The summer has worn on, as the vegetables in the garden are getting ripe.  We've been watching the tomatoes swell up and go from green to yellow to orange to ..... Hey, wait a minute!  Where did my red tomatoes go??

So now I'm finding bits of chewed tomatoes around the yard.  Looks like Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail have also been watching the garden.  Or perhaps it's the raccoons, possums, or armadillos.  At any rate, we're losing tomatoes, the edible soybeans were nipped off a few weeks ago, and some of the cucumber vines were eaten.  We've also had holes dug in new planter boxes, and some of the mulch around new plantings has been dug in. 

Next year, I guess we will have to surround the garden with a critter resistant (no such thing as critter proof) fence so we don't share quite as much produce with them.

We have finally reached the point in the moving process where we are ready to put the house (2 flat) on the market, so I contacted a realtor for the ever popular free market analysis.  Now I know we have had a market crash in home prices.  I also know it affects every area differently.  And I haven't seen a whole lot of For Sale signs in my area, so I'm hopeful that things around here aren't tooooo bad.

Silly me.

Turns out, the realtor suggests values that are about 1/3 (yes, about 60% ) lower than 2 years ago, when we had last looked at market prices.  So, we also called HomeVestors (the Ugly Houses people), and they don't even want to touch it, and if they did they also offer about 1/3 of what they offered two years ago.  And the lack of For Sale signs?  Seems that foreclosed and short sale properties are turning over at rock bottom prices without signs ever going up.

So now we have to drop back and punt.  Do we try to sell at a HUGE loss and be rid of the place, or do we look into finding a property management company and renting the place out for a couple years in hopes that the prices recover?

Anyone have any experience with property management companies, or any suggestions?

As you may recall, back in May we had a bad windstorm and lost a number of trees.  One of the local sawmill owners stopped by and asked if he could harvest the downed trees, and pay us for the lumber.  Since we really wanted wood for rebuilding our barn, we made a deal instead to get back sawn lumber instead of cash. 

Today our share of the lumber was delivered.  We got back about 30 10' 4x6, 60 10' 2x6, and a huge pile of 1" oak boards for siding (I lost count) and they are random width anyway.  It took us about 2 1/2 hours to get it all stacked in the barn (yes, oak IS heavy), but it is now out of sight and out of the weather.  We think it is a great trade-off.  While we have less wood than we would have had if we cut it ourselves, we saved a ton of time by not having to cut it, and right now we don't have the time, and for that quantity of wood we really would have needed to get a better mill.  We did cut a couple of logs with our current mill (an Alaskan chainsaw mill, if you've even seen one) and it took several hours and a sore back.  I really want a nice bandsaw mill, but now is not the time to get one.

So, the logs didn't go to waste, the mill has lumber to sell at a profit, and we probably got back enough lumber for the barn.

Wins all around.  Yea! 

We're back from another trip to the farm.  Another load down and one closer to being done. 

The garden has done well in the last two weeks.  Everything but the eggplant has grown, and the beans, squash, sorghum, and potatoes are all up from seed.  We spent some time weeding, and spread the grass clippings as mulch to try to keep the weeds down.  We'll see how well that works.  A few of the tomato plants even have flowers already.  Obviously, the plants like the hot and humid weather better than we do.  Grow, baby, grow!

On a more painful note, the phone line was acting up, so I went out to check the line at the junction box. We had a problem with it in the winter and I figured the temporary fix needed to be made permanent.  Unfortunately for me, a couple of wasps had made a home in the box, and they expressed their displeasure with me disturbing them in a most pointed manner.  And get the point I did.  Once on back of my middle finger, and twice on the leg by my knee.  So after two days, the swelling has gone down, but I still have a bruise on my leg that looks like I got wacked by a shovel.  And the phone?  It's not even my problem.  The noise is on the phone company's side of the line.

Well, the length of the garden rows wasn't quite that long, but it felt like it.  The garden now has about 300 plants in it, tomatoes, cabbage, green peppers, hot peppers, brocolli, brussel sprouts, millet, and eggplant.  We put in seeds for beans, edible soybeans, summer squash, winter squash, and sorghum.  We also planted regular potatoes, sweet potatoes, and jicama.  We stuck in some marigolds for color and pest repellant, and four peanut plants for fun.

Let the growing begin!

Happy Birthday, bluesgirly !  Here's wishing that your day be filled with the joy and love of both your two and four legged friends!

I guess they were in our yard last night.

Tuesday I started moving my cold sensitive plants out to the back yard.  They've spent a long cold winter under grow lights and it was time for some sun.  Today when I went out to the back yard, I found that two of the plants are missing.  One is a 5 foot high orage tree that had 5 oranges on it.  The other one was a 3 foot high lemon tree, it just had flowers.  This is not the first year I have had them in the back yard.  My plants are out there every summer.  But I guess the actual, real, live oranges, and a lemon shrub with flowers, just could not be resisted by some petty low-life pilferer.

I hope the knights choke on them. 

We just got back from a week at the farm.  It was an unplanned race down there.  Why, you ask?  Because we were right in the middle of a derecho.  A what, you say?  A derecho is a straight line, high speed wind storm.  Which in our case meant no power for 9 days, a 4x6 section of missing shingles from the roof, and a bunch of downed trees.  We lost 7 large oak trees by the pond, and a number of other trees around the property.  And, compared to others down there, we were lucky.  Our neighbor lost their outdoor furnace, smashed flat by a tree.  We saw a number of houses damaged by falling trees.  And people without generators lost any food in their freezers and refrigerators.  We ran through about 15 gallons of gas keeping our generator running, and sharing it with our neighbor several hours a day so she could save her food, too.

And the downed trees?  It turned out that there was a silver lining to that dark cloud.  We were going to salvage them ourselves, using a hand-guided chainsaw mill to make boards, but it would have taken weeks to do the work.  On Friday, the owner of a local sawmill came by and asked if he could harvest our downed trees.  We came to an agreement where he will return the value of the logs to us in sawn lumber instead of cash, so it's a win-win situation.  Our trees get used instead of wasted, he makes a profit from our loss, and we get some lumber without a few weeks back-breaking work.  By the time he's done, about two dozen fallen and damages trees will be harvested.  And we'll still have the left-over limbs to cut up for firewood (we've already stacked up about 1/2 cord).

We even took time to go to an auction on Saturday.  We bought a few odds-n-ends, but  the big win was a sorghum mill.  I've been coveting one for some time, and was able to get this one for less than a third of what I have seen them for.  It will need some work (what antique doesn't?), but hopefully will once again be pressing sorghum cane for molassas.

Last fall, I ordered 300 trees (pine, hazlenut,paw-paw, pecan,osage orange) for our Missouri farm, and they are now ready for pick-up.  After planting 50 pine trees last year with a pick-ax to make the holes, I decided I wanted a better tool.  The Missouri tree brochue described a nice tool for planting trees (3" wide blade, 14" long, wide step for pushing it down, steel handle for wieght) .  You can't find anything like it in stores, since I guess there's not much call for a tree planter tool, so today I welded one together.  This weekend we'll be trying it out as we plant a windbreak of trees our our pasture.

Today I went to class. Glass Class.  I went to a glass studio called Chicago Hot Glass.  My daughter went there with a group last year where they each made a paperweight, and she was nice enough to give me a gift certificate to Chicago Hot Glass for Christmas, which would allow me to take a short, 1/2 hour "make a paperweight" class.

Since I've wanted to try glassblowing for ages, I decided to step up to the next level, and signed up for a 2-day, 10-hour class.  But then they called back and said they didn't get enough students for the session and were cancelling it.  After some discussion with them, they arranged for me to get a 4 hour one-on-one class with an instructor.

So today I had the opportunity to make 2 paperweights (one clear and one colored), two glasses, a bowl, and a plate.  Actually, a bowl and a half, since the first bowl I was working on collapsed on me while I was reheating it for the next shaping.  I'll be able to pick them up on Monday, after they have gone through the controlled cool-down period.

I came home tired and sweaty, but I had a great time.

Well, back under the crawl space for the second round of plumbing.  I replaced the main run of pipe where the 3 foot leak showed up after the last time.  Waited a while for the joints to harden, then primed the pump and pressured up the system.

You guessed it, another leak.  Well, I still have enough pipe to fix it.  Grumble, grumble.  Back under the house.  This time. of course, the ground is wet from the leak.  And yes, it's COLD under there.  So, cut out the bad section, replace it, try again.  And found ANOTHER leak.

That's it, that whole section has to be stressed to the point where it's not salvagable.  So I gave up for today.  I'll have to get more materials, and plan on replacing the entire cold and hot  runs in that section.

Oh, joy :(

Happy Birthday, popfiend !

May your natal day be filled with as much joy and happiness as you can possibly handle!

Down at the farm, the winter has not been good to the plumbing.  When we leave the farm, we turn off the pump just in case we have any plumbing problems, and each time we have to prime the pump because of a slight leak.  Last trip, bosswriter went down by herself, and was really proud that she primed the pump (always my job so she hasn't done it before), and then was really bummed becasue she heard a MAJOR leak under the bathroom floor.

So I knew I had to repair a pipe when we went down this trip.  I planned ahead.  I bought a 5' length of 1/2" PVC pipe, and some couplers.  At least PVC is easy to work with.

So, under the house I went.  The entrance is on one corner of the house, and the break, of course, was on the other end of the house.  So I had to belly crawl about 30'.  I got to the break, and found that the pipe had split lengthwise about 4 inches.  I also found that the pipe used was not the same as what I bought.  It was a lot thinner (probably why it lost to the cold weather), so I couldn't just cut it out and replace it.  And town is an hour round trip from the farm, so I didn't want to take a run in for supplies. So I crawled back out to decide what to do. 

I decided I would try glueing the break and tape it up while the glue set, which set off a hunt for electical tape (because it's stretchy).  Crawl back in a second time.  I did the repair, let it set up, crwaled out of the way, and turned the water on.  The fix held, but now the T joint farther down the line was leaking.  ??!!?!??!!  OK, let's try this again.  Back over to the joint, glue up the T joint and tape that.  Crawl out of the way, again. Turn on the water again.  Farther down the line, now I've got about 3' feet of pipe making with a spray of water looking like a garden sprinkler on steroids.  Obviously, the water froze solid in that section of pipe (it dips there), and split 3' of seam in the pipe.  WTF? (Why The Fountain?).

Well, that was more break than I was willing to try to deal with.  So a final crawl back out from under the house.  We turned on the water a couple of times to get water for drinking and dish washing, but it makes you appreciate having running water whenever you want it.

At least now I know what size pipe I need to get for the repairs next trip, and my next encounter with the Crawl Space of Doom.

On the first full day of a new presidency, I feel the need to comment on the assertion being made by some people that "He's not MY president".

Well, unless you are not a citizen of the United States, yes, he IS.

Granted, he may not have been your first choice for the office, but he is your president.

Now, some of you may reply that "What I really mean by that statement, is that I did not vote for him".  Fine.  In that case, just say so.  We understand.  In any election that is not unanimous, somebody voted for the loser of the race.  But the winner is still your elected official, be it the local dog catcher, or the president of the United States.

Others who say "He's not my president" are really saying "I don't like the new rules of the game, and I going to sulk for four years".   Usually, this is because the new office holder is not of their political party.  I heard someone state yesterday, "My president left office".  So what, now you are going to pretend the office is vacant for the next four years because the newly sworn-in office holder was not your choice?  Sometimes, this is because you don't agree with the policies of the new president.  But really, can you truthfully tell me you agreed with all the policies of "your" president?  I doubt it.  It is very rare that any two people can agree on everything.

Question: If in four years, the country is better off than it is now, will he be your president then?  If so, then give him a chance.  He hasn't had even a day in office yet.  Will he make mistakes? Sure.  He even said there would be missteps.  I find it refreshing to hear an official admit he's fallible and doesn't know all the answers.  Let's hope he keeps that mindset.

George Bush WAS my president.  Barak Obama IS my president.

If you are a US citizen, he's yours, too.

I just got back from visiting my daughter at her work. In -2 degree weather.  Why, you ask?  Because her tire was the victim of a Chicago pothole.  So, we took it off, went to Just Tires where they pronounced it dead on arrival and sold her a new one, and then went back to remount it.  Fortunately, nothing fell off (of me) working out in the cold.

Now I think I'll have some hot chocolate.

That's right, Spring is coming.  I know this, because I sat down yesterday and ordered my garden seeds.  bosswriter  and I are planning on a big garden this year, which means we'll have to turn over some new space.

But, there's a catch.

We're not quite moved down to the farm yet.  I really want to be there by planting time.  But, there's still some work to be done here before we can market the house.  And, to be honest, I have not been motivated to work on it during the holiday season.  I've thought about it, but that doesn't get anything done.  And I mean NOT ANYTHING DONE, for over a month.  And there's not really that much more to do, but it seems like a lot because of the detail work that takes time to finish.   Maybe thinking about gardening will get my rear in gear.

Tomorrow we head back to the farm to take bosswriter 's mom home (she's been with us for the holidays about 10 days now).  Granted, it's been a good time.  We all celebrated Christmas here with my son and his family, and my daughter.  We took Mom to a movie (Bedtime Stories, which she really enjoyed), and my daughter has come over quite often to spend time with her. But, when we come back, I need to hit the ground running and finish this up.

So send me some motivation and good vibes.  I could use it.

While reading a story on the Madoff scandal, I ran across a concept that I REALLY have a hard time dealing with.  According to this article, investors who took their money out of Madoff's fund as long as 2 to 6 years ago, will be forced to return that money to the fund so it can be spread around to all the losers, under the theory that they should have known that there was a problem with the fund.

First, if even insiders like Madoff's sons did not know there was a problem, how should an outside investor be able to figure it out?

Second, if you invest in a fund and decide to take your money out, the government can come to you years later and make you return your money to the fund so it can be spread among all the losers?  Not just your gains (if any), but all you invested???

Now, if you can prove that an investor was involved with this scheme, then I agree that they should be punished.  But to punish any investor that had the misfortune to invest in this fund, and then pulled out for reasons having nothing to do with the (unknowable future) problems of the fund, just seems weird to me. 

Sticking my money in the mattress as an investment, looks better and better every day.

Yesterday, my daughter came over and we went to see Bolt in 3-D.  As bosswriter  posted, it is truely an awesome film.  After the movie we came back home to make cookies.  My daughter really wanted to do gingerbread first, so we mixed up a batch of dough.  Any of you who have done gingerbread know that dough is thick!  Well, the hand mixer gave up it's life for the dough.  In a flash and a (small) cloud of smoke, it rode off into the sunset.  After mourning it's demise (for about 15 seconds), we finished mixing the dough by hand, chilled it for a while, and cut out gingerbread boys, trees, stars, santas, and other shapes. Mmmm, good.

Today she's coming over with her spare mixer, and we'll make Snickerdoodles and peanut butter cookies.  Hopefully without a recap of yesterday.

Christmas time is delicious!

I had a good first day at Windycon.  The opening ceremony was fun, as was the Fannish Feud game which followed.  I even managed to track down the 4 authors I had books for and got all of them signed.  And kudos to Ops, which quickly realized that one of the rooms was MUCH too small for the panels, and moved all the rest of that room's programing to a larger space.

I also spent Thursday evening and Friday morning helping to set up the Art Show.  I now have a greater appreciation of the amount of work which goes into getting that room ready for the fans.

I have voted today.  Have you?