Cool and wet, super humid even if not raining.
Thursday was overcast and misty fog to light drizzle, depending on where and when. Some of our microclimates probably stayed dry. I was all over and it was wet wherever I went.
I spent several hours clearing stuff out of my secondary location. This time it was mostly empty boxes. Yeah, I save boxes. Nope, not going to need these. Haven’t used them in 8 years, unlikely to use them ever. When the space was free it didn’t matter. Now I need the space so they had to go. Two big pickup truck loads shifted to the dumpster. Then I moved stuff into the newly cleared area. I think I’m going to be pretty sore today as some of the boxes weren’t really empty, and some weighed 20-30 pounds. I had to do a lot of holding them out in front of me and over my head to get through the labyrinth… (this falls under the heading “using what you’ve already got”)
The deal for the BOL/lakehouse fell apart. Perfect for me, not perfect for my wife. On top of that the owner countered with some stipulations we didn’t like, and there are still the questions about Army Corps flood easements…. My wife’s back looking at listings. Armed conflict in the Capitol would have made that decision easier, but even I’m not that selfish.
I didn’t get a chance to put away all the food I bought yet. Maybe today. I’ve got a couple of pickups and more cleaning to do though and that’s higher priority.
I did get lucky at Goodwill and got about 10 reference books about guns, everything from modern sporting rifles, to historical black powder. 50c each. I also got a bunch of books about hunting and fishing with a couple specific to Texas. I like books and I like reference material in hard copy form. With every search and web visit logged, with every purchase saved and correlated, it can’t be a bad thing to have some stuff that is completely off the radar. One of the books was published by Paladin Press. Man, those guys would be going NUTS in today’s environment. Build a reference library that won’t rat you out with every page view.
One of my local auctions closed and prices looked pretty good. I will get some more stuff to them for their next auction. The ‘industrial’ auction lots are getting bids this time, and look like they might be ok pricing too. I recommend checking out your local estate sale and consignment auctions. Lots of stuff, prices can be good to great, and “Lot 3, box of books” looks very different in a database than “Modifying your AR”, “Homemade silencers”, “Gunsmith’s Bible”, “Nosler Reloading Guide”, etc.*
One of the auctions next week is a nearby medical center that closed or somehow ended up surplussing a lot of stuff, including several pallets of masks and other PPEs. WTF? I guess they don’t want to just give them to the state to redistribute. I’ll be a bidder. Lots of weird stuff out there, you just have to find it.
And speaking of weird, this is an example of how my life works. I bought a windows Smartab tablet for <$20. It all works great except the wifi card. I tried the Realtek drivers to no avail. The card is recognized but just doesn’t work. Just when I think I’m at a dead end with a bad card, I find the EXACT SAME Smartab in a bin at Goodwill, with a cracked screen. I’ll be prying that one open to steal the wifi as soon as I get the time. Weird, but that’s why I suggest being flexible and open in your plans. Stuff happens.
Figure out what you’ve got, figure out what you might need, but be open to what the universe sends your way. And keep stacking.
nick
*not the actual titles