Exhaustion

I'm exhausted. I've been spending way too much time lately too tired to function very well. I really hope the only problem is that I need to get more exercise.

Going to go check out Planet Fitness this week. I can't tolerate temperature extremes very well right now, so better to increase my activity level in a controlled environment to start. May not be necessary during the fall but I don't want to keep waiting. 

Oh, hell. I haven't been taking my iron supplement. That may be the problem. I hate taking it to much because it carries it's own side effects. But not taking it also has side effects. (More slowly and gradually seen.) 

Going to get to bed early tonight. For real this time. 

Well, close

I did complete building the first drawer for daughter's room and installed the sliders. It works. Kind of. I need to move the slider up on the support by maybe 1/4-3/8" for it to work better. The bottom of the drawer is hitting the wood on the front of the unit. Bummer. 

That's okay. Gives me a better knowledge of how much clearance to give the rest of the drawers when I install them. The rest should go much more quickly and smoothly. 

I wad stressed over how much was left to do in her room. Then she got here and asked if I could install the desk portion. I realized at that moment that I could and I no longer needed to whole thing out in the middle of the floor. I was also able to remove many tools and move her bed into place. So, her room is almost completed, except for the drawers! (I am going to add a few more pieces of furniture in there and do some adjustments but it's very liveable now.) 

Her room does not look like the same room as when we moved in here. 

Now I have the same goal for my bedroom and several other rooms in the house. 

It was too hot this weekend for either of us to feel like doing much. I did finally talk her into going out and playing with the hose in the garden. That is, the hose which is hooked to the well pump and emits water at like 50 degrees F. That was a cooling experience! 

Noticed more proof this evening that the mulch was the problem with the tomatoes. I had not noted two plants still alive. They are in a place with very little to no mulch present. 

Unfortunately, increasing irrigation probably had made the problem worse. It flushed more toxins into the root zone. 

So, raked the mulch off the rows this evening. Then sprayed a strong acid and ammonia solution to speed up the process of composting. I did plant some bush green beans on those rows, mostly as a measure to see how the soil recovers. Until then, daughter and I got some established plants and potting soil. Put those in containers and I filled the base of those with pure compost. If I start seeing negative effects, I'll change the mixture to make it less potent. I'm rather hoping it will have a positive effect and accelerate the growth of the plants.  

Somehow, I got things wrong. Daughter is staying with her mother on 4th of July. So, guess I'll go out to karaoke the night before. Friday would probably be a good day to complete any work in her room which I don't finish before then. I think I should be able to accomplish quite a bit this week in general. 

Allergies

My nasal allergies aren't too bad right now. However, I have noticed my gastric symptoms are less active when I use Benadryl. The more I keep those symptoms under control, the less my seasonal allergies affect me over time. I'm guessing there's some allergic component to the whole thing which goes beyond pollen.

All of this goes back to what I always called my bullet proof immune system. Most of my life I have healed quickly and not been highly prone to infection. If I did get an infection, I healed twice as fast as most people. There's a down side to everything and this is mine- highly effective immune system leads to auto-immune problems. Blech. Oh, well. Maybe I will eventually get something stronger from the doctor to suppress my immune system slightly. For now, I'll stick with Benadryl.

No big plans for this weekend. Trying to conserve money for the moment, with 4th of July coming up next weekend. However, it's supposed to be really hot this weekend, so not sure what daughter will feel like doing. 

Sucks that the air conditioner in the car broke. Haven't been able to get to it yet. I may check on how much a shop would charge to replace the clutch. Doesn't hurt to ask. 

Okay, gotta get moving. Did not sleep well last night. Kept waking up.
 

Forward and backward (updated)

Got moving on daughter's set of drawers again tonight. Finally. Have the lowest supports in place. Cut the back and front pieces for one side. I think I may need more wood of a certain size for the other side. Glad I didn't cut all the pieces yet. I was still 1/8" off on the center support measurement. It won't be noticeable when put together. Waited to put the rest of the supports in place, to make sure I don't make mistakes and have to do it all over again. 

I did get tired and stopped a few minutes ago. Though I can get the first couple of drawers assembled and installed this weekend. Don't want to do too much woodwork while daughter is here because the sawdust may affect her asthma. 

That was all after working an extra hour today, so did 9 1/2 hours. 

Serious bummer. Every single tomato plant has died. I am suspecting the mulch has black walnut wood chips or something else toxic specifically to tomato plants. Only thing to do now is start some new seeds and buy some plants from a nursery and keep them in containers. Maybe just plant green beans in that area, let the grow over the supports. Move the mulch so I can grow tomatoes there next year. 

Hmm. Just read an article on the subject and it largely confirms my suspicion of black walnut. It is also toxic to blueberries. The blueberry bushes started off strong, then began to suffer. I had placed mulch in the containers. Have to remove it. One thing which thrives around black walnut is grass, especially Kentucky Bluegrass. That explains why I still have grass growing through the mulch in spots. 

Had to plant some new pumpkin seeds. Squash bugs killed off three vines by attacking the main stems. Not many squash bugs but they hit the worst parts of the vines. Oh, well. At least it happened early in the season. 

Bit later-

Okay, I felt guilty for getting so far but not cutting the dadoes (slots) in the side panels for the drawers. So, went ahead and did that. Got them all done for all 6 drawers. So, now considerably closer to getting this finished. 

Need to get to bed soon. 

All set

All set. Pay went in the bank and looks decent. Can get the bills paid, have enough for 4th of July and save money over for vacation when it comes around. Add to money from next paycheck for the latter.

Looking forward to vacation. Hasn't been a bad year but it has felt rather long. Big change from the previous few years.  Before that comes around, have to get things around the house ready for it.

Can't write much. Have to get ready for work.

Change of plans

So, decided to pull another early shift tomorrow morning. I had been doing really well at working extra cases without doing extra hours. Not this week. Been freaking Zombieland this week. Completely mindless callers. Told my supervisor that callers were saying "umm" so often I was tempted to ask many if they were meditating on the phone. (Actually more likely medicating..) 

Today I worked 9 hours and had 88 cases. That's fewer than I was getting in 8 hours just last week. The whole week has been that way. Several days I have been happy just to make my base 70 cases. Means the check after this one will suffer. Luckily, it's not anything crucial at this time but I was still hoping to move a little further ahead and get some additional goals accomplished. 

I think I'm going to have to place the insulation ahead of new teeth. For one, it's less expensive. For another, there is a return on that in the form of lower utility bills, so will actually help pay for the teeth in the long run. New teeth are a pure expense with no monetary return in current circumstances. (It would make a difference if I were on the job market now or in the near future.)  

 

Ugh

Took an early shift this morning for an extra hour. I don't think I'm going to do this again during the summer. At least not until after vacation. Not sure yet. Just not that motivated to wake up early. 

I may change my mind after vacation, just for the money to get new teeth. Other than that, I don;t have any immediate financial goals except the insulation. Lots of things I want to get done but those can be done more gradually. Teeth have to be done in a short time frame and have the money pretty much all at once. 

Time to log on for work.

Last transplants

Did my last transplanting planned for the season tonight. Had lots of flowers started in a seed tray which had to be transplanted out before they died from root crowding. 

To some people, this may sound crazy but I also tried starting some apple and plum trees by cuttings. The plum tree had to be trimmed again, so did that and also cut a few small branches from both apple trees. Stuck all of them in the soil in a small area which stays fairly damp below the surface. Figured the worst that can happen is they don't grow but still worth a shot. Most sources say this should be done late fall, early winter or early spring. However, this is one of the coolest, shadiest areas of the yard. 

Planted out the Pride of Madeira, some in front and some in back. Somewhat damp areas for these plants but what I understand is that this results in more flowering, brighter colors but a shorter life span for them. That's okay. They produce lots of seeds, so I can harvest seeds and plant new ones every few years. Especially if it means brighter flowers. 

For the first time in weeks, decided to pick up an extra hour of work tomorrow morning. Have to get to bed soon.

Hump week

Temperature-wise, the next week or two is the hump week for the year. Temperatures expected around or above 100. Right after that, temperatures are expected to drop down into the 80's again. By August, it should be dropping into the 70's at times. 

Last year, when I was in Colorado, it actually got cool enough at night when I was riding my scooter that I had to wear long sleeves at times. But daytime temperatures average 10 degrees cooler there than here. Plus a lot more shade from trees and more humidity. 

Still playing around with the irrigation. Drip emitters have to be close to plants. If too far away, the water will displace the salt in the soil toward the plant, doing more damage than good. Which results in the soil being saturated but the plant being dehydrated. 

The south garden is doing a lot better in that respect than the north garden. Not entirely a gone issue but better. I am still seeking weeds which proliferate in alkaline soil. Meaning I need to add more acid to the irrigation. 

I need to check the larger zone for leaks this evening. It's showing possible signs of lost pressure. If there's no leak, I need to run more acid to clear the emitters. 

Big difference

Got the bleed-off installed in the swamp cooler. Big difference! The air blowing out of it immediately got colder. Plus I learned the force of the air had blown the cap off where the winter barrier inserts. That's the first time that has happened. Shows the force of air is stronger than it was before. Put the cap back in place and inserted a couple of screws to keep it in place. So, pressure had been leaking and is now blowing into the house. 

Biggest reason it's making a big difference is because the water comes out of the ground at around 50 degrees F. It is a bit warmer than that by the time it reaches the swamp cooler but still very cool. 

The down side is that I don;t have an immediate place for the water draining off to go. Need to attach and extension, micro sprinkler and a clamp to make sure back pressure doesn't force the hose off the connection. The sprinkler is meant to wash away the smell of the dogs where they can no longer go to do their business. Since it's so dry, even though there's no visible waste, there is still a strong odor. That will not go away as long as it remains dry. 

Weeding day

I've adopted Monday as weeding and trimming day. Taking a short break at the moment, then get to work on those things plus installing the bleed-off for the swamp cooler. 

Today was a rather slow day for a Monday. Not sure what that was about, except the time of the month. Always busier at the beginning of the month. Haven't figured that one out yet. Maybe it has to do with annual benefit roll-over. 

I'm feeling better this week than last week. Started wondering if allergy medications were causing a problem. Stopped taking allergy medications. Now I feel better. So, I am suspecting that the allergy medications may cause adverse reactions with ulcerative colitis. Only one I can still take is Benadryl. Oh, well. Just as well. It's still the least expensive in generic form. 

New camera

Daughter loves her new camera. She wouldn't even take it off while sitting on the sofa this weekend! Took over 100 pictures in two days. 

We went to the Botanical Gardens yesterday for Pollinator Awareness week. Today, we went to the Albuquerque (Barelas) Rail Yard. Lots of good photo opportunities plus education.

The rail yard was interesting. I was rather disappointed in how little history was openly available. Luckily, I had enough knowledge to tell daughter what different structures were for. She was impressed when other people started gathering around me while I was talking to her, asking me questions. I was the only person standing there that could explain the function of the equipment and the reason buildings were constructed the way they were. 

It was also disappointing that one of the most interesting features of a rail yard is off limits. The round house/yard. I actually gave daughter incorrect information based on remaining rail structure. I thought the structure was gone but the rail portion still exists, in a section which is fenced off. The building was demolished years ago. 

I also did not understand the logistics of why the whole thing was built here, when the closest east/west rail lines are hundreds of miles away. I had to look up a map of rail lines from 1902 to understand the rationale. Then it made a lot more sense. 

We both agreed to not go to the event at the Open Space Visitor Center today because it was too hot and dry. Humidity is currently 7 percent and that is up considerably from during the daytime. Neither of us wanted to spend much time out in it. 

Update

Not as much done as I had wanted to do. However, got legs on daughter's bed. They may not be as tall as she wanted but I was shooting more for the bed remaining stable and solid. With the structure of the bed, if I made the legs too long, the bed would be top heavy and a lot less stable. Besides, it will be taller once the mattress is on the bed. If she wants it taller than that, we can add a box spring to the foam mattress. 

Also had to do laundry and dishes. 

Besides, I was rather tired from work and it took a while for my headache to fade. Probably not just work. Kind of suspect I've had an infection in my system this week. Stemming from my gut. Ulcerative colitis causes frequent digestive infections, so my suspicions over several years of minor infections in my system have been founded in reality. Less frequent now but been feeling it this week. 

On the other hand, I've been afraid of drinking alcohol for a long time, not sure what it would do to my intestines. Been drinking some coconut rum tonight and it makes me feel a lot better. Going to give it a try and see if drinking small amounts may actually help. With all my other strange conditions, it would not be a surprise. Considering getting a medical marijuana license and growing my own. Small amount, only for personal use. 

On that, decided against trying to grow commercially. Too risky. I was thinking way too much in 1980's mindset. Far too dangerous at this location and time. If it was just me, I'd be willing to take the risk but will not place my daughter in danger. For me, 1-2 small plants grown inside would be more than enough. 

Potential activities

Had some ideas for potential ideas for the weekend with daughter. 

It's pollinator awareness week, so the botanical gardens has things going on this weekend. Plus there's an event at the Open Space Visitor Center. 

Of course, her preference may be the zoo. Or we can go to Cliff's or swimming. 

Thinking of also taking her to see the Barelas Rail Yard. It's the old Albuquerque Rail Yard, old and huge. They have events going on every weekend there. I think it's supposed to include a flea market but they don't mention that on the website. In any case, I've been wanting to see it since they opened it up to the public. 

TGIF!!!

Today sucked. I knew it was not going to be good when my very first call was an insurance member calling to inquire about the criteria for his MRI.. for 10 minutes.. which had already been approved and performed.. last month. 

No matter what the side effects are, I think I'm going to have a few drinks tonight. The rest of the day did not go much better. 

Another woman could not understand why a patient could not have a greater than 100 percent occlusion of the carotid artery. Like a damn fool, I tried to explain it. And failed. While trying to be nice. 

I have a serious headache. 

Thinking adjustment

I am now consistently earning more than my base pay each pay period. When you do that, it's hard not to consider the higher number as your base pay. However, I need to adjust my thinking and consider the lower number as the norm. I know during the holidays my pay will drop when work slows down. My pay will also drop when I take any time off, even though I have PTO.

For now, if I can maintain my current earnings rate, I've considered the extra money I've spent for various things this month (including money still present but reserved) and figured out that it's at least an extra $600 of abnormal expenses. During months without these expenses, I need to be putting that money into savings, insulation or paying off my student loan or any combination of all the above. 

Insulation is the next big priority after daughter's room is done. Because utility bills are low now but will skyrocket in winter, just when my pay decreases and holidays come around. I will consider part of the solarium as insulation cost in the long term.

Speaking of which, I need to submit time off request for holidays soon. Plan ahead and increase chances of having time off during the holidays.  

Supports

Got really tired after eating dinner. I always get really tired after eating now. All tied to the intestinal conditions. Blech.

Still talked myself (eventually) into doing some stuff for daughter's room. Got the center support in correct placement. Drilled the considerable number of holes for side supports for the sliders. To keep the screws hidden and make the support stable, that amounts to 27 pieces of wood, 18 drilled in two spots. They're not in place yet. I considered trying mounting the sliders without the supports to save work and material but don't want to take the chance the sliders would warp under weight. Much more stable the way it's planned.

Cut the legs for daughter's bed. I'll put them on tomorrow. 

So, her room is seriously taking shape now. I should be done with her room soon.
 

Busy

Work was busy today. Had 96 cases, which comes close to and extra 3 hours extra pay. Extra time worked? 6 minutes. No complaints. I've already racked up an extra $200+ for the week for my next check! That will pay for the rental car.

Checked the pumpkin plants this morning and no squash bugs, including babies. My spray worked! Yay! Maybe I'll have a giant this year. Always hoping. 

I looked outside a few minutes ago and did find two adult squash bugs. Luckily on the same vine. They're dead and no eggs. 

Two days of spraying and I see a huge difference in the tomato plants. Current count is 12-13 plants. One is iffy and that does include three wild vines I need to transplant and one I need to plant out. I think it's ready. Do that before dark.

Definitely getting some stuff done in daughter's room tonight. At least center support in place and two side supports. I'd go further but want to be sure of my measurements. My theories don't always work out so well. Plus get the legs on her bed. If all goes well, I'll be done with all the drawers and bed legs by tomorrow night. 

Locked down

I still keep having a lack of energy. I have realized no small part of this is psychological. And my own fault to some degree.

For so long, I had problems with transportation, finances and then health. Plus so many things that required attention at home. I got into a habit of staying home and not doing anything to get out and mentally relax. I find myself thinking of doing something for amusement but deciding I should stay home, conserve resources and spend my time working on things here. The result is that I wind up feeling like I never do anything but work. (Except on weekends, with daughter.) 

I need to start getting out, moving around and indulging in some emotional and physical activities which do not involve accomplishing something. Short road trips, hikes, karaoke, something. I find myself enjoying rides on the motorcycle more than I probably should. Just because I'm out ofthe house and in the air without pulling weeds. 

No question I want to get the house and yard fixed up and decent. However, I've turned everything into work and that's not good. 

Daughter's camera came in today. It's nice! While it has the same model number as my own, I think it's smaller than my own. Haven't compared them yet. Could be wrong. If it is smaller, that's okay since her hands are smaller than mine. Her camera came with a shoulder strap (as mine did) plus a camera case. (Which mine did not. Boo!) It's a nice case, black and purple like the camera. I already charged the batteries and installed them, turned on the power to make sure it powers up and goes into various modes. Haven't taken any pictures. In the jpeg format which the camera uses, the camera should hold somewhere over 6000 pictures.

One thing I am hoping is that having the camera makes her want to get outside more. I know a camera had that effect on me when I was young, even in my 20's. In any case, I know she'll enjoy it. She's had cameras but nothing really nice which took seriously good pictures. She has a cell phone but that's limited. A Kindle but she can't carry it around and would be too risky it could be dropped or stolen. A camera with a strap is a good choice. 

Going to wrap it up and give it to her this weekend. 

Feeling better

Feeling better this morning than yesterday. Still a little pain but not feeling sick all over. Last night, woke in the middle of the night soaked with sweat, even though I had a ceiling fan and two evaporative coolers blowing on me. So there was definitely something going on. 

I made up a mixture last evening of garlic, nicotine and insecticidal soap. Strained that, put it in the sprayer and sprayed the tomatoes with it. If white flies are the problem, I should see a difference very quickly. 

Many of the tomatoes I planted out have failed. I have one or two tomato plants left inside to transplant out. Plus I have at least three wild tomato plants coming up in different places which I can move to the tomato patch. Or just stake where they are. One I know I'll move because it's in the middle of the sunflowers. Really not sure how that happened. 

I am certain that one reason things are growing a bit slow this year is because the average night temperatures are cooler this year. By this time in past years, lettuce has started to bolt. Not this year. It matured late and is still growing. The average humidity is higher here this year than normal. Though it does drop during the day to less than 5 percent. No question at all my property has higher than average because of the irrigation. I am absolutely not complaining! Plus I have trees on the west and the east which shade the garden more in morning and evening, keeping soil temperatures down. In summer heat and for comfort that's a good thing. Just equating to the garden maturing later than usual this year. The mulch has probably kept soil temp down below average this year, also. 

El Nino is a definite go this year. Allegedly we're not yet seeing effects from it yet. But it may cause increased rain later. 

The camera and maybe the new printer should be delivered later today. 

Cooler pads

Even though I didn't feel so hot, had to get a few things done. Ran to the store for coffee and butter.

Got up on the roof and changed out the swamp cooler pads. They looked okay from the outside but I had a feeling they needed replacing. Once I pulled the old ones off, saw they were clogged badly with cottonwood fluff. Replaced them with aspen pads, which I admit keep the house much cooler, even if they have to be replaced more often. Since then, can feel a huge difference in the house. Air flow from the cooler is much stronger, more humid and a whole lot cooler. 

I have a feeling the reason I haven't felt so good today was because of the food I ate last night. I had pork adovada with rice. I think I may have reacted to both the peppers and the red meat. Reactions to both keep getting stronger. Glad I can still have certain kinds of pepper and poultry. 

Decision made

Made the decision. I am going to rent a vehicle for vacation. It will push a couple of things back slightly but be well worth it. Probably safer than driving the 23 year old car over long distances through the mountains. Plus it will have air conditioning. Lastly, it will save wear and tear on this car. The price for renting isn't too bad. Less than I expected. 

The other side of the coin is that I will take a slight risk to keep the price down by leaving optional insurance off the tally. I haven't had an accident in years and when driving a rental car, I am only slightly short of paranoid. 

Daughter's camera is supposed to arrive tomorrow. It's just like mine but purple. Got rechargeable batteries and a 32 GB SD card for it, so it will store lots of pictures and video. She's been wanting a decent camera for a long time and been patient for it. She deserves it because she never throws a fit when told I cannot afford something. 

I was really bummed when the pictures from Disney World came out so badly, if at all. Now we both will have nice cameras, so that problem should not happen again. (Though I do fear her pointing the camera at me. I hate having my picture taken right now. I really need new teeth.) 

Been feeling like crap since I woke this morning and not all that much better even now. Made for a really long day. Callers weren't bad, I just did not feel like talking to anyone at all. Still, I made at least 91 cases and I think more than that because I got thrown out of numerous cases and I'm not sure I logged all of them. So, I made roughly an extra 2 1/2 hours of pay again today. It does add up over time. Hoping for the same tomorrow but to feel better while doing so. 

Here we go again

Woke up early this morning because I don't feel so hot. I was feeling for a while yesterday like I had a slight fever (or my equivalent). This morning, having mild nausea, pain and other problems I won't go into. Hope it goes away soon. 

I do know I'm going to have to get more testing and possibly surgery done at some point. Not going to be cheap. Hoping it can be done with least invasive approach, laparoscopically at most. Trying to put it off as long as possible. For now, long as I can keep symptoms under control, it's not urgent and I have had significant improvements in the last few months. 

Work picked up a little yesterday and I was able to pick up enough extra cases to equal an additional 2 1/2 hours of pay. Hoping for about the same each day this week.

I planted out the scorpion peppers on Sun evening. Since they had been in the window and had full sun much of the day, they didn't have to be hardened off. The Park's Whopper tomato vine did well for two days outside with sun and wind, so planted that out yesterday. 

Pulled weeds. Almost bindweed free now! 

Trimmed the grape vines yesterday. They grow new vine extensions so fast I could probably trim them daily if I had the time. As it is, they do add a lot of green material to the compost bin. 

I am suspecting a different problem with tomato plants. I thing white flies are the problem. I need to mix some insecticidal soap and treat the tomatoes with it. That has been a problem in the past and it slipped my mind this year until now. Have to do something about that tonight.

Reality steps in

Too much of a certain supplement last night caused broken sleep. Still feeling the effects slightly but it should stop soon. Least I was able to get back to sleep.

I was also having nightmares all night.. about rude callers.

I run a loose budget before paying bills and then a secondary budget as the payments go through, which also happens as shopping amounts from the weekend post. Right now, after all payments post, looks like a little over $300 left when I also account for hotel costs for vacation. However, that $300 includes living expenses until payday. Hoping the IT problems calm down this week so I can up my earnings for next check. 

Reality stepped in on my daughter this weekend and I felt bad for her. While we were shopping at Goodwill, she set her wallet down and forgot it. Remembered a few minutes later. We looked for a long time but it was gone. Someone stole an 11 year old girl's wallet. Pathetic. She said she wasn't so upset about the money or the wallet but the cards inside which held sentimental value. Some could not be replaced. Just play cards but she has had them for years. I could replace at least part of the money but not the cards. It was a lesson for her to start carrying a purse.

She shows stronger and stronger sentiment all the time. I know it has been there but it keeps building. Unfortunately, loss is going to have to be a balancing force for her. 

Woke late

Woke up late this morning. I did get to sleep last night but woke once around 3. Strange thing is this is the second Sat the alarm didn't go off. I don't recall it going off and me turning it off. That hasn't happened any time during the week. 

I was going to clean house a little this morning. No time for it now. Glad I did dishes and laundry last night. 

 Ran some acid and phosphorous through the irrigation line last night. Backing off on the nitrogen. Think I finally got to the point where I'm applying too much and no more is needed. That causes more foliage and less or smaller fruit because of the balance. Pretty much all the tests I've done showed there is more than enough potassium, which is pretty much permanent. 

I think I am going to buy a few tomato plants today from the nursery. Some specialty ones that are supposed to grow really huge tomatoes. Mostly looking for Park's Whopper Improved tomatoes. It is a hybrid, so seeds are sterile or won't grow true to seed. So if I want to propagate or avoid having to buy them year after year, have to try and grow some from cuttings and keep them alive through the winter. 

Decision I made with the dogs seems to be a good one so far. The boys do miss the female and have whined a little about that. However, they are getting along great. No fights, only playing. Last night I tossed out some chicken bones to them. They shared with no confrontation, happy but calm. With the female, within seconds of tossing something like that out, there was growling and snapping, occasionally biting. 

I am finally seeing the effect of bringing the mortgage current. This was the first check I am truly seeing the effect. I was able to pay for hotels for vacation, order a new camera and a new printer, pay all the bills and still have money left over. At this pint, my biggest bills are satellite TV, student loan and internet. That's why I need to dispose of the student loan debt. I'm considering doing away with satellite. Most of the shows I watch are on network TV. Others I can watch online. Way too expensive for what is offered. 

Reservations

Okay, made reservations for daughter and I for hotels in Co Springs for the trip next month! I did split the time between two hotels. The first one is slightly expensive. It's the hotel I stayed in last year, next to my employer's office building and it has a water slide. Aside from that, it's really nothing special but I figured daughter would seriously love staying in a hotel with a water slide. 

The other hotel is decent but much cheaper. Still has breakfast and a pool but no slide and half the price. 

I also ordered a camera for her. Just like mine but purple. It should stand out. Plus rechargeable batteries and a memory card. And a new printer for me.

I tried to figure a way to limit the time in Co Springs but, considering how long daughter has been known to take looking at things, I could not in any way assume we could see all there is to see in anything less than 3 full days. So I figured one day to drive out and one day to drive back in the calculations. It's normally about a 6 hour drive but we can stop for lunch along the way. Then first two nights are at the hotel with the water slide. 

I did make sure to pay all the bills before making reservations. Now I need to conserve a bit so we have spending money for the first couple of days. Not seeing any big problems, though. 

Anxiety unbased

Looks like my anxiety was unjustified. My pay was in the bank when I woke up a little while ago. However, I was just going with what I was told by the company. Having been through three employers going bust in the past, it is something which makes me slightly anxious, so red flags go up with certain signs. In each case, no warning was given. Employees just went to collect their pay and there was no pay to collect. 

So, have to pay bills and then start making reservations for vacation. Luckily, not every penny has to come from one check. I have one more check before then but mortgage and child support do come out of that one. Then I get a check about the third day of vacation. 

What I can do is order the camera for the kiddo today.

Not much

Got a little bit done in daughter's room but not much. Took a little longer to do final adjustments on the bookshelf than I had counted on. It's strong but not quite as stable as I had hoped. It will hold together for a long time but I will attach a heavy backboard later to stabilize it more. 

I'm very seriously considering renting a vehicle for the road trip to Colorado. Checked on the price today and it would only be about $200 for a week. It would remain close to that if I forego the optional insurance. I do have to call and find out how much of a hold they would place on the bank account. The other option is to order the parts for the seatbelt, get the spare fixed and check the air conditioner, all things I'm going to do any way. I was just thinking of saving the wear and tear on the car. Hoping it won't take much to fix the air conditioner. 

I think one reason I keep having problems sleeping has a lot to do with my blood sugar dropping. Sugar helps for a short time but maybe the protein powder helps more. Allegedly protein keeps blood sugar more stable than sugar does. Here's the surprising thing- When I am drinking a lot of the protein powder, my weight drops more quickly. I think what's happening is that it's increasing my basal metabolic rate. So it means I will have to maintain that caloric intake for a few weeks before my body reaches equilibrium and I will gain anything from it. Though that is a good sign, any way. If my weight isn't suddenly rising, it's not causing inflammation or water weight gain. In fact, it may be reducing inflammation, which indicates healing. Unless it's causing more damage to a degree that I'm not absorbing anything at all. That doesn't seem likely because it's not making other symptoms more obvious. One symptom I know increases when I'm not absorbing nutrients is decreased clarity of thought, which hasn't happened with the protein.  

It's a real juggling act to balance nutrition with symptoms and actual damage. Symptoms remained lower for years because of inflammation, which caused cushioning of body tissues. However, that inflammation was masking or even causing damage all that time. So I'm cautious now about signs of both symptoms and inflammation. 

Tying sleep back into the whole issue goes two directions. One is that it may be a sign I don;t need as much sleep because there is less damage and infection present in my system. On the other hand, not sleeping enough means my body won't continue to heal as it should. 

That said, I'm finishing my protein shake and getting to bed. This thing usually posts the time I start writing, not the time I post. (I often start writing, leave it open and finish hours later.) So, it's 11 PM now.

One more dog down

So, the female dog is gone. Took her to the shelter this evening. I was sad doing so. It really sucks she was probably better behaved on the way over there than she has been in a long time. 

When I spoke with the woman on the phone the other day, she defined it really well. The dog has a strong prey instinct. It did get me thinking she would probably be a good hunting dog. And she would be ecstatic in that role. 

On the other hand, them accepting her came at a very good time. She has been protective of her pup until recently. As her pup has gotten older but still smaller than her, she has gotten more aggressive toward the pup. She was getting really rough with the pup today. She did that with the older pups until they got large enough to defend themselves. When the male got bigger than her, she stopped messing with him. 

So, now I am left with two males. I plan to get them neutered but it's less urgent than a female would be. Plus I think the older male will be a good influence on the younger one, so I expect they will both behave well. The older male is very well behaved. 

Had a really hard time getting to sleep last night. I was still awake after 2 AM. Part heat and part working on daughter's bookshelf late. Have to turn on the air conditioner and take melatonin early tonight. 

Got a message today that our pay will go in the bank late tomorrow. If they already know there's a problem and cannot fix it before tomorrow morning, that's not a good sign. That seems to signal the company having to liquidate assets or take out a loan to make payroll. And that is a very bad sign. I could be wrong but something about this seems off. Though I may be seeing a pattern. It may be tied in to quarterly earnings in some way. Last time I recall pay being off was right around the time quarterly earning would be reported. Now it's June and second quarter earnings should be reported soon. 

This whole week has been rife with network problems. I've had several days (including today) where I had to restart my system multiple times. That has nothing to do with the wind knocking power out one day. Once again, it reduced my case count somewhat. However, not nearly as much as some complete fucking idiots who kept calls going for 15-25 damn minutes while they had no sufficient clinical for the studies and kept passing the phone around from secretary to doctor to nurse and back around again. (Then these are the same assholes who will bitch about the wait time to speak with someone.)

Okay, going to get to work on daughter's room in a minute.

Power outage

There was a power outage in my neighborhood today. It was short but reset everything. Happened just while I was on phone with a supervisor and had a difficult case open. I knew it hit the whole neighborhood because of power tools across the street stopping and various surprised yells which occurred.

It happened because of a sudden wind blast which rocked my house and sent clouds of dust up, so thick you couldn't see through it more than a couple hundred feet. (I could barely see the produce store across the street from my back yard.) Heard a number of sirens after, so pretty sure it caused some damage and maybe a wreck or two. 

My bike died last night while I was riding to Walgreen's. Pretty sure it's a fuel issue but haven't been able to get it started yet. Give it another try in a little while, then have to start looking at other possible problems. Right now I'm not happy!

I'm rather tired but going to work on some stuff for daughter's room while I watch TV. I can work on her bookshelf and table in the living room. Once I adjust a few things and install supports, I can also build the drawers in the living room. 

Got the call from the shelter yesterday. Okay to bring in the oldest female tomorrow evening after work. I am going to miss her and not happy with the whole thing. Just can't take the risk of her getting out and attacking another small animal. Besides, daughter is now afraid of her. She doesn't say it but I can see it. And I cannot tell her to not be afraid. I don't believe the dog would hurt her but never saw the aggression thing coming, either. Besides, soon as her puppies were weaned, she was humping her own son again. I don't need another litter to deal with in a few months. 

As for the son, he was getting in the garden. He figured out that his battery was dead on his collar. I replaced the battery yesterday and then found him this morning on the other side of the invisible fence. He must have figured out how to run or jump and avoid the shock. So, I had to increase the range on the fence again. That did the trick. Guess I'll keep that range where it is now, which is 3-4 ft either side of the cable (and would reach as far up, in case he tries jumping it), so he would get shocked for a good 6-8 ft distance if he crossed it. 

Increased the irrigation schedule. I suspect salt is remaining a problem. All the rain last year seemed to do a lot of good, so hoping this helps. 

Almost

I'm almost at that 90 case average I had set as a goal. My average is about 88 cases per day now. (Once I hit 90, I'll shoot for 97. Why in a moment.) 

For every 9 cases, I earn the equivalent of an extra hour of pay. So, 88 cases equal 2 extra hours of pay beyond my base pay and 97 cases per day would equal an extra 3 hours of pay. 

As it is, 88 case average means I earn an extra 10 hours of pay without putting in extra hours every week. That adds up to a potential of an extra $10k per year at this rate. and would be higher if I can increase my rate. I am rather questioning whether that's really possible because of the speed of the callers. However, with the new health plan I got trained on, it does increase my case count. Then yesterday I learned something I was not aware of which significantly increased my speed on those cases even more. A lot more. So, the potential is there. I just have to be able to avoid the really slow callers. I have learned to redirect their behavior a lot. 

At my current speed, my income is back over $50k a year. If I can increase my speed or case count (including with extra hours) I can realistically bring that back to $60k a year, where I was several years ago. Of course, that's before taxes. Getting to $60k is a worthy goal. Keep my expenses down as much as I can and I can have every single debt I owe paid off in 10 years or less and still have money in savings if I plan properly. 

Yes, that includes the house. However, I am not going to pay extra on the house. Instead, I will put money in savings. If I gather enough money, then in a few years I will simply write a check for the remaining balance of the mortgage. Wells Fargo has clearly demonstrated that it does not matter if you pay ahead. If you wind up with problems, they will still try to take you under. 

Patch problems

Last year or the year before, I patched some cracks in the stucco outside. Most patches are good. However, one spot has cracked again. That's where the cinder block wall meets with wood frame. They expand and contract at different rates when temperatures change. The standard stucco isn't elastic enough to hold up to the expansion changes. So, going to have to fill that area with outdoor caulking, silicone based, then stucco over that. Or get some stucco which is designed to be more elastic. I could mix some latex in with the stucco for that immediate area. 

That crack isn't much of a problem in dry weather. However, in wet weather I do worry about water seeping in and doing damage. It is also an entry point for insects. So it does need to be dealt with. 

I have been doing some calculations. To re-stucco the front of the house I estimate will take about 8 bags of stucco mix. Not too expensive. Issue is time. It will take at least one full day to get it done. Maybe plan for that in the fall, while it's still warm and daughter has gone back to school. I'll do other walls one at a time until the whole house is done. Spreads out the cost and labor. Not a chance at all I could do all of it in one day. 

Neighborhood improvement

Someone is getting ready to move into the house diagonally across the street from mine. In the past couple of weeks, they have been making huge improvements. New roof, new windows, new doors and an additional room on the back. 

The house next to mine was remodeled shortly before we moved in. Five other homes have had some level of remodeling since we moved in. 

That leaves four houses on the street which need some work. One of which is abandoned. 

I've done some work but have a long way to go. One big improvement was the removal of the collapsing wall to the front and side. Planting multiple rose bushes, new grass and trees in front. I do have some other things which I need to do. Need to re-stucco and paint. That's the biggest thing but also the most expensive. I'll get to it eventually. 

I also want to build a small pond and fountain in the front yard. However, not an immediate priority. Going to take a lot of concrete to accomplish that. And a lot of work. Priorities are mostly inside the house still. I keep inching closer. 

Any way, even with my own house needing work, the more other homes get renovated, the more it increases property values, including my own. 

One advantage most of the people in the neighborhood have which I don't is a much higher population. Most of the houses here have a lot more people living in them than my own. Several houses here have 8-10 people living in the house. The people next door have at least 4-5 adults living there. Directly across the street is more than that. I've counted as many as 11-12 vehicles in their yard on a consistent basis. A bit easier to do renovations with that many people living under one roof as opposed to one man living alone. No envy involved here, though. I'd go postal if I had to live with that many people. I'll happily take the slower improvements over that any day.

Grass trimming

As usual for Monday, I was really tired after work. Like, exhausted. Took a short nap after work. Still don't understand why Mondays affect me so much. Maybe I've always been this way but my schedule has always been so erratic that I never really noticed it until I finally got a stable schedule. 

Of course, then there were the standard things. Going for cigarettes and cooking dinner. 

After that, I talked myself into the energy to trim the grass in the front yard. Have to do the back tomorrow. Then get back to work on kiddo's room starting Wed night. 

I have finally come up with a comprehensive statement of my social standards. Here it is-

I have no respect or tolerance for people who hold aggression, invasive behavior, ignorance or lack of respect for others as traits which should be rewarded.

I admire and seek out people who hold values of rational thought, compassion, mutual respect, concern for others and the environment.

If anyone is offended by my views, I have no concern. Anyone offended by my view deserves to be offended. 

Much more comfortable

I have said it is more comfortable with the swamp cooler working. There is definite science behind this.

Humid air is more dense than dry air. If you run a fan in humid air, it actually moves a greater volume than with dry air. You will feel the air from a ceiling fan more in humid air than in dry air. It's not imagination.

Convective cooling requires some level of humidity. Dry air only dries the moisture on the skin and has minimal, if any, cooling effect. Sweat or moisture must remain on the skin long enough to affect heat transfer. If it dries too quickly, this is not accomplished. (Note this effect becomes reversed if the humidity is too high but too high is considered over 60 perecent.)

Humid air is cleaner than dry air to some degree. Particles remain suspended in dry air. In humid air, more particles become weighted down. This is aside from the positive pressure effect of a swamp cooler, which partially filters incoming air and pressure forces dust from entering through windows and doors. Unless the wind is blowing with enough force to overcome that pressure. 

Excessively dry skin takes longer to heal than skin with sufficient moisture. This is a known issue in wound care here. Dry skin is also more prone to infection, if the skin cannot flush microbes away and they remain on the skin long enough to multiply. Besides, dry skin makes you look older.

Your lungs work better with adequate humidity. Lungs also require humidity to affect transfer of waste and debris. The lungs are also one of the major sources of heat transfer for the body, which helps cool you down in hot weather. If waste material is not removed effectively, it can accumulate, reducing heat transfer further, cause inflammation and possibly lead to higher risk of infection. Again, if infection or inflammation sets in, it takes longer to heal. (This is why we use humidifiers for respiratory illness. The kind which only scent the air do not add moisture, they only act as a mild irritant which increases respiratory secretions.) 

In short, there are physical reasons people have more energy in forests, along seashores and around lakes and rivers. It's not all psychological. The moisture is one part of that. (Higher nitrogen content also play into that but is a different subject. However, it's one benefit to using well water for the swamp cooler.)

Daughter's creation

Daughter spent several hours making a small stuffed animal for her mother today. A gift for her mother's birthday, which is next weekend but daughter gave it to her early. It was seriously cute! She put so much effort into it, sewing the entire thing by hand.

I had suggested going swimming this weekend but she didn't really feel like it. Mostly because it has become such a hassle to get into the indoor pools, with the one nearest us being closed for repairs. All freaking summer, that is. 

I think I'll check into ice skating next weekend. She was reading a book which included ice skating not long ago, so hoping the combination of that and the heat will give her more motivation for it. Be a good way to keep cool.

The air conditioner in the car stopped working while I was driving her home. Not sure why because it was working fine and then just stopped. Got home and saw the compressor isn't turning. I'll have to check out why sometime this week. If it requires any parts then fixing it will have to wait until next week. Kind of hoping it's just a blown fuse or loose wire. 

Found the cantaloupe seeds I had misplaced. Planted some of those, seeds for giant watermelon and for pie pumpkins today. For the most part, I'm planting pumpkins later than usual to try and avoid most of the squash bugs. I hope not planting corn will help with that because they seem to feed and hide in corn stalks as well as pumpkin plants. Maybe interval spacing of peppers will also help deter them. 

Planning

So, next few checks I have to make plans for some vacation time with daughter, including road trips. Maybe a hotel here and there. Not as easy as it sounds because it also includes the seat belt assembly. 

Daughter has been asking for her own camera like mine and I'm going to try and make that happen. Price has come down a little since I bought mine, so it's more possible. Would like to get that for her before vacation, so she has things to immediately take pictures of. Of course, it also must include a memory card but those have also gotten cheaper. Probably another set of rechargeable batteries.

Daughter has said she's been having a hard time sleeping lately. Mostly the heat. Happy to say I got it nice and cool in here last night and she is sleeping late this morning. (Just glad she seems comfortable.) 

I need to start spending as much time as I can working on the house. That's a lot more possible with the swamp cooler working. Cooler and with a healthy humidity level throughout the house now. I am going to make the trade between higher electric bill and comfort, going for comfort. Once I get certain things in place, that will no longer be such a conflict. 

I have been spending way too much time watching TV for a while now. Need to back off that and do as I used to. Pick a very few shows I really like and watch those and the news. And maybe record those shows to watch on a set schedule which works with other things. 

Money for vacation does mean putting off some other purchases, like large tools I was hoping to get. Like a table planer and jig saw. That's okay, they can wait. Daughter is growing up fast and I have much more limited time with her than with tools. Just makes some improvements more rough or more gradual. 

Some things I really need to make a priority. Internal improvements for organizing. Insulation. And building the ramp for the front. Stairs are falling apart. I could build new wooden stairs right now but would rather push up plans for a concrete ramp, which would cost maybe $60 or less to build. Can do it in one day once I get the supplies. Hard work but very much worth it. 

Been considering plans for quite some time for renovation the kitchen counters. I want to do set in place concrete. (no way I could life an entire counter in place by myself if it was set somewhere else.) Not much information really available except for those trying to sell certain products. Finally figured out how I can do this as an overlay to existing counters for support. So, going to do that in the fairly near future. It will not cost much. Most expensive supplies will be for polishing and sealing. 

Muscle spasms

Been having intermittent problems with muscle spasms to my arms and legs. Sometimes severe and painful, causing my foot to curl and lock. Not having any other physical problems, so no idea what this may be from. Maybe I need to start taking potassium. Or it may be from sitting too much.

There is the possibility that it could, in the long term, be a positive thing. It could be that I've had neurological damage from autoimmune problems and that damage is healing now that I'm getting those better under control. (Now that I know about both of them.) In the short term, it really sucks trying to go to sleep and having my leg or foot suddenly cramp up to the point that I can't move for a minute or so. 

Supposed to be hot today but at least there's a decent cooling breeze right now and a chance of rain this evening. Not sure of doing much outside today but will take swim suits with me and give kiddo the choice of swimming, the zoo or just staying home most of the day and renting movies.

Checked the garden this morning and things I transplanted out are looking pretty good. Plus red grapes are gaining size. I had thought the green grapes were done flowering but it seems not. So not sure what to expect from them. If all the flowers convert to grapes, it will be a great harvest, absolute best so far. I may have applied the phosphorous at exactly the right time for them!

The birds appear to be my allies this year. There are at least two flocks of birds hanging out in the trees and they are helping control the grasshoppers to a degree. 

I've looked over pictures from last year and this year is definitely behind from last year. Just because of weather differences. This time last year, tomatoes were knee high and full. Right now they're only a few inches tall. Biggest sunflowers were taller than my head while right now they're just reaching chest high. If I had to make a guess, I'd say this year is 3-4 weeks behind last year in growth. 

Cucumber vines are starting to flower and should be able to climb soon. They remain in containers and I will just keep them next to the trellis this year. 

Spoke too soon

I spoke too soon this morning. Had a lot of angry and rude people (almost all northeastern) today. Got a bit better later in the day. But it's really amazing how many people can be so angry on Friday and usually over minor stuff or for no reason other than they want to be rude and mean. 

Got 92 cases for work today. Not bad. I was actually surprised it wasn't more than that. Hit some slow spots. But I made a minimum of an extra $20 every single day this week, in most cases much more. Like today, it was more than $50 extra. Next check should look nice. Think I'll start picking up extra hours again next week. 

The extra money alone will pay for insulating the house and eventually further completing the solarium. Which I definitely will do before winter this year to an an appreciable degree. 

The main swamp cooler combined with the portable swamp cooler is having an amazing effect! It's keeping the temperature in at least the main living area quite cool. Even if one room gets hot, running a fan or the air conditioner brings the temperature down very quickly. 

Of course, outside humidity is around 4 percent. I keep expecting to see it go to a negative number.

Cool effects

Thing I have noted about the swamp cooler since the repairs is that it is much quieter. I have to hold my hand up to the register to confirm it's running! Used to be there was no doubt when the swamp cooler was running because it vibrated the whole main house and rumbled. Now it blows stronger but is almost silent. 

I note that it took a couple of days for the new parts to "burn in" because the output is stronger now than the day I first installed them. I also installed the water cut-off for the front yard, so there is continuous pressure to the feed line from the well pump. (Since water does sit in the line, no guarantee it's always cool but when water comes out of the well, it's at 55 degrees.)

Feel better this morning. Headache is gone. Not feeling like my muscles are breaking down. Needed that one night break. Keeping cooler, have increased humidity and got some sleep. 

Besides, it's Friday! Calls usually go much smoother on Friday, with fewer confrontational people. Though that hasn't been too bad this week. Business has picked up and wait times are really long. So I guess their aggression has been burning itself out before I get on the line. And they have time to actually read the chart before I come on, so they actually have a clue of why they're ordering the test. I also have more callers who have encountered me before. They know aggression and anger won't work and if they ask questions, they will get answers (which they don't really want because it takes time, especially since I will explain the rationale behind the criteria). Since they will spend more time and still get a negative response, they just accept the negative response more readily. 

I think they're slowing down on faxing things in, also. Not so many callers insist on getting the fax number when the reply is negative. Physician lines are burning up, though. Maybe one day they will gain some perspective. A test is not urgent for a person who has had symptoms for 10 years and had no change in those symptoms. 

Had one doctor call in who told me I was nothing to him because of 20 years of nursing. I wound up telling him I was sorry for the wait time and sorry he felt I was beneath him. His study was denied. Oh, well. I have a feeling his karma won't end there.

Weight drop

Dropped 4 lbs in the past week. That's in spite of drinking two protein shakes a day, equaling 1200 cals a day, aside from what I eat. 

I'm feeling it. Headache, fatigue, can feel my muscles breaking down. So, while I meant to get to work on daughter's room tonight, I'm taking a night off. Part of it is the heat. However, when muscle tissue breaks down, it throws a lot of ammonia into the blood stream. That's what's causing the headache. Heat doesn't necessarily cause the problem but does accelerate the process. 

So, tonight I'm going to just stay as cool as possible and get some sleep. If my digestive system will take it, I'll drink an extra protein shake before bed tonight. 

Got the phosphorous today and mixed a batch of phos, ammonia and acid with water in the fertilizer injector system and ran it through the irrigation for the garden. Some of it hadn't dissolved and I saved it back to wait and apply it more selectively to a few plants in the front yard. The grass is growing just fine and doesn't need it. Just applying to rose bushes and flowers. 

Finally!

I finally finished working on the swamp cooler. Took until almost 10 PM to finish it. My plans had been to use the pulley from the old motor. Should have known better and tried to take it apart before even starting. The hex bolt was stripped and I couldn't remove the old pulley. So, had to make another run to Home Depot for a new pulley. It was nearly dark when I got home but I grabbed a flashlight and kept going. 

I need to add a water cutoff to the irrigation zone in the front yard because that zone is on the same line as the feed line for the swamp cooler. Also going to put a bleed-off line back in place, which I had removed. 

I haven't seen any more mineral build up from using well water than from municipal water. If anything, there's less mineral buildup. With the filter setup I have in place now, there should be even less. 

Not so happy with the work arrangement for the new health plan I got trained for yesterday. I was completely inundated with calls for that health plan today, the day after I was trained and only had 90 minutes of fax cases under my belt for that plan. My biggest concern right now is what it could do to my audit if I make any mistakes. Voiced that concern to my trainer today and she said to notify my supervisor, who is on vacation. She said it's not fair that I should get bombed like that. 

As I write this, I am starting to feel a big difference in the temperature in here from the swamp cooler. The added humidity helps the window air conditioner work better. 

Of course, spending so much time on the swamp cooler, I never got to daughter's room tonight. But with that fixed, it will make it more comfortable to work in there. 

Much better!

The portable swamp cooler mad a huge difference last night. I slept better and the room stayed cooler. I can breathe better in spite of allergies brought on by riding the scooter to Home Depot while Cottonwood is blowing.

Meant to wake up early to get things done but I was sleeping too good and didn't want to get up. 

One problem that took a while with the main swamp cooler was that the inner race of the pillow block was firmly set in place. I had to chisel it off. I don't think I ever replaced that one because I couldn't get it off before. The motor is what will take longest this evening because it's heavy. But I expect to be able to finish everything in about an hour. 

That doesn't mean I'm done with the whole system, though. I still have to run new cable at some point and patch a spot in the ducting which collapsed. That's what happens when people use existing sheetrock walls as swamp cooler ducting. Probably best that spot collapsed. High possibility of mold there. I still intend to replace the entire ducting at some point in the future. It seems clear of mold from the multiple times I've looked up there but I'd rather have more appropriate materials in place. 

For now, try to finish the immediate work early and get back to work on daughter's room and the garden.

Not so inefficient

Today was a good illustration of something I was thinking about recently. I've thought about it before but have to remind myself once in a while.

There are times I feel like I'm not getting much done and am less efficient than I was some years ago. Then I take another look and realize that's not really true. Being single and alone is far different from having anyone around to help with basic tasks. Where someone with a partner or roommate can work on one task, the other can be working on something else. In example today, if I had some help I could have been working on part of the swamp cooler while the other person ran for parts. Instead, I had to run for parts and that meant it didn't get finished today.

Other times, I spend time cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, etc. On alternate days I let those things slide while I work on other tasks. Of course, some things have to be repeated fairly often. I'm trying to narrow those things down to smaller numbers, less frequent and involving less time as much as I can.

Basically, I still get a lot of things done but it's not always so evident.

While I didn't get the main swamp cooler running today, the portable swamp cooler needed some maintenance, so I worked on it a little while ago. Had to take it apart, descale the pads inside, clean out the water reservoir and make sure the pump is working. It didn't seem to be before I worked on it. Maybe because of mineral scale. It's pumping now. Also been cleaning fans to increase their efficiency and make them deliver cleaner air. For now, hoping the portable swamp cooler helps make the bedroom cooler while I'm sleeping and increases the indoor humidity.