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Sat. Apr. 15, 2023 – not Tax Day, psyche!

Cool and damp, not impossible that we’ll get rain, but I hope not.  Pretty nice yesterday for all my driving around.   Got a bit overcast in the late afternoon, and we had a tiny bit of moisture from the sky.

I did get almost all my pickups done.   I had one company that I thought was 9-5 pickup, but had closed at 3pm.  So I’ll get that pickup done later.  Got stuff for D2’s birthday, got stuff for my BOL, got some logging stuff, including a cant hook.  Who orders a cant hook from amazon, and then returns it? I even had time to stop at Microcenter and pick up some photoresin, and my free microSD card… and I popped into a nearby store to buy a couple things, and they were blowing them out.  Online from the maker, $8 each, marked $5 in the store, but discounted to $2 last visit, offered to me at $1 each.   I bought them all.  $70 for a lifetime supply or use them as gifts… score!

Got the kids to school for their show, and dressed up a bit to attend later.   It was about what you’d expect from 6-8th graders.   They did show noticeable improvement over the year.   Still, I was glad I had my ear pro when it got screeching loud.   I’m happy to support the school’s drama program and the kids.   Everyone starts someplace.   I just wish someone (with more actual knowledge of the subject than me) would work with them on audio reinforcement.   I can play the tune and march with the band doing audio, but if I was going to TEACH it, I’d want more actual training and theory than I have.  What I know I learned from necessity first hand, on my own, or in class 30 years ago, before there was much actual instruction in the subject.

Anyhow, got home, and now it’s time to face the weekend.

I’ll be going up to the BOL.  I just don’t know when, or for how long, or what will go with me.  If it’s pouring down rain, that will seriously limit me in what I can take up, and there is always a lot to take.   There is plenty to do when I get there too.   Hopefully,  I can get the hose bibs installed.   There are other things, like getting some seeds in the ground and making some progress on the sprinkler system, or doing more sorting and clean up, or breaking more concrete, that I can do too.  Who am I kidding?  There are ALWAYS more things that need doing than time to do them.

It would be nice to get the base for my 10″ dob assembled and get a look through it… or drop  a line in the water and catch some fish, or get the crawdad traps set…. But I think I’ll be doing trees, water lines, sprinklers, and putting the walls back together where I had to open stuff up.

Whatever it ends up being, progress is progress.

And that’s true with prepping too.   It’s very difficult to go from unaware to ready for the zombies in a short time.   It’s a journey, not a destination.  AND the path varies, and the destination keeps moving too…

Do what you can with what you have, and keep working to improve your position.   Stacking stuff doesn’t hurt and it’s easy.

nick

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Fri. Apr. 14, 2023 – TGIF, sorta. Maybe.

Cool and clear, possibility of rain but clearing later.  So we’ll see what happens.  Yesterday was so nice I sat out for an hour and contemplated the world.    Sunny and clear, with light variable breezes, just beautiful.

Of course, I spent a fair amount of time indoors first.   I fell down a rabbit hole moving stuff to the attic, moving stuff IN the attic, looking in some boxes I haven’t looked at in a while in the attic, and generally messing around in the attic.   I also did some sorting and organizing.

Went outside, noticed that the pond pump was barely circulating the water.   Spent some time cleaning the filters, and scooping out a bunch of muck from the bottom of the pond.   Fish was happier afterwards.   The fountain makes a soothing sound, the weather was great, and the seating was comfortable.   So I spent a bit of time smelling roses, so to speak.

Then I noticed that the automatic fish feeder that wasn’t working was driven by a simple quartz clock.   THAT  led to some repair work that involved files, nippers, and combining 3 clock movements to get it going again.   Not high on the priority list, but a satisfying fix and one that my wife will actually appreciate every day since manually feeding the fish was her task.  Sometimes a distraction is exactly what is called for.

Today I have a bunch of things to pick up.   They are scattered around town, so I’ll have to make a big loop.   I’ll have time to do more cleaning here first as none of them open before 10 am, and I have to wait even longer than that because of who opens when, and what order for the pickups makes the most sense.  And since I’ll be in the neighborhood, I’ll try to stop at Microcenter.   I need some resin for the 3D printer, and they are giving out 128Gig flash drives.  The store is very inconveniently located because of the intersecting expressways, and how the offramps work.  The whole area is also under construction as they re-do how those roads all come together.  Not a fun area to drive in at the best of times.

The day will culminate in the kids’ play at school, which means I’ll be heading to the BOL Saturday morning, instead of Friday afternoon.   I’ve got to get up there this weekend both to deliver all the cr@p that is piled up in my living room, and to make sure we are ready for guests NEXT weekend.  Plus I get anxious when I haven’t been there in a while.

So much stuff to do, so many things to stack.   So not motivated for the last few weeks…

Stack it up, buttercup.  Hard times are here and getting worse.  Gotta bring your A game.

nick

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Thur. Apr. 13, 2023 – Friday the 13th comes on a Thursday this month…

Cooler, and damp, but should be clear.   It might even warm up a bit later.    It was pretty nice until about 4 pm yesterday, when some moisture from the sky started hitting me in the face.   I think today will be even nicer.

I did get to storage yesterday and did move some stuff out of the house.   Spent some time sorting there.   When the rain started, I wrapped that up and went to get the kids.   Their rehearsal went longer than previous days, so it didn’t limit my afternoon much.

Today will be more of the same.  I’ll try to get some stuff done around the house, and then head to storage to do more sorting.   Stuff I can pull out for the “collectibles” auction will make room in the unit, and provide some cash flow.

Bigger picture I need to get serious about the garden, and really soon.  I’ve got some trees to buy and plant too.   Here I’d like to plant two more apple trees, to replace the citrus I lost in the freeze.  Needs to be two, because I can’t remember which variety I still have, and they need to be different for pollination.   If I get one from each group, I’ll have the pair set, and one or the other is bound to be the complement to the surviving one.   I’m done with trying to keep citrus alive, unless it’s in pots and can move indoors.

I’ve also got to do some landscaping and yard work, to include repairs to the freeze damaged sprinklers here.   Then I need to do sprinklers at the BOL.  And gardening.  And trees.  Oh, and having the dead trees cut down…    It’s a big list.

About this time, I’m sure my rental house will need some work or repair too.  Because that’s how it works…

No complaints though, it’s a good life.   It can take it out of you though.

Hard to stack up time, but using money to have someone else do the work effectively increases your time.   The trick is having the money, and FINDING the someone else.   When you find good someone elses, you stack them high!

So stack some good helpers.  They are literally a force multiplier.

nick

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Wed. Apr. 12, 2023 – “I know, right?”

Cool and damp, but no one could say for sure whether it will rain… I’m going with overcast but not raining…   yesterday ended up gorgeous.   Mid 70sF, sunny, light breeze…  please sir, can I have some more??

After a slow start, I did get out and dropped off some bins at one of my auctioneers.   He’s trying to downsize his building rental so he didn’t want all that I was hoping to bring.   In a couple of weeks he’ll be ready for more.  I hope.   I’ll do some more sorting and see what I can take to my other auction house.   Her next sale is ‘collectibles’ so I have to sort and only send her stuff that would fit with that.

I’ll do some of that today if the rain holds off.  I need to do some more cleaning up around the house too.    While I’m sorting, stuff tends to pile up.  Not something my wife likes to see.

If the rain comes, well, I’ve got stuff to do in that case too.

Out in the world, violence, particularly political violence, seems to be ramping up.   Be mindful of your surroundings, where you are, and who you are there with.  And although FBI stats suggest that most shootouts are less than 8 rounds, carry a reload.   Might be a second guy, might be you missed, but throwing your empty gun at an aggressor isn’t gonna do much.

And have a blow out kit, or stop the bleed kit handy.   Could be in your desk at work, could be in your car, could be both… or in your “murse” ie. EDC carry bag, but have access to what you need to help keep the red stuff on the inside…

I hit the local HEB grocery store last night to add to the stacks.   Bought stuff that wasn’t even on sale.   Added stuff that was on sale too.   Bought box meals, flavored pasta pouches, and some canned beans.   Bought a lot of snack stuff for the kids’ school lunch bags too.   Spent $350 but “saved” $42.   That’s about what I aim for.    I was surprised by how much canned veg has gone up, almost doubling in price.   Milk and eggs are still reasonable here in Texas, with 18 large eggs for ~$4.   And even my “lower cost” coffee has gone up dramatically in the small bags, from ~$5 per bag to ~$9.  I’ve been buying it in big bags online since costco switched flavors, and haven’t looked at the small bags in a while, but the reason I switched to Community was that it was less than $6 a bag.  Not any more.   Didn’t buy any meat this trip.   Nothing was on sale.

Real inflation is high, much higher than ‘official’ inflation, and that is high enough.  We’re gonna need more money and we’re gonna need more stuff to make it through this.

Stack accordingly.

nick

 

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Tues. Apr. 11, 2023 – you are thinking too much…

Cool and clear?  The national map has us on the edge of weather for the next couple of days.  That usually means no weather for us.   Monday didn’t rain, but after a promising start the overcast came back and it threatened to rain all day.

Didn’t feel great, so stayed in.   Took a nap.  Cleaners came and went.   Did some sorting and cleaning.  Found some things that will need closer looks and maybe some repair.  Stacked some more stuff for the BOL.  Picked up the kids from school.  Only 20 minutes late.  Practically on time.

Today I hope to sort a few more bins and drop some off at the auctioneer.   If not, more cleaning and sorting is on tap.

Speaking of, I dumped some more food that was just too old.  Only a few ‘box’ meals, but they were cheese based, and the cheese powder has gone off.  4 years past ‘best by’ is a lot for a fatty milk based product.   Mad Max, I’d have saved the pasta, it was in plastic and probably fine.   I’ll replace the boxes this shopping trip.  There is still some ebola era stuff on the shelves, and not all of it is in good shape.   Just another task on the list.

I noticed that I’ve been taking new box meals to the BOL, and not restocking here.   I need to catch up.   We do eat a lot of them, relatively speaking, and stocks are lower than I like for an item we eat regularly.

Also really need to do something with the garden here.  It’s actually  getting late…

Always something to do.   Find the time to join me in stacking the things.  All the things.

nick

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Mon. Apr. 10, 2023 – let’s get this party started…

Cool and damp, but maybe no rain?   We’re sorta in the rain zone, but who knows.  Yesterday was overcast most of the day with occasional sunlight.  No rain though.

I did family things all day.   Egg hunt, Easter baskets, breakfast, bread making, and dinner prep ate most of the day.   What wasn’t used for that got spent catching up on some auction stuff, while youtube vids played on the other monitor.   Kids were wrapped up in their own stuff most of the day.   We did play a game after dinner.

Today should be more cleaning and sorting.   Housecleaning service is supposed to come by and do the heavy lifting.   I just have to get some stuff picked up and put away.  If it’s clear, I might even get over to my storage unit, and do some sorting there.

If it’s raining, I’ll do more cleaning and paperwork here.   Tax time is upon us, and some stuff needs to be put in order before sending to the accountant.

There is also the not inconsequential task of cleaning and sorting the cans on my pantry shelves.   Some more fruit cans popped in the pantry area, and now I’ve got a real mess.   Far more damaged cans than I first thought, and extra possum mess besides.   No wonder the little beast was hanging out- some of the stuff in the very back was leaking.   Well, I know I’ll have losses due to poor conditions, and some of the stuff is approaching 10 years in the stacks, so it’s past time to go through it again.    It’s a bio-hazard and needs to be addressed soon.

Even with FIFO policy, and can organizers for much of it, there is food we don’t normally eat and food we only eat occasionally in the stacks, so we don’t rotate through the whole stack before it REALLY ages out.   I can accept that.   I’d rather have the food on hand.   No way to know when the last trip to the supermarket could be, so I maintain the level I’d need if today was that last day.  Well, I’ll  be below it with all the breakage, until I can replace it.

And I might not replace all of it.   If I assume we can get to the BOL or travel between them, I can split the resources between them.   If I assume that we may be stuck at either place, then I need full stacks at both locations.  The reality is that I might never get stuck in either situation, and I might never need the stuff.   But having it is what prepping is about for me, so I’ll probably waffle back and forth, starting by splitting the stacks, and building both sets back up to full.

First step is cleaning and saving what I can.  And that might happen today, or later this week… depending.

So stack it high, but realize that you will have losses, and you  might not need it.  Like a gun or a parachute, it’s much better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

nick

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Sun. Apr. 9, 2023 – Happy Feast of the Resurrection

Cool and damp today, but hopefully clearing.  It’s always nice to have good weather for Easter.

I spent yesterday morning with my fellow enthusiasts for my non-prepping hobby, and spent the afternoon sleeping and getting ready for today.

The kids still like to get Easter baskets, and color eggs.   We spent a while last night making little gnome egg characters, and some more traditional egg decorations.

Today, after the back yard egg hunt, we’ll gorge on chocolate and Peeps ™, with dinner hours away.  Plan for dinner is a big lamb roast, and some tasty sides.   I always lean toward ‘savory’ with lamb.  Might use the robot to make a fresh loaf of bread.   If it doesn’t work out, I will pop a shelf stable loaf into the oven.

After dinner there might be some napping.

Whatever else you do, enjoy the fellowship and promise of the day.

nick

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Tues. Apr. 4, 2023 – 404 for the year…

Warmer, and damp, but I’m still just Oggg and Thoggg, since I haven’t dragged out the ladder and replaced the batteries in the outdoor part of the weather station… National map says we could get rain or worse, lots of rain.  The yard could use it, but I have stuff to pick up.

Spent most of the day doing auction and computer stuff.   Also some cleaning the house, and it was haircut day.   I’ve been cutting my hair since tyrant codependency started and I’m ok at it.   It does save me $20 every 3 weeks.  When times get tough, people cut back on haircuts, either going somewhere cheaper, or lengthening the time between cuts.  I”ve been doing mine for convenience at this point, but the savings add up.   I do miss chatting with my barber, and getting a read on the world from his point of view.

Today should be more of the same.   Housecleaning (wife will return on Wednesday), auction stuff (hopefully a dropoff),  and maybe a pickup…  All while staying close enough and aware enough to pick up the kids from theater rehearsal after school.  It’s not a huge burden, but it does break up my day.

Dinner last night had both kids asking to learn to cook, and specifically to make the side dish.   I thought that was a huge score on  my part.    And it’s easy.   Fresh asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces (with diagonal ends if you want to be fancy).   Some thin sliced red onion for color and taste (not a lot, about 1:10 proportion).   Saute’ the onion and asparagus in a tablespoon or two of bacon fat until ‘blanched’ ie. darker green but still a bit crunchy, with the onions softening, or even caramelizing.   Add a couple of drops of vietnamese fish sauce and a few dashes of soy sauce.   Toss the mix to coat with flavor.   Saute’ briefly to thicken the sauce.  Turn off heat and let settle to soften the  spears a bit more.  Takes about 10 minutes total, including prep.  It is a little bit sweet, mostly salty, with good savory taste (umami).  Spear chunks should still have a little crunch, onion should be transparent and soft.   It’s a tasty colorful side, with a good smell and nice mouthfeel.

Anyway both kids liked it enough to want to learn to cook it.

It went well with frozen costco panko breaded shrimp from the oven, and a microwave tray of jasmine rice.  Not a bad meal to pull together in 1/2 an hour.  Call it “asian fusion”.

Dinner was followed by a long and frank discussion of racism especially as the kids see it every day.  They are getting tired of being punching bags for being white.   Did I mention that our district is about 85% non-white?  Or that D1 dyed her blond hair black for this school year?  I tried to give them advice about walking the tightrope- using facts, staying calm so the other guy looks bad, and using the language of the oppressed to flip the script.  I’m dismayed that neither could tell me approximately when the Civil War ended, or how many years the slaves have been free without a LOT of prompting.  D2 knew a bunch about lincoln the usurper and how he didn’t actually “free the slaves” at first, anyway, so that was nice.   It’s a tough world these kids are living in, and going to get tougher.

Stack some knowledge and techniques to use against those that would demonize and other us.  Stack some food too.

nick

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Sun. Apr. 2, 2023 – hoping the weather holds…

It might be warm and damp.  Might not, but I’m betting on warm and damp.   Yesterday cleared to a beautiful afternoon and early evening, but got overcast and cooled a bit later.   There were even some spotty drops from the sky depending on where you were in town.   Nothing real at my house though.

I’ll have to move fixing the sprinklers up the list if it stays dry much longer.

Spent yesterday afternoon doing auction things.   Picked up at two houses, mostly stuff for the BOL and home.  One item was a needful thing that has been in short supply for a while.  Price was reasonable too.  Went by the GW outlet, and picked up a couple of handy things and a couple of things for resale.

Came home and looked as some of the stuff I got at the hobby estate.   I’ve still got some books and some more tools to go through, but I’m happy so far.

I also sorted some auction stuff.   I’ll do more of that today.

It would be nice to get a freezer delivered to make room in  my storage unit…   but I’ll settle for sorting more auction stuff, and maybe doing home maintenance.   I’ve got to stick close to home to get the child from her GS trip.  I should break down and vac seal some meat too.  Just my normal domestic bliss…

For the first time in a couple of years I was able to add to the stack of one certain thing in a meaningful way.   Look around, supply might be opening up a tad.

Stack whatever you can find.

nick

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Sat. April 1, 2023 – Fool’s Day. Nice that they get one too…

White rabbit white rabbit white rabbit.

Warmish and damp.   Overcast.   Yesterday was much nicer later in the day.   It even cleared up, although there was some moisture from the sky in various places, it never really rained and the sky was visible most of the time.

I did some errands in the morning, then helped out a friend in the afternoon.   At an auction I picked up a power chair for him to give to his mother.   It needs batteries and a little spring but is otherwise shiny and like new.   A lot of folks get a scooter and don’t last long enough to wear it out… but it will be a nice quality of life upgrade for his mom.  Anyway, got that delivered, then headed north.

I had an estate sale thing based on my non-prepping hobby, and it was more than an hour north.   It lasted a couple hours, then I headed home.   I did pick up some stuff, but not what I was hoping for based on the pictures.  None the less, I’ll have some good stuff for ‘show and tell’ next week.

The guy was a collector, not a hoarder.   He had several different, unrelated collections, and he tended to quantity over quality.   In a youtube video last night, someone I’ve started watching called himself ‘an accumulator’, not a ‘hoarder’.    There is a difference and the new word fits both the guy whose stuff I was going through, and me.   I ‘accumulate’.  I don’t ‘hoard’.

I think most of us accumulate.   It’s a very human thing to accumulate resources.   Even homeless people do it.   Prisoners do it.  The people featured in “Alone” do it.   The Jack Reacher character doesn’t do it and it freaks out everyone who notices.

I’m accumulating stuff I hope will help me later, mostly for living but also for recreation and hobby use.   I try to make sure the stuff I keep is good stuff, and not just a lot of stuff.   I recommend y’all do it too.   Stack it up.

nick

 

(and to back up my contention that there is money laying around everywhere, you just have to recognize it, I picked up an automobile transmission on the side of the road coming home from my buddy’s house, and dropped it off at the scrap yard.   Turned it into a quick $14.   Not gonna send the girls to college, but pays for a few gallons of gas, and only took a few extra minutes of life.)

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