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Category: lakehouse

Sat. Oct. 18, 2025 – the weekend is just two more days to work

Cooler days, but just days. Well, slightly cooler days, and slightly cooler nights. We did almost have rain yesterday. The clouds were there, and in parts of town, a little mist hit my windshield, but no actual rain fell on me.

After a dump run and a stop to fill up three propane bottles, I did my pickups and decided to return home rather than head to the BOL. I looked at my list and decided to keep working on the stuff here, rather than a new project with limited time at the BOL.

Of course, I had to do stuff like fix my truck first. The door handle on the driver’s side stopped actuating the latch. It’s happened before and I know what failed. There is a little plastic clip that holds the rod to the mechanism, and it fails. It caused me some trouble when I locked myself out of my running truck at one pickup. Fortunately I know how to bypass the handle and lock on the passenger side, so I did get in.

When I got home I took the door apart, confirmed that it was the little clip that failed, and went looking for the replacement. I was pretty sure I’d ordered spares last time, and I store like with like, so I looked in the door of the parts truck, and in the box of spares behind the seat, but couldn’t find the part. I looked in my truck too, both the console and glove box. Just when I thought I must have lost the parts, I found them in the map pocket of the door. 10 minutes later that was fixed, but by then it was dark out.

I had the part and it was a simple and short matter to fix it. Prepping for the win on this one.

I’d also done a fair bit of domestic bliss in the last 2 days- I did two loads of laundry, cut my hair, shaved, and booted the TiVO for the first time in years. I am hoping to sell it. The laundry folding took some time, as did the other messing around, so I wasn’t in a big hurry to load up the truck and head out by the time that was all done.

All in all, I’m hoping for a productive weekend here. That’ll all be on me though, so while I’m hoping, I wouldn’t bet on me…

Stacks made my truck problem into a minor issue that was easily resolved. Stacking up the propane bottles will be good for cooking, heat, or running a gennie. Stacks are good. Get you some!

nick

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Fri. Oct. 17, 2025 – if you got a problem, yo, I’ll solve it…

Cool and then warm. Hot even. But overall, cooler. Which is fitting for the times. Late yesterday the light got kinda yellow green and the clouds looked like rain… but it never came.

I did my pickups in the late morning. Then I hit up IKEA for my pantry cabinets. They are heavy. Heavy enough that I was ready to open the box and carry the biggest pieces inside one at a time. I got D1 to help me instead.

I spent the afternoon putting mud on the joints, and assembling one of the two cabinets. The second will have to wait until the wall is repaired, and I don’t have to move the cabinets to get to it. Dinner was a heat and eat meal with rice. Tasty, easy, quick. Not cheap, but cheaper than takeout. Just another tool in the box.

There is a crazy amount of work to do here, and I’m picking at it a little at a time, so of course I want to drive up to the BOL and do stuff there. It’s a lot of work keeping two properties in good shape, especially if you have stacks of stuff everywhere and let things get out of hand. It would be easier to just keep up with it but that ship sailed a long time ago.

So I am working to improve my situation, both at home and at the BOL. Physically and metaphorically.

Do something every chance you get. Try to keep up. Stack.

nick

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Tues. Oct. 14, 2025 – I wouldn’t mind an open source version of Shotspotter ™

Cool. Then warming. Still no rain. Well, not for me. I’m pretty sure some of those dark clouds that were roaming around rained on someone. It did stay relatively cooler all day though. I could actually do a little bit in the attic without overheating.

I was up at a reasonable time, and made breakfast for D2 before her friends came over. They spent a few hours watching Hamilton and singing along. I read while that was going on. Afterwards, I got busy with my pantry project.

I cleaned up the cutout drywall, insulated, and hung new drywall to close up the wall and ceiling. Of course it wasn’t as simple as that, and it took a quick trip to Lowe’s for spray foam. I picked up some screws and a fresh bucket of drywall compound while I was there.

I had the insulation stored in the attic, some from the bathroom project, and some stored there waiting for me to rip and replace the nasty 50 year old blown in insulation. That isn’t a job I’m looking forward to, and I’d just pay someone to do it if I didn’t have all the stuff stored up there in the way.

After I vacuumed up the drywall dust and assorted old insulation, I changed out the A/C filters. I’ll change them again after I’m done with all the mud and sanding too, but that is for another day.

While in the attic, I moved some stuff around, found more ebay ‘inventory’, and tossed out some rat poison baits.

I really hate doing anything with fiberglas insulation. REALLY hate it. When I do the attic, I’ll fully gear up in protective measures, but yesterday I just wore gloves and was very careful about what I touched.

Today I’ll do the first layer of mud and tape on the drywall, and do at least two pickups. I won a couple of things for next summer at the BOL, and some more supplies for projects there. Some small random things too, since I was making the trip.

Sometimes I just pick up things that might be useful later. They almost always turn out to be something I need in the future. I’m pretty sure I’ll need the foam version of a toilet wax ring, for example. Other stuff ends up coming in handy. IF I can find it and remember I have it…

Stacks are good. Skills are good. Friends are better.

nick

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Mon. Oct. 13, 2025 – Bringing civilization to the savages day.

Cool. Later it’ll be warm to hot. Although the hot isn’t as hot and the cool keeps getting cooler. It was really a very nice day yesterday despite some occasional dark clouds. No rain on my patch.

I slept in and decided to do some work around the house. D2 wasn’t excited about heading to the BOL, and I convinced myself it wasn’t a good use of time. I wouldn’t get an real projects done with the late start. That’s my story anyway.

I did clear out a spot where a pantry cabinet is supposed to go. It’s the corner where the water heater used to be. I haven’t done anything to advance that project because I only tacked up the drywall repair because I needed to do some plumbing and insulating behind there. Then a dark stain appeared on the ceiling and I was sure something died there, which I really didn’t want to disturb.

Turns out, it was just from water coming down the open exhaust vent from the old water heater. Once I close that up, I can fix the ceiling. And once I insulate, I can fix the wall. Of course, the fractal nature of my tasks means that I REALLY want to put some pex in that wall and up into the attic while it’s all open. At some point I’ll need to make the connections, when I pex the whole house, and re-opening the wall would be dumb. Especially if there is a cabinet full of stuff in front of it.

So, I’ll try to stub up into the ceiling for the hot water line to the rest of the house, and the cold water line that feeds the heater. And I’ve got to install some hardware cloth to close up the wall and attic from the open soffit. I know that critters used it as a highway around the house, and they used the open wall to enter the house and eat dog food. That situation needs to be addressed. My tasks are fractal in nature.

So is prepping at an advanced level. Once you have the basics covered, you see that to advance there is always something else than can be done first, or to support the prep, or to leverage the prep. It’s like the first time you write an algorithm in school*. Pretty soon you realize that every task can be broken down farther into tasks which can be broken down farther…

Since there is an infinite number of things to do, you better get to stacking….

nick

*in my school daze, it was “write the algorithm for changing a car tire.” ‘Take the old tire off, put the new tire on’ expands pretty quickly…

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Sun. Oct. 12, 2025 – off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard

Cool and warming later. Probably getting all the way to hot and sticky. It’s cooler at night and in the morning, but still getting well into “Summer” by most peoples’ standards.

I got a very early start yesterday getting D1 to her activity. I eventually picked her up a little after midnight. Long day for the kid but they took 3rd place out of 23 schools. Pretty good considering their size and lack of resources.

I spent the morning at my non-prepping hobby, which was nice. Good turn out and a fun day. I napped and read for the rest of the day. I was wiped out. I’m not as good at going without sleep as I used to be. Even just 15 years ago I could still push through an all nighter and be functional the next day. Not ‘normal’, but functional. I don’t think I could do that now, even though I seem to need less sleep overall.

Today I’ll let the kid sleep in as she didn’t get much more than me, and then later we’ll head to the BOL. We won’t be taking her friend with us, but there is already one extra kid there.

I’m debating taking the new 12v cooler and leaving it there as backup. I can make the case for using it here as backup or using it to transport food from here to there. I’ve got a couple of smaller 12v thermoelectric coolers there, but this would increase capacity. I’ve already got one bigger cooler here, and several of the smaller ones.

If you have something that needs to be kept cold to keep you alive, like meds, I think you should absolutely have a small 12v cooler as a minimum prep. On the other hand, a solar panel and inexpensive inverter, with a car battery, will keep most 3 and 7 cubic foot freezers running and you get to keep the freezer full of food…

Whatever your solution and the scale of it, having a way to keep stuff cold is a critical prep.

Stack what you need.

nick

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Sat. Oct. 11, 2025 – non-prepping hobby day, plus kid taxi service.

Cool and clear, but still humid. Not as humid or as warm later though. It’d definitely Fall, although it’s staying warm later in the day than I expected. Odd weather this year.

Did auction stuff in the morning. Then did pickups. Got home at a reasonable time to work on the list but didn’t get much done. Did some work on my AAR for our non-prepping hobby convention/meeting which I hope to finally get to go through with my fellows this morning.

But first, I’ll be getting up before the butt-crack of dawn to take the kid to her thing. I might get an hour of nap before I have to head to my meeting. I can sleep when I’m dead.

Getting out among real people and engaging the world around us is a critical prep. It’s grounding, gives a reality check on our beliefs, and builds people skills and community. It’s the people that are closest to us that will help us or hurt us the most when times get bad. Knowing who they are is critically important. And getting together with people that share an interest is fun.

So get out there and do stuff with people. And stack. Resources make everything easier.

nick

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Fri. Oct. 10, 2025 – everyone knows sheep lie…

Cool again. Moist. Then hotter later. It’s kinda boring, but the trend is cooler. We could use some rain though, and I can’t believe I’m even saying that here in the swamp. We do get droughts though.

I did get my major stuff done yesterday, but nothing extra. I spent too much time not working. A sore back is an excuse, but isn’t the whole story.

Today will be a bit different. I have to do some of the things in the morning, so I have to leave the house. Some of the things could happen in the afternoon, but I’d like to have time to do some work around the house. I’ll TRY to get done early.

D2 will be home since this is a four day weekend at school. W and D1 and Xtra1 are at the BOL. D2 is here because of school activity on Saturday. That’s right, in the middle of a 4 day weekend. Who the heII thinks that is ok? They don’t work for our benefit, but I don’t know how it benefits them either.

In any case, I’ve got stuff to do today, then my non-prepping hobby Saturday while D2 does her thing. Not much time for preps or anything else, unless I’m very disciplined. Anyone taking bets??

Stack something.

nick

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Mon. Oct. 6, 2025 – extra helping of nonsense…

Cool. Then warm. Then hot. Oh, and the BOL could REALLY use some rain, that they won’t get. We could probably use some too.

I wasn’t as productive as I could have been yesterday. The mower battery was run down and I had to put it on the charger for a couple of hours. I wasn’t super motivated or efficient with putting stuff away, mostly I was talking to my buddy the fisherman. But that is good too.

When I finally did run the mower, the drive belt started slipping. I was almost done, so I just nursed it to get finished. I didn’t mow the HOA lot, as I didn’t want to get stuck when the thing broke. And it will break. I have the replacement ready, just didn’t want to take the time. I did get the two front wheels and tires replaced with new. I need to grease the fittings, but these rims came with ball bearings instead of bronze bushings, so I’m ok even though I forgot. I just need to do it next time.

Today I have one pickup that must get done (the solar panels) and one that I could do. I want to keep working on stuff in the house and yard though, so who knows what my squirrel brain will have me do.

Maybe I’ll even do something with the generators if it’s not too hot.

Or maybe office stuff if it is too hot.

We’ll see. But I’m sure stacking, fixing, or learning will get done.

nick

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Sun. Oct. 5, 2025 – 10052025 – the times are getting spicy

Cooler here than in Houston. And still damp. I’ll have to wait for the dew to burn off before mowing, but I’ll find other things to do. Hopefully it won’t be too hot in the afternoon sun.

I spent Saturday afternoon finishing up my front walk project at the house. When I installed the flagstone walk, I used polymeric sand between the stones. It’s sand with glue in it. It stays in place better than plain sand but isn’t a permanent solution. After a few years, it was pretty much gone and the deep empty joints were a tripping hazard. Halloween trick or treating is coming up, and I do not want people tripping on my walk. So I finally got enough mortar mix and took the time. It was only a few hours in total, and looks good. It won’t last forever, but should hold up for a couple more years. 80% solution.

Then I loaded up and headed to the BOL.

Today, the main goal is mowing. But really, I also need to do more organizing and putting away… and with the domestic violence and dissension growing, I need to do an inventory and check supply levels. I will have to move getting a safe and a storage magazine for this place up the list. Which, because of the fractal nature of my tasks means making the room for them, and organizing a trailer, work party, and time to collect them and get them here. Then I’ll have to stock them.

Food, water, medical, and alternative cooking, heating, cooling, and sanitation are mostly in place already. A couple of security things, networks and cameras mainly, need to be installed, as well as some physical security measures. Comms are behind too, but I have the stuff, I just need to move forward on getting it in place and tested. I need a couple of alternative antennas that I can put up without building my tower, and I need to get the radios up here.

I used the sale on kero someone mentioned to get 10 gallons more, which I brought up with me. Lowes online had a great price. I’ll pickup two more 220W solar panels Monday. Now my mojo needs to get some batteries, and I need to find a suitable 36v inverter. Probably time to refill all the propane bottles too.

At home I’ve got generator stuff to do. I’ve been slack about it this year, mainly due to the lack of hurricanes. Time to move that stuff forward too. And I need to sort canned goods and replace losses. Attacks on law enforcement, especially organized ones, while the noose tightens on certain international financiers, will likely increase. Things are getting spicy. I expect some attacks on infrastructure soon.

All this while also living a normal life for my kids.

Stack while you can. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

nick

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Sat. Oct. 4, 2025 – songs have words, music has notes

Cool, but not crazy cool. And it will get warmer later. Yesterday had some clouds, which kept the sun from broiling me, but it still was pretty warm in the afternoon. Fall is definitely here though. And welcome.

Did some auction stuff in the morning yesterday, then auction pickups in the afternoon. Mailed the ebay item I sold. Took 45 minutes as I didn’t drop it off when passing a box or station, and I forgot until after I got home so I had to go back out to drop it at the ‘good’ station. Lot of messing around for a tiny sale. I hope the guy really needed it.

Today I will be going to the BOL, but not first thing. I don’t want to wait too long, but I have to load up the truck and I want to sleep in a bit. There might be family stuff to attend to as well. D2 has plans for a school thing, which my wife is covering, but IDK if D1 needs anything from me. And I might have to meet with a craigslist buyer to sell something before I head out. Conveniently, the item is at the shop, along with most of what I am taking up this weekend.

Of course that isn’t due to ‘luck’. I live the prepping lifestyle.

Maybe I live it a little TOO much, but I don’t think so. I know I could be doing more, or doing what I do with more seriousness and commitment. Could be less too. It’s a habit and a lifestyle and a hobby. Cool, huh?

Prep something. Stack something.

nick

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