Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[farmerjan]

Fence looks really REALLY nice.
One suggestion, get a combination padlock instead of a key... no keys to misplace, the combination can be changed if it gets into "too many others info".... and you can get all combinations to match all locks and then change if you need to... We have combination locks on most all the pastures except the one where a landowner put it and the key hangs on the inside of a post several posts away from the lock... one time DS was coming out from loading some hay for some people off a wagon there and they hung around and he put it in his truck so they wouldn't know where the key was, then forgot it the next day because he had a tractor, and I had to go take it to him... PITA.... of course we have multiple vehicles and so things are never in the one you have at the time.. but the combination lock doesn't need anything but your memory... and I have them in my phone and most I can remember anyway.

Sorry for the sadness of going to the funeral but looks like it will work well into the plans to head back to CA as far as the timing goes.

Neat find on the small trailer... and the bush hog... but if it is parked in the weeds there may be a reason it was abandoned there... still scrap metal is bringing good money if it is not salvageable.

 

[SageHill]

Looks great! Nice new tight fence is one of those things that makes one go "AHHHHHHHHHH" ,
And extra surprises of the good kind - icing on the ranch cake. Worst case you can make that trailer a frame for a shade house for growing.
PS -- a big yes on the combination locks! We had a nice one on the container we stored our furniture and stuff in during the build here. Big and heavy not at all like the kind on lockers in school.

 

[Ridgetop]

Combination lock sounds like the way to go for the farm fences. Also if there is any emergency we can give the combination to a neighbor or friend.

We were ex[ecting a long line up for fish at the Co-Op but we were first ones there (pnly ones there for a while)! We got Bluegill, Catfish, and Minnows. No Bass because I didn't want them to eat all the others. We can wait on the Bass and there may be some in the pond already. Right after we pulled in a guy in a truck with six 50 gallon barrels pulled in after us! I told DH maybe we were supposed to bring buckets! Luckily I could run in and buy one at the Co-Op but it wasn't necessary. The guy put them in giant plastic bags. Felt like coming home after the Fair with bags of the kids' Goldfish! LOL No Crappie since too late in the season for them. We originally wanted just the Bluegill and Catfish but the guy said he thought he might have some Minnows left so we got some of those too. Bad move since I think a lot of them were already dying. Most of them certainly didn't survive more than the 30 minutes it took to get them into the pond.

Drove home and DH picked up his weed wacker. I got a bucket and my snake stick (large wooden walking pole with alligator head) just in case of copperheads or water moccasins. DH poo-pooed me but better safe than sorry since I didn't have my high rubber boots. Instead, I brought a pair of flip flops in case I had to step in the pond. Approaching from the field was a no-go since the water weeds were too thick so DH drove around to the tree side. We checked to find a way in and then he weedwacked a path.
and carried the bags of fish over.

Meanwhile, I took the bucket down and proceeded to get some water into it per the instructions about blending the water. I think we were supposed to wait 5 minutes before dumping the combined water and fish into the pond. OOOPS! Oh well. I was sidetracked by getting my feet stuck in the mud and falling on my butt! LOL No pix of that because DH did not hear me screaming for help - my feet were still trapped in the sticky mud - and I had the camera. Finally he stopped cutting and brought the fish over. By then I had struggled to my feet - no snakes luckily. Probably scared them away. About a good third of the minnows were already dead and my first attempt to remove them from the bag into the bucket didn't help. Pouring them from the bag was not successful. Half of them fell out onto the mud. Uh Oh! DH told me to just scrape them into the pond so I did. Some were still flopping but many just floated on top of the water. Hope some of them made it. My next attempts were better - I sliced the bags from the bottom with them over the bucket of pond water and they poured in. Then I just tipped the bucket over a tree root and off they went.

Plenty of dead minnows were left floating around so probably food for turtles, etc.

Now finally I can start painting DS1's bedroom.

 

[Baymule]

Fish adventure! No pond in CA!! Minnows will have babies and you’ll have plenty. Soon y’all will be able to catch fish out of your pond!

And then throw them back and go to the catfish restaurant because someone else cleaned and cooked them!

 

[Mini Horses]

At our old farm we had a small pond that we had dug. My DSIL used to fish and added bass & catfish to ours. We did buy some kind of babes, don't remember what kind. I don't fish or cook it. I added ducks

 

[Ridgetop]

I will be adding geese courtesy of Erick. Geese are vegetarians and will clean up the pond weed. I also plan to add ducks to the garden since they will eat bugs. Apparently, their favorite food is crickets and grasshoppers. We have an abundance of those. Now that DH has mowed a lot of the weeds, the grasshoppers and crickets are staying away from the house. Can't find many Catalpa worms though. I did read that there is a certain type of wasp that lays their eggs on the caterpillar. When the eggs hatch the wasp larva eat the caterpillars. We are inundated with wasps. They seem like mainly mud wasps since you can't set anything down outside without a mud wasp nest appearing on it almost immediately. They are not very aggressive so maybe they are the Catalpa worm eating ones. Although if they are those wasps, they wouldn't need to build mud nests for their eggs would they?

The funeral is scheduled for 2:30 pm tomorrow. We were going to park the truck and trailer at Kris' office, but I called the funeral home, and they have large parking adjacent so we can park there. We will just drive straight there and walk over to the funeral. The reception is in an adjacent room. Then we will head for California.

DD2 called us this morning almost hysterical. DH had sent her a text asking how to get an Uber. She had visions of us laying in a ditch and needing transportation. She called her sister and brothers when she couldn't get hold of us. DH was running errands and i was up on a ladder painting the bedroom. By the time I got down she had rung off. That happened 4 times and I was getting peeved. I started to call her back when her husband called me. I talked to DD2 and calmed her down, while on that call DD1 called. OMG! Do they think we need a Life Alert?

Finally finished painting the bedroom. This color paint goes on dark then gets splotchy, then cures into a very nice light shade of gray. I used the leftover 3/4 gallon first, but it was very thick and it didn't go on the walls very well. It needed a second coat. We went to Lowes on the way home from church and got another gallon of the same stuff to do a second coat. That second gallon went on nicely. I added water to the leftover paint from the first batch and mixed it in really well. The room looks very nice and DS1 will like the color. It tones down the bright royal blue carpeting so I will probably use that color gray in the office as well. DS1's room and the office have that bright royal blue carpet.

While I was at Lowes getting the paint mixed, I picked up a gallon of primer that is guaranteed to go on any surface and cover. I'll wash the bathroom walls when I come back in September and put on a primer coat on both the walls and the dark blue woodwork. I will get a gallon of cream color paint to paint out the woodwork in the MBA. The woodwork is a horrible pea green with an ugly shade of olive trim. The wallpaper is a green plaid with cream and maroon. It wouldn't be too bad with different color woodwork. I have a border I am going to bring back and see if that will perk it up. Then I will paint out the woodwork and trim in cream. That will give it a new look until I can decide what else to do. The other bathroom is the one needing to be washed down and primer added to the walls. It has that brown bathtub and the woodwork has to be painted in a color that will brighten up the room. I think I can find a good color and then paint the balls above the wainscotting a soft shade of aqua like our bathroom at home. That way I can use the towels from our bathroom in there. I also picked up several sample cards with different shades of yellow paint. I will match them to the (almost) new bedspread and choose one. That will be a painting job for next September, as well.

Anyway, doing a load of laundry tonight and all the bedding and towels tomorrow before we leave for Ft. Worth. Finished up the leftovers in the fridge tonight. Tomorrow am DH will take all the trash to the dump, gas the truck, and hitch the gooseneck, while I finish the packing. Then we will load and drive to the funeral home. Should take about 1-1 1/2 hours to get to Ft. Worth. Luckily, we have clothes that will do for the funeral with us. After the funeral we will see how far we can get before stopping for the night. Two days on the road should get us to AZ, pick up alfalfa in AZ, and then home. Packing up my computer - won't be in communication for several days now.

To begin another round of packing, loading, before driving back to TX. Can't wait to be moved. At least we will have the fences up in September!

 

[farmerjan]

Safe trip back to CA. and back to TX....

 

[SageHill]

Safe travels - bet the going back to CA is a pita. You seem to have settled into TX and love it!

 

[Baymule]

I’m glad the funeral home has parking for truck and trailers. It sure makes it easier for you. Y’all be safe going back to CA.

 

[Ridgetop]

In the immortal words of the Terminator "I'm back"!

Before we left Yantis, I got a lot done. Thank goodness I had brought a bunch of clothes out on previous visits since we had black items to wear to the funeral. Sad to hear about meat prices going up since I raided our freezers, and we ate chicken and steak the entire time in Yantis. I am not sure we have any more steaks. I was buying them on sale and removing the bone then cutting them into smaller portions to make them go further. The expression on my sons' faces when told we were having steak and then receiving a 6-ounce portion was laughable. Told them they had to tighten their belts. Since food is becoming so expensive our dinner portions are getting smaller. I wish it was reflected on the scale but then maybe that was the Blue Bell.

DH managed to weed whack and brush hog the barnyard and an area to the side of the barn. He was also able to restock the pond which he has been wanting to do for the past year or so. The last fish truck delivery for the summer was the Saturday before we left. They will start up again in the winter and spring. H has plans to brush hog the goat weed as soon it coms up in the spring. He has declared war on it. He is bringing out his baby Kubota and the utility trailer on the next trip. The Kubota has a front loader on it and he can clean out the barn with it. We need to get the barn scraped so we can put corral panes up and keep the sheep in the barn for the first week or so on feed to teach them to return to the barn at night.

I was able to wash down and paint DS1's room this trip. Pretty shade of gray with white trim. Helps to tone down the bright royal blue carpeting. It took me most of the day to tape off the carpet and natural wd wardrobe doors. I painted the trim and walls the next day. I am much slower than I was 6 years ago and have less balance. BUT STILL IN MY PRIME! The evidence is that I did not fall off the ladder or painter's bench, spill the paint, or any other mishaps y children obviously expected from me. I even managed to finish the job and it looks good! I also hung new white blinds in the windows. DS1 had hung the new ceiling fan and the room looks great. Ready for him to move in some of his furniture on the next trip.

The funeral was on Monday afternoon, and we had to clean and pack to leave Monday morning.
I was painting on Sunday, trying to finish the second coat. While I was painting, DH left to do some errands and gas the truck. I was up on the ladder and received a phone call from DD2. By the time I got off the ladder and down the hall to my phone she had hung up. Back on the ladder and painting and she called again. Off the ladder, down the hall, and missed the call again! This time I brought the phone back with me but did not want to call her back since the paint was drying and if I took off the gloves with my hands so sweaty it would take 15 minutes to get them back on! Back on the ladder and - you guessed it! Another call from DD2. This time I figured it must be an emergency, so I struggled to get the gloves off and answer the phone but too late. I was calling her back but before the call could go through, I received a call from DSIL2. While answering that call, I got a call from DD1 who was on vacation in Seattle water skiing with her family! (Yes, Seatte was in the middle of a heat wave too - probably at least 80 degrees!) Turns out that DH had called DD2 forgetting about the time difference and left a message asking how to order an Uber. She couldn't reach him - he can't hear his phone ring when driving the diesel truck. She was almost hysterical because she thought we had an emergency and were stranded in a ditch somewhere. She had called her sister and all her brothers in a panic. Really, how old do these children think we are anyway?
I suppose we can look forward to receiving Life Alert pendants for Christmas! After reassuring her that we were A. Alive, B. Not injured in a ditch, and C. Able to drive home, I told her to please call all her siblings back because I really needed to get back on the ladder and finish the painting! LOL

I will paint the office and spare room when we go back in September. We will be bringing more furniture, boxes, and large pictures then. After looking at the large built in display cabinet in the corner of the living room (not a good location for my furniture arrangement), I decided not to remove it but that I could make it look better by placing the 3 oak bookcases next to it on that wall. Instead of bringing my lovely oak display cabinet with me I will use that built in display cabinet. (DS3 has already put dibs on the oak cabinet.) The built in cabinet is almost 18" deep, but by placing the 12" deep bookcases next to it, it will not stick out so much furniture arrangement may be better. And it solves the problem of where to put the 3 tall bookcases! I wil have to add a couple shelves to the built in cabinet since Pete McDonald bult it to hold his kids' FFA and 4-H trophies. I think I will see about adding a couple of half depth glass shelves for my crystal stemware. That will leave space in front for taller items.

DSIL2 (formerly known as Doofus) wants to drive a truck back for our move. He said he might be able to get an empty truck from work that is going that way and we just pay gas. We would be able to take all the corral panels we are currently using for the sheep at one go along with the rest of our stuff. The drawback is that the truck he is offering is one of those huge ones and won't fit up our road. We could rent a larger trailer to take back more stuff than the stock trailer too. He really wants to help out and be part of our family. Actually, just having another driver for the trip back would be great. Particularly after DH has his partial knee replacement. Also help for DS1 with unloading. DSIL2 could fly back so he didn't lose any work. He has really been enjoying driving semis and we are so happy that he has found his niche and is making good money. We have such good, sweet children. Or maybe they are just in a hurry to see us leave. LOL

The office furniture arrangement will be a bit tricky, but I think I can figure out where to put all the filing cabinets and my tall desk. I might have to relocate DH's L shaped desk. I'll paint the office the same calm gray color as DS1's room since it has the same bright blue carpet in it. DH already asked when I plan to replace the carpet in that room. LOL My flooring plans were for the living room and hall first, and not until we have installed the generator and done a few other repairs. But if it really bothers him, I suppose I can remove the carpet and put down an inexpensive self-stick vinyl plank floor myself. I have done enough of that stuff. It would allow our desk chairs to move more freely as well. Have to see - maybe not till we are living in the house though. Although still in my prime, I am slightly slower than I used to be, mainly in getting up from the floor!

Speaking of paint I was horrified at the price of it! Thank goodness I did not listen to DH when he said "Just buy new paint in Texas". $40/gallon and that was not even the best paint. Of course, it was eggshell finish which raises the price a bit but still! Luckily, I have an unopened gallon of white semi-gloss as well as the remaining half gallon to use for the trim. I will have to buy 2 gallons of semi-gloss for the woodwork and walls in the bathrooms which will cost a bundle! I am hoping to use the same cream color for the wainscotting and cabinets in both bathrooms which will save a bit. On the bathroom note I couldn't find the border I have for the master bathroom because the storage box is in the Connex behind a bunch of furniture. Once we move some of our furniture out of the house, we can move the furniture in the Connex into the house making it easier to reach the stored items we are taking to Yantis. Complicated? No, just the Ridgetop way.

DH still wants a Connex in Texas. They will get too hot in Texas without ventilation and fans BUT I had an idea! Why not hook up solar panels on the roof and run a small AC off them in the Connex? The AC would only have to run during the summer. If it worked, we could bring back the other one and do the same thing. We could fix it up as a shop building. We would have to have regular electricity to it for lights, heat in the winter, and to run the power tools, but it would work. Use the solar just for the AC. Put a roof between them and we would have another covered parking area. We bought our 2 Connexes new and they have doors on both ends. We could haul them out on the flatbed cheaper than the cost of buying them in Texas. Once DH decides where to put them, he can get a pad ready and bring them out.

So left on Monday and went to the funeral. Then left the reception at 4:40pm and headed for California. DH refused to stop and get a hotel room. We drove until 2:00am when he decided he needed a nap. He took my pillow and went to sleep. I read my kindle and felt my ankles and feet swell. At 5:00am he woke up, we went to Denny's for breakfast, gassed the truck, and hit the road again. I suggested we stop early and get some sleep but DS1 had told him how he had driven home only stopping for a 4-hour nap. Lord, save me from testosterone and male hormones! They make men stupid. DH decided we would do the same thing, after all he is in his PRIME! We made it to the alfalfa farm in Mojave Valley and bought 80 bales of hay an hour before they closed at 4:00pm. Gassed and had dinner then drove on reaching our house around 10:00 pm on Tuesday night. DH was exhausted. He had trouble during the last hour of the drive with oncoming headlights. Our truck has crappy headlights too and until now DH has refused to install the after-market off brand ones DS3 put on his truck. He has decided now he better get them. He also told me that he didn't think he wanted to do much driving after dark anymore. Considering that when returning to California we are driving right into the sun, DUH! I realize that he used to drive al night and we both used to go for 48 plus hours dtraight without sleep but that was back in our Dumb Youth, not in our Primes! You are supposed to be smarter in your Prime. Oh wait, what did I say about male hormones and testosterone? Having proved he could actually still drive all night if he wanted to, maybe now he won't need to anymore. We both slept very well.

Wednesday and Tuesday I started packing boxes again. I emptied the china cabinet, the buffet, and the large display cabinet. I packed my grandmother's pre-WW1 china, my mother's Waterford, and the ruby glass stemware my grandmother had and gave me when I married. I have packed the crystal and cut-glass pieces I will be taking, most of them were my grandmother's. I am sorting as I go and leaving what I don't absolutely love for my girls. I have some special little pieces of painted china I will give to my granddaughters. Next, I have to sort through and decide which fancy platters I want to take with me. I won't be doing as much entertaining, so I won't need as many. I will take a few and give the rest to my girls. They are doing more entertaining now and can use them. I already gave them my chafing dishes - I had 3 so one to each girl. Also gave them my punch bowls and 40 cups - yes, several punchbowls. Have you figured out that we used to do a LOT of formal entertaining! I already gave the girls the 6 boxes of outdoor patio entertaining gear! They are responsible for tho outdoor parties hosting 20-50 people now! LOL Also have the cabinet over the fridge to empty and sort. More entertaining stuff up there with a china service for 30. That service will stay for the girls to share and use for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

I have 20 boxes packed already and am heading out to pack more stuff. I have almost run out of boxes! I need to look in the sheds and see if i have any more somewhere. I guess I need to start using the large plastic bins but don't like using those for fragile items. Moving is a lot of work!