Never thought retirement would be like this

Maggiemae, this is the status of my tree problem, as of last night. Not much visible progress. All those limbs are above my head. To cut the top ones near the base, you would have to straddle the tree trunk. Not safe. I'm such a chicken with this one. Almost stumped (no pun intended).

The only injury so far... saw got stuck in a bind cutting one big limb. Used the prybar to get it out, and the saw landed on my toe. :)

iq8NJ6d.jpg
 

Nancy, that is too big for you to deal with. Maybe a neighbor around there would cut it up for the fire wood? Still been working on sending you the video. Sent it to your email through my IPad...it made that "swoosh" sound but I bet you did not get it. Got to work like a house afire tomorrow raking an area that is on a slope after the bobcat had to pickup the logs and big tree limbs. I'm going to have to reseed and put wheat straw down to keep it from washing since they are calling for big rain here on Sunday! It's the "never ending story"!
 
maggiemae said:
Nancy, that is too big for you to deal with. Maybe a neighbor around there would cut it up for the fire wood? Still been working on sending you the video. Sent it to your email through my IPad...it made that "swoosh" sound but I bet you did not get it. Got to work like a house afire tomorrow raking an area that is on a slope after the bobcat had to pickup the logs and big tree limbs. I'm going to have to reseed and put wheat straw down to keep it from washing since they are calling for big rain here on Sunday! It's the "never ending story"!
Click to expand...
It might help to put a row or two of sod down, along with seed in between, if it's a big area. That would help with erosion and get something growing faster. I'm all too familiar with erosion. :rolleyes: Just a thought.
 

Maggiemae, thanks for your video. If you want a more descriptive title I can change it easily.


I must have been half asleep last night. Those two sentences didn't make any sense.
 
Last edited:
maggiemae said:
Thanks Nancy, you did a great job. I will figure it out one day! LOL
Click to expand...
It was really easy with yours, because it was already one of the acceptable file types (mp4), and didn't need any trimming or editing. All you have to do is click on upload, and set it to public view. With this new fiber optic cable stuff it only takes 2 or 3 minutes, even with a 3 minute video. With DSL it would sometimes take 30 minutes.
 
My lawnmowers ganged up on me this afternoon. I knew trouble must be coming when they all decided to start this spring. The handle broke on one. That was my fault because I didn't notice one of the bolts had worked itself loose and fallen out. The self-propel on the other one stopped working. All within 30 minutes. I got about 80% of the worst part of the lawn mowed.

Back to searching YouTube troubleshooting videos. A new handle would cost $27 plus shipping. I think I can fix the other one, but have to get it turned upside down. Then there is something rattling on the riding mower, but you can't see what it is, because every time you get off the thing, it shuts down.:rolleyes: I'm going to have to get some concrete blocks and put them on the seat. LOL

OTOH, because of procrastination in starting the drywall, I stumbled on a neat way of putting it up so that the joints will be easier to hide, and found another video showing how to make your own boards to do it. All the talk on the drywall forums says this is the way to go. (See, overthinking helps sometimes. :))

 
My second apartment, Raleigh, NC, from StreetView in 2016. No, not the house, the old one car garage attached. Rented as an efficiency for $45/mo ($267 with inflation). Everything in about a 12'x20' space. I stayed (more like just slept) there for about 3 years, it was such a good deal, and I was trying to save money.

q2UOx5C.jpg


The bedroom and kitchen (1972), and the only kitchen appliance: stove, sink, fridge and freezer all in one.

AlZ5g4y.jpg
xk4LwDq.jpg
Rstove1.jpg

The dried bean string I mentioned in another thread, is hanging on the left side of the cupboard, and was what reminded me of these pictures. :) We never called them leather britches, and we never ate them. It was just something my grandfather fiddled around making in his spare time. No doubt he had to string and eat them when he was a kid.

pys1kPh.jpg


I still have the yellow teapot, the cannister set, the tray, the clock, and the tennis racket (minus one string). The stuffed tiger was a prize at an Ohio State Fair shooting gallery and was donated. We ate out, on the cheap, every lunch, and almost every dinner, with a bunch of friends---usually at Tippy's Taco House (gone) or the K&W Cafeteria in Cameron Village (below). You could get all you could eat and drink for $2. We were all trying to save money. I remember the chicken pot pie. It was a fun time. The food didn't matter.

KandW.jpg
 
Last edited:
Meanderer... Tippy's was a tiny little place, smaller than a Waffle House, on the outskirts of town at that time, I don't even remember where, 'cause I never drove, just rode along with the crowd. Maybe the one in This Notice that closed in 2005. No picture. :(

Most any part of Raleigh that USED TO BE on the outskirts of town looks completely foreign to me now. LOL
 
Maggiemae, did you put your grass seed out? Is the seed still there? That was one heck of a rain---all day long. One picture of a dogwood tree and red clay mud at the farm yesterday after it quit.

dogwoodb4152018.jpg
 
NancyNGA said:
Meanderer... Tippy's was a tiny little place, smaller than a Waffle House, on the outskirts of town at that time, I don't even remember where, 'cause I never drove, just rode along with the crowd. Maybe the one in This Notice that closed in 2005. No picture. :(

Most any part of Raleigh that USED TO BE on the outskirts of town looks completely foreign to me now. LOL
Click to expand...
Yeah. I found the article that they closed in 2005.
5364001-400x300.jpg
 
The tractor is now parked right behind the fence next door. Is that what the L-shape of the fence was designed for? I think he is going to build something back there, maybe a shed for his equipment? That would be good! Maybe he has bought one of those old abandoned 1950's diners and is going to move it back there. It should be an interesting summer because something is definitely going to happen back there.
:popcorn:
tractorP.jpg
 
Maybe they are going to put a diner for the college kids to go eat? This is a real interesting situation. Yes, got the seed and wheat straw out before the big rain on Sunday. Remember me telling you about the upstairs shower leaking several months ago? Had the old plumber come out and he caulked around the shower drain and it still leaked. So I cut out a section in the kitchen downstairs to take a look. I went up there and put silicone caulk around the drain and it is still leaking when you use the shower. But I noticed tonight that it is leaking when the shower is not in use. Must be in the hot or cold line. It is one of those prefab showers that they put in new construction back 33 years ago. I am not calling the old plumber...he needs to retire...seems to put a "band aid" fix on everything. I hate anything dealing with plumbing....too many options! With electrical, you pretty much know where the source of the problem is.
 
maggiemae said:
... Remember me telling you about the upstairs shower leaking several months ago? Had the old plumber come out and he caulked around the shower drain and it still leaked. So I cut out a section in the kitchen downstairs to take a look. I went up there and put silicone caulk around the drain and it is still leaking when you use the shower. But I noticed tonight that it is leaking when the shower is not in use. Must be in the hot or cold line. It is one of those prefab showers that they put in new construction back 33 years ago. I am not calling the old plumber...he needs to retire...seems to put a "band aid" fix on everything. I hate anything dealing with plumbing....too many options! With electrical, you pretty much know where the source of the problem is.
Click to expand...
Oh no! Not that again! :( Sorry to hear that. Hope you don't have to get behind the shower.

There seems to be only two types of repair services. One are the individuals, who always assume you want everything done as cheaply as possible, and the other is the big outfits, that just want to tear everything out and start over from scratch. I think the solution may be to offer to pay them (the individuals) by the hour.

I hate plumbing too. Especially replacing faucets. They always leak on the first trial. I also have one of those prefab showers that came in two pieces. They had to haul it up with a rope and pull it in through a window upstairs to install it, way back in 1986. A group of onlookers gathered in the road out front to watch it go up.:eek: I've had no trouble with it so far but I'm expecting it any day.
 
The only unusual thing today, found inside the garage right near the door. :confused: Brought it outside. Obviously playing possum and I didn't try to pry it open.

BLworm4182018.jpg

I've never seen a completely black wooly worm before. Turns out it's the caterpillar of a Giant Leopard Moth (Hypercompe scribonia). Very common, but I don't think I've ever seen the moth version before either.

leopardmoth1.jpg

Size perspective (not all that giant)

images
giant-leopard-moth-caterpillar.jpg

My mother used to talk about the orange banded black wooly worms, and how you could predict the weather from them by the width of the orange band. I never bought it. I don't think she did either.

d553f351847057d1389e3379da14b3c5--weather-predictions-worms.jpg

.
 
I'm an xnomad who lived in a housetruck with hubby ,2 kids, a dog,and a cat for 15 years. Now I am ashamed to say I am a suburban housewife who is painting her house yellow with white trim and a blue door, and have a white picket fence and drive a beige Volvo and a dog and a cat and wonderful kids and and if I complain about anything , please , somebody poke me in the eye with a sharp stick.
 
Welcome ancient mariner! I bet you have some wonderful stories to tell! Well, get your stick ready because I complain ALOT and it gets me no where! So I gather you would rather be in the housetruck instead of the suburbs and why is that?
 
Dear Diary,

This was no doubt the highlight of my day. :rolleyes:

Solved the self-propelled lawn mower problem. After watching numerous troubleshooting videos, and trying everything first, that didn't require turning the mower over, turned it over and the belt was gone. Just completely missing! Looked around the yard for it. Guess it got mulched. lol. New one coming in the mail. I can do that. Sigh of relief.

Maggiemae, that Honda mower is a good one. It has METAL gears in the wheels. Almost all the videos for other lawn mowers had plastic gears, and that was their problem.

How's your plumbing? :playful:
 
Was that the Honda you just got last summer? We have had not a moments problem with ours. But we probably need to change the filter in it because I am sure it is full of dirt and dust. Mowed the dandelions and green onions a few days ago and it started right up after sitting all winter! Have not called the plumber yet...procrastination on my part. But I'll get around to it. I am really thinking it is from the hot water side because after I noticed it was dripping (very small) down stairs, I went upstairs and realized I had not turned the handle tight to the hot water side. It was not dripping in the shower. After the tree people being here and then the sales guy for the insulation (on the same day),which by the way they are too expensive, I just can't deal with any more repair people for a few days!
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top