Sunday, February 11
Feb. 11th, 2024 11:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gottawonderToday I am grateful for:
Very sunny today, and nice temperatures.
Not having to rush to go anywhere today, so a bit of lazy time with my Sweetie.
We spent a few minutes in a very low-pressure manner looking at trucks online. I'm just trying to get some idea what he thinks would be a good choice for us, and what the budget is. I KNOW that trucks are very expensive, but I don't know why he thinks that the prices for used trucks will get cheaper in a few years. I think that this is just what it costs, and in a few years, they'll just be more expensive again.
I don't want to have our old truck fail when we really need it. To own an acreage, you pretty much have to have a decent truck, even if you don't drive it all the time.
With my husband's help, I moved several bins of DVDs from the upstairs where my craft room is, to the basement. We have designated a space under the basement stairs to be storage for our many, many movies (that we do still watch).
With those bins out of there finally, I think I might have some kind of chance to actually organize my craft things so I can FIND stuff, as well as sort through things to get rid of what no longer serves. For the last several years, all of the movies were stored upstairs in the craft room, giving the impression that I had SO MUCH CRAFT STUFF that you couldn't move in there, but that isn't the case. So much of it was bins of movies.
We did the usual chores, and walked around the horse pasture for a while. Wonder is starting to shed a bit already!
I went to see River, and my Sweetie stayed home to work on preparation for tiling in the basement in the area where the wood stove will go.
River was in a decent mood today. He started out mildly concerned about what might be going on outside the arena, but quickly settled down and gave me his attention.
We worked a bit on the new pattern, and it's all Liberty circles.
He did REALLY well on his turn on the hindquarters in groundwork.
Then I rode for a while, trying to get better soft responses to turn with the neck rope, and did a bit of cantering and got nice departures and halts with that.
I came home and we ate, and watched more of "The Expanse".
Hawaii: I know it is a state, not an independent country, but it is more a part of the islands I have been reading about than it is the United States. It is pretty much East of the Marshall Islands, and formed by the same volcanic activity that formed so many of the islands on the Pacific Rim.
It is an archipelago of 137 volcanic islands, with 8 of them being the largest and most populated. One of these islands is also called Hawaii island.
The population is roughly 1.5 million people, with about half of them living in the city of Honolulu.
This archipelago has been inhabited since about 1000 C.E., was "discovered" by James Cook in 1778. Soon whalers and traders flocked to the islands, bringing all of the awful European diseases that nearly wiped out the Hawaiian people.
Between 1810 and 1893 Hawaii was an independent kingdom, until American and European "businessmen" overthrow the government, leading to the annexation of Hawaii by the U.S. 1098.
The attack on Pearl Harbor (where the U.S. had an important naval base) in 1941 was a significant event that brought the U.S. into the war.
It was the last state to "join" the union in 1959, and in 1993 the U.S. formally apologized for their actions, and some attempt at redress is being made.
Historically Hawaii exported lots of food, as it has rich volcanic soil. Tourism is a big part of the economy now. It is the third wealthiest U.S. state with a very high cost of living which is actually creating a social situation where the native people of Hawaii cannot afford to live there anymore, and outsiders are buying most of the real estate.
https://youtu.be/STEXHjWcc0o?si=kDKYqeLRwthn7lS1
Singer Jack Johnson is an advocate for the people of Hawaii, as well as conservation of the natural landscape. https://www.unep.org/people/jack-johnson#:~:text=With%20his%20wife%20Kim%2C%20he,art%20and%20music%20education%20worldwide.
I really like his music. https://youtu.be/tH5Q9-M6t8c?si=5ab0MobuZo7nXQyZ
Life expectancy is the highest in the U.S. at 80.7 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii
Very sunny today, and nice temperatures.
Not having to rush to go anywhere today, so a bit of lazy time with my Sweetie.
We spent a few minutes in a very low-pressure manner looking at trucks online. I'm just trying to get some idea what he thinks would be a good choice for us, and what the budget is. I KNOW that trucks are very expensive, but I don't know why he thinks that the prices for used trucks will get cheaper in a few years. I think that this is just what it costs, and in a few years, they'll just be more expensive again.
I don't want to have our old truck fail when we really need it. To own an acreage, you pretty much have to have a decent truck, even if you don't drive it all the time.
With my husband's help, I moved several bins of DVDs from the upstairs where my craft room is, to the basement. We have designated a space under the basement stairs to be storage for our many, many movies (that we do still watch).
With those bins out of there finally, I think I might have some kind of chance to actually organize my craft things so I can FIND stuff, as well as sort through things to get rid of what no longer serves. For the last several years, all of the movies were stored upstairs in the craft room, giving the impression that I had SO MUCH CRAFT STUFF that you couldn't move in there, but that isn't the case. So much of it was bins of movies.
We did the usual chores, and walked around the horse pasture for a while. Wonder is starting to shed a bit already!
I went to see River, and my Sweetie stayed home to work on preparation for tiling in the basement in the area where the wood stove will go.
River was in a decent mood today. He started out mildly concerned about what might be going on outside the arena, but quickly settled down and gave me his attention.
We worked a bit on the new pattern, and it's all Liberty circles.
He did REALLY well on his turn on the hindquarters in groundwork.
Then I rode for a while, trying to get better soft responses to turn with the neck rope, and did a bit of cantering and got nice departures and halts with that.
I came home and we ate, and watched more of "The Expanse".
Hawaii: I know it is a state, not an independent country, but it is more a part of the islands I have been reading about than it is the United States. It is pretty much East of the Marshall Islands, and formed by the same volcanic activity that formed so many of the islands on the Pacific Rim.
It is an archipelago of 137 volcanic islands, with 8 of them being the largest and most populated. One of these islands is also called Hawaii island.
The population is roughly 1.5 million people, with about half of them living in the city of Honolulu.
This archipelago has been inhabited since about 1000 C.E., was "discovered" by James Cook in 1778. Soon whalers and traders flocked to the islands, bringing all of the awful European diseases that nearly wiped out the Hawaiian people.
Between 1810 and 1893 Hawaii was an independent kingdom, until American and European "businessmen" overthrow the government, leading to the annexation of Hawaii by the U.S. 1098.
The attack on Pearl Harbor (where the U.S. had an important naval base) in 1941 was a significant event that brought the U.S. into the war.
It was the last state to "join" the union in 1959, and in 1993 the U.S. formally apologized for their actions, and some attempt at redress is being made.
Historically Hawaii exported lots of food, as it has rich volcanic soil. Tourism is a big part of the economy now. It is the third wealthiest U.S. state with a very high cost of living which is actually creating a social situation where the native people of Hawaii cannot afford to live there anymore, and outsiders are buying most of the real estate.
https://youtu.be/STEXHjWcc0o?si=kDKYqeLRwthn7lS1
Singer Jack Johnson is an advocate for the people of Hawaii, as well as conservation of the natural landscape. https://www.unep.org/people/jack-johnson#:~:text=With%20his%20wife%20Kim%2C%20he,art%20and%20music%20education%20worldwide.
I really like his music. https://youtu.be/tH5Q9-M6t8c?si=5ab0MobuZo7nXQyZ
Life expectancy is the highest in the U.S. at 80.7 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii
no subject
Date: 2024-02-12 10:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-13 05:37 am (UTC)I don't know how much time he's spent around them, none while I've had him.
I think he just gets worried that "something is moving over there", and horses have to be aware of things like that, you know.
He does get concerned about what's happening outside when we're in the arena sometimes, because his group is pastured right beside it, and he can hear everything. If they get running around, he gets worried. He gets distracted if he knows they are getting fed and he's missing out, even though there's usually lots left when he gets out again.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-13 07:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-13 07:40 am (UTC)It would be so nice for you to have a nice craft storage room! You could paint it!
How much would anyone miss those current contents?
no subject
Date: 2024-02-14 07:00 am (UTC)One of the patio umbrellas has been removed, but its pole remains. Unsure why. Perhaps it's a useful pole.
The so-called craft room doesn't really have walls or a proper ceiling, though one side has pegboard. If I were handier, I'd make a proper room of it. WITH THE FLOOR PLANKS!
no subject
Date: 2024-02-14 07:51 am (UTC)As for the lack of proper walls and ceiling, you could maybe find something simple like paneling to line it with, or maybe even line the whole thing with curtains or something.
It would be fine as a room to do crafts in that way.
OR, you could put utility shelving in there, and clear out other parts of the house and free up a craft space in a more finished part of the house.
Unless the patio umbrellas are in usable condition, they could be removed one by one and likely no one would even worry about them. If they have been there for say, more than five years, they have passed the "expiration date" for projects, I think.
The planks could be taken down in small units and tossed in the bin as space allows. Are they simply laminate flooring, or something nicer that could be sold or donated?
no subject
Date: 2024-02-15 06:01 am (UTC)For the previous owners, it was a sporting goods storage room.
There is still a bicycle in there. What to do with that?
There are old kitchen cupboards that were torn out and set at the back. This is a rudimentary "pantry".
Nothing was designed, nothing was done nicely, and nothing was finished. It's just a place to house old jars, hometime tools, housepaint and uncategoricals.
The patio umbrellas were tossed by a neighbour who gets rid of everything after a couple of years - there's life in them, but they're no longer in great condition. I can see why it would be a good idea to rescue them. But... three?
The plank flooring is laminate. It warrants a discussion - use it or lose it. There are planks kept that are partially cut-up, too. I think it's time to let it all go, except for maybe a couple of replacement planks for other rooms. Let's see what discussion brings.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-15 08:02 am (UTC)There comes a time when a person has to realistically assess whether or not they are actually going to rescue an item and USE it, or if they have become hostages to things that tug at their conscience. I am well-acquainted with the feeling of wanting to fix things that are only a bit damaged, but dear me, we only have so much time or energy, or need for that matter.
As rough as it is, this space could be reclaimed for storage pretty easily by the addition of utility shelves and removal of "hooey of the past that wasn't even yours".
I get that the bike might be tough to remove, can you enlist the help of another denizen? The tires can be removed to make it lighter, as can the seat and the handle bars. One piece at a time might get it out of there. I have no idea if your garbage system would pick it up (in pieces it might fit in a bin), but perhaps a neighbor could take it to a scrap steel place for you? If nothing else, it would be better parked behind your shed than in your basement.
If the bike is potentially useful, perhaps it can be donated to a charity that refurbishes bikes, or something like a "white bikes" program?
The cupboards, if useless, could be taken apart to be removed perhaps. Again, pieces might fit in your bin, or could "go for a walk". If not useless, then painted and used for ongoing storage?
no subject
Date: 2024-02-16 06:22 am (UTC)The bicycle is a good bicycle and I have no idea where to store it except in that holding pen. Now that the boiler installation is complete, I'd like to buy a new shop-vac (supposedly the old one lost its filter when the a/c was being done) and clean the basement floor properly. Then, I'd like to get rid of as much absolute hooey as is both possible and unnoticeable. Then, there will be space to store a bicycle.
Those extraneous cabinets were pushed to the back of the room, but there should be a way of installing them, perhaps atop a base unit. I don't mind if the room is used as a pantry.
The first step will be getting rid of some of the jars on the utility shelves. There are too many. Half of them can go - and there's also a cold room that the previous owner was thinking of turning into a wine cellar. "A wine cellar," I exclaimed. "Fancy that!" All kinds of sugarplums danced through my head. But I did not build a wine cellar. That room is just a humid area where extra tires and car parts are kept.
The fake wood... not mine; I'm not the one to decide its fate. I can't predict. Either it'll go, or it'll be one of those endlessly potentially important things.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-16 10:56 am (UTC)You could put them on top of something like a table, or shelves, but they would only be so stable. Something to keep in mind. You could also still have them on top of a table or set of shelves, and THEN screw the cabinets to the wall studs to keep them stable.
If the bike is a good bike, is it being used? It's a valid question, in that if no one has used it for say, more than five years, could it be sold?
You can buy new filters for shop vacs, you'd have to have the model number and look up what kind of filter you need, but they're not generally that expensive. You can usually buy filters at places like Canadian Tire, or wherever you bought the shop vac, or online.
What's nice is how CLEAR you have become about your intention for this room. I feel like you're ready to make it happen.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-17 07:49 am (UTC)There was some discussion of the viability of fake flooring in that so-called craft room, but I don't think a cement basement floor should be covered. We (as in the royal we) will be pushing to be rid of the planks, saving a few to replace the existing faux flooring in the sunroom and in the sous chef's room. (The sous chef's room never had quarter round installed, so this year I'd like to earn to cut some with the miter saw and install it.)
The bike is a beautiful Schwinn, and I ride it occasionally. (I'm much more comfortable on low folding bikes these days, though I no longer have one.)
I think I'll just buy a new shop-vac for the palais when C. Tire has them on sale. I've become the vacuum purchaser. I bought the White Pearl and the White Lotus, but the denizens seem to think these vacuums are fine for construction debris, Christmas tree needles, broken glass, et cetera. They are as mad as hatters. The shop-vac is designed to pick up this kind of thing. The Mieles are NOT.
A broken-down Billy bookcase has been tossed out. Progress! I'm insisting on getting rid of an old rug, too. More progress!
no subject
Date: 2024-02-17 08:51 am (UTC)Maybe you can find something to rest the cabinets upon at a Restore, or even use a sturdy old dresser. I think it would work just fine.
If you really felt like it, you can paint the concrete floor. There's a special paint for that, and it would brighten things up.
Nice to toss some things that no longer serve, and are not beautiful. Make space for living in the present.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-18 06:51 am (UTC)If we cover the floor, any cracks that occur will be hidden. I would prefer to see what's what. Same goes for the beautiful laundrette.