June 9, 2012

Whew. The work's been better for hours this week, but this week and next will be tight, financially, putting us another couple of weeks behind. I'll be glad when the plant gets done doing whatever they're doing to fix the building so we can get more hours again, lol. We have stuff to DO! Hubster's check next week will be really short, he only got three days in. Mainly because he was taking a vacation day Friday to get the van tagged and a few other things done that need doing, so we knew he'd get a four-day check. Then he woke up Thursday sick as a dog with laryngitis and a bit of a fever. No work for HIM that day, and he hates getting sick. But at least the van's tagged and the other things that needed doing are done, including a haircut for him. He WAS getting a bit shaggy!

So a lot of general outdoors cleanup got done during the week, and Friday, instead of running both vehicles, he went to bed early for him so he could get up with me and drive me to work in the van, run his errands down in that area (like tagging the van, since the temporary tag expired today), and then come back to get me. We also figured we wouldn't be able to get to the property this weekend, so we opted to stop there for a couple hours on the way back home yesterday, and got a little bit done there.

He finally understands what I want on the forest thinning, lol. He assumed that I ONLY wanted the little stuff taken down. I got him to realize that I wanted some bigger stuff taken down, too, especially if it meets the "dead, diseased, dying, stunted, leaning, damaged, etc." criteria. He took down one reasonably-sized young tree, about six inches across at the bottom, and we thought of the small cluster that it was going to be the only bigger tree in it that came down. We looked after the small stuff was down and the bigger one, and realized there's another bigger one we thought would stay that's coming down, too. Darn thing is nice and straight for maybe fifteen feet and then the top starts going sideways. It's not only NOT aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but if it gets loaded with ice in the winter, it's coming down from the weight, and it won't be pretty. Better to notch it and make it come down the way we want it to, in a reasonably cleared area wheree it won't damage any mature trees we ARE keeping, or any nicer saplings we want to see grow bigger and nicer, and then cut it up for firewood.  With finances so tight next weekend, we won't make it there then, either, so likely next time you folks see photos, there may be some major changes.

Among other things, we are seriously considering a solar setup. We need to remember to check the full amperage on the house circuits, and I know it's 110v wiring, so it's a matter of getting the one number so I can do the math to convert to the wattage for the amount the whole house CAN pull for power, and cutting it by two-thirds for what will likely be the most we'll be pulling at any given time, even with all Q's electronic gadgets. He realizes that with an off-grid system, that we'll likely be only having most stuff plugged in when we're using it. Like my laptop right now is only plugged in when I use it. The rest of the time, the lid's closed and it's put up. So it doesn't use a lot of juice, and it recharges quickly. He knows he doesn't have to have his little stereo plugged in all the time just to have the clock set for the correct time ... as little as he uses it, it doesn't make any sense to have it plugged in except when he wants to play music. Same for the small TV he uses to play his PS2 games on ... if he's not gaming, it will be unplugged. Or the TV we (mostly he) watch. If it's not in actual use, unplug it. Only reason so much stays plugged in here is because the bills are included in the rent and he doesn't generally think about it. (Plus the outlets are mostly in the most inconvenient places possible to put them. Most of our stuff is plugged into surge strips and those into the outlets just so cords reach!)

So figuring out how big a solar system we'd need and how much it would cost is the next step, in case we choose that over hooking up to the county electric company. We also need to put in the screen door, get a few more sticks of furniture, move stuff up there, and a whole heck of a to-do list. Mind, a lot of it is stuff to do after we're moved, but it seems like the more we do, the more we find to do, and it's a overwhelming at times. But it's also pretty boring, lol.

Like the brush pile. I swear, the more I clear out of it, the more there is to clear out of it, and it's getting kind of dull. But it's like I tell people at work about processing poultry, and it applies to homesteading as well. Boring and dull are good things. Boring and dull mean everything is going along swimmingly and you don't have any worries. Excitement is a bad thing. Someone's hurt, something broke, etc. You do NOT want excitement in poultry processing or homesteading. I may be bored stiff some days from cutting the brush up and piling it in the woodpile (which is pretty respectable - I need to extend it lengthwise now), but it's nice that it's going well. Quentin says the woodpile, by the bye, may be around a quarter kindling courtesy of me, but at least it means when we make a trip to the pile for the day's wood, we don't have to worry about making sure to stop and grab kindling, too. Just grab an armload and we'll have logs AND kindling in one go. He says I need to also make sure to put a line of heavier stuff on top of all the kindling as the top layer of the woodpile, so if a good stiff wind comes along, the kindling won't end up in the driveway, lol.

We have talked about how we want to fix the deck when we redo it permanent, and how to close off the underside of the trailer. We don't want to use metal skirting. We're going to insulate the pipes, cuz goodness knows, we do not want frozen pipes if it gets that cold. However, we don't want metal skirting as that just adds to the freezing factor. He is going to put up plywood for skirting around the trailer and the bottom of the deck, with vent gaps in them every couple pieces of plywood, and a trap door in the deck floor to get in there to work if needed.

Then, because of the ticks under there, and the fact that there's a lot of trash under the trailer that we don't want any animals getting into (hence the use of plywood also, rather than metal skirting or even lattice), he's going under the deck and trailer once they're closed in and dumping a lot of Sevin under there to kill off the freaking ticks under the house. Nowhere else will be dusted with Sevin, just under the trailer and deck. We also want to use 1x6 boards as the deck flooring, because if one of them breaks or bows, it's a lot cheaper and easier to replace a single board vs. a whole piece of plywood. Add in that if it's a board, and Q's not around to do it, I can go to the store and get the thing myself and install it without help. Plywood I can't do that with. We're trying to make everything so that if he's not around for whatever reason, I can likely do it myself. The whatever reason eventually is most likely to be he's at work, but we're also considering what if he's sick or in the hospital or worst of all, dead?

So that's our week, basically. Plans are in the works for a lot of small projects, most of which will be able to be done in a weekend or two. You'll be the lucky recipients of all the photos and chitchat about them. Tonight, we're going to busy for a bit ... we have a local independent wrestling show to go to and root for one of the guys Quentin works with, as he's in a hair vs. belt match. (Our buddy Gary is the titleholder, and both he and the guy he's wrestling have long hair ... whoever loses the match gets their head shaved, lol. We hope it's NOT Gary!) Talk at you next weekend!

Addendum:  BUGGER. BALLS. The wrestling show got cancelled because of scheduling conflicts. Off to IMAX for a date night movie with the hubster then.