Good morning!!!!

[m7040]

Buckeye, You should go get the zoning map of the property from the county and check it carefully for notes and easements regarding use of the land. Since the land is somewhat flat, you can use line of sight to approximate corners and double check what you have been told

 

[daugen]

Drew, what tool is your point guy using to remove the old mortar? It will be getting cool enough next month to start my on my stone patio mortar replacement.

Don, he uses a small air compressor running air chisels. Takes mortar down one inch or to end of loose stuff, whichever is deeper.

 

[Buppies]

m7040 you are to be commended and admired I had enough trouble with one

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Good Morning!!!! 88F @ 5:00AM. Sunny to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 109F. Winds light and variable.

Holy cow! Hope those nests were empty, Mike.

Lots of YouTubes out there showing how to connect a large car battery to replace the tiny factory battery in a UPS.

Make no mistake, Ted, those plastic gears are cheaper to make, and have nothing to do with motor noise. Many of the American appliance and tool companies' poducts are now made off shore, and all have suffered "improvements" that negatively impact longevity. Maybe you could sell the neighbor on swapping the "improved" new mixer back for the old one?

The weather out here lately has all been about record high temperatures. On yesterday's ride back I got to sample most of the new record highs. I took the most direct route, and got on the road as soon as the sun was up, but it was 2 PM before I rolled down the driveway here. And the temps had already hit 109F, but would keep going to 114F. Three fuel stops were as much for cold drinks as for gas, and I spent the rest of the day inside either nursing more cold drinks or napping. Except one trip up to the mailbox on the side-by-side, squinting to keep the sizzling air off my eyeballs. Looks like we'll drop back into the 90s for the weekend, and may even see some 80s by end of next week. Until then, the heat continues unabated.

Before I left Lompoc, I did get a five dollar HF drain snake past the clog, but was sure wishing for the one I have here. The cheapie wasn't stiff enough, and kept doubling back on itself instead of going around bends in the pipe.

Also got a batch of green chili made from some of Ted's New Mexican Hatch chilies. Roasted on the BBQ, then chopped and slow cooked with the remains of a Costco chicken for a few hours. I froze a small ziploc bag of some and wrapped it in a fleece jacket for the ride home, and it was just getting soft by dinner time. More good eating. I couldn't help but swing by the grocery store on the way out of town yesterday to pick up another large bag of chili. I could probably just spread them out on the back porch this afternoon and save myself some propane roasting 'em.

Hump Day seems like Monday this week...

Yes, but you have to get the smaller red Hatch chile, then throw them on the grill whole and let them char. I usually brush a little olive oil on them to keep the 'char' soft. Then I let them cool, clean them, and dice them up in about 1/4" chunks. Great on a steak or in eggs. Great on hamburgers too!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I sent agent an email I’m not going to pursue this land due to the high well estimate. I hadn’t even gotten an electric estimate yet. I did contact a solar company.

That’s that. Loved the view.

 

[Wagtail]

Good (Thursday) morning. A warm, Spring-like, overnight Low of 9C, pretty much due to it being overcast and rainy = there was 21.5mm in the gauge @ 0900. It's currently 16C with more rain predicted, mostly overnight. Steady breeze and overcast.

We've had a couple of power outages this week. No explanations but the first was last Monday from 1500 to 1720... fortunately I heat with a woodheater and have plenty of torches around the house/shed. I did start to read a book by candlelight. The power outage effected the entire area of St Helens.

Another outage occurred sometime this morning, I knew that it had happened as my upstairs water pressure had dropped to the point that there was the occasional water-hammer/pipe-groan. I just had to run the taps/toilet for a bit to restore that.

That's about it, take care all.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

BEF, sorry to hear about the land deal not really working out.... We purchased our land here originally with a "well share" with the adjoining property. It was included in our purchase price.
Unfortunately, the adjoining property was purchased by a newly married 20 something couple from the city (Dallas)....
The first month they were running the well dry by putting an oscillating sprinkler on indefinitely trying to grow a lawn. And at the same time, doing the laundry.... and the dishes. They didn't have any clue about being on a well. They didn't stay after dealing with 3+ ft of snow their first winter...

The second owner there tried to pull off a scam to rip us off....
They said they would pay us half the cost of a new well to have us sign off the well share agreement. This was on a handshake. We took out a second mortgage for our new well ($23K 20 years ago). The day the drillers were packing up, he called me and said "we don't have any money to give you, but since you drilled your own well, your thrown off the well share".

Turns out, they were trying to sell the house and the well did not pass for supplying 2 houses. It was a wrong action on their part....

The state engineers office told me that I could drill 50 wells.... if I didn't hook up to them, the well share agreement remained in force. I called the neighbor and with some very descriptive language, told him that information. The next morning, they showed up, went into the house, and turned on all the faucets to run the well dry, trying to get us to hook up to the new well.

I contacted my business attorney, who informed me that the state has a law called "family self help protection" (or something like that) and advised that I could go out to the well and actually cut the supply to their house so that my family isn't affected by their detrimental actions. I went out that evening and chopped their line.

It was fun to watch them come back the next day and go into the house, then come out and look over our way. I waved at them. They left.... repeated the scene again later that afternoon. Our attorney contacted them the next day.

Their actions and blatant disregard backfired bigtime.... the house was foreclosed on a couple months later....

Our 'new' well only lasted 3 years before I had to start hauling water to supplement. Did that for 5 years. When the opportunity for city water arose, we jumped on it! Cost us another $28K to get the water main run, meter, and tie into the system.

Sorry for such a long story.....

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

A frustrating but finally a successful day of working on the Jeep. I took the axles out, got the bearings and seals out without difficulty at all, which surprised me because the Jeep is 23 years old!
And that's when the frustration started..... the new bearings and seals didn't come close to fitting in. Found the receipt, and down to the auto parts store. I had to argue with the counter guy, then the manager.... they insisted the parts were correct.... the computer says they are!

I told them to come out to the house and I'll give them $500 if they could get them to work. No takers.... spent quite a while trying to find the right ones. They list 2 different axles, but you have to dig deep into the system to find that out.

So, get home and yes, the new bearings fit. And one seal.... the second one was totally different than the first, but it was in the correct box....
Back to the store again.... luckily they had 1 more. Once home again, got the axle back together and sealed up. I was trying to get the brakes done too, but by this time, I was too frustrated, hot, and tired. Brakes will wait until tomorrow.

I did find out that Mr knee does not like to be bent at the angle that happens when I sit on the little rolling stool. Not at a 90° bend, but more like 50-60°. Had to keep telling myself to straighten it. I wish they could figure out what is wrong with it. Another appointment is scheduled next month with the surgeon.

Shared an ice cream sandwich with Max, feet up, almost time for bed (not that I sleep much).

Oh, Mostly, Max didn't complain about his food.... when the mixer broke, we hand diced 5lbs of chicken breast instead of grinding. He seemed to like the chunks....
I don't want anyone to think that he's spoiled.....

 

[buckeyefarmer]

BEF, sorry to hear about the land deal not really working out.... We purchased our land here originally with a "well share" with the adjoining property. It was included in our purchase price.
Unfortunately, the adjoining property was purchased by a newly married 20 something couple from the city (Dallas)....
The first month they were running the well dry by putting an oscillating sprinkler on indefinitely trying to grow a lawn. And at the same time, doing the laundry.... and the dishes. They didn't have any clue about being on a well. They didn't stay after dealing with 3+ ft of snow their first winter...

The second owner there tried to pull off a scam to rip us off....
They said they would pay us half the cost of a new well to have us sign off the well share agreement. This was on a handshake. We took out a second mortgage for our new well ($23K 20 years ago). The day the drillers were packing up, he called me and said "we don't have any money to give you, but since you drilled your own well, your thrown off the well share".

Turns out, they were trying to sell the house and the well did not pass for supplying 2 houses. It was a wrong action on their part....

The state engineers office told me that I could drill 50 wells.... if I didn't hook up to them, the well share agreement remained in force. I called the neighbor and with some very descriptive language, told him that information. The next morning, they showed up, went into the house, and turned on all the faucets to run the well dry, trying to get us to hook up to the new well.

I contacted my business attorney, who informed me that the state has a law called "family self help protection" (or something like that) and advised that I could go out to the well and actually cut the supply to their house so that my family isn't affected by their detrimental actions. I went out that evening and chopped their line.

It was fun to watch them come back the next day and go into the house, then come out and look over our way. I waved at them. They left.... repeated the scene again later that afternoon. Our attorney contacted them the next day.

Their actions and blatant disregard backfired bigtime.... the house was foreclosed on a couple months later....

Our 'new' well only lasted 3 years before I had to start hauling water to supplement. Did that for 5 years. When the opportunity for city water arose, we jumped on it! Cost us another $28K to get the water main run, meter, and tie into the system.

Sorry for such a long story.....

Thanks for sharing.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

I knew this was going to happen..... the old house landscaping is really going downhill fast. I don't think they are watering anything, at least not enough. A few dead and dying trees, a few struggling shrubs, and the grass is at least 3 feet tall! Weeds overgrown everywhere.

I keep telling myself that it isn't mine anymore and not to worry about it. I even told the new neighbors how often it needed to be watered. I guess they don't care either. It's hard to see 25+ years of work / maintenance go down the tubes.

The wifey has been hinting about looking for property elsewhere. Sure... now she wants to look ... after the properties I had been looking at are gone, and anything else suitable has now doubled in price! I just can't win....