Annarchy

This is the chicken tractor, I built from scratch wood in my yard.... they loved moving around daily in it..... Then I made an extension..... in the shade of the shed, to keep them cooler than the 100+temps we were getting.... Excuse the shed mess.... that is my garden storage area... our 40 year Palo verde tree fell on the shed, and the cars in the driveway... We have replaced the shed roof and cleaned up the area. Then, he got me a coop from TSC... but I cant find a pic...Maybe on my phone, IDK.

Here’s my ‘winter’ garden. I cover it with ratty old sheets…. And the micro fiber ones, because those sheets are worthless on the bed, the callouses on my hands, snag the material, no matter how much lotion I use….. Left to right: onions, carrots, turnips, and 4 volunteer tomatillos, back row, purslane-dying off, too cold, but we ate a plethora of it, then, a patch of beets and a row of radishes, carrots-barely have 5, maybe 10, and a volunteer potato that sprouted in int center of the plot.

Dogmom4, I used scrap stuff, to build my mulch bins. I throw any vegetable scraps, lawn cuttings and any other compostable items in it, water, turn it regularly then dump it in the garden. It isn’t pretty, but it has definitely helped our clay, lime soaked native soil. This fall, I’m using the 1/2 decomposed grass cuttings to ‘mulch around the seed potatoes that have volunteered to grow, 4, so far. One jalapeño plant is producing, 4 peppers so far, camomile is sprouting everywhere. Collecting the Mexican oregano leaves, as it is shedding in the cooler weather. Planted a few radishes, more carrots, a bunch of onions and, DH wanted turnips… I think I planted too many…. 8’x4’ area…. And beets…. All are growing really well. I made frost covers by using parts of the old coop. It was deteriorating and falling down, so I dismantled it…. A lot like when I put it together. Tis, fall in the desert, cooler weather, hope for the harvest…. Except we’ve already had a couple days of heavy frost! We normally don’t get those until mid/late December…. But, I have my covers in place.

Dad would bring 100 chicks every year, when we were growing up. Eggs and food. First chicken I got, here, was Henny Penny, a rouge neighborhood chicken that came into my yard for bird seed. She would occasionally leave an egg. One year my neighbor had mallard ducks that would come into the yard & play in my sprinklers. Apparently, one had layed eggs in my mulch bin, Henny Penny sat the eggs. One hatched, sadly, when it tried to venture out of the bin, it broke its neck, she wouldn’t leave it for a week, or let me discard it. Later, she hatched her own clutch of chicks in the neighbors yard, and another neighbor captured her & her 1/2 grown chicks, “ for food”. Next, was from a friend who was culling 150 chickens they inherited. I captured 2 hens & a rooster. I made a chicken tractor, for my road island reds. I’ll post a pic of the tractor I built from scraps, when I turn on my Win computer. They laid daily, until she sat the nest & we got more chicks. Then, I got 6 chicks from TSC. The hens laid daily, we ate the roosters. Their crowing was absolutely annoying and I didn’t want more chickens. As it was, 6-8 eggs a day, it was difficult to give the excess away. I hope you find a good coop & run for them. Mine loved coming out in the late afternoon & scratching in the yard until evening, then, they would go back into the coop as the sun set, every day. Because we have dogs, I’d lock ‘em in for the night.

18 jars of pumpkin…. Darn glove hot pads, bumped a jar…hit the floor…. Otherwise it would have been 19 jars.

At least we remember those who have gone before us…..

Rita passed several years ago. I miss her…..

Me today….. & tired..house cleaning, major rain storms hit…so much for washing the floors… dogs rushed out..mud everywhere….

5? You, Becca-Anne, (her friend Sue)…. That’s 3…. Unless I missed something…. (Momma to boys, & Miki, who usually do it, and Midnightmom….)?????

Becca, IDK if I’d want that property. My house is just the right size. I’d have to maintain it or build on it. Either way, IDK. If the road didn’t separate it, I might consider it.

Thanks Jeeps, but I would definitely prefer the couple & their family to live there. There is another lot between their lot & his rental. Historically, the house he is renting, was one of the original people who founded our town. Back in the mid 1800’s. The next 2 lots over, towards our house, we’re her maids & field workers quarters. She passed, the next lot was her maids quarters, then, the maid passed, with no heirs. In 1994, the city plowed it over & removed everything. The house was full of her belongings. Everything was bulldozed down & trashed. It’s been a vacant lot ever since. IDK, if the historical society has a hand in it. Land that had historical buildings, originally, have to be built by the historical manner. That lot is still for sale, but for much more than any realtor wants to pay. Plus, they can only rebuild on it, in the manor it was originally built in the late 1800’s. The house my parents rented a couple of months, was the field workers dwelling, back in the 1930’s. That’s the one that burned down. Honestly, I hope that person goes away. I don’t care how, just go away.. he’s mental…and not in a good way…. I won’t even say what he’s yelled at me, when I’m working in my yard…..

Drama, I so dislike drama, but it is what it is. It happens even when we try our hardest to avoid it. So…. Here’s a ‘short story’. Ha! Or book, lol So, a bit of history…. Some of you might remember…… I’ve been here over 60 years. The house across the street, east of us, belonged to a school teacher, retired, turned realtor. She lived there a couple years, decided to rent it. The guy that rented it, was…. well, IDK…. He had Grrrr. He called him Barney. He used to try to take him for walks, Barney would lay down and roll over… pulled by a choke chain…. He’d give up and leave him. We would go over & give him food & water, even tho he had a hole dug under the swamp cooler. Then, the guy died. I drove past, going to the market, no biggie…, coming home, I saw the medical examiners truck there, stopped & asked, what’s up. The examiner, who knew my family, 30 years back, informed me, the man had passed. I asked, what was going to happen to the dog? Animal control. They have a 3 day waiting period, then euthanasia. I told the examiner, we could take him, temporarily, until the family came to claim his estate. NP. So, ‘Barney’ came into our yard. 2 weeks later, family came, walked through, looked over at the dog, and left. They wanted nothing to do with the belongings or the dog. We contacted the police. They said the man was a hoarder, the place was crammed with stuff and they abandoned the dog. Absolutely no dog food, except 2 cans of moist food, which they gave to us. NP, he loved Dog chow & actually gorged himself on it, but he was 30 lbs under weight, according to or vet, plus, no one had any shot records for him. Anyway….. Because, every time anyone drove past that house, he would growl, we named him Grrrr. Appropriate. He became our best friend and very protective and loved to go for walks…. PD said, his owner tried to kill him, when he knew he was dying…missed, he had a bare scalped area on his head when we got him, but his hair eventually covered that area, hence, Grrrr was extremely afraid of guns. Poor baby. But we understood! So, fast forward, 3-4 years…. Vacant house, transients, started the bed on fire, threw it out the bedroom window, but, not before catching the house on fire. The guy ran away, PD wasn’t able to catch him. The house on fire, fire dept didn’t show up for about an hour. Adobe, internally it was trashed, but the outside structure still stood. Several companies came in to try to clean it up. 2 quit, due to asbestos contamination. We, of course, we’re picking up garbage blowing across the street into our yard. Yuck.. OK, fast forward, to, 2020. A couple, from Canada, bought the lot, with a baby girl came, rented a garbage dumpster, & a smallish backhoe. Demolished the building, flattened the lot & had all the debris hauled away. We welcomed them to the neighborhood, chatted several times, played with the child, and encouraged them in their endeavors to build a home for their family…. They were extremely excited, working on their citizenship, and couldn’t wait to build their new “home” here. OK, fast forward to 2 years ago…. Covid hit. They can’t leave Canada…. Trash has been piling up in the lot! We know, for a fact, it’s not the Lady that owns the beauty Salon, or her next door neighbor, who is a fun friend to chat with, or the next neighbor closest to us, across the block… he’s older and very environmentally conscious! So…. 2 years ago, another, long time friend of my mom & dad, rented the ‘historical’ house to a guy in need…. Good grief…. He gets a visitor…. when they leave, he’s outside screaming, at the top of his lungs, for 10 min., “Don’t leave, come back”. No big deal, IDC, just leave us alone. He pounds on the walls of the house, at all hours, we call him “Thumper”. However, he never ever, ever, as long as he has been there, puts out a roll off, with garbage….. free…city paid….. the dude, throws it in the vacant lot!!! He rents the house, has told his neighbors he owns both lots.. definitely not! Our little town will issue warnings to keep your property clean. Several of our other neighbors have ‘cleaned’ up the weeds. But, that lot is trashed with restaurant fast food boxes. The owners of the lot, in Canada, had to have a professional company clean it up, twice! Guess what? It’s trashed. Again! I called the police, again, because I’m tired of that crap blowing into my yard! DH called a couple of weeks ago, the PD talked with him & left….nothing has changed, except more trash… Talked with my friend, who lives across the street from him, asking if she knew why the PD was there the other day. Yup. He apparently saw her outside, early in the morning, and flashed her…wearing girl panties!!!!! So, I called the PD today, because I had to pick up a bunch of his trash, again, out of my yard. The PD are going to put up a trail cam, to catch him…. Drama…. God knows I don’t want it!

Went to a new Dr. He’s extremely concerned.. more tests…. Dinner tonight is homemade Subway type sandwiches. I’m too upset to eat…… Our/his kid is here, giving us moral support…. God knows….

Note to self.. don’t type a reply, then, close the browser….. before pushing the save button….. I was trying to add, talked to the bank teller, the manager came out, said he heard me say I was unable to access my account because I did not want to agree with 100% digital service. I want my bank statements in paper. He said, to use their ‘app’ you have to agree. What ‘app’? I use the net. You’d be proud of me, Jeepers, I played the “old” card. Telephone, land line access services will still work…. Guess what I’m going back to. Lol He said, it’s been that way since he’s been the manager, I looked at him, and said I’ve been a customer since your bank was downtown….. (35+ years ago.). Poor guy’s eyes glazed over….

Today, Wednesday…. Called SS…. Wouldn’t talk to me… needed to talk with him first…. Ok. Called back when he got up… their system says no Medicare insurance. Nice. Customer in training, came, he forgot his bag…. Lesson for today, don’t forget your bag. Lol. BTDT. Didn’t do it again. They talked about other related things, as I prepared home made onion rings and hot wings, in the air fryer. Earlier, while he was asleep, I attempted to get online to check the bank account. They want me to sign an agreement for 100% digital correspondence. No! I want my monthly statement, in paper, which I pay $4.00 a month for. Frustrated, I walked away from my old desktop…and promptly stubbed the same toe on my chair! Again!!!! Ended up on the guest bed, with one hand over my mouth & the other holding my toes…. Muffled cursing, crying and screaming, all at the same time. If anyone saw that fiasco they would be in stitches laughing…. Seems, I dislocated it, even though DH tried yanking it into place, because now, it’s sore, but not extremely painful to move or walk on. The moral of the story, stub it once, dislocated, with pretty colors, stub it again and put it back in place…. Yeah, I’m a dork sometimes…. Yikes. On the positive side of life, the pastel painting I’m working, for a customer, is finally beginning to represent their picture.

Ever notice the lines on the foot plate? Guides for thicker seam allowances.

My Grandmother showed me how to turn the fabric inside out, of anything I wanted to make another of, then, used newspaper to trace a pattern around the seams. Pin the ‘pattern’ and adjust the ‘fit’. I can’t tell how many pin pricks, I’ve gotten from, trying a paper pattern on. I didn’t make a paper pattern for the cover, that was my mistake. I traced the pattern directly on the material and didn’t pin it to test for the fit, before I began sewing. Next time, I’ll remember, I hope. Lol.

Then…. to my chagrin…. As I was bringing the cover back in from fitting, preparing to secure the pins to sew….. I stubbed my ring finger toe….. I am not walking well… I broke it where to attaches to the foot!!! What lovely shades of color…. Hobbling around with taped toes tonight. I’m laughing because it’s been years since I did something that stupid…. And DH & I we’re just taking about where to put that table he found… “…not there, or we’d stub our toes….” Sometime I have a warped sense of humor….

Sooo, today, pinned up the side panels for his UTV replacement cover. The original died…sun burnt, heat rot. He got me 3,000 DNR material. I used the original cover we had purchased, for a pattern & made a replacement, 2 years ago. I thought the military grade material would last. Not. About a month ago it started splitting, even the seat covers I made, started heat rotting, fraying and splitting. I was going to get more of the same material, but he suggested getting another canvas waterproof cover, like the one we use for the kayaks. The first one lasted 5 years, before splitting. I’ve used parts of the old one to replace the top & back on the porch swing, a cover for the lawn mower and several other things. I brought in the old, frayed, sunburned cover, a week ago, tried to remove the side panels to re-use the pattern. HA! The nylon thread I had used to sew it, was actually melted into the material, or vice versa. Measured everything, cut the top & sides, zigzagged all the edges…canvas frays. Sewed it, re-attached all the Velcro, made new tie down straps…the old ones were heat rotted also. Put it on, and discovered…… to my shame as a seamstress, it was too small! I had even added a full two inches to all the edges plus the seam allowance! I’m assuming when I brought in the old one, it shrunk even more in our cool AC. It certainly is much smaller, than when I took it off… 6 inches all around! I hadn’t even considered shrinkage from cooling. Anyway, I had to make an extra set of side panels…and to double check, I pinned them, put it on and adjusted the fit. Then, I finally finished sewing and put it on, this afternoon. He’s ok with it. My home economics teacher would have given me a D- for my first attempt, maybe up to a C now. (“Yes, Ma’am, I did tie all my end threads.”)

Today, Monday morning… chased a few trials … got the ball moving… Went to the PO, Team Fichel (sp) was working down the block, on the gas lines.. We had about 1/4-1/2 “ rain last night, so, the alley is still flooded. IMHO, they still have a leak. Normally, the ground would be dry, but it’s still quite soaked.. a truck, came, did something inside the truck, got out, went under the ‘caution’ tape, sprayed a couple of markers, and left. I have no clue. This is what the easement looks like…. They used the tractor to cover the open hole…. And, tonight, the sky around the mountains is giving us a light show that puts fireworks to shame… As, We2 would say, “..wanna see?.. “

Charles is reported as being very involved in the eco movement….anti gas, coal, save the world… etc…. God save the world…..

Becca_Anne, looking forward to seeing more pics. Awesome. So…… our drama continued today. They filled the hole at the end of our easement. City had a tamping machine, gas guys said, “don’t do the old line.” He did anyway…and water began bubbling up and flowed again… 2:30 … backhoes digging the area out, again, city & gas co managers, standing around, water turned off, and I hear, “ I smell gas!” Everyone vacates the area…gas ppl come in, fix their line, water ppl get back to work…. 7:00, we have water again…. Yikes! Our block was built in the 1950’s. Grandparents bought this house, when Grandfather retired just after WWII, as a ‘show demo’ for the whole block. My uncle bought the property next to it, as an investment, a few years later, and then built a custom home on the lot. The two properties were divided by a fence/plot map. Years later, my grands, allowed the garbage truck to access between the properties, thus creating an ‘easement’, which the utilities have exploited. Back then, they didn’t have gas, but allowed the gas co to put in their lines, which allowed the electric ppl, to put n their utility poles. A couple of years ago, the electric co asked me, if they could put a metal pole at the corner of my property, with the stipulation, they would put another pole, at the back of our block, & remove all the wooden poles in between. Including the antique transformers, I agreed. Just because it would limit the ‘alley’ traffic, if there wasn’t a need to service the wooden, old, old, poles. Then, the gas co came, offering to move our meter to the side of our house, for free! Not a problem, that got our meter out of the easement, where it had been hit countless times, by ppl trying to drive thru the ‘alley’ when it was nothing but muddy water…. Now, the gas co is replacing ALL the towns lines…. 1940 - 1950, is a tad bit old, and I seriously appreciate them for doing it…. Actually, slightly over due.

Yes indeed, thorough…. Nasty fly was smashed into my shirt. Spent quite a bit time scrubbing my back. Lol House cleaning today, got the back room, kitchen done, a couple loads of laundry, (yes, the washer & dryer worked fine..relatively speaking..I was hoping they wouldn’t, so I could get a replacement for the washer. Lol) DH got up, I replaced the sheets, scrubbed the bathroom, spare room & bedroom…then waited for him to vacuum…. Sitting on the porch swing, while waiting for him to finish, his part…. I believe I killed at least 75 flies…. Terrible, annoying, creatures… then, had to sweep, the ants came swarming in, to collect the dead flies! Either way, done!!! Whew!!!!

Raked up 10 gal. of mesquite beans, still need to do the rest, probably at least that amount, but, it was way too wet. Balanced our monthly books. Fed the birds & cleaned out their water dishes. Watched a pair of dove making a nest in the pine tree. Too wet to fix the rocks, they moved or to fill the trenches they created to divert the water into my yard, maybe tomorrow, God willing. We had a blob, Storm, reds, yellows and greens hit us about midnight, captured an inch of rain! It’s been years, since I’ve seen this much rain in town, PTL! De-constructed his UTV top cover, cut out a new pattern. It was a bear! The material & thread, had melted together! It’s hot around here. Lol. I should have enough material to make the seat covers and re-do the porch swing! However I need to get some green thread… heavy duty…. Still need to make my monthly run to the store, but, am waiting for his prescriptions to be refilled. Filled his weekly med box. He actually said thank you, it is really helping him remember to take them. Want to laugh, or get grossed out…..? He swatted a fly on my head, said, oops, it crawled down your shirt! Then he proceeded to smack my back, just to make sure it was dead! God I love him!

Confrontational Politics, by, H. L. Richardson. Wow…what an informative book. First written in 1988, revised in 2014… but it speaks volumes about what is happening today…. we don’t know exactly how it got in our house, I was going to throw it away, but, decided to read it first….