Enter At Your Own Risk

I have told the long side of this year's a go,but here is short version.
I smoked for years and had tried to quit 7/8 times. 2017 I stepped into shower and went in CHF. My daughter came quickly and that saved my life according to doctors. They had put a patch on my back,,um tried those before no luck. I literally could no longer stand the smell. To the point of almost vomiting. I was determined to stop. Removed the patch, and put a red rubber band on left wrist. Anytime I reached out for a ciggie- that was not there - I lightly popped myself. I learned it was not craving them, it had merely became a habit of reaching for them. 2 weeks later, removed the band and have not smoked since. Keep trying it is the most Liberated feeling of no longer being addicted to anything. :giggle:
@GoodEnuff
 

RedAlert76 said:
... put a red rubber band on left wrist. Anytime I reached out for a ciggie- that was not there - I lightly popped myself. I learned it was not craving them, it had merely became a habit of reaching for them. 2 weeks later, removed the band and have not smoked since. Keep trying it is the most Liberated feeling of no longer being addicted to anything. :giggle:
@GoodEnuff
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Absolutely. I did the same, except I popped myself REALLY REALLY HARD. It hurt!
Then I really needed a cigarette break.
 

gruntlabor said:
Tip him well and generously and never let him go!
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Yes. He has done much work for me in the past year. Cabinetry, floors, roof, siding, fireplace removal, and other miscellaneous stuff. He has committed to finishing the outside siding project, which will include replacing a concrete/stone wall, once this barn project is finished and the weather gets more spring-like. Then rebuilding the gazebo. If there is still time, I will see if he will remodel the room with the inoperable old hot tub in it. Remove that thing, put in a strong floor, and it will be an extra room for ??? He started his own business last year and already has enough customers to keep him busy. He is also very Nice and is a pleasure to be around. And...he lives next door!

Did nothing today. It has been snowing hard since about 11am with about six inches new snow so far. Still coming down. It doesn't look like it will stop anytime soon. Tomorrow will be a hard day of shoveling. Oh, well.

The dogs love it. They went out and were romping around, playing chase, snow flying all round them. With his short legs, the shih tzu's belly drags in it. When they finally came back in, he was covered in 1" snowballs frozen to his fur. I set him on the counter and took the hair dryer to him. He was okay with it but just okay. When he was mostly dry, I placed him on the floor and started to walk away. But Chloe was standing there wanting that same attention. So up she went (she was dry) for a short session with the hair dryer. It was funny. Never had a dog before that wanted to be groomed.

Edit to add: Now 8" and still coming down fast and thick.
 
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Good Morning, World. Just what is in store for us today? Don't tell me...let me guess.

Total snowfall in the past 18 hours is about 10", which is fine because this winter has been unusually dry and we need the water for summer irrigation. It just kept coming down. Every time I looked out the window, there it was, falling hard, thick and fast. Not the "Oh, look, aren't the snowflakes pretty" kind of thing.

I shoveled the sidewalk and a path around the yard, leading to an area under a huge spruce tree that doesn't get much snow for the dogs to do their business. It was too deep everywhere else. By 8:00 pm, there was another 4" on those shoveled areas. I bundled up, turned on the outside lights, and shoveled again, hoping we wouldn't wake up this morning to even deeper, which would mean I would have to do it again early in the morning pre-coffee or just let the dogs tough it out.

When they went out about 9 pm, I made them wear their coats, especially since Chloe was clipped short last week. She definitely did not want to wear hers but I'm bigger and stronger and even though she is faster, this is a small house and she always ends up cornered so she wore the coat. Now and then I do get my way. Out they went and they followed the path until it dead ended at a snow bank up to their shoulders, stopped, thought about it, then followed the path the other way to under the tree. It was 26F; they didn't stay out long.

It was funny; when they see me put on boots etc, they usually rush over to go out with me. Wiggle wiggle wag wag, woo hoo outside! Well, not that time. When I went out to shovel, they just stayed put, each on their own recliner, curled up on a soft blanket and watched me go out. They looked at each other, looked at me, and I'm pretty sure they were thinking, "Let us know how it goes." When it came to the Bedtime Potty time an hour later, they had to be coaxed out there.

Today will be lots of shoveling, or at least as much as it takes to wear me out. Right now, someone is barking at me for breakfast. It's 25 minutes late. Shame on me.
 
GoodEnuff said:
Good Morning, World. Just what is in store for us today? Don't tell me...let me guess.

Total snowfall in the past 18 hours is about 10", which is fine because this winter has been unusually dry and we need the water for summer irrigation. It just kept coming down. Every time I looked out the window, there it was, falling hard, thick and fast. Not the "Oh, look, aren't the snowflakes pretty" kind of thing.

I shoveled the sidewalk and a path around the yard, leading to an area under a huge spruce tree that doesn't get much snow for the dogs to do their business. It was too deep everywhere else. By 8:00 pm, there was another 4" on those shoveled areas. I bundled up, turned on the outside lights, and shoveled again, hoping we wouldn't wake up this morning to even deeper, which would mean I would have to do it again early in the morning pre-coffee or just let the dogs tough it out.

When they went out about 9 pm, I made them wear their coats, especially since Chloe was clipped short last week. She definitely did not want to wear hers but I'm bigger and stronger and even though she is faster, this is a small house and she always ends up cornered so she wore the coat. Now and then I do get my way. Out they went and they followed the path until it dead ended at a snow bank up to their shoulders, stopped, thought about it, then followed the path the other way to under the tree. It was 26F; they didn't stay out long.

It was funny; when they see me put on boots etc, they usually rush over to go out with me. Wiggle wiggle wag wag, woo hoo outside! Well, not that time. When I went out to shovel, they just stayed put, each on their own recliner, curled up on a soft blanket and watched me go out. They looked at each other, looked at me, and I'm pretty sure they were thinking, "Let us know how it goes." When it came to the Bedtime Potty time an hour later, they had to be coaxed out there.

Today will be lots of shoveling, or at least as much as it takes to wear me out. Right now, someone is barking at me for breakfast. It's 25 minutes late. Shame on me.
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Up until ten years ago there has never been a time in my life that I didn't have a dog or dogs. I miss them terribly but am not able to care for them.
I even looked into mechanical dogs, but they didn't speak to me.
Fortunately for me, I have you guys for company, and excellent company you are.
 
gruntlabor said:
Up until ten years ago there has never been a time in my life that I didn't have a dog or dogs. I miss them terribly but am not able to care for them.
I even looked into mechanical dogs, but they didn't speak to me.
Fortunately for me, I have you guys for company, and excellent company you are.
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That is so sad. There have been days when they are the only reason to get up in the morning.
 
The first snow of the year is soooo hard to shovel, it takes me most of the day. Each time thereafter, it gets a little easier. Today was the easiest although this old back is complaining. It just needs to get over it.

Now the sun is out, blue skies. Some of it is melting already.
 
GoodEnuff said:
That is so sad. There have been days when they are the only reason to get up in the morning.
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gruntlabor said:
Up until ten years ago there has never been a time in my life that I didn't have a dog or dogs. I miss them terribly but am not able to care for them.
I even looked into mechanical dogs, but they didn't speak to me.
Fortunately for me, I have you guys for company, and excellent company you are.
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Could you care for a cat? They are much easier. Not a cat person? That could change.
 
Babs2u said:
Could you care for a cat? They are much easier. Not a cat person? That could change.
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Thanks, Babs, I admire cats, I'm in awe of them, but have only met two in my whole life, and that was briefly.
No, I'm a dog person --I'm afraid it's congenital.
But I can't have a pet of any kind. Letting them in and out? Veterinary care? Not possible at this time.
 
Did lots of shoveling yesterday and on top of the barn work on Monday, I feel it today. It was one of those nights where you wake up at 1:00 am and no matter how you position yourself, something hurts. It's an ibuprofen day.

I have always kept my old shih tzu in a short haircut. This winter, I have let him grow out and the past few weeks, his bangs have been hanging into his eye (he has only one eye). So I made him a little pony tail on top and it is soooo cute! I explained to him that they do that at Westminster, and if it's good enough for them, it is certainly good enough for him. I think he understood because he hasn't tried to get it off. Yet.

Maybe I will do the same thing with his beard. Little changes. Besides, when he goes outside in the snow, the first thing he does is rub his face in the snow. It's like he's washing his face. I don't think a beard ponytail would last very long.

At Christmas, my BFF sent the dogs a gift which included new toys and a kong for each of them. Along with that came a package of squeeze peanut butter. You fill the kong with the peanut butter and they are supposed to chase it and eat the peanut butter. In theory. Chloe chases after it once. Then she holds it down with one paw and licks all the peanut butter out.

Little Guy, however, refuses to chase his food. He wants it served to him in a civilized manner. And he refuses to eat with his paw. So I have to sit on the floor and hold it for him while he delicately licks at it. (Reminds me of Agatha Christie's character Hercule Poirot.) Of course, he doesn't finish it and Chloe waits in the background, quivering, to snatch his left overs. She's not proud.
 
Well, not a lot to write about lately. The barn project is coming along, slowly. The first day, everything was removed and almost all of it hauled away. The next couple of days, we had a big snow fall so nothing done. The worker who is doing this said he would come yesterday afternoon to start demolition of the barn. That fell through but in the meantime, since most of the snow is melted already, I went out there and walked around the property picking up trash, etc.

Lots of short segments of fencing wire, now in a big pile to be ??? Today I may get out there and coil it up into one large roll. Most of it wouldn't be of much use. There are a couple of places in the back fence that are "iffy", so I may use some of that wire to shore it up. There were three 4x4 posts, tall (10 ft?), in the ground from previous ??. I lightly pushed on two of them and over they went, rotted at the bottom. I am tempted to start removing the wood siding; usually in a tear down, the roof goes first but this roof is falling in and I'm not getting up there. The siding isn't load-bearing, so it should be okay to remove, right? Right?

I hurt all over from all of this. I keep telling myself it is just part of "getting into shape". It's hard work but is actually very rewarding because every time I walk back there, I see so much to be done just to clean the place up and it is always irritating. I will be glad to have this done so I can enjoy the walks back there.
 
I noticed your fencing wire in the picture. When we first moved here, we had the house built to my husband's desires, and the one thing I really insisted on was that the back yard be fenced in. It's a fairly big yard for the burbs so it cost around $3000 for the labor plus the white picket vinyl fencing.

I had carefully measured my dachshund's chest and made sure the pickets were close enough together.

As soon as the fence was done we all went out back and my dog walked right up and through it. I hadn't accounted for the wiggle power. So I got fencing like yours and rolled it all around. My husband was the maddest I've ever seen him. He was already against the fence and now he thought it looked terrible, but I told him that from just ten feet away you don't even see it and you don't. That was 20 years ago, I think he's about over it.
 
gruntlabor said:
Thanks, Babs, I admire cats, I'm in awe of them, but have only met two in my whole life, and that was briefly.
No, I'm a dog person --I'm afraid it's congenital.
But I can't have a pet of any kind. Letting them in and out? Veterinary care? Not possible at this time.
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Can you assist at a suppport group? They often have adoption events at large pet stores and it is a good opportunity to start a conversation.
 
Della said:
I noticed your fencing wire in the picture. When we first moved here, we had the house built to my husband's desires, and the one thing I really insisted on was that the back yard be fenced in. It's a fairly big yard for the burbs so it cost around $3000 for the labor plus the white picket vinyl fencing.

I had carefully measured my dachshund's chest and made sure the pickets were close enough together.

As soon as the fence was done we all went out back and my dog walked right up and through it. I hadn't accounted for the wiggle power. So I got fencing like yours and rolled it all around. My husband was the maddest I've ever seen him. He was already against the fence and now he thought it looked terrible, but I told him that from just ten feet away you don't even see it and you don't. That was 20 years ago, I think he's about over it.
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When I moved in here almost two years ago, the only fence was the chain link parallel to the road. The one in the pic was put up as a "temporary" fence from materials on site. It'll probably be there forever. Sometimes I think I would like a solid screen fence so the dogs can't see the neighbors and/or whatever else is on the other side of it. Bark bark bark. But what I do like about this one is when shoveling, I can just throw the snow through it, not have to go over it.

Twostep said:
GoodEnuff - please do not tackle taking down the siding without someone else on site.
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I gave up on that idea. Went out there yesterday to take a closer look and see what tools, etc., I would need. Decided against it.

I did walk more of the fence line, which is really a difficult trek. Thick brush, big rocks, and it crosses the creek and goes into brush and trees so thick that you literally cannot even see through it. Every summer, some of the rancher's cows behind us get out and traverse this property, along with the neighbors' properties on either side and I wanted to see where they were getting through. I found it. Or at least a spot where they can get through easily. They or the deer have actually made a trail through that area.

Not an easy place to fence, steep hill that ends at the creek bank. During the season when the cows are brought in, the creek runs pretty fast and is a very rocky bottom. Even though I have seen deer go through it, I doubt cows would even try? Anyway, placing posts would be difficult. This is a job for hiring out. It isn't a long stretch, maybe 30 feet? It wouldn't be too expensive -- five posts and a roll of barbed wire. It's finding someone who is available.

I have considered just laying a line of concertina wire but I don't want the cows to get tangled up in it. Also, other animals can get through/under barbed wire. I don't want to fence them out. Neighbor's cats are welcome to hunt down the rodents here.

I think today I will go out and start raking. Lots of pine/fir needles/leaves/cones and the grasses need to be cut down and raked up. I bag it and set it out for the trash people to pick up. For an extra fee per bag, they will take all of it. There is still a lot of downed dead wood and brush. It will take years to clear it out so I probably won't do that. Let it go natural?
 
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Yesterday was A Day, that's for sure. My worker guy came and tore down that old barn. What. A. Mess. I knew it was a mess inside but it was much worse once walls/roof were off and it was exposed to the full light of day. And it smells terrible, very moldy. I provided him and his helper with good dust masks, safety glasses and work gloves.

I thought perhaps I could repurpose some of that material. No Way! I know no hazardous materials were dumped/even stored in there but as far as I am concerned, Nature's haz mats are just as bad. All of that material will have to be hand-carried a ways to a large trailer to be hauled away. There is still much to be done in that regard.

While they were doing that, I got busy raking leaves and pine needles out of the vinca (?) growing behind the house. It's a vine-like ground cover, blooms small purple flowers in summer, grows in deep shade, and is very pretty and extremely hardy. Many consider this an invasive plant. All the pine needles and leaves had worked down under the growth so it was a real chore raking them out.

I regret not doing this last year as it is twice as hard now and it did do some damage to the plant. But it's very hardy and will come back. I finished one area (six big leaf bags) and will do another area today. Then it's move to the other side of the creek and into the wilder woods. That will be much easier and some can be done with the blower. This should keep me busy and sore for at least a week.

The weather is beautiful! Temp in the high 50's, low 60's and forecast to be low 70's in the next few days. Sunny, blue skies, slight breeze. After being cooped up all winter, this is a real treat. Perfect weather for outside work. Ahhh!!! We will still get more snow but what a break. This is the kind of weather where one is glad to be alive. The creek is running, more than a trickle but not yet the white water of summer; it runs right through the area where I am working and I love the sound of it. This is why I live here.
 

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