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Category: march to war

Fri. June 20, 2025 – not a holiday today either

But it will be hot and humid. Some things in life are fairly predictable and hot and humid weather in Houston in June is one of the things… still I could be wrong. Yesterday was hot and humid though. And sunny. It didn’t seem as brutal as Wednesday though. Small mercies.

I did sleep in a bit, and then did auction stuff. I got some stuff listed, and I’ve got more to list too. Hopefully as I do more I can build some momentum. It would be nice to actually get stuff sold as well. Sold and paid for.

Today I’m building on yesterday. Move some stuff around. List some stuff. Try to get paid for stuff. I need to get into a storage unit and get out some stuff for one of my hobby buddies. My non-prepping hobby got moved to this Saturday and I promised him I’d try to bring him some stuff. I also need to get out of one unit or pay for another month. I’ve basically got today to do that. So I’ll be out sweating in the heat and humidity.

Suffering is good for the soul, right? Well, I’m not going to suffer too much, I’ve still got air conditioned spaces to get into and cool down. Small (or big) mercies…

And I’ll be improving, if not stacking. Which is always good.

nick

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Thur. June 19, 2025 – sometime this week, about 60 years ago, my existence became possible

Hot and humid. Wet or not. But hot and humid is most likely. It was crazy humid yesterday. I was sweating in the shade, just standing still, and even with A/C, when I was working, I soaked through my T shirt. Nasty. Very glad it was late this year, and relatively moderate.

Did my stuff yesterday. Did the kid stuff, then did some pickups, then did my other thing. Took all day. Came home and made dinner. Tried a new (to me) technique for cooking steak in a stainless pan, with asparagus and corn on the cob for sides. Steak was the $10 prime NY Strip that’s been on sale this week. Nicely marbled. Pan frying took it past the very rare I’d normally like, but the flavor was really nice. Dang youtube. I learned something. Well, I learned it now that I tried it and actually DID it.

A lot of prepping is like that, you THINK you are learning it, and to some degree you are, but until you actually try DOING it, you can’t be sure. I burned the garlic bread, but the steaks were delicious. In this case, I slotted some new knowledge in alongside of some existing knowledge, ie. how to cook stuff in the kitchen, and then I pulled that out of my brain and actually tried it. The success was mainly due to it being an extension of existing skills and knowledge. The more base knowledge and experience you have, the easier it becomes to slot that new stuff into memory, and to execute when you actually have a chance to try it out.

Build a good base and you’ll have a better chance for success when you need it.

—————

I’m going to try to sleep in a bit today, then clear a bunch of stuff out of the house, and hopefully out of my storage unit. It would be good to clean one out. And I’d like for my wife to see a change in the house when she gets back.

Always be working, always be stacking…
nick

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Wed. June 18, 2025 – gah, it’s already Wednesday… and I’m still not done with stuff

And it’s still hot and humid. I will say it was a bit less of both yesterday, at least for a while. Other than H&H, I can’t really say what today will be. Might get rain, might not. I do think it is generally cooler than 4 of the last 5 years. And that’s nice.

Did a lot of my things yesterday. Didn’t get the one that I needed the minivan for done. That one slipped into today. I did get a couple of pickups, some lead remover wipes from Hoppes, and some other useful things.

I’ll be taking the kid to her volunteer thing this morning so I can do my other thing later with the minivan. That is the only thing I have to do though. Everything else is just normal list stuff.

Other child and wife are safely at their destinations.

It’s weird coming home to an empty house that won’t fill back up later in the day. Foretaste I guess, but I don’t really like it.

Change is the only constant. Stack what you can.

nick

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Tues. June 17, 2025 – lot of messing around to do today.

Hot and humid, wet and wild… It did rain yesterday which helped keep temps down. Then it cleared up. Well, that did depend on what part of town you are in, which is typical of Houston. I would like some clear sky today as I’ve got stuff to do.

I did my pickups. The medical supplies were a bust. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Drove in enough rain to wash off the truck… and got home to feed the kids. Just an ordinary day.

I’ve got to get one kid to her volunteer stuff, then the other to the airport, then do some work, then do some pickups, then get the first kid, then let her maybe get ready for a double date. Ay carumba. I’m not ready for that.

So it’ll be short shrift again today. Early to rise, and tired later…

Stack some things,

nick

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Thur. June 12, 2025 – …then I took and arrow to my knee.

Hot, humid, sunny, overcast, raining, cool, or some combination. Pretty sure we won’t see cold and dry though. Yesterday ended up nice after the rain cleared. It stayed cooler, and never got crazy bright.

I spent the day moving slowly, and not really functioning well. I did get a few things done, mainly in the bathroom. I fixed the flush handle on the toilet. I had a replacement but couldn’t figure out how to switch it to ‘left handed’… some superglue and accelerator fixed and issue with the old one. It works well now. I also took the time to fix a towel holder and the TP holder. The big box store fixtures do wear out over time. A little tightening of screws and they’ll work for a few more years. That bathroom is 13 years into a gut remodel, so they’ll get replaced eventually.

The rest of the day got eaten by doctor visits.

Funnily enough, today will be too. This time it’s the other kid getting her school, camp, and band physicals. I’m the stay at home dad, so it’s my job. It does make it harder to do the auction stuff.

I should say it makes it harder to do everything without motivation and good time management. Right now I’m lacking both. Working on it. Working…

Time for more ‘doing’.

And stacking. Time to replace some breakage in the stacks. Past time, but something I still need to get to.

Do some pulling out and examining of your own preps. There is likely some damage, and maybe more time has passed than you think. Then stack!

nick

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Wed. June 11, 2025 – I was once and adventurer like you…

Hot and humid. Again. And again. 85F to 95F or higher, and then maybe some rain… because it’s humid and there are likely to be threatening clouds. Ah, summer.

Did a couple of pickups yesterday. Both kids took care of themselves, leaving me to do my stuff. I went slow, and mostly felt ok. My head is still a little swirly and I’m not feeling super strong. The heat is taking some out of me too. Still, I can function.

So that is what I’m looking at today too. Some stuff with my local auctioneer, if I can swing it. A doctor appointment for the kid. Maybe some phone work for me because I need to make a couple of appointments too. And I need to get D1 on my AAA card, and do some other business stuff. Bill paying? Yeah, maybe that too. And some listing on ebay. I need to break the log jam of not listing, and build some momentum.

This cold has derailed whatever momentum I had left after vacation interrupted stuff. Life. Overrated.

Oh well. Better suck it up and do some stuff. Summer will be gone before I know it.

Stack something for hurricane season.

nick

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Tues. June 10, 2025 – Feeling better, need to be doing stuff

Hot and humid. Yup. Same as yesterday with maybe some rain, like yesterday. Some parts of Houston got rain. Some didn’t.

I did feel better yesterday, and got up and ran a couple of errands, but I felt wiped out afterwards. I’m planning to do the same today. Go slow, take it easy, but get some things done.

And I’ll try not to cough all over everyone.

The plan to hit the cold hard with supplements and sleep seems to have worked. I can move and breath and mostly function after only three days. Not feeling 100% but feeling better.

As long as I don’t overdo it I should be good.

n

(time to stack some rest.)

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Thur. May 15, 2025 – yeah, let’s try that again…

Warm then getting hot. Not brain melting hot though. Just ordinary May/June hot. Beautiful clear day, lots of wind, and a little dust or smoke in the air. Today will probably be the same as yesterday. Because that’s how it usually works.

Spent yesterday morning mostly on the phone or asleep. Yup. Fell asleep. I have to get my bedtime under control, or I’m not getting anything done in the morning. I can’t go on too little sleep like I could just a year ago.

When I got back to work, it was domestic bliss and appointment setting, followed by ‘get the oldest from school because she’s not feeling well.’ I did because that gave me my afternoon free, instead of having to be home to get her later… Is that wrong of me? Oh well. It’s the last week of school and they aren’t doing much.

Did several pickups in the afternoon. I was only going to do one, but then remembered a couple others that I could get out of the way. So I did. I fit in a trash run too. Then it was home to deal with moving people around for a band concert and a sports team recognition dinner. It was 930pm by the time I was home again. This is what I signed up for, but the pace is increasing. And it’s only going to get worse next year when youngest is doing band and theater while oldest is doing boys, and sports. Yeah, I said it.

Ay carumba. We’ll see how today goes. Maybe if I keep my plans secret from the universe it won’t conspire to thwart me.

nick

ps. stack something.

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Tues. May 13, 2025 – missed it by a mile

Cool again. Clear too. Maybe warmer later? It was gorgeous yesterday. Loving this weather. Windows down, stereo cranked… National map has us in the clear for at least a couple of days more. Weehaa…

Did a bunch of stuff yesterday. Internet and truck stuff in the morning, then kid stuff in the afternoon, with hobby stuff in between. There are some details in yesterday’s comments.

Today I’ve got a couple of pickups, and some other stuff to do, as well as the normal kid taxi duties. It’ll be a busy day. They are all shaping up to be busy for the next few weeks as school ends and summer begins. I have a feeling that the next four years of High School and college will be a flurry of activity. Hopefully there will be time in there for some contemplation and remembrance.

Hopefully, the world won’t implode.

If it does, stacks will help.

nick

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Mon. May 12, 2025 – car stuff today.

Cool and wet in Houston. Possibly getting warmer later, and maybe the sun will come out. Or not. Yesterday at the BOL was unseasonably cool, especially with the occasional drops of water from the sky. I do enjoy the cooler days when we get them.

I didn’t get a lot done, because of the short trip, but I moved stuff around and put some things away. Also took the boat out, cut the grass, and brought trash and debris home. Wife got a present for Mom’s Day that matched the decor at the BOL.

Today I will be getting both trucks inspected and also changing their oil. Both are due. Overdue really. And I don’t want to have any registration issues since I got them both back to current status. After that I’ve got other errands and domestic bliss, followed by kid taxi service. I am making slow progress on cleaning up the house though.

I may or may not get to Costco… there is still stacking to do.

And I’ll get to it eventually.
n

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