The Things I Did This Summer – April To June
What a summer! It was another historic “let’s melt the planet” kind of summers. The hottest on record! But regardless of the temps I did what I always do: work within the construct! Between heat and health (read: chronic fatigue) I worked when I could and rested when I didn’t feel up to the “task of the day”.
My routine pretty much never changes. I’m in bed between 9-10:00 PM & up and in the yard or in my shop by 7:00 AM ready to go—on the days I was “ready to go”. And if I didn’t feel up to it, I didn’t beat myself up and rested that day.
I had a lot of things I wanted to do. The most important things were plant seeds for flowers, and build a fence to keep the neighbor’s dogs in their yard. But I also envisioned that the fence would also be a 150 foot long trellis for the flowering vines that would eventually adorn them. There might have been other things—besides also planting those sprouted seed weeks later—but they escape me right now.
If I said this was a crazy summer; it would be an understatement. Besides finding a new contractor and finally scheduling my new sidewalks & driveway, I also had my 2010 Kia Soul Exclaim stolen right out of my (mud) driveway; adding a ton or two more of stress to all that was going on and would be going on. Thanks TikTok Kia Boy Challenge!
There’s a whole other side to the added stress and finances of having to buy a new car here in Missouri; it’s called additional property tax. Yeah … vehicles here in Missouri are seen as property to be taxed. Never mind you paid state tax on the vehicle when you bought it—tough shit! Let’s see the money! Add to that having to pay for the new car out of my home equity loan. Only upside to that was considerably less interest than a car loan—especially these days of very high interest rates.
And while we’re on the subject of taxes … the state/county reassessed property values in the state. Mine went up a whopping 75%. WTF??????? Anywho … there is soon to be filed litigation by Independence to the Jackson County assessors office. The entire thing was botched from beginning to end. I could have tried to have mine reassessed but a lawyer I spoke to said I should just let it be. With all the work I did on the house, my assessment could get even bigger. FUCK THAT!
So … here are my Facebook posts from early spring to the present. They dodument in words and photos what was going on here in IndeMO.
But before all that, a little preview: before and after photos of my house. From the photo that was in the listing to what I have done since May 18, 2022.
Complete!I like that I was able to fit ALL my #Ryobi rechargeable tools on this new station—including the 18 gauge brad nail gun. Awesome!
Not bad for a couple of days work. 👍#frenchcleat #frenchcleatsystem #project #chargingstation #batterypower #tools
Busy day! I made a French cleat pencil cup holder for my wall. This way there will be nothing on the work tables except work & tools in use.
The cups BTW are part of a series I slip cast & fired at Alfred University, in Anne Currier’s class. They are a plaster cast distributor cap, turned into funcional cup. AKA: Distributor Cups. Anywho … I’ve had them since I made them and soda fired them circa 1982-ish. I LOVE the glazes on these cups … all melty/runny. Mmmmmm. SSSSSSSlurp!
They function, plus remind me where I’ve been & how much I still love & miss clay. (Everything in its own time.) They also make me smile : 😄
My other project was finishing up the miter saw table fences & t-track install. I used screw inserts (1st time) to thread removable 1/4′ bolts from under, securing the squared fence but also making it removable, if I ever need the space of that 5ft table for making.
This was my 1st ever t-track install & use of my new Bosch router. I learned some valuable lessons using the router today: always watch perpendicular surfaces so the router hardware doesn’t make contact & push you off your straight line. A router also makes a LOT of dust/shavings! Already looking at a dust collection system. Good thing I wear a dust mask! 😷
Next thing on the list: Get rid of the box dust collector & fabricate a custom 1/8″ rubber wrapper to help keep collection more local rather than dispersed into the box & then try to suck the dust to multiple dust ports.
It’s all a work in progress. But I make a little & or a lot more progress each day.
#frenchcleat #frenchcleatsystem #tools #dewalt #project #bosch #router #dustcollection #ttrack #stopblocks #melikey
I’m in the process of getting a new local KCMO cell phone number in the 816 area code. For any of my friends & or family that want it … FB message me & I’ll send it.Otherwise … carry on.
These are my sunflower seedlings. There are multiple colors & sizes. And that’s only half of them. 🙀I have so many other flower seeds to plant yet. It’s crazy! But I do what I can, when I can.With any luck/skill I’ll have a sunflower forest!
🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
Will be interesting to see how many actually sprout. 🙏
#gardening #gardeningfun #seeds #sunflower
Well … I guess I’m tied into my fence project now!
My fence panels were on sale which took another $2.00 off per panel. And I got a 5% discount on top of that. Plus zero APR on the order for 24 months. 👍
Rented a 20 ft U-haul & picked up the forty 16 ft welded wire panels at Tractor Supply. Brought them home & I was fortunate my neighbor Marco was there to help unload. Damn I’m out of shape! Thanks Marco! You ROCK DUDE! 🤟
Next step … order all my lumber & cement from Home Depot tomorrow. (I now have a Pro Account.) And find some place to get bulk gravel delivered, for the post holes.
I need to get all this done, delivered & moved from the street by Monday the 29th. That’s when my new drive & sides are started. Awesomeness!!!! 👍😎👍
Nothing like a time crunch to motivate one into action. Let the building begin! 🔨🪚🔨
#fence #fencebuilding #cattlefence #homeowner #joproject #IndeMoJo
Well. That was easy! The @HomeDepot guy was able to maneuver my order from the street to my back yard. AWESOME!!!!! 👍😃👍
Saved me the back breaking work of moving all that lumber & cement, if he wasn’t able to get back there.
Now comes the fun part. Laying out & building the fence. One day at a time.
Yesterday I started cutting up my 16′ cattle fence panels into 8′ lengths & piling them on their own pallet.
Moving right along …
#fence #fencebuilding #cattlefence #homeowner #joproject #IndeMoJo #HomeDepot
What kills me is the car auto locks even if I forget. But no broken glass. Police officer told me on the phone it’s real easy to break into a Kia. Grrrrrrrrr.
I wasn’t planning to buy a car any time soon. My Soul only had maybe 56,000 miles on it & was still in good running shape for being 13 years old.
What kills me is, Kia sent out a mailing about a ongoing TikTok steal a Kia challenge. Kia was offering a steering wheel anti theft device to older Kia owners.
Sad to say there have been MANY Kia stolen by stupid kids. They show you how to get in the car & start the engine using only a USB cable. IT’S NUTS!
Now I have to call Allstate & report the theft & I guess … start looking for another vehicle.
I’m in shock right now. AND PISSED!
Sorry for loss.
Kia Strong 🇰🇷
Images must be in 72 ppi resolution and between 1920px (minimum) and 4600px (maximum) on the longest side
I’ve always had problems getting the photo to meet that. Can you help?
Not sure if it’s measurement
Well not really … but took a lot to get here(, there, and everywhere).
Even with an 8 inch auger, a 3ft deep x 8 in diameter hole is a lot of earth to move.
The first post was a 12ft 4×4 because that’s the lowest part of the yard. The rest will be 10 ft. 👍
One down only 44 more to go. 😳
I would have done more today, but it’s supposed to rain.
Tomorrow I’ll start in earnest & see how it goes. It’s a LOT of work for one person to do. Guess we’ll see how I fare. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
#fence #fencebuilding #cattlefence #homeowner #joproject #IndeMoJo
Lots-o-Work … that’s for sure. The ground is so wet it’s like trying to auger through bags of ceramic clay. Well… then again… the soil is pure clay. Go figure. 😝
#fence #fencebuilding #cattlefence #homeowner #joproject #IndeMoJo
An FYI buy a small package of bean/pea inoculant. Adding that powder when you plant your seeds will ensure a bountiful crop should you ever decide to grow them. Don’t be tempted to get a big package as it expires and you need miniscule amount on each seed/hole.
When I first saw the car, I went back into the ER Towing office and told the woman—that’s not my car! But after looking closely a second time, I realized it WAS my car. They disguised & destroyed it so well—even I didn’t recognize it.
This is turning into an ordeal. And to top it off … I hate my claims adjuster.
Yippee! 🖕🤬🖕
Went to the repair shop & did a walk through with the them. It will probably be a total & all I’ll get is fair market value. Bummer!
And so it goes ….
Better now than after the concrete was poured and hardened over it. 👍
I’d pose a question here … but why tempt the fates? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Gee … only an additional 3K to fix! The contractor will be splitting the bill with me … but I’m still paying an additional 1.5K out of my pocket for something I didn’t do, or didn’t even think could happen.
What an incredibly shitty drama-filled week this is turning out to be. And it’s turning out to be one EXPENSIVE drive & sides!
Edit: changed prices to more accurately reflect current reality. But it still sucks!
🖕🤬🖕🤬🖕🤬🖕🤬🖕🤬🖕🤬🖕🤬🖕🤬🖕
And life goes on ….
I just had a extraction and an implant in the same day so we are in a close race to how many thousands of dollars we can spend in a day.
You seem pretty good about getting your ducks in a row, I hope you have some success with your contractor. 
The price will only be 3K & I’ll be splitting that with the contractor. His price for the concrete job was low enough to begin with. We talked and came to an agreement that we are both comfortable with.
Plus I just want the job done, so I can deal with the what will happen with my car. It’s been a week from hell! But I will carry on & deal with whatever comes. What else can I do? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Was cutting the lawn this morning and I must have disturbed a nest of bunnies. Or they were all hanging in my tall grass. I picked them up gloved & moved them to safer places in the yard.
SO CUTE!
❤️🐇❤️🐇❤️🐇❤️🐇❤️
#bunny #bunniesagogo #rabit #socute
After 3 to 5 days wild bunnies are on their own & can take care of themselves. Plus I put them on the perimeter of the yard. They can get back to the nest if need be. None of them were harmed either. 👍
I was lucky my Allstate agent called while I was there. They were starting on the sale paperwork of 2021 Kia Soul S. The agent told me Allstate is no longer insuring 2010 to 2021 Kias & Hyundais because so many have been stolen. Good thing she did call! I really did get the car I wanted. 👍
Big shout out to my sale person Karen @oakes_kia for a wonderful sales process. No pressure at all! Just lots of great info on both the cars I was looking at & going out on test drives on both. All the while telling me more about features my old Soul did not have.
She was also kind enough to drive my new car to the downtown Kansas City Enterprise to drop off my rental.
I love my new Soul! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
#kia #kiasoul #newcar #ilovemysoul
Here are my new 2022 Kia Soul LX & my new drive, sides, and pea gravel divider (soon to have raised flower beds). I like how it all turned out.
It’s strange parking on the new driveway. But I’m sure I will get use to it soon enough.
Redressed the two front flowerbeds this morning. Got them all looking purdy. Even planted some wild flower seeds where things were empty. Guess we’ll see what happens there. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
All in all I’m happy. Even after all the drama. I have a new car. My house is looking less rural mud pit. It’s all good! 👍😁👍
#newcarfeeling #newcar #newdriveway #driveway #homeowner #independencemo Cabrera Concrete and Foundation
These are the photos of the drive & sides. Overall the crew from Cabrera Concrete and Foundation did an excellent job.
There were a few snafus but they were all taken care of promptly & the job was finished.
I’m very happy with the end result. 👍😃👍
#newcarfeeling #newcar #newdriveway #driveway #homeowner #independencemo
Rocco & Rudie: Happy Gotchaversary Boys!
I can’t believe it’s been two years already with the these two fur balls! They are both so different, yet sweet in their own way, Rudie is the lover/cuddler of the two, and Rocco follows me like a dog. He also bites first, licks after. He’s a strange one … but I still love him even with all his oddities.
I’m glad they got to spend time with my mom in her home before she passed. She loved them like they were her own.
Now we all (Rocco, Rudie, and sister Rose) live in IndeMO and are one big fur ball family.
I’m so glad … I got you—babe(s)!
Happy Gotchaversary, Rocco & Rudie!
#cats #catsofinstagram #gotchaversary #catdaddy
With weather in the 90s I’m doing one panel a day. Give or take. I start at 7:00 AM and work until noon.
It’s tough trying to navigate and work on the slope of the hill. But I’m trying to be careful.
One thing I have discovered: pressure treated lumber seems to be made from the dregs of the tree. Lots of knots & chunks of bark. The bark especially distorts the appearance and square of the wood. I’ve had to resort to hiding the distortions, divots, and knots by turning the wood so they won’t be seen from my side of the fence. lol
I’ll also be returning a bunch of warped boards. That’s pressure treated lumber …. I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
#pressuretreatedlumber #lumber #fence #fencing #homeowner #diy
My current though: lock that little f*cker up! That will rehabilitate his ass!
Yes … I’m venting. 😝
But … part of the process is that as a “victim” of a juvenile crime, and through this program, I can go to all court proceedings & even testify. Plus I may also get compensation for my “losses”. Still not sure what that covers, how it works, or means.
I’ll call the contact in the letter and discuss my options. Only problem: the first court date is the 28th. And the contact is “out of office” until tomorrow. Guess what’s first on my agenda for early tomorrow morning? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
A man/boy/child needs a place to put his toys when not in use … so …It’s been a couple weeks in, and I’m still not finished, but every day brings me a little closer to that.With tools strewn all over the basement it will be nice to have a place to ALWAYS put a thing back. Organization? Control Freak? Anal retention? All good qualities in my book. 😝
Today’s project was making a charging station for my Ryobi tools. I’m 3/4s the way there. Tomorrow I’ll make hangers below the battery shelf.
I do what I can and on the days I have energy. And on those other low key days I “plot” my next steps. It works for me!
Just figured I’d post even though not complete. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
#frenchcleat #frenchcleatsystem #tools #project #justanotherday