Leaf Mulchers - October 31, 2024

As you might have noticed from yesterday's picture, our yard is carpeted with leaves, with more on the way down.  By the time the trees are bare, leaves will be up to our shins.

I don't mind the leaves on the ground; I think they're beautiful.  But I want to make compost with some of them, and for that they really need to be shredded.  Two springs ago, we bought an electric leaf shredder, big scary thing, and boy did it shred.  It played out last fall.  Yesterday, I shopped online for a new one.

I decided to try a cordless one that can be carried, like a leaf-blower.  (This is a leaf-sucker, I reckon.)  It probably won't have enough ooomph to do the whole yard on one charge, but we never do the whole yard, anyway.  Home Depot had them on sale.  I stopped after work to get one.  They didn't have the same package advertised online - the mulcher plus the necessary charging equipment - for $219.  They had the leaf mulcher, itself, but the charging stuff didn't come with it, and they wouldn't sell me the mulcher AND the charging stuff for $219.  So I stood there in the store and ordered it online, to be shipped to my house. 

The second errand I had to do after work was stop by the store for coffee filters and toilet paper.  In the store, I got to talking with the employees and the Coke truck driver, and went to the cash register with only coffee filters and a bag of Halloween candy.  As soon as the transaction was complete, I remembered toilet paper.  On the way to get it, I picked up a 3-box package of Kleenex and stuffed it under my arm so I could get the toilet paper.  At the register, I flopped the toilet paper onto the counter, paid for it, and started out of the store with the Kleenex boxes still under my arm.  Only when I reached for my keys in my pocket did I realize that I was about to shoplift.  Went back to the register and paid for it.  

I brought home a box of mystery files to work on.  It's still in my car - couldn't manage it AND the toilet paper at once - and now I don't want to go out in the rain to get it. My feet hurt, and my back is tired.  My sorting system involves four 8-ft long tables, set two by two.  I've put stickers, 1 through 12, on two of the tables, and stickers, 1 through 31 on the other two.  I dole out a year's worth of files, by month on one side of the worktables, and then by day on the other, walking around and around those tables.  Then I sort them by time and take them to the cabinets.  With each year, the stacks get higher.  I did 2007 today, and it took all day.  2008 is on the tables, ready for tomorrow.  Having already sorted all of the files by year, I can see what's ahead.  It's going to be a tactical nightmare.  I may need more tables.

And better shoes.

What a day! - October 30, 2024

I woke up early this morning, showered, put on my housecoat and house shoes, and settled down in my recliner to drink my coffee and read for an hour before work. 

I don't know if I'd had my first sip before the telephone rang.

A call at 5 a.m. is seldom good news.

It was Nanny.  She said, "I need help."

I grabbed my keys and ran.

She came to the door with a bloody towel on her face.  She had face-planted on the floor. There was blood everywhere.  She was sure her nose was broken. 

I said, "Sit down and hold your head back, and let me get you some ice."

She would not sit down, kept trying to mop up blood with a wet towel, using her foot. I kept saying, "Nanny, SIT DOWN!" and finally she did, and I took over the mopping.  After a few minutes, my sister-in-law called.  She is a nurse and was on her way to work.  We agreed that Nanny probably ought to be checked out at the hospital. I said I'd take her.  About that time, The Husband came in.  I left Nanny with him and went home to put on some clothes.  When I got back, my sister-in-law was there and said she'd take over the hospital visit.

I went on to work.  The Husband texted mid-morning that Nanny did have a broken nose but was otherwise okay.

Despite all the morning frenzy, I made good progress on Phase II, Part A.  By 1:30, my feet were killing me, and I called it quits on the sorting.  I brought a box of mystery files home with me. 

This is a much better view than the nasty old file room.

A Good Day - October 27, 2024

Yesterday was a good day, even though it didn't turn out the way I intended.

Last week, by chance, I became re-acquainted with an "old love" when I accidentally swiped open a book on my Kindle and decided to re-read it.  

I never re-read books, but I'd just finished Bob Woodward's new book, it was late in the day, and I was swiping to see if there was a book I hadn't read (sometimes I download several at a time and forget about one or more of them).  I opened The Rule of Four by accident.  (This happens a lot and explains how new, unread books can get buried beneath old ones.)  Anyway . . . .

It's been 20 years since I read The Rule of Four.  I'd remembered it being vaguely strange and a little creepy in ways but couldn't remember why, so I read a little bit of it, and came across the mention of an old book, written in 1499.  (Not even going to TRY to spell the title here, since I can't even pronounce it.)  

This is what kept me up too late this week.

The Husband had an event to attend yesterday.  I begged off.  My plan was to be home alone and find that 1499 book.

When I found it, I was flung back in time, a little less than 20 years ago, when I became fixated on an "armchair treasure hunt."  My heart raced a little.  I'd spent years (and a whole lot of money) pursuing answers I never found.  Could this be it???

Sometime during the morning, I called my sister, and we made plans to hang out with our brother that afternoon.  Not long after that conversation, my BFF called, and we yapped until it was time for me to hit the road to my brother's house.  I'd barely glimpsed 1499 all morning.

When I came home from my brother's house, The Grandson was here.  I hadn't seen him for weeks.  He was filthy, and shaggy as a poodle.  He had been helping his dad re-assemble a motor, and he stank of burnt motor oil and gas.  I made him bend down so I could kiss his nasty face.  :-*

When everyone went home and it got quiet, I went back to Mr. 1499. 

It was a good day.  :)

TGIF - October 25, 2024

Phase II, Part B is done.  

Today I resumed the work on Part A, doing the easy stuff while I await answers on the rest.  The plan was to organize the 80s and 90s files and go through the "mystery" files one more time.  But I'd stayed up too late, reading, two nights in a row, and was basically a blob of goo by the time I finished organizing the old files.  The mystery files can wait until Monday.

Three hours and counting until it's margarita time.  ;)

Steering Wheel Cover - October 21, 2024

After much deliberation, The Husband bought himself a new cover for the Cherokee's steering wheel.  It came in the mail last week.  It was nothing but a flat strip of leather (?), maybe 3" wide, with its ends sewn together, and thick thread stitching along both edges.  It had to be stretched over the steering wheel (which was a b*tch to do) and sewn in place with a needle and thread (included), using the holes along the edges made by the original stitching (this was also a b*tch to do).  There was a how-to video, which The Husband had watched a couple of times before ordering the cover.

Having spent most of my life with a needle of some description in my hand, I knew how hard sewing this was going to be, especially for The Husband, who has arthritis in his hands.  I offered to do it for him, but he seemed to want to do it, himself, so I left him to it and went back to my daily word puzzle.  

After a few minutes, he came to the porch and said he was having trouble getting it on the steering wheel.  I went out there in my housecoat to help him.  It was REALLY tight, but with both of us pulling and grunting and cussing, we got it on.  The Husband said he could take it from there, so I headed toward the porch to finish my puzzle.

On the way, I stopped to pull up some weeds that will take over the bed next year if I let them go to seed.  When I realized leaves and seeds were sticking to my fuzzy housecoat, I changed clothes and went back out.  It seemed like the more I pulled, the bigger the job got.  I was working on a bank that's mostly covered with English ivy and creeping juniper through which tree saplings have grown.  Lopping them out was scary for a lot of reasons - snakes, bugs, falls with broken bones.... I finally got out the big push-type weed trimmer and mowed some of that mess down so I could better see where I was stepping.

The Husband was still sewing when I quit the yardwork.  He did not seem to be having a good time. I'd been back on the porch for about 5 minutes when Nanny called and said she'd made tacos for lunch if we wanted to come eat.  I started to beg off since The Husband was in the middle of something, then I thought maybe a break would do him some good.  He pretty much jumped at the chance.  His hands needed some rest.  When we came home from Nanny's, he got back to work.  It took a while, but he got the thing on - not quite to his satisfaction, but close enough, for now.  

I spent the rest of the afternoon wishing I didn't have to go to work today.  Arrive at 7:00, go for my yearly physical at 1:45, pick up groceries between 1 and 2.  I hate days with multiple things to do all at once.

Left work early, picked up the groceries on the way to the doc.  He was on time, and I got home with food that was still frozen.  The Husband has a board meeting after work, and I'm not cooking supper tonight.  The day wasn't so bad, after all.

EXCEPT -

I reached something of an impasse at work today.  Questions must be answered before I can proceed.  

Celebrate - October 19, 2024

I need to be doing stuff instead of sitting here on the back porch in my housecoat, with a space heater running at my feet.

At 6:00 tonight, we'll be going to a birthday party for our step-granddaughter, who turns 13 today.  I do not have a present for her because I have been unable to decide what to get her.  She is tiny, and every garment I've ever bought for her was too large.  I've given her tons of art supplies and make-up.  The only thing I can think of that might delight her is money that she can spend as she wants.  My plan is to buy her a clear plastic purse/bag (you gotta have those to get into almost any venue these days) and put a gift card in it.  I have been keeping an eye out for those clear bags in the few stores I go to because I've wanted one myself, but I haven't found any.  Yesterday on my way home from work, I stopped at a shopping center where there were about three stores that *might* have a plastic purse.

When I parked and looked down to get my purse, I saw my office laptop in the floorboard.  I'd have to either take the laptop into the store(s) or leave it in the car and risk having it stolen.  It is HEAVY.  It is in a lime green computer bag that stands out against dark upholstery and carpet, screaming "hey, criminal, look over here!"  I was not willing to risk leaving it. 

Neither was I willing to lug it into the stores.  It must weigh 20 pounds, and so did my schlepping bag, and I was already exhausted.  Phase II, Part B kicked my butt this week.  Before I could officially begin to organize the Part B files, about 30 heavy boxes had to be moved so that I could get to the legal-size file cabinets I would need.  Some of the boxes needed to be heaved atop the file cabinets.  I could have made some phone calls and borrowed some muscle, but the process would have taken days, so I moved the boxes myself and got on with the sorting.  I spent two days on my feet sorting files.  I decided to high-tail it home and deal with finding the purse today.

I am hoping to find one at the annual community festival that's going on in town today. We're  

******** 

As I was writing this post, The Husband interrupted me to go to the festival to eat junk from the food trailers for lunch.  It was a nice day, so we took the top off the Wrangler and rode in style.  We walked around for a couple of hours, saw a bunch of people we knew, stood for some selfies.  We did find some yummy treats, but the lines were long.  By the time we sat down on some hay bales to eat, my neck and shoulder muscles and feet were going, "WTF did you DO?"  We left as soon as we finished eating, aiming to go to another town to find the #*!&@ clear purse.  But - HALLELUJAH! - on our way out, I poked my head in a store and they actually had the perfect purse(s).  I came home, bought the gift card online, painted a birthday card, and tucked it all into a gift bag.  Then I texted my daughter-in-law, "Is the party still on for 6?"

Guess what?

"Oops."  Something came up, and they postponed the party for two weeks and forgot to tell me. 

I said, "You mean I changed drawers today for NOTHING?"

Whatever.  

At least I can stop sweating the gift.  :)

Brrrr! - October 14, 2024

 It's cold on the back porch tonight.  It's supposed to get down to the mid-40s tonight, and maybe a light frost tomorrow night.  I am not mentally ready for cold weather.  

My workspace will probably be cold in the morning.  

I got a lot done today.  The Part A files are almost sorted by year, except for a few strays that are probably hiding in the Part B boxes, which I tore into today.  Before I can do much with those boxes, I'm going to need some muscle.  Things need to be brought down from the tops of file cabinets, and other things need to go up.  Empty file cabinets need to be moved or uncovered and put to use.  Mounds of cardboard need to be toted away.  

It's nearing time for decisions that are over my pay grade.  

Sunday - October 13, 2024

Around lunchtime Friday, my daughter-in-law texted me to ask if I would make her a meatloaf. She'd had surgery a day or two earlier and wasn't up to cooking.  I did not mind making her a meatloaf - as a matter of fact, I should have done it without being asked -but I selfishly wondered if I would be able to do it in time to get my Friday night margarita freak on.  We'd missed two or three consecutive Friday margarita nights in a row, and I was especially looking forward to this one.

After work, I rushed to the grocery store for ingredients and then hurried home to start cooking.  By 4:15, I was pulling into her driveway to deliver the meal - meatloaf, creamed potatoes from scratch, green beans, rolls, and a store-bought cake for dessert - plenty of time left to come home, shower, dress, and be ready for dinner by 6.  Easy, peasy.  There was even time to prep the morning coffee and turn down the bed.

The Husband has been told not to let me have two margaritas at dinner, but he cannot be depended on to enforce it (as if he really could).  When the waiter asked if we wanted another margarita, I said, "YES!" and The Husband did not even remind me.  He'd had a tough week, and he wanted another one, too.  I don't know about him, but I could not have passed a field sobriety test when we left the restaurant.  Thankfully, we had a designated driver.  I went to bed as soon as we got home.  Woke up about 3 a.m. with a headache.  (Imagine that.)  Two Tylenols, big glass of water, back to bed.  

Yesterday morning wasn't nearly as nasty as I feared.

I wanted to just sit on the back porch and paint (or watch somebody else paint on YouTube) all day, but we had stuff to do.  Granddaughter #2 and family have gone with to an out-of-state band competition, and they needed us to go let the dogs out to pee.  We also needed to run by the hardware store for a switch for the dryer.  Since we were going to town, anyway, I decided to stop by the grocery store for a ham to bake.  I sent some to the post-surgical daughter-in-law and will take some to the post-band trip daughter-in-law later today.  There's enough left for our dinner tonight, plus some "nubs" for cooking with beans, which are soaking as I write.

I really, really want to paint today.  Friday I learned that the woman who teaches the painting class I was attending (back in the spring) lost a sister, a daughter, and a husband to separate illnesses, all in one month.  I want to paint a sympathy card for her.  It's probably going to take 14 tries before I get one that's reasonably nice.  And I'll probably screw that one up when I write the message inside.

Morning Edition - October 10, 2024

On a normal day, I would have been at work for almost an hour by this time, but there were complications.  The maintenance dude who usually unlocks my workroom had a meeting to attend at 7:00 this morning.  I could have gone in 30 minutes earlier to allow him time to let me in and get where he needs to be by7:00, but I did not want to go that early.  The meeting should be over by 10, at which time he will call/text me, and I'll drag my lazy butt to work.

In Phase II, Part 1, only a few boxes remain to be emptied and sorted.  I've peeked into them.  They mostly contain Part 2 files, but I'll have to go through them before I can finish Part 1, as there's some Part 1 stuff mixed in with the Part 2 stuff.  Imagine that.  :-/  

Of the original 20 boxes of unnumbered files, 5 boxes remain to be gone through.  Numbering the files myself is reducing the volume of "mystery files" by more than 50%; there should be about 6 boxes of files when I'm done.  Someone up the food chain will have to decide how to treat those files, but this will have to do it before I begin putting the files in numerical order, and I already know what's going to happen; they will drag their feet until I finally say, "Send them back to me."

I'm going to need more file cabinets.

Sunday afternoon - October 6, 2024

My nose has been full of stink for 3 days.

We just got home from a weekend at Pickwick Lake.  Business trip for The Husband.  In case you don't know, there's a paper mill in the neighborhood.  I don't know what its steam pipes are belching, but it stinks to high heaven.  Sulfur.  Rotten Eggs.  Whatever.  It smells the same way (with a hint of cleaner and such) inside the lodge.  When we got to our room, we opened the balcony door; the air outside smelled better.  Maybe it dissipates at certain times of the day.  I got a little nose-blind to it after we'd been there a while, but in the middle of the night Friday night, I woke up going, "GYAH!" and got up to open the balcony door to let some air in. IT WAS WORSE OUTSIDE.  I shut the door and smeared some perfume under my nose (didn't have any Vicks) and went back to bed. It did not work; I went nose blind to the perfume but not the funk.  

Saturday, while the meeting members were doing their business, I invited the footloose "plus ones" to go with me to an outdoor flea market up the road in a little town called "Crump."  It surprised me when three of them jumped at the chance.  We loaded up and went to Crump about 10:00.  The flea market is huge - both sides of the road.  We parked and made our way past the chickens and goats and such to the tables lined with STUFF.  One of the ladies is pushing 80, and she was wearing black pants and a pretty jacket.  I was trying to stick close to her to watch her.  When I found a rake handle that I wanted to buy and realized I was totally BROKE, I parked her on a bench under a tent by an ice-cream vendor, and I ran up the road to a quick stop to get some cash from the ATM.  When I got back, she was GONE. I found her inside the ice-cream shack, fanning under the air conditioner.  She'd almost fainted, and some thoughtful person had ushered her inside where it was cool.  I rounded up the other ladies and we got the fainter to the truck.  I wanted to drive her back to the lodge and then the other ladies and I were going to visit an indoor flea market.  The fainter revived and insisted that she was able to hang with us, and she did.  After we did the indoor market, we all went back to the lodge.  She was still doing fine at dinner that evening.  

This morning, the Husband and I high-tailed it out of there as early as we could.  

And came home to a grassy yard littered with limbs and sticks, courtesy of Helene, and a porch full of stinkbugs.  I went straight for the lawnmower as soon as I dumped my stuff in the house.  After showering off the yard dust and the sulfur smell, I came out to the porch and started vacuuming stinkbugs.  

And now my nose is full of stink again.

Phase II mini-victory - October 3,2024

Today I tackled boxes I'd been dreading.  Some of the boxes were in a creepy corner and underneath a big sheet of burnt metal.  (Don't ask me what it is or why it's there.)  Messing with the metal seemed risky for a lot of reasons, one of which is the large number of years it's been since I had a tetanus shot.  I dragged out as many boxes as I could without injuring myself.

One of the boxes was a gold mine.  It appeared to be the contents of a desk.  It was mostly personal stuff - 50-year-old newspaper clippings and such, but in it was also one of the old lost files I was asked to find.  It also contained photographs of a still-busting.  As in moonshine.  No clue where it happened, and not even a date on the photographs, but based on the clothing and vehicle styles, I'd guess it happened in the early 70's.  I could've dug around in that box for hours, but it wasn't the kind of stuff I needed, so I moved on.  

But I set that box aside for another day. ;)

Stinkbugs - October 2, 2024

I hope you haven't found this post by accident, looking for advice on how to deter/get rid of/kill stinkbugs.  If I knew, I'd tell you, but it would be a waste of time to continue reading.  

Modern science should invent a stinkbug that smells good.  I'm sure they'll get right on that, once they solve the mosquito thing. 

Anyway, we have tried all sorts of things, and yet here they are, crawling around (inside and outside) our back porch screens.  We keep a spray bottle of water/soap (with a hefty shot of bleach to give it some *sting*) on the back porch, and the first thing we do when we come out to the porch is start squirting. The squirter is set to "Stream."  It knocks some off, some fly away, away, but others are like, "Is that all you got?" If he's on the *inside* of the screen, the answer is, "No, as a matter of fact, it's not," and I fire up the old Dyson and suck him up.

(Don't try this in the house; the vacuum cleaner fan will blow stinkbug air.)

You would not believe how satisfying it is to hear (and feel) him go THWUMP down that vacuum cleaner hose.  

It doesn't kill them, though, it just pisses them off.  And they crawl around inside the cannister or bag, spewing stink. This Dyson has a clear canister; I can see them scurrying around inside it.  Hear them scratching, sometimes, or flying against the glass. I usually just leave them in there until the canister needs emptying, and then I dump them in a bucket of soapy water, where they drown.

Of course, then you have to deal with the bucket of stinkbug carcasses.

* * * * * *

I interrupt this post to report the results of an experiment that came to mind while I was writing about bleach in the stinkbug bottle.  I don't really like to put bleach in the spray.  Vinegar might be a good substitute.  I dumped what was in the bottle, washed it out, and made a 50/50 vinegar and water mix, with three or four squirts of dishwashing liquid.  Shook it up and came outside to try it out.  THEY HATE THIS VINEGAR/SOAP/WATER mix worse than they hated the bleach.   I stood there and watched them stagger and then fall to the ground, but I did not go outside to see if they laid there or staggered away.