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