Thursday 2/9

[BirdbyBird]

I have been to the Y and back and finished lunch. The entertainment for lunch was listening to the dogs wrestle with the puppy and play bitey face. They seem to tag team her well. Several folks are coming over on Sunday for the official puppy/litter evaluation that is generally help when the puppies turn 8 weeks old. Rowan seems confident that she will be voted best puppy of the litter....Audrey just knowingly smiles and remembers when, out of four in her litter, she was given the crown only to watch her sister turn into a stunning beauty that knew how to grow coat and keep it. A friend is on her way over to borrow some grooming equipment so I am off. Everyone have a great day.

Barbie, I know that finances are tight but spending money now to attend the Boot Camp and having a chance to see so many rigs in one place and talk face to face with folks is a priceless experience. It could perhaps give you more confidence when/if it comes time to spend real money on a rig. I know that you have briefly experience several camping styles. Boot Camp is another whole level. It could smooth out the dangers of sudden decisions.

[SoCalGalcas]

Barbie, If you go to SKP BootCamp, maybe, just maybe, you might run into someone wanting to move to the desert. Or, maybe someone wanting to sell their rig . This networking might work wonders for you. Lyn

[Colliemom]

Just had lunch and then finished my deep cleaning for the day. All rooms except my kitchen/side entrance and guest bedroom are done as far as washing walls and furniture etc. The advantages of having a smaller house. It doesn’t take long to give it a good cleaning. I still have odds and ends to do, like the windows and the curtains. I also have some pieces of blue tape stuck around here and there where I found some little nail holes or somehow a spot that I missed in the original painting. So I will be messing around with that and also going through and cleaning the closets. Decided I’m going to paint the guest bedroom and am leaving my kitchen/side entrance/laundry area for last.

Mother nature is being weird today. We started out with rain about mid morning which when it hit the frozen surfaces turned everything icy. Then we just had a band of heavy wet rain snow mix come through and now it is raining again. We are kind of sitting on the south edge of a line of heavy snow that is supposed to be going just north of Gaylord. Good day to just be in the house. After the freezing rain that we had early Tuesday morning, yesterday was absolutely beautiful. Actually a touch of spring. We hit close to 50° yesterday. I decided to take a ride down to Houghton Lake to a craft store down there, to see if I could get a shadow box. But after I got down there, I found out they are closed for renovations So it was kind of a wasted trip, although I did go to Walmart and pick up some ink for my printer and some photo paper. And I also tried out the china Buffet place, as I was kind of hungry for Chinese. But it was a beautiful day for a drive. After I got home I took the dogs out for a nice long walk. Then because it was so nice out I didn’t wanna come in, so got out my long handled scraper tool and and snow shovel, and took the melting snow patches off my drive. I guess we are going to have kind of above normal temperatures for next week too.

Barbie, it’s not unusual for a RE agent to get back to you right after a showing. Sometimes it takes the buyers a couple of days to analyze what they saw and decide if they like it or they didn’t like it before they get back to the agent. I don’t know how long your listing agreement is for, most times it’s about six months. But I think I would start looking for a different realty company. This one doesn’t seem to be putting you out there too good.

So I guess I will go and do some painting on my little woodcraft birds that I’m making. We won’t be heading out the door for a WALK today. Oh well.

[BirdbyBird]

If I remember right, Barbie said that she had to use the real estate agent for the community and couldn't just go out and find her own. Barbie has that changed? I was also wondering about the extra fencing on the porch. Is that fencing the previous owner put up to contain their dog? Ask the realtor if it adds value or distracts from the clean lines of the porch. You could always store the trellises and offer them to a prospective buyer if they had a dog.

[Acadianmom]

I went to the RV shop this morning and hopefully got my problem fixed. It was a wire that plugs into the inverter. They probably didn't plug it in good when they worked on my step and it fell out. He's the one that admitted that. It's after noon already. Everything I do seems to take a half a day. I stopped at a gas station on the way to the shop and a Coach House owner came over to talk me. He said he never sees a Coach House and we must be the only ones in Louisiana. lol He has a 2004 and is thinking about getting one a little newer. I am guilty of running people in Coach Houses down too. I told him he should go to one of the rallies.

I got something in my left eye this morning or I'm having dry eye. It has been bothering me all morning. I put some drops but need to go find some more.

Tina, it's good you have more than one dog to play with the puppy. Those puppy teeth are sharp.

Evie, I think the utilities bills have gone out of sight almost everywhere. I'm on a facebook page for Entergy and those customers want to start a class action law suit. I get my electricity from a Co-op and my bills are a fourth of what the Entergy bills are. I think since electric and gas companies are a monopoly they all should be co-ops. The people that work for co-ops don't get million dollar bonuses like the president of Entergy. We had bought a piece of property 20 miles inland in case we ever had to move because of the flooding. That property would have electricity from Entergy. There is no way I would build a house over there now.

Martha

[OregonLuvr]

Good morning...still by about 7 minutes. I got home from Medford about an hour or so ago. Unloaded the car and put everything away. Had a great time down there. We went shopping and did a couple of errands for Marjorie while we were out. Then yesterday we hung out at home and then went for Mexican food. I wouldn't go back there again, it was a just okay kind of place. Had some breakfast and headed home with sunny skies and a high of 63 today wahoo. Good drive with only some patchy fog in the passes. Sunshine here at home.

Not sure what dinner will be, thinking blt. But it is early yet and I am not one bit hungry so that could change.

Judy did I miss how those bug bite things you bought work??? or have you used them yet???

Martha you snuck in just before me........my eye doc recommended Refresh eye drops. I use them and like them alot.

[Colliemom]

EVie, that is outrageous for a gas bill. What do you use gas for out there, just curious. My highest bell so far this year has been $146 for December, which is the highest I’ve ever paid here. But I got a notice from my gas company that they are dropping our rates. My last bill was $126 for January, which is more the norm. They will be going down every month from here on now until they hit their lows of around $25 by mid Summer. At that point my furnace is turned way down so it’s not running and the only thing that uses gas is my hot water heater. My generator is hooked up to the gas to, but it only uses it when it’s running. My gas company buys up natural gas during the summer when the rates are lower and they store it underground. So that’s what they’re using now. My electric bills have gone up though. Mostly in the $50-55 range a month. But they two will drop has the days get longer. I keep track of how much my bills Are that I pay every month, so all I have to do is look on my sheet and see where I was last year as opposed to this year. I do not keep actual copies of the bills as they are paid online through my investment company. Don’t need to keep all that paper around.

And we wind up going for a short little walk. We have a little on the weather right now but the temperature is dropping so that tells me that the snow will probably be coming around before long. It is a slushy mess out there. It would be good if the temperature drops and freezes it up before it snows then it will be easier to deal with.

[BarbaraRose]

I sent another text to my realtor this morning asking what the people thought, good and bad, about my place. He finally got back to me later in the day saying he didn't show it. It was another agent who showed it and I guess the people weren't too interested. Altho my neighbor talked to the couple and the guy seemed real interested so maybe his wife didn't like it. The first "showing" that didn't happen was also a different agent, so my realtor hasn't shown it yet, himself. The contract is for 12 months, which I wasn't aware of when I signed with him. I just assumed it was for 3 or 6 months, which is typical. I will look into finding an outside realtor if I can get out of this contract with him.

There was a bad cat fight last night apparently, because there was blood all over my driveway, on both patios, splattered on the back of my house and on the neighbors patios and deck. The lady next door says she has been seeing Lily, the white cat I gave to a neighbor down the street. She lets the cat out and it doesn't come back for a week or two at a time. My neighbor lady thinks that was one of the cats. The other cat, we are sure is the black and white fluffy cat who had his ear about torn off last year and is really a beat-up mess. So am not sure which one got the worst of it last night. I scrubbed all the blood off awhile ago. My hose sprayer broke so I had to just use my thumb on the end of the hose to create a spray. I hate that hose too because it kinks constantly. I need to get a new hose and spray nozzle.

I did cancel the SKP rally and boot camp. I just can't afford the gas and meals for a week. So I got a refund for both the rally and boot camp. I just don't think this place is gonna sell very soon. I really need to get out of my current job. I found a position working with cannabis again, but it is full-time. I need to think about that but the money would be good. It would give my back and knees a much needed break. It would be a further drive tho. Something to think about if I think I will be here thru the summer.

[Bethers]

I was planning to do a grocery shop before tomorrow or Saturday in hopes I'll be covered for my 2 weeks gone. Around noon I went on the Walmart site and put everything I wanted in the cart. Clicked to checkout and they had a 3 pm pickup time today available. I arrived at 2:58 and they loaded my trunk at 2:59. Another task done. After placing the order I upset Ty by giving him a quick bath. He's been itching too much. I can't find any fleas on him so some allergies might be causing it. I have some healthy treats I bought to help with this once before so dug them out and he never turns down treats. Hopefully between the two there will be some relief (I say as he's itching himself)

Evie, I agree that's outrageous. I'm happy that I'll have free electric at both my jobs this summer. And the KOA will provide propane to workers at cost and boy did he cut a good deal with his supplier. It's locked in for the season at $2.04/gallon. I guarantee I'll be filling up when I leave for the season unless prices drop considerably.

Martha those are usually since dang good motorhomes. And I'm glad this was an easy fix. See you Wednesday.

Barbie, it's not unusual that other realtors show but yours should be finding out ask this info from them without you having to chase him down. I hate to say this, but if you signed that contract your realtor has the upper hand. Hopefully the other realtors showing it will find you a buyer.

[JudyJB]

All this talk about the cost of utilities makes me glad I am on the road. Obviously, I do pay for campsites, but I seldom spend more than $300 per year on propane. I leave the hot water off until I need to take my shower, and I only do dishes once a day, usually in the evening, so it does not run very often. And I use two little electric heaters when I have sites that include electric. I get a lot of comments from people at gas stations, so I tell them I am spending very little on utilities my little home on wheels. And, while this fall was expensive for RV sites, I am headed to New Mexico and going to have some cheap COE campsites on the way back to Ohio. Also, Ohio gives me a 50% discount during the week and 10% on weekends. My income has been slashed since I quit teaching, so I am trying to keep my expenses low.

And I did not have a chance to use my insect bite tools as the bites I had when I picked them up were already 2-3 days old. And no fresh ones this week, but I have them handy and will use them as soon as I get more bites.

[snowball]

I at least heard the alarm and didn't hit too many snooze which is a plus mom hadn't taken her thyroid pill so we had to delay breakfast awhile anyway...
visited with my dd #4 for awhile she was heading back home so visited on trip back via the car phone thing.. it was a good visit although I had hard time hearing some of between grandson yelling out and road noise a bit
not to own up to some hearing loss I am sure... I need to look into it a bit... one day as loud as mom has the tv going I think having hearing aids would hurt...there are times it just does hurt for the loudness...
I actually accomplished something today... mopped the kitchen floor and vacuumed the house... well mostly the traffic area... I'd like to have my dd come over and detail vacuum one day... but I think that won't happen any time soon.... I think that they are working on their house again...
a year sounds like quite a long contract Barbi I would have thought 4 months perhaps... hopefully you can get out of it some how if you don't have any results...
glad it was a quick fix Martha you and Beth have a great week
and I think Tina that your pup has won paws down... a really cute pup
you all have a great day
sheila

[Redetotry]

Barbie, that is too bad about your realtors contract being for a year, could you also advertise it yourself somewhere? I'm really surprised at the difference in everyone's utility bills. Mine was $516.00 in Dec. due to the extremely low temps and I just got another yesterday for $434.00 for Jan. It is for electricity and natural gas combined. I also keep track of my monthly expenses on an Excel spread sheet. For 2021 it totaled $3820.00
and for '22 it was $2876.00 which is $974.00 more! Ack maybe I shouldn't have looked.
The eye doctors I've seen recommend the Refresh eye drops but always emphasis buying the ones that are preservative free. I didn't have a problem with dry eyes until I had cataract surgery.

[BirdbyBird]

Bj...our gas and electric bill was just a little under $600. last month. I think the bills have more to do with the midwest. I wasn't too surprised since I always expect the bills to go way up in our winters and this year I had an extra heater running in my office/dog room for the puppy, a heat lamp and the heat would get turned on out in the pottery studio. We both have husbands that heat their creative work areas separate from the main areas of the house.......

[Redetotry]

Bj...our gas and electric bill was just a little under $600. last month. I think the bills have more to do with the midwest. I wasn't too surprised since I always expect the bills to go way up in our winters and this year I had an extra heater running in my office/dog room for the puppy, a heat lamp and the heat would get turned on out in the pottery studio. We both have husbands that heat their creative work areas separate from the main areas of the house.......

I expected them to go up due to supply issues on gas but not as much as they did. Obviously my expectations weren't realistic DH doesn't have a separate studio he uses the extra bedroom in our house as his work is small. But then there is the cost of the rental on a storage area that has who knows how many years of his work. He has never been into selling or showing his work.