Good morning!!!!

[m7040]

Worked a lot today on the internet connection. Takes a lot of time to run down Xfinity (Comcast) help and then the Linksys router help and still no internet and worse no Wi-Fi and therefore iPhone does not work because the cell tower is in an outage. Well long story short was finally able to get it back working. Resetting the modem seems to be what did it. When it is not owned by Comcast they are not too helpful other than the problem is not here. And then the iMac did not want to power up on top of that.
We went for eye check ups and new prescriptions for glasses. Very little change. We will likely get new frames and lenses soon.

Finding that I use the head lamp a lot more this year for early morning walks and also for safety when picking up the mail after dark. The red light in the back is good for warning drivers and the adjustable beam works well to cast a wide field or narrow focus.

No internet and no phone is almost like the old days. Most of you probably don't remember things got done with telexes and curriers to carry blue prints and sepias. And calling home once a week from a local post office in some random country.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Got what appears to be a fishing email saying I purchased some Bitcoin from my PayPal account. As far as I know I don’t have a PayPal account

Yes you do.... it was started 4 months ago by a Nigerian prince.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Thomas, my wifey agrees with your misses.....

Well, a surprise at the ortho doc today..... after taking some xrays, everything still in alignment and secure. BUT, while we were discussing the pain and swelling, HE said he would like to get a second opinion! Now just waiting for the insurance to approve, and a call from the other doc.

Then the bad news after I got home. My disability claim was denied again by the insurance. WTF! They didn't even have me do the "medical exam".... that was supposedly the last step. Nope... just denied. REALLY?
I'm still being treated for the same condition for almost 2 years (23 months). Going on 3 years and 10 months since the injury. And now another doc getting involved because the first is out of guesses.

If anybody was wondering---- yes you can be 'mentally numb', angry, and depressed at the same time. I really didn't need to get that letter today. I'm dealing with enough on my plate.

Sorry for the bit of a rant.... I'm just going to bed now.... maybe tomorrow will be better....

 

[buckeyefarmer]

LS, sorry for the bad news.

 

[Buppies]

Maybe guido should pay them a visit. Hopefully you can get this resolved LS. Praying for your total healing

 

[Buppies]

m7040 you know I remember those times now I feel really old

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Been great reading the why’s & wherefores of how people are where they are. We found this place 20 years ago and fully expect that I won’t be packing for my next move. While I’m not up to some of the octogenarians here I’m close behind and realize this place maybe demand more than I can give in the future. But it will still be liveable. For the most part we have had that in play since the beginning. The house was designed to be handicap friendly. A full time care person could actually live here and have their own space. Many here on GM followed as I built a Caretaker/studio to provide for property assistance when required, Sophie not there yet. Someday, if we live long enough, maybe our son will retire and decide to move here. Like many of you, having tools to mitigate physical tasks are important. No family history of someone living out their time in any type facility so not looking that route either. I think most here would agree that our rural “demanding” lifestyle contributes to our longevity. Looking back, seems anybody my age when I was young had 1 foot in the grave so to speak. Sophie tells me I need to quit starting projects, but here I am chronicling my 12x24 tractor shed solar extension that wasn’t even a thought a couple months ago. Someday, I guess I’ll just sit by the pool and enjoy life passing by, probably not in immediate future though. In the meantime, we may discuss, but there is no place we’d rather be. Isn’t it great how we can all arrive at that decision !

Great message David.

Thomas, my wifey agrees with your misses.....

Well, a surprise at the ortho doc today..... after taking some xrays, everything still in alignment and secure. BUT, while we were discussing the pain and swelling, HE said he would like to get a second opinion! Now just waiting for the insurance to approve, and a call from the other doc.

Then the bad news after I got home. My disability claim was denied again by the insurance. WTF! They didn't even have me do the "medical exam".... that was supposedly the last step. Nope... just denied. REALLY?
I'm still being treated for the same condition for almost 2 years (23 months). Going on 3 years and 10 months since the injury. And now another doc getting involved because the first is out of guesses.

If anybody was wondering---- yes you can be 'mentally numb', angry, and depressed at the same time. I really didn't need to get that letter today. I'm dealing with enough on my plate.

Sorry for the bit of a rant.... I'm just going to bed now.... maybe tomorrow will be better....

sorry for your troubles. Prayers you can get your knee back close to normal.

 

[rswyan]

Was 55F with bright sunshine @ 14:30, supposedly heading up to a high of around 59F. Don't know how warn it actually got.

But I'd say that's pretty decent ... for what is typically our coldest week of the year.

Rain has moved in now and we are under a High Wind Warning, we were under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning earlier which has now expired.

Got deer and hopper feeders refilled yesterday, also large crescent wrench retrieved from the shop. Deer feeder was not emptied this morning.

Also got the iron/sediment hosed off yesterday as well, now it needs to go into a water/bleach solution for a little soak.

Cleared off one set of 3' steel shelving back at the northwest corner of the utility room in preparation to start putting up foam board back there.

Moved the wood shelves that were leaning against the wood stove and burned a bunch of old paperwork from 2008/2009.

Got the fishies fed as well.

Amazon dropped off the 2 1/2" x 20' hose for the vacuum system late yesterday evening. Today saw several packages show up with more parts (fittings, clamps, etc.) including the Dust Deputy:

Even got myself some proper push sticks/pads ... which will hopefully help me keep all my finger parts intact.

Hose cuffs seem really nice - very soft and flexible.

Finally managed to get the knobs off the hot and diverter valves last night, they were quite the bear to remove. Took repeated applications of Blaster and banging on them with a wood stick, finally had to resort to the MAPP gas torch and heat them up. Even so, they were still a complete PITA to get off and required lots of effort and rocking them back and forth.

Was able to get the trim cover for the stem and escutcheon off for hot water valve, but the one on the diverter was a PITA ... but it eventually surrendered too earlier today.

One tile came off and several were loose and the wall board behind the tile was looking pretty mushy ... hmmmm.

So that shower is now officially shut down.

Update: yup ... wallboard around the valves was pretty nasty. Got the tile all pulled off, back to where the wallboard is good:

Managed to get all the tile down pretty much intact, only one small chip on the corner of a bullnose tile out at the edge.

And bad wallboard removed:

I told The Woman last night that She might want to head downstairs and do a quick clean up on the half bath down there if She has any plans on showering in the near future. Got back something about how She "sure hoped it wouldn't be taking much longer ..."

HA !

Being down to a single bathing facility makes Her really ... nervous.

So of course today She was back in the Master Bedroom cleaning instead ...

(She did eventually go down there tho' ...)

I shut the water off to the main bathroom to pull the valve stems and have a look at those and the valve seats. Of course, the valves don't completely turn off ... probably need the rubber washers replaced.

Hot one came out easily, packing nuts on the hot and cold were both pretty loose and turned easily, the one on the diverter not so much ... it was starting to deform when I tried to turn it.

Still have to see if I can loosen the valve stems on the diverter and cold valve tonight.

Being this deep into it, one has has to consider whether or not to just dive all the way into it ... and take all the tile down, pull the tub, drain, and valves replace them all ... since the bathroom needs to be redone and updated anyways.

Of course, the mere suggestion of an outrageous such a thing was met with ... all kinds of sound and fury ...



Hope everyone had a decent Thursday ...

 

[txdon]

uh RS, I can see why your wife gets nervous!
"Any sort of plumbing work and the prospect of water being shut off tends to make Her extremely nervous ..."

 

[sodamo]

6 sheets, 4x8 Hardie panel hung, but not finished. 3 more to go on the short wall.
Plan is to incorporate shelving to be structural using 2x4s and 2x6’s

Must have made a quality upgrade cuz they sure seemed heavier.

Sophie made a banana bread using ice cream bananas for 1st time. Tempting to sample but she indicated it is for H&F tomorrow.

 

[txdon]

David, it looks like your water will drain to the front. Are you planning on connecting it to the other gutter and then to your storage tank?

LS, sorry for the bad news, wish I could advise you but I don't have any expertise.

 

[sodamo]

Frits, I was stationed in Heidelberg but selected for advanced schooling in Kansas. Sunday was taking a roll of quarters to nearest payphone and talking to wife still in Germany until quarters ran out. A long 3 months.

 

[Buppies]

Use to love banana bread work looks good

 

[rswyan]

uh RS, I can see why your wife gets nervous!

LOL ... why is that ?

(FWIW: I'm still waiting for HER to get off the dime and make a number of decisions wrt the remodel job on HER bathroom ... )

Diverter and cold water valve stems removed successfully ...

Time to go turn the water back on to the main bathroom ... so She can flush the turlet ...

 

[mostly_gas]

Good evening all. 37 for the start, partly cloudy, moderate breeze. Moderate wind early then light, Sky cleared off, and high temp was 57ºF. Start fire in insert to start day, putter then bike rid after lunch. Nap then dinner and fish club meeting. Had two post meeting meetings which have me posting late.
Kyle hope you can get caught up and work on more fun projects. Nice list of machines to play with. Hope you get Victor mill done.
Kyle I use mine more because of no tractor here. It holds about 3 days of wood right now.
Dennis and yet he is still here. There used to be several Chevy's close by in STL, none now
Dennis sorry you are having sleeping issues.
Ron hope cleaning and laundry went well. Nice pose
Billy glad you found leak and have a temp fix on it. Good luck with permanent repair. Glad driving zero turn was enjoyable. Glad warranty claim was easy to start. Hope it is successful.
Drew would love to have an inch of rain, send TX your leftovers Hope Saturday goes better than you expect.
Dennis sorry about the charge. Have fun researching new projector system.
Kilroy nice price on the eggs.
Kilroy hopefully trainer will expedite the need improvements to the software. Like your conclusion. Wonder why dog was up at 4?
Bill hope town run went smoothly, and had fun watching it snow.
Mike hope rain did not alter plans. Hope yo got to conserve energy and wife continues her recovery.
Paul parts look great, nice chamfer/deburr as well. Zoe is getting big! Hope you get projects finished.
Dave are you starting mud season early?
Buppies hope you don't float away prayers sent.
Jim hope you got chainsaw tested pre-rain. Hope honey do list not too long or involved.
RNG glad you are getting some sunshine hope you get more rain later. Glad name change did not result in wholesale turnover. Glad Mexican chocolate fixed your mole. Finding what you want can be a challenge at times.
Don sorry you need to irrigate so soon. Glad you handle Firewise and Cedarcide in same week.
RNG glad you are making progress, marking reference spot excellent idea.
Buppies any idea how much colder, am back to seasonal temps now.
Gstrom enjoy your snow
Ted hope winds slow and precip falls. Sorry about the pain level on the knee. Hope you felt well enough to go to shop. Neat Christmas gift.
David glad visit encouraging, prayers for the swelling still there. Hope you can get rest of angle for solar panels soon.
Dennis hope video fix helps you fix fridge as well.
Dennis yup fishing.
Thomas enjoy your snow. Hope date went well on new day. You need to listen to Mrs. She might want you around for a while
Dennis listening to it now.
Dennis glad chili smelled good and tasted good too.
Randy(wag) sounds like soiree is coming together.
Frits when I had cable mode for internet, it would need reboot 3-4 time a year, no cable mode now. Was never on road enough to need to phone home. I remember making pencil drawings on velum, does that count.
Ted it may time to get lawyer involved. I do recall getting rejection letters from companies I did not interview.
RS hope no damage from thunder storm. Glad you getting push sticks. Good to hear leaky valve progressing, hope wife does not get too impatient. Sounds like a lot of scope creep on project
David it is a shame you cannot sample bread before H&F! Nice progress in extension
RS she may be the hold up but it is your fault! Don't believe me just ask her
prayer for all, especially Jay/Peg, Kyle /Daughter, /mom's breathing, /learning new job, /friends upcoming new baby, /son's migraines, Bird /aging issues, Ron /broken arm and heart, Billy /mom hypertension & congestive heart failure, David(moss) /remodel, /divorce, Buppies /new skin cancer spot and treatment, /elbow healing, /wife knee healing, Thomas /gout, Phil /reflux, /wife's voice, Frits /veteran son with mental issues, Ken /dad possible dementia, /uncle's surgery, Steppenwolfe /son-auto immune disorder, Grev /wife's eye, Ted /knee recovery, /retirement & disability red tape, /family issues, /wife feeling bad, Lou /eye issues, Doug and wife/health issues, / hand nerve and surgery, /fall and recovery, / wife headaches and heart eval, / David(sadamo)/Sophie's new eye surgery recovery, Chris /neighbor's granddaughter and Covid issues, Scaredy/shoulder dislocation, /marriage not doing well, / friend stop drinking, Paul/ wife's healing from back surgery, Dennis /retirement, /neighbor issues, /land development, / brother "alligallyitus" and back in hospital, Drew /foot heel issues, /friend's wife cancer diagnosis and recovery, mike /wife's surgery, Scotty, /back pain, Frits /daughter recovery from surgery, Helogabals /second opinion, /wife's friend situation, Mark /wife colon surgery, Fatjay /father broken hip, Ukraine war, and Country.

 

[two_bit_score]

@LS Tractor Owner prayers that disability situation is resolved in your favor.

@Thomas prayers for your decision about work.

 

[sodamo]

Ted, sorry to hear about the disability, moreso your continues knee issue.
You didn’t say who disapproved, but sometimes, like with SS, disapproval is almost automatic. First time sophie was disapproved they didn’t even have the facts correct. The good news is that first appeal requires nothing special, nothing that you can’t do yourself, doesn’t require someone who will do same thing except claim a % of the outcome. Still it takes involvement. Eventually Sophie was mandated to go to the official, state appointed disability Dr. What a joke. Of course I went with her carry about foot tall box of her medical records. After watching him give her 3 movement tests which he just accepted while barely observing. I just had to stop him and questioned what it was he thought he observed. By that point I knew how she sorta cheated at various motions. When I pointed those out he redid all her tests and actually paid attention. She was rated 100%. Good luck. You have to be your own best advocate. Sophie’s orthopedic surgeon told us that while she was still in ICU, so true.

 

[sodamo]

Thomas, hard choices for sure. Balance. My 1st ten years retired I still did computer consulting parttime, after Sophie’s accident I became an independent home inspector as it was a great fit with my caregiver responsibilities. It wasn’t until we moved to Hawaii that I became fully retired from outside work. Now, I’m unemployable.

 

[Looking4new]

Thomas, my wifey agrees with your misses.....

Well, a surprise at the ortho doc today..... after taking some xrays, everything still in alignment and secure. BUT, while we were discussing the pain and swelling, HE said he would like to get a second opinion! Now just waiting for the insurance to approve, and a call from the other doc.

Then the bad news after I got home. My disability claim was denied again by the insurance. WTF! They didn't even have me do the "medical exam".... that was supposedly the last step. Nope... just denied. REALLY?
I'm still being treated for the same condition for almost 2 years (23 months). Going on 3 years and 10 months since the injury. And now another doc getting involved because the first is out of guesses.

If anybody was wondering---- yes you can be 'mentally numb', angry, and depressed at the same time. I really didn't need to get that letter today. I'm dealing with enough on my plate.

Sorry for the bit of a rant.... I'm just going to bed now.... maybe tomorrow will be better....

That sux, but now you know why they call their job a 'practice'.
They do it for long enough they might get it right. Like football but not quite the same.

 

[Looking4new]

Good morning, low temp is 19 and the high to 27°F. Wind NNE 9 mph.
40% chance of freezing drizzle until mid morning. I have no doubt I will be plowing this morning. The block heater is already plugged in.

rs, you are damned if you do, and damned if you don't. You certainly do NOT want black mould in your walls. You might point that out to your better half.

Other than plowing, I think I will conserve energy.

Have a safe day all