Category: decline and fall

Thur. Feb. 20, 2025 – nope not tired of it yet…

COLD this am. Cold when I went to bed. Cold. Winter time is here. It was pretty cold all day yesterday, and it really dropped after dark. Today is supposed to be even colder. Openweathermap is saying below freezing but nothing apocalyptic. Even above freezing during the day. I guess we’ll see.

Spent the morning catching up on auction stuff, then headed out to do my pickup. I’ve got a dozen $1 items waiting at the “sketchy” auctioneer. This is the one I caught shill bidding. Well, the doors were closed. There was a note that they hoped to be back Feb. 6, which was a couple weeks ago… I went around to the front and no one was working. Two guys doing maintenance stuff, and no staff. They still have auctions running online, but the warehouse was mostly empty and a mess. I’ve got a feeling all their shenanigans have caught up with them. I’ll check my cc bill today. Might have to file a backcharge.

There are a bunch of new auction players starting up this week. Hope springs eternal. It’s like house flipping. By the time the housewives with no experience at all started flipping, it was over, and everyone got burned. I hope everyone succeeds so I can keep buying stuff, but I have a feeling there will be a culling…

Hit the goodwill bins while waiting for D1 to need pickup. Got out with just a bag or two of stuff. Wasn’t feeling the love or desire to really dig. I felt a strong urge to go to the store, but not to fight the crowd. And I really don’t want to be buying without selling some of what’s here.

Speaking of which, the new auctioneer I was hoping to consign with actually did call me back. I didn’t hear the message until now, so I’ll give him another try. I thought he just ghosted me. It would be nice to start moving stuff again.

Can’t stop stacking… war is coming.

nick

Read the comments: 69 Comments

Wed. Feb. 19, 2025 – back home, back to it…

Cool, sure. Wet, oh my. After yesterday’s rainstorm? Oh my. Bayous be flooded yo! Dunno about getting down as low as they have been talking about. With this much moisture in the air, land and sea? Seems unlikely to me, but hey, you can be wrong most of the time and still make a living as a financial pundit or a weatherman…

Started the day early, 730AM, when I heard the rumble of diesel engines and truck doors slamming. The tree guy must have decided not to wait, and instead of showing up “later this week”, he showed up Tuesday. I had done most of the prep for him, moving lighting strings, marking trees with paint, etc. but I hadn’t moved my truck. He wanted a clear path to hand carry out all the debris. So I did that in my PJs then started some coffee.

They were done and gone by noon. Meanwhile I got all my “leaving the BOL” stuff done, and I left shortly after they finished.

Did a couple of pickups on my way home. Stopped to dump my trash and some debris in a dumpster. Don’t fret. It’s one I have use of.

Got home in time to get the kid from after-school activities. And the sky opened and dumped buckets on us. It kept raining and thundering for a couple of hours, and it was still lightly raining when I went to bed. Since it was coming down buckets, the gutters, ditches, creeks, and bayous all filled. Should be gone by today though.

Today I’ve got another pickup, and some other messing around to do. I lost my secondary key ring. That’s my ring with a few dozen keys I don’t need every day, but are still important. Like for all my various padlocks… I’m pretty sure it’s in one of my storage units, but of course there is a lock on the unit. I went through a few dozen master lock keys in my collection without finding a match for the lock on the unit… so I need to look at a few more, or get my bump key set out. I don’t want to cut the lock, as I have several “keyed alike” on my storage places, and can’t afford to lose one… and cutting the lock is kinda suspicious looking… I’m pretty sure I can bump key it open without arousing suspicion. I don’t want to pay the storage company to cut the lock either.

I’m usually very careful to handle and move my lock and keys in a specific order to avoid this exact issue, but I had the wrong truck, and so couldn’t use my normal habit… and unlocking that storage unit was the last place I’m sure I had the ring. Dumb, and a waste of my time, all because I was in a hurry. Hopefully the keys are hanging on the shelf when I open the door.

Thrilling stuff, I know…

No access to those stacks without the keys though… and I’m pretty sure my wife had the dupes at some point, but not any more. Prepper fail.

So don’t be like me, make sure you have access to your stored preps. And stack some extras…

nick

Read the comments: 46 Comments

Tues. Feb. 18, 2025 – still at the BOL, but heading home later

Cool, cold even but not end of the world cold. It’s winter. The world has been so focused on the AGW scam they seem to have forgotten winter exists. And sometimes, winter is cold. Morons, deluded, or lemmings, who knows?

I had a pretty good day yesterday. Said goodby to visitors and got the RV stuff wrapped up. No evidence of flooding after using the unknown drain… looks like I have an additional septic system, of unknown design, age, condition, and capacity.

Spent the afternoon knocking little things off my list. Tree trimming. Work on the front walk. Work on the plantings. Work on the dock (replacing rotten deck boards). Work on the dockhouse (install and trim out threshold, which now finishes my part of the flood restoration.) Clear a path for the tree guy. Put some stuff away… All needed doing, none critical or high priority, but solid work off the ToDo list. It felt good to do a bunch of things.

Today I’ll be closing up and wrapping up this stay. I’ve got some stuff to put in the freezer, and some stuff to bring back home. I’ll fold my clean laundry, and put it away. Domestic bliss, can’t escape it.

Later I’ll head home, stopping for a couple of auction pickups along the way. I’m combining trips and saving gas and time. Go me!

The rest of the week I’ve got stuff to do at home. Like always. And maybe a couple of things I don’t usually do. We’ll see.

Don’t stop stacking, unless you are working to improve your situation… then you can shift focus!

nick

Read the comments: 71 Comments

Mon. Feb. 17, 2025 – one fish two fish red fish blue fish…

Chilly willy. It was 35F and falling when I went to bed. I expect it to be COLD this morning. Forecast calls for freezing again. It was chilly and clear yesterday. Really a nice day for working outdoors. I had a very light second layer on and that was enough.

I spent the morning with family. Spent the afternoon doing small tasks outdoors. I ran the string trimmer, and the blower. Cleaned up the leaves, and weed whacked the weeds in the wildflower garden, the vegetable garden, and the bulb garden. Blew leaves and raked twigs out of the dirt areas between the retaining walls. It’s the perfect time to do it, cool enough to do hard work, wet enough to not have dust, but dry enough that the blower moves a lot of it.

Met with the tree guy too. He’s finally got time to remove the remaining problem trees. Not the cheap guy, but the expert guy. He’s going to try to get them down this week.

Family is headed home later today. I’m staying another day. I’ve got pickups in Conroe that I can grab on my way home Tuesday, which saves an hour and a half round trip. It’ll give me time to get a few more jobs done too.

If you can’t stack, always be working to improve your situation…

nick

Read the comments: 56 Comments

Sun. Feb. 16, 2025 – I missed me…

Cold, or maybe just cool, but certainly still wet. It’s been dreary here at the BOL. Yesterday wasn’t as cold as some days last week, but it was misty and drizzly all day. Sun finally broke through just before dusk, which was nice. Forecast is calling for lower temps but I am hoping it’s wrong.

Did some more cleanup, but mostly stayed inside and chatted with our visitors. Did a crockpot brisket for dinner, then played games for a while. It was too nasty out for a fire so I called it an early night.

Today I’m going to do some more cleanup, play some more games, and spend more time just chatting. If it’s not raining, we’ll do hamburgers for dinner. A simple easy day.

Sometimes that’s the best kind of day.

nick

(stacking up time with family, it’s important too.)

Read the comments: 30 Comments

Fri. Feb. 14, 2025 – still a bit weird typing “2025”. We’re living in the future…

Chilly. I’ll check to see what the overnight low was, but I don’t think it will be freezing. It was a beautiful sunny clear day yesterday, which made the chill tolerable. I hope for some more sun today.

Got the electrical done, and the RV hooked up to power water and sewer. We’re just putting grey water in the mystery sewer line, not black. We’ll see if it fills up or if I’ve got an undocumented septic system for the RV pad. I suspect a septic system, or at least a buried tank. The previous owner put it in for his fifth wheel trailer…

Full moon and patchy clouds meant no good stars last night, even though the air was pretty clear.

Today I’ll be chilling with our guests, and maybe getting some more cleanup stuff done. I want to edge and blow the yard and weeds, and finish cleaning up some of the leftover building material that has been just stacking up under the carport. There are other things on the list too. There always are.

I might even bait the crawdad traps and get them in the lake. It’s the season. Lake is half a foot high, the rain must be working its way down the watershed.

Oh, I have cupcakes and cards for the girls for Valentine’s Day. Happy Feast of St. Valentine everyone. Eat some pink icing on some baked goods!

The heater worked well in the garage and I’m very glad I took the time to install it. I’m finally pulling stuff off the stacks. Gas line and a heater, electrical boxes and outlets, drinking water hose… and food.

I like to eat, and I like to be warm. Stacks are helping with both.

Stack some of your own…

nick

Read the comments: 41 Comments

Thur. Feb. 13, 2025 – Friday the 13th falls on a Thursday this month…

Chilly willy here at the BOL. Forecast says freezing tonight, but for sure it’s going to be cold today. I’m hoping for some sun. Yesterday it was cold and wet in Houston. I’m missing the sun.

I did my doctor appointment in the morning, and got two more as a reward… getting older apparently takes more maintenance and poking. Always with the poking.

Grabbed a pickup after lunch. They lost two of my invoices and hadn’t pulled this week’s items, but I did get some of the stuff that I bought for the BOL.

Did a quick grocery run, bought steaks on sale, filled the gas tank, and loaded the truck. Drive up wasn’t too bad, once I got past the Woodlands. Leaving around rush hour added a half hour to my drive though.

Today I’ll sleep in a bit, then finish my electrical work, and get the water hookup in place. Guests should arrive around 4pm. Family much later than that.

If I have any free time, I’ll work the list. That’s the fun part of owning property- you never run out of stuff to do…

No stacking, just working to improve my position…

nick

Read the comments: 49 Comments

Wed. Feb. 12, 2025 – did I say no more song lyrics??

Chilly and wet. Becoming less so later. We ended up getting rain yesterday and it didn’t clear up. The rain stopped late afternoon, but it was blowing and cold while it lasted. I’m hoping today is dry. I’ve got pickups in the pickup…

Did my test in the morning. I’ll know in a week what the result is. Imaging center had switched to another new paperless patient management system. They send a link to a site where you can do things like check in, name an emergency contact, etc. The drop down list for emergency contact relationship had “aunt” and some other non-useful thing, no “spouse” or “child” or “sibling”. That was a required field too. The address selector insisted on “country” first, and had an alphabetized radio button list. I had to scroll to the bottom to select USA. Because “Afganistan” makes SO MUCH sense as a default. Do they not test this crep at all? I know it cost a ton of money, and I know they will replace it in a year.

After I got home, I did a bit of domestic bliss, cleaned up after the dog, and fell asleep for a bit. Did some auction stuff, then started on the kid stuff. D1 changed her plan 4 times so I went grocery shopping. Pork ribs were on sale… but limit two. I’ll go back and get some more today. There were plenty of eggs, but heavy cream was down to a couple of pints.

Spent the next couple of hours shuttling kids around.

Then I wasted some time on the internet with my friends.

Today I’ve got another appointment in the morning, a couple of pickups, and maybe a drive up to the BOL. I might wait and go up Thursday morning, but I SHOULD go up tonight. I want to be sure I’m there before the relatives show up. I’ve got that last bit of electrical work to finish, and I need to turn the water back on to the hose bibs.

There’s always something more to do. And I’m not feeling 100%. Kid 2’s friend is sick with the flu and she was here on Friday… I really hope I don’t get sick.

No matter what though, I’m still stacking…

nick

Read the comments: 65 Comments

Tues. Feb. 11, 2025 – never know what you’ll find if you actually look

Cool and damp in Houston. Slightly warmer than the BOL though. Still, chilly to start the day and a bit overcast too. The end of the week is looking better, so I’ll take a little grey now, if it helps.

Did my cleanup and closing up, then headed home from the BOL yesterday. Hit two auction pickups on the way home. Got mostly household stuff. I’m buying fewer things as I have most of what I need. And I’m considering the travel time and miles, and adding that to the price. Some of the auctions have had very high prices lately. That usually means new money is coming in. I’m guessing that more people have found the auctions. The sellers support that as they are complaining that the new buyers don’t really understand what they are bidding on and buying. I’ve been cheerleading for people to start shopping in the secondary economy, so I can’t really complain if they do, and if they run prices up because they don’t know any better…

Today I’ve got a Dr appointment in the morning, and then at least one pickup. I need to hit Lowes and get the stuff I need to finish at the BOL too. Plus, Tuesday is my big ‘kid taxi’ day. I’ll be busy, putting miles on the truck today. I guess I can complain, but no one really cares. And I really don’t either. I chose this, and I generally like it.

Doesn’t mean I won’t TRY to complain though. And of course, I’ll be stacking while doing it…

nick

Read the comments: 48 Comments

Mon. Feb. 10, 2025 – no song lyrics this week… probably

Mid 50s to start the day here at the BOL. Yesterday stayed overcast most of the day, but was warm enough for a T shirt and long pants. The attic got a bit warm, but not like summertime… today should be the same, but maybe a bit clearer.

I did my major task this weekend. I have installed the 50A 240V receptacle in the carport. I can feed an RV, or charge an EV now. I’m not completely done, I was short 4 wire nuts. They are to wire up the pass through to a second receptacle in a different style, so I can accommodate different plugs without adapters. I’ll have the two most common styles when I’m done. Won’t take but an hour when I get back up here.

I also got to clean up the yard with the mower, and it looks nicer. Old leaves and random weeds growing just look sloppy.

Today I’ll do some more cleanup and set up a water hose for the RV pad. I brought some drinking water safe hoses from home. I use them to fill my big water storage tanks, so they should be good for the RV. I’ll add an inline filter too, since I have it.

Then it’s back home for a couple of days, before returning.

I’ll catch a pickup on the way home to save a trip.

Stacks. Water hose, in line filters, electrical supplies. Knowledge.

Stack the stuff, but stack the skills too.

nick

Read the comments: 63 Comments
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- // end of file archive.php // -------------------------------------------------------------------------------