Staying home

Choice made. Staying home for the night. 

Had considered going to the casino closest to my house. Thought I would blow a roll of quarters and have dinner. However, they changed their buffet to all pizza and pasta. 

Thought about karaoke but would have to ride across town. Not in any mood to get that cold and ride the bike with that many drunks on the road.

Went and got some gluten free beer. Dinner on the stove. Watch a movie. Just going to stay in, stay warm, safe and comfortable. Get up in the morning and accomplish a few projects around here. 

Better financial choice, any way.

Probably be in bed well before midnight. May not be exciting but not a bad choice.

Positive karma for the New Year?

It looks like I have positive karma coming my way for the New Year!

Last week, got a check for something I bought which was the wrong product in the right package. It more than paid for the original.

Today, opened the mailbox and found a check from a former employer who learned they had underpaid me. (Not like a whole paycheck but a nice surprise.) 

This past weekend, got the best paycheck I have earned in nearly 2 years. Only a little more than the previous check but still..

The glasses I ordered this weekend came in today. Nice to be able to see without straining!

Work was slow today and I was let off early with pay and don't have to use my PTO! Nice!

Have medical insurance and have an appointment set for a physical in a couple of weeks. Since it's preventive care, the physical is covered 100 percent.

Went and got a bottle of rather expensive engine block sealant which is permanent. (With Nanotechnology!) Hoping karma continues and this stuff works. If not, it has a double money back guarantee. I'm holding onto the receipt and the bottle, just in case.

Still deciding if I'm going anywhere tonight. Haven't felt so great most of the day but seem to be getting better now.

That goes back to the Candidiasis issue. Turns out it's not the best idea to do a rapid detox for that. There's even a condition called (in layman's terms) "Yeast Die-Off Syndrome". When yeast dies off, it releases a lot of toxins into the body. Basically, you get more ill before you get better. However, now that certain side effects are fading, I'm feeling a lot better than I have been. It is definite that I significantly acidified my gastric system. No elaboration forthcoming on that. But going to keep my system highly acidified for a few days to try and seriously clear my body, then drop back to maintain it. 

Battling back to health

Battling with Candidiasis again. It's rough to keep up the routine this requires. Drinking vinegar and Epsom salt frequently sucks. 

You can look online and find a special diet for the problem. However, that diet requires removing sugar from your diet. Being hypoglycemic and with a metabolism that can drop 3 lbs in one day, not an option for me. I would have to eat enough protein to destroy my liver. 

Picked up some more dietary supplements to help the battle tonight. Cayenne capsules and garlic pills. Took double the dosage and chased them with diluted vinegar.

Yum, right?

I think this condition has a lot to do with my intolerance to temperature extremes at this point. I may regain that tolerance if I can get and keep this under control. 

Some people, including some medical professionals, downplay the effects of this condition. However, consider the life cycle of yeast. Yeast consumes sugar. If yeast consumes the sugar you need for energy, your body does not gain the needed input. Yeast excretes alcohol. Meaning there is a constant presence of alcohol in your bloodstream and digestive system. Effect on energy level and mood? Not good. Like a constant low level hangover. Yeast also consumes oxygen and expires carbon dioxide. (Remember, it's what makes bread rise and carbonates beer and some natural sodas.) Meaning it diverts oxygen from tissues and the carbon dioxide displaces oxygen in your bloodstream. It also directly blocks the absorption of some vitamins and minerals.

Combine those effects with how rapidly yeast reproduces and it can have drastic effects on your health. Knocks down the immune system and robs your energy. It also causes lots of inflammation.

Best to get and keep this under control, once and for all. Going to have to build my tolerance to the substances required to do that. 

Wish I could order a new intestinal tract. 

New Year goals

So, with the car problems and related finances, I once again have to delay reinforcing the solarium and insulating the main house ceiling. The insulation is better than it has ever been before (in the 70+ year history of this house) but definitely can be better.

However, I have reached the point of advancement that doing both of those will cost me less than $250. 

Extending the solarium is the least expensive and most accessible part of that. Only need a few 2x4's, 3 bags of concrete, large bolts, more plastic sheeting and no special tools. Can do the work almost any time. (That is only for basic structure. It will be upgraded over time.) 

Bigger issue is the ceiling. That requires borrowing the insulation blower. Buy 10 bags of insulation and the blower is free for one day. Doing it all in one day will take preparation. Have the holes drilled in advance. 

The down side to insulating the ceiling is how much ceiling space there is. The up side to the ceiling is how much ceiling space there is. It means it will take a lot more insulation to fill that space. However, the fact that the space will hold a lot of insulation means that, once it's done, the house will be very effectively insulated. 

So, those are two of my goals for the New Year. Beyond that, getting the Camaro fixed properly, so I will finally have a decent vehicle. During the rest of the year, extending the solarium out further. Adding water elements to both front and back yards. If possible, that will include a solar heated hot tub inside the solarium. 

Other goals are to get my finances back on track. Finally stop smoking. Get in better shape. Complete the house wiring. Renovate the air ducts and extend them, so heating and cooling reach the main living room. Complete daughter's room and my bedroom. Plus expand the wood shop. If the money is available, I will include a vacuum system for that. 

All in all, I have a feeling 2014 is going to see some advancement for me which I have been working toward for a very long time. 

Trust and respect

I was recently told I don't respect anyone. This is not the first time the concept has crossed my existence but honestly before this it was really in my own reflections.

Not true I don't respect anyone. First of all, I respect everyone as a human being. With certain human rights which should be respected. 

However, that does not equate to respecting the individual person. In that case, it is very true. I respect few people. Simply because it takes certain things for me to respect a person. There are a select few people I respect. 

The first thing it takes for me to respect another person is trust. To earn my trust, I must be convinced a person does not intentionally cause harm outside of defense of themselves or others. That becomes more complex but I won't explain fully here. The key statement is intentional harm and that's all I need say.

The next thing is whether a person shows respect to others. "Others" does not even have to include myself. It just means a person must show respect to other human beings, including those who have differing viewpoints. 

Beyond that, my respect can grow if I am convinced a person is willing to put themselves at risk for the rights and welfare of others. 

For some people, respect is synonymous with fear. For me, those are absolutely opposed. I have never respected a person whom I feared and I never will. Try to make me fear you without just cause and you have forfeited my respect for life. Abuse a child or any person weaker than yourself and you gain my enmity forever. 

In all, it has become very difficult for anyone to gain my trust. In my own life, I have been emotionally and physically abandoned, beaten, burned, shot at, stabbed, cut, poisoned, cheated on, emotionally abused, temporarily blinded multiple times in various ways, robbed, raped and accused of things I did not do. I have scars all over my body from these things. And those are only including the acts of people whom I loved.  

None of this is any form of plea for pity. Just an explanation of the origin of my viewpoint. It is possible to gain my trust and respect but it must be earned and for that I screen before allowing anyone close enough to do harm. I do not buy into the idea that harmful people will change and stop doing harm if you give them trust and respect. It has to be the other way around. I used to believe in the fairy tale compassionate approach but was proven very wrong too many times. 

Another head gasket

So, the truck now has a head gasket leak. Small one but I have noted coolant in the oil. I put engine sealant in the radiator and the engine oil today. Just trying to keep the truck going a little while longer, until I can get the engine rebuilt for the Camaro. 

The gasket leak on the truck isn't a surprise, as many times as it has overheated. If anything, it's a surprise that it took so long. 

Daughter still doesn't want me to part with it. She asked if I can park it in the back yard for her to play in. Rather hesitant on that one but will decide later. Right now I'm figuring probably not. 

If it were summer or I had a garage, I would replace the head gasket and keep trying to get the vacuum system parts I need for the truck. Transmission is still good and the engine has good compression for the age of the truck, until this leak occurred. Burns gas like crazy but still a good utility truck if repaired. 

Oh, well. See hwo long I can keep it going until I can get something else running. 

Took daughter swimming at an indoor pool today. She's been asking to go swimming, so we did. The indoor pool closest to us is closed all winter and spring and is expected to open in the summer, so we went to the West Mesa pool. Water was still cool for me, so I wasn't in the water long. Too prone to hypothermia, since my normal body temp is 2 degrees below normal. 

We also had a long discussion today. The ex says daughter was upset with me about a few things which she had not expressed to me. Ex also says daughter was afraid to talk to me and hurt my feelings. Got it all in the open and assured her that if my feelings get hurt, I get over it quickly. Unless someone hurts me intentionally. She felt a lot better after we talked. I also made it clear that discussing things without arguing is an adult response, while conflict is highly immature. 

Very recently, I wrote something on FB about personal conflict. To quote myself-
"Never enter a personal battle which is focused on loss. For one person to win, the other must lose.
In any relationship or friendship, if one person loses, you both have lost before the battle began.
If you argue with anyone that loves you and think you won, look at the other person and try to grasp what you have lost."

Good bad and between

Past couple of days have seen some different influences. One day the bike died after riding it to Walgreens at lunch. Had to push it back home. I feared it was electrical again. Wound up just being out of gas. Filled it up and it took a few tries to get it started. Carburetors on bikes have to pressurize without much air. 

Friday morning my pay didn't go in the bank. There was very little information coming from the company, which made me nervous. Been through two circumstances in my life similar and each time the company declared bankruptcy the same day. Each time on payday. However, they corrected the issue and my pay was in the bank today.

Daughter has chosen to spend New Year's Eve with her mother instead of me. Just wants to do something different. That's okay but first time since she was born that she won't be with me on New Year. Guess I'll go to a casino or something. 

Now that I'm getting finances back in order slowly, I opted to start paying the ex the child support monthly instead of biweekly or weekly as I have been. The old method resulted in paying her an extra month every year. Gave her the Jan and Feb checks today. Her reaction told me clearly she knew she was gaining by the old method. Of course, if my daughter needs something I can provide I will do so. I have never had any emotional problem paying child support but the agreement was $300 a month and I have paid more than that for 8 1/2 years. Even at times when I skipped meals, had no vehicle and no electricity. Even though they have two incomes and when The child support took nearly 1/4 of my pay and I was at risk of being homeless. Yet she still wants to treat me like she looks down on me and like I am somehow a bad person. 

Things have shifted. I am now better able to afford the money, though any bit still helps for now. The emotional aspect has taken precedence. Plus I do need that little extra money more than the ex and her new husband.

In general, the ex has launched a new attack on me. Happens every few months. This time feels different. My suspicion (by intuition) is that it is indicating friction in her marriage. Once again, she is trying to find a way to blame me. I refuse to in any way feed into it. Just stepping back and letting it happen. I have no part in it and will not. 

Some things have seemed negative at first this year and turned out positive. The ex started wanting to keep daughter on Fri nights. Then I have wound up working until 6 PM on Fri. That's the most overt example.

This past year has seen some gains for me. Got the bike running. Got to spend time out of town, then started working from home. Those things have recharged me in many ways. Though it's broken down, I did get the Camaro. Short term potential for long term benefit. Even on that I have a feeling there is some positive I am not aware of. Got several tools and the concept for the woodworking business.start working on getting more tools after the car is fixed. 

Christmas 2013

Well, Christmas is over for this year. Wasn't very big but big enough and decent. 

Between Santa and I, daughter got a set of click circuits and an invention set, both of which teach science and basic electrical circuits and some minor theory. The two should work together fairly well. Each set has a book included and the parts should be interchangeable to some degree. She also got charcoal for artwork, a cool temp glue gun and glow in the dark glue sticks. Some color changing beads (in sunlight). Lots of candy. Plus the amusement park season tickets she already knows about. 

From her I got a handmade diorama of a tree house, a hand decorated ornament and a coffee cup with chocolate candy.

From Mary and Dylan, I got a $100 gift card from Home Depot.

The ex returned a $35 Amazon gift card I had given her. She intended it to be a negative but I'm considering it a positive. I can use the money and in the sense of the return I am off the emotional hook to ever give her anything in the future again. 

Unfortunately, I got a bit sick today. It began last night, having leg spasms and insomnia. Then today I had continuing intestinal cramps and had to go to the bathroom a lot. By the time I dropped her off at her mother's and came home, I was also extremely fatigued and laid down for a short nap. Woke up and had a slight fever and pretty bad body aches. Feel a bit better now but it took a long time. Glad it was not so bad or happen early enough to ruin the day. 

I am still considering an annual pass for daughter and I for the biopark but not at this moment. Closer to summer, after I get some other financial issues improved and have the Camaro running.

Also looking at some books for her on science projects for kids but nothing too childish. Found a series of books that seem to fit perfectly, written by a science teacher and every single review I've seen has been positive. 

Also got some good news on the work front. (Something from Santa?) I did not realize (and it was not presented as such) that my last two audits combine for my audit score. That gives me a final score of 96, which is a passing audit. I'm relieved but really want to do better. 

Almost ready for Christmas

I'm almost ready for Christmas. I will be getting a couple of presents out late because of lack of planning and late inspiration. (I'm always bad about the late inspiration thing.) In those cases, I decided to make some small memento boxes of wood. Several of them will have pictures of daughter decoupaged on them. 

Been riding the scooter around to some stores to look for stocking stuffers. 

I dropped the ball on one thing. Daughter wanted a snow globe, which they had at Dollar Tree. I didn't buy them when she was there with me, planning to get several later. Sadly, they're all sold out now. Checked online and it seems snow globes are amazingly expensive. I'll see if there's anything else I can do to maybe make one. Otherwise, hope she is distracted enough to not think about it. I think I fixate on things she says she wants more than she does. 

Been picking up more extra hours this week. Two extra hours today, two extra hours tomorrow. Had something like 5 extra hours last week and this makes it 6 extra hours this week. The extra money will help. Though emotionally I somewhat regretted it today. Ran across several rather abusive people today. I already have experience with this company that someone can be abusive to you and the company will blame you instead of having your back. 

Okay, guess it's time to take a different route. I may not be able to take official action but I can take some unofficial action, anonymously. These doctors and clinics who behave unprofessionally do have their addresses available to me. I can very easily set up a form letter to state that someone acted highly unprofessionally and give themselves a black eye. No threats, no offensive language. Just a statement that their behavior is not becoming of a grown adult. I may also see if I can have a letter or postcard sent from a different city, so they don't try to backtrack and attack me again. 

Rental car

So, rented a car for the weekend to go see sights with daughter. The truck would not have made it, being stuck in traffic and the way it overheats.

Got a nice surprise when I picked it up. They upgraded the car because they were out of the compact which I had reserved. Got a very nice Buick Verano. It had heated seats, which daughter loved. Individual comfort settings for heat and AC. Back-up camera, nice stereo and side view mirrors with indicators to tell you if someone is in your blind spot. In spite of all that, it got really good gas mileage. 

So, we went around and saw the Bugg Lights and the River of lights. Oddly, she didn't want to do much else this weekend. She mostly wanted to stay home. 

Got a new space heater. The old ones are wearing out. Got a radiant heat parabolic heater which has no fan and uses half the energy of the old space heaters. However, it puts out so much heat you can feel it from over 10 feet away. Daughter spent too much time with her feet in front of it, until I saw her legs were turning quite red. She was basically getting a sunburn from the heater. Corrected that before any lasting injury occurred. 

I was severely distracted yesterday. It was my murdered brother's birthday. I missed being able to call him. Finally let it out and cried last night after taking daughter back to her mother's house. Felt a bit better after that. 

Extra hours

Been picking up extra work hours. I start two hours early tomorrow morning.

Even though this job is sitting down and at home, it can be quite exhausting. The whole job is constant problem solving. Though it's not hands-on, it is intense, rapid-fire puzzle resolution. I have had as many as 109 cases in one day. Today I worked one extra hour and had 85 cases. 

There are different sides of that for me. On one hand, the intense problem solving is something I really enjoy. The longer I do it, the easier it becomes as I settle into patterns and lose the nerves. It's also a benefit to me to some extent because the reduced physical activity has helped stabilize my metabolism. No episodes of sinking into starvation mode since starting this job. On the other hand, I'm not really sure how long I can maintain the extra hours. It's actually harder in the winter because I'm not getting any time outside during daylight hours. Maybe I'll start taking a walk during lunch every day.

Really sucks. I lost my electronic cigarette this past weekend and had to order another one. With the stronger battery plus a new tank, not cheap. However, I still think it's my best bet for quitting smoking. I ordered the new one today and had hoped it would also ship today, so I'd have it this weekend. Didn't ship yet, so I'm doubting it will be here until Monday. I still have a setup but it's a lot less effective than the stronger battery and tank. 

The ex is going to drop daughter off on Friday evening because she has a class or something on Sat morning. That's good, I like having the extra time with daughter. I'm also renting a car on Friday, so she and I can go around to the River of Lights, the Bugg Lights at Menaul School and maybe go see Santa, all without the truck overheating and breaking down. 

Rough day

This was actually written on Fri, 06 Dec 2013 but I left it in draft status. Just found out this morning.

Today was a rough day. Unbelievable number of people seemed completely lost. Tech problems on and off all day. Wound up with over 90 cases but not nearly as many as I was hoping for. Still, a bit of extra money on next check.

Temp last night dropped to 12 degrees. More than 10 degrees colder than the forecast predicted. Looks like my prediction of sub-zero temps this winter may come true sooner than I expected. I wasn't expecting it until January. Now won't be surprised if it happens this month. 

Even with the low temp, my steps have worked to keep water going have worked well. 

I placed a space heater in the solarium for the dogs. It's working and keeping them comfortable. I turn it off during the day, once the sun is hitting the solarium. 

I also have the dryer venting into the solarium for heat reclamation. Didn't think about the effects of the humidity in the cold. Walked out earlier and the solarium was filled with fog! 

Last night, recalled previous years here and lying under multiple blankets and still shivering until my body heat warmed the bed up enough to sleep. 

Coldest so far

Last night, the temp dropped to about 12 degrees. Doesn't seem to have gone any lower.

Still the coldest so far this winter. The dogs, the house and I made it through okay. 

This morning, I started questioning myself whether I had installed the barrier for the swamp cooler, since they share the same venting. Thought I had some weeks ago. However, I climbed on the roof to make sure. Turns out I hadn't. Which means a good part of the heat being produced has been going right out of the swamp cooler into the sky. Bummer. Now that it's in place, it should make the furnace more efficient. 

Talked to the bank yesterday and it turns out they are going to try and screw me. Instead of a lump sum of $1700 in January, they're saying I owe a lump sum of over $3000. Have to get things together and try to extend the assistance, so I can pay the extra money over a few months. 

So much for starting the new year flush or ahead.

Cold front

So, the cold front has arrived. Daytime temps are mostly below 40 for the next few days. Monday is expected to remain below freezing. Monday night the low is 14. Historic averages for this time of year is around 50 days and 27 nights. 

I fully expect to see temps below 0 in the city in January this year. If that does not happen, I'll be surprised.

Pretty cloudy today. Not likely to see a thermal gain from the solarium. It does still help insulate, though.

The house is getting more comfortable year upon year. Insulated part of the bathroom ceiling last year. Crawlspace entry closed up and then vents permanently sealed shut, so a lot less cold air can infiltrate under the house. The solarium helps deter cold air from entering the ceiling vents (but still allows ventilation to the area). I've repaired or improved the functioning of the furnace on several occasions. 

One problem with the solarium is that the wind loosened the plastic sheeting again. I am winding up doing exactly what I did not want to do, which is reactive building and repairs. Down side of that is that it winds up being fast fixes and lower quality. Up side is that I'm identifying weaknesses. So, the solarium will not be completely up to speed this year but together enough to show benefits and remain standing. Main problem is still the dogs. Because of them, I have to use more rigid and stronger materials which cost a lot more. They're too dumb to figure out they are tearing apart the shelter which keeps them warm. Otherwise, I could install insulation held in place with plastic sheeting until I could buy more sheathing for the lower sections. Oh, well. I'll have to buy more materials over time. 

Tired

I'm tired. Worked on the truck this morning. I may go ahead and get new spark plugs after next paycheck. Several of the plugs were extensively fouled. Cleaned them up well and regapped all of them. Makes a huge difference. Though if the plugs were that badly fouled, I need to add a lot of carburetor cleaner to the gas tank because the cylinders are also built up. Need to change the air filter, also.

This evening, installed the dog door for the solarium. Didn't get to the people door because I had to install additional framing for the doors. Besides, I need some different hinges. So I may build the people door tomorrow but can't install it until this weekend.

Received the new battery for the electronic cigarette today. Has adjustable voltage and more powerful than the old one. Gives a much stronger hit, which is just what I needed. I think this just might do it. This may finally help me quit smoking regular cigarettes. That would be half the battle. Then I have to get past stopping nicotine, itself but somehow I actually don't think the nicotine itself will be that hard for me. 

I had 78 cases for work today. That's about an extra $20 for the day. Not as much as I hoped for but still climbing. Missed the chance to pick up extra hours for tomorrow morning. Forgot to message my supervisor when she posted the announcement. Oh, well. Hope extra hours are available for Friday. But as is, I'll pick up an extra $200 (before tax) if I manage an extra 6 cases in the next two days. 

Right now I really need a bath.

109!

Managed to do 109 cases for work today! I did work 3 extra hours but even if counting an expected 8.8 cases per hour, I still came out ahead. And it means about an extra $100 on my next check. 

I was doing better earlier in the day. Then wound up with a number of long calls from people who had no idea what they were ordering or why. 

Not picking up any extra hours tomorrow morning. Temp isn't going too low tonight, so it's a good chance to do tune-up on the truck. 

Still not feeling great today but better than past two days. This morning really sucked, getting up so early. 

Early rise

Ugh. I have never subscribed to that old saying about "early to bed, early to rise." Even with enough sleep, the earlier I get up, I wake up with an upset stomach. 

Oh, well. It will pass. 

Going to try and get the truck tuned up after work this evening. If not, maybe I'll skip extra hours tomorrow morning and do it then. 

Cold front comes in on Thur. Drop of 20 degrees from Wed to Thur and pretty much stays there. Probably until March.

So, I need to finish the door to the solarium before Thur, also. 

Slight reprieve

Happy to say there is a slight reprieve from the massive temperature drop. Forecast now pushes the worst of the cold to early next week instead of this week. Still supposed to get cold this week, just not as drastically or suddenly. 

Glad to hear that. Still not feeling completely up to par. That gives me a little longer to get the truck tuned up and solarium door built. 

Got 76 cases for work today. That earns me an extra $15 for the day. Picking up and extra 3 hours of work tomorrow morning. That will earn me some more extra. I'll also volunteer for more extra hours this week if they're available. May make it harder to get things around the house done but gets me closer to several goals which require money. 

Okay, I need to get dishes done and run to the store. 

Not feeling so great

Not feeling so great today. Couldn't get to sleep last night until really late. I was still awake at 4 AM. Today I had no energy, felt achy all over and couldn't get warm. (Didn't have chills, just never felt warm.)

I do drag myself out and put up more Christmas lights outside. Hung ornaments on the tree. That's about the extent of accomplishments for the day. 

Daughter wasn't very energetic today, either. However, that's become a norm for her on Sundays. 

Guess if I'm going to get sick, this is the time to do it. Thanksgiving is over and Christmas a few weeks off. 

Need to get out and complete more of the solarium early this week. Stupid dogs have been tearing the flap section apart. That's the section keeping cold air out of the solarium on the one side which has an opening. That's where I need to place the door. The more they tear that section apart, the more cold air enters the solarium at night.

Later in the week, another cold front, coldest so far. Temps are supposed to drop into mid to low teens. I'll probably have to place a space heater in the solarium for the dogs. If I do that, I have to secure it because there's no question they'll knock it over, turning it off and defeating the purpose. 

Going to wait and see what happens in the next two weeks. I made an extra $50 this last week. If I do at least that much or even maintain my base pay next two weeks, I'm going to use the extra money to do the ceiling insulation. With temps dropping this low now, It's going to be brutal in January. 

Something else to work on this week is tuning the truck up. It's been running rough. Need to find out what the problem is. Since I have to be driving the truck a while longer, it's imperative I have it running so it won't break down. 

Just out of curiosity, I'm going to give Enterprise car rental a call and see if just maybe the local office will rent me a car this weekend and what it will take if they will. Though I will tune up the truck first and see how much better I can get it going. 

I finally have insurance again, as of today. I don't have a card for proof of insurance yet but not planning on going to the doctor until January. Not bothering signing up for dental insurance because it won't cover any work I need to have done. I did sign up for vision insurance bacuse it pays for an annual eye exam. Hoping it may offer some discount or partial coverage for glasses. It just makes me more comfortable to have health and life insurance again. Though that will also bite into my base pay. Another reason to wait and see what happens with my case count. 

Cliff's

Took daughter to Cliff's this past evening for their first Christmas event. The lighting was good but not fantastic. They did do a good job of coordinating the lights to music. A few rides were running but because there were so few, lines formed which were really long. Only a few games open. They had a Santa but daughter wanted to go see him at the mall. Glad I got the season passes because it would have just barely been worth $10 each to go. If they even raised it to $12, I would say it would be too much as is. Then again, we went the first (and Thanksgiving) weekend, so it may have been more crowded than it will be later.

Trimmed the grass in the front yard and put up some decorations out there today. Took the little house daughter and I made last year and put some new white paint on it. Do some trim painting tomorrow and install lights on it. Also put up more outside lighting.

It's nearly 3 and I'm still awake because of leg spasms. Left leg is spasming and hurting, like sciatic pain. Took some Naproxen and waiting for it to take effect.  

As of this time, after ordering some gifts for daughter for Christmas and paying some bills, figure I have about $200 left to live on for the next two weeks. Luckily, lots of food in the house, so that's not an issue. Had to catch up on money for the mortgage lump sum due in January which I had spent (uselessly) on car parts. Can't overspend like that again or I'll have problems later.