Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Baymule]

The shelves look good. That entrance decorative half wall was a thing back then. I think it was an attempt to mimic a Grand Foyer and make a house look fancy.

That fence! I have fence envy! It is fabulous! If it weren’t for the heat and mosquitoes, I know you’d be sleeping next to it with an arm through a hole, hugging it close to your heart.

Those trees by the driveway do need to come down.

The attached carport you have would make a lovely screened in porch, a good place to BBQ and hang out. Better hurry before the birds move in and build a nest!

 

[Ridgetop]

Was thinking why not put a wheel under the heavy gate. A friend did that and it works like a champ

We had a wheel on our wooden gate and it was okay but since it was rolling on uneven dirt didn't work that well. We replaced it with a TSC metal gate with welded wire mesh. We thought we would have to put awheel on it but it is lighter than the wooden gate and we haven't needed to. I am hoping that these new gates will be balanced properly, and we can open them easier. The old gate will be repurposed elsewhere.

The weather has been pretty nice here. Or maybe we just get a nice breeze under all the trees constantly. It is hot and humid, but I have been in hotter weather during Texas summers. I think all the rain we have been getting has helped to keep it cool by keeping the grass growing. Last Sunday we had a storm blow in after church around 11 am. DH and I were in Lowes and you couldn't hear anything except rain pounding on the metal roof and loud thunder. The news said for everyone to take cover and stay off the roads due to flooding. They mentioned Sulphur Springs and Wood County as being hard hit. I made DH stop at Walmart for some Blue Bell in case we were cut off by the storm. It rained off and on until about 6pm. We probably got about 3" of rain. Good for the hay.

Since his tractor is broken, DH got out his weed wacker to cut the Goat Weed. Then he started pulling it up by hand. Worked off and on all day and was pretty tired. After supper the TV wasn't working well so he just went to bed at 8:00 pm. Poor baby is exhausted.

DS1 cut the shelves and support pieces for the new shelves in the pantry. I sanded them all off, then measured and screwed in the first supports and - OOPS! Found out that the center dividing wall of the pantry is just a 5/8"-3/4" piece of plywood. Removed the 1 1/2" screws which had gone through and tried to stab the canned goods. Luckily no casualties. DS1 was heading back to Lowes for some repair items. He was going to pick up some shorter screws, but I went through the boxes in the shed and found the 1 1/4" screws. (Thank goodness for my OCD labeling.) I had him get me some small washers instead. He needed a painter's coverall to climb into the attic tomorrow to fix the electric wiring. The attic is full of loose fiberglass insulation. The painter's coverall at Harbor Freight was labeled XXL - chest 30"! He went to Lowes, TSC, and Walmart. The largest one at Lowes was a LG, the fabric one at TSC was very heavy denim so not suitable for the heat. He finally found a long-sleeved fisherman's shirt at Walmart on sale - the kind that soaks up sweat and prevents sunburn. (I told him we should get a few more for him since they are on closeout.) He figures with a pair of sweatpants, the shirt, gloves, and a painter's mask he will be ok in the fiberglass.

Anyway, after he came back, I attached the supports for the shelves. They were fine, except the shelves are a little off level from side to side. Not enough for me to remove them and reinstall them though. Back in the day I would have worked on them until they were perfect, now in my Prime I realize how stupid that was. LOL I primed and painted the cabinet supports, and the shelves. The shelves can go in tomorrow although I think I will wait until we return to fill the pantry. Not sure how long paint should cure in this humidity.
HVAC guy couldn't find anything wrong with the venting in the attic. Said they bent a couple of the vent flaps wider to improve air. $80.00
bill for that.

Tractor guy can't come out until next week to fix tractor. Service call is $100 plus repair $$$

$6,800 for the additional fencing, additional welded braces, and
5 extra 16' gates to make secondary gated area.

$2,400 to trim dead branches out of Catalpa trees, and extra $1,500 to remove the Pecan and Cedar.

Electrician said he might give DH a call next week. I think since I said I was not planning to gut the house and rewire it for $20,000 that we are no longer "preferred" customers.

I have not contacted the plumber about the shower in the large bathroom. That will cost $$$. I will look up how to install PEX flexible piping. Might be able to run it myself.

I have not bothered to get any prices on hay barns since I am already popping extra tranquilizers and running low on Prozac.

DH spent a good while yesterday watching the men install the wire and splice it together. Then he scared me when he came in and said that we did not have enough fence wire! He said there were only 5 or 6 rolls left in the pile and the men were only working on one side!
Found out this am that the men had moved the rolls of wire to various spots where they expected to use them.


I bought 12 rolls of 330' wire. That should give me 3,960' of wire. I am fencing about 3,200'. Even allowing for the loss of several feet per roll for splicing the runs together, I figured to have at least 2 extra rolls (600') for us to do the rest of the fencing we are going to put on the welded pipe fences. The men are attaching the fencing at each end and pulling it to the middle to splice it. They are using several rolls at one time. Worried all night for nothing.

DS1 has a degree in electrics and will go in attic and fix what he can tomorrow. He already did an exploratory look and returned with a snake shed. It is in perfect condition and about 4-5' long! No rattles and the shed had a complete tail so hopefully a rat snake. Bringing it home to my grandkids.

DS1 said the wiring up there is a mess and needs to be cleaned up. He will go into the attic tomorrow dressed like a ninja, and armed with wasp spray, work lights, wire nuts, and tools. His mission? Figure out what the second hot leg (fan) is for in the ceiling and whether there are other hot wires up there that are not attached to anything that pose an immediate fire risk. Secondary mission, fix the wires so he can install the ceiling fan in the LR.

This fall when the heat abates, DS1 will redo all the electric wiring. Maybe we can get DS3 to come out to help him. He and DH made a start on identifying where the numerous switches go. We have several that look like they were designed to turn the LR ceiling lights on from various parts of the house. The switches in the house are all double pole (?) switches. We are not sure whether they just bought them and used them, or if they were designed to be double pole switches. Either way, half of the switches don't turn on anything. We are not sure if whatever they were supposed to turn on has a burned out light bulb, or if they are even connected to anything. The house stays cool with the AC set at 76 degrees but running the ceiling fans keeps it even cooler. We do notice the lack of the ceiling fan when we are all watching TV in the living room.

DH will rent a DitchWitch this fall and run electric lines in conduit to the barn. We also need to run water to the barn from both the well and the house. Then we can run pipes off to the various pastures if necessary from those pipes.

DH and I are enjoying the house. I think we will be quite happy here. There are a few small problems - we are infested with black crickets. They seem to appear in the house during the night. I removed several last evening. We have a resident spider that looks like a baby tarantula. It is hairy, brownish, and lives under the fridge. There was another one in the carport this morning so maybe this is a species. About 2-3" long over the legs. Maybe they will eat the crickets. And the wasps. They are huge black wasps that are building mud nests everywhere. We are spraying them as fast as possible. What eats wasps?

I finished stripping the wallpaper in the large bathroom. 2 more wallpapered rooms to go. The wainscotting, vanity, and linen cabinets are currently painted navy blue. I will paint that woodwork white with a soft color above it. I won't get a new vanity yet and eventually might be able to figure out what to do about putting in a 6' vanity or figure out something smaller using stock cabinets. I will tile the tub surround myself to save money once the shower plumbing is in.

I figured out what to do in the MBR for furniture placement. There is a 35" x 54" window in that room which looks out into the carport. Ugh! I know it was placed there as a fire escape, since the other window is a clerestory window. The placement is bad since that is the wall facing the door and on which I plan to put the bed. That window would be kept covered since it opens onto the carport, and I don't fancy anyone peering into the MBR but the one window would make the entire bed placement look awkward. I decided to put a set of shutters on the window. Then I will put a matching set of shutters on the other end of the wall so it looks like there are matching windows. Center the bed between the pairs of shutters and hang a painting over the headboard. That will leave the other walls free for dressers and the bedroom TV.

MBR planned out, guest bedroom planned out, working on the office lay out and almost there. I think in the LR I will have to have a small sectional. Then the 2 recliners for the men and fill in with my favorite pieces. I am considering leaving the large display cabinet in place and giving my lovely oak display cabinet in CA to DS3. He has said he wants that cabinet.

DD1 called demanding that we return home by 7/23 since she has decided to go on vacation, and they won't be able to feed or babysit for DD2. They are leaving on 7/26 but she wants time to pack. DS1 was planning to go home sooner than us but won't get home on the 23rd. He told her he was coming home on the 24th.

I really don't want to go back to California. I want to finish getting the rooms painted, etc. I want to find a cache of $$$ so we can get everything done NOW! I'm probably hallucinating. Time for a shower and bed.

 

[SageHill]

We had a wheel on our wooden gate and it was okay but since it was rolling on uneven dirt didn't work that well. We replaced it with a TSC metal gate with welded wire mesh. We thought we would have to put awheel on it but it is lighter than the wooden gate and we haven't needed to. I am hoping that these new gates will be balanced properly, and we can open them easier. The old gate will be repurposed elsewhere.

The weather has been pretty nice here. Or maybe we just get a nice breeze under all the trees constantly. It is hot and humid, but I have been in hotter weather during Texas summers. I think all the rain we have been getting has helped to keep it cool by keeping the grass growing. Last Sunday we had a storm blow in after church around 11 am. DH and I were in Lowes and you couldn't hear anything except rain pounding on the metal roof and loud thunder. The news said for everyone to take cover and stay off the roads due to flooding. They mentioned Sulphur Springs and Wood County as being hard hit. I made DH stop at Walmart for some Blue Bell in case we were cut off by the storm. It rained off and on until about 6pm. We probably got about 3" of rain. Good for the hay.

Since his tractor is broken, DH got out his weed wacker to cut the Goat Weed. Then he started pulling it up by hand. Worked off and on all day and was pretty tired. After supper the TV wasn't working well so he just went to bed at 8:00 pm. Poor baby is exhausted.

DS1 cut the shelves and support pieces for the new shelves in the pantry. I sanded them all off, then measured and screwed in the first supports and - OOPS! Found out that the center dividing wall of the pantry is just a 5/8"-3/4" piece of plywood. Removed the 1 1/2" screws which had gone through and tried to stab the canned goods. Luckily no casualties. DS1 was heading back to Lowes for some repair items. He was going to pick up some shorter screws, but I went through the boxes in the shed and found the 1 1/4" screws. (Thank goodness for my OCD labeling.) I had him get me some small washers instead. He needed a painter's coverall to climb into the attic tomorrow to fix the electric wiring. The attic is full of loose fiberglass insulation. The painter's coverall at Harbor Freight was labeled XXL - chest 30"! He went to Lowes, TSC, and Walmart. The largest one at Lowes was a LG, the fabric one at TSC was very heavy denim so not suitable for the heat. He finally found a long-sleeved fisherman's shirt at Walmart on sale - the kind that soaks up sweat and prevents sunburn. (I told him we should get a few more for him since they are on closeout.) He figures with a pair of sweatpants, the shirt, gloves, and a painter's mask he will be ok in the fiberglass.

Anyway, after he came back, I attached the supports for the shelves. They were fine, except the shelves are a little off level from side to side. Not enough for me to remove them and reinstall them though. Back in the day I would have worked on them until they were perfect, now in my Prime I realize how stupid that was. LOL I primed and painted the cabinet supports, and the shelves. The shelves can go in tomorrow although I think I will wait until we return to fill the pantry. Not sure how long paint should cure in this humidity.
HVAC guy couldn't find anything wrong with the venting in the attic. Said they bent a couple of the vent flaps wider to improve air. $80.00
bill for that.

Tractor guy can't come out until next week to fix tractor. Service call is $100 plus repair $$$

$6,800 for the additional fencing, additional welded braces, and
5 extra 16' gates to make secondary gated area.

$2,400 to trim dead branches out of Catalpa trees, and extra $1,500 to remove the Pecan and Cedar.

Electrician said he might give DH a call next week. I think since I said I was not planning to gut the house and rewire it for $20,000 that we are no longer "preferred" customers.

I have not contacted the plumber about the shower in the large bathroom. That will cost $$$. I will look up how to install PEX flexible piping. Might be able to run it myself.

I have not bothered to get any prices on hay barns since I am already popping extra tranquilizers and running low on Prozac.

DH spent a good while yesterday watching the men install the wire and splice it together. Then he scared me when he came in and said that we did not have enough fence wire! He said there were only 5 or 6 rolls left in the pile and the men were only working on one side!
Found out this am that the men had moved the rolls of wire to various spots where they expected to use them.


I bought 12 rolls of 330' wire. That should give me 3,960' of wire. I am fencing about 3,200'. Even allowing for the loss of several feet per roll for splicing the runs together, I figured to have at least 2 extra rolls (600') for us to do the rest of the fencing we are going to put on the welded pipe fences. The men are attaching the fencing at each end and pulling it to the middle to splice it. They are using several rolls at one time. Worried all night for nothing.

DS1 has a degree in electrics and will go in attic and fix what he can tomorrow. He already did an exploratory look and returned with a snake shed. It is in perfect condition and about 4-5' long! No rattles and the shed had a complete tail so hopefully a rat snake. Bringing it home to my grandkids.

DS1 said the wiring up there is a mess and needs to be cleaned up. He will go into the attic tomorrow dressed like a ninja, and armed with wasp spray, work lights, wire nuts, and tools. His mission? Figure out what the second hot leg (fan) is for in the ceiling and whether there are other hot wires up there that are not attached to anything that pose an immediate fire risk. Secondary mission, fix the wires so he can install the ceiling fan in the LR.

This fall when the heat abates, DS1 will redo all the electric wiring. Maybe we can get DS3 to come out to help him. He and DH made a start on identifying where the numerous switches go. We have several that look like they were designed to turn the LR ceiling lights on from various parts of the house. The switches in the house are all double pole (?) switches. We are not sure whether they just bought them and used them, or if they were designed to be double pole switches. Either way, half of the switches don't turn on anything. We are not sure if whatever they were supposed to turn on has a burned out light bulb, or if they are even connected to anything. The house stays cool with the AC set at 76 degrees but running the ceiling fans keeps it even cooler. We do notice the lack of the ceiling fan when we are all watching TV in the living room.

DH will rent a DitchWitch this fall and run electric lines in conduit to the barn. We also need to run water to the barn from both the well and the house. Then we can run pipes off to the various pastures if necessary from those pipes.

DH and I are enjoying the house. I think we will be quite happy here. There are a few small problems - we are infested with black crickets. They seem to appear in the house during the night. I removed several last evening. We have a resident spider that looks like a baby tarantula. It is hairy, brownish, and lives under the fridge. There was another one in the carport this morning so maybe this is a species. About 2-3" long over the legs. Maybe they will eat the crickets. And the wasps. They are huge black wasps that are building mud nests everywhere. We are spraying them as fast as possible. What eats wasps?

I finished stripping the wallpaper in the large bathroom. 2 more wallpapered rooms to go. The wainscotting, vanity, and linen cabinets are currently painted navy blue. I will paint that woodwork white with a soft color above it. I won't get a new vanity yet and eventually might be able to figure out what to do about putting in a 6' vanity or figure out something smaller using stock cabinets. I will tile the tub surround myself to save money once the shower plumbing is in.

I figured out what to do in the MBR for furniture placement. There is a 35" x 54" window in that room which looks out into the carport. Ugh! I know it was placed there as a fire escape, since the other window is a clerestory window. The placement is bad since that is the wall facing the door and on which I plan to put the bed. That window would be kept covered since it opens onto the carport, and I don't fancy anyone peering into the MBR but the one window would make the entire bed placement look awkward. I decided to put a set of shutters on the window. Then I will put a matching set of shutters on the other end of the wall so it looks like there are matching windows. Center the bed between the pairs of shutters and hang a painting over the headboard. That will leave the other walls free for dressers and the bedroom TV.

MBR planned out, guest bedroom planned out, working on the office lay out and almost there. I think in the LR I will have to have a small sectional. Then the 2 recliners for the men and fill in with my favorite pieces. I am considering leaving the large display cabinet in place and giving my lovely oak display cabinet in CA to DS3. He has said he wants that cabinet.

DD1 called demanding that we return home by 7/23 since she has decided to go on vacation, and they won't be able to feed or babysit for DD2. They are leaving on 7/26 but she wants time to pack. DS1 was planning to go home sooner than us but won't get home on the 23rd. He told her he was coming home on the 24th.

I really don't want to go back to California. I want to finish getting the rooms painted, etc. I want to find a cache of $$$ so we can get everything done NOW! I'm probably hallucinating. Time for a shower and bed.

PEX - kinda fun to work with. We used it for everything in the barn. There’s a few special tools that make things easy. They may even come with the fittings I think. Then there’s on that measures so you know you’ve got the fitting down as far as it can go.

 

[Baymule]

You have this all under control. The missing wire was a test to see if you would have a hysterical collapse—and you only lost a little sleep! Not only in your PRIME, but cool headed and Texas Tough too!

 

[Ridgetop]

Yay! Getting there.
Ninja DS1 went into the attic and fixed the mess of wires for the fan. There are other strange things up there, but he said it was too hot to continue looking around. We will put all that off till fall. I also want to get some 1x12 planks to lay across the rafters to be able to work up there. Can't get plywood through the small access door, so planks it will have to be. I climbed up the ladder to look inside and saw what he meant about not being able to find the wiring that is buried under the loose insulation. We will have to pull the wiring up onto the planks to work on it. Also I will try to get up there and staple the retro fit heat barrier onto the roof rafters. That will make it easier to work up there too.

It's a job for winter though. DS1 came down and his painter's hod and shirt were soaking wet. Peeled off those and his sweatpants and they went straight into the washer. He has another load of his clothes to do before he leaves this Saturday for California. He will take all the empty boxes back along with empty plastic bins for me to repack with stuff.

This fall we will do some work in the shed to install the cabinets I brought from California and put up more shelving. Then I can unpack a lot of the boxes of hardware and tools, making it easier to do work around here. Once we do our final move with our table saw and miter saw, etc. we can do a lot more here. I think we will have to put in a concrete or paver path to the tool shed from the house since it seems we have moles and gophers as well as the armadillo. The back yard is sort of uneven and you sink in unexpected spots in the grass.

The pantry shelves are finished but I won't put anything on the shelves till our next trip. Slightly tacky due to humidity. DS1 went to cut the boards and the small power saw that i has brought last trip was dead. First, we thought it was the extension cord, then the outlets, finally realized the saw no longer worked. What! Up to Lowes to buy a new circular saw. Battery powered so we could use it out in the fields. Good deal on buy a new starter battery pack from Kobalt and get the small circular saw ($129) free. EXCEPT that no stores had the starter battery pack so the "deal" was worthless. The "starter pack" came with a charger and 2 batteries for $149. We talked to the manager about substituting another batter pack that was cheaper, but the manager refused. He said that Lowes were discontinuing the "starter pack". The sale was good for another 5 days but if they did not have the battery pack, then why even offer the sale price?
None of the Lowes within 30 miles had the battery pack. The closest one was in Greenville, an hour away. They had ONE! DS1 called and asked if they could hold it for us. The lady said she would put our name on it and put it at the cash register, but we were afraid that when we got there someone else would have removed the tag and bought it. In the meantime, there was another sale offer - buy the larger battery saw ($149) and get the long-life battery ($90) free. We had to order it online then come back to the store to pick it up even though the online sale said it was available immediately for pickup. After several hours of discussion, with DS1 trying to order online without success, the manager finally did the online deal for us at the store. DS1 bought a fine-tooth blade for the saw, I got my other repair stuff, and we went home utterly exhausted. What a hassle, hours lost standing around at Lowes. We finally got home and DS1 got the boards cut (we had charged Kobalt batteries at home for the chain saw and polesaw). Meanwhile, I scrubbed out the pantry. The battery-operated saws will stay here when we go back to California. No sense dragging them back and forth since we want them here.

DS1 is hanging the LR fan now. He plans to leave for California tomorrow or Saturday. He will drive straight through and nap in the truck at a rest stop.

Levi (fence guy) said that his guys will do a firebreak around the burn piles and burn them tomorrow. We will have to watch them since they will have hot coals even after they burn down. Jeremy (gardener) is going to clear the overgrown garden and burn everything this winter. Then he will spread the ashes and till them in. Finally, he will transplant the living apple and pear trees into the garden on the north side. We may try planting some other varieties in the new location too. The abandoned house on that side has lots of fruit trees in the front yard. I might sneak over and check out what they have. They are really old trees so probably at the end of their productive life but may have some fruit on them. The land is for sale so if anyone asks, I will say I am looking at it as a buyer. And hope they are not armed. LOL

 

[Mini Horses]

So I'm having DD check on that battery/saw deal here...she works there, so if one is around it's done. Both of us have some Kobalt & new chainsaw is.. Just a battery is $80. Of course, found one on net at $40 sale. . But, would like the saw.

 

[Baymule]

Pantry looks awesome! Good job on that!

 

[Ridgetop]

DS1 left this morning for California. He is taking a lot of stuff home with him - all the empty boxes to be repacked, empty plastic tubs, moving pads, the large cooler that held the meat, and one of the fans that we can't return here because DS2 bought it on his credit card and I don't have the receipt. Also the dolly.

I already miss him. Particularly since DH can't work the Roku remote to find his programs. He already called DS1 to find out how to do it. DS1 was telling me what to do and DH kept telling me contradictory things to do. I had to be strict with DH so I could hear what DS1 was saying. Then several minutes ago he called to tell us that diesel was $2.99 at the Murphy's Express in Crossroad, TX, 90 miles away. Called again to say that it was the same price at the Walmart adjacent to Murphy's and would be easier to get in and out with the flatbed at the Walmart. Hope it is still that price when we leave.

Yesterday he took all the trash to the dump, then went out and finished pulling up the goat weed for DH and put a bunch of stuff away for us so everything would be easy for us when we leave. We are lucky to have him.

The fence guys are hear working on the wire. They lit 3 brush piles and are burning the tree branches and junk they cleared from the fence line. Levi said to keep a eye n the piles for a day or so after they finish burning since they are large and will have hot coals for a day or two. The men will watch them while they are here but when they leave it will be up to us. As a Southern California girl it makes me nervous to see fires in a field. In California I kept a binoculars handy to check for smoke in the summer. We need to make a run to Walmart for groceries so better do it soon while the men are still here.

 

[Bruce]

DS1 said that if we can get the paneling off the walls without damaging it

Should be possible assuming it was put in with small nails. just pound them through with a small nailset.

XXL - chest 30"

OMG
I didn't know they made that in XXL child size.

I will look up how to install PEX flexible piping.

It is pretty easy, just don't use the Sharkbite (or similar) fittings inside a wall. I bought the crimper tool, comes with the gauge to make sure the band is crimped tight enough. Doesn't take any longer than the Sharkbites. And if you don't have one, buy a tubing cutter and WATCH YOUR FINGERS, that sucker is SHARP!!!

The men are attaching the fencing at each end and pulling it to the middle to splice it.

 

[Ridgetop]

Bruce - Thanks so much! Totally forgot that wth tiny finishing nails I could pound them through and just lift off the paneling after removing the baseboards and ceiling cap! That is what I do to salvage baseboards and moldings when I have to remove them (laying floors, etc.) I have lots of nail sets in smaller sizes up to large. Since there is no wallboard behind the paneling, it won't be glued on. Thanks!

As to the Pex, we want to put the back bathroom (serving 3 bedrooms only one of which will be in constant use) on the front water heater. When the previous owner had 3 kids here it made sense to put that bathroom on a separate 50-gallon water heater. But the water heaters are electric and keeping that 50 gallons hot just for one person to take a shower doesn't make sense. By removing that back water heater and running new water lines though the attic to the back bathroom from the front water heater we can save money, and free up the huge hot water heater closet for more storage. Since we need to install the shower in that bathroom, we can do it all at one time. We will just have to insulate the water lines really well in the attic.

I feel Farmerjan's pain today - hot, muggy, overcast, and the constant smell of smoke in the air from our burn piles. We currently have several burning and I keep checking to make sure they are not spreading. They may be common in east Texas, but for me, the smell of smoke is reason to run for the binoculars to scan the hills and neighborhood for the fire and make my plans to evacuate! LOL Several other people are taking advantage of the recent rains to burn their piles as well.

Went to Lowes and did our returns. Then I got the last blinds for the house. The old ones with the strings to raise and lower them were length adjustable. The new cordless ones are not. I am going to play around with one of the bathroom blinds though and see if I can shorten it. If it doesn't work, I will only be out $11. If it does, I can customize the blinds for the MBR and the bathrooms all of which have short windows. The shortest I can get the cheap Lowes blinds is 64". That length is fine for the six 35x54" bedroom windows, but the clerestory MBR window and the bathroom windows are only 27" tall. I was able to repurpose one newer bedroom blind with cords and adjust it to length. I wanted to use the kind with cords since I have trouble reaching the bottom of the cordless blind over the sink. I might replace it later, but for now it serves its purpose.

After Lowes we had to go to Walmart. Emergency restock of Blue Bell!
We won't be here much longer so just got enough groceries for the rest of next week - salad and bread. Might have to replenish Blue Bell one more time. LOL I did get more of the fishing shirts DS1 got for his trip into the attic. He really liked the shirt, it was very stretchy, comfortable, had long sleeves which he normally doesn't wear, but protected him from the sun and the attic insulation, was reversible, and wicked sweat away from the body. And, my favorite, it was on closeout! He said if we went back to Walmart to get him a couple more for working outside and in nasty areas. They only had 4 left in 3XL so I got all of them. If they fit DS1 they will fit DH. Then I found some T-shirts for $3 and $4 each. Got some of those for DH to replace those that are wearing out, are torn, have holes, stains, etc. DH is hard on his shirts.

DH called Kris in Ft. Worth and he will drive out to visit and spend the night here. Our first overnight guest! Luckily, we have a bed for him now that DS1 has left for California. Kris has been having a rough time. His mom went to the hospital for emergency surgery just before we came out. She has recovered but he is having trouble getting people to stay with her. She is legally blind now and needs to have someone in the house. His favorite dog that he rescued from a Mexican beach years ago had a bad health scare and they pulled her through but later tests showed cancer. Kris went with chemo but she didn't last more than 2 treatments and he was heartbroken. He has been working too hard (as usual), got a case of sunstroke, then had a couple problems with his business and had to replace some employees.

AND then he told me about his experience with installing solar on a couple of his properties. He has several rentals in Palm Springs which is located in the desert. It is very popular since the early days of Hollywood with movie stars, etc. and they would go there to their winter homes to play in the sunshine. It gets very hot - dry heat - but triple digit temps from about May through September. He decided to put solar on his rental apartment building. Just 12 small units and a pool but it ate up the electricity during the summer with AC and the pool heater in the winter. Anyway, he invested $75,000 in solar on the entire building and pool. He got a great rebate, and good tax write off. The electric bills went from $500 monthly to about $50 a month and he was thrilled. Then he got a "year-end adjustment" bill for $5,500! Between the amount he was paying monthly, and the $5,500 divided by 12 months the electric company charges are MUCH MORE per month than they were before he installed the solar!

Something wrong there for sure. However, what is happening with the electric companies is that with more and more customers using solar panels the electric companies are not making enough to pay for the infrastructure upkeep. As a result the electric companies stopped allowing credit for all the power the home solar panel equipment was making and putting back into the system grid. Now many companies are charging a "maintenance surcharge" to all customers with solar equipment to get $$$ for upkeep of the wires, etc.

The same thing is happening with home charging stations for the electric cars. DSIL1 has an electric car and plugs it into his system at home. He also has a massive roof top solar panel system. Plugging his car into his home outlets takes a long to charge the car using his standard 110 charging station. He checked with the power company about putting in a 220 outlet. They told him that would be fine - he needed to hire an electrician to install it and that there would be a $500 charge for DWP to "OK" the 220 charging station! WHAT?! HE HAS TO PAY FOR THE WORK TO BE DONE BY AN ELECTRICIAN, HE HAS ENOUGH SOLAR PANELS TO GENERATE THE ELECTRICITY TO CHARGE THE CAR, BUT THE ELECTRIC COMPANY WANTS TO CHARGE HIM TO ALLOW HIM TO INSTALL THE PLUG! DH, DS1, DS2 all said they would put in the electric outlet for nothing and not to notify the electric company, but DS1 is a rules guy and has decided to stay with the 110 charging outlet. DSIL1 has a PhD - proving my theory that the more and higher education some people acquire, the less common sense they have.

Got to check the burn piles again. Looks like they have just about burned out.

Anyway, it will be nice to see Kris again. We were not going to be able to see him if he did not come out since pulling and parking a flatbed trailer in Ft. Worth to go to dinner was not going to happen.