All I did today was walk the dog, water plants indoors and out, and kitchen-stuff. I needed a break. It was great!

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

BRENDA

Friday, July 8, 2022 11:24 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Yes, it's good that things are opening up again.
I'm going to start going out again too. No longer immune compromised.

*****

All I did today was walk the dog, water plants indoors and out, and kitchen-stuff. I needed a break. It was great!

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

Good for you SIG.

This little place had been closed for months for an family emergency. They had to fly home to South Korea and help out.

Any breaks you can get take them. You will feel better for sure.

BRENDA

Friday, July 8, 2022 11:25 PM (P)

Out for my walk in a bit. Just a couple of things to do then garbage and some recycling to get out when I get home.

BRENDA

Saturday, July 9, 2022 2:35 AM (P)

Back from my walk and sunny now though computer icon showing clouds. Well, there are some clouds out. Crazy weather up here but the saving grace is with all the rain it has so fair helped with fire season but we have to see what the end of July and August bring.

BRENDA

Saturday, July 9, 2022 11:12 PM (P)

Laundry day then my walk. Got to return a couple of things to the library.

BRENDA

Sunday, July 10, 2022 3:41 AM (P)

Nice day out for my walk.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, July 10, 2022 7:51 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
That was prodigious amount of work, SIX.
What an improvement!
And for so little $$!

You're an inspiration.

Been MIA for a few days. Went out with my dad and one of my brothers the other night then went to my grandma's to dehoard the entire 2nd floor except for my aunt's room.

She's got a full garage to throw away again. I couldn't believe there was more junk up there than there was in the basement.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

SIGNYM

Sunday, July 10, 2022 12:19 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
That was prodigious amount of work, SIX.
What an improvement!
And for so little $$!

You're an inspiration.

Been MIA for a few days. Went out with my dad and one of my brothers the other night then went to my grandma's to dehoard the entire 2nd floor except for my aunt's room.

She's got a full garage to throw away again. I couldn't believe there was more junk up there than there was in the basement.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

Yes, I wa a bit worried when you didn't show up, like I would be worried if BRENDA didn't show up. I should have known you didn't need to be worried about, but my imagination sometimes runs away with me.

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

SIGNYM

Sunday, July 10, 2022 12:21 PM (P)

Thursday I was too pooped out to do much after working as hard as I could for four or five days. Friday was a treatment day; I don't know WHY it's so tiring bc all I do is lay down in a recliner chair and get infused, but ... it is. Today I STILL couldn't get my rear in gear and only managed some daily things, but I hope to be back on track tomorrow.

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

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, July 10, 2022 9:07 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
That was prodigious amount of work, SIX.
What an improvement!
And for so little $$!

You're an inspiration.

Been MIA for a few days. Went out with my dad and one of my brothers the other night then went to my grandma's to dehoard the entire 2nd floor except for my aunt's room.

She's got a full garage to throw away again. I couldn't believe there was more junk up there than there was in the basement.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus
Yes, I wa a bit worried when you didn't show up, like I would be worried if BRENDA didn't show up. I should have known you didn't need to be worried about, but my imagination sometimes runs away with me.

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

Yeah. Sorry. Sometimes I don't announce when I'm leaving the place unattended. I guess it depends on my mood the day of.

The good news is that there wasn't any mouse poop upstairs. I didn't think there would be, so hopefully we're as lucky on the 1st floor.

The plan seems to be to get my aunt down on the 1st floor before winter. That way they can shut off heat to the upstairs except for the bathroom for the shower up there. I still had to clear out that fruit cellar and that was just awful. Glad I got that out of the way first.

I also fixed the bad light over the washer and dryer and installed a new sweep on the external door since the old one had rusted away.

Lots done. My aunt is probably going to be throwing that trash out through the end of August though.

I was hoping to donate a lot of that stuff to Goodwill... especially the huge collection of books, but I just couldn't do it. It's been about 7 years since my aunt even bothered cleaning the two rooms and the closets that weren't hers, and that's a house that gets a lot of humidity and there used to be a lot of cats in there. Add to that the fact that until my aunt quit smoking it was a heavy smoking house. Nobody wants any of that stuff. My hands felt grimy just throwing the books away.

Shame...

Hope you're feeling better. Don't press yourself too hard Sigs. I don't want to feel guilty if I'm making you feel guilty by doing so much stuff right now. I'm in one of my manic states where I'm really useful. I'm making up for 3 months wasted during the winter.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

SIGNYM

Sunday, July 10, 2022 9:56 PM (P)

Oh, don't feel guilty, SIX! I have good old-fashioned Catholic guilt trained into me. If I slack off too much, my conscience starts bothering me.

Also, I get a charge out of "getting things done". I think I get my dopamine burst when I can dust my hands, look around and say There! That's done! I still get boost whenever I open my (recently defrosted and re-organized) meatlocker.

It sounds like you've really making big improvements in other people's lives. Good on you!

It's a huge relief to most people* to have their surrounding simplified bc every unnecessary item kind of tugs at attention. One of the happiest times of my left was in the few months before we moved to CA- I had to stay bck to sell our house, and sold off almost everything and packed up the rest. For a while I slept on a sleeping bag on the bedroom floor and ate out of one pot, one cup, one bowl, a spoon and a knife. No car: I walked to work. My life was really, really simple.

*Unless that person is a hoarder, which is it's own special pathology.

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

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, July 10, 2022 10:43 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Oh, don't feel guilty, SIX! I have good old-fashioned Catholic guilt trained into me. If I slack off too much, my conscience starts bothering me.

I was never confirmed, but I grew up with a lot of it myself. I actually do have quite a lot to feel guilty about from my past, but there's no sense in dwelling on it. Onward and upward.

Thanks for taking that burden off of me though.

Quote:
Also, I get a charge out of "getting things done". I think I get my dopamine burst when I can dust my hands, look around and say There! That's done! I still get boost whenever I open my (recently defrosted and re-organized) meatlocker.

Yeah. It's really a good feeling. It's just too bad I can't find enjoyment in the process when I'm doing the chore rituals as I do when I'm making something.

Quote:
It sounds like you've really making big improvements in other people's lives. Good on you!

I'm trying to. It's certainly a better way to spend my free time than what I used to do with it.

Quote:
It's a huge relief to most people* to have their surrounding simplified bc every unnecessary item kind of tugs at attention. One of the happiest times of my left was in the few months before we moved to CA- I had to stay bck to sell our house, and sold off almost everything and packed up the rest. For a while I slept on a sleeping bag on the bedroom floor and ate out of one pot, one cup, one bowl, a spoon and a knife. No car: I walked to work. My life was really, really simple.

Simplicity is nice. I still have way too much crap myself. I think it's one of the things that is really pushing me to get things done right now though. A lot of that "crap" is actually good things to use in my house, but as long as it's just sitting there on shelves in my garage or on platforms in my basement it's just crap.

My ultimate goal is to have this entire house restored and only have enough stuff filling it that would fit in any one of the 1 bedroom apartments I've ever rented.

I know that my aunt is THRILLED about this. She actually told me that she finds comfort in the empty rooms, and that she's never going to accumulate stuff in her new place. Noble goal, and definitely not the words of a hoarder. I wish her luck with that.

Quote:
*Unless that person is a hoarder, which is it's own special pathology.

Yeah... My grandma is though. I would never have even attempted this even just 5 years ago when her short term memory was still sharp and she got around a lot easier. My aunt wasn't worried about her seeing us taking anything out, but I told her to just pack the junk that was hers in bags and just stay out of my way while bringing everything out to the garage except for the few times I needed her help with larger furniture. I didn't want my grandma seeing any of that making its way outside. She would have died if she saw that I dismantled an admittedly really nice dresser that was somehow still in good shape just to take it down without killing ourselves. Sure, my aunt is right... even if she saw it she would probably forget about it 5 minutes later, but I don't want any of this to bring any emotional pain to my grandma for even a split second.

Fortunately, I DID take the top of that dresser and three more slabs of wood from it back home with me. They're the nicest pieces of wood I've had in that garage so far. Even though I don't have current plans for them, I will throw out some of my other saved wood to make room for them. Like the small shelf I still had left that I said I could make a breadboard out of, the 3 slabs from the bottom of the dresser and in between the drawers are made the same, but much larger. I'll have to figure out something really nice to do with them. They're way too good to be making something like garage shelves out of.

----------------------------

BRENDA

Sunday, July 10, 2022 11:36 PM (P)

Just a Sunday around me. Nothing happening. My one day to just sit down and not do much of anything.

BRENDA

Monday, July 11, 2022 11:35 AM (P)

I hate climbing chairs to replace light bulbs.

SIGNYM

Monday, July 11, 2022 12:58 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Just a Sunday around me. Nothing happening. My one day to just sit down and not do much of anything.

I think my "day' to do nothing was Thursday.
Oh, and Friday and Saturday!

Thursday I was pooped out from pushing myself.
But Friday and Saturday were due to infusion, I think. Fatigue is a side effect.
Also, I'm still anemic. I'll try taking iron, that might help.

A piece of GOOD news ... even tho I was busting ass outside and sweating like crazy, it didn't make my kidneys worse. So as long as I stay hydrated and make sure to get enough salt, I can tolerate outdoor work.

So today I managed an hour of "yard"work, even tho is was just raking up under pine trees and sweeping up the driveway and walkway. It hasn't been done in I don't know HOW long, months and months, but still I was surprised to fill up a whole big binful.

There! That's done!

Tomorrow I'll water the veggies, walk the dog, and tackle a bit more front-yard cleanup, altho I haven't decided exactly where. I'll pick a small spot that I can finish in an hour ... or less.

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

SIGNYM

Monday, July 11, 2022 1:01 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
I hate climbing chairs to replace light bulbs.

Me too.

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

BRENDA

Monday, July 11, 2022 11:16 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Just a Sunday around me. Nothing happening. My one day to just sit down and not do much of anything.
I think my "day' to do nothing was Thursday.
Oh, and Friday and Saturday!

Thursday I was pooped out from pushing myself.
But Friday and Saturday were due to infusion, I think. Fatigue is a side effect.
Also, I'm still anemic. I'll try taking iron, that might help.

A piece of GOOD news ... even tho I was busting ass outside and sweating like crazy, it didn't make my kidneys worse. So as long as I stay hydrated and make sure to get enough salt, I can tolerate outdoor work.

So today I managed an hour of "yard"work, even tho is was just raking up under pine trees and sweeping up the driveway and walkway. It hasn't been done in I don't know HOW long, months and months, but still I was surprised to fill up a whole big binful.

There! That's done!

Tomorrow I'll water the veggies, walk the dog, and tackle a bit more front-yard cleanup, altho I haven't decided exactly where. I'll pick a small spot that I can finish in an hour ... or less.

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

A trio of days is good.

Some extra iron in your diet should help.

Yes, keep a water bottle handy at all times and make sure your diet has a little extra salt in it.

Slow and steady SIG. That's the way to go.

BRENDA

Monday, July 11, 2022 11:19 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
I hate climbing chairs to replace light bulbs.
Me too.

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

Yeah and they always blow in the evening and it was a main light that I use.

Got a replacement bulb in and turned it on to find out the replacement bulb was dead. So I had to go fishing for another bulb. Climbed back up on the chair after having just climbed down, put the next bulb I found in and got back down. Turned on the light and it worked. Decided to check the other bulbs in that box and found that a couple of others could be dead too. So put them aside to go to recycling.

BRENDA

Monday, July 11, 2022 11:20 PM (P)

Out for my walk soon and I've been invited to play mah jong this afternoon. So later peeps.

SIGNYM

Tuesday, July 12, 2022 2:30 AM (P)

Well, the weather today and the next three days should be cool enough for yardwork. (My limit is 85deg.)

So I managed to put two hours in this AM, filled another binful before the green waste truck came by, and it wasn't too bad! Almost everything in the front has been weed whacked. At this point, I start digging stuff up and moving dirt around.

But I plan on only an hour at a time. If I manage more, great! If not... OH WELL!

Also took some iron early this AM. I can't imagine it working this fast, but it already feels like I have more energy. I'll see what happens.

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

SIGNYM

Tuesday, July 12, 2022 2:31 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
I hate climbing chairs to replace light bulbs.
Me too.

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

Yeah and they always blow in the evening and it was a main light that I use.

Got a replacement bulb in and turned it on to find out the replacement bulb was dead. So I had to go fishing for another bulb. Climbed back up on the chair after having just climbed down, put the next bulb I found in and got back down. Turned on the light and it worked. Decided to check the other bulbs in that box and found that a couple of others could be dead too. So put them aside to go to recycling.

Don't you hate it when that happens?

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

BRENDA

Tuesday, July 12, 2022 9:17 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
I hate climbing chairs to replace light bulbs.
Me too.

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

Yeah and they always blow in the evening and it was a main light that I use.

Got a replacement bulb in and turned it on to find out the replacement bulb was dead. So I had to go fishing for another bulb. Climbed back up on the chair after having just climbed down, put the next bulb I found in and got back down. Turned on the light and it worked. Decided to check the other bulbs in that box and found that a couple of others could be dead too. So put them aside to go to recycling.
Don't you hate it when that happens?

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

Yeah, I do.

The only good is that with it being summer, I don't have to turn that light on until after 9:30pm.

BRENDA

Tuesday, July 12, 2022 9:19 AM (P)

Got back from my day out at about 4pm. Didn't win at mah jong but I managed to get all 4 flowers of one colour and for that hand I had 6 doubles. So, I finished the afternoon with over 4,000 points. Another lady had over 8,000points, so she was the winner. Oh, well. Maybe Thursday will be better.

Anyways turns out that rumour was right. My building did get new washers and dryers.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Tuesday, July 12, 2022 9:21 AM (P)

New washers and driers though?

I think you were the big winner today.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

BRENDA

Tuesday, July 12, 2022 11:46 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
New washers and driers though?

I think you were the big winner today.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

Yup. Someone told me that on Saturday and she thought it was just a rumour. But there were signs up in the elevators that the laundry room would be closed today because they were all being replaced. The guys were still working when I got home and I saw one of the new machines coming in.

That will be nice the next time I do laundry.

BRENDA

Tuesday, July 12, 2022 11:12 PM (P)

Out for my walk soon. Couple of things to do.

BRENDA

Wednesday, July 13, 2022 2:24 AM (P)

Back from my walk on a nice sunny day. Temp is around 76F. Not too hot for me.

SIGNYM

Wednesday, July 13, 2022 8:36 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Back from my walk on a nice sunny day. Temp is around 76F. Not too hot for me.

Oh, that sounded lovely!

*****

For the first time in weeks, my bug bites didn't wake me up with itches. Mother Nature sometimes has a few tricks up her sleeve. It's not all bunnies and bluebirds.

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

BRENDA

Wednesday, July 13, 2022 10:57 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Back from my walk on a nice sunny day. Temp is around 76F. Not too hot for me.

Oh, that sounded lovely!

*****

For the first time in weeks, my bug bites didn't wake me up with itches. Mother Nature sometimes has a few tricks up her sleeve. It's not all bunnies and bluebirds.

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

It was lovely.

Glad your bug bites didn't bother you and I hope they heal soon.

BRENDA

Wednesday, July 13, 2022 10:58 PM (P)

Out for my walk in a bit. Couple of things to do.

BRENDA

Thursday, July 14, 2022 2:26 AM (P)

Do companies really hire drivers that can't read addresses?

I had just got back from my walk and found a large parcel at my door delivered by Fed Ex. It is not mine. It belongs in a building the next street over. Took it down to my manager and she will deal with it.

Stupid person.

Anyways as I said back and in. Also this gave me a chance to meet the temporary manager as the real one is out on sick leave again.

BRENDA

Thursday, July 14, 2022 9:14 AM (P)

I am off to mah jong tomorrow. Hope I have better luck than I have had.

SIGNYM

Thursday, July 14, 2022 3:34 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
I am off to mah jong tomorrow. Hope I have better luck than I have had.

I'll hope with you!

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

SIGNYM

Thursday, July 14, 2022 3:48 PM (P)

All my transplants survived but one: a pepper plant whose roots were severely damaged. even then, it didn't die bc of root problems but bc some sort of pest at it up: It was a very small seedling.

Tomatoes, zucchini, and some peppers are already setting fruit. Pretty soon I won't have to buy any zucchini from the store. Watermelons have blossoms. The okra and muskmelons are still finding their roots, but I expect growth spurt by this time net week. My direct-sow beets are coming up too. And WEEDS everywhere I water. Need to get out the hoe and start hoeing. I have some unknown seeds sprouting - they're either sunflowers or borage (from last year's plants) If sunflowers, I'm going to let them grow bc they'll provide a little shade for the one patch where the sun beats down all day without getting in the way of anything at ground level.

Shifted from weed-whacking to digging, and dug up a half trash bin of succulents (green waste doesn't want succulents in their bins, I don't know why) and a half-bin of weeds and grasses. I'll be digging up most of the rock purslane bc it's overgrown but try and save some plants to put back down once soil is shifted to the other half of the yard.

This is rock purslane. Not my garden but a good representation. When it gets old it looks incredibly untidy.

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

BRENDA

Friday, July 15, 2022 3:23 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
I am off to mah jong tomorrow. Hope I have better luck than I have had.
I'll hope with you!

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

Thanks but both our hopes didn't work. One of those mornings were getting anything started was rough. It happens.

BRENDA

Friday, July 15, 2022 3:23 AM (P)

Back from mah jong and all done for today. Just having a sit down right now.

SIGNYM

Friday, July 15, 2022 11:27 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Back from mah jong and all done for today. Just having a sit down right now.

I don't know WHAT happened, but I couldn't fall asleep until 5AM! So I took the time to do much-needed paperwork, which didn't go very smoothly bc I was too sleepy to do a good job. Well, better luck with tonight's sleep!

I DID pick the first three zucchini today. I think I can remove that from my shopping list for the foreseeable future.

Well, early day tomorrow. I'll need to water the garden before I leave so the veggies don't croak.

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

6IXSTRINGJACK

Friday, July 15, 2022 9:19 PM (P)

Haven't really felt myself for a few days, so I've stayed out of the Garden...

It's been a ROUGH week.

Pretty sure I swallowed myself some pretty toxic bacteria on Monday. I woke up to about 2% water pressure in my house and it took about 15 minutes to fill my coffee pot. I was going to get some tools out of the garage to detach a water meter that was recently installed that I thought might have had some blockage, but saw the whole city lined up on my street. The pipes busted in the street in about 6 places and my frontage looked like footage from the BP oil spill. All that reclaimed water just rushing out and right back down into the sewer system.

To my surprise, by the time I'd gotten back home that night the problem was fixed, but we had a "Don't drink the water until further notice" in place. It was only then that it occured to me that I'd drank an entire pot of coffee that was brewed from whatever Lovecraftian Horror that came out of the tap that morning. Oh well. I felt fine. No harm, no foul.

That was until I woke up very early Tuesday morning to go to the bathroom...

When I stood up I immediately had vertigo, and right before the throbbing head pain came on I was induced with the worst chills I'd ever experience in my life... in a house that was in the mid 70 degrees. I put on a hoodie and sweat pants and spent the next 24 hours under two blankets, writhing in misery from the pain that seemed to be everywhere all at once, but most notably the ceaseless throbbing pain in my head. I never knew what a headache was until that night. I finally knew the fever broke after I woke up early Wednesday morning and my clothes were saturated in sweat.

And that's when I remember the delusions. I was confident I had cancer. At one point, I was even convinced that somebody had purposefully poisoned the water and was trying to kill me. Obviously the latter is ridiculous. Hopefully the former is as well.

Wednesday wasn't great, but after what I went through on Tuesday anything felt amazing. Joint pain was still around, and my skin was super sensitive all over and mildy hurt to the touch. Especially on my head and my back. Even today, I still have slight sensitivity on the skin of my lower back.

There was never any coughing at all. Some mucus buildup from Wednesday onward, but nothing I'm concerned about. Appetite has been almost non existant for days, although I haven't had a problem forcing myself to eat.

Wednesday night through last night was almost a turn for the worse in a way though since I was seriously backed up. It was to the point that I had to take shallow breaths because it hurt to take deep ones with all that pressure in the abdomen. I barely got any sleep for about 36 hours because of the discomfort.

That's not a problem today though. More in line with what you would expect from a bacterial infection, I've had an appointment with Mr. John about a half dozen times so far this morning.

Let's just say that I'm not really finding much joy out of today either, but at least most of my strength seems to be back, the dizziness is gone, most of the pain is gone, and it seems like my body is finally ready to exorcise whatever is left of the unknown microscopic demons that possessed me through that foul batch of coffee.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

BRENDA

Friday, July 15, 2022 10:38 PM (P)

Out for my walk soon. Temp is around 76F which is good. Yes, I'm early because I want to get back and get a couple of other things done.

Someone must have tripped the fire alarm this morning. It went off at around 8:30.

BRENDA

Friday, July 15, 2022 10:39 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Back from mah jong and all done for today. Just having a sit down right now.

I don't know WHAT happened, but I couldn't fall asleep until 5AM! So I took the time to do much-needed paperwork, which didn't go very smoothly bc I was too sleepy to do a good job. Well, better luck with tonight's sleep!

I DID pick the first three zucchini today. I think I can remove that from my shopping list for the foreseeable future.

Well, early day tomorrow. I'll need to water the garden before I leave so the veggies don't croak.

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

Sorry about the sleep but congrates on the zucchini.

Hope you have a better today.

BRENDA

Saturday, July 16, 2022 2:45 AM (P)

Back and in. All done even the garbage out.

It did rain today but I was undercover going to the grocery store and when I came out it had stopped. Still seeing lots of cloud cover so it could rain again.

SIGNYM

Saturday, July 16, 2022 3:19 AM (P)

Up at 5 AM for appt. Been busy ever since, washing up three drain traysful of dishes, casseroles, little stuff, and pots and pans; fixing b'fast for hubby and tidying up. But still short of sleep so time for a short nap!!!

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

MAGONSDAUGHTER

Saturday, July 16, 2022 11:25 AM (P)

Just over 12 months ago a huge storm hit this area, with cyclonic speed winds. The winds came from a direction that was not usual and destroyed about 80 houses. Many residents were left without power or mobile phone access for weeks - in the dead of winter.

Climate disasters, supply issues due to COVID have meant that 12 months on, many houses have yet to be rebuilt and some residents will not be able to reinsure their homes.

Here is a short video on what happened if you are interested in my neck of the woods.

SIGNYM

Saturday, July 16, 2022 5:55 PM (P)

from: SO WHAT THE HECK IS LIBERTARIANISM?

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Wattle?

Our national emblem. A flowering tree that produces masses of yellow flowers late winter and early spring.

Quote:
We're watching a mystery series called Dr Blake. It's kind of a whodunnit taking place in 1950s Ballarat. It looks lovely.

Craig Mclaughlin has been in the news lately - not coming off as a lovely chappie.

Quote:
But every now and again they shoot a scene that makes me realize how ... different Australia is. A forest of eucalyptus. A night sky with NO familiar constellations!

It looks, at times, alien. But to you Australia is home, and maybe California or New York would seem strange.

It probably does seem strange when you first visit, the landscapes can be very different to North America and Europe. But it's also a big continent and lots of variety. For example, where I live there are enormous mountain ash forests, temperate rainforest in fact, that is probably more like where you live than someone who lives in Alice Springs (dead centre). At the moment there is high rainfall throughout lots of Australia, and catastrophic floods up north.

America, on the surface, doesn't seem so strange. we have been saturated with your media for many years. I think we sometimes forget how different America is to us because of it, and things like the stance on abortion and gun laws, and well Trump, seems so alien to us. Culturally we are very different countries. Australians also travel a lot out of country, a lot more than Americans it would appear. We get better holiday conditions and most of us are drawn to see other places outside of our far away Island.

Quote:
I'm very attuned to the specifics of where I live: the sky,the weather, the plants,the architecture. It took me forever to see the beautiful in the LA area .. of course, Los Angeles is in many ways a remarkably ugly place. I wonder what you would think of California.

I actually went to California many years ago, and had a brief and fun stop over in LA. I did the touristy things and I enjoyed it. If I ever go to the States again, I would go to New York and then visit some of your famous national parks like Yosemite. I love hiking so I would pick a multi day hike. I am, however, quite terrified of your bears.

Quote:
Lockdowns, ugh. Only very strict lockdowns actually work, and only a place like China could make them work. Fortunately the last few iterations of Covid have mutated in the direction that many viruses mutate: more infectious but less lethal. Family has escaped it so far, altho at this point the virus has mutated so far from it's original strain that the vaccine doesn't work anymore. When I was on chemo we all wore N95s to go anywhere. I'm seriously thinking of relaxing that to paper masks which, really, are just a fiction. Haven't quite decided yet

Well it kept the virus under control while the vaccines were developed and saved loads of lives. It was hard going at times, but I was lucky and still able to work, so part of me enjoyed the quieter life.

Quote:

Maybe we should carry this on in another thread? I'm really curious what you think of us rattling China's cage over Taiwan bc if any happens over it, Australia would be involved for sure. Also, yanno,just what's been happening with you, your family and all. I'm sure a lot has happened over the past few years.

I am actually not keeping up with much in the US these days, Roe V Wade was all over the news here so hard to avoid, and the endless gun violence seems horrific, but apart from that - not so much. I'm working and studying and busy, getting older and not sure about wiser ;}

I s

SIGNYM

Saturday, July 16, 2022 6:02 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:
Just over 12 months ago a huge storm hit this area, with cyclonic speed winds. The winds came from a direction that was not usual and destroyed about 80 houses. Many residents were left without power or mobile phone access for weeks - in the dead of winter.

Climate disasters, supply issues due to COVID have meant that 12 months on, many houses have yet to be rebuilt and some residents will not be able to reinsure their homes.

Here is a short video on what happened if you are interested in my neck of the woods.

htt p://

Jeez, that's incredibly awful.

I can see that many trees were uprooted. But some were actually snapped. Must have been extremely powerful wind.

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

BRENDA

Saturday, July 16, 2022 11:16 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:
Just over 12 months ago a huge storm hit this area, with cyclonic speed winds. The winds came from a direction that was not usual and destroyed about 80 houses. Many residents were left without power or mobile phone access for weeks - in the dead of winter.

Climate disasters, supply issues due to COVID have meant that 12 months on, many houses have yet to be rebuilt and some residents will not be able to reinsure their homes.

Here is a short video on what happened if you are interested in my neck of the woods.

I've seen on the news about the flooding in and around Syndey. It was horrible.

Makes me think of the Lower Mainland where I am last November when we had massive flooding that tore up roads and everything.

BRENDA

Saturday, July 16, 2022 11:16 PM (P)

And we are back to some rain. Got socks on, need jacket and my umbrella today for my walk.

BRENDA

Sunday, July 17, 2022 2:39 AM (P)

Was soggy when I went out but dry now and the sun is out.

SIGNYM

Sunday, July 17, 2022 3:00 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Haven't really felt myself for a few days, so I've stayed out of the Garden...

It's been a ROUGH week.

Pretty sure I swallowed myself some pretty toxic bacteria on Monday. I woke up to about 2% water pressure in my house and it took about 15 minutes to fill my coffee pot. I was going to get some tools out of the garage to detach a water meter that was recently installed that I thought might have had some blockage, but saw the whole city lined up on my street. The pipes busted in the street in about 6 places and my frontage looked like footage from the BP oil spill. All that reclaimed water just rushing out and right back down into the sewer system.

To my surprise, by the time I'd gotten back home that night the problem was fixed, but we had a "Don't drink the water until further notice" in place. It was only then that it occured to me that I'd drank an entire pot of coffee that was brewed from whatever Lovecraftian Horror that came out of the tap that morning. Oh well. I felt fine. No harm, no foul.

That was until I woke up very early Tuesday morning to go to the bathroom...

When I stood up I immediately had vertigo, and right before the throbbing head pain came on I was induced with the worst chills I'd ever experience in my life... in a house that was in the mid 70 degrees. I put on a hoodie and sweat pants and spent the next 24 hours under two blankets, writhing in misery from the pain that seemed to be everywhere all at once, but most notably the ceaseless throbbing pain in my head. I never knew what a headache was until that night. I finally knew the fever broke after I woke up early Wednesday morning and my clothes were saturated in sweat.

And that's when I remember the delusions. I was confident I had cancer. At one point, I was even convinced that somebody had purposefully poisoned the water and was trying to kill me. Obviously the latter is ridiculous. Hopefully the former is as well.

Wednesday wasn't great, but after what I went through on Tuesday anything felt amazing. Joint pain was still around, and my skin was super sensitive all over and mildy hurt to the touch. Especially on my head and my back. Even today, I still have slight sensitivity on the skin of my lower back.

There was never any coughing at all. Some mucus buildup from Wednesday onward, but nothing I'm concerned about. Appetite has been almost non existant for days, although I haven't had a problem forcing myself to eat.

Wednesday night through last night was almost a turn for the worse in a way though since I was seriously backed up. It was to the point that I had to take shallow breaths because it hurt to take deep ones with all that pressure in the abdomen. I barely got any sleep for about 36 hours because of the discomfort.

That's not a problem today though. More in line with what you would expect from a bacterial infection, I've had an appointment with Mr. John about a half dozen times so far this morning.

Let's just say that I'm not really finding much joy out of today either, but at least most of my strength seems to be back, the dizziness is gone, most of the pain is gone, and it seems like my body is finally ready to exorcise whatever is left of the unknown microscopic demons that possessed me through that foul batch of coffee.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

I haven't seen this until now. Sometimes I just don't scroll up.

Wow, you must have gotten one giant innoculation with some unfriendly organism! I would be on the lookout for parasites if you have continuing problems. But it does sound bacterial.

Fever headaches, ugh! They're the worst!

How are you now?

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

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, July 17, 2022 8:52 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I haven't seen this until now. Sometimes I just don't scroll up.

Wow, you must have gotten one giant innoculation with some unfriendly organism! I would be on the lookout for parasites if you have continuing problems. But it does sound bacterial.

Fever headaches, ugh! They're the worst!

How are you now?

I'm still getting better. All of the pain is gone, if you don't count whatever I'm going through from spending the large majority of the last 5 days laying down as related.

My appetite is still non-existent, but after that first or second day that the fever broke I haven't had any problems forcing myself to eat. It's weird going five whole days without ever feeling hungry at all though. But maybe it's not because of the illness anymore. I haven't actually DONE anything for days, so I probably don't even need to be eating as much as I have been.

I'm sleeping more than I should be. But I guess I still need it. I still feel a little weak, and if I do try to exert myself too much I feel as though my heart is pumping more than it should be. The worst thing is how my thighs feel all Charlie Horse like when I'm standing up, as if I'm dehydrated. I've drank more water this last week than any 3 weeks combined since I lost that overnight job back in 2019 and I'm still suffering from dehydration symptoms.

The scariest thing of the whole episode was the irrational thoughts that I was plagued with during the first 24 hours. I've never experienced anything like that. It was like a little window into what it's like to start losing your mind. I'm so glad that stopped the moment the fever broke.

The second scariest thing was the headache. When I get the flu I usually have some minor head discomfort, but this was the worst headache I'd ever had multiplied by 10. Just thinking about it now makes me remember that I was also convinced I was having a brain hemorrhage like my brother did and that the pain was from the blood pushing against my brain.

I wish this happened in the winter instead of the middle of summer. I've got so much to do, and after so much work being done the last 6 weeks in super hot temperatures, I just missed out on an entire week of low 70 to low 80 degrees. By the time I'm back to normal it's back up in the 90's again.

Drat.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

SIGNYM

Sunday, July 17, 2022 12:18 PM (P)

SIX, in addition to losing water you probably lost a great deal of sodium and potassium.
Get more salt. Make sure that during the day for the next few days you have at least a half measuring teaspoon of salt.
Or you could do an oral rehydration solution

Quote:
Additionally, sodium needs glucose in order to be properly absorbed. This is why ORS contains both glucose and sodium.

https://www.healthline.com/health/oral-rehydration-solutionPreparing 1 (one) Litre solution using Salt, Sugar and Water at Home Mix an oral rehydration solution using the following recipe. Ingredients:

Six (6) level teaspoons of Sugar
Half (1/2) level teaspoon of Salt
One Litre of clean drinking or boiled water and then cooled - 5 cupfuls (each cup about 200 ml.).

You'll also need to replace potassium. Orange juice, melons, raisins, dates etc are all high in potassium.

https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-rich-in-potassium

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

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, July 17, 2022 6:59 PM (P)

Thanks for the tips.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

SIGNYM

Sunday, July 17, 2022 10:45 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Thanks for the tips.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

There are a number of possible symptoms of dehydration (depending on age sex etc) but include

High heart rate. This is your heart trying to make up for low blood volume. There are a few other common causes for high heart rate including CURRENT fever, exertion, anxiety, pain, too much coffee ... but when I see someone with a high or unsteady heart rate who doesn''t have a current fever and none of the other possible causes apply, the first thing I think of is dehydration. It's a reliable indicator in adults.

Postural hypotension i.e wooziness when standing up. That's low blood volume, again. (You stand up, but your blood supply doesn't!)

Low grade headache. Not the monster headache you got from fever, tho.

Infrequent urination.

Feeling of fatigue, weakness. I've seen that more with low sodium (salt) but it also applies.

Sleepiness, drowsiness, confusion.

Flaccid skin on the back of the hand. Ususally, if you pinch up some skin lengthwise (in the direction from fingers to wrist, NOT parallel to the knuckles) and you let it go, it's quite elastic and immediately pulls back down. But if your skin has lost water the crease remains for more than a couple of seconds on the back of your hand. (That doesn't apply to old farts like me whose skin has lost collagen.)

*****

When people present with dehydration in urgent care/ER they usually just stick a liter (or two) of normal saline (0.9% sodium chloride in water) in a vein. But finding a good vein on a dehydrated person can be difficult! Much easier to DIY and increase your salt along with water.

Keeping drinking and salting your food until you pee, and then ... drink and salt some more! If your symptoms persist ...

Quote:
Call your family doctor if you or a loved one:
Has had diarrhea for 24 hours or more
Is irritable or disoriented and much sleepier or less active than usual
Can't keep down fluids
Has bloody or black stool

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dehydration/symptoms-ca
uses/syc-20354086

*****
When people get an infection, the immune system ramps up and and starts creating a numbr of chemicals called cytokines. There are a lot of different cytokines, and they do different things.

Some of them give you a fever by messing with your internal thermostat, telling your thermostat you're too cold so your heat conservation/ production goes into overdrive. That's the weird thing about fevers- you feel COLDEST when your temperature is going UP. Cause (feeling cold) and effect (shutting down surface circulation, burrowing under covers, shivering and jacking up metabolism being activated).

Some cause inflammation at the site of infection- increased circulation and leaky capillaries. (There's actually a benefit to that- it allows your white blood cells out of your capillaries and into the infected tissue where they can fight the invader.) That's what causes localized redness, swelling, and pain. eg if you have a bladder infection your bladder will hurt and may leak blood. A cut will turn red, puffy and sore. Your intestines will do the same, only you can't see it.

Other cytokines give you joint aches and pains.

Others give you a fever headache.

Others mess with your mentation. People with high fever often hallucinate. BUT, people can hallucinate WITHOUT a fever. (For me, when I start to get sick things start looking unreal, like a stage production.)

About those changes in mental state: When you're old, often a sudden change in alertness and orientation (knowing who, where, and when you are) is the ONLY sign of infection bc old people sometimes don't develop pain at the site (eg toothache, bladder pain) and fever, they just suddenly decline mentally. You might want to keep that in mind for your gran and older relatives: If they suddenly get loopy an

BRENDA

Sunday, July 17, 2022 11:33 PM (P)

Just a Sunday around me.

SIGNYM

Monday, July 18, 2022 12:09 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Just a Sunday around me.

Have a good one.

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

SIGNYM

Monday, July 18, 2022 8:13 AM (P)

Hih.
I discovered a beehive in our wood hutch. Need to call a beekeeper for removal. Fortunately, they seem pretty mellow.

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

SIGNYM

Monday, July 18, 2022 8:14 AM (P)

How're you doing, SIX?

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

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