Radar – Page 50 – Mark's Blog

17 November 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Current Project: Move mom to grandpa’s farm.
Status: There is a lot of stuff, but I think we can get this done.
Theme: Get’re done and get home! (before Sunday.)

Today’s Plans: Clean out the Bumpkin!!! As we go today we’ll take big stuff first and work our way to the small stuff. I am getting seriously worried about the dumpster, will have to chase that even if I have to go with another company.

4 drawer cabinet to grandpas.
long bench seat from front porch
Nona’s white display case on the porch
floats in the bumpkin, break or cut up.
meat in freezer that’s frozen shut needs to be disposed of.
Figure out what to do with the tires on the farm.
Pull washing machine off of dolly at Grandpa’s
Buy two dollies for Mom.
Grandpa’s repair/install fire/smoke/CO alarm
Bring Wayne’s golf cart to Grandpa’s (Move, sell or keep)
Sewing machine (grandpa’s shed)
Large compressor needs to be moved.
Wayne’s tools needs to be moved.
Manure spreader for golf cart needs to be moved
Dump truck trailer for golf cart needs to be moved
Several rolls of wire fence needs to be moved
Several fence poles needs to be moved.
Welder (MOVE sell or keep)

Narrative: Granddaughter is bringing another facet into the mix. (She’s letting the baby play on the floor and we’ve asked her to keep the baby up off the floor. So, our only option now is to move everything to mom’s bedroom and clean the floor. We’ll I’ve done the best I can, took over an hour.

Cleaned off the old desk made out of two filing cabinets that the roaches were winning the battle.
D is getting his family up and going, they were still sleeping.
K is going through the stuff in the drawers looking for PII.
I am going to open the gate and leave it open for the first time I can ever remember.
10:30 Still cleaning out the Bumpkin, M + D are still not here.
11:00 Went to lunch and Tractor supply for some gear oil. We couldn’t figure out which oil so I went home empty handed. We DID find the tractor operators manual. M+D promptly forgot it at grandpa’s and then got the wrong oil for the tractor. We brought two loads over to grandpa’s today, Barn bench, electric lawn mower, trampoline, dog cages, trash cans, horse buggy, mom’s gasoline lawn mower. Everything that’s too big/heavy for me to carry is outside the Bumpkin where I can reach it with the tractor. The only large piece remaining in the house is N’s 6 drawer dresser that M wanted but D says they don’t have room for it. The large pieces outside are the tractor implements and w’s broken golf cart and the red gasoline one. The old generator is too big to handle alone so that needs to go to D’s house for refurb. Semi large pieces are R’s gates and N’s Gates which M+D wants, all should fit in the box trailer. (Pretty handy size!)
Then it’s just JUNK, the dumpster is not here yet. We’ve been going through the boxes of files at a pretty good pace thus far.

Tomorrow:Try and finish up all the hauling

Injuries: Arguments: Exercise: Feeling words: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Purchases: Engineering:

https://www.verywellfamily.com/feelings-words-from-a-to-z-2086647

From the book “Triggers” by Marshall Goldsmith
Did I DMBT set clear goals for the day? No
Did I DMBT make progress to those goals? No
Did I DMBT make my wife feel loved? Yes
Did I DMBT help my wife today? Yes
Did I DMBT fix something today? Yes
Did I DMBT improve something today? Yes
Did I DMBT be happy? Yes
Did I DMBT be fully engaged? Yes
*Did My Best To

16 November 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Current Project: Move mom to grandpa’s farm.
Status: 80% of mom’s stuff is still on the farm.
Theme: Get’re done and get home! (before Sunday.)

Today’s Plans: Finish Box trailer wiring and start Hauling !
Pull washing machine off of dolly
Buy two dollies for Mom.
Grandpa’s repair/install fire/smoke/CO alarm
Bring horse buggy and harness to grandpa’s on box trailer.
Bring Wayne’s golf cart to Grandpa’s (Move, sell or keep)
Sewing machine (grandpa’s shed)
Bring 50′ generator cable to grandpa’s.
Gasoline Pole trimmer needs to be moved.
Large compressor needs to be moved.
Wayne’s tools needs to be moved.
Manure spreader for golf cart needs to be moved
Dump truck trailer for golf cart needs to be moved
Several rolls of wire fence needs to be moved
Several fence poles needs to be moved.
Welder (MOVE sell or keep)
Lawnmower (Needs pull cord.) Move, sell or keep

Narrative: Car is full of stuff for grandpa’s house and I need to bring a load of pallets next.
Cows fed, started truck to load with pallets. Driving to barn to get pallets.
Pallets in truck. Took trinkets to grandpas and we’re headed to town to get a prescription + Lunch.
Box trailer has been repaired and we hauled the mom’s blue electric golf cart to grandpa’s. We also put pallets down in Wayne’s shed to store things on that cannot go in the house. We hauled three bags of feed for Auntie’s horse. One last item is that we brought the gun safe from mom’s farm to grandpa’s garage. I’m bringing the trash cans that we used for feed as we go tomorrow. D wants the paperwork for his share of cleaning grandpa’s shed, think I can throw that together tomorrow. Mom wanted to query the fire department for a fire/smoke alarm for free. (Yes they give out $30 alarms for free.) Mom would still need a CO detector because the stove is gas.
At grandma’s farm I can turn on the movement alarms in the 13 cameras that were being set off by the cows. I should be able to lock down 70% of the farm such that any movement immediately sends me a picture on my cell phone. I will still get false alarms from the wild animals roaming the farm. (But not like the number with the cows.)

Tomorrow:
Injuries: Arguments: Exercise: Feeling words: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Purchases: Engineering:

https://www.verywellfamily.com/feelings-words-from-a-to-z-2086647

15 November 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Current Project: Move mom to grandpa’s farm.
Status: 80% of mom’s stuff is still on the farm.
Today’s Plans: Head Down and a frantic run at moving all this stuff.
Theme: Get’re done and get home! (before Sunday.)
Narrative: Had my coffee making a plan for today. Tractor battery dead, put charger on it. (Will have to wait, it’s really hard to jump start a cold Diesel engine.)
Put two battery chargers on it for about an hour and the engine started, I have a charger on it tonight so it will start tomorrow. I am also charging the red golf cart battery. (Just because I had all the stuff there to give it a good charge on a cold night.) Moved the big table from the barn to the front lawn with the tractor. (I’d like to take it to grandpa’s.) We went out to eat lunch and pick up the trailer light cable/connector at Tractor Supply. (I should have it finished by tomorrow.) I also bought a couple light bulbs for the horse trailer since we’re probably going to haul cows in it. (Big cow to the 4H and little cow to market.)
We have a new problem to solve, Auntie is being indated by E-Mails about her unemployment and turns off her ringer. Worse is that there are so many E-Mails we (You me and Mom) cannot count on her getting a message! (Which is what happened today with the Air Conditioner loan payment and Mom writing a check for 3K without clearing it with me first.) Mom knew the money was in her account, Auntie never got the messages we moved it so she could just pay it on the way home, I was not told that Mom was writing a check on her account today.
We had the same situation with the realtor, you told me to have mom sign the documents in her Inbox. I did not know you’d not seen them and Mom insisted all documents go through her lawyer before being signed. (So they were not signed today.)
D, M and I walked the farm today and laid out a plan to fill the dumpster. (When it gets here.) D and I carried several pieces that were too big for me to do alone out of the small bedroom and living room tonight.
Her son was allowed to crawl on the office floor and put a fire engine that I just pulled off the shelf in his mouth before I escorted them out of the house tonight. K is going to address the filthy floors with M before tomorrow’s visit. She needs to get her “Pak-n-Play” from grandpa’s farm and set it up here if she wants to help.

Shortfalls: We are out of trash bags!

Tomorrow:
Injuries: Arguments: Exercise: Feeling words: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Purchases: Engineering:

14 November 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Current Project: Move mom to grandpa’s farm.
Status: 80% of mom’s stuff is still on the farm and our responsibilities are seriously piling up at home.
Today’s Plans: Deal with the bugs and fix box trailer
Theme: Get’re done and get home! (We simply cannot stay beyond Sunday, we had planned to go last weekend.)
Engineering: Research backup power needs for mom on grandpa’s farm.
Repairs: PU Truck starter was replaced, hitch was replaced.
Narrative: I didn’t sleep well, but i’m up and making coffee for the wife. I did get a security camera setup in the house living room. When I get finished it will send me an E-Mail picture of anything that moves in front of it. The hitch fit on the box trailer, so all we have is to fix the lights. There’s now a security camera over the network in the tin barn. I now have a good view of the hay ring and water trough as well.

Headed over to Aunties to find out where the bugs are. All the cupboards where we saw a large amount of particulate were clean. (And I mean clean.) The doors were removed, dishes removed and had a good cleaning. I did a deep search of the other cupboards and there was nothing to suggest a infestation has existed for any amount of time. I dusted under the refrigerator to deny the bugs access to the drip pan under the refrigerator and good harborage. Mom had a “Sugar Bin” that was pretty badly infested next to her chair on her farm. We tore it apart and found a good number of live roaches living in the seams of the wood. We quickly took it out of the house. The two drawer end table was also tore apart and it had regular dust and spider webs only. I wanted to vacuum the dust off of the intra drawer cardboard so I grabbed Auntie’s portable vacuum the Shark “Rocket”. We saw dozens of baby roaches run when we picked the unit up from the floor. (We killed as many as we could with our shoes.) I took the unit outside and disassembled it. When I tapped it on the concrete a large number of baby roaches would scurry from underneath. After working with it for more than 10 minutes I concluded there was no way for me to clean the unit. I talked to Auntie after she got back and the Shark Rocket lived at mom’s farm for months. (Which is probably how it got infested.) Lesson learned.

There were NO bugs anywhere in grandpa’s shelving, bathroom cabinets, cupboards or closets today.
IMHO, all the adult roaches were attracted to the Pheromones in the sugar bin. (We didn’t see any adults elsewhere) The babies were obviously attracted to/lived in Auntie’s vacuum cleaner. Both those items are in grandpa’s shed awaiting disposal (I didn’t have a truck today.) I cannot lift the large items in Aunties front yard let alone carry them away from the house. We should be able to do that this weekend. The pest control office leaves messages for the guys in the field and the field technician should have called mom today. (I didn’t follow that up.) I am buying fresh roach hotels tomorrow, but the bug guy will be putting out bait as part of his /her treatment. There were roaches in the pile of stuff on Auntie’s porch, couch, oven, generator and lots of loose materials. All that needs to be moved away from the house!

We did get the truck fixed (~$200 from Auntie’s personal account.) and it’s at mom’s farm. I also got the hitch on the box trailer that can better haul things between the two farms. (Including the golf carts.) We also scoped out a path to DRIVE the tractor to grandpa’s farm if we run out of time with the big trailer. That said it’s somewhat risky to move the tractor off this farm until it’s sold.
If we kept the tractor and the cows at grandpa’s Auntie was thinking she could possibly get an A1 classification (Agriculture) because a tractor was one of the requirements? (Too many unanswered questions…)

Heavy rain tonight and the fireplace on the farm sprung a leak. Ken next door suggested a spot on the roof would likely leak last week. It leaked pretty good, maybe a cups worth.

To Do List (It finally got smaller)
The wiring on the box trailer needs a new truck connector called Hopkins 7 RV Blade.
Ask the sisters about Drug Insurance this week, I think Auntie has gone with Mutual of Omaha (They were the best rated in Fl.)
Transport the Blue golf cart as soon as the box trailer can be used to haul it.
Register the flatbed trailer and bring it to Grandpa’s farm.
Old generator (Move, sell or keep)
Bring horse buggy and harness to grandpa’s on box trailer.
Bring Wayne’s golf cart to Grandpa’s (Move, sell or keep)
There is a upright freezer in the house (Move, sell or keep)
there are two freezers in the Bumpkin (Move, sell or keep)
There is a fridge in the house (Move, sell or keep)
Bring 50′ generator cable to grandpa’s.
There is a microwave in the house (Move, sell or keep)
Nona’s bedroom set is in the house and has been offered to Merritt
Guns and gun safe are still in the air.
There are two computers broken printer and a number of hard drives that need to get moved to grandpa’s
Gasoline Pole trimmer needs to be moved.
Large compressor needs to be moved.
Wayne’s tools needs to be moved.
Manure spreader for golf cart needs to be moved
Dump truck trailer for golf cart needs to be moved
Several rolls of wire fence needs to be moved
Several fence poles needs to be moved.
Welder (MOVE sell or keep)
Lawnmower (Needs pull cord.) Move, sell or keep
Antique organ (Move or give away.) Move, sell or keep
Move the red golf cart.
Grandpa’s Dust under the refrigerator with boric acid.
Grandpa’s Buy shades for all lamps going to grandpa’s farm. Thinking 4 of them? (Bedroom Em light, living room Em light, two gear lamps maybe?)
Grandpa’s sanitize, clean and move the four emergency power supplies from Mom’s farm. (Maybe, it is a little risky.)
Grandpa’s buy curtain for Mom’s south bedroom window
Grandpa’s repair/install fire/smoke/CO alarm
Grandpa’s repair house patio door
Grandpa’s repair house windows
Grandpa’s repair wall outlet/receptacles in Ricky’s bedroom
Grandpa’s erect fences for the dogs
Grandpa’s repair grandpa’s shed roof
Grandpa’s replace property gate
Grandpa’s repair Auntie’s bedroom Air Conditioner Vent
Grandpa’s Install emergency (battery backed up) lighting
Grandpa’s purchase a new computer
Mom’s Set timers for mom’s house lights
Mom’s Set mouse traps or bait in the trailer.
Atlanta Card for the drama department.
Atlanta take computer desk lamp that I bought for mom’s house to Atlanta.

Tomorrow: buy + Install Smoke alarm and roach bait.

Injuries: Arguments: Exercise: Feeling words: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Purchases: Engineering:

https://www.verywellfamily.com/feelings-words-from-a-to-z-2086647

13 November 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Current Project: Move what I can to grandpa’s farm by Friday.
Status: 80% of mom’s stuff is still on the farm.
Today’s Plans: Repair box trailer buy smoke alarms for grandpa’s. (They’re using heat lamps for the Chick with no fire detection in the house. Not to mention I doubt there is a fire extinguisher either.
Theme: Get’re done and get home! (before Thanksgiving.)
Engineering: Research backup power needs for mom on grandpa’s farm.
Repairs: Box trailer hitch and lights.
Narrative: Found a roach had walked the wires to get onto my computer table! I was wondering if they would walk the wires when I set this up. (There are a considerable number of wires that traverse the UPS units on the floor. I guess I should take some action with the equipment on the floor. I guess I can spray the entire floor under the crates? (Which means I need to start packing…
The ideal situation for mom’s network is a second wireless router that provides access to the private LAN, I guess I need a router.
Tried to mount new hitch on trailer and the holes didn’t line up. I took both of them back to Tractor supply to get a better fit. They had one that the holes are in the center of the channel but I’ve not had a chance to check it. Ricky said that about the only thing anyone hauled in the box trailer was the golf carts. 🙁 I did find out that I need a Hopkins 7 RV blade connector for the lights.
I bought a NICE desk chair for $100 and a wireless router for $80, that should finish off their computer desk. We assembled the chair and I setup the wireless router as a access point for the firewall. The only complication is that the Raspberry Pi, Pi-Hole had a red light (Way unusual) so I intend on replacing it with a Pi 3+ on Thursday. I setup Auntie’s convertible to use my time server in Atlanta to make the firewall dial until I can find a more reliable means.
It was getting way past my nap time and I was getting too tired to drive so we headed to the farm for the evening. Cereal for dinner and then to bed.

To Do List (It finally got smaller)
The hitch on the box trailer is broken, needs new.
The wiring on the box trailer needs a new truck connector called Hopkins 7 RV Blade.
Ask the sisters about Drug Insurance this week, I think Auntie has gone with Mutual of Omaha (They were the best rated in Fl.)
Transport the Blue golf cart as soon as the box trailer can be used to haul it.
Register the flatbed trailer and bring it to Grandpa’s farm.
Old generator (Move, sell or keep)
Bring horse buggy and harness to grandpa’s on box trailer.
Bring Wayne’s golf cart to Grandpa’s (Move, sell or keep)
There is a upright freezer in the house (Move, sell or keep)
there are two freezers in the Bumpkin (Move, sell or keep)
There is a fridge in the house (Move, sell or keep)
Bring 50′ generator cable to grandpa’s.
There is a microwave in the house (Move, sell or keep)
Nona’s bedroom set is in the house and has been offered to Merritt
Guns and gun safe are still in the air.
There are two computers broken printer and a number of hard drives that need to get moved to grandpa’s
Gasoline Pole trimmer needs to be moved.
Large compressor needs to be moved.
Wayne’s tools needs to be moved.
Manure spreader for golf cart needs to be moved
Dump truck trailer for golf cart needs to be moved
Several rolls of wire fence needs to be moved
Several fence poles needs to be moved.
Welder (MOVE sell or keep)
Lawnmower (Needs pull cord.) Move, sell or keep
Antique organ (Move or give away.) Move, sell or keep
Move the red golf cart.
Grandpa’s Dust under the refrigerator with boric acid.
Grandpa’s Buy shades for all lamps going to grandpa’s farm. Thinking 4 of them? (Bedroom Em light, living room Em light, two gear lamps maybe?)
Grandpa’s sanitize, clean and move the four emergency power supplies from Mom’s farm. (Maybe, it is a little risky.)
Grandpa’s buy curtain for Mom’s south bedroom window
Grandpa’s repair/install fire/smoke/CO alarm
Grandpa’s repair house patio door
Grandpa’s repair house windows
Grandpa’s repair wall outlet/receptacles in Ricky’s bedroom
Grandpa’s erect fences for the dogs
Grandpa’s repair grandpa’s shed roof
Grandpa’s replace property gate
Grandpa’s repair Auntie’s bedroom Air Conditioner Vent
Grandpa’s Install emergency (battery backed up) lighting
Grandpa’s purchase a new computer
Grandpa’s Install wireless router.
Mom’s Turn camera over the dog runs to point toward the stalls.
Mom’s Set timers for mom’s house lights
Mom’s Set mouse traps or bait in the trailer.
Atlanta Card for the drama department.
Atlanta take computer desk lamp that I bought for mom’s house to Atlanta.

Tomorrow: Let’s get through today first?

Injuries: Arguments: Exercise: Feeling words: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Purchases: Engineering:

https://www.verywellfamily.com/feelings-words-from-a-to-z-2086647

12 November 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Current Project: Move mom to grandpa’s farm.
Status: 80% of mom’s stuff is still on the farm.
Today’s Plans:Firewall, tour the land with a realtor, PU Truck, Dumpster
Theme: Get’re done and get home! (before Thanksgiving.)
Engineering: Research backup lights for mom Inside the house on grandpa’s farm.
Repairs: PU Truck starter.
Schedule: Realtor arrives at 10:00
Narrative: We’re up, making a pot of coffee and watching Today on NBC. Yum, had a great cup of coffee watching DISH on the computers. (Using Ricky’s Hopper) The roaches are hiding out in these tubs, yes they are inside closed plastic tubs! (So just because we’ve put stuff in tubs, doesn’t prevent bugs from hitching a ride.) I have come with an idea though, spray the lid of the tub and set the tub on the lid. That should keep them out. Made some hard boiled eggs, we’ve got about a dozen to put in the refrigerator. Mom’s room is about empty, I am not going to attempt to mop the floor.
Had a good visit with the realtor, learned a couple of things and she stayed positive even with the situation that it is. We went to grandpa’s after the visit and I installed a couple power strips on the UPS to connect all the items on the desk. I worked on the Raspberry Pi that will be part of the Internet Firewall at grandpa’s house.
We left shortly afterwards to take the Pickup to the shop, it has been getting hard to start. (Click, Click and its not the battery.)
I’ve been reducing the feed that I am giving the cows and they are not eating the hay. (Which means they are gleaning what they can from the grass rather than eat the hay.) They are still fighting over the grain, but that apparently doesn’t mean that they are actually hungry. IF we keep the cows, I’d like it if they could be fed every three days versus every day. There is significant information that intermittently feeding them won’t affect their weight and allows for shared feeding of cows with aggressive eating habits.
Spent some time configuring the firewall at grandpa’s from mom’s farm. I have to reach from mom’s farm to Atlanta then grab the link to grandpa’s network from there.
Played a game of scrabble to relax and the wife is watching Days of our Lives while I write on my blog.
I changed the timers on the tool shed and the tin barn lights to stay on until 8AM, I also changed the camera on the outside to stay on until 11PM. The stall lights still stay on about 2-1/2 hours.

To Do List (It finally got smaller)
The hitch on the box trailer is broken, needs new.
The wiring on the box trailer needs a new truck connector.
Ask the sisters about Drug Insurance this week, I think Auntie has gone with Mutual of Omaha (They were the best rated in Fl.)
Transport the Blue golf cart as soon as the box trailer can be used to haul it.
Register the flatbed trailer and bring it to Grandpa’s farm.
Old generator (Move, sell or keep)
Bring horse buggy and harness to grandpa’s on box trailer.
Bring Wayne’s golf cart to Grandpa’s (Move, sell or keep)
There is a upright freezer in the house (Move, sell or keep)
there are two freezers in the Bumpkin (Move, sell or keep)
There is a fridge in the house (Move, sell or keep)
Bring 50′ generator cable to grandpa’s.
There is a microwave in the house (Move, sell or keep)
Nona’s bedroom set is in the house and has been offered to Merritt
Guns and gun safe are still in the air.
There are two computers broken printer and a number of hard drives that need to get moved to grandpa’s
Gasoline Pole trimmer needs to be moved.
Large compressor needs to be moved.
Wayne’s tools needs to be moved.
Manure spreader for golf cart needs to be moved
Dump truck trailer for golf cart needs to be moved
Several rolls of wire fence needs to be moved
Several fence poles needs to be moved.
Welder (MOVE sell or keep)
Lawnmower (Needs pull cord.) Move, sell or keep
Antique organ (Move or give away.) Move, sell or keep
Move the red golf cart.
Grandpa’s Dust under the refrigerator with boric acid.
Grandpa’s Buy shades for all lamps going to grandpa’s farm. Thinking 4 of them? (Bedroom Em light, living room Em light, two gear lamps maybe?)
Grandpa’s sanitize, clean and move the four emergency power supplies from Mom’s farm. (Maybe, it is a little risky.)
Grandpa’s buy curtain for Mom’s south bedroom window
Grandpa’s repair/install fire/smoke/CO alarm
Grandpa’s repair house patio door
Grandpa’s repair house windows
Grandpa’s repair wall outlet/receptacles in Ricky’s bedroom
Grandpa’s erect fences for the dogs
Grandpa’s repair grandpa’s shed roof
Grandpa’s replace property gate
Grandpa’s repair Auntie’s bedroom Air Conditioner Vent
Grandpa’s Install emergency (battery backed up) lighting
Grandpa’s purchase a new computer
Grandpa’s Install wireless router.
Mom’s Turn camera over the dog runs to point toward the stalls.
Mom’s Set timers for mom’s house lights
Mom’s Set mouse traps or bait in the trailer.
Atlanta Card for the drama department.
Atlanta take computer desk lamp that I bought for mom’s house to Atlanta.

Tomorrow:
Injuries: Arguments: Exercise: Feeling words: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Purchases: Engineering:

https://www.verywellfamily.com/feelings-words-from-a-to-z-2086647

Veteran’s Day, 11 November 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Current Project: Move mom to grandpa’s farm.
Status: 80% of mom’s stuff is still on the farm.
Today’s Plans: Setup Firewalled LAN and a DNS resolver.
Theme: Get’re done and get home! (before Thanksgiving.)
Repairs: PU Truck starter on Monday, Security light should be fixed today.
Noteworthy: I’m only leaving two backup systems until they get settled. There’s one backup on the “Hopper” Dish receiver and a second backup for the desk. (Because of the landline phone and the firewall) Mom has about run out of room inside grandpa’s house for “Stuff”. Grandpa’s shed aught to be about cleaned out, if so I can take mom’s stuff she still wants and store it there. It may be beneficial to store it in the framed area on pallets. That way it has a covering and is off the floor. Still, rodents and bugs are readily available. Tubs are preferable, but are far more costly. Now is a really good time to get rid of “Stuff” so that I don’t have to deal with it later.
Research:Keep Income and other tax documents 7 years, 2011 can be pitched/shredded.
Narrative: Had my morning coffee and fed the cows before loading up the car for grandpa’s. Stopped at SPARR and got a fitting for the photocell box. Helped Ricky move the pen closer to the sidewalk so she doesn’t trip over the railroad tie that lines it. We also played with some gates to corral the dogs, I am on the fence whether or not that will work. Installed the photocell box on Auntie’s yard light, but scratched my eye in the process. We headed to the Ocala hospital to make sure that the eye was ok. Three hours later with a minor scratched cornea we were on our way back to the farm. With the realtor coming on Monday I cleaned the trash from mom’s bedroom floor tonight. It was a dusty, dirty job. I did find the four feet to her bed!
Tomorrow:
Injuries: Exercise: Feeling words: Travel: Purchases:Accomplishments:Engineering:Arguments:
https://www.verywellfamily.com/feelings-words-from-a-to-z-2086647
From the book “Triggers” by Marshall Goldsmith
Did I DMBT set clear goals for the day? No
Did I DMBT make progress to those goals? No
Did I DMBT make my wife feel loved? Yes
Did I DMBT help my wife today? Yes
Did I DMBT fix something today? Yes
Did I DMBT improve something today? Yes
Did I DMBT be happy? Yes
Did I DMBT be fully engaged? Yes
*Did My Best To

10 November 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Current Project: Move mom to grandpa’s farm.
Status: 80% of mom’s stuff is still on the farm.
Today’s Plans: Replace mom’s cordless phone! Buy Hay, Setup Firewalled LAN, computer, printer, phone.
Theme: Get’re done and get home! (before Thanksgiving.)
Engineering: Research backup power needs for mom on grandpa’s farm.
Repairs: PU Truck starter, Security light.
Purchases: Long extension cord for Desk, maybe some floor lights for mom.
Narrative: As we progress through this move it has gotten significantly more complicated to assess priorities and then have the resources to follow through on a prioritized task list.
We’ve had a long day today, it started about 8AM packing up the car and driving to grandpa’s. Auntie was headed out the door and she had pulled the DSL modem out and it was laying on the desk. We brought several items that mom had asked for like the steps her dog needs to get onto the bed. We also brought several boxes of stuff from the previous night that didn’t get taken over.
It took about 10 minutes to terminate the new telephone wire in the Network Interface box. We plugged the cables up to the DSL modem and everything worked the first time. We tested the cordless phone I brought from the farm and mom is good with a landline again. (SHE CAN CHANGE OUT THE BATTERIES IF THE PHONE HAPPENS TO HAVE RUN DEAD to recover a full charge in about 2 minutes!) Mom also tested her Internet connection which was working as well. I put the Fortigate 60D under the DSL modem and tied the WAN1 interface to the DSL Modem LAN1 port. (LAN2 is the printer) The Fortigate 60D is a $600 firewall appliance to help keep mom from getting into too much trouble.

We left grandpa’s to get some grub and go shopping for some stuff at The Home Depot. We ended up at Lowes since they again honor military members with a 10% discount. They started a program a while back where we were asked to go online and register with Lowes to receive the 10% discount. (I just went to THD and used their discount instead.)
We spent about $200 today buying some floor mounted Torchiere lamps, power strips for the desk and some remote controls for the lights.

Last holiday season a remote light control appeared that could turn off your tree and window decorations from a simple hand held wireless remote. I came in looking for the two channel setup and ended up buying the three channel one. (It’s all I could find, but it was only $25.)

Once we got to grandpa’s we assembled the lights and performed a basic test of all the lights. The lights are in the corners of the room and the night light (#3) is on mom’s wire shelves that she’s got her clothes on. (In plastic tubs or airtight / vacuum bags.)
Auntie and I worked for about half-n-hour getting her tablet onto the printer and printing a test page. (A Lot more difficult than it had to be.) The printer is currently in the DMZ which should be reachable from the LAN inside the firewall. I didn’t have the waterproof box ready to use on Auntie’s yard light, I need to punch a 1″ hole in the bottom. (Yes, I happen to have a Greenlee punch set with me.)
The cows are hungry enough to crawl over the tree limbs I cut a while back. I have a picture of a cow between the fence and the building. I was thinking how on earth did you get in there?

I bought 8 bales of hay this evening for the cows, they came running to the pickup when they saw the hay over the top of the bed. I gave them one bale and loaded the rest in stall #3 for later. I decided to give them two bales and see where they are in winter feeding. I put one additional bale under the Bumpkin awning and took a bunch of hay from the hay ring so they would follow me to the Bumpkin. The large cow got wind of me taking her hay from the hay ring and she ran after me (A LARGE 1,000 Lb. Cow!) trying to knock the hay off my shoulder so I wouldn’t take it. LOL. When she realized that there was a whole bale waiting on her, she left me for the pile under the Bumpkin awning.
I did manage to shore up the cables holding the tree together next to the house with the recommended three cable clamps on each end. I also tightened the cables as tight as I could using the come-a-long and one arm. (The leverage looks to be at least 8 to 1. At 2,000 capacity and a lever that’s 10-1 I should be able to pull 200Lbs on the arm of the Come-a-long. (I am probably 1/4th of that, say 500Lb x 2 x 2 = 2,000Lb pull on the tree limbs.) I should be able to attach a rope to the handle and get some good leverage from the ground with my 200Lb Butt pulling on it. I think another option is to get the pole saw working and trim the tree a little more.
An observation I made today is that mom has gathered enough trinkets and other stuff at her chair in the living room that she looks uncomfortably crowded. I was thinking, how we could get her to “Trade” stuff so that we just don’t keep loading the house with “Stuff” which is detrimental to controlling the bugs? How to tell mom that we’re not bringing any more “Stuff” from the farm into grandpa’s house.

Tomorrow:
Injuries: Arguments: Exercise: Feeling words: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments:

https://www.verywellfamily.com/feelings-words-from-a-to-z-2086647

9 November 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Current Project: Move mom to grandpa’s farm.
Status: 80% of mom’s stuff is still on the farm.
Today’s Plans: Setup a computer desk at grandpa’s with firewalled wireless networking, backup power for Internet/Cordless phone and some kind of light.

Theme: Be as sanitary as we can with all the cockroaches living with us.

Engineering: Move current Internet connection to other side of Grandpa’s house where there is no wiring.
Repairs: PU Truck starter, Grandpa’s Security light.

Narrative: I guess it’s about time I move the computer/monitor/keyboard/mouse to a desk that a cockroach won’t crawl over my hands as I am working.

This guy insisted on going for a ride!

Yep, pooping all over my keyboard too.

Nope, not dust. It’s roach poop.

I like to munch on Dorito’s while I am working, so it seems likely I’ve eaten roach poop rubbed onto my fingers from the keyboard keys. Ewe! I’ll have to find a single legged table for my laptop today, it has gotten kinda ridicules at this desk. The trouble with the desk is that it has two filing cabinets for the roaches to harbor / hatch eggs. The roach poop is already bad enough that I’ll need a new mouse/keyboard …. YUK!

Look what I found !

It is a nice, single post 30″ square table with little rust or wear that the post can be (And was) sprayed with bug killer. It has a Formica top and the feet are adjustable so it is very sturdy. (Does not wobble.) Even better there are TWO of them! This one cleaned up very nicely with an SOS pad. As soon as I can come up with a new keyboard/mouse I am MOVING! It seems likely that this is a table from the Bumpkin, so there may be even more of them. (I like the 30″ size) Very little harborage for roaches, so this would be a good fit for grandpa’s farm as well. (Versus a traditional wooden end table.)

All set, where there’s will…

Headed to bed, I was tired.

From my 3′ square bug free computer desk…
We woke up and headed to Grandma’s Diner for breakfast again today. The food was good but a man sat next to us at the bar and had a never ending cell phone conversation. I asked him politely if he would please take the phone call out side and he replied “Ya, Right!” and then talked about me to the other person. He had to have been in his 50’s, it seems unusual not to have understood how much his phone call could bother us.

Bought some supplies at Starr hardware and headed to grandpa’s. I put a photocell on the outside light, but it’s a Jerry Rigged setup. I need to install a outside/weatherproof box to house the wire from the house, the wire from the light and the photocell. (Maybe tomorrow.) The wire for the DSL Internet ran alongside a coaxial cable into the house. Someone had cut the coax off right at the edge of the house. I need to use the coax to pull the CAT-5 telephone wire up the wall without disrupting the round CAT-3 telephone wire that’s there with it. The two wires were bound together somehow inside the house wall. Upon further inspection I found the original patch in the wall was still there holding the pair of wires. I was able to bust up the original patch with a screwdriver without much difficulty. I attached the CAT-5 wire to the end of the coax and successfully pulled it up the wall alongside Auntie’s bathroom. I managed to pull it across grandpa’s house without any trouble. (There’s not much insulation up there.) I used an old shift cable to make a makeshift pull rod across grandpa’s attic. The only other thing I ran into is that the previous occupants stuffed the coax into the wall. It took Auntie and I about half an hour to pull the coax wire out from both sides. It took a little more time to feed in the CAT-5 and to terminate it in a biscuit jack. I was sweaty and too tired to try and move the Internet+Phone today.

We headed back to the farm to catch a shower and a nap. Grandkids showed up and we headed out for some badly needed supplies like paper towels. On our way back we realized we forgot the Benadryl, but having frozen food and ice in the car we had to make two trips.

Tomorrow: Buckle the cables on the tree and move the Internet and phone to the new desk.

Injuries: Arguments: Exercise: Feeling words: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Purchases: Engineering:

https://www.verywellfamily.com/feelings-words-from-a-to-z-2086647

8 November 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Today’s Notes
General: Get a quote on the land from a realtor and cable two sides of a tree together.
Theme: Survive another day with the bugs and keep a good attitude.
Narrative: We spent so much time at grandpa’s yesterday that we didn’t get to the grocery store for breakfast fixings, we decided to eat out this morning at “Grandma’s Kitchen” which was good by the way.

We returned to the farm and I started work on the tree next to the house that has a major crack in it. (I can put two fingers side-by-side into the crack.)

After about two hours of just making things up as I went I was pretty proud of the result.

It’s hard to see but there’s a 3/8″ cable that runs to both ends of the 4,000Lb come-a-long. The pulleys and hooks double the overall strength of the setup giving us a theoretical 8,000Lb capacity. The second piece of artwork is applying 4,000Lb of pull reserving the 8,000Lb capacity for temporary loads like a windy day. If you hadn’t noticed I have to add more cable clamps, I didn’t read the directions until after I got them home. They suggest THREE clamps to secure the cable ends. There was a little more lateral tension on the come-a-long face than I would have liked. The strap on the opposing limb actually cuts into the bark between the pulleys, (I should have used a longer strap.) The one end of the cable that connects to the strap on the left side should really have a hook to spread out the stress a little better on the nylon strap. The great thing about using a come-a-long is that it can be loosened and retensioned pretty quickly.

We packed up our dirty clothes and drove to grandpa’s farm where I started assembling the new desk I bought at Staples. The desk was complete when I left except for the four drawers. Mom, Wife and I drove back to the farm where we sorted through things she wanted out of her bedroom. We completed in about an hour and came out with three small boxes of stuff to transport to grandpa’s farm.

Auntie did all of our laundry and folded it while we were sorting things here. She also put all the drawers for the desk together. Thanks!

I was looking around the kitchen (since the bug number seems to be rising) on things I could do to knock them down a little (Since we’re trying to live here.) The wood under the sink and the cabinet doors are covered in roach poo. It would be a MAJOR undertaking to remove this material from the porous wood in the kitchen.

I guess the healthy thing to do is NOT use the kitchen for food preparation. We can probably use the sink to wash our hands and refridgerator to store some food items. I’ve established an “Safe Island” in the living room that basically is a single legged table that has been sprayed to prevent the roaches from climbing up it. We are using that table to eat food we’ve brought home or taken from refridgerator.

Eating prepared food will significantly increase the cost of being down here, roughly $30-60 / day. Breakfast yesterday was $23.

Injuries: I have picked up a muscle problem where I am in constant pain in my upper right arm and shoulder and I cannot do simple things like throw a stick without yelling out in pain. (I threw a rope over the tree limb and screamed out in pain for about 2 minutes.) It doesn’t seem to be affecting my legs and to quite a lesser degree my left arm either. It also doesn’t affect the use of the limb even for carrying heavy objects. Rapid movement or stretching my arm out cause considerable wrenching pain for just a minute or so.

Tomorrow: Repair hitch on box trailer and start repairs on the wiring.
Injuries: Arguments: Exercise: Feeling words: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Purchases: Engineering:

https://www.verywellfamily.com/feelings-words-from-a-to-z-2086647