Wed. April 23, 2025 – there once was a lad from Nantucket…

By on April 23rd, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Humid. Soaking wet humid. Yesterday and today. Gah. It started cool, but got hot, especially in the sun, and I expect more of the same today. I was sweating through my shirt by noon.

I did auction stuff in the morning but got over to help my buddy for a few hours in the afternoon. It was crazy hot in his shop space when the wind wasn’t blowing. Also very dirty. And the stuff we were moving was heavy. Yeah, I was filthy and soaked with sweat by the time I went to get D1 from school. Turns out she doesn’t want to walk home on sweaty hot days.

Today I’ve got several auction pickups to do, as well as help my buddy. I’m thinking I’ll start with him, then do the pickups, then the kid stuff. I’m busy. Days are full. And I’m still falling behind.

I’m overdue for another Costco run. I haven’t added any bulk food to the stacks in months. I’m actually a bit short on toilet paper. Rats ate my bucket of sugar. And I have projects stacked like firewood.

I guess I’ll steal a line from Oingo Boingo and sleep when I’m dead.

n

(and I’ll keep stacking all the other things, like solar panels and inverters. Stack something.)

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Tues. April 22, 2025 – change is in the wind..

By on April 22nd, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Cool, then warmer. Sunny but windy? We’ll see. At the BOL we had a stunningly gorgeous day yesterday. Houston got storms, we got mist, then a fabulous spring day. 70sF at night, 80sF during the day. I’ll take every nice day we can get.

Got up and poked around, but then started doing maintenance on my lawn mower. It was time to install the new drive belt, replace the blades, check filters, and do an oil change. All of which got done, but I still didn’t get to mow, because now there are other issues. Without the drive belt slipping, the top speed is higher. But now something is jamming, catching, or binding, and sometimes you can’t stop. After driving into the retaining wall, and almost pushing it over an plummeting 8ft, I put it away for the time being. I’ll look at it next week.

So I did get some stuff done, but that opened a list of other things to do now. Story of my life…

Today I’ve got some home stuff to do, some auction stuff, and if I have any time left, I’ll help my buddy at his shop. Then it’s Tuesday kid taxi service.

Do not falter. Stack.
n

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Mon. April 21, 2025 – time for some deviled eggs

By on April 21st, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, lakehouse

Cool and damp again. Never got real rain, just some moisture from the sky, so we could still get some today. It did warm up yesterday, so we’re in a period of cool nights and warm days. Feels like this Spring has been cooler than several recent Springs.

I mostly didn’t do much yesterday, other than cooking dinner. I did get a few small things done, it is very hard for me to not do something productive, no matter what the day. I put new screen in a really beat up and damaged window screen for the dockhouse. First time I’ve actually done it that I can remember,but I knew how and had the stuff to do it. It wasn’t hard, and went quickly. Saved some money, and completed a task.

Cooking was fun, well received, and I was really glad to have the oven out in the garage. It would have been nice to have the cooking smells from the roasting lamb and potatoes, but it was really nice not to have the heat of the oven in the house. Definitely glad I spent the time and effort to set up the oven out there.

Today will be spent doing a couple of chores and some organizational stuff. Then it’s homeward bound.

I’ll bring up some more stacks next trip. Alternative creamer is top of the list, along with more coffee K cups, if I can get them cheap. I need some bulk sugar at home too.

There is always more to do, even stacking.

nick

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Sun. April 20, 2025 – Happy Easter to my Christian friends. A glorious day for you…

Cool and grey, rain forecast for the morning. It stayed overcast and humid most of the day, with occasional patches of sun. Started to sprinkle several times starting in the late afternoon, but never got all the way to rain. I’m hoping for a nice day today. Mainly because of our Easter egg hunt, but also so I can get more outdoor stuff done.

I got a bunch of little jobs done. Nothing serious or major, but nice little life enhancing things. In the process some things were moved from storage to where they will live for a while. Everything installed is one less thing stacked.

Today we’ll start with an egg hunt for the girls, then breakfast. We’ll see what the weather is like after that. Hopefully the girls will do some stuff outside. We won’t be working hard, but it’s hard to take a day completely off.

Stacking up the good times. Working to improve.

nick

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Sat. April 19, 2025 – getting ready for Sunday…

By on April 19th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Warm and clear, but windy and humid. That’s my prediction for the BOL based entirely on my own feelings. It was warmer in Houston yesterday afternoon, and still pretty warm and humid when I got to the BOL. Something might be blowing in, the wind was pretty strong yesterday too. Like always, we’ll see.

Did my pickups. Shopped for a boat. Helped my buddy. Saturday was a pretty full day, then I drove to the BOL.

Today we’ll be coloring eggs, putting out a few decorations, and hopefully having a bit of fun too. The kids will be “encouraged” to get out of the house and do something outdoors. I’ll have work to do, outside of holiday prep. Because I always do.

It’s a great life, but you can’t falter…

stack some good times.

nick

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Fri. April 18, 2025 – Good Friday

By on April 18th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Cool and clear again. Which is awesome. It got a bit warmer yesterday afternoon, and I was sweaty, which I don’t love. Still, it’s pretty nice. I’m hoping for a day or more before the forecast rain moves in.

Did my stuff in the morning. Missed a thing with the kid because it wasn’t on the calendar.Not thrilled about that. Took a truck load of stuff to the auctioneer. Then got with a friend and started helping him tear down and pack up his shop. He’d moved to the east cost a year ago but the weight and hassle of moving a shop meant he’s been putting it off. I’ve got my own shop to deal with at some point… and it’s daunting.

Took several hundred pounds of stainless to the scrapyard on my way home, and there will be a lot more scrap today.

Speaking of today, the kids have the day off, so W and the Ds will be doing stuff with friends while I’m doing my thing. They’ll head up to the BOL later today. I’ll do my pickups and help my buddy for most of the day, then load up and head up myself.

Lots to do at home still, but lots to do at the BOL too, and NEXT weekend we have guests. So I have my priorities set.

Always be working, always be stacking.

nick

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Thur. April 17, 2025 – and now for something completely the same…

By on April 17th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Cool and clear, getting warmer later. We’ve been having a stunning run of cooler and nice days. It’s low to mid 80s in the afternoon, which for us is like winter. It’s windows down weather. Shirtsleeves and shorts. No sweat weather. Fantastic. We do need rain, especially in other parts of Texas, but for now, I’m loving it.

Did a couple of pickups yesterday. The main thing though was finally getting my auctioneer to start taking consignments again. I can move stuff out of the house and maybe even a couple of bins out of the storage unit. At this point I almost don’t even care if he pays me… well yes, I do. Since we did the taxes, my business was a bit shy on incoming money, mainly because he still owes me for last year. That doesn’t look great to the IRS, so it would be better to be paid. This year should be better.

So that’s today’s task, get a load dropped off at the auctioneer. I’ve got a pickup too, but I’ll get to that in the early afternoon. Hopefully, I’ll get the load dropped off in the late morning. Then I’ve got to do some grocery shopping. I think buying eggs today is cutting it a bit late, but I didn’t stop in yesterday. With shortages and Easter this weekend, and eldest child on a high protein diet kick, I need to increase my stock on hand. Funny how what we eat changes over time.

Gotta keep watch on the stacks, and compare against current and changing needs. I’ve got far too much peanut butter, syrup, and ketchup. Not enough eggs…

Check that your stacks still meet your needs, and then adjust.

But do stack…

nick

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Wed. April 16, 2025 – now you are working for YOU, not the G…

By on April 16th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Cool and clear, warming throughout the day. Almost like yesterday, except yesterday got overcast and stayed grey until late afternoon. I’m hoping today will be clear all day. We need rain, but I am selfish enough to want the rain to happen overnight.

I did my two pickups in the afternoon, then hit the Goodwill on the way home. The new experiment is D1 walks home from school, instead of me picking her up at 3:15. She needs to check in and text when she leaves school (because sometimes she stays for tutoring) and when she gets home. Hasn’t worked so far, she “forgets” to text. I have a strong incentive to make it work as the 3:15 deadline shortens my day significantly. We’ll see as the week goes on.

Got some good stuff at the Goodwill for the house, the BOL, and a couple of things for resale. I haven’t bought that much in years. Got lucky I guess.

Today I’ve got a couple of pickups to do, and some errands to run. We’re headed back to the BOL for Easter, and I need a few things. I’ve also got my buddy coming into town to work on clearing out his workshop. I promised to help with that, but it will cut into my normal routine. Most of that work will be next week, but he wants to get started at the end of this week. I need to get my stuff out of the way beforehand.

And all the normal stuff awaits my attention and efforts.

I couldn’t find a bucket of sugar last night. I did find a couple of containers, with about 3 pounds in each, which was fine, but I must have taken the buckets to the lake. Hmm. RE-stack here, or just have the BOL stock? Hmm. Choices.

I need to get to work on this stuff. And I clearly need to stack…

nick

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Tues. April 15, 2025 – pay up sucker day…

By on April 15th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Cool and clear, warming later. I almost wish for some rain, because the grass is getting a bit crunchy… but that’s why we have sprinklers I guess. To bad they’re not working at the BOL. If we don’t get rain this week, I’m going to have to spend more time and energy on that. Meanwhile, I’m enjoying the mild weather.

Mild or not, I did get sunburned and now I’m itchy. My neck, face, and arms are noticeably darker.

Did my final cleanup and secure everything, then headed home yesterday. The kids sorted themselves out and I wasn’t under the time pressure I expected. Still, good to get home.

Home sweet home… so much to do here. I’ve definitely been slacking and need to put in some serious time. Projects have stacked up. Stuff has stacked up. Stacks have stacked up…

It’s easy for me to put stuff off, and just deal with today’s emergency, or new priority. The easy way isn’t the best way.

Do something hard today. And stack.
nick

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Mon. April 14, 2025 – getting close to tax day…

By on April 14th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, lakehouse

Cool and nice, probably around 70F and clear. Might be windy though. The wind was blowing like crazy yesterday. And the sun was enough I got burned on my neck and face… mainly because I couldn’t keep my big hat on. The wind blew it away whenever I turned the wrong direction.

I did a bunch of yard work. I’d fallen behind a bit and some of it was catch up. Some was just Spring though.

Got the apple trees planted and watered in.

Got the truck unloaded and some of the stuff stowed away.

Today I’ve got more cleanup outside to do, mainly blowing the leaves and debris that trimming left. Then I’ve got to put some of the stuff away, and to do that I’ll have to do some organizing. Then it’s poison fire ant mounds, and load up.

Family made it home safe, even with D1 doing some of the driving. I am always glad to get that text. I do not like it when the pack is divided and traveling separately. Kid needs the practice, but SHE NEEDS PRACTICE. By definition that’s risky. Part of life though. Stacks won’t help her learn, nor keep her safe, but hopefully the rest of my mindset will.

Stack what you can. Do your best for the rest.

nick

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