Dang it!

Not finishing painting today.

Got down to the next to last wall of the house. Then the paint sprayer started acting strangely, lost power. Tried cleaning it out, thinning and straining the paint. Still no good. 

Then I examined more closely and found it blew the trigger seal.

I don't think Harbor Freight sells the seals. So I'll have to get a new paint gun tomorrow. Checked and they're closed for the day. New one costs about $15 and I have a 20% off coupon. I've had this paint gun for a couple of years I think. The seal may have just gotten dry rot. 

I tried using the larger paint gun today and it is much slower than the gravity feed gun. Not to mention twice as heavy. I think that one is built more for oil based paint. 

That's okay. I've decided I'm going to keep the larger air compressor here. It will fit in the car but I'll pack the tiller, which I was going to keep here. Plan was to till the garden. Instead, I'll lay down more black plastic and mulch. 

One reason to keep it here is so I can use it to paint the inside of the house. That will go much faster and take less paint. The living room took so long it really frustrated me. I can also use it to apply new sealant on the floors. Again it would be easier, faster and require less sealant. 

Doing things that way means I can call tomorrow and get the pods picked up on Tue. Not as much of a push to get the paining done as fast as a mandate. Though I do want to be done with it and get some other things finished. I really want to be done with the house within 2 weeks now. 

I think I'm going to stay in an apartment in Montgomery for a short while. Just to avoid house and yard maintenance for a bit. Get settled in and get to know the city. 

I'm going to have to give the dog away. I love him but in truth I'm not that much of a dog person. Not much of a pet person in general. Kept the dogs because daughter wanted them. Then she never played with him, took him for walks or anything. Costs a lot more to rent with an animal. Make the move a lot more difficult. He's a great dog, very happy and friendly. Going to put an ad on CL for him. I don't want to put him in the shelter. I will keep him before doing that. In general, I like having my freedom of movement. Be able to leave home for days or weeks and not have to worry about him. Maybe one of the neighbors will want him. He's good with kids. He may be happier if he has kids to play with. 

Clear skies

Weather is better today, skies are clear. Still a bit cool. Going to get started painting about 10 AM. Then walls have a chance to warm up so the paint adheres better. Plus any remaining moisture has a chance to dry off. Starting at that time gives me 10 hours to finish the painting before sunset. Hoping it doesn't take that long but if it does, okay.

I am still finding smaller items to load in the pods. Nothing big but some have emotional or moderate financial value. It should all fit in one box. Things like a Mason jar with a clamping lid daughter gave me and a professional (extra) suction feed spray gun. 

I may do that and put things out for the neighbors while taking a break from painting. Breaks are necessary once in a while to clean out the paint sprayer. It does get partially clogged at times, has to be completely dismantled for cleaning. I may try using the extra spray gun and switch them out so I can keep going for longer periods if needed. 

Shoulders seem to be okay this morning. Legs no longer sore. Of course, I have to spend time on the shorter ladder today. So may be a little sore tomorrow but not like before. Any way, not being in pain, I slept a lot better last night. Sucks waking in the middle of the night with sharp shoulder pain and barely able to move. Of course, there would really be something wrong with me if I thought that was a good thing. 

One bad thing about this move is that I have realized I am leaving myself with very little seating at the other end of the line. Think I will go get a folding chair this evening, so I can pack the office chair I use for the computer. The folding chair should fit in the car, the office chair will not. So that would give me the office chair and a folding chair when I get to AL. Not much but better than nothing. That's okay. It was time for me to invest in some new furniture. Mostly chairs and a sofa. I may just get a cheap futon for a while if finances require. 

Workshop packed

Got the workshop and bathroom packed hours ago. Now only have a few last things to load. 

It's sure a lot easier to pack things when you can just pack all of it and leave. 

I am changing a few plans. Like the idea of still building the pass-through. Not gonna do it. Just going to put sheet rock back in place, plaster and paint. Not going to do the pond or fountain either. 

Cutting a few little things like that out will shave days off the time to finish everything. 

Stayed cold all day and rained most of the day today. Supposed to dry up and be slightly warmer tomorrow, then back in the 70's Monday. 

Get the painting outside finished tomorrow. Shouldn't be a problem. Put a bunch of stuff out for the neighbors also. After that I can get the rest of all the inside of the house done rather easily. 

Still raining

Still raining and cold this morning. Thought it was supposed to snow last night but forecast says around 10 or 11 this morning.

So the painting won't be done today. That's okay. I'll get other things done. 

Feeling a lot better this morning. Legs not so sore and should is much improved. Not completely better on either one of those but far more tolerable. 

Still can't put things outside for neighbors but I can stack them in the sunken living room until tomorrow. I was making excuses yesterday and I know it. My body seriously needed a day off and my brain went along for the ride. 

It is a lot easier to motivate myself to do the workshop when I've realized it won't take so long. I had it organized at one point and most of that organization still is there. With a thin veil of mess on top. Most of which can go in the trash or to the neighbors. 

There was also a concern for how much space I have left in the pods. Though reassessed and found I have more room in the first pod than I had thought. Just need to reorganize a bit. 

Still won't fit the work bench in the pods. Oh well. 

I can finish everything with the large air compressor by tomorrow evening and pack it up. Just keep the smaller one for minor stuff. Sell it before moving.

Paycheck went in the bank this morning and it was about half what I expected. I think the jerks are still taking insurance out. Have to call on Monday to straighten that out. Not a huge impact any way but does not make me happy. 

Nope, not going

Nope. Not going to karaoke tonight. Still raining and a chance of snow. 

Getting cold again tonight. Down in the 30's. I already packed my winter clothes in the pods and have no idea which box they're in. 

I'm just going to watch some movies , eat dinner and take my medication. In spite of being tired and staying home tonight, I think I will stay up late. Weather being as it is, no reason to get up early. It'll be too cold and too wet to accomplish anything until later. 

Got a little done in the workshop but honestly it's not going to be nearly as big of a job as I have thought. Just so much of a mess that it looked worse. I may be able to fit everything I am taking from the workshop in 1 box, 2 at most. Probably take no more than 1-2 hours, also. 

Retrieved another pillow from the first pod just for my shoulder. Damn. Thought I was past having to do that. 

Car has been dragging slightly and burning more fuel. Topped off the oil. Checked transmission fluid and it was fine. Then checked the tires. Turned out all four tires needed air. Two rear wheels didn't look low but needed 15 lbs each. That would definitely do it.

They haven't taken the charge for the pods out of the bank yet. So I'm still sitting at $11k. I should have one more check for the last day I worked going in the bank tonight or Monday morning. So after that I should still have $10k in the bank after mortgage, child support and bills. That's where I wanted to be for the move. That's good. I think anything less would be fairly risky. 

Yep, rain

It did start raining and has been most of the day. 

Just as well. I didn't sleep well and legs are really sore from being on the ladder all day yesterday. So sore it hurts just walking across a couple of rooms. I can walk, it's just painful. 

Tried to take a nap but failed. 

Got a little bit done in the workshop. Try to get more done shortly. Also not easy with the rain, as I will be putting some things by the curb for the neighbors as I sort through it. That just makes it easier to clear things out. 

Forecast now calls for rain and maybe SNOW tomorrow! Guess painting will get pushed back even one more day. Oh, well. I can call and get the pods picked up on Tue if need be. I can get the workshop finished and start painting more inside the house. 

I may go to karaoke tonight. Maybe not with the chance of snow. 

Waiting

Waiting to see what the weather is going to do today. Forecast says a 63% chance of rain today, mostly around 11 AM. It's cloudy but not really looking like rain just yet. If it looks unlikely, I'll go ahead and paint. Wind is much calmer and expected to stay that way. 

If it does look like rain I'll pack the workshop. With the largest power tools out of the way, it will be much easier now. 

Figured it's not much use to pack much of anything from the bathroom. Most of that is going out by the curb for the neighbors. If they don't want it, straight in the trash. 

Still struggling with packing a few things which I mentally overlooked because I'm just so used to them being there. Aware of them subconsciously only most of the time. Like my daughter's large noisemaker/picture. Then I figured out I am resisting packing it. I don't look straight at it all that often but the light shines into the hallway at night. That light gives me some emotional comfort. Like she is here. When she was in town, I used to turn it off during the week and she would turn it on when she got here at bedtime. I think I've had it turned on the whole time she's been gone. Hell, I don't even know if she wants it any more but I'll pack it any way. Not sure how I'll feel when that light is not there. Kind of like a superstition of some kind now. Just have to suck it up. 

Oddly, my right shoulder is feeling much better. My left shoulder is not. I put a lot more stress on the right arm yesterday. It also used to be my right shoulder that gave me the biggest problem. 

Weighed myself yesterday and I have regained some weight. Not really sure how that happened, with all the work I've been doing. Not complaining by any means. Maybe it indicates my UC is under better control? Feels like it. I cannot always keep up the caloric intake I did for a while. Too expensive. 

Wind

Not going to get the painting done today. The wind picked up and it may start raining.

Got half of the upper section done. Mostly the back wall remaining for that. 

It is really not so easy to be standing on an extending ladder, wearing a paint respirator mask (which partially obstructs breathing), in the wind, while stretching your arms out to reach the walls, while holding a paint sprayer, for hours at a time. Gets tiring fairly quickly. 

Bet my legs are sore again tomorrow. Plus the forecast says it may rain tomorrow also. I'll wait and see. 


5PM- 
Not sure what time I started this but it's now 5 PM. While I was writing earlier, the wind died down and the clouds dispersed a bit. Still gusting but I decided to get back out and keep working on it.

No, not going to finish it today but I did get the top section done on 3 of the four sides of the house. Last section is the shortest in height and length, so I don't need the extendable ladder for that. All the rest can be done with the A-frame ladder or at ground level. Much faster and easier. 

I had to call it quits from exhaustion. Calves are killing me and my right arm was at muscle failure. Last few yards I had to paint for a minute, stop for a minute. 

Painting on the extendable ladder, I have to go in one direction (also due to the wind) and use one arm all the way around in roughly 3-4 ft sections. Otherwise I'd wind up leaning the ladder on a section I had just painted. With the shorter ladder I can switch arms and paint longer sections at a time. It will still be rough on the legs but not as much because the rungs are larger.

If the weather holds up, I should be able to finish the painting tomorrow. Then maybe give myself a day off. Or at least half a day. Something like that. Haven't given myself a break since the 12th. So that's 15 days in a row I've been pushing myself. 16 if I do the painting tomorrow. I think I've earned a day off. 

Shed loaded

Got the shed loaded by noon today. Not going to have room for the work bench unless I dismantle it.

No, not going to dismantle it. Honestly, I think I would rather just build a new one or buy one ready made from Harbor Freight. Once again, something smaller and more manageable. I'm proud of this bench. It's just too large and heavy. Actually I may have to dismantle it to get it out of the house. It's too heavy to move myself and may be too large to fit through the doors. 

Need to take those things into account more in the future. 

Started painting. Mostly as a test to see if I needed to thin the paint and how many passes I need to get an even color. I did have to thin the paint a little. The spray gun would spray the paint as is but not very evenly. Once I thinned it, it covered much more effectively. One area will have to be covered one more time. For the most part it looks like one pass will cover quite well with the thinned consistency. Pretty certain the 10 gals of paint will cover the whole house and maybe the shed also. Hoping I can get all of it done tomorrow. I know I can get most of it.

Can tell already the house will look much better painted. Reason the stucco looked so bad is because it is darker at the areas where batches overlap. I have no idea why because it's all supposed to be one color. Probably just because I suck at stucco. 

One thing slowed me down today. Didn't realize it until I got up and moving. My right knee was giving me hell again. Not going to complain. Hasn't bothered me much for several years. Probably doing so now because I've put so much stress on it over the last 1 1/2 weeks. 

Okay, two things. Shoulders, too. Not too much but spray painting does require a lot of arm use. The gun isn't too heavy but you are holding up the gun, the hose and a quart of paint for very long periods. 

Wind picked up late in the afternoon, which was blowing paint back in my face. That was no fun.

Hopped over to Harbor Freight. Got a couple of paint respirator masks. The cheap ones. I also got a new air hose. That was on intuition. Even before I started painting I had a feeling I needed to get a new hose. I can never ignore those feelings. If I do bad things happen. I did not long ago and it didn't turn out well. So I got a decent hose which should last a while. One I have is not bad but it's a coil type which I have to fight to keep uncoiled while painting. It's also a few years old. Maybe the new one will be easier to handle. It's PVC/rubber hybrid. 

Not much going on as usual other than the obvious. Eat some dinner and get to bed. 

An old lover I am still friends with offered me a date before I leave town. I said no. Meet her for karaoke this Fri night but that's it. Still no interest in anything else. She's a great person, that's not the issue. It's just me. 

Almost done

I actually tried to start loading the shed last evening. I was cursed. Not kidding. Kept raining on and off all evening. It would stop for a short while. Then I would step out the door to do something and it started raining again. Like the rain had a damn sensor focused on me. 

Oh well. I needed to do dishes and laundry any way. 

No rain today so I can get the shed loaded. Get to the workshop. Then start painting the outside of the house. 

Still having numbness and burning down both arms but better than yesterday. Hoping that stops by tomorrow. 

Once I start painting I have to do a test run. The paint says it needs no thinning. Only spray painting I've done in many years was with an airbrush, which definitely requires thinner paint. I have to test the larger spray gun, which I haven't yet used. I did use one in the Army and it didn't need thinning. 

Someone finally picked up the sofa just a moment ago. I had to cover it with a plastic sheet yesterday so it wouldn't get soaked from the rain. Then some neighborhood kids messed with the plastic and I had to do it all over again. Happily the plastic was still in place this morning. 

It may sound silly to some people but I actually feel good about giving some of this stuff away. Many would say I could sell some of it. True but that would also require time which I don't want to spend. It's my hope that it benefits some people who actually need the help. 

Downsizing

Looks like I will be downsizing a bit. Few things won't fit in the pods. Like the sofa. It's too big.

That's okay. About time for a new sofa. Had this one for about 11 years now and the fabric is worn. I was going to get a slip cover for it after moving. Instead I will get a new sofa. A smaller one. 

I already checked and there's a Big Lots in Montgomery with a furniture section. That's where I got this sofa. In fact, they have a sofa almost identical for only $25 more than I paid for this. I still want something smaller. This one is a pain to move and takes up too much space. Not like I have a lot of company to need that much seating, any way. 

Maybe that will change in AL. Or maybe not. Wait and see. 

So the first pod is loaded and the second one is 1/3 there. The following are all loaded: All furniture but my work bench (not sure that will fit), all large power tools, all the boxes from inside the house, all the bags with comforters and vacuum bags. Basically all I have left is the workshop and the shed. 

I don't mind downsizing. I need to get rid of some crap and some things I have ditched were old and needed to be replaced. After I move, I want to keep things more simplified, easier to keep clean and organized. 

The inside of the house sure looks different! Even sounds different. I had kind of forgotten how this house echoes with less stuff in it. Just typing on the keyboard the sound echoes. 

For now I am laying off for the day. Really sore and tired. Maybe the soil will be drier and easier to carry stuff from the shed tomorrow. 

Rain

Woke up to find it raining this morning. The forecast didn't even call for rain yesterday morning. Now calling for rain on and off all day. 

Oh, well. Not raining hard. It may slow me down a bit but won't stop me from loading. Just have to be really careful so I don't slip and bust my head or wind up with the sofa on top of me. 

I am glad I built the ramp in the front of the house. That will make things a lot easier. 

Shoulders still giving me hell but worse when sleeping and when I first wake up. Fades a bit after a while. At least this time I know it will go away with time. 

I am glad it is raining today instead of last week. I could not have done the stucco at all if it had been raining. 

Biggest challenge will be getting boxes from the shed to the pods. Have to go through the garden. This is where a rental truck would have been better. I could have pulled it around to the back gate and had a much shorter distance to carry all those boxes. That is, IF the church did not lock their gate. 

That's okay. Going to focus first on getting the rest of the furniture loaded. Hardest part will be the sofa. 

Get up and get moving in a little bit.

Here is a good thing. My healing is largely back to normal for me. I wrote a couple days ago how my hand had a spot (actually more than one) where the lime had eaten down to the subcutaneous tissue. That was still true on Sun night. Then, as of yesterday, the tissue had healed enough to completely fill in to even out with the rest of my skin. Scabbed, of course but filled in. Speaking as a nurse, that is thoroughly abnormal. Tissue injured that deep does not fill in that quickly for most people. 

That's an indication that my UC is in much better control. Now, if it will reach the point where I can maintain some real homeostasis with my gut itself I will be so much better off. Especially now that I know what foods to avoid to keep it from getting worse. 

Slow going

The pods finally came around noon. Like, minutes within the scheduled time frame. 

I did not get much loaded today. The bed. That's it.

Then I figured out I needed to get locks. I had one or two but each pod takes two locks. 

Some of it was bad planning on my part. I keep multiple old comforters under the sheets and they hadn't been washed in a while. Neither had the sheets or pillows. So I loaded them up and took them to the laundromat. Now they're clean. Yes, that could have waited until after the move but figured now was better, so I can simply pull things out and have the bed ready whenever I get the stuff moved into a place there. 

Have to admit my legs are seriously sore from standing on the ladder all weekend. Should be better tomorrow. Today they were sore even after taking Creatine, which is bad. That usually eases my sore muscles better than Tylenol or anything else. Even taking the dog for a walk I had to keep it short. Feeling a bit better now.

Their estimated pickup day is Thur but they say call when ready for pickup. I think I may go with Monday. Just so I can be thorough. Yet I still think I should have them almost completely packed by Wed afternoon. Probably by tomorrow evening. 

Along the way as I have been working on the house, I've been putting stuff out for the neighbors to have for free. Even some stuff I could easily sell at a yard sale. I know some of them are taking things which they intend to sell. That's okay. What does bug the shit out of me is that they don't just take the stuff in the boxes. They keep taking the damn boxes! Now I am out of boxes. WTF do I look like to them? Freaking Amazon?! Idiots. I put up a sign for one of them to return at least one large box so I have a place to put things besides in the dirt. 

So, from here on in I will be sleeping on daughter's mattress until I personally actually move. 

Pod day

The moving pods arrive this morning between 8 and 12. So I'm waiting for the pod people.

Of course, normally the trash is picked up before 8 AM, and today they're late. Hope that doesn't cause a problem. Trash cans are lining the street right now. 

Woke up with numbness down both arms. I know why, it's my shoulder problems. The good part of that is that it used to take a lot less effort for that to happen. I put a lot of strain on my shoulders in the past week and topped it off by moving those 22 bags of concrete yesterday evening. It doesn't seem like the problem will last long, as it's fading already. Slowly. 

Still have some packing to do. Never got any of the workshop packed yet. I think I can finish that in a couple of hours. Be easier after I get some of the larger power tools out. Plus the bathroom. Bathroom won't take long. Probably minutes. 

Not going to push too hard loading. Been pushing fairly hard for the past week and, as noted above, feeling the effects of that. Still, I think I should have most of everything loaded in one day. I think having the two pods will make it simpler. Load most furniture and necessities in one pod, tools and other items in the other pod. They're not very big each, so they'll be loaded top to bottom. I'm happy that they're ground level, not raised up. That makes things easier. 

I do hope I finish the house and get it sold quickly. The cost of storing the pods is horrendous. Though I intend to call and pick up a few shifts at work. Offset the difference. Plus fully expect to make a profit from selling the house. If loading takes more than 3 days, I think I can call and extend it, especially with storage of the pods already arranged and paid at the other end of the line. The next month of storage will renew automatically on a set date. 

Something which has been a surprising benefit has been vacuum storage bags. They really decrease the space needed for storing some things. Like all of daughter's old clothes I am still saving to make quilts out of. Maybe I can actually get to that this coming winter. I plan on getting a house that needs a lot less work than this one has required. 

I think this time off and even the physical labor has helped me. In spite of a few setbacks (like my shoulders) my overall health is back on the upswing. I feel more like my old self again. Hope that trend continues. I know I have regained some muscle mass in just the past week. It's visible. 

One exception has no relation to my overall health. I've mentioned my hands. What I didn't say is that the lime in the stucco burned holes deep enough that it reached the subcutaneous tissue on one finger. I now have that one bandaged. Took a bath with vinegar last night and that helped my skin quite a bit. The alligator skin effect only reaches halfway up my forearms this morning. Using lots of lotion and ointment. Glad I'm not prone to skin infections. 

Took down all but one security camera yesterday. Have to take down the last one today. Was going to keep it up but then realized I am going to patch the hole where the wires come out of the wall. So, just going to pack the whole system into the pods. I'll have to order new cables because they broke. Got snagged and simply snapped when I went to pull them out. They're cheap and not very strong. Have to wait until after the move for that. I order from China and they can take 6 weeks to get here. I have a few spares for limited camera views. 

Made me feel good that I got birthday wishes from at least 30-40 people yesterday. Some may claim that doesn't count because it's online. To me that doesn't mean any difference. I don't focus on gifts, just people recognizing my birthday. Social media reminds them? Okay. Before that people had computer programs and day planners. So? I still only expect to hear something from people that actually like me. It's undeniable that social context is changing, being redefined. 

Done with stucco!

Finally finished with the stucco! I was wrong about how many bags I needed, so had to go to Home Depot in the middle of the day.

I am pretty sure this is the ugliest stucco job in history. Looks like the house is melting. Tried evening some of it out but no good. Just made it worse. Hopefully it will look better painted. Definitely nothing I would ever make a living at. If I can avoid it, I will never do stucco again in my life. 

Driveway is cleared out and ready for the pods. 

Never got any of the painting done. That's okay. I can work on that while the pods are here. I only need the tall ladder for a limited part of the house and spray painting goes quickly. If necessary I can do the top parts of those areas and leave the lower sections. Can do that with paint a lot better than with stucco. 

Got the concrete moved to the back yard. All 22 bags. That took an effort. 

I am SOOOOO SORE!!!! On the other hand, I have a better energy level than I have had in a long, long time. I have not weighed myself in a couple of weeks. Not sure how that's going but that matters slightly less than my energy level. 

Hands are completely ripped to shreds. Probably the worst they have ever been and that's saying a lot. Very painful. Arms are so rough they feel like dry leather or alligator skin up to the elbows. 

Daughter called me to wish me a Happy Birthday. That made me really happy! Though she still didn't talk much. 

May seem like I am obsessing over the tall ladder a lot. It's not the money so much. It's more of an odd emotional attachment. When I bought the house, my friends from Texas sent me a gift card for a home improvement place. That gift card from them bought the ladder. So I still associate the ladder with them. Okay, I'm a sap. Always have been. Always will be. 

Too tired to feel like cooking again. (Yes, I know I said my energy is better but it's all used up. Been doing hard labor for the last 9 hours. Not so easy at 55 years old.) So, I'm going to go get some food. 

One more bag

I got most of the stucco done today. I have one more bag left and think that should cover it. Only a small upper portion of the outside living room is left to finish. 

Unfortunately the pattern did not come out well. The house looks like it's melting. I think the best route would have been to start at the top and move down. I'm not sure. Going to try painting it and see if it looks better. To be honest, I don't really like the color of the stucco, any way. It already looks weathered and it's brand new. 

Oh, well. I'll call it a learning experience. Even if the pattern sucks, it's better than the cracks and discolorations that were there before. 

I'll finish the stucco and then start painting tomorrow. With the spray gun, I'm sure I can finish it in one day. The part that will suck will be taping all the windows. But I got paper to put on them and only have 8 windows. So it shouldn't take too long. 

I am exhausted and sore. Had to go get long latex gloves because the stucco got in the sleeves of my work gloves and ate into my wrists. At one point both my wrists were bleeding from it. Then sand got in the wounds and I had to dig it out.

Too tired to cook. Going to go get a hamburger. Take a bath and take my medication.

Early rise

Woke up pretty early this morning. Little after 6. 

It's a few minutes after 8. Going to get out and start getting stucco and paint done. 

Odd thing holding me back this morning. Not for long. The outside temperature this morning is below 50 degrees. (Can't apply stucco or paint below 50, it won't adhere properly.) My outside thermometer said it was 35 degrees this morning! The online weather did not claim it dropped below 40. They say 46. I'm leaning toward their statement because I went out to feed the dog and it did not feel like it was below 40. 

Any way, right now both sources claim it's about 46-48 degrees. The high today is only 71, so it's a really good day to get those tasks done without taking too many breaks. 

Though applying stucco is pretty rough on the arms, so I apply one bag, take a little break and then go back to it. Hoping to get the stucco finished today. Maybe the paint also, if I can keep going that much. 

I cut down the upright solarium supports after writing last night. Tossed the wood over the fence. Now I have splinters in my hands. Shoulda worn gloves. Dug the worst ones out. The rest will come out on their own. Makes it harder to remove them because my hands are so dry from the stucco. 

Just whining.

No more back/kidney pain. Glad that's over with!

Things are looking a lot more hopeful. More organized. I can finally actually see the effects of all the work I've been doing. I mean over years, not just this month. 

Tomorrow is my birthday. Doesn't mean very much. At this point I'm not even expecting a call from my daughter. Just tuck my head down and keep working. My birthdays have never been a big deal. One year even I forgot my birthday. Another day older and you're deeper in debt. 

Crunch time

This weekend is crunch time for finishing the outside of the house. 

I got the stucco on the back and sides of the house. Ready for painting. Applied one bag to the front of the house. 

Had hoped to get more done but still had back/kidney pain this morning. Considerably less than before but no urge to push it too far. 

I should be able to finish everything this weekend. Two days beyond my original schedule but that's okay too. The pods come on Monday. I doubt it will take me more than 2 days to pack the pods. Maybe only one. No small part of it will be carried out because I have lots of boxes and stuff in the shed. Ground is too rough to use the dolly for that stuff. 

All the bags of concrete I have in front of the house got wet over the winter. The tarp fell to pieces and wasn't a very good one to start with. That's okay. Now the concrete is solid. I'll just take them out back, put them in a pile and build a fire pit with them. Do that this weekend to make more room for the pods. 

Only things I plan on keeping back are some basic tools, clothes, a mattress and other necessities. Going to leave the washer and dryer and include them with the house. Get new ones at some later date. If I have to, can always use a laundromat for a while. Once I get the outside of the house done, the air compressor won't be needed. I still have the smaller one which I can use in case the tires get low on air. I'll sell it or give it away before moving out. 

I think things should go a lot more quickly once the pods are loaded and I have less to move around. Relearned an old lesson. Minimize. Less clutter. I kind of became a bit of a hoarder for a while because I felt too financially insecure. Lost too much, never really knew how things were going to work out. Placed too much emphasis on the type of nursing I was doing because I wasn't involved in anything else. Refused to work in long term care. There are still places I will always refuse to work. If the place smells bad when I go for an interview, I'm out the door. If they assign nurses 40+ patients, I'm out the door. So, that's another good thing about my political activism. It gives me something else to place my emotional efforts into which make a positive difference. Which is why I went into nursing. I do hope to find a job in an actual hospital or telecommuting after I move. 

Not to mention completing the wood shop and maybe doing custom woodwork on the side. 

Doing a YouTube channel was something I hoped would bring extra income but that looks less likely. Since they changed the rules for monetizing videos not long ago. Most of my videos will not gain any money. The rules are being set by corporate advertisers who oppose Progressive politics. That won't stop me. If anything, I may start a website specifically for that purpose. Just a thought and something to work on later. 

Oh! Good news! Leon Valley sent me the notarized letter I asked for! From the City Secretary and custodian of records, it confirms that they have no criminal record for me! So the only criminal record I ever had (for a bogus DWI) is gone! 

Now, about my FBI file... LOL! Still waiting for the Men In Black to show up at my door!

Light by comparison

So I took a light day by comparison to what I had been doing the last few days. 

Took down most of the solarium. Only parts remaining are the upright posts. Going to cut those off at the base and give them to the next door neighbor. Hey, he said if I had any lumber to toss it over the fence, so that's what I'm doing. 

Got the swamp cooler up and running. 

Pulled a bunch of weeds by the back of the house. 

Had a bunch of glass windows which I had originally collected to make the solarium more permanent. So I put those out for someone to pick up. Most of the glass is intact, so someone will likely take them. Couple were broken, so they went in the trash. 

I'm starting to doubt that I'll have the stucco and painting done in the time needed. So, the ladder just may be forfeit. Have to sell it or just include it with the house when I sell the house. That's okay. Like I wrote previously, ladders have gotten cheaper since I moved in here. Maybe I'm better off keeping both ladders for work on the house, sell them and buy a new ladder after I move. If I even need one. 

I was moving slowly and got tired easily today, so had to take a few breaks. Damn I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. Only thing I am happy about is that I'm not sick enough to need anyone to take care of me. Just sick enough to seem lazy. Something I've never been. 

There's a lot more stucco patching than I had thought which needs to be done. The one bag will still cover all of it. Just means more time on the ladder. Hope I can make the pattern match. That may take an extra day. The pattern looks like they did the base coat, slung stucco on the surface and then smoothed it out. Just went out an looked at the pattern more closely. That's definitely what they did. However, the old stucco is all base.scratch coat which was painted over. There's no finish coat. So anything I do will kind of stick out, if slightly. Less once it's painted. I do have part of a bag of base coat that I've had for a long time. Maybe I can use that for the pattern and it will match better.

Once I move and have to get prescription drugs, I need to get a really strong sleeping pill. Even with Melatonin, Valerian, Benadryl and medical cannabis it takes me hours to get to sleep. So I spend way too much time waking up in the morning and getting to sleep at night. 

So, gonna eat dinner, take my medications and hope to get to sleep at a decent hour tonight. 

Worse.. then better

Woke up and back pain was worse than yesterday. 

Then I soaked in a very hot tub of water. Just got out and feel somewhat better. Hoping that loosened things up a bit. Otherwise I won't be doing much of anything today. Except very light stuff in the house. 

Doesn't seem to be weather where I can spray paint any way. Kind of windy. That may die down as the day goes on. 

Honestly I could do painting but the problem is the patching. Like a dumbass I placed the bag of patching stucco on the bottom of the stack in the car. (It was the last bag I picked up in the store, so it was at the top of the stack on the cart.) 

Glad I woke up early. More chance this may all resolve soon. Besides, I washed my clothes for working on the house last night and they're in the dryer now. 

Today may be a good day for packing the workshop. 

More pain

Went to a couple of stores as planned. Got 7 bags of stucco (one for patching places other than the front), tubing for the swamp cooler, 10 gals of exterior paint and a few smaller things. 

As a result of slinging the paint and stucco around, I'm in more pain than I was before. 

So tomorrow is definitely a light activity day. 

Just as well because my hands are torn to shreds with stucco embedded in my skin right now. The lime in the stucco is pretty damaging and painful. Nothing I haven't been through before. The first day I used vinegar to counteract it, which helped a bit. Used gloves later in the day but it was too late. Used Nitrile gloves yesterday and today but some liquid still got in them. The liquid carries the lime, so.. Better but not great. 

So, I'll still have to mix and apply some stucco tomorrow but not all that much. Think I'll go with 1/4-1/2 a bag for patching. Get the patching done early, take down the solarium and then start painting in the same direction I patched. Sounds easy but I also have to tape all the windows. 

Damn it I forgot to get paper for the windows. Have to get to Dollar Tree for that. 

Getting to bed soon. Get up in the morning and get some of this stuff done. And hope I'm not in extreme pain. 

Oh. Got it.

I did get moving and applied the last two bags of stucco I had on hand. Looks like I need another 6 bags. That's getting to be more than I wanted to spend but can't leave it half finished. That would lower the value of the house instead of raising it. 

Been feeling really weak. That's when it hit me. I'm in muscle breakdown. Haven't done this much heavy work for consecutive days in years. So I expect it should be resolving tomorrow.

That also explains the kidney issue. Which is still there but better. Being in muscle breakdown is an extreme stress on the kidneys. It may not be a kidney stone but inflammation. 

Funny how I take things like that into consideration on a workout program but not physical labor. 

Unfortunately, this means if it is not better tomorrow morning I will have to take a light day and focus on other tasks, get back to the stucco on Friday. If I do have to take a lighter day (which may be a good idea) then I can get started on doing the painting. If I push myself too far it could result in kidney damage and make me seriously ill. Not in my 20's any more. 

I'm going to get more stucco and paint tonight. After traffic calms down slightly. 

I am calculating spending a maximum of another $500 on the renovations. No more than that by any means. The additional stucco would still fit in that budget. Other than that and paint, I really only need tile for the office. I have most of the paint I need for inside. I may already have enough. 

I still expect the stucco to take no more than 1-2 days to finish at this point. Today I focused on getting the rest of the bottom section because I did not want to get on the ladder while feeling weak and with a kidney issue. Up to now I had done the bottom section on the grassy area and left the part by the driveway undone. Now I have the lower sections done to the point where I don't have to get on hands and knees any more. I will have to get on the ladder but that's still less strain on my legs and back than what I've been doing. 

Not going to feel bad about this. I know many, many people my age and younger who would not be able to do this kind of labor at all. 

What next?

Woke up with severe back pain. Damn it! Feels like I may have a kidney stone.

Getting slowly better. Took some L-Arginine to help and it's working. 

I can't wait all day for this to resolve. Just going to have to stick it out and get to work on the stucco. 

It's a few minutes after 10 now. Give it until 11 and start working. Maybe movement will help dislodge it. Lifting 80 lb bags is the hard part. The fact that I start on the part which requires climbing a ladder today is even worse. 

Luckily, kidney stones don't typically last more than a few hours for me. I've had worse but don't think I've had a kidney stone since Kerrville. 

On reflection, looks like I may have to part with the air compressor during the move. Probably going to need it for some tasks around here and it would take a lot of space in the car. So, going to try and finish all the stuff I have to do with it before the pods are picked up but no guarantees. I definitely need it to paint the shed. 

Stucco day 2

Day 2 of doing stucco went better than the first day. Well, after the bomb scare was over. 

I'm getting faster at it and not wearing nearly as much as I was yesterday. Yesterday it was debatable whether I got more on the house or on myself.

Got two bags applied once again. I had really hoped I would get the remaining 4 bags applied. That probably would have happened if not for the other events.

On that, it was quite real. Bomb squad came out. They took the TNT to the park at the end of the street, parked their van (I'm assuming also set up some shields on the other side.) and remote detonated it in the park. I got to see some of it because I was up on the roof. Not because of that. I was just diverting efforts since I couldn't do the stucco. 

What I did on the roof was disassembling the solarium. Got pretty far before the battery for the drill ran out. Then I had to stop. 

Late in the evening a neighbor came over and said the stucco looks good. He wants me to notify him when I'm putting the house up for sale. He may buy it as a rental property. I told him I'm asking $110k and he seemed okay with it. 

I actually feel rather hopeful that I can get that much or close to it for the house. 

Not sure what was going on with me this morning. However I had a hard time sleeping last night, too. Laid down to go to sleep. Still up an hour later because of muscle cramps and spasms. Got back up, ate something, took some Tylenol and smoked myself to sleep. Then I woke up about 5:40. Oh, hell no! Ate a few bites and went back to sleep. Then woke up with gut problems. 

Any way, I'll get the two remaining bags of stucco applied tomorrow. Then assess how much more I need to finish to front of the house. Go get the stucco, paint and tubing for the swamp cooler. Maybe finish the stucco or the solarium. Shooting for having the stucco done no later than Thur evening and paint done by Fri evening. 

I am still nervous about getting all the stuff done I need to do before the pods get here. I only have 5 days left. Then anything else will divert from loading them, which will be no small task for one person. 

On numerous levels, this is definitely the most difficult move I have ever made. Difficult physically, financially and emotionally. Then again, my own history has been the more effort something takes, the more it turns out to be worth it. In the long term, not the short term. (That does not hold true for relationships, which winds up being the opposite. More effort I put into those, the worse the outcome both short and long term.) 

I'm worn out. By the time I finished doing the stucco my arms were shaking. Need to give myself more time for breaks here and there. I kept at it for at least 4 hours straight today. It is hard to take breaks while applying stucco because once it's mixed, you have 45-60 minutes to apply each batch, which is 80 lbs and up to 240 square ft. Another reason I want to get this finished by Thur evening, so I have more energy left for other things. 

Right now gonna watch some videos and get to bed. And hope to get some sleep.

Bomb scare

Guess the stucco will have to wait until later.

Went to get cigarettes, came back and the whole street is blocked by fire and sheriffs.

Bomb scare. 

New owner of the house across the street found an aged stick of dynamite in the shed, left behind by the previous owner. Who had lived there since 1955. No telling how old it is.

He's lucky it didn't go off when he handled it. Old TNT sweats nitro glycerin. 

So now we're waiting on the bomb squad. 

Meanwhile the bags of stucco are in the back of the car, parked around the corner and deputies line the street. 

Other than that, I am going to try something and see if it helps my gut. Going to try "microdosing" cannabis early in the day. See if it helps my gut any so I can get more done. I do know it helps with thermoregulation for me. So it may raise my tolerance to temperature extremes. I'm okay when I've been out in the heat for a while but not at first. 

Dragging

Dragging ass this morning. No matter, have to get busy soon. 

Since everything is working, I expect to get the other 4 bags of stucco applied today. Not going to be enough for the front of the house. But I can assess how much more I'll need once these are applied. Right now I'm guessing two.

When I go for the stucco I can get matching paint for the rest of the house. 

Reason I'm dragging has to do with my gut. Nothing to do with the work I did yesterday. Getting better slowly. 

On the political front-

I have been saying another economic crash is coming and the evidence is piling up at an accelerating rate.

Store closures year to date for 2017 are exceeding 2008 by about 50%. For nearly the same reasons. Artificially inflated property values. Rents increasing even on high end properties. More businesses shutting down rather than pay the higher rents. 

Home rent costs are also way up. Because of investors buying properties to rent out. In this case, occupancy means nothing, only ownership does. High ownership rates drive up property values, pricing lower income buyers out of the market. This results in them being forced to rent. Competition in the rental market drives up rental costs. 

That is causing the homeless rate to increase further. Note that homeless does not necessarily mean on the streets. It means not having a permanent residence. A person can be homeless while living with friends and relatives. Those situations are typically short term and temporary. They are forced to move every few weeks or even days. It is also unsustainable and typically does lead to living on the streets. 

Meanwhile, wages still remain stagnant or decreasing. Store closures will accelerate that process. 

At the same time all this is happening, there is a new aspect which was not there in 2008. Other countries are investing less and less on the U$D. The U$D is a fiat currency and the value is based on basically what our government claims it is worth. Since we have been in debt for 16 years and that debt keeps increasing, other countries are now skittish on that claimed value. They're dumping the dollar in favor of commodity based currencies. 

So I fully expect the dollar to decrease in value drastically very soon. All it will take is one other major country to publicly announce they are dropping the dollar entirely. Most likely that will be China. Many countries and private investors are sinking their money into gold rather than any national currency because the market is too volatile. Gold has risen by $300 an ounce in only a few months. I have no doubt diamonds are also rising but I haven't checked into that. (Diamonds are not quite as popular because value is artificially manipulated by DeBeers and thus less predictable.) 

The combined result of all of this is going to be another economic crash. This one is going to make 2008 look like a children's play day. Probably started by the devaluation of the dollar, then housing, then financial markets as a whole. Once again beginning in the US and spreading globally within hours. Many countries have never fully recovered from 2008. 

This will result in the US being placed under austerity measures. 

There is good news in all of this but it will come after all the above. I'll write about that another time. 

Stucco

Finally got myself moving and doing the stucco on the front of the house. 

Didn't get all that far. First the hose sprung a leak and the toilet broke. I know, not related exactly. True to form for me though. Two water problems on the same day. 

Went to Walmart and got a hose repair thing and a new flapper for the toilet. Came home and fixed both of those.

First bag of stucco in the cement mixer stopped working. Took it apart, did some trouble shooting. The circuit breaker and switch had burned out. No chance of getting original replacement parts unless maybe I ordered them and waited for them to come in. Instead, I rewired it and used a standard light switch I had on hand. Back up and running. 

Today I focused mostly on getting the bottom section where the grass is growing. Because it requires me to be on hands and knees. Wanted to get as much of that done as possible. 

I had planned on making the walls smooth but not really sure I can manage that. I think that kind of finish takes more experience than I have. But I can give it a decent, far more modern finish than it currently has.

Going to take more stucco than I have or want to spend money on. So I'm going to stucco the front of the house and just paint the rest. Aside from the front, the stucco is in pretty good condition any way. I will have to patch around windows and a couple of small places but that's about it. I can get all that done this week. The painting will only take a day or so.  

Politics

This is simply to explain my obsession with politics.

To me it is all about people. Globally is true. I have always been a social activist, since before I was 10. However, since my daughter was born, it intensified. Especially in the last couple of years. We are building the world she will live in and that future is looking darker every day.

We have been at war her entire life. No signs of letting up and every sign it will get worse. The draft is definitely coming and females were approved for the draft this past June. Military enrollment and retention are down. The Air Force just announced they will probably enact forced retention of pilots in the next few months. We have over 1000 bases outside this country and around 4000 bases inside this country. (Admittedly, they consider things as small as recruitment centers a "base".) New recruits are down in number while older enlisted are retiring or not reenlisting. The military is making previous soldiers pay back sign-on bonuses. Which gives the military a bad name and reduces enlistments. Why would they do that? Because they know the draft is coming and image means nothing. Those spots will be filled by any means. 

Say I'm wrong and there is no draft. What other options are there? 

People say get an education. For what? I've written an entire series (which is ongoing) on FB about how automation is eliminating jobs. That's accelerating and other sources are just beginning to pick up on it. While I have been writing about it for months. 

Yes, there is a bit of pride in my political activism. There is also necessity. I have written about numerous subjects far in advance of other sources. Like breaking down the walls and focusing on issues, not names. That is also picking up steam just lately. I began writing about that in November. I was thinking about it before then but November was the right time to speak out. 

So far, at least 6 million people have read my writing. Probably more. 

Up to now I have not tried getting paid for my writing. Mostly because people being paid have come under question as to their allegiance to their benefactors. I have personally watched Progressive pundits turn on a dime. I saw FB pages which were literally sold to more establishment sources. Right this minute YouTube has demonetized many subjects for videos. Basically all the subjects are things Progressives exclusively talk about. So the content providers are struggling to survive if they rely on that income. So they are producing fewer videos on fewer subjects. They are trying to get people to sign up as sponsors on Patreon. Others have quit. Others have visibly changed their presentation. 

MSM "news" can't be trusted. It's no longer anything but propaganda. "Anonymous unnamed officials" and "We can't tell you the source of our information because it's classified" are the order of the day. The government says releasing information places national security at risk. Yet dropping bombs on civilians in other countries, putting thousands of soldiers and tanks along Russian borders and sending them into war zones in countries where we have no business is completely safe, right? 

Inside the last 2 weeks, the US broke international law twice. First sending missiles into Syria. The US was not at risk. There is no proof of the responsibility for the gas attack which they claim they responded to. The US is not even in Syria legally, according to the UN Peace Council. Then we dropped a MOAB in Afghanistan. Largest conventional weapon ever used. It is considered a weapon of mass destruction by international law. Kills everything for 1.7 miles, deafens civilians for 2 miles. Has a blast wave reaching up to 5 miles. 

Now our ships are just off North Korea. Because they tested a weapon inside their country. Something we have done millions of times. Last time NK was involved in hostilities outside their country was 50 years ago. 

So we're bombing 7 countries and threatening 4 more. Some idiots think the US can fight 11 wars at once. At least 3 of those countries are nuclear powers. 4 if Pakistan sides with China and Russia. Which they could, since they are one of the countries we're bombing. 

None of the above information is talked about on MSM news. Neither is the automation issue. 

The wars are going to get worse. The economy is going to get worse. We are on the edge of another housing crash and that will lead to another financial market crash which will make 2008 look like a kindergarten party. Jobs ceasing to exist. The remaining jobs may require an education but will pay far less. 

With all the above will come the civil war I have been predicting for around 10 years. It's already here but nobody is admitting it. 

Without people like me speaking out, there is nothing holding back the tide. It's not the world I want my daughter to grow up in. So activism is not an option for me. It is mandatory.  

Safe

Okay, got an email from the ex. Everyone is okay.

The ex misread what I wrote in my blog earlier. Somewhat. My fault. I worded it badly. The real point was that I had no idea if they could all be hostage or dead. May sound overly dramatic but these days, not so much. Two text messages saying, "Thx. Same to you" and "no" could have been written by anyone. Not what I call proof of life. 

I'm glad they are okay. Obviously they have gotten out and done more than daughter has told me about but is still more reclusive than even I am. That's not good and I worry about it. 

Obviously the ex thinks I talk too much about politics too. I have always been a social activist and always will be. It is building the world my daughter will grow up in. But that's for a separate post.

I hope all of this is more resolved after I move there. 

Feel like crap today. Partly from stress. Guess I will work on the workshop a bit tonight and get started on the stucco in the morning. Gets seriously hot out there. Have to get these things done for the move. I did get the rosebush cut to the trunk. Kind of a bummer because it was about to bloom but had to cut it back to get to the wall behind it for the stucco. Just that little bit wore me out more than I like to admit.

I really hope the move helps my health. When the UC acts up, it affects my breathing. Too much inflammation and too many toxins floating in my bloodstream. Being at lower elevation may help. I know more humidity will.