What did you do today? - 2021 version

[6miths]

Prepped ground and laid 1400 sq ft of sod. For some reason sod always seems like such a bargain.

 

[Venturer]

Back home from trip

Well we are finally back home from our "Wild West Adventure" so named by our DD. Spent the day unloading camper then helping DW sort dirty clothes for the many loads to do. We had a wonderful trip, drove 3400 miles and saw some great country. Now I'm going to head out in a little bit to wash camper and truck,check everything out in preparation for our next trip. This time we will be going a shorter trip to Pigeon Forge to carry DGD to Dollywood as she gets out of school Tuesday the 18th. We leave on Wed.

 

[street]

Sometimes being frugal ends up being more costly in the long run. I have families of geese coming ashore in my back yard to wreak havoc and defecate in my back yard.

Stretching a fishing line “fence” along the shoreline will deter them. I figured that I needed 4 stakes about 20’ apart to wrap the fishing line around.

So I bought 2 - 26” aluminum deck railing spindles. Cut them in half to make 4- 13” stakes. Then pounded them into the shoreline and wrapped fishing line between the stakes.

Problem is that the top of the stakes are only about 8” above ground after being set in the ground. So the string line is 8” above ground. Perfect height for adult geese to step over while the babies crawl under on their way to abuse my yard.

So back to the big box store tomorrow to buy 4 more spindles. This time I won’t cut them in half. I need to install the string line about 12” - 15” above ground to deter the adult geese. The babies won’t come ashore if the adults don’t.

Lets know how your progress goes and how effective it will be.

 

[steelyman]

Closed on a home that I’ve been renting since late 2017. The owner approached me and we worked out a deal.

No listing, no realtors, no bidding wars. Obviously I know the property quite well. I’m very happy we made it happen in this crazy market!

 

[Freedom56]

Finished installing 22 low voltage LED lights (spot and well lights) in our backyard this morning. We will be testing it tonight and through the weekend. These 12 watt LED lights (100 watt equivalent) are amazing and give a professional look. We ordered 20 more lights from Amazon for the front yard and to cover voids in the backyard.

 

[MBAustin]

Watched DD's law school graduation by ZOOM today. I won't embarrass the school by naming them, but it was a sorry excuse for a commencement - many technical issues (including a limit of 500 attendees for a class of 200, which they don't seem to have realized until the limit was reached) and they didn't even read out the names of the graduates. Fortunately, some of her classmates decided to arrange an unofficial ceremony outdoors this afternoon, and almost half of her class will participate along with several professors. Good for them!

 

[Out of Steam]

Tossed several items in our garage, including cutting up a cracked plastic garbage can with tin snips so it would fit into the wheeled trash bin. Cleaned the ceiling fan on our screened-in patio and installed new LED bulbs. Didn't notice how dirty it was until I was up there.

Making a donation run to to the Habitat store as soon as I finish lunch and a Zoom call.

 

[aja8888]

Golf with friends, then lunch at cracker barrel.

 

[Gumby]

Now that we are fully vaccinated, the young wife and I gave blood for the first time in over a year. As I was drinking juice and eating some cookies after the donation, I suddenly noticed that blood was pouring down my arm. They rebandaged me and it stopped. I wasn't concerned about the extra blood loss, but it sure did make a mess on my clothes, the table, the chair and the floor. I have given blood about 70 times and this is the first time that has happened to me.

 

[Walt34]

Yesterday morning DW noticed a screen on the screened-in back porch was pushed in. We didn't have any high winds recently, and it would have taken a good-sized bird, like a goose, at cruise speed to have done that. Anyway, yesterday was set aside for flying R/C airplanes so today's task was fix the screen. I already had the screen material and aluminum channel from past fixes but I needed the rubber spline material. Since I had to pick up a couple of prescriptions and Home Depot is close to the drugstore that simplified things. Took about an hour (okay, I dragged my butt) to fix it.

Later we saw who we think are the culprit(s). The younger next-door kid and his friend were kicking a ball around in the backyard and it was a size and weight that would do the damage. Kind of disappointing that he didn't own up to it (heck, I put a softball through a neighbor's window once, but I told them I did it, so I would have understood). Anyway, total cost was a tad over $25 for the spline material, a tool to put it in with, and a couple other small things while I was there. And DW continues to believe that I can fix anything.

 

[Ronstar]

Went for a run. Did some yard work. Then started up my lawn sprinkler system for the first time this year. A few buried sprinkler heads and one malfunctioning zone.

First time for a complete zone breakdown. Electrical relay buzzes and shuts down within a few seconds after starting. Probable bad valve or loose/ broken wiring. Got some fittings to bypass the valve and will fix tomorrow.

 

[RetireeRobert]

after the donation, I suddenly noticed that blood was pouring down my arm. They rebandaged me and it stopped. I wasn't concerned about the extra blood loss, but it sure did make a mess on my clothes, the table, the chair and the floor. I have given blood about 70 times and this is the first time that has happened to me.

Next month I donate my 192nd pint (24 gallons). All those donations I have never had a leaker afterwards. I do switch arms every donation so each vein has twice as long (4 months instead of 2) to recover from the needle stick.

 

[NW-Bound]

We just finished dinner, and took a walk around the neighborhood as we usually do. Darn, it's hot, so we agreed to cut the walk short.

Came back home and checked on a nearby micro weatherstation. Temperature of 98F, with low humidity of 9%, should feel like 92F. I dunno. It felt like 110F.

It's a sign of getting old, when your comfort zone narrows down to just 70F to 85F. The end must be near.

 

[gayl]

Well into 2nd part. Just tile refinishing to go. This is actually fun

 

[doneat54]

Finally (well, almost) got serious about spending a day with DW to go through "sh^t" and get rid of things responsively as we downsize from a 17 year ownership of a 3700 sf home and plan to sell it and move to our 1800 sf 2nd home full time next spring. A neighboring town is having a "recycle" collection day tomorrow and is willing to take a bunch of stuff that we were struggling to find non-landfill options for. We are trying to completely vacate and "stage" the 2nd floor (we have a 1st floor master) as a first step of really making a dent of all of the stuff we need to get rid of. Target is the end of June, includes new carpet installation and a lot of painting. I am retired, but DW is working until early May '22.

 

[1242Vintage]

Got the text this morning from my daughter that I prayed was coming … “Dad they offered me the job!”

Youngest daughter (22 y.o.) wrapped up a graduated degree in nursing this month at Johns Hopkins and today a very highly rated hospital in Cleveland offered her a nursing position in their cardiac surgery unit. Apparently this hospital is ranked #1 in the nation for their cardiac unit, which is why my kid went after it.

Can’t wait to see how high this kid flys!

 

[RetireeRobert]

Got the text this morning from my daughter that I prayed was coming … “Dad they offered me the job!”

Youngest daughter (22 y.o.) wrapped up a graduated degree in nursing this month at Johns Hopkins and today a very highly rated hospital in Cleveland offered her a nursing position in their cardiac surgery unit. Apparently this hospital is ranked #1 in the nation for their cardiac unit, which is why my kid went after it.

Can’t wait to see how high this kid flys!

Congratulations proud parent!

 

[NW-Bound]

Got the text this morning from my daughter that I prayed was coming … “Dad they offered me the job!”

Youngest daughter (22 y.o.) wrapped up a graduated degree in nursing this month at Johns Hopkins and today a very highly rated hospital in Cleveland offered her a nursing position in their cardiac surgery unit. Apparently this hospital is ranked #1 in the nation for their cardiac unit, which is why my kid went after it.

Can’t wait to see how high this kid flys!

I know the feeling.

My son graduated in 2011 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. The economy was still recovering from the housing bubble. It took him some time to find a job, particularly as he did not want to relocate to another state, and that limited his options.

Everybody was happy when he was offered a job, at a place that first took him in as a contractor to see how he did. They paid for him to go to graduate school part-time, and he got his Master degree.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have had good luck with my pear tomato plants. They are so prolific, and gave me good fruits, even when I initially did not know to take good care of them by using neem oil to rid them of aphids and spider mites.

I have other tomato plants, but pear tomatoes are the easiest ones to grow. Some plants got more fruits than leaves. How does that work?

See Web photo:

So, I have to pamper them, and now need to provide them some shade from this horrible and relentless Southwest sun. Finding the right kind of shade is not easy. I ended up using a pet screen roll, which looks like it provides the right amount of light blocking (regular window screen does not block enough light). I have not bought window screens for a while, and was surprised that they cost that much. I paid $15 for a 3'x7' roll at Lowe's.

I cut the roll to what I need, and installed grommets using an inexpensive kit from Harbor Freight. I don't care what people say about Harbor Freight. They've got useful stuff, and you can't blame the Chinese for making what nobody else does.

 

[Walt34]

I cut the roll to what I need, and installed grommets using an inexpensive kit from Harbor Freight. I don't care what people say about Harbor Freight. They've got useful stuff, and you can't blame the Chinese for making what nobody else does.

I like Harbor Freight and have a dozen or so of their tools, both power and hand tools. They're great for a one-off job or when you just don't need a tool that has micrometer precision or will last a lifetime under constant use. They're also great for consumables like sandpaper and cable ties. Obviously a lot of other people agree or they wouldn't be in business.

Today I started construction on another airplane, a Dancing Wings Griffin airplane (actually a powered sailplane). I'm starting to get the hang of this company's lack of instructions and reliance on a few photos. These are definitely NOT beginner's kits but for anyone who has built three or more with better instructions and has the patience to study the photos/diagrams, they are well done kits. The laser cutting is very precise and I do like that aspect of them, and that one can order the kits with the exact electronics needed, like servos and motors, if you want.

One other thing I saw on an R/C forum is that if you buy via Amazon and buy the "protection plan" and subsequently crash the model airplane they will in fact pay for a new one. Obviously this is more relevant to models that are complete or nearly so when purchased rather than kits, but it's a thought, especially for someone thinking of just starting in the hobby when a crash and destroyed airplane is considered a normal part of the learning process.

 

[Gumby]

Today, I planted out my poblano pepper, zucchini and cucumber seedlings and direct sowed cantaloupe and watermelon (moon & stars). Probably ten days until the tomatoes, tomatillos and remaining peppers go out to the garden. I'll also sow the first round of corn, green beans and winter squash then (I do three separate plantings ten days apart). The eggplants are potted at home and are doing well. I'll put them out in mid June, after the flea beetles have died down.

 

[street]

Went to ranch, harvested some more wild asparagus and replaced a post that needed replaced. Came home and got all the squash, pumpkin, cucumbers, peppers and beans planted. I took a 2 mile bike ride and talked to my son that was in a fishing tourney today, and they took 8Th. He said 2K pay out for 8th place, so not a bad day. I trapped the hubs for their tourney, so that made me feel good.

 

[NW-Bound]

After making a shade screen for my beloved tomato plant, I thought about shades for ourselves too.

We can use some shades over the pool. Right now, the sun is so bright it makes my eyes hurt, and my skin turning crispy. It's enough to make you not want to use the pool.

Enter this shade from Amazon. See Web photo. I am trying out one sail to see how it looks, and may order more. I should be able to string it easily with the existing structures around the pool.

 

[gayl]

Didn't work on kitchen today ----

Drove into SF. Went to Crissy Fields to play ball with kids & dog. Then walked through Fort Mason to Fisherman's Wharf for late lunch at Boudins (bought souvenir bread), listened to street musicians, watched street artists (biker was GOOD), onto Ghirardelli Square for hot fudge & caramel sundaes (yes bought souvenir chocolates), ubered back to Crissy Fields and headed home at 6.

 

[street]

^ looks like a great day!!

NW-Bound >>> the sail cloths look great! No pool here but have been thinking of a couple ovah our cement ground level patio.

Not hot here but will be upper 70's tomorrow. Here long handles feel good till lunch then shorts go on to enjoy the weather. Then back to pants super time and evenings.