Category: lakehouse

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…

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

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

Still cool to start and warming later. Although the general trend in temperature is down… Yesterday was a nice day, the part I spent outside anyway. Sunny, but some clouds, and not brutally hot.

I ended up having a good day, even without making much progress on the list. Getting out of the house, and out of my routine activities helps to sort of reset my brain. Clearly when I spent 3 1/2 hours talking to an auction seller, I had a built up deficit and need for some human interaction.

Having lunch out, and punching some holes in paper was a nice change of pace. And shooting 22LR was very cheap compared to 40 S&W.

Of course, we must pay for our transgressions, so today I’ve got a bunch of stuff to get done. I may even leave the house before noon. I’ve got pickups, stuff to move, and maybe I can meet with a buyer for one of the things I’m selling. I’m also figuring I’ll head to the BOL on Saturday, so if I have time, and the forecast is clear, I have a ton of stuff to load into the truck.

Property needs upkeep and the BOL is no exception. That is something to consider when looking for a place, how much effort will it take to get there, how much time and effort will you need to spend on basic maintenance, and how often will you be able to MAKE that time? Unless you just have a secure bunker or shipping container in the woods, plan to spend more time than you think you will.

And don’t forget the need to top up the stacks at your BOL. You have all the considerations there that you have at home.

You are topping up the stacks at home, right??

nick