Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Tuesday morning. Came up to the house and they were here putting on the final coat. He didn't get all the putty matched as well as the first section, but over all the floors look really good. I think he didn't get it sanded down as well as the first "line" of putty which he did. I am thrilled with the way he got the knothole filled in with a piece of a sapling and got it stained to match pretty good. The bad thing is the hallway is what you see first when you come in and so you see this lighter strip where the putty doesn't match. Well, it is done now. I can live with it. But I will not have anything puttied again, without it being a closer match in color. Most people probably won't notice it.
So, it is done. They are paid. I would recommend him to others, and I am very thankful that at least I can go forward from here. I asked about drying time etc.... he said that 24 hours for sock walking.... 48 for light traffic. So at least Friday before I want to do any real walking on it to make sure it is pretty hardened. That is okay. I want it good and hard before I do much traipsing across it.
It is a vast improvement over what it was before so there is no comparison.

I did something to my left shoulder last night. Nothing I can pinpoint... but the pain is through the roof when I try to move it or lift it. Not a good way to get started on serious boxing & moving of stuff. I was up half the night trying to find a position to get get comfortable so I could sleep. It is really hurting this morning. May have to see if the chiropractor is in his office.

Need to go and get a couple buckets of chicken feed this morning. They had some left when I let them out. Nothing in the trap again this morning. Caught a couple of chickens sitting in the sun yesterday picking at feathers on another one and next thing you know that they are drawing blood and then they get cannibalistic. Haven't had a bunch this cannibalistic in the last several bunches. Maybe they are just doing this to each other, and nothing/no predator is really going after the chickens during the day like I was thinking.

Had a neighbor walking this morning, by the house. She introduced herself and then I realized who she was, where she lives down the road. Wanted to talk and tell me how nice it was that the house was no longer just sitting, and was I living here now, and then how she couldn't believe the chickens would just stay in the yard there, and "chatty chatty Kathy"..... then asked if the chicken in the wire cage was okay (dead one in the trap for bait) and I said no, it's dead. I have had something getting into them so I used a dead one for bait for the trap. She was a little put off.
I am going to hate all the nosy neighbor crap here. I can see it... living is a fish bowl. Fences are going to be a priority I guess.... don't know how long I will tolerate that. It is still a good investment. I think though that I will be putting in a conventional furnace as it will sell better that way than with a wood burning outdoor furnace. Or be easier to rent if I go that route. Although I am still interested in checking out wind power.....Next year for that.

So I am going to go up and get feed and see if I can get the feeders filled and fill the waterers. Got to go by and feed the horse. Deb went back to the northern Va area where she works, but may be back wed.
Then maybe I am going to try to get all the stuff in the cabinets that is here in the kitchen and the bathroom. I did get the flex-tape down in the tub after scrubbing it out pretty good the other day. Found 3 small cracks. Not going to try to remove the black epoxy stuff they had put in the tub previously. Need to get a shower curtain rod up.

Talked to my father yesterday in NH. Not a very good discussion. My mom has stopped talking all together, and he said she basically just sits, seldoms acknowledges anyone or anything, not responsive to people talking to her or anything. I don't even know if she can walk at all as she had started to get around a little better for awhile. And he has gotten very unhappy. They won't let him drive....his reaction time is poor. But he also has not and won't make himself do the exercises that they were doing with him in rehab after the horrible stroke. He says he doesn't have time.... but with full time caregivers there, what is so time consuming for him to do????? It is an excuse to not be doing what he needs to do. I am a little sorry for him to not want it enough to do what needs doing. I hate doing some of what the PT guys tell me to do, but I want to be able to do as much as possible. And keep what I have so that when the knees are done I can get more back.
So he was bemoaning his inability to drive, and things are just day to day anymore...... He made the comment that if my mom goes then he has no reason to live. The said thing is she is gone in spirit, her body is still there but "she - the person she was" is gone. It is very sad, and since he cannot control it he is unable to deal with it. I am glad that my brother is the one to take all the grief now because I would have a hard time with the "poor me, my life has gotten so tough, I worked so hard and this is what I have now"......
For me, since I am not welcome there except for visit, it is better that I am here and doing what I can do for myself and offering to help if they want it. I always thought that my mom would someday maybe live with me or my sister if she outlived my father. But her mental deterioration has precluded that she will ever go anywhere else. At least in the scheme of things, she is not going to be like some alzheimers patients......she is unable to get up and walk away from the house, get lost or anything like that. That my father is unwilling to let me come stay there and help and would rather have outside paid help, is just a sign of his needing to be in control and "make the decisions"... It is almost funny that the son he was most at odds with when growing up... is the one he has appointed as his POA and all that.
I will remember the good times since I am not allowed to help through the tougher times.

I am going to a friends' for Thanksgiving. DS is naturally going to the gf family. I was invited but I really don't want to go there. I will go and visit with people that I can talk to and be myself with. Not have to try to find things to say like when we went on the steam train that day.... or the evening I went down for hot dogs and ran out of subjects to try to find to talk about. I am not going to spend the day feeling like the proverbial odd man out. He wants to be in the middle of a family, so god bless him with them. I am tired of it all. Just because she hunts is not much to call common interest. Maybe it is me.... I am just not a big one for all the talk and gossiping.

It was sunny earlier, but it is clouding up. Supposed to get cloudier, then have showers/rain Wed into Thursday morning. Going to be cooler, then really cooling off the end of the month. 40's and 20's.

 

[Mini Horses]

Shame about your parents. My mom was in a home the last 14 months of life. She was no "herself" either. It is a horrid disease to watch happen, with no hope for reversal. If I am afflicted, take me "to the north 40", SSS! Mom was in a wheelchair and in end couldn't eat right. Everything had to be soft gruel. Watched here until it was simply 24/7 of every item of life. One cannot do that.

So, floors done!!!! Yahoo! If the spot/strip is in hall, throw a runner on there...helps to keep floors in shape anyway.

Hope chiro is open...sore shoulder is no fun. Maybe you just slept in bad position.

Can see why you'd not want dinner with the new "grouping" but, you'll need to work on some compromise. I tried with sons gf...never any meals with them & limited contact except when they lived in my garage aptmt. Saw her more then, still very casual and strained. His wife was his best choice in women and she stood by him, until the other women. Shame. I truly think he is bipolar, among other issues. Deep down he is a talented, caring person but, self destructs.

Anyway, go see your friends and relax!!

 

[thistlebloom]

Jan, I'm sorry for the entire situation with your folks. The illness and especially the alienation.

So happy to hear that your floors are gorgeous and done though.
I hope you have an enjoyable Thanksgiving with your friends and your shoulder rights itself. Sounds like a nerve pinch.

 

[Bruce]

The bad thing is the hallway is what you see first when you come in and so you see this lighter strip where the putty doesn't match.

You'll learn to ignore it And like Mini said, you could put a runner down.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

I have an appt for January 28th....

Hallelujah!

So, it is done. They are paid.

Hallelujah again!

Talked to my father yesterday in NH. Not a very good discussion... I will remember the good times since I am not allowed to help through the tougher times.

So sad. You have tried and are trying to be a good and loving daughter. You have done your part.

 

[Baymule]

Happy the floor is finally done! Don’t blame you for giving it plenty of time to cure. I bet it is beautiful. Nosy neighbors—yeah, put up a fence. Keep dogs out, protect your chickens.

Sorry about your parents and the whole situation. You have offered, you have tried. Love them from a distance, that’s about all you can do.

On son and GF, it sounds like this may last a long time. You are going to have to find something to like about her. I don’t blame you for not wanting to spend Thanksgiving Day with her family but at some point you are going to have to suck it up and be friends. Your son loves her, you don’t have to love her, but it would help his feelings if you liked her. Maybe even throw her a compliment, I like the way you do ______ (fill in the blank). Tell me how you do that! It might warm things up a little. I can understand your frustration with your son, he neglects responsibilities and it falls on you.

Having your own home is going to take a lot of stress off you. No landlord to deal with. Can’t wait for you to get all moved in!

 

[farmerjan]

Went and got feed and thought I would cry trying to put 2 simple 5 gal buckets in the back of the truck. Got the feeders filled and filled all the waterers. Will try to get everything filled this evening again, they are saying rain in the afternoon into sdayWednesday. Want to have all the buckets here filled so I don't have to haul in the rain.
Chiro not open this week. I don't blame him for taking a few days off for the family. They have 2 special needs boys that in their 20's now, lifelong commitment for the parents. Man, I really knocked this shoulder out of whack. I think it is a pinched nerve too, hoping that I move somehow and "unpinch it".

I think that the couple of puttied places in the hall will be tolerable. I really notice them, but maybe with time. The LR is just so beautiful though..... Yeah, a runner will help to keep the floor nicer too.

Landlord has been real decent lately. Of course, no chickens there or anything. I sure hope this shoulder gets feeling better so I can start some serious box moving. Think that I will go and try to do some more sorting, boxing.

I went through and got all the baseboard heater panels on and the covers on the switchplates and plugs in the couple of rooms. Will do the LR and hallway baseboard heater covers next week after it is all real dry and hardened. Going in to put some stuff in the cupboards. Can't hardly lift the big cans of beans and corn and stuff I got. D#@$ IT.... what did I do to this shoulder?????

Still haven't heard from the one farm. Called and left a message yesterday..... can't figure out why they haven't called back or texted or something. They are over an hour away so not like I can just run up there.

 

[Ridgetop]

So sorry to hear about your shoulder being on the blink BUT to cheer you up here is a list of what you have already gotten done:

Haying finished for season.
Sileage done.
Cows calving on schedule.
Chicken pen set up.
Chickens moved.
Shed repaired.
Washer/dryer installed.
Water leaks repaired.
Lawnmower and lawn raked.
Plants moved.
Bushes trimmed.
Bedroom painted.
Heater covers painted.
Kitchen panel removed and wall painted.
New countertop on part of kitchen cabinets.
Tub repaired temporarily.
Lots of boxes moved and items put away.
Dresser drawers moved.
Floors done.
DR appt made for knees.
And so much more already!

Good going Jan! You are really moving along and it won't be long before you are in your own home!

I agree about putting in the commercial heating system for resale. For the same cost it will bring you a better return whether you sell or rent the property. Make sure it has an AC as well. Wood burning heating is great as long s you are able to get out and stoke it but if you are laid up with your knee surgery, you won't want to have to depend on it.

Did you get the fruit trees moved yet? Fences and privacy shrubbery will be a must as well. Hoe you can get the shoulder better by Thanksgiving.

So happy abut the floors! I was beginning to worry you would have to wait until spring to get them done!

 

[Baymule]

Yeah! x2! Listen to what she said!

 

[farmerjan]

Wed morning. Happy day before Thanksgiving. Cloudy and chilly, supposed to get some rain this afternoon or evening. Tomorrow morning. Remnants of what @Baymule and then @Mike CHS got I think. Looks like the most of it has stayed west on it's journey north.... We are supposed to get another one on Monday I think then temps are supposed to drop. Like 40's and 20's..... .

Floors are done, finished Tuesday morning. I think I posted that. They are drying, not as shiny now that it is drier... semi-gloss finish. They still look really really good. Won't go on them for another couple of days....let them completely dry and harden.
Got a load of wood chips from a company that needs places to dump.... he had looked at and given me a price to do all the work.... and good thing I held off with finding out about the furnace. But they dumped them across the road in the neighbors and it caused a big upset.... neighbor called ds thinking he was getting chips and then of course he called me raising holy he// about it.... said I didn't need to be worrying about getting wood chips when I am not even moved in and have other things that need to take priority.... I called the guy and he talked to the neighbor and they came and got them all cleaned up and moved this morning....apologized and all is good. DS needs to just get off his high horse. I am on the "dump site" list for when they are in this area.... Made a mistake on place to dump.... got it solved....world did not end. Neighbor is fine with the moving and clean up and all is good. They also know where to come now. They might have another load today and I will probably be here to show them where to dump any more. I am thinking about mulch for the fruit trees ......no they have not been moved. I have to find someone with a mini excavator to do them. Way too many to do by hand....digging at both places to remove then put in here. Haven't gotten the stakes in yet either....but that is definitely on the "short" to do list.

Brought another few bags of stuff on the way this morning. Needed to get up here and let the chickens out. Nothing in the trap again. I think it was just a few of them got cannibalistic.....and stopped the skunk from getting into the feed and all.
Got to go get feed for them then I will refill and have all the buckets here full for tomorrow. They are eating about 2 buckets a day so not really bad.

Very fortunate, shoulder is back to normal ache today. It was alot better last night and this morning it was back to where it normally feels. Must have just turned wrong and it sure let me know. Thank goodness for that.

Got to go move a tractor back to barn.... .but might be better to wait intil Friday.... partly sun and warmer supposedly. We'll see.