Month: November 2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Today’s Notes
General: Move the ISP connection and install a desk with a network on it. There are squirrels in the attic and I just don’t have time to deal with them. I didn’t even get my To Do List posted in my page yesterday. Have to buy feed for the cows today!
Theme: Forgiveness and Grace.
Narrative: We are on our eighth day away from our home, we’ve had to spend a great deal of that time dealing with the poor condition of the furniture and the home. We’ve probably spent more than half our time dealing with the German roach infestation. I spent hours just after midnight this morning cleaning the desk where the roaches were crawling on my hands and the kitchen floor where the roach infested hutch was sitting.

I spent an hour or so configuring a Fortigate Firewall appliance to dial my home in Atlanta from inside Ricky’s LAN using her ISP modem. I need to configure something like Time to create traffic of interest to make it dial the first time. Went back to bed for a couple hours.

Woke up, had some coffee and fed the cows two bales of hay, I didn’t have a whole lot of feed for them. The grass has gotten awful thin and they have started fighting over the food when they’re being fed grain. Which is weird because I have been putting an abundance of hay. (Now I agree that the hay is not very good.) I need to get a good roll of hay out there and see if the attitude changes when I feed them. I also think it is about time to lock them into the lower pasture. We currently cannot store rolled hay with the cows able to roam the farm. I also cannot set the security alarm features of the cameras because they keep setting them off by walking under them.

Sis wanted a ton of information about the tractor and the implements, that took a good part of the morning today.

The box trailer needs a new hitch which I bought at Tractor Supply on my way to Grandpa’s. The hitch is held in place by two eye bolts which also serve as emergency chain attachment points. I was unable to mount the hitch because of other priorities. I also did not repair the tail lights as intended.

I purchased $200 in supplies to reinforce the tree next to the house to prevent it from falling onto it. I was unable to install them today because of other priorities.

Auntie didn’t install the battery backup I brought from Atlanta on the Dish “Hopper” yet. I asked her whether I should take it home and she responded she’s not had the time to install it. The receiver in her bedroom is key, if it looses power all access to Dish programming drops off including over the Internet. The “Joeys” depend on the “Hopper” and cannot operate on their own.

The lighting at Grandpa’s is abysmal as are most homes until desk lighting is installed. I am thinking that several floor mounted lamps for Nancy’s bedroom are needed. (One of them battery powered and has a remote switch.) The Home depot has holiday light switches that can provide mom with excellent control of her lights from her bed.

The new desk arrived at Grandpa’s and it’s about 30% assembled. It needs a backup power source, a laptop computer, the printer we have already purchased and some kind of lighting. One problem that may have to be addressed is the heat lamp for the chick makes the room uncomfortably warm. The phone wires for the Internet need to be moved into that room so that all the networking is outside Auntie’s bedroom.

Auntie is leaving the outside light (175W Mercury Vapor) on all the time because she forgets to turn it off. I may have to mount a separate dusk to dawn photocell on the side of the house. 8x175x30x.12= $5/Month in electricity in the Winter. (Twice that in the summer)

I really intended to have mom come over to her old home and sort out one room a day. (All she has to do is identify items she wants to keep/bring to Grandpa’s.) That didn’t happen today.

I fed the cows around 9PM tonight since I fed them around lunch today. I used the solar powered lamps that worked as intended.

“Dish Anywhere” works as advertised and we are able to watch TV over the Internet without reactivating mom’s old receivers. We actually managed to connect it to the TV in mom’s old bedroom last night. 🙂

To Do List (And it’s growing)
the starter in the PU truck is failing. (I almost didn’t get it started this morning.)
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)
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.
Buy hay for the cows, the grain is about half gone.
Grandpa’s Computer desk lamp.
Grandpa’s Chair Lamp.
Grandpa’s Bed lamp.
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 TV stand or end table for Mom’s bedroom TV.
Grandpa’s buy curtain for Mom’s south bedroom window
Grandpa’s repair photocell for yard light over the house
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 clean grandpa’s shed
Grandpa’s repair grandpa’s shed roof
Grandpa’s replace property gate
Grandpa’s repair Auntie’s bedroom Air Conditioner Vent
Grandpa’s move the phone and Internet from Auntie’s bedroom into the third bedroom
Grandpa’s Construct a desk from two file cabinets and a door.
Grandpa’s Install emergency (battery backed up) lighting
Grandpa’s Install battery backup on Dish receiver (Maybe move it to living room)
Grandpa’s purchase / repair printer that has died.
Grandpa’s purchase a new computer
Grandpa’s Install a firewall and wireless router.
Grandpa’s Establish a VPN between grandpa’s Fortigate and Atlanta for remote camera adjustment / repair.
Mom’s Clean pile of bugs and trash from kitchen floor
Mom’s Turn camera over the dog runs to point toward the stalls.
Mom’s Set timers for mom’s house lights
Mom’s Lengthen the timer so that the camera over the runs, runs more of the day.
Mom’s Change the Wayne’s shed timer so that it comes on earlier in the morning
Mom’s Set mouse traps or bait in the trailer.
Atlanta Card for the drama department.
Atlanta take computer desk lamps 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

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

Today’s Notes
General: Wife and I were pretty stressed out yesterday, we took some time out for ourselves and went to lunch at Chili’s.
Theme of the day: Forgiveness and Grace! Engage saving the tree or let it fall. we’ve only got 6 days of medicine?
Narrative: Had my coffee, this is going to be a long day… Fed the cows and checked the tree. No change, (Which is good) Trimmed the tree limbs over the house back considerably to reduce the weight on the branches. (I can’t climb on the branches that are about to break off.) I think the tree is stable and we will work toward firming it up “As We Go” versus dropping everything and fixing it. Tractor supply has a good selection of straps, come-a-longs and cables to firm up the tree. The tree closed up about 1/2″ after removing the limbs over the house, also the measuring sticks showed a slight distance retraction. (Not as much as I had expected given the much larger change in the base of the tree.)

Wife and I worked on extending our stay to make sure we’ve got the resources. (Mostly our prescriptions.) We had to call our son to send us a box of one item, but he was happy to do it. (And I got to test my burglar alarm system.) One thing we are struggling with being here a week is this house is FILTHY Dirty. The only rooms that are reasonably clean is our bedroom and to a somewhat lesser extent bathroom/living room. To Auntie’s credit our bedroom is live able. The hard part to deal with is the desk (Where I am typing) and the kitchen. I still have roaches crawl onto my hands at this desk. We are cleaning and removing furniture in an effort to improve the bug situation. But it’s so severe we’re not making much of a dent in them. That said, the pheromone smell is a LOT better! We didn’t realize just how bad it smelled until we put the furniture out and it got wet. We had to push it out another 10 feet to keep the smell out of the house! I put on a mask tonight and cleaned the kitchen floor that was under the hutch. I ended up tearing the baseboards away from the wall to clean up the mess.

Auntie has got to change the phone situation at Grandpa’s. Mom won’t use her new phone and Ricky insisted on keeping her current cordless phone which has to be in her bedroom to charge. (Keeping Auntie in charge of all Mom’s communication.) I’ve tried twice to change it and Auntie won’t budge.

I installed a wireless doorbell for the Meals on Wheels (And others) that I installed at Grandpa’s today. The button is mounted to the fence until I can make a sign that supports that function. We tested it and I think we’re good.

The trailer needs a hitch and a connector for the truck. (Which should be the only vehicle pulling it.) I had to go to the store and look at hitches to get an idea of what I am looking for. The hitch is a 4″ channel and a 2″ ball connection, I’ll get that on Wednesday.

I hooked up the printer and the directions say to install the cartridges that came with the printer, of course that’s INSTA INK as we found out with the old one. I printed documents and will be taking the printer back to Grandpa’s on Wednesday. (Hopefully when the desk arrives.) I’ll pull their “Insta Ink” back out of the printer and install the standard cartridges while I am over there.

Broke out the firewall I plan on installing at Auntie’s house and connected it to the network at mom’s for configuration and testing.

Wife and I played a game of Scrabble before turning in for the evening.

Tomorrow:
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

Today’s Notes
General: Work on lighting at Grandpa’s,the living conditions at the farm have greatly improved since removing all the Ethan Allen furniture.
Theme: Keep it simple!
Narrative:
11:30 Took table, folding table and chairs to Grandpa’s. She called the pharmacy and they refilled the prescription for the eye drops over the phone. She wants a cage for the cat so we came back to load up again. We finally found the purse, it was in a drawer…
12:30 OK on our way back to Grandpa’s, mom is waiting on her meals on wheels. We assembled the floor Torchiere lamp and put it in the fireplace room.

18:30 Status.. We’ve picked up the golf cart tires and the repairs were free of charge. (Two good tires) We picked up a LED yard light, a Mercury Vapor bulb and a wireless doorbell that I hope will work on Grandpa’s gate. I put the new bulb in the yard light and it came on, but it appears that the photocell is broken. (It stays on.) That light is WAAY up in the air! The pole was moving quite a bit up there. I’ll mount the tire on the red golf cart tomorrow, the mosquito’s are terrible tonight.

Engineering: The tree alongside the house is splitting in half. I don’t know how fast, but the crack seemed MUCH smaller this morning so I may only have a day or two to prevent it from failing. He mentioned putting a cable between the halves of the tree to prevent it from failing. (I am thinking a chain, but I don’t have anything long enough to stretch between the branches of a tree.) Northern tool has stuff like this, I’ll head down there tomorrow. According to the video’s I’ve watched they drill 3 foot holes through the branch (Saving most of the bark). I don’t have a climbing harness, rope, cable, bolts, drill or drill bit to pull off such an adventure. There is no insurance. The weird thing is that we are not affected by the loss of a tree or the damage to the building directly. (Since we’re selling at the land value.) I’ve looked, other than cabling around the branch there’s not much I can do. To call an arborist will cost US money we’re not going to get back. Not to mention I am running terribly short of time.

Mom is stressing out over the phones at Ricky’s.
M

To Do List (And it’s growing)
the starter in the PU truck is failing. (I almost didn’t get it started this morning.)
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)
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.
Take pictures of the tractor and tractor attachments/implements.
Bring large wire cage from Bunpkin for the cat tomorrow morning.
Buy hay for the cows, the grain is about half gone.
Grandpa’s Computer desk lamp.
Grandpa’s Chair Lamp.
Grandpa’s Bed lamp.
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 TV stand or end table for Mom’s bedroom TV.
Grandpa’s buy curtain for Mom’s south bedroom window
Grandpa’s repair yard light over the house
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 clean grandpa’s shed
Grandpa’s repair grandpa’s shed roof
Grandpa’s replace property gate
Grandpa’s repair Auntie’s bedroom Air Conditioner Vent
Grandpa’s move the phone and Internet from Auntie’s bedroom into the third bedroom
Grandpa’s Construct a desk from two file cabinets and a door.
Grandpa’s Install emergency (battery backed up) lighting
Grandpa’s Install battery backup on Dish receiver (Maybe move it to living room)
Grandpa’s purchase / repair printer that has died.
Grandpa’s purchase a new computer
Grandpa’s Install a firewall and wireless router.
Grandpa’s Establish a VPN between grandpa’s Fortigate and Atlanta for remote camera adjustment / repair.
Mom’s Clean pile of bugs and trash from kitchen floor
Mom’s Turn camera over the dog runs to point toward the stalls.
Mom’s Set timers for mom’s house lights
Mom’s Lengthen the timer so that the camera over the runs, runs more of the day.
Mom’s Change the Wayne’s shed timer so that it comes on earlier in the morning
Mom’s Set mouse traps or bait in the trailer.
Atlanta Card for the drama department.
Atlanta take computer desk lamps 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

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