I survived my first day of work

I survived. It isn’t a difficult job and I have had jobs where there was much more to remember. But it was a long day. There is a ceiling fan over the register which helps a lot, and anti fatigue mats on the floor, but I was hurting by the time I got home. I didn’t even fix dinner, just finished up what I didn’t have for lunch, had a quick shower and fell asleep in front of the TV. That of course made for a rough night last night.

I have been out and walked this morning. I needed to loosen up the muscles a little. But I am still tired and really don’t feel like doing a whole lot. There are things that need my attention tho. I need to fill the hummer feeders, fix the leak in the irrigation, go to the post office, buy some food, and more. I also need to follow up on Ody and see what the status is there. He should be just about done with her. I hope.

I will adjust I guess. It has been a long time since I have had to work for someone else, and I liked not having to work. Hoping to be able to do that again some day. But I need to eat and pay the bills, so I just have to suck it up and deal with it. I cut it pretty close financially. If I had waited any longer, it would have been a real issue.

I just wish it would cool off. I have an hour for lunch and even tho I brought my lunch yesterday, I came home to eat it so I could sit inside with the AC. Plus I needed to get my ID papers for my work file. It only takes about five minutes each way. Some day I will take the scooter to work. Just for giggles. Once it cools off, I will sit outside for lunch. Maybe bring my computer and my old wifi, which I want to keep active just in case. Or maybe just my ipad. I’ll get it all figured out eventually.

Well, I really don’t have much else this morning. I’m tired and stiff, and slightly irritable, but other than that, I am fine. 

I start my new job today

Sold a pair of halloween earrings on eBay last night. I still haven’t gotten my spoon bracelets listed. On my list of things to do. I need to mail out the earrings before I go to work.

I spent my last day of freedom pretty much relaxing. I read a book, worked on my horseshoe tree, mixed up some tuna for today’s lunch and that was about it. I didn’t leave the house, go anywhere or see anyone. I have mixed feelings about going back to work. It will be good for me, but I really LIKE not working. I wish I could continue and still have enough money to live on, but that isn't possible. 

My horseshoe tree held together pretty well until I started hammering the wedge into the base and it broke. Once I got the base the way I wanted it, I reglued it - both sides. It was hardened enough by the end of the day that I even got it painted. I went with green instead of black, figured green was better for most seasons. It is now ready for ornaments. Not sure if it is going to live indoors or out. 

I am putting together a list of materials I will need to get electricity to the shed. The cost of the materials will determine how soon I get that done. I might have to pick up a few things at a time.

I just ordered carpet squares for the bedroom section in Ody. I will need to get a couple of edge pieces, but it was the easiest way to go and it is indoor/outdoor carpet. I will pull the two black rugs and keep them, use them here. Wish I still had the 5x7, I could have used that in the living room. Even if I replaced it, the colors wouldn’t match now due to the age difference. Plus the pattern doesn’t seem to be available any more. But hopefully that will be the last of the money I need to spend on Ody. It has gotten quite expensive and I still need to pay for the work on the outside. Haven’t heard anything about that in a couple of days. Wonder how that is going.

Well, that is about it for this morning. It is still early, another cup of coffee, get the earrings packaged and ready to go. Fix my lunch and get showered and dressed and I am out of here for the day. Going to try to remember to turn off the ceiling fan in the living room. Already did the one in the bedroom. No sense in wasting electricity.

Officially sick of HOT

Was hot yesterday, 106 degrees. When I went out to look at the moon around 9, it was still in the upper 90’s. I have decided that I am officially sick of hot. I could deal with the hot days if the nights cooled down, but they don't. 

I got the ornament hooks made and on the horseshoe tree. Today I prep it for painting and see if I can make a base. I pulled some pieces out of my scrap lumber pile, and will have a go at it this morning. Once that is done and the rough edges of the JB Weld are cleaned up, it will be painting time. Then I will need to find some halloween ornaments and some thanksgiving ornaments, or a combination of the two. It will only hold five.

Got my laundry done, and spent the afternoon working on the basket. Visually, it doesn’t look like I made any progress. I should probably work on it some more today. I also finished the book I had started the day before. I have more that I want to get done before Christmas.

One of my winter projects is to get electricity to the shed without having to roll up an extension cord every time I need to use a power tool. The solar runs most everything, but it won’t run my dremel drill press at a high speed or my electric saw. So I am assuming the vacuum won’t run well out there either. Plus I need more light. There are shop lights already there, but no power for them. But I think I will swap those out for LED shop lights. Then I could run them off the solar. When I move the microwave and kiln in to the shop, I will need a hardwired source. I get a discount at the hardware store, so that will help with the expense.

I’m thinking I am going to ask Chad to swap out that TV antenna when he gets back. I think the omni will do a better job of keeping all the channels. I want to at least try it if he is amenable to changing it back if it doesn’t work. We’ll see if he is up to it when they get back. At least now I can stream from the internet. I watched a couple of movies while I was coiling yesterday. There was absolutely nothing on regular TV, and there is only so many times I can watch a DVD. I am thinking about starting McClouds Daughters again. I’m hoping they will play in this DVD player, they are from a different zone, so they might not. Should play in the computer tho. I’ll have to rearrange the shelves to get them out of the cupboard which is why I didn’t try it yesterday. Didn’t feel like dealing with it.

Almost time to plant. I asked Iola to send me some cuttings from my lilac tree. I want to see if it would survive here. Will start it out in a large pot initially. Plus I want to do some tomatoes and lettuce again. Probably won’t do much more than that. I still have trumpet vine seed and desert willow seed to start too. Couple more weeks and it should be cool enough to do all of that.

Today I have to figure out what I will be bringing for lunch and snacks tomorrow. Thinking tuna slaw. I could opt for eggs and veggies, but will figure it out later. Has to be easy to fix and low in carbs. I may have to go out and pick up a few things, but will try to get by with what I have on hand. My fridge is pretty much empty.

Hoses and beads

I had a hard time walking yesterday. I think it was the heat. Either way, I had to push myself to finish. Later in the morning I met Glenn and Diane over on C Street where I have been watering all summer to figure out how their fruit trees can be watered until the owners get back. They redid all the water line on C and D streets which messed up the automatic watering. Two more splitters and two more hoses, and it can be done with my manual timer. We tried to put one of their automatic timers on, but it broke. I had to go out and buy two hoses tho. Since it was so hard to find hoses, I bought an extra, just in case. You never know.

I did spray around the house the other morning, it hadn’t been done and now that the rain has stopped, it was the perfect time to do it. I have enough spray to do it one or two more times. I don’t think I did much else, if I did, I can’t remember what. 

I had a rough night last night. I went to bed early because I was so tired. Of course, I was awake at midnight and up for a couple of hours. I did finally manage to go back to sleep in bed, and didn’t get up until 6. Too late to wake up and get ready to walk. It is too warm this morning anyway. I missed my walking window. Vicki and I went to Carl’s Jr for a burger last night. I had to tell her I wouldn’t be able to go to the floating restaurant with her on Friday. She suggested going after work, but I am sure I won’t be up to it. It will be my first week, and there is no AC. I’m dreading how I am going to feel when my work day is over.

I remember what I did yesterday morning, I made a necklace and earring set for a birthday gift. I even got it wrapped in my dragonfly paper with a black string tie. All I need to do now is get a card. I couldn’t find any dalmatian jasper in my stash, very little black at all, so it ended up being onyx and black jasper with copper spacer beads. The earrings are on copper wires.

I treated myself to a new insulated red and black igloo lunch bag while I was out yesterday. It is bigger than the ugly floral one I have so I should be able to put a water bottle or two in there too. I’m going to have to come up with something easy for my lunches. There isn’t any place within walking distance to buy food, and I don’t know how long my lunch will be.

A nap and a book in the afternoon. No basket work. Maybe today. I really need to make some progress on that, I have several more waiting to be done.

I took a picture of a little shelf over on C Street. I picked up a wooden shelf at Sal’s last week for fifty cents and was wondering what I was going to do with it. I can do something similar to this. Mine has the wooden pegs under the shelf so it can be useful too.

Just not sure where I would hang it. But it is cute.

I guess today is going to be laundry and basket coiling day. It is going to be too hot to spend too much time in the shed. Although I do want to put the hooks on the horseshoe tree this morning. The next part will be figuring out a stand for it. It seems to be holding together with the JB Weld. Once I get the hooks on it and they have hardened, I can paint it. Still thinking black, but maybe with a touch of gold or silver, or both. Or maybe I will just layer on some light layers of whatever colors I have and see how it turns out. Black being the base. I already have the valentine ornaments. I will need to come up with the rest of the holidays tho.

I need to get into the shed and get the hangers on the horseshoes before it gets too warm. Then a shower and laundry. I will be glad when it cools off enough to wear some different shirts. I am sick of the tank tops I have been wearing all summer.  The same thing day in and day out because they are the loosest and coolest things I have.

Just an errand day

I had to go to the hardware store to get some wet/dry sand paper for the Ody project. While there, I got my initial work schedule. I will be starting on Tuesday, not Monday, and my days for October will be Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Then I went to FD and bought the canvas bins for the chrome shelf in the living room, The General Store for a few grocery items - I didn’t get much because their produce is horrible and I didn’t see anything at the meat counter that excited me, and then the post office. Last but not least, DG. They are starting to put out their xmas stuff. I bought a couple of green extension cords. I had been using an orange one in the living room and I was tired of looking at it. It wasn’t long enough to keep the cords neat, and it was just plain ugly. The green one blends in with the carpet. Looks much better.

I dropped off the sand paper and put the mattress in Ody, it is an almost perfect fit. Still waiting on the mattress cover, but it is going to look nice when it is made up. I’m not going to do any of my work until he is done with the outside. I just wanted to get the mattress off the patio just in case it rained, besides, I didn’t want it there because it didn’t belong there. It was nice and light and easy to move. I may get another one of those when I do my stealth camper. There are several different sizes you can get.

I got rid of all my cardboard and garbage and came back and dealt with my morning purchases. I skipped the thrift shop because I thought he was waiting for the sand paper. I may go this morning. I still need to either print something or buy something to go over the door on the inside. I got a nice little frame that will fit there nicely, but it needs something in it. Maybe I will turn it into a key holder… There is also a yard sale today. One of the first of the season.

In the afternoon I finished up the book I had started and got an early nap. Getting up at 2 and 3 AM makes for a very long day. It was also hot. Back up to 105 during the day, and in the 80’s at night. A lot less humidity than there was earlier in the week tho.

Friday is Vicki’s birthday. I need to make something for her. I will look and see what I have for beads. She is a little more traditional than most of the stuff I am making right now. Although I just saw something online she might like. I have to find my copper sheeting. We were supposed to go to Parker on Friday to the floating restaurant for her burger and fries, but I won’t be able to go. I think I am going to suggest The Grubstake, they make a mean burger and is right here in town. I could do that after work on Friday.

People are coming back. I know of two couples that pulled in yesterday. There are so many people here I haven’t met yet. They are all so nice (so far). They keep telling me how happy they are to have me here. I NEVER got that anywhere else I have lived, especially IP. But they were all happy to take advantage of my skills. I haven’t volunteered much here, I’m hesitant to do that. But when someone asks me to do something, and I can, I don’t hesitate.

I got the new beater head for my vacuum so I got to vacuum yesterday. It works a lot better than the old one. I will just have to make sure I clean the long hair out of it more often than I did in the past. One of the disadvantages of having long hair. It gets on the floor and gets all wrapped up in the vacuum. I also got my turmeric, just in time to start work. It is supposed to help with aches and pains and lots of other stuff too. 

Normally I don’t walk on Saturdays, but since there are three days in the week I won’t be walking next week, I am going to today. I will still loose a day, but I will also be more active during the day than I have been so I guess it is a wash.

I gave up on the leaf bowl. I took it apart and washed as much of the modge podge off it that I could. I will recycle them into something else. For now, they are sitting in my pine cone filled basket. 

The last of the pumpkins

I kept myself busy most of the day yesterday. I finished up the wooden reversible pumpkins, tried my hand at the fall leaf bowl, put up some shelves in the shed, finally finished the paper plate holder pumpkins, and hauled out the last of my horseshoes and am experimenting on how to hold them together. I want to make the horseshoe xmas tree, but I don’t weld or braise, so I don’t know if I can pull it off. I used some JB Weld and some copper to see if I could get it to hold together. If it does, I will flip it over and use a different type of JB Weld on the front to add some extra support, then it will get painted and decorated. I will need to find a way to stand it up unless I decide to hang it on the shed, that is an option.

This is what I did yesterday….

    

I am officially done with pumpkins (although there were a few more I wanted to try). The snowmen are waiting for their holly leaves. The faces on the wood creations are all free hand, so they aren’t perfect since I can’t draw a straight line, let alone paint one.

The leaf bowl is giving me trouble and I think I am going to take it apart and soak the leaves to get the modge podge off it so I can reuse the leaves in something else. It isn’t doing what it is supposed to do, and after doing some reading, a lot of people are having trouble with it. It was supposed to be an easy, quick craft, and it is turning out to be more trouble than it is worth. I don’t really have a spot for a new bowl anyway. I’m already forming a plan to reuse the leaves, I need a picture frame...

I had gotten some pegboard shelf hooks from eBay a week or so ago and the little cart Lois gave me had four wire shelves. I used the shelves and the pegboard hooks and put up some shelves in the shed. Made a huge difference. I think I am going to get another four sets so I can add another row of shelves. I am getting closer to cleaning and organizing the shed, the mornings are cooler for the most part. We are finally loosing some of the humidity which helps too. But the shed is already looking better.

I have to go to the hardware store this morning and get some more sandpaper and emery cloth for Ody. I need to hit the post office and might do a couple other stops too. My fridge is literally empty. I would also like to get Ody’s new mattress off the patio and in place, and a few other things I have collected for her. The new head for my vacuum is at the post office, and my turmeric capsules are there too.

Talked with Howard last night. Barb has finally turned a corner and is starting to feel better. She starts her chemo soon. It isn’t going to be as aggressive as Jake’s and they say she shouldn’t loose her hair. They are planning on coming to Q to see me some time in the next couple of weeks. I haven’t seen Barb since I left their place in November. I still haven’t made it down to Yuma, but I will when it gets closer to new furniture time. Howard says the Hospice thrift shop has some nice stuff, so I will check that out first. I could keep my current chair as the second chair and just find a recliner. I would need to do some work on it and make a cover for it, but we will see what is available when the time comes.

I think one of the reasons I have been avoiding Yuma is because Kali Cat was such a big part of it when I was there. Plus, it is an hour and a half away, so I just haven’t gotten it scheduled.

I’m hoping to get back to my basket this weekend. I haven’t worked on it in a week. I have a couple more I want to get done before Christmas and I will have a lot less time to work on them. 

I have been thinking about this, and have decided I probably shouldn’t walk on days that I work. At least initially. My feet and legs are going to be taking a beating and that would be added stress I don’t need. This means I will have to walk on Sunday and Tuesday when I don’t normally walk, and I will still be loosing a day. I’m hoping I have Saturdays off as that is yard sale day. Plus, once a month the tailgater at the rock club where I can sell my stuff. 

Well, I guess that is about it for me this morning. Almost time to get my walk in. It is about 78 degrees, and there seems to be less humidity this morning. I hope so. Humidity makes it much harder to walk. The days are back up in the triple digits. Yesterday was 104. It is going to be hot on Monday as there is no AC at Herbs.

More pumpkins

I started on my wooden reversible pumpkin/snowmen yesterday. I had to borrow some finish nails from Rusty across the street, visited with them for a few. Got the two pumpkins put together and spray painted. The rest will be done by hand with a brush. I just ordered some resin holly leaves for the snowman side from eBay. These are made from some of the scrap pieces I got last week. Tongue and groove, glue, nails and paint so far. I’m hoping to get the hand painting done today, actually all of it except the holly leaves. I can add them once they get here, or I might just paint some instead.

Then I decided to do something with the sunflowers I bought. Was going to put them in a pot on the front step, but didn’t have a pot I liked, so I used my red vase instead and they will live inside for a while. Then I will move them to the step.

After that, I moved indoors and decided to do my cloth pumpkins. I did two sets of these, one is indoors, one is on the steps. The rope made perfect stems.

I’m just about pumpkined out. Although I do still have the paper plate holder pumpkins to do. Time to start thinking about Christmas decorations. I ordered a metal holly leaf wreath, a silicone holly leaf mold for clay and a couple other little things. I have a bid in on a copper bracelet with holly leaves on it too. Oh, and last but not least, cast iron holly leaf candle holders. Other than some lights and some ornaments for my tree, that should do me this year for holiday decorations. I would like to get a good sized fake wreath for the front of the house too. I will put solar lights on that.

The mattress for Ody came yesterday. And late in the day the quilt showed up. I got that put on the bed. It is a little loud, and clashes with the quilt hanging over the bed, but I will live with it for now. I may change the one on the wall at some point tho. Adds a LOT of color to the room. It is a printed fabric and not a pieced quilt, but it wasn’t expensive and is 100% cotton, so I guess I can’t complain. And it is quilted all over.

So I kept myself pretty busy yesterday. I got to play with my electric saw and a hammer and nails. That was fun. Would have been really nice working in the shed if it hadn’t been so humid. 

Finally got my shower last night before I changed into my jammies. Unfortunately, I guess it is time to turn on the water heater. Just when I start saving some money on the AC, the water cools down. It was a nippy shower last night. Sigh…

Last night I decided to try another quesadilla for dinner. This one had mushrooms, peppers, cheese and chicken. It came out good. Easy dinner, minimal cleanup. Other than the carbs, somewhat healthy too. I did skip my lunch time tortilla because I knew I was having them for dinner. It did leak a little because the tortilla had a hole in it, but it tasted just as good. 

What is really going to be kool is that I will be working at a hardware store while I am building my stealth camper. I get a discount…Oh, and I got all the stuff ordered for Ody yesterday. Less than $100 for all, plus shipping. Can’t beat it. She is going to be beautiful when she is done. I don’t know how much progress was made on her de-oixidation yesterday. Will see when I go by this morning.

I haven't found a clock to go over her door, all the ones at the dollar stores were too big, I am thinking of printing and framing something instead. I bought the perfect frame for that at Sal's the other day. 

Coffee table and errands

Yesterday ended up being errand day. After I got the coffee table modified and put in place I got showered and dressed and took the garbage to the dumpsters, a load of stuff to Ody, and then off to the stores. Hit Herb’s first, got my spray paint I  needed and found out I start work at 8 on Monday. From there I went to Family Dollar, wasn’t much there I wanted and they didn’t have a battery operated clock small enough for Ody. So I went to the post office next, got my packages which turned out to be the sheets and blankets for Ody. Then I went to DG, spent a few bucks there. I bought four boxes of coffee this time because the last few times I have been in there, they didn’t have the one I wanted. And then Salvation Army. There I bought an electric quesadilla/fajita maker. I was looking for one of those George foreman types of grill, but I think this will work. I picked up a nice little wooden shelf and some grippy pads for Ody and a set of steak knives for Ody as well. Took her stuff to her and another trip to the dumpsters with the cardboard.

By the time I got all of that done it was lunch time. Guess what I had….a quesadilla. Was easy to do with the new maker and only took a few minutes. I will have to play with that some more. And it is red.

  

I didn’t do much in the afternoon. Took a nap. Hadn’t planned to, it just happened. But since I am still not getting enough sleep, it’s ok. I am getting between four and five hours of sleep a night. This week without sleep aids. This morning I actually slept until 4 AM. That is better than 2:30 or 3:30. It hadn’t cooled down enough last night by the time I went to bed to open up the house, but I have it open this morning. 

Oh, and I got my tax bill for the park model, and it is less than I thought it was going to be. I’m good with that. I’m used to paying about 1k for that dump I had in down town IP on that postage stamp lot. Here it is under $300 annually. I have a good part of a year under my belt here so I can budget for next year. See how much I am going to have to put away to get me thru next summer and see if there is any traveling money available. My electric bill should be at least a third less than last month, hopefully closer to half. I have been using the AC a lot less because the nights and mornings have been below 80 degrees.

So the coffee table turned out well. I like the height. It is the same height as my little end tables now. I did have to remove the old legs and attach the new ones. But it wasn’t difficult. I had to make some new holes in the legs because they didn’t line up, but that is what sheetrock screws are for. The ottoman just barely fit under it, but it will work just fine. I’m hoping to have the couch out and the new chairs in by Christmas. I would like to put the tree on the coffee table in the front windows between the two chairs.

I’m not crazy over the blue tray on the coffee table, but I think I will take the black and white one I am using as a night stand and put that out there instead. The end tables in the living room are going to end up being night tables anyway, so I will move one in now. The folding base for the tray can go in the closet for the time being. I would like to buy a red tray, but that will have to wait.

So I start work on Monday. I’m concerned about eight hours of standing, but it has to be done. Yesterday I had a bunch of aches and pains, my back hurt, I have an ingrown toenail, age related things. I haven't done this in years and years, and I hope I will be able to do it. If not, I will have to see what my options are. I will be working three days a week thru most of October, then it will go to five. Hopefully by then I will have adapted.

I finally heard back from Phoenix Cruiser about the window seals and water tank. The seals aren’t expensive at all. $27 for all the window seals, and the water tank is only $67 plus shipping. But I am not sure I need the water tank, but I may order it anyway, that way I can say it has a brand new tank and I can use the old one in my stealth camper if it is whole. Rather than trying to refurb the outside handle by the door, I am going to replace that too. I was under the impression that parts for Ody would be a lot more expensive. They have to be special order because of her age, so it will be a little wait.

This morning I am taking Ody back over to Keith so he can do some more work on the outside. I will be glad when this is all done. I expect I will have to spend about a day on the inside, I will bring her over here to do that. Still waiting for the mattress, flatware, and a couple other little things.

My quilt is supposed to be delivered today. That will be fun. A whole new look for the bedroom

Tossing around the idea of painting my kitchen cupboards. Thinking a light gray. But we will see. I hate painting and I would have to sand and prime. A lot of work. I wonder if they would take a stain….something to look into. That would be a lot easier. They just look dirty now, and I can’t get them clean. I might try some bleach. I bought some for the shower floor yesterday. There is a bucket bleach circle that has been bugging me since I moved in. I have ignored it as long as I can, but it has to go. Plus the toilet has some areas that I can’t get clean with regular cleaners. Might put a few drops in the fountain to try and keep that a little cleaner. If I keep the concentration low, it shouldn’t bother the critters, just the algae.

Lots and lots of water

We got rain. Lots of it. All the washes were running, and I got wet. I had walked down to Vicki’s to see her as I hadn’t seen her all day, and it started raining while I was there. I waited for it to let up some, but I still got soaked just walking back from her place. I also waded thru ankle deep water in my driveway. So, once the rain let up some more, I went out with my phone and got videos of the washes within walking distance. I thought about taking the scooter, but I didn’t want it to get wet. Close to two inches in less than an hour. Here is a youtube video for the big wash around the corner. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL9LR_8KQLk&feature=youtu.be

I guess all the little washes feed the big one, so all the water that has run past and around us ends up here.

And photos of my immediate neighborhood and my yard.

About 10:30 I went over to get Ody and get her back under the koolcover for the incoming weather. She is going to look beautiful when she is done, but it is going to take some time. He is going to have to sand off the oxidation with a very fine grit paper before he can wax her and get a good shine on her again. The little spot he experimented on looks very nice. What he is doing is a lot of work, and I guess I will have to pay him more than I had originally planned. Sigh…

I sat for a while yesterday morning formulating a plan for my stealth camper. I have picked out a cargo trailer online, just need to wait for Ody to sell. I’m thinking I am going to dress the “mini ody” in black and white. But we’ll see. I’m planning on using some of that bead board wall paper on the walls too. I have started a list of things I will need. It will be a fun winter project. I might even get to try it out in the spring when my hours drop off, or if I do it locally, I could just come back here to shower. I’m hoping to be able to do some traveling next summer. 

In amongst all that planning, I got to looking at my front fence. If I have a trailer or a golf cart, I would want to be able to park it in the back at some point, or would need to be able to open things up to get a second shed in here for storage, but I can’t because the double gates are in front of the house instead of allowing access to the yard. If I were to move the house, the fence would have to come down anyway, so I am going to have the front fence reversed. It is useless the way it is. Unfortunately it won’t be as simple as flipping it around because the gate has to stay where it is. It will need to be reconfigured. I did some measurements and figured out what will have to be moved and have a neighbor that volunteered to do it. I watered his plants all summer, this is his way of returning the favor. :)

The legs for my coffee table came yesterday, so I will figure that out this morning. We are supposed to get more storms today. Although a quick glance at the radar, they might pass us by this time.

I haven’t done anything crafty in days. Not sure if I will get anything done today, but my time off is coming to a close, and I would like to get some stuff done. That basket is sitting there waiting, and I picked up a bag of nice smooth rocks at Dollar Tree the other day. I also have pumpkins waiting both cloth and wood. Found some nylon rope to use as stems, but it needs to be painted since it is white. Not sure how well it will take the paint tho. I just haven't been feeling motivated.

I did get the fountain cleaned yesterday. There was so much green slimy stuff the tubing was clogged and so was the motor. Wasn’t enough sun to test it out after tho. I think it was trying to pump. Will find out when we get sun again. At some point I want to reconfigure the fountain so that it is more of a fountain instead of a bowl in the ground. I also cooked up the last of my gulf shrimp and got them peeled, cleaned and ready for dinner. I had red beans and rice with shrimp and siracha (hot pepper) sauce. There is enough left for either lunch or dinner today.

At some point I need to get my spoon bracelets listed on eBay. Can’t sell em if they can’t see them.

Well, I guess that is about it for this morning. I should go to the post office and get rid of some garbage. Looks like it might be clearing outside too. 

Rough night

Yesterday was chores and shopping. Got a few more things for the Ody project, picked up packages at the post office and had to order a new ninety dollar beater head for my vacuum. Mine had seized up and isn't working any more.

Got some wood scraps for crafting or burning from a neighbor. Will sort thru them at some point.

Got my leaves for my fall projects, but still need to get fiberfill. Kmart didn't have a craft section. Go figure. I will go to DG and buy a cheap pillow and use the stuffing from that. Should probably get an extra pillow for the cot too, so I will have that on hand instead of having to go out and buy one when I have company.

A bad night sleeping. Even tho I felt better yesterday, it wore me out and I am very tired this morning. Going to take the day off. Get showered and dressed and take it as it comes. Will probably be a reading and snoozing kind of day. It has been a while since I have had one of those.

Sewing Day

Yesterday was interesting. I got the windows computer updated, scanned for viruses and scanned for malware. That pretty much took up half the day. Got myself showered and dressed and off I went to the hardware store, post office and Sal’s. I needed some hole filler and a couple cans of spray paint from Herb’s, and while I was there I found out that I got the job. I will be starting at the end of the month. Three days a week initially, and then five days a week when it gets busy. Yay. A sigh of relief. She had just gotten busy and hadn’t called. It is just for the winter, so I am going to have to be very thrifty and save as much as I can to live on next summer. But once you are in, you come back every year.

At Sal’s I got some stuff to stage Ody. Got a couple of throw pillows and some material to cover them with, a toothbrush holder set, salt and pepper shakers that match the placemats and napkins I got, some knives and some cooking utensils. I spent $13 on all of that. There were a few other things, but can’t think of them at the moment. I need to find a mattress for that second bunk, and still need to find an oven mitt set. That pretty much wraps up what is needed including the stuff I ordered from Walmart the other day. Still trying to find someone to spit shine the outside and I will be pricing the window trim and fresh water tank from Phoenix Cruiser. Those will depend on the cost. I did get a can of white rustoleum to freshen up the vents and the mirror housing that has yellowed. She is going to be quite spiffy when I am done. 

I got my Apple TV setup last night and streamed some Hulu. It worked quite well. I’m pleased. Although I imagine when everyone is here in the winter, it won’t be as good. I have probably used more data in the last two days than I have used in the last six months. It is so nice to be able to do all this stuff again. I have missed my internet. It lost connection a couple of times, but had no problem keeping up with the stream.

In celebration of the job, I ordered the quilt set for my bed that I had picked out. I’m looking forward to getting that. Put a little more color in the bedroom. The legs for the coffee table have shipped and I will get that back in the living room when they get here. Not sure if I am going to just attach the new longer legs to the existing ones, or if I will try to replace the existing ones. A lot will depend on the hole placement. They weren’t designed for the coffee table. Will be interesting.

Today I will be getting out the sewing machine and make some throw pillows and a couple other projects that I have waiting. I got some nice orange material at Sal’s earlier in the week and I will be making a couple pillow covers for the throw pillows in the bedroom. Plus the pillow covers for Ody. And I want to make a set of cloth pumpkins from the orange material. My body pillow pillow case needs to be shortened too. So there are several things to make and modify. I don’t have the stuffing for the pumpkins yet, but I will get them ready to stuff. Going to Blythe with Vicki tomorrow and will see if I can get some then. Kmart probably has it. If not, I will buy a fiberfill pillow from one of the dollar stores and use the filling from that. Sal’s didn’t have any yesterday. Hoping I get to stop at Dollar Tree tomorrow. I need some silk leaves and some mouth rinse. 

I did find a few things in my cupboards that I can take over to Ody. One of the sets of plastic coffee mugs is missing, I will have to see if I put them in a bin in the shed. I had picked up a blue set and a maroon set at the thrift shops earlier in the summer, even tho I like the color of the red ones better, I like the shape and size of the blue ones better. So the red ones are going to Ody - if I can find them. 

Last night was the first time since sometime in March that I actually got to open the windows before I went to bed. The AC is turned off for the night. It was a little warmer than I like for sleeping, but it saved me a couple of bucks in electricity. Running the AC all the time is pretty expensive. I almost feel cold out here this morning. Going to be interesting when it does get cool.

I have internet!

Two big things happened yesterday, my mifi device arrived and Glen and Diane are back. So far the mifi is awesome. I have updated all my devices without having to worry about how much data I have used. It is also much faster than my other one. I can be online any time I want now and not have to limit myself to an hour in the morning. I have downloaded all the books that I have gotten from Amazon in the last month or so, at least a book a day, to my iPad. All the apps are now current and so is my phone and computer. Yay. So far, so good.

Glenn and Diane are back a day early, I can pass over the park maintenance reins. I did do the usual park walk this morning because I had to water some palms over on C Street. I do that once a week. Tomorrow I may head out of the park for my walk. 

I was outside until about 11 yesterday. I worked on my spoon bracelets. In all, I have 9 bracelets. One I will have to keep because the hole is punched too close to the edge. I had to shorten that one, so I spent a short time in the shed in the afternoon. Now I just need to get them listed on eBay, see if I can’t get them sold.

A friend gave me some advice about getting Ody sold late yesterday. We argued…but I got to thinking about it and maybe he is right. She needs to be staged, just like a house when it is for sale. So I went online to Walmart last night and ordered a bunch of stuff. Sheets, blankets, dishes, etc. I spent $150, and have a few more things I want to get locally. Plus I need to get a mattress to replace the one I didn’t keep, I have to measure and see what I can find. I would rather not go used on the mattress. I am also going to put the little TV back in there. I haven’t used it since I have been here and it wasn’t expensive. The few times I showed Ody, the two things they all asked about were the TV and the missing mattress.  I should also try one more time to see if I can find the leak in the fresh water tank, and then fix the floor. The outside need some attention too,  I need to see how much it would cost to get her detailed - get rid of the oxidation and put a shine on her. It isn't something I can do myself. If that gets her sold at a good price, then it is worth spending some of the last few dollars I have left. Plus, I got to do some shopping. :)

The legs for the coffee table have shipped. I will get that done soon. Then it will be a matter of waiting for the couch to go and to find two chairs for the living room.

The kiln is going to be moving into the shed. I ordered a 50ft 12g extension cord for it. I might move the microwave in there too when I get it cleaned up and some room made. We’ll see. The shed really needs a window. That might be a winter project. With some air flow, I would be able to work out there a little later in the spring and earlier in the fall.

I have to say is is so nice to be online without having to worry about data usage. I will keep my old one alive as a backup for a month or so just in case. But to have everything current is wonderful. I can watch videos and I’m hoping I can stream again. I have been paying for Hulu, but haven’t been able to use it.  I can get my Apple TV working again. Happy camper. For less money, even better.

I don’t know what I am going to do about a job, but will have to do something soon. I have enough for my taxes and my next insurance bill, but will have to make some money by January to cover the park dues. Plus, I do like to eat….and have electricity. The sooner I get Ody sold, the better off I will be. Then I could wait a little while on the job until a good one comes along. I really like not working. I have plenty of things to keep me busy. But I have had a good run job free, so I can’t complain.

Well, I guess that is about it for this morning. I need to go to the post office, and maybe the hardware store for hole filler for Ody. Plus see what Sal’s has that I can use to stage Ody. She could use a picture or two on the walls and some serving utensils. I will see what I have here that I can part with first tho. I do have a large bowl that I can part with and a microwave cooker. And I just realized the sun tea jars have plastic cups that I can part with too. Glad I didn’t buy any. Will have to start an Ody pile. Guess I will wait until next week for Sal's. See what I have packed away in the shed that I can part with too before I spend any more money.

More spoons

I got started on some spoon bracelets yesterday, but am having a hard time drilling this batch. They are much heavier than the first two I did. I still have one set that hasn’t gotten their holes yet and I may just set them aside for the time being. I had to actually haul out my drill and I broke two small bits, so had to go with larger holes. The one I was going to make into a pendant I had to recut to remove the damaged section where I tried to drill. I will use a bail instead and probably solder it.

Vicki stopped by while I was working on them, so I dropped them and got changed and went to Salvation Army and DG with her. I bought some more spoons, much lighter weight that I will play with this morning if I get my web site work done before it warms up.I have to switch computers to do that as I haven’t learned how to do it on this one yet. I will have to break down and learn how to do that soon, but not today, I don't want to waste what little data I have left on that. I also picked up two paper plate baskets for ten cents each to make more pumpkins. Something I saw on FB. I found a nice spring plaid table cloth for $3.

At DG I got the cinnamon pine cones, a few groceries and a small bag of fake gourds. Those are all in my basket on the table for now.

I read in the morning and worked on my basket in the afternoon. I did rearrange the folding tables under the bed, they are now stacked, freeing up space for my craft bins. Moved the bins from the living room to the bedroom. Looks much better, less cluttery.

This morning (it is still dark out) there is a nice breeze and it is in the mid 70’s. Got my windows open and the fan blowing to exchange the air indoors. I’m always happy when I can do that. 

I have not heard anything about the job. She said they were going to decide and call, probably later that day. I’m assuming my now, they have made their choice and it isn’t me. What is it about me that people don’t like? I’m a good worker, have lots of experience, and have a lot to offer. I just don’t get it. I had the same problem way back when I stopped working at BEU. I had lots of interviews, yet no offers. My only other options now are one of the dollar stores or waitressing, which I have said I will never do. Or one of the fast food joints.. 

Still waiting on my internet device. I hope that gets here soon. I really don’t want to spend another $50 to renew this one and I am getting low on data.

Dancing with the Stars last night. Gary Busey is on this season, he is horrible, and I can’t stand the man. I hope he is the first to go. Chaka Kahn, Paula Deene, and one of the guys from the Paris train terrorist take down, are also on the show. The kid from the train is actually pretty good. 

I’ll probably do a small load of laundry today. I have the table cloth from yesterday, the sweater from last week and some orange material I got at Sal’s yesterday. I also need to get a shower before I go out to work in the shed. It is early enough that I should be able to get the web site work done and still get some work done before it warms up too much. Going to be a  busy morning. It is my day off from walking, so I should be able to get it mostly done before it is hot again. Hopefully.

There was a guy outside the DG yesterday with free puppies. I stopped and held one, but they were very young. I resisted. I have also been avoiding the free kitten ads on FB. I’m just not ready for another fur baby. Or the expense and responsibility. There are feral cats here, but they are very skittish, and nothing I want to get involved with. They have plenty of food and are surviving quite well on their own. But I haven’t seen any of them lately. I get a glimpse of the black one occasionally. The other two I haven’t seen in quite a while.

A little basket progress yesterday

Not much to write about this morning. It was pretty quiet yesterday. I didn’t see anyone or go anywhere. Plus, I didn’t do a whole lot either.

I finished the book I started at breakfast, and then went on to my current basket. Got a few rows done on that. I’m making progress.

It is just about time to figure out where I am going from here. Try to make the thing more interesting than my last few. I will probably work on it some more today.

I don’t have anything on the agenda for today. Will take it as it comes. If it stays cool for a while I may work on some spoon bracelets. The bending, cutting and punching will be the hard part and needs to be done in the shed. The assembly and adding charms can be done indoors. I think I have five sets that I can work on. Then I will need to figure out what to do with the spoon bowls themselves. I have seen several things online. Will have plenty to experiment with. It is going to be a hand made Christmas this year. I also want to try making a clay basket base. That can be done indoors too, and should to keep dirt and crap out of it. Another bin to bring indoors. I’m going to have to free up some space in the closet so I can have a place to put these bins when I am not working with them. Right now they are stacked in the living room and I don’t like that. I could rearrange the folding tables under the bed and make some room there. That might be better. At least get the bins out of my line of sight. Less clutter.

It got hot for a while yesterday, hit 110 at one point, then mellowed out around 105 degrees. This morning it is around 80 degrees. I think tomorrow morning is supposed to be in the 70’s. Humidity is up around 53% tho, will make my walk harder than it should be. 

Hoping my new internet device arrives this week. I have a lot of updates waiting to be done on all my devices. Plus, Mike has put a whole file of books up for me, and I would like to download it, which I can’t until I get more internet. 

The new season of Dancing With The Stars starts tonight. I’m looking forward to that. I think Castle starts next week. Finally, some decent TV. Thankfully, that is one of the channels I seem to get with few problems. At least if I get unlimited internet, I will be able to keep up if I miss a show. Plus Amazon has a new movie download that I can use because I am a prime member. I hate channel surfing to find something to watch. I have some channels that are out right now, but don’t want to mess with the antenna because the two channels with new programs are coming in right now. I can live without the ones that are out for now.

Ottoman

First thing yesterday morning Vicki wanted to go to the thrift shop, so I got dressed and rode along with her. I got yet another sweater, a wire napkin basket and a couple little crafty things. I also got a nice soap dish for the bathroom. After I got back, I did a little more work on my basket, and my ottoman arrived. I got that unboxed and opened it up and tried it out. It wasn’t bad, and much longer than I expected. I think with a memory foam mattress, it would be quite comfy. Will have to keep my eyes open for an inexpensive one.

I have my lace spider web table topper on the ottoman for now, it needed black and the cover is camel. I’m using it as my coffee table for the time being, until I get the taller legs attached to the old table.

For now, I have the coffee table in the bedroom closet, the only space big enough to hold it. But I thought about it over night and decided if the coffee table was just a bit taller, I could roll the ottoman right underneath it. So I measured, and I can get free legs from Sauder (free replacement parts for life), and I ordered a set of legs for one of the end tables. I will just bolt those on to the existing coffee table to make it taller, and they can be removed if it needs to be a coffee table again instead of a between chair/end table. Taller would be better for between the chairs anyway, but not as tall as the desk. 

I already have a taker for the sleep sofa, so that will be gone around the first of November. I might want it out before then tho, but we’ll see. Leslie won’t be back from Wisconsin until then. 

I have not heard about the job. I’m going on the premise that no news is good news. I really want this job, it is perfect to get me back into the workforce. It has been many, many years since I have worked for someone else. Start out slow with something I can enjoy. Close to home too. 

I guess today I will do some more basket work. I’m formulating ideas for future baskets while I am working on this one. I may try making a base out of fimo. I still have all my clay, couldn’t part with it. I have seen other clay bases and they are nice. I also have some air dry clay, but I don’t know how that would hold up in moisture. I might try it tho. Just for giggles.

I’m going to take the last of the rotisserie chicken this morning and pop it into the crockpot and make something with it. Not sure what, will have to see what I have. Maybe a chicken chili.

I’m looking forward to this next week. The nights are supposed to be in the 70’s so I will be able to open the windows at night. That will save a bit on the electricity. Glenn and Diane should be back mid week or so, so I can hand over the park reins. Yay. They can see to getting the electricity fixed on G Street. The electricians didn’t come back this week. Going to have to get it fixed soon as people are trickling in. It won’t be long until it is someone on one of those two streets. They won’t be happy without electricity. 

Job interview, cross your fingers!

I just ordered three colors of glass frit, which is glass granules, to use in my molds. I got red, green and cobalt. Almost $14 for an 8 oz jar each. Glass fusing isn't cheap. I also ordered a set of three feathered ravens, I want to add them to my halloween display, and one for Jake.

I had the job interview yesterday for Herbs. She said she might call last night, but she didn’t. I have a 50/50 chance of getting the job. I think the interview went well, but every time I think that, they hire someone else. It would be three 8 hour days a week. And if I could supplement that with my jewelry and stuff, I would be ok. Especially if I got Ody sold to cover any unexpected expenses. I was hoping for more hours, but I can survive on less. My expenses here aren’t that much. Besides, it could change later on. This is the job I want. 

I had started a book at breakfast, so I read during the day, and after I got back from the interview, I did my laundry and started a new basket. This one is in blues. Still don’t have any idea of what it is going to look like. Everything dries so fast here, I got two loads of laundry hung out and dried and folded and put away in under two hours.

I decided to pass on going out to dinner last night. I would have liked to, but I felt that I shouldn’t spend the money since I had already eaten out twice this week. I had fish anyway, I tried the cod fillets that I had bought the other day. Next time I will cook two, it shrunk about half the size, took a long time to cook, but was good. 

I lost another website that I maintained yesterday. I’m not sorry to see it go. I hope they all go at some point. I really didn’t want to be a web provider to begin with, but Jake got me into it. A couple of the accounts I have had for 12 years. Wow. They do bring in a few bucks in labor each fall, so I am not complaining.

Yesterday was a little warmer, still humid, but less so. It looks like next week the nights will cool down sooner and be in the 70’s. I will be able to turn off the AC and run my fans. That will save a few bucks in electricity. I’d like to get back down to the $80 a month that I had when I first moved in here. Will be easier walking in the mornings too. Maybe even throw an evening walk into the mix. That would be different. As soon as it is cool enough, I want to do Q Mountain again. Haven't done that since New Year's day.

My sleeper ottoman is out for delivery on a FedEx truck. Yay. The beginnings of a living room makeover. See if I can’t open it up some. Get rid of the sleep sofa that I NEVER use and don't like, bring in a couple of comfy chairs…Maybe a rug too. The rest of it will have to wait until Ody sells so I can go buy a chair and a recliner. I’m thinking the little black end tables on either side of the couch will serve nicely as night stands in the bedroom. Not sure what to do about the coffee table. But I will find a use for it, or a place to store it until I do. The little red stands may go inside, but we’ll see.

That is about all I have for today. I am going to work on my basket until the ottoman gets here, play with that, and then back to the basket. We’ll see what else pops up during the day. You never know around here. 

Another pumpkin and gifts!

I got my eBay sale packaged up and labeled, got cleaned up and went off to the post office yesterday morning after I vacuumed and dusted. I had to stop and pull all the long hair out of the beater on the vacuum. It works much better now. 

I picked up two packages at the post office, so I don’t have to go out today. I got my package from Ellen. It was a hand made bar of soap from the apple place we went to last year and a table runner that is a tic tac toe game with some matching quilted coasters. It is really nice. :) I won’t put them on the table until October tho. I also have a wall hanging I got from her last year that I will need to find a spot for too. 

    

After I got back, I started on the rocks finally. Did my pumpkin rock. I like it so much better than that little cottage one. Here it is….

The stem is another piece of bent copper epoxied on to the back. And I did the last set of cactus rocks, then epoxied paper clips on the bottom of all of the sets so they will stand up in the sand or soil that is used in the pots. Otherwise they like to fall over. 

More chicken for lunch. I sauteed the whole bag of turnip greens at dinner and had some of those with some cottage cheese for dinner, finished it off with some strawberries and melon. I had stripped all the meat off the chicken and took the bones to the dumpster on my way out so they wouldn’t be sitting around. I read in the afternoon, movie last night. And that about wraps up my day yesterday.

Today I want to start a new basket. Still haven’t figured out what yet, but will when I get inside. Later this afternoon/early evening I am going to dinner at the Stagecoach with Vicki and Jack & Charlene. They are opening for the season and Friday is fish night.

I did not go to the watercolor class. I will go at a later time. I have enough going on right now. Besides, I do have my books so I could teach myself at some point.

This morning I took two of my sarongs and hung them over the back zippered door on the patio. I have been keeping it closed because of the afternoon sun, but having a zipper on both sides makes it a pain in the ass and I have to deal with it every time I go to my car or take the recycling out. Figured I would try a curtain and see if that is any better. It looks kind of funny, but it will let the air and me through with a minimum of fuss. No zippers.

Had to spray in my corner of the patio for ants again yesterday. I don’t know what it is about this corner, but I have to spray about once a week.

My sleep ottoman shipped the other day and is supposed to be delivered tomorrow via Fedex ground. We’ll see if it actually does or if it goes to the post office like a lot of other packages. Then I will have to do some rearranging. 

Groceries

Not much to write about again today. Vicki and I went to Blythe to Albertsons and Smart and Final. Between the two, I dropped close to $200. I was out of pretty much everything. I have fruit and veggies in the house! I also bought shrimp, almonds, burger and cod, so it added up very fast. Can’t get haddock here, even frozen. 

I got it all processed and put away, then had lunch. We had both picked up a rotisserie chicken. I had that for lunch and dinner. A salad with lunch and corn and bean salad for dinner. After lunch I got a nap and read a book. That was about the extent of my day. Nothing new, nothing exciting other than having food in the house.

There was no sun yesterday so we topped out at 99 degrees. It was a pleasant change. This morning it is actually sprinkling. The humidity is way up and it is currently 83 degrees. Quite uncomfortable.

I finally have a sale on eBay. The dragonfly sweater pin sold. I haven’t put anything else up, probably should. It is just so time consuming and data consuming. I have to package that up and get it sent out today.  I don’t know if I am going to the watercolor class or not, haven’t decided.  I’m still trying to get back into a routine since Vicki has been home. We have been out every day since she got back. 

I really need to get started on a new basket, finish up my rock painting, and think about what I am going to do with glass. Maybe I will skip the watercolor classes and concentrate on what I have already learned this summer, save that for later. I guess they run all the time.

Six more days and Glenn and Diane will be back and I can hand over the irrigation reins to them. That will actually be kind of a relief. It is a lot of responsibility, and there have been issues while they have been gone. The electrical situation still hasn’t been resolved. Good thing there aren’t people over there. 

I haven’t received an email saying I can’t get the wifi yet, so maybe that will go thru. I sure could use some unlimited internet. Then I could buy a small package every couple of months to keep this one active as a backup. Although, my phone will still have internet, so maybe I won’t. Will just have to wait and see. Judy, here in the park, ordered one too. 

I’m very pleased with my bathroom shelf. It looks so much better having all my crap on the shelf instead of behind the sink. The black blends right in. Still need to deal with the bottom spinner in the spice cupboard. I may have to buy a piece of something to do that with. Keeping my eyes open. It does turn, but not easily. I have fixed a few things since I put the spinners in, and it does make a world of difference. 

Rain, two days in a row.

Went to the post office, Herbs and the General Store yesterday. Got my seed block for the birds, filled up Vicki’s water bottles and picked up a few things at the market. I didn’t buy much because we are going to Blythe today to the real grocery stores. I am so looking forward to fresh produce! I did pick up some pork ribs and tossed them in the crock pot with barbecue sauce and that is what I had for dinner along with a corn and bean salad. 

I realized yesterday why I haven’t played with my kiln yet, it is too damned hot still to be playing with 1500 degrees. And on my first firing at least, I need to be able to stay outside and supervise things. So, I am going to take the pressure off and wait until it cools off enough to be able to stay outside for a little while. I will go back to my baskets and rock painting for now. I still need to make several baskets, and I picked up another set of rocks for cactus this morning so I can do that last set. Tomorrow is the water color class.

I read yesterday after we got back. Before we went, I did make the shelf for behind the sink in the bathroom. It looks really nice there, and much better than it did. I’m glad I went with the black, any other color would have looked strange. The legs are recycled posts from solar lights. I drilled holes large enough to put the posts in without going all the way through, and glued them in with liquid nails. Should hold up a long time. I may eventually put a block under the feet so it won’t scratch the counter, but it is good for now.

We had another thunderstorm yesterday. I really didn’t need to walk this morning or check the irrigation, but I did anyway. I didn’t bother to water Lorna’s palm trees tho. I usually do that on Wednesdays. It is cooler this morning, in the upper 70’s, but humid. Yesterday was around 105 and humid. Very uncomfortable.

I saw a post online this morning for an unlimited internet device. It is out of Huntsville Alabama, and I ordered it. It is $48 a month, unlimited data. Just what I have been looking for. Lets see if I get it, and if I do, how good it is. I really need better service. If this works, it will save me about $25 a month, and make life a whole lot easier. I won’t have to go find free wifi to update my devices, and I will be able to watch videos, something I haven’t been able to do since I left VT.