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Post by Laura_in_FL on May 13, 2023 11:37:02 GMT -5
You're a good friend, Dave. spike, that's looking really good. I bet you're excited for the new shed.
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Post by spike on May 14, 2023 21:20:00 GMT -5
Spent the day raking, weed walking and cleaning up getting ready for the shed.
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Post by spike on May 16, 2023 14:56:50 GMT -5
WHOOP THERE IT IS!!
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Post by september on May 16, 2023 15:25:23 GMT -5
spike, Looks cute enough to live in!
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Post by pepperhead212 on May 16, 2023 21:55:37 GMT -5
Looks great, spike! You have it filled yet?
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Post by spike on May 16, 2023 22:50:40 GMT -5
Looks great, spike ! You have it filled yet? Not yet! Bro is gonna run electricity to it and in all honesty I did so much yard work today I could barely look in it!
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Post by Laura_in_FL on May 17, 2023 16:04:55 GMT -5
That looks great! But the rule of sheds is that you will fill it, sooner rather than later.
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Post by spike on May 17, 2023 17:29:49 GMT -5
That looks great! But the rule of sheds is that you will fill it, sooner rather than later.
LOL Yes it will be filled in no time flat! Waiting for the bro to electrify it and I will be moving the stuff in rapidly
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Post by Laura_in_FL on May 20, 2023 16:11:10 GMT -5
Yesterday I finally got the permanent crown installed on my implant. It's strange - but quite nice - to see and feel a tooth in that spot again. As promised, the crown looks just like a real tooth. The only way to tell that it is not is that if you look carefully at the gum line you can see that my gums do not quite touch the crown. (And given that it's a back molar, it would be extremely creepy if people other than my dentist and hygienist were staring back there so closely.) The glimpses that people will get when I laugh, yell, or sing will look completely natural. Other than the dentist stressing the need for extra care in flossing, care is just like a real tooth. Once she had the bite adjusted properly, the dentist told me to, "Go forth and chew!" I am to call her on Monday if the bite isn't just right, but I think it's just fine. So this makes me feel a lot better about the inevitable day when the cracked molar on the other side of my mouth becomes enough of a problem that I need to have it extracted. Except for the $$$$, of course.
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Post by paulf on May 22, 2023 8:59:35 GMT -5
Sad day yesterday. Had to remove a ten year old friend who had been going down hill for a couple of years. In the back forty of the estate a formerly beautiful peach tree just would not leaf out and most of the branches were bare and dead, Only the very tops had leaves and a few fruits, so it was time. Spent an hour cutting it down, chain sawing the branches into small piles of brush and trunks into firewood.
I am about done with fruit trees in that area of the yard; they just do not seem to be happy there and I am too old to spend the time babying them. All the fruits are now closer to the house. A newer peach is doing great, Several apples have more apples than they should, a couple of pear trees will have pears and the seven-five year old apricot is loaded. The apricots are small since it is an ancient variety but it sure is fun to watch the old girl continue to produce...and no frost this year to ruin the harvest.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on May 22, 2023 16:06:09 GMT -5
Sorry about the loss of your old peach tree, paulf. But what a nice consolation that your other trees are on track to fruit well this year.
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Post by paulf on May 23, 2023 7:35:18 GMT -5
While the chainsaw was gassed up and ready for work, it was decided by the boss I should make another side table for around the pond. The other three are full of flower pots and we needed a place to put the sodas while watching the goldfish and resting up for the next chore. We found a downed tree down in the "hollow", cut a slab and added several coats of waterproofing and added legs left over from the other projects. No flowers on the table...yet.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on May 25, 2023 8:35:08 GMT -5
I'm a few days late posting this, but son #3 graduated high school on Monday. I am very proud of him, but I am also a little sad that he will be moving away to college in August. I'll only have one son still in the "nest" after that.
He'll be going to a state university in Orlando, which is ~6 hours away depending on traffic. So I will still see him occasionally for weekend visits, but it's too far away for him to come home too often.
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Post by Hensaplenty on May 25, 2023 11:24:35 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL, A momma hen always likes for her chicks to be close by. I'm sure you've done a great job preparing him for this new adventure. How exciting, but sentimental.
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Post by spike on May 29, 2023 19:48:36 GMT -5
So the guy who lives next door took pity on me. Said he was bored and could he mow my yard for me. Now I know he was just being sweet as he works 12 hour shifts in a factory and has told me he totally loathes yard work. Because he hates yard work he mows very very low. I feel like I should borrow a hay baler!
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Post by brownrexx on May 29, 2023 20:05:56 GMT -5
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Post by spike on May 29, 2023 21:59:01 GMT -5
So we have 1 1/2 acres of mulch then! I can't even imagine trying to rake that mess up and what would I mulch with it. Now normally I am neurotic over my yard. We don't have the best yard but I work hard trying to make it look nice. Currently it looks like a disaster. We haven't had any rain and there are a lot of brown spots. I would at any other time be in tears and heartbroken but I am so grateful for Chris mowing for me I am good. Don't care. Will sell hay!
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Post by brownrexx on May 30, 2023 7:40:35 GMT -5
spike , I use grass clippings in my compost pile and I also mulch the fruit trees, asparagus bed and many areas in the garden. We mow about 3 acres and I actually bought a "lawn sweeper" to pull behind the mower and collect the clippings. People want mulching mowers so I picked up a used lawn sweeper for cheap. I wait until they are dry and then I collect them. Last year hubby dug a huge hole in my garden with his tractor and I dumped in all of the grass clippings, leaves, compost, fallen fruits from our trees. My idea was to feed the worms and improve the soil deeper down.
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Post by september on May 30, 2023 16:51:14 GMT -5
Got my 12 broccoli plants in the ground today, then planted three rows of different kinds of bush beans. The Slenderette were old seeds that I saved, I found them in a Coolwhip container, no date. Must be at least 10 years old. I picked out the best looking seeds and sowed every two inches, hopefully some will come up and I can transplant to fill in gaps. If not, I'll sow something else I have around. Had a very short thunderstorm come through. More noise than rain. We are very dry, fire danger warnings.
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Post by mgulfcoastguy on May 31, 2023 11:08:06 GMT -5
Hacked and coughed, summer cold came early.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jun 2, 2023 13:29:23 GMT -5
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jun 9, 2023 16:16:18 GMT -5
My stove gave up the ghost unexpectedly last night. I turned on the right front burner to cook dinner, and heard a loud popping/whoomping noise (it's hard to describe) four times. Then the breaker tripped, and a slight smell of burning plastic/rubber was left in the air. We turned all of the stove and oven controls to "off" and hubby reset the breaker. The instant he flipped the breaker, the noise returned - remember that ALL of the controls were set to OFF this time - so I told him to turn the breaker back off immediately. Hearing scary noises as soon as the breaker is turned on, even when the controls are off, means electricity is going where it should not be. So that breaker is staying OFF. That makes FIVE problems with the stove/oven now. (The others are annoying but can be worked around.) But this really frightens me - I am afraid the thing will catch fire if someone turns the breaker back on. So, my poor hubby is stressed. The dishwasher sprung a major leak about a week ago, and he had just gotten the parts that he thinks he needs to fix it when the stove died. So he already had "fix the dishwasher" on the honey-do list for the weekend. Now he's trying to research what could be wrong with the stove. I'm confident that he can and will fix the dishwasher (even if it takes him a couple of tries), but I am researching and shopping online for a new stove. Oh, and I'm also thinking about what I can cook without a stove or oven. Even if it doesn't take DH very long to give up on repairing the stove, odds are that we'll have to order one. So, so it could be weeks before I have a working stove and oven again. For cooking heat sources, I've got a microwave, crock pot, air fryer, outdoors gas grill, toaster, waffle maker, sous vide machine, butane kitchen torch, and a coffee maker. (Anyone ever watch the Cutthroat Kitchen episodes where they make chefs cook on a coffee pot? Alas, my coffee pot is a Keurig machine, so it's even less useful for cooking than a regular coffee pot. ) I just have to give it a little thought. Oh, wait - the gas grill has a small side burner that I never think to use...that could come in be handy, at least when it's not raining.
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Post by september on Jun 9, 2023 16:56:20 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL , Sorry your stove had such a tantrum, I agree it is time to order a new one! I went without an stove oven (my electric coil top burners worked ok) for about 6 months til I got a new stove, and found the air fryer did about everything I needed for baking. Just had to figure out whether to do the meat or roasted vegetables first. I don't do much bread or cake baking, but did make a pie in the air fryer. Unless your boys are all at home for meals at the same time, I think you will be fine with just your smaller appliances for cooking. I assume you have a side burner on your gas grill for a frying pan? But if not, you can still fry eggs etc. in the air fryer. You'll survive!
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Post by octave1 on Jun 9, 2023 19:22:10 GMT -5
Whenever an appliance gives up, I try to go without it for as long as possible, just to test its actual usefulness; but when I had to replace our stove and found that there was a 6-week waiting time due to Covid/supply chain distribution disruption, it really seemed too much--even for me.
Luckily I had a brand new induction burner stored, for emergencies, and that worked wonders. I could cook just about anything and in record time. I loved, loved, loved the induction burner, and I wish I had ordered a stove with induction cooktop instead of the traditional electric. Cooking is very low on my list of favorite activities, but I found myself enjoying the induction experience. So much time saved.
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Post by mgulfcoastguy on Jun 9, 2023 20:14:22 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL,https://www.amazon.com/Will-Waffle-Irresistible-Unexpected-Recipes/dp/0761176462/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3OXATNBXM9JI7&keywords=waffle+maker+cookbook&qid=1686359482&sprefix=waffle+cookbook%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-3 Just to spice it up. However it is also in full grill season.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jun 9, 2023 20:16:54 GMT -5
I hope DH can fix that range, Laura_in_FL. And for what it's worth, as much as I love my range, in the summer, to avoid heating up the place so much, I almost stop using it, often with trays of veggies on the 6 burners (where I turned off those 3 pilot lights!), and I have one of those induction burners I set on my griddle, and between that, and my Instant Pot, and occasionally the side burner and grill outside, I almost don't have to use it!
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jun 10, 2023 10:46:16 GMT -5
I don't have an induction burner or an Instant Pot. There is a small side burner on the grill. pepperhead212, hubby is going to open up the stove and look at it. (It's out of warranty, so we won't lose anything by him trying to fix it.) But unless he sees something pretty obvious that he knows he can fix for a reasonable parts cost, he's not going to worry about it, because he is aware of the other problems I have had with it. Some he maybe can fix, but others are probably beyond his skill or the amount of money we are interested in paying. octave1, I have been looking at stoves with an induction cooktop - I have induction-ready stainless steel cookware already. But man, I have been seeing brutal reviews on mid-range, consumer-grade induction cooktop/electric oven models. What is weird to me is that many of the complaints are about the induction cooktop failing. Some or all of the burners just stop working within days or weeks. I would have thought that induction would be pretty simple and therefore not prone to failures like that? I guess quality control is not included in the price these days. The new features on stoves/ovens are pretty crazy these days. Some of them supposedly work as air-fryers and dehydrators. Special settings for baking frozen items without preheating. Wi-Fi connectivity, cameras, and apps so you can see inside your oven and monitor your baking from your phone. Scanning UPC codes on products to set the time and temp for cooking for you. (Seriously, how hard is it to read the directions on the package and push a few buttons?!?) I don't even want all of those bells and whistles! I do want convection - that was great when it worked. A bridge element would be nice, but I can live without it. But what I need is a cooking appliance that gets to and maintains the temperature that I set in the oven and on each burner, and works reliably. Easy to clean is a big plus. But ironically, great reliability and consistent temperature control seem harder to find than all of the bells and whistles. But I'll keep looking.
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Post by octave1 on Jun 10, 2023 13:37:19 GMT -5
I agree with you, Laura_in_FL, more features equal more things that could go wrong. But I must say that one thing I don't like about new stoves is the size of the oven. In my opinion, unless you have a large family and/or do a lot of baking, most (electric) ovens are just too big and take forever to heat. I am also guessing that perhaps this is the reason they can't keep a steady baking temperature, aside for a substandard thermostat. Myself, I would be happy--or at least less aggravated--if I could cook on something like this: offerup.com/item/detail/1441430753They can keep all bells and whistles, just give me a solid, long lasting and reliable appliance.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jun 11, 2023 19:58:20 GMT -5
That antique stove is very cool, octave1, We had a single wall oven in the house where I grew up, and ever since I moved out, I have always missed having a wall oven. It's so much more easier to get things in and out of a wall oven, especially heavy items. But since I am not going to cough up the cash to modify the cabinets in this house, a wall oven is not in the cards for now. But when we build the new house, I want to get a cooktop (probably induction) and double wall ovens. I would actually like one of the ovens to be smaller for smaller baking jobs. Like you said - it's faster, uses less energy, and heats the house up less to use a small oven when you can. But I will still need one oven that's big enough for a holiday turkey - I expect to host family for birthdays and holidays until I am too old to cook! And yes, I really hate dealing with repairs. It's not just the money but the stress and inconvenience. I would pay a premium for something rock-solid reliable, but modern manufacturers are all about cutting every corner they can, and planned obsolescence. Manufacturers could build simple, functional appliances that would last for 30+ years, but that is not nearly as profitable as selling shiny new appliances with all of the bells and whistles every 5-10 years. Over the years we have borrowed my FIL's truck a number of times to make trips to the landfill and dispose of various things that the city won't pick up. There is a section of the landfill for appliances - great big rows and stacks of washing machines, stoves, dishwashers, refrigerators, etc. The sad thing is how many of them look to be <10 years old. Odds are that my stove is going to join them. But there is good news: DH thinks he has the dishwasher fixed. But for a few weeks we are only going to run it only when we are at home and able to check it frequently it to make sure that it isn't leaking.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jun 13, 2023 14:51:21 GMT -5
Darnit, the dishwasher is leaking again. DH is not happy. Good thing I waited to run it until I was home and around to check on it often.
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