22nd June 2020, 05:06 PM
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 all around...
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22nd June 2020, 06:32 PM
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From all this rain, I now have 2 inches of water (at least) in my new basement. The OH's basement may have had a trickle or 2 but nothing like this.
I am overwhelmed. I KNOW I need a standpipe and it was on my list. It is now tomorrow's #1 priority. THANK GOD for my handyman who also is my realtor's husband. He brought a sump pump over. This house doesn't have one; I need to research them. Since I am now babysitting a pump that is running full bore and is just keeping up with the flow, I will be up for some time. I'm beyond sick. I have been ambivalent about this move for so many reasons, even ambivalent about NH. I know I've made my bed, dammit. I am just not happy in it. TH has been supportive, but he's 90 minutes away so can't really help. Have watched a YT video on installing a standpipe. Handyman is going to Home Depot tomorrow on another errand and will look at them for me and report back (very nice of him). I am going to take tomorrow off (FUCK IT ALL) and try to come to terms with this sh*tshow that is my life now. All this when my kids are coming to visit this weekend. I'm sick.  
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23rd June 2020, 04:46 AM
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23rd June 2020, 04:50 AM
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so, to sum up my work issues as of now:
working 20 hours means I am making too much money to get unemployement. there may be PRN therapy work near me, but the facilities where I work don't want me to be in their buildings if I work in a different one. I try not to blame them for that - they are only thinking of the residents. I haven't asked, but I assume they would also not like me getting a second job at a grocery store. that's at least as iffy as another SNF, isn't it? so I worked 3 hours 11 minutes yesterday and that gave me lots of extra time to 
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23rd June 2020, 05:03 AM
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@eleanorigby; do you at least have a Sump? Sump Pumps can be pretty cheap and last a long time. I have a Sump with a pump and a backup pump.
If you have a sump, you can also pump water from other parts of the basement to the sump pump with a floor sucker pump and a garden hose. A good place to buy Sump Pumps is Harbor Freight. Inexpensive and work better than Home Depots. My basement seeps often and has flooded a few times, once 6" deep during a power outage with Hurricane Irene. I have a series of pallets on bricks and large heavy duty shelves for storage. It is usually good to have a couple of large squeegees. Something like this:  You'll probably want to pick up a couple of gallons of bleach and a push broom. It is a good idea, once the flood is done to wash down the floor and walls with bleach to prevent mold. Fans help (and are cheap) as do dehumidifiers (not cheap and can be costly to run). I've been through all of this and can help you with what works and doesn't work.
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23rd June 2020, 05:32 AM
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Trash Day can dawn cool and beautiful, with a promise of heat to come. The lawn is looking much better, the dangerous chemicals are beating the fungus back. This is a siege, not just one battle, but I keep bringing the fight to the enemy!
Today is recycleables and the rule lets me get rid of a bunch of papers that have been hanging out forever.
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23rd June 2020, 09:46 AM
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Sour, miserable post
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I cannot find bleach at present and am down to my last half gallon of this cheap -ass non-Clorox green bottle "bleach" that doesn't even smell like bleach but was all TH could find during April. Yes, I will be doing extensive cleaning. I do not have a sump pump. I know I need a stand pipe and I'm hoping that's all I need. I have purchased a transfer pump this morning (the same as my handyman brought over last night). It sucks 26 gallons a minute and it ran for 4 hours straight last night before it called quits (overheated?) and then I ran it again this morning for 2 hours. There is still standing water in the drain and anytime I use water or flush, it backs up. I have called a plumber and they're coming tomorrow. I am hoping it's "just" a rodding-out and a stand-pipe, but am willing to listen re sump pumps. If they do a good job, I'll show them my upstairs plumbing, something else Judi never touched. The house stinks, as in smells, but that may also be my nose? I'd love to do laundry or even take a shower, but... all the windows are open. Thank goodness the sun is shining, although there is a chance of rain later... Then again, I do have OH and it has running water AND A DRY BASEMENT, GODDAMMIT. I can't help being mad at myself. I feel like I bought this house too quickly (have always felt this way, and castigated myself for being too slow to move or change or make a decision/jump etc), and now I see the signs: the set tub legs... rust 2 inches up their legs. I was fooled by the newness of the washer/dryer, and the lack of stains on the walls. And also, she had no shelving in the basement, and must not have believed in stacking things: she had all her plastic storage boxes laid out, not stacked one on the other, plus rocks. The former owner had A Thing about rocks; small, polished river rocks. They were scattered all over the house (I am still finding them) and all over the basement floor, those that weren't in plastic shoeboxes, that is. I've never seen anything like it and hope to not see it again. Rocks and driftwood (we are not near a beach) everywhere. Whatever... They weren't covered in mildew or mold or algae, so there's that, I suppose. Anyway, my point is that I didn't see any real evidence of flooding prior to purchase, but some signs were there. It also means she looked me right in the eye and flat-out lied to me, which I find I am shocked by. Stupid of me to believe that there might be some decency and honor in a house sale, but apparently not. I took today off. Got about 3 hours sleep. Am now going out again to search for bleach. What a life. Really not enjoying the world today. ETA: I think "floor sucker pump" is the same as transfer pump. It has a weird vaguely flat shower head looking thing with a hose and you attach a garden hose to the other end of the pump and there ya go...
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23rd June 2020, 09:56 AM
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Actually you might have legal recourse if she claimed the basement didn't flood in the disclosure I believe. At least in NJ you would.
I would find and read your disclosure. Good luck.
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23rd June 2020, 11:56 AM
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I've been able to get bleach at Home Despot all the way through the initial crisis shortages, they sell a lot of cleaning products to professionals so they have a bigass pipeline of deliveries.
Definitely agree about sump pumps, I use a couple for various applications and those things will run for years sucking up the gods know what before finally crapping out. Any time I see a half horsepower pump for under a hunnert bucks I just buy it, I'll need it eventually, y'know? Although the last one I got needs 1 inch fittings and all the others use 3/4 inch so I need to get an adapter for that one. No biggie, the current one in use is still going strong. Gorgeous weather heading for HOT today--90F whew! I got out early and made the Costco run and boy howdy didn't they just see me coming with the linen tops and pants--I don't buy new clothes often but linen for a decent price? Yeah, GRAB. Also ALL THE SNACKS. Asparagus crisps, chicharrones in cheddar/HALLO PEENYOS flavor, dried seasoned shiitake mushrooms, peanut butter pretzels and a grossly large bag o'Ruffles IN MY CART, BITCHAZ! They still don't have the good dried tangerines or strawberries but that's no biggie--fresh strawberries are better and I have several bags of the tangerines stashed away, neener neener. And new stainless steel insulated go cups with straws that FIT THE CUPHOLDERS, WOOHOO. Those steel cups are fucking magical, I swear. Keep the temp forever and they don't break, what's not to love? Got home before people managed to piss me off, which was not the case yesterday, when dehydration, pain and irritation caused me to lose my cool towards the end so I'm happy not to have gotten to that point today. So far my pain levels are pretty bearable, I'd be happy if they stayed that way. My clotting factors are a smidgen low, though, so I'm at less risk to take NSAIDs right now--the anticoag team nurse asked me not to tell her that though because they aren't allowed to recommend nor condone anything of the sort. I'll not put kale in my salads for a little while lol. That should balance things out. 
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23rd June 2020, 01:01 PM
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I lost my insurance temporarily (my fault), so I switched my prescriptions to Costco, which I truly dislike but which, Without Insurance, charges me about $21 for an about $300 prescription anywhere else, which I truly like. Getting there difficult And I don't get much else there And if I bring Warren I have to hustle and if I don't I can only manage in-pharmacy-out . . .
I got my insurance back and switched to the local 24 hour pharmacy. Last time the doc office contacted the limited-hours compounding pharmacy, so it took me 4 days to work the problem out, over which I ran out of meds. The prescriptions were also called in for 1 month instead of 3, and of course were not refilled at the same time, so I was at Costo twice a month . . . IF this goes well, I should be able to walk up the street with Warrers and get 3 months of meds. If not . . . there will be badness. fingers crossed.
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23rd June 2020, 01:20 PM
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CVS and I play a game. It's not a very fun game, but apparently it's the only one in town. I get an Rx from my PCP, and he sends it directly to CVS. They text me to pick it up. Or not. They're very whimsical that way.
That is not the game. That is but an apertif, shall we say, to the game. Sometimes they text me to pick up my Rx and it's not ready, despite them being the ones to initiate the transaction. That is not the game; that is the initial foray into play. We have, so to speak, stood upon the field and looked about us. Real play starts when they text me that YES YOU CAN GET A 3 MONTHS SUPPLY SIGN UP NOW IT IS CHEAPER AND BETTER FOR YOU or some such. Herein is where they reveal their prowess: I have fallen for this twice, but no more. Upon texting "Y" to this chicanery, they go dark. Running silent; running deep. And just when you think they'll be calling any day now... you get a text back, sternly worded, that says my insurance plan does not allow for 3 month supplies of anything so (basically) how very dare I attempt such a thing? They then bat their eyes at me. I told you it wasn't a fun game. In other news, I HAVE FOUND I REPEAT I HAVE FOUND BLEACH. Home Depot has not had bleach here for months. That's where I was this morning and nothing. But I called the local chain grocery and Destinee put it behind the counter for me. CLOROX IN ALL ITS GLORY. So, I have now scrubbed the floor. The drain is still not draining, so I'm considering going to pee in my backyard, but that might be a bit tacky. Perhaps I should simply pee on the basement floor since it ends up there, anyway. Please advise.
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23rd June 2020, 03:10 PM
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congrats on finding bleach, Rigs!
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that's just science. 
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23rd June 2020, 06:51 PM
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It's been a roller coaster
Bad: I was up until 4:00 a.m. finishing slides for school last night/this morning. Good: I have enough vacation time and flexibility to say "screw work this morning" and sleep in. I sat in on a (pointless) meeting by phone in my bathrobe, then continued being "off" for a few hours, having a leisurely start to the day. I also cleaned up the playroom / my office. The amount of cat litter tracked into the carpet was killing me (figuratively), and I find a disorganized space reflects a disorganized mind. My mental health and acuity was greatly improved. Bad: I paid for those few hours by not getting as much done as I would have liked to on work-work, which is why I'm online right now instead of halfway through a 2nd G&T. Good: I had my fifth interview for New Job. This was with Very Important Global Manager (VIGM) who knows me fairly well. I am reasonably certain I can have this job if I want it. Which leads me to. . . Bad: I'm not sure I want it. A running theme from everyone I've talked to has been CAUTION. TOXIC JOB AHEAD. I appreciate that no job is without its challenges, and it's nice that people are trying to be transparent, but the more people I talk to the more I'm getting a bad taste in my mouth. I was strongly encouraged to talk to the outgoing Incumbent, which I did yesterday. She was open about the challenges without going into many specifics. She is also leaving the job after less than two years, and from all accounts not because she wasn't good at it. She's just running screaming another direction. While talking to VIGM, he suggested that I should talk to her some more and really dig into what's driving her out. I've talked to other people in the department, and it's not really a secret that she's leaving because she's fed up with some nasty organizational politics. I asked VIGM if people recognized that and were doing anything about it, and the answer was that the problem people/organization don't recognize that it's a problem. VIGM wouldn't name names as to who the problem was, but asked if I'd interviewed with a person I will call SD. SD was supposed to be on the interview panel. SD was supposed to interview me along with the first manager I talked to on Monday, but had a last minute conflict. SD declined to reschedule. VIGM strongly suggested I try to talk to SD. I reached out to SD immediately to set a time to talk. SD has not returned my email. Hrm. . . TLDR version: I'm fairly confident the job is mine for the asking. I fear I should not ask. Good: I have a performance review with Retiring Boss tomorrow morning. I will bounce all of this off of him. He's a really good sounding board. Bad: I had to wrap all of that up in time to lead our Board meeting for the simulation class I'm in. 20 min before the meeting started we got a pile of really critical information/feedback that we had about negative two days to do anything about, so my anxiety spiked to 11. Good: Despite all of that, the meeting went really well. Of course I thought the first one went pretty well and they slammed us in the review rating, but they flat out stated that we were much improved this time and our ratings will be better. I was much pleased with my bonus. (our virtual salary dictates our grade)
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23rd June 2020, 07:05 PM
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Solfy, I'd be gibbering in a corner, having to think and weigh all of that. I hope you find your way.
I decided to not take PTO tomorrow as well, although I was sorely tempted. We have a sort of offer on OH! It's a verbal offer, so bear that in mind, and they're low-balling in a big way. This is TH in his element, though. For me, I need to get to digging up more plants over there ASAP. Please send good plumbing vibes tomorrow. And thank God it didn't rain again today. Water is still standing at the drain entrance, after all this time...
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23rd June 2020, 07:06 PM
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Run away! Run away! Your single most valuable asset is your good attitude. Let some asshole spend a couple years stomping all over that and you'll have a tough time repairing the damage. Perhaps instead you could enjoy the next few years of your life? Hmmm, I wonder where Outgoing Incumbent is going.
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23rd June 2020, 07:25 PM
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A) Outgoing Incumbent is moving to a brand spanking new department being stood up. Actually, the manager for New Department asked my colleague if she wanted to apply for the (not officially posted) job. Colleague and I agreed that this department is the sort of department that is first on the chopping block at belt tightening time, and you may have noticed some belts getting new, snugger holes lately. Risky move. By all accounts a great manager, though.
B) I have a really bad attitude right now when it comes to my current job for a variety of reasons that aren't germane to this post. It's a serious problem. It's compounded by the fact that last week I went from "my grand-boss is a prat" to "now I report to the person I used to work with at Old Location who is my shining example of someone I have zero professional respect for." Oh yes, my entire building got reorganized last week. It's all roses and sunshine there at the moment, let me tell you. C) The phrase "few years of my life" is yet another component giving me the heebie jeebies. (i) Anyone making an internal transfer is locked in for a year by policy. (ii) They're explicit about looking for someone who will stay in the job at least three years. It makes sense - success depends on relationship building and earning trust and respect, and that doesn't happen overnight. (iii) Even if I technically could transfer again in a year, it would burn bridges and be a serious reputation ding. Some jobs are designed to be "development opportunities" where they expect people to move on quickly. This isn't one of them. I'm not enough of a ladder climber to mind sticking around (I average 6 years in a role, I'm technically slower moving than I should be from a modern career development perspective). I 'm more of a "bloom where you're planted" sort of person, but I don't want to be locked between a rock and an asshole for three years. Pros for this job: It's exactly the type of job I've been gunning for in one of the few businesses that hasn't been gutted by the pandemic. I'd be aces at it, nasty organizational politics notwithstanding.
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23rd June 2020, 08:16 PM
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That's a sticky wicket alright. The boss switcharoo thing happened to me at the old snake pit too, and did proceed to make my life a living heck. The guy I ended up reporting to had no clue how to do his own job, much less how I did mine. Getting out sooner would have been a good move.
Hmmm, well if there's just one obstacle I understand that a fatal caffeine overdose is very hard to detect...
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24th June 2020, 03:41 AM
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You're the only one who knows the situation from the inside, but that last bit gave me hope that making the move has potential for you, personally. Make a deal with yourself to stay for 2 years. LOTS can happen in 2 years. And if it's a complete sh*t show? You'll have honed those skills that led you to be tapped in the first place. IOW, you emerge stronger and more marketable.
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24th June 2020, 05:14 AM
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Solfy, that's quite a load of things to worry about. To my mind, thinking about what gets axed and what doesn't when times get tough is a very big deal. The business cycle exists whether we like it or not and companies grow and shrink. And being in the part that gets shrunked is bad because it will happen when other options are few. So finding a secure place to weather the storm is a good move right now.
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24th June 2020, 08:50 AM
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I had a great and lengthy discussion with my retiring boss about it today. He's been a life-long BSGer, and he used to have the same function I'm going for (but in a very different department). I feel better now about being able to get the info I need to make an informed decision.
I've been working for the past 7yrs to make myself more marketable, and, global economic slowdown aside, I'm much less worried than I used to be about "what if I get downsized into oblivion?" At the very least, being laid of means I'm a free agent without having to pay back my tuition.  Otherwise I need to stick around 3yrs. (there's that number again)And now for something completely different: The driveway pavers are here! Wheeee! Asphalt!!! Right after we moved in we had a sewage collapse to deal with and they had to cut a trench across a huge section of driveway. It's been slowly degrading ever since. We're having the whole thing torn up and redone. The cash outlay was giving me heartburn coupled with the fact that I was still on partial salary furlough, but I also learned this morning that we go back to 5 day weeks and 100% pay in two weeks.
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24th June 2020, 10:00 AM
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Yay for new driveways!
Guy is here, rodding out my sewer pipe. He's pulling out roots the size of newborn babies. FFS. Please pray that's "all" it is, and not broken clay pipes.... In 2 minutes his initial hour fee is over and we start with real money. He mentioned "hydrogenating" aka "water knife" to purge the line of all roots. Frankly, I blench at the thought of putting high water pressure into such a degrading, old system. Why borrow trouble? In other news, it's a gorgeous day here and I'm getting some stuff done at work, which is good. Sometimes WFH is just so much theater, but this is actual work, so yay!
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24th June 2020, 05:02 PM
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I drove up into the mountains and went to the moldy dough trailhead. The snow has all melted off and the footing was dry. I did a bit over six miles round trip. Social distancing was easy, I only three people while I was on the trail.
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24th June 2020, 09:45 PM
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25th June 2020, 03:31 AM
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He pulled out quite a pile of tree roots, a scrunchie (not mine) and what looks like either part of an old T shirt or one of those weird "cloths" used in old-timey filling stations of my youth. They were blue and not quite paper, but not quite cloth, and used for checking oil etc.
So far, so good. And no torrential rain, which is a good thing. Also, all the crud around the floor drain opening was washed away with all this, and the gasket/ bracket/whatever for a stand pipe is clearly visible. Not only that, but the PVC pipe length I bought and the adaptor fit perfectly. Ha! Plumber told me "nobody uses stand pipes anymore". Oh, yeah? I'll try a $3 solution before giving them more of my hard-earned money, thankyouverymuch.
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25th June 2020, 03:21 PM
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I'd post about my day but I need to be in mini-raves, hurray!
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25th June 2020, 04:15 PM
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Last edited by 3acres; 25th June 2020 at 05:17 PM. Reason: darn it, spelling mistake
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25th June 2020, 04:27 PM
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Oh man, the trouble one red shop rag can create in a load of laundry!
 This is why you always check the pockets!I puttered today. Put some stuff away, did some little fiddly chores that weren't enough to aggravate my shoulder, picked a metric shit ton of lettuce for my dinner, hung up the hummingbird feeder I got a couple weeks back, just random stuff. Also priced out a freezer--chest freezers are cheaper but a much bigger PITA to deal with on a daily basis since things get buried in there. Found a nice 6 CF upright that would fit perfectly in the crapshack and leave tons of room to build a new counter area so I think that might be happening. Can't get it delivered before July 15th but that leaves plenty of time to get everything ready in there before it arrives. AND it will fit through the door!
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25th June 2020, 05:12 PM
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25th June 2020, 06:54 PM
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25th June 2020, 07:33 PM
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Solfy, the one time people were honest with me about a job sucking they were right. I took the job anyway and while not appalling, it was not the best choice.
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26th June 2020, 03:38 PM
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OMG I'm tired! Got up earlyish and did laundry, stopped by the Asian supermarket on the way home to get a bunch of ground meat for dog food, got home and busted it all down into 1kg packages and stuffed it all in the freezer--don't ask me how because right now you couldn't freeze a popsicle in there, it's packed so tight--then ASIL came over and we tackled a project I've been planning for a while, dunging out the crapshack. There's just a bunch of useless stuff jammed in there and it needs to be reorganized, cleaned up and a space cleared out to facilitate building the dehydration station and installing a freezer. During the course of clearing shit out I found a bunch of tools I thought were long lost including my damned sledgehammer, a slew of actually useful stuff and a ton o'crap. Crap is in a big pile to go to the dump, much cleaning was done including a lot of rat detritus--if i don't get the 'rona then I might be in line for a little hantavirus, woohoo! We're not done yet but we are tired so I'm gonna hit the showers and hopefully when I'm done the local taco truck will have arrived and I'mma gone get me a phatty burrito for dinner, mm-hmm! We'll tackle the rest in the morning.
Busy busy busy!
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26th June 2020, 05:15 PM
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Don't get the hanta virus, the death rate is pretty terrifying.
Had a Zoom meeting of the gourmet club. It went pretty well. Little cooking was done, but we managed to catch up with all the members except one family. People are staying home and so far everyone is healthy. (Knocks on wood.)
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26th June 2020, 05:21 PM
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Not real worried, I had rats, not mice and def not deer mice and there have only been 23 cases in Oregon since 1993. There are about 5000 active 'rona cases in the state right now and I was out in public today living dangerously so the upshot is that we all have to die sometime!
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26th June 2020, 05:23 PM
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26th June 2020, 07:09 PM
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ETA, I made the first batch of Jello 123 tonight. I'll give a taste report in the morning.
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26th June 2020, 07:58 PM
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26th June 2020, 08:36 PM
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27th June 2020, 07:59 AM
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27th June 2020, 10:48 AM
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got great stuff at the farmer's market and currently eating raspberries.
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27th June 2020, 12:20 PM
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I was on a Zoom meeting this morning when I got a call from my neighbor. Apparently a n00b postal carrier had not only misdelivered her package to my address, but the idiot had opened the back gate and left it inside the yard and couldn't get it back because Kosh was gleefully shredding the package as Bear loudly guarded the gate. So I had to leave my meeting to go rescue the package for the postal carrier then also had to find and pass a portion of the contents (luckily made of solid metal!) that had dropped out of the gleefully shredded packaging over the fence to my neighbor. Who had also had to leave HER Zoom meeting. Thanks, USPS worker, you really bollixed up everyone's morning!
 Now ASIL and I need to figure out how the heck to get four totes of books weighing approximately 9000 lbs each up into the storage loft via ladder without anyone falling or me breaking my shoulder or dodgy knee in some spectacular manner. If you don't hear from me in a few days, assume the worst! 
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27th June 2020, 01:01 PM
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