More acid

Made another attempt to kill off the Chinese elms today. Mixed acid with water and ammonia, poured it  near the base of the trees and soaked the ground until saturated, so it will reach the roots of the trees. Wait a few days and see what happens. If no success, keep repeating the process. Sooner or later it should work. 

Got the rest of the north garden mulched this evening. Trenches, that is. Have enough mulch left for the mounds.. I think. Need one more bag of black mulch for the south garden. 

Some of the tomato plants are looking good, others not so much. Waiting to see what happens from here. I think the ones that don't look so good took some wind damage this weekend. They may recover with some time. Still, going to start some more seeds. If I start some this week they will mature late but will produce this season. (I know that well enough from past late restarts.) 

The scorpion pepper seeds started inside are looking pretty good. Need to transfer them to larger containers. Give them a chance to gain size before moving them out. I may actually have some scorpion peppers this year! Having better success with these than ghost peppers. 

My first request for time off for this summer was denied, so I have to change the dates. The office that makes those decisions is called work force management and they are a major pain. They abbreviate it WFM. Told my supervisor today that I'm coming up with my own definition of what WFM stands for. She concurred. Glad I didn't make any reservations yet.

My health is definitely improving. Can tell by skin tone and way my veins stand out again that I'm no longer anemic. Getting my energy back to normal for me. More strength. Still get winded easier than I used to but that's improving. Not having as much pain as a general rule. Still think I would benefit from protein drinks but ones I can tolerate are a little expensive. Can't get them locally, have to order them. Drinking lots of almond milk helps a bit. 

Need to get more exercise. When the wind isn't blowing 65 mph. 

A better world

Sometimes it is too easy to listen to the people who claim the world has gotten worse over the last few decades. However, it's not true. The world has gotten better.

Years ago, the acceptance of people who were "different" often required rationalization. Not true any more. Today, it is the rejection and exclusion of others (in short, hate) that requires rationalization. 

What does that mean? It means acceptance is more mainstream than hate. It means those who harbor, maintain and propagate hate must work much harder at it. They must hide it, lie about it.

No more signs saying "Whites Only". Women no longer barred from jobs on basis of gender. Gays allowed openly in the military..

Still a long way to go but I seriously do believe the world is getting better. 

Sucky day

Today pretty much sucked. IT problems. Mixture of Tweakers and some people who must have forgotten their Lithium all weekend. Plus I just wasn't in the mood to deal with them, thanks to allergies. All the wind this weekend really did me wrong.

I was happy to see most of the tomato plants survived the winds. Though now there's a frost warning for this weekend. Best get the smaller plants covered. Though that is only one forecast. Multiple others predict temperatures at least 10 degrees above freezing. Hmm. Think I'll take the chance. With the winds, anything I try to cover the plants with will blow away. Mulch will help the plants which are mulched. Soil will retain heat enough to protect against the short freeze predicted. Roots won't be affected. I've seen tomato plants get frostbite above surface level and bounce back because the roots weren't touched.

I was going to mulch the north garden this evening but still too much wind. I did apply ammonia and acid, which helps increase soil temperature because it generates heat from bacterial activity. 

It's a funny thing. I used to think I left my preacher days behind. In recent months, I realized nothing could be further from the truth. I never stopped preaching, I just removed religion from the practice. Basically, I have been a Humanist preacher for decades and didn't quite realize it. I battle hate and bigotry wherever it may exist. That includes within myself, if I realize it is there. 

My approach to this has largely evolved over time. I try to avoid using hate to fight hate. Instead, I try to hold up a mirror and make people see their behavior for what it is to the extent they cannot deny it. The most difficult ones to deal with are the ones who know exactly what they are doing and are willfully spreading hatred. Social media definitely helps. It has become a true online community where a person who defends their right to hatred knows they are doing so in front of friends, family, employers, potential employers or business contacts and acquaintances whom they are aware may not approve. The only other choice is reducing their social circle to only those who agree with their viewpoints.

I fully understand that bigotry is alive and well in various forms. Those forms have mostly changed over time. I understand that the connected world has made it easier to connect with other people who share hateful views. However, the connected world has also made those groups more visible. It was my hope when the internet became public it would evolve our world to a more global and accepting community. That is happening but, as I have my whole life, I underestimated how strongly some people hold onto and vehemently defend their hate. 

I still have trust that the longer the world is connected, the more isolated and unacceptable hate groups will become. Meaning we are heading more toward a world connected at the human level, not just the electronic level. 

Or maybe I'm just hoping. 

Laid back Sunday

I think daughter was a little tired from her first week back at school. Wasn't all that hot on doing much this weekend, wanted to mostly stay in or near home. We did go bicycle riding and hunting for cherries from the trees near the house. We had pillow fights, tickling, watermelon and sour cherries. 

All weekend, she declined even going for a drive in preference of staying around home. 

As energetic, friendly and easily social as she is, underneath she has a strong introverted side. I think part of my role as her father and being rather similar is to teach her how to keep that in balance and not become a recluse later in life. I don't find it completely likely, as she is too easily popular. Still, if she has that drive, it can easily tip in the direction of becoming rather reclusive. She is already intensely attracted to occupations which offer a solitary existence. The good thing is that she also has an attraction to nature. That makes it easier to get her outside to engage in activities. It may also lead to social opportunities with other people with similar interests. That will not happen if I allow her to simply be solitary and lock herself away from the world. 

The negative side is that I am not the best role model or teacher for more social skills. My own social skills tend to lack a bit. I can interact with other people quite well but not so prone to seeking out social interaction.

Any way, on the way home from dropping her off, I picked up 4 more bags of mulch and one more roll of weed fabric. That's enough to cover the trenches in the north garden. The winds yesterday blew some of the mulch off of the mounds, so it would be best to mulch the trenches so that they overlap. Luckily, most of the mulch got blown into the middle of the mounds, rather than off to the sides because the wind got under the edges of the fabric and lifted it up. Hope overlapping them keeps that better controlled. The larger pieces of fabric and mulch in the trenches of the south garden seem to have remained intact. 

Windy Day

Springtime in New Mexico.

The wind picked up as the weather man had forecast. Winds hit 58-65 mph this afternoon. Scant rain but barely enough to dampen the road surface.

Daughter and I stayed home for the most part. I suggested a drive but she declined. 

She played some games and watched a show online while I started more flower seeds in the new paper pots I made. 

Those are working out really well so far! I can fit 8 of them, decent size, in one dish tub. I do think it's best to pack them against each other to make sure they don't collapse. Long as they hold together long enough for roots to form, they should be great! 

I've started tossing out old foam cups which were taking up space and hard to store. Not to mention apparently do not work nearly as well because there is no wick effect. 

Blue Bonnets and Marigolds are sprouting in the seed trays. Can move them one shelf up to harden them off, then transplant them out in a week or so. 

Dreading a look at the garden tomorrow, afraid of what the wind has done to the tomato and pepper seedlings. 

Fail

Looks like the attempt to kill of the Elm trees with acid has failed so far. In fact, they look greener than ever. One of the biggest challenges is delivering enough acid at one punch to kill them. My property sits so close to the water table that any acid just serves to make the soil better. So it's going to take a lot more. Think I'll save a small amount of this for general use and use what is left of the entire 5 gals for another attempt. If that doesn't work, I'll get another box in a couple of weeks and use nearly the entire box at once. Sooner or later it has to work. 

If not, then I'll advance to trying a large amount of weed and grass killer delivered to the roots. That has a short half life, only about 30 days at longest. Or try mixing the two. Just not sure if one would negate the other. 

Got a little house cleaning done, though I woke up later than intended. Seems I hit the button to turn off the alarm when I meant to hit snooze. Glad I did laundry and dishes last night. 

Dumb..as..rocks!!

I do not give a good happy flying f**k about how smart some people claim dogs are. Maybe some dogs have some intelligence. My male dogs seems to. Otherwise, these dogs are the dumbest creatures on the planet. I have had a tick problem for a while. However, most dogs only have ticks where they cannot reach. Today, I had to spray tick poison between the puppies' toes because they are infested with ticks there. Most dogs do not have ticks there because they chew them off. Not these dogs. They are about 6 weeks old and definitely have teeth. I set out soft food for them but they prefer the dry food. Of course, they both fought me and whined like crazy while I was trying to treat the ticks, even though I did not pull their toes apart, just sprayed enough for it to run between their toes. Who knows? Maybe they've made friends with their parasites. These are the same dogs who fought when I tried giving them a bath the other day, hating the water. Then dug craters in the back yard to reach the wet soil to lay in. Maybe they were hunting for more ticks because they missed the ones I killed off.

Not so much house cleaning tonight. Right after work I came down with a toothache. Actually gum pain next to a tooth. Had to run get some Naproxen. Feeling better now. Also did some extensive brushing, flossing and rinsing with mouthwash, salt water and peroxide. Separately. That seem to have relieve the inflammation. However, fighting the pain kind of wore me down. 

Night off wouldn't hurt. Get some cleaning done in the morning. Finish laundry and dishes tonight and leave the rest to morning.

However, if I'm going to start having more extensive dental problems, it's at least with fairly good timing. It is time for me to start getting teeth yanked and lay some money aside as fast as possible for dentures. 

Not getting rich but between last week and this week I did make over $300 extra for my next check. Even after taxes, that should be a decent check, hoping to equal last one. 

Need a bath. I feel crawly and itchy from dealing with those ticks. 

Vacation request

Okay, so I entered request for time off during the summer for a couple of road trips with daughter. Not going to announce dates until I return from each for security reasons. (Not that it's needed too much. My established security measures are pretty solid.) 

Doing some research, making plans for different places to take kiddo during her summer vacation. 

One place I'm planning on is a park where I know first hand that chipmunks run down the street and brush alongside the street. I expect to have to sedate my daughter to get her in the car once she sees them, just to get her in the car to leave. Got a lead from someone for a different park where chipmunks will actually take food from your hands.

I think it's funny the thing daughter remembers most vividly about Disney World was a squirrel that jumped on a table, surrounded by humans, to eat. It was rather amazing to see the squirrel completely undaunted and apparently not afraid. 

Have to coordinate with the ex for my time off, as she has plans and events to consider. Don't want to interfere with them. 

No gardening tonight. Have some house cleaning to do. Maybe some planting but not much else. 

Middles

I like things that begin or end with "and". Doesn't have to be "and" anything. Just "and". It implies a middle. I like middles. The middle of a sandwich. Middle of a pizza. Middle of a meatloaf. Middle of an Oreo. Middle of a book. 

Lots of people say they don't like endings but I'm not that fond of beginnings, either. 

Lots of people contemplate how sad endings are but not all endings are sad. However, endings lead to other beginnings. And beginnings are unsure, unstable.

I think it's a statement to the fact that I enjoy stability. Stable people enjoy middles. Beginnings and endings are edges. Edges are rough and decay rapidly. Middles are better preserved. The middle of a ship on the ocean is the most stable point. The middle of a bus is often the most safe. 

Middles are established. For better or worse, you mostly know what you're dealing with. And..

Computer down

The breaker for the living room flipped in the middle of the night. The AC was on at the time. Think I need to change out the breaker. It's a 15 amp and I need a 20 to run AC or electric heaters in here.

Any way, the video driver went back to the AMD driver, which doesn't work. Restarting computer and have to figure out how to keep that from happening.

Okay, computer is back up but can't find a way to keep it from going back to the AMD driver. Windows automatically looks for and installs the driver for the device, rather than installing the native driver. So any time I restart the computer, I will have to go into safe mode, remove the driver and then start in normal mode. No harm but time consuming.

Also in the middle of the night, one of the pump filters blew right off the pipe. (No relation to the breaker issue.) Glad I woke up because water was shooting across the yard. Nothing I can do to fix it securely, just have to get a new filter unit. At least it's under $10. Think the problem is that the dogs keep trampling over the lines which run off of it. Need to add some form of support. Though it won't be an issue once I build an enclosure for the pump. Any lines coming out will be on or under the ground surface. For now, have to hook up the lines without the filter. That's not a big problem. Since the pipe is suspended higher than before, there's hardly any sediment going through the filter. I know because I checked yesterday. 

Going to give another shot at planting tomatoes tonight. Plus lay down the weed fabric and mulch for one more row. First row was black mulch. This one is brown. Was going to get red but they only had two bags and it takes 5 for the large rows. Didn't like the black so much. Looks like charred wood chips. That's okay, it's making the garden more colorful. Black, brown, red. Why don't they sell green mulch? Maybe purple or blue? I don't care if it looks natural, only that it looks good!

Trying to plan for a road trip with daughter this summer. Have to plan out the finances, mostly. I have vacation time and if I put in for a Mon through Fri off, it will be bracketed by two weekends, resulting in 9 days off. Hoping to make CO Springs and maybe the Grand Canyon. Not sure how well that will work. Once daughter makes it to CO Springs and sees the zoo and 7 Falls, I may not drag her away easily. 

Have to take a precaution and take a strong test drive in the car before then. Maybe to Sandia Peak one evening after work. I really believe this car will encounter no major problems but want to be sure any minor issues are in order. Need to get the valve changed on the spare. Pack a small tool set to keep in the car. 

Computer up

New power supply came in today. Installed it and am writing on the computer now. Still think I need a new motherboard for the video channel. Still problems with that. The AMD driver won't work but the Windows driver does for main function.

Installed the new spark plug wires. Improved the engine performance immediately. Idle speed is finally stable. Now I hope this cures the problem with the check engine light coming on intermittently. 

These things come pretty much in tandem with just fixing the dryer. All three short circuits. Funny how my life encounters multiple problems in similar or even identical veins in short time frames. Health (mostly digestion), water, electricity, gas.. Right down to acid or base balance. Can't pass it off to coincidence because it all comes down to problems which basically are mandatory to address in short order. 

Got a few more bags of mulch. Enough for one more row. Few more bags and the main garden is done. 

Gave the dogs a tick bath this evening. That was badly needed. They weren't too happy with me.

Was going to plant out more tomatoes tonight but ran out of time for it after other tasks. 

Didn't work any extra time this week but made an extra 15 cases today. Grand total this week means I've made close to $180 extra this week. May pick up an extra hour on Friday but laid low today and tomorrow. 

LMAO!

Wells Fargo simply cannot stand that I brought the mortgage current! Made the payment which brought it current on Fri. Today, Tue, I get two letters in the mail (heading date 4/15 and 4/16) stating what a serious matter my mortgage being behind is. While on their website, they have applied the payment, then unapplied, then reapplied the payment in an obvious attempt to find a way to make it count less. They cannot state they were waiting for the check to clear because the check was submitted to my bank electronically and the funds came out of my checking account the same night as the check was written. 

Got 105 cases for work today! That is with one extra hour worked this morning but still pretty darn good! Yesterday and today will nicely elevate my next paycheck. 

Just taking a short break and then get a few things done. 

Solarizing

Finally reached an acid concentration that worked to kill grass and weeds. The soil is so alkaline it took a nearly 50% mixture with a strong ammonia percentage tossed in. The soil is still so alkaline that it fizzed when the mixture was sprayed on it. 

Making a change of plans for the flower bed section. Decided to solarize that area. Laid out some salvaged plastic sheeting, weighed down with bricks and blocks. Have to leave it there for at least 4 weeks. Then replanted that area. Then maybe move the plastic to other areas. Doing this should kill nearly all weed seeds and harmful organisms. 

Think I'll use the weed fabric and black mulch for the walkways in the garden. If I leave that in place for a year or two, it should compost any existing weed seeds. If I keep up the process of killing off weeds all over the yard, eventually all the seeds should be killed or depleted. 

Planted the sugar cane this evening. Not sure if it will grow because It was pretty dry. Not sure how green it needs to be to germinate. 

Got 96 cases for work today. That is with an extra hour of work thrown in but getting really close to the goal of 100 cases in 9 hours. The 96 cases mean and equivalent of 3 extra hours of work with only 1 hour extra put in. Meanwhile, parts of the day actually felt kind of slow. Most people were actually pretty nice today. If I can keep up this rate, I can achieve that $300 a week extra I've been shooting for.  But may not keep that up. Rather have a little less money and keep a shorter shift. Sitting that much is rough on my legs. But I am picking up an extra hour tomorrow. However, bestow all I do still enjoy my job. 

Picked up the new spark plug wires this evening. The existing wires keep getting worse. Car wouldn't start at Walgreen's this evening for some time, until I got the cables just right. No desire to break down completely or have other electrical components fry because of the cables. It could short the voltage regulator in the starter and/or the alternator. I'll install them tomorrow. 

Current!

Checked the mortgage site this morning. Current! Finally! The sections that says "Next payment due" is for May!

May take some slight juggling to keep it that way and make the May payment on time plus keep everything else current but May is my turnaround month. May have to let a couple of bills slip slightly but nothing will be turned off. Plus I managed to bring the mortgage current a month ahead of my original calculations.

Of course, one thing making next pay period harder is my own fault. Being impatient and buying the new power supply, the large size battery acid and little things like that. They do add up. No matter. I have enough of a buffer to survive. May is when I have to start bringing things around so that buffer expands beyond mere survival to having at least a few months of basic needs. Then try to move beyond that. 

Nice Easter

It was a decent Easter. However, my alarm didn't go off. Unfortunately I did not realize it was after MN when I looked at it and the display said "tomorrow at 6:30 AM. So, daughter woke up and no eggs were hidden. Told her I had backup, so grabbed the stuff and hid eggs while she watched TV. 

So, this is probably the last year she will believe in the Easter Bunny. That's okay, not my favorite holiday icon and the most useless IMHO. 

She chased butterflies and tried to catch a bird. Meanwhile, I trimmed grape vines and sprayed weed killer and ground clear to try and get things going the right direction. Those chemicals are only for the area outside the food garden. 

We already have thousands of tiny little grapes forming on one vine. 

I grilled hot dogs, bratwurst and hamburgers for lunch. Had those with applesauce and strawberries. She loved all of that!

Dropped her off early this afternoon as her mother asked. Went to Home Depot. Mulch and weed fabric no longer on sale. Knew about the mulch, just confirmed in person. Didn't know about the weed fabric. Picked up a few coonectors for the drip system and went to Big Lots. Their regular price on weed fabric is $6 for 3x45 ft, so got two. 

Got the 5 gal container of battery acid on the way home. Applied that to all the trees I'm trying to kill. Dug a small hole at the base of each, to roots level and either filled with water then poured in straight acid or mixed a strong solution and poured that in, depending on how well I could reach with the hose. See what transpires from that. Used at least a full quart for each tree, with more for larger trees. 

Planted out tomatoes and pumpkins this evening. Applied weed fabric and mulch for the tomatoes. Not all the tomatoes are planted out but a decent number. Do more soon. 

Meant to plant the sugar cane tonight but mulching the tomatoes took too long and it got dark. Put it on the list for tomorrow. I'm tired.

Dying eggs

Daughter and I did get her some clothes at Old Navy today. She's happy with them. Not a lot but couple pairs of pants, a shirt, light sweater and a dress. 

Dyed eggs this evening. 

We're also celebrating my bd this weekend while she's here. Made my first GF carrot cake from scratch except the icing. Looks decent, smells good. Though I finished it late and we will eat some of it tomorrow. 

Daughter, ex and her husband gave me a bd present which was really nice. A set of cordless tools including a drill, jigsaw, sander and light. Very highly appreciated.

Just going to sleep on the couch with the alarm set, so I can get up and hide eggs in the morning. 

The ex wants me to drop daughter off couple of hours early tomorrow. They probably have some Easter plans. Works out okay. We'll be done with our egg hunt and lunch, maybe build a bird feeder. Then that will leave me enough time to get some more landscaping done. 

Not broke!

So, the check for the mortgage posted to my checking account this morning. After some automatic payments come out, I will have about $670 left. Though I do have other bills to pay, they're not pressing just yet. Going to wait a few days on those, just to maintain a balance for a while. Just seriously tired of being broke.

Anxious to know the effects of being on Nasacort for a while. Just started last night. The anxiety is because of not knowing what effect it may have on the ulcerative colitis. It may be beneficial, since a similar class of steroids are given to treat that condition. So, if it helps allergies and colitis plus does not require a doctor to prescribe it, I will definitely be taking it for a while.

The ex is trying to get daughter off her steroid inhaler. Happy about that. Rather sudden but then I forgot daughter also takes a steroid nasal spray. Ex says no withdrawal symptoms yet but now I know that is buffered by the second steroid. I would really prefer daughter get off all steroids at some point, if she can tolerate not taking them. What sparked the conversation with the ex was that I forgot to pack daughter's inhaler when I took her home the other day. It was my fault. Had it in my hand and must have been distracted, set it down and forgot about it. Offered to drive it over when I found out but she declined.

Part of the money I have on hand is going toward some new clothes for daughter this weekend. Maybe one new pair of jeans for me. Not a lot of clothes for either one of us but a couple of things for her. 

Got a quote for a new seatbelt assembly for the car. Over $800! Think I'll have to see if I can find a used one. Otherwise, going to be a little while before I can get that. Funny, seat belt costs more than the car.

Not bad

Changed my mind and ordered the power supply today after finding out Amazon was indeed shipping today. Went down a bit on the power to 700 watts. Have a feeling the computer has been functioning on less than that for a while and most functions are okay. 

Thought much of the day I wouldn't make my 70 case base today. Right at the end things picked up and I wound up with 74. So, made my base plus a few extra dollars. 

Headed straight to the bank after work to make the mortgage payment. Wait and see if that brings me current. 

Also went to Walmart and picked up some more mulch, some Nasacort for allergies and a few other things. 

Just going to get some house cleaning done this evening but more in the morning.

Here we go again

Woke up this morning and the computer was down again. I'll keep trying it to see if it comes back up. Not going to bother ordering a new power supply today because it's Good Friday and not much will be moving, any way. 

On the other hand, my pay went in the bank and it was my best paycheck with this company so far! Can get the mortgage caught up, pay one or two other bills, get some garden supplies and still have money left over! Nice! Back on the upswing!

I had to write a letter to the healthy system about my bill not long ago. They keep billing me for things which should have been billed to the insurance as preventive care, which would have been covered 100%. Previously I have called them, the insurance has called them and they still keep billing incorrectly. I finally told them I will not pay the bill, they need to correct the problem and not to contact me except through the insurance company. Maybe if I gave them the instruction in Spanish they could understand what I am telling them..but I doubt it.

Last section tilled

Got the last section of the north garden tilled and formed this evening. Tossed in a bunch of gypsum and raked the rows into place after raking out a lot of rocks. Then it got dark before I got the irrigation lines in place. Do that tomorrow. That's going to be the test bed for sugar cane.

I did drag out the weed whacker and trimmed a bunch of grass. Though I need to get an extra outdoor extension cord. It wouldn't reach the far west side of the yard. (Dogs chewed up one cord last year.) 

I did decide to cover one area with weed fabric and mulch. With what I have on hand, the additional material will cost roughly $20 or less to cover that area. Mark off planting spots with red mulch and cover the rest with black or brown mulch. That will help bring weeds under control more permanently. May remove the fabric and mulch in a couple of years. By that time, the weeds and seeds should be dead and composted. At that time, I'll compost the wood chips to kill off any weed seeds which may have blown in and mixed with the mulch. That will work best if I have a compost tumbler by that time, which can retain heat better. 

Can honestly say I'm not quite as energetic as I once was but getting 2-3 hours of work done after work each day is proving effective. Almost done with the outside work and getting things set so it won't require nearly as much maintenance this year. 

Between the steady job, tasks after work and establishing a supplement routine every day, not having a problem with insomnia any more. That's a really good thing. I can't recall any extended period in my life that I did not have a problem with insomnia. Been a lifelong issue for me until recently. 

On that comment, I need to get some sleep.

Unapplied funds

One of the biggest problems with the way Wells Fargo posts payments comes when this close to bringing the account current. I have payments which are noted as "unapplied funds". Separately, they state "amount due to make account current". So, I'm not really certain how much to pay to actually bring the account current. Do they calculate in the unapplied funds when calculating the amount to bring it current or not? 

Only way I can find out is to pay the amount minus the "unapplied funds". If that does not bring it current, I have the answer and will pay the rest once the payment I make has posted. One thing I do not want to do is pay them too much. Never know how they may apply those funds. They may throw it into capital, which will mean I have to come up with an equal amount for the next payment or I'll be behind again. 

As of tomorrow I shall be current or only shy by a little over $100 (which I can pay within the week). Since it's so late in the day, I could make the payment this evening and it would post tomorrow. However, there was one holiday when my pay did not go in as scheduled, so I prefer to wait and be sure my pay posts on time. 

My calculations say I should have some extra money this check. Little thinner margin next check. So, not going to blow the money this check but get some of the bills a bit ahead. After my next check is when I can really keep things in balance. 

Today wasn't too bad for work. A few tweakers but otherwise not bad. Had one woman who had a single case which was supposed to be multiple cases. I was going to build the additional cases until she started snapping at me, at which point I simply transferred her to non-clinical to build the additional cases. It was only my second case of the day, after a first case which was on hold when I received the call, the case was being held for more clinical, then the caller had no clinical to offer. I had no wish to have my day kicking off like that. Nothing I did was inappropriate and I was not rude to her. I just did not allow her to be rude to me. That was probably why the other cases were not built in the first place. Someone else just wanted her off their line. 

Other than that, I had 85 cases, which adds up to roughly equal to two extra hours of pay, without putting in the extra time. I've gotten pretty good at hitting numbers near that. 

Nasturtium

I didn't get the Nasturtium seeds started the other day. Need to do that because they're attractive plus allegedly highly beneficial to the garden. Mine didn't grow so well last year because of all the grass and weeds. Also need to get dill started. Dill I may keep in a pot inside. It's mostly a cool weather plant, runs to seed when it gets warm, then leaves decrease and ultimately fail.

Need to break out the weed whacker tonight and clear some areas which I could not clear any other way. Even though the grass is brown in those spots, it's still really strong and fibrous.

Aside from some limited areas as mentioned and repairs from dog damage, the garden is looking good so far. Not much coming up yet. Hope the ammonia and acid helps. Of course, getting the irrigation in place was a major step. That happened somewhat late but the weather was too schizo for a while. Still schizo but in a more amicable range for things to have a chance to start growing. 

The filters I improvised seem to be doing quite well. Filled a white bucket with water the other day. Historically the water looked very slightly brownish. This time it looked clear and slightly bluish. Long as it keeps mineral deposits out of the drip emitters, I'm happy. This does mean the nitrates and only the most soluble of iron content will make it through. I'm sure having a cap in place will do some good. 

Few things have been waiting on something rather simple. Garbage pickup. The trash can for pickup was completely full. They just picked up a minute ago. Before they did, I looked out and saw the lid was open. Apparently someone went through my garbage last night or this morning. Not much to find in there but dead grass, dog poop and chicken bones. 

The last two pups have their eyes open and are trying to wander around a little. Not much success yet. 

Gunshots

Last night, I went to bed early. I was nearly asleep when I heard a rapid series of percussions. At first, I thought it was someone banging on my door. I jumped up, ran to the door. Yelled to ask who was there. No answer. I carefully and slowly opened the door. Just at that time, several homes turned their lights on at once. I heard a woman down the street telling someone to stay down. Not sure if it was a child or animal she was speaking to. At the same time, car tires around the corner peeled out and a car sped down the main cross street. The sound that awakened me was not someone banging on my door but gunshots around the corner from me. Probably a drug deal gone bad. 

I called the police. Few minutes later, two sheriff's cars examined the area. A minute later, they turned on their lights and sped away. Guess something happened somewhere else.

No crime scenes marked off. No ambulances. So I'm thinking nobody was hurt. That's a good thing. 

Weather sucked today. Didn't get anything done tonight. Also having joint pains in my legs. Probably because of the new shoes. Just adjusting. 

Getting to bed early again. Obviously, didn't sleep all that well last night.

New solar light

While I was at the store yesterday, I picked up a new solar light. This one is 20 lumen. Most solar lights are 1 lumen, so this one puts out the equivalent of 20 of those. It would be bright enough to light the entire front yard if I place it on a pole. Very attractive with a blue-white light. 

However, for multiple reasons, I think I'll place it in the back yard. One is security. Solar lights are too mobile, meaning someone can pick up your solar light out of the ground and walk off with it. Besides, I have a motion detecting light in the front yard. Plus I like being able to walk out in the front yard and look at the stars at night.. when my paranoid neighbors don't turn on their front lights as soon as I walk out the door.

On that point, they're also stupid, if it's paranoia. They turn on the lights when they hear any noise or anyone speaking. If someone was going to invade their house, they would approach quietly. On the other hand, if it's need for attention (which is unbelievably rampant in this culture), it's a whole different ball of wax. No, I am not coming over to speak to you in Mexican because you turned on your front yard lights behind your two fence lines when you heard me speaking in English.. or coughing.. or my TV.. or closing my car door.. If you need that much attention get out and get a life, take down some of your fences.. and learn to speak English. And once in a dang while, walk outside and say hello when you see me in my front yard, rather than sitting there behind your two fence lines with your annoying tiny dogs barking at anyone who walks down the street. Maybe go see a psychiatrist. They'll pay attention to you. It is seriously annoying how many of these people remain behind walls and stand in their doors and windows, looking out at the world, wanting attention but want that attention to come to them behind their walls and fences. Yet they never see what is wrong with this picture. Call me rude or not compassionate. As an adult, at some point reasoning needs to overcome fear. I have compassion with people that want  to overcome their fears, not those who wallow in it. 

More proof

Today was more proof that Wells Fargo is freaking out now that I have brought the account close to being current. You would think that as I get closer to being current, they would back off a bit. Instead, they become more aggressive. Today I got three threatening letters in the mail from them. All in the same day. 

At this point, I can picture in my head the administrators pulling their hair out when I bring the account current this weekend, pulling their chance at foreclosure from under their feet. 

The fact is, if they were going to foreclose, their best chance would have been in January. The fact that they did not is absolute proof that they had a recording of the agreement they made with me back in August. I did not hear anything incorrectly or forget anything. Since that time, I have worked diligently to bring the account current. Now being brought completely current is imminent and they cannot stand it. Their attempt to screw me has failed. 

Not so much done

Not so much done, after all. That's okay. I could use something of a day off. Rather tired. Think it's allergies and the weather. Don't feel bad.

I did repair the fertilizer injector. Could not figure out why I had a suction leak where I had two tubes connected. Then I too them apart. Turned out one of the tubes is ribbed on the inside. Left space for air to enter at the connector. Had to replace the tubing to one solid piece from the valve to the bucket. Then it worked fine. Walmart didn't have the rings for the tubing in stock yet but a small amount of plumber's putty worked just as well. Ran some of the ammonia/acid solution through the lines and let it sit to dissolve mineral deposits.

Sprayed a stronger solution on the unwanted grass and weeds. This time it had a visible effect in only a couple of hours. 

Finally picked up a new pair of shoes, which I've been needing for some time. Could be something making me less energetic, that my feet hurt. Been wearing these shoes for about two years now. They're still good for gardening but not much else. 

The couple picked up the Camaro and the truck earlier. It's nice being able to park in the driveway again! And this is the first time since living here that neither vehicle extends outside the driveway. Until now it's been the van or the truck, each of which was rather long. Looks a lot nicer. Now I just need to clean up the area in front of the car. 

I'll make up my laziness tomorrow. When it's warmer. I may go ahead and arrange the shelves, move some items into the pantry and put daughter's old clothes into the vacuum storage bags. 

Got some ground clear to use between the house and the fence on the south side. Last year it was clogged with weeds you couldn't enter that area. Pulled the dead weeds out this weekend. Now to keep that problem from happening again. 

So, with the assistance of the money from selling the two vehicles, I'll be current on the mortgage as of this weekend! Sooner than expected by several weeks. After that, I should be able to keep it current. Not going to be moving ahead financially for a few weeks but will be there in less than a month. Finally! 

Two vehicles down

Sold the truck and the Camaro just a few minutes ago. Only asked $350 for the Camaro and $200 for the truck. May have taken a bite on each but they're out of may hair! The front of the house will no longer look like a parking lot! 

Not bad accomplishing this and the dogs in only a few hours duration!

The people who bought both vehicles buy vehicles, fix them up and sell them. At least at these prices, they won't have a problem turning a profit. 

They're supposed to be back and pick up both vehicles in about half an hour. Then I can park the Mazda in the driveway.  

Added a little later- Finally gathered all the plastic bags from the pantry to get ready to drop them off for recycling. Not sure how many I have but they were taking up a lot of space. I now have a lot more shelf space but going to go ahead and add one more shelf today. Plus put a lot of daughter's old clothes in a vacuum storage bag. Those are the clothes I still plan on turning into a quilt at some point. 

Funny thing, now that the other dogs are gone, the male has decided he wants to start barking really loud. Not sure of it's because other dogs are barking in the neighborhood, the older female is off her line or because the other three dogs are gone. Think it's other dogs in the neighborhood because he's quiet now that they finally shut up. 

Heat of the day. Now that I've cleaned the vehicles out and all the other tasks mentioned are done, I feel a bit lazy. Think I may take a short nap before getting more done. Still early.

Three dogs down

Gave the younger female and two puppies a bath, then drove all of them to the shelter. I think all of them will be adopted. I hope. I know the puppies will be. The female is nice, just kind of a coward. Mostly from being around the older female. Maybe she won't be so scared away from her. They're all friendly.

Pulled a muscle in my rib cage getting the female in the car. Never could get her leash trained because she would lay down and not get up. Did the same thing today. And she is not light weight. 

Okay, need to find the papers and post the ad for the Camaro. Have to air up one tire with a slow leak. Then work on cleaning out the truck. 

Oh, can also let the older female off the tie-out line and put the invisible fence collar on her. 

Simplifying

Today is the day I am going to start simplifying my life a bit.

I'm going to start by giving several of the dogs flea baths. The younger female and the two older puppies are going to the shelter. Have to clean out the back of the car first. In about 3 weeks, I'll repeat the process with the older female and the younger puppies, after they're weaned. This will immediately decrease my dog food cost, reduce the poop I have to pick up, reduce destruction and make it much calmer to walk out the back door.

Today I am also going to get all the papers together, post on CL and sell the Camaro. Maybe clean out the truck and go ahead and sell that, as well. 

The money saved and earned from the above tasks will help me bring the mortgage current faster. Haven't made the calculation but may have it current within the week. 

Of course, the wind blew part of the covering off the plant shelves last night. So far, doesn't look like any major damage occurred because of it. Mostly pumpkin plants were exposed and they tolerate temps just above freezing and it didn't get into a deep freeze last night. The tomatoes and peppers were still mostly protected. 

Probably clear some space in the pantry and maybe build another shelf in there today. Then get some work done to organize the workshop. Those are two of the worst areas of the house and also two spots which will allow me to get other places more in order. 

Meant to wake up earlier but it was too cold to get much done. Only lost one hour from originally planned waking time, though. 

Have to go feed the monster before getting them ready to go. 

Good kid

My daughter can get crazy with all of her energy at times. (Alternating with being something of s sloth.) When she's energetic, it can definitely be enough to be annoying at times.

This weekend, I told her she needs to focus that energy a bit more wisely. And decrease the volume. 

She listens well. This weekend, she cleaned my shower for me and also washed my car. Each one in her own inimitable fashion, of course. She did a really good job on both of these tasks and was not asked to do either one. Then declined money for them when offered. 

How's that for a good kid?!!

She also decided she wanted to start digging a hole in the back yard to make a pool of sorts. I did instruct her on the difficulties and dangers of making such a thing too large. Also the problems of building one that does not have a filter and pump system, making it a mosquito pool. I am planning on building a hot tub in the yard in ground, with solar heated water. She wasn't much deterred and came up with several innovative solutions for a small version. Did most of the digging herself. I did help her a bit but let her do most of it. When I do build the hot tub (and waterfall and stream), I am going to make it with concrete and rebar reinforcement. However, I did tell her since she loves digging so much she can help me when this is going to be accomplished. She agreed. It will be large enough for both of us to be in comfortably when I get to it. She should enjoy that quite a bit.

Hmm

Not really sure what this is about but daughter said she wants me to drop her off at her mother's tomorrow afternoon. I had planned on her being with me through Tues afternoon. She told me this right after I picked her up yesterday morning. 

That's all okay. She's spending 5 days out of 9 of her spring break with me, still. 

And I can use a day to myself. Maybe get the Camaro sold and give away some of the dogs. Need to give them all a bath first, for all the good it will do. They'll roll in the dirt the minute I wash them. These dogs like being dirty. 

Took daughter to the Aquarium today. I had planned on taking her to Cliff's but the wind picked as forecast. It was far too windy and dusty for outdoor activities. Bad enough for me but with her asthma, did not want to take a risk. 

Daughter didn't help me plant any of the seeds. She was playing with mud while I planted seeds this evening. I did tell her I want her to help me set of the flower bed tomorrow. We got one small flat of flowers to plant immediately. Seeds I started tonight were Blue Bonnets, Baby's Breath, Marigolds, Salvia Bonfire and Wild Mint. The mint will have to remain in containers to keep it from being invasive. Also started some Sugar Baby watermelon. 

Weather has warmed up enough overall that I can start seeds in containers and keep them outside but delay planting them out. 

Just as I feared. The acid I applied the other day had a reverse effect. Instead of killing grass and weeds, it accelerated their growth. Last year I limited the acid applications to avoid burning plants. Looks like that fear was largely unfounded. Soil is so alkaline that an acid application nearing a zero pH only served to raise the acidity to a healthy level where I applied it. Appears I'll be applying a lot more acid to the soil this year. That 5 gal deal looks like a really good thing to invest in soon as I have the money for it. 

Been having a slight problem with the car. The spark plug wires work loose and don't make a good connection. Have to replace those on Fri. If I push them back in place the car works fine. I am going to invest in a decent set that click in place. The ones I have seem like the boots are too shallow. Luckily, a good set is only $22. 

Art show

Took daughter to the art show where her work is displayed today. I am seriously proud of her! I'll post pics of her work later. 

We also went to see "Frozen", which she had seen previously and loved but I had not yet seen.
I liked that movie enough that I may buy the DVD. On several levels, it is the most emotionally mature movie Disney has produced in that genre. Made daughter and myself tear up. Her once, me twice. Just because I could relate to some things in the movie which I hope she never relates to.

I love the song "Let It Go" from the movie. However, Disney made a huge mistake in making the song gender specific. This is a song more males than females can relate to. The singer has a truly amazing voice and emotional carriage!

Got the weed fabric today. When we came home, I laid down some of that and applied colored mulch to three areas in the front yard, comprising  small trees and one rosebush. Try to get the flower bed in the back yard done tomorrow. Considering expanding that treatment to several more areas. With the weed fabric, it's much more affordable to do so. Without weed fabric, it takes 3 times as much mulch and requires renewing that mulch every year. I will still have to add mulch each year but not nearly as much and will have better and consistent results. This fabric is good and lasts up to ten years. 

Have to start flower seeds tomorrow and may buy some more potted flowers next weekend to go ahead and set in the ground. 

Logistics

Since I am giving up on the truck, been thinking about logistics of materials to move large pieces of wood to complete some projects, especially daughter's room.

Realized a few things. Home improvement stores will cut larger pieces of wood down to size. With the plans I have for her room, I don't need full length pieces of wood. Instead, can buy large pieces and have them cut them in half. That will allow them to fit in the car. Not a whole lot at one time but a few at a time. 

Now that other tasks are nearly done and mortgage will be current in 5 weeks or less, I estimate I can get her room done in about the same time frame. At this point, I can build a desk and shelves in her room for under $100 which runs the length of the room. Start with shelves but build them so I can convert them to drawers later. Just start off with cloth baskets from the dollar store to get things organized. Over time, keep adding book shelves and a hope chest/window seat. Can have all of it finished before end of summer. 

National Tweeker Day

I officially dubbed today as National Tweeker Day. Yes, I know it's misspelled btu when have you ever known a tweeker who could spell? I estimate somewhere around 80 percent of my callers today were tweakers. They were talking so fast I could hear them drooling down their chests as they tried to spit out as many diagnoses and false indications as possible for every single request. A large number of them went to physician review. I probably could have approved a large percentage of those cases if I had just been able to wrench a comprehensive thought from them but it just was not possible much of the time.

In spite of that, I managed over 80 cases today. Between last week and this week, think I made at least an extra $300 for my next check.  Of course, not even close to that after taxes. But better ahead than behind or even flat. 

My next goal is 100 cases (with an extra hour of work). Think I can do it if I can keep my allergies under control, which have slowed me down a little.

I am having another flare-up of my gastric problems. Nothing severe but not all that comfortable. Wish I knew what I did wrong which may have caused it. Only thing I can think of is too much sugar or the frozen yogurt I had last night. Whatever. Hope it goes away soon.

More stages to the dryer thing. Put the back on the dryer and cleaned behind it a bit this morning. Dryer is working better than it has for a while. Apparently that wire had been partially loose for a while and the full current wasn't going through, so it took longer to dry the clothes. That's good news because I was afraid I'd have to buy a new one or do major repairs in the not too distant future. Some things we take for granted when we have them, like washers and dryers. Until we are faced with not having them. Not a great tragedy. Lived a lot of years not having them. Just a pain when all the laundromats near me close at stupidly early hours, like 6 PM. 

Okay, got stuff to do around here.

Allergies

My allergies seem to be the worst they have been in years. Wonder if that has anything to do with my immune system actually improving? Whatever. Juniper season right now and that's one of the worst for me, aside from Cottonwood.

I was rather expecting my allergies to go off the charts last year, with all the rain and the traveling. Didn't happen so much. This year I'm at home, there's been no rain locally for some time and my allergies are killing me. 

Took part of a Zyrtec this morning, which I normally avoid because it makes me loopy. Just in a kind of no win situation at this point.

Oh, well. Got the dryer fixed last night. Working well now. Nothing more than a loose nut on a connection. Haven't moved the dryer back yet. Big mess back there I need to clean up and I was too tired by the time I was done. Had to eat and get to bed. Get that done sometime this morning or evening.

Break

Tried using the dryer to actually dry some clothes today. They didn't dry. So I started taking the back off. Found a short circuit at a junction from the power cable to the motor and heating element. It was too hot to work on at the time. Have to get back to it in a few minutes.

Raked up a bunch of debris in the front yard this evening. Parts of dead sunflowers and stuff like that, plus dead grass I had tilled yesterday. 

Wasn't able to just use the tiller for fear of damaging roots of rosebushes and small trees. So had to take out the claw hammer and remove all the grass and grass roots at the base of those. Need to pick up a roll of weed fabric. It's on sale for $5 at Home Depot. Lay that down and mulch over it. That should be a big enough roll for the little spots in the front yard and also the flower bed in the back yard plus extra. 

Started hardening off plants today. Should be able to plant out tomatoes soon. Peppers aren't far behind. Can plant out giant pumpkins now. Sadly, all the cucumber vines died off. Guess I either tried to harden them off too quickly or it got too cold for them. They only survive in hot weather. 

The scorpion pepper seeds are germinating really well! Once again, hot weather plants. And humid. Had to use the seeding tray plus a heating pad to get them going. Hope to have a few of those peppers this year to actually reach harvest. 

Okay, time to get back to that dryer. 

Nothing much

Not much to write about.

Sinus infection or allergies, whichever it is at this point, is better than it has been. Better off than some people. One coworker has gone through two courses of antibiotics for a sinus infection in about the same time frame. (Just coincidence. They're in another state.) If it's allergies at this point, they're the worst I've had in years.

The temperature in the forecast is all over the board. From over 80 to some 40's at night to some highs in mid 60's. So it's a real guess as to whether the cool weather crops will even germinate. 

Grass and weeds are already coming up in the garden paths. Have to start doing something about that quickly, before they gain a good root system. I am going to try acid first. Give that one day to work and if it doesn't do the trick then I'll cultivate. 

Dogs appear to be controlled for the moment. No sign of garden invasion this morning. Yet.

With that, I have to go feed them.

Grr!

So, one of the dogs managed to get his unit off his collar. He's done this a couple of times. Then proceeds to invade the garden. In this case, he dug up the dead puppy I buried almost two weeks ago and it appears tried to eat part of it. I had to deal with the debris from that today. 

Then duct taped the unit to his collar.

The youngest female managed to get her collar loose enough that the electrodes were not touching her skin and she invaded the garden. I think I caught her before she inflicted any damage. The collar is now tightened up. If I have to, I'll duct tape all of the collars. 

On the other hand, I swung 98 cases for work today! Most I've had in one day for months! I was slamming!

Okay, this was just a short break before getting out to get a few things done outside.

Frustrated dogs

The dogs are obviously frustrated. At least the puppies. Heard at least one of them making a whining bark in the middle of the night.. just when they have been invading the garden. There was no fight before or after. So I knew what happened and from the sound which pup it was. The male decided to try and force his way past the invisible fence and got shocked. Guess he just couldn't stand looking at the garden and leaving it alone. 

Starting to see a few small lettuce sprouts now. For all I know there may have been more which were starting and the dogs took them out. They already chewed the tops off the few onions in the garden. 

Irrigation is looking better since I fixed the leaks last evening. Yard is looking like a yard again instead of a dead weed patch. That's pretty much the same every year that I make that statement but this is one of the earliest I've been able to say it. 

May wind up having to kill everything off in front of the shed. So many weeds coming up I can't spot treat very easily. Same morning glory relative as before. Selective weed killers don't touch it. So may have to kill it all and replant grass seed. At least it's a rather small area for seeding. 

Surprisingly good day

Today was a really surprisingly good day! I'm kind of thinking my karma has turned a corner. 

The ex texted me, told me daughter's art is on display now at the NM Expo grounds. Have to go see it this weekend!

Got 90 cases for work. I admit that was with an extra hour put in this morning but it did not seem like that was going to happen today, with all the long calls I had. Earlier in the day, I thought I would actually come in slightly lower than 80. 

Just for licks, I pulled the dryer out this evening. Check the plug and jiggled the wiring. Nothing. Then banged on the back of the control panel, pushed the button and it started working! apparently a loose wire. 

This, after the computer stopped working and then suddently started up again. 

Took the bike over to get cigarettes. It died on the way back. Had a hunch it was out of gas, so pushed it to the gas station, put gas in it. Took a bit of cranking but it started back up. 

The invisible fence is keeping the dogs out of the garden. At last. One of the dogs got close enough to the control box to pull on one of the wires and it came loose from the box. I hooked it back up and turned up the power, which increases the range. They have to stay at a further distance.

Found a couple of leaks in the irrigation system. Plugged those and the pressure increased to that zone dramatically. 

Planted more carrots seeds and some potatoes today. 

Tilled around the trees in the back yard and mulched deeply around each one. Took a whole bag for each of the larger trees. But that should keep the grass and weeds at bay. Also tilled out the flower bed from last year. Going to use one bag of mulch in that area. But going to wait until next paycheck. May pick up a roll of weed control fabric for the flower beds and mulch on top of that. I'll just avoid irrigating those spots for now. 

No garden invasions!

For the first time this season, I can look outside and not find the garden invaded by the dogs! Yay!

No unwanted holes this morning. All the drip lines are still in place. No more gifts left where they don't belong.

I have heard different dogs trying to make their way into various places they can no longer go and get a surprise. One tried very hard to get into the walkway on the north side of the house. 

There does remain the chance that the eldest female can dig in certain spots and break the wire but it emits an alarm to tell me if that happens. And I have several hundred feet of spare wire if I have to patch it. 

It's nice to look out and see things where I placed them. 

The dogs are adjusting to having to be in closer proximity to each other. I didn't reduce their space by much. They still have several hundred square feet. They just can't stand sharing the same space, even though they are all one pack, one family. 

Time to get to work.

Unhappy doggies

So, the dogs aren't very happy. I installed the new cable for the invisible dog fence. This time, I actually dug it in most of the length. Except few feet which run over the broken brick pile, where I'm deterring them from crapping on the bricks.

Did as planned and set a grid in the space between the house and block wall on the north side. About 10 feet was enough. 

Included space for the plants where I'm going to harden plants off outside. 

By the time I was done with that, it was getting dark. So went to the store to get dog food and carrot seeds. Getting that done tonight means I won't have to do it tomorrow. Leaves time to get other things done tomorrow evening. 

Pretty tired now. That's a good thing, means I should sleep well tonight.

Short break

Just received the new dog collar to go with the invisible fence. Have to dig in the new cable and apply collars before the dogs dig up the entire garden. I am still amazed they haven't chewed up the irrigation lines. Must have gotten a nasty taste the first time they tried chewing on the lines with acid in them. (Wasn't strong enough to do long term harm but would taste awful, even to a dog.) Sure never stopped a single one of them from eating.

This will finally allow me to control not only their invasion and destruction of the garden but where they crap. Which, right now, is everywhere. I cannot use the pathway along the north side of the house because it's completely covered in dog shit. I'm going to lace that pathway with cable half the distance down. If they try and go that direction, they will get shocked for a good 20 ft when I'm done. 

Somehow, today felt really short. 

Sun is still up high and temperature is nice. Can enjoy working in the yard for a couple of hours if the wind doesn't start blasting like it does way too often. 

If I have enough time, can get quite a bit done.

Water

The dogs (or at least one of them) have taken to a new thing. Turning on the water tap which goes to the swamp cooler. There's currently no hose connected to it. So when they turn it on, it shoots a small stream of water in the air and across the solarium. That has happened twice in the last few days. Not sure what that is all about. Can't be for the water, as I keep their water bucket pretty full. Can't be because they like to get wet because they don't. Can't be accidental because it takes an effort beyond just bumping into the handle. Apparently they did this sometime last night and it left a large puddle on the ground which all of them are avoiding. 

Daughter and I were discussing how many of the dogs to keep this weekend. She only wants to keep one. The male, who is the calmest and most intelligent. I agree with that idea. Have to work on giving them away or taking them to the shelter. The puppies should be easy to give away. The two females, probably not so much. 

When talking about bringing the mortgage current the other day, I left something out. This isn't pushing plans back at this point. This falls right in line with my original calculations. Even the letter I sent several months ago to Wells Fargo stated a time frame of 5 months to bring the account current. So, my original calculations were quite correct. If I can bring the whole thing current before the end of May, I am actually 2-4 weeks ahead of my calculations. I have been trying to get this done faster. Just hasn't worked as planned. I probably could have brought things current by now but at risk of being without a working vehicle that daughter could ride in. Without acute risk of foreclosure, it was not worth that risk. Not living high on the hog, here. Only real extra expenses since the beginning of the year were the car, the CV axle, biopark membership and new tiller tines. All of that has been covered with OT pay. 

Fairly lazy day

Had a fairly lazy day. Not because of me but because of daughter. She wanted to stay in her night gown all day. She even wore her gown when she went out in the back yard to chase butterflies today! (It's a long gown and back yard is not visible from outside.) She didn't even want to go for a drive today. Aside from that, we watched the final two Harry Potter movies on DVR.

While she was being mostly lazy, I went out and raked out a lot of the old grass and placed it in the compost bin. That reduces a lot of the material that needs to be burned or tilled under in the last few areas.

Planted the rest of the lettuce seeds I had on hand, which amounted to a considerable space if they grow to any decent size. 

The cucumbers have mostly died off. Not sure why. They're in containers. Not sure if it's wind or what. Can't be salt because I'm not using any native soil. Maybe they still needed more time to harden off? I planted more seeds in the same containers and placed a single layer of mulch on top to control surface moisture loss. Could be that it's still too cool for them. Been bringing them in on colder nights but maybe it's not enough. 

Used a claw hammer to remove grass from around one rose bush which was being strangled by the grass. Then placed a lot of mulch around that bush and watered well. 

Have to do the same thing with one more rose bush and all the small trees in front and back yards. Ones in back will be easiest because I can use the tiller to a large degree. Set to cultivate, so I don't hit anything but the most shallow roots. I think the plum and largest apple tree have gained enough size to reach the resident underground water. 

The largest apple tree has lots of flowers but not sure it will produce many, if any, apples this year. All I've read says you have to cross-pollinate two kinds of apples and the smaller tree isn't large enough to produce flowers yet. Hopefully by next year. 

Picked up 4 bags of mulch and some new micro-sprinklers on the way home from dropping daughter off. One bag goes an amazing distance and should do a lot to make things more attractive. Help keep weeds under control and reduce water needs. Though once the trees tap the underground water, I probably don't need to water them at all. 

I was going to work on the yard some more when I got home this evening but the wind picked up and the temperature dropped just enough to be uncomfortable. So, hoping to be able to get the rest of the major work done in the next 2-3 evenings. 

Maintenance is already setting in. Noted grass and weed seeds sprouting already where I tilled. Much easier to keep controlled with the current arrangement than any previous year. 

I'm just happy that I don't have any big reasons to have to climb under the car at the moment.

BBQ

Daughter and I both ate too much tonight. Barbecued chicken, cole slaw, boiled potatoes with garlic and real butter. Couple hours later we had dessert of strawberries with Nutella. (Loads better than chocolate!)

We also had a rather odd balloon fight. 

Not really sure what sparked it before eating a large dinner but colitis has been acting up today. Combined with the sinus infection in final stages is why I haven't had much energy today. Makes my whole body feel like lead. Not to mention didn't sleep well last night.

Been slacking slightly on some of my supplements. Some of them are necessary for helping digestion. But I don't really eat all that often. 

Repairs and revisions to the sprinkler system did a lot of good. Working much better in the lettuce patch and daughter's garden. Need to work on cleaning and weeding a bit before the weeds have a chance to take over again. Couple more small burns one day while the wind isn't howling.  

Still a slight struggle to get the mortgage current. Right now figuring it will be completely current on either 5/2 or 5/16. Think I can get it current on 5/2 if I sell the Camaro. 

I'm also thinking I'll clean out the truck and sell it for about $300 but I'll take $200 if that's the best offered. If I really need use of a truck it will take more planning but I can rent a U-Haul once in a while until I get another truck. Open bed next time. Not counting on that for a while, though. Cost of renting a U-Haul is less than a traffic ticket. Plus it will reduce my insurance cost.