The Front Porch Swing

[tntchix]

Getting driveway graveled.....all quarter mile of it. Had a culvert put in one spot and now the gravel....lots of things happening here today that have been put off for so very long due to lack of dollars. God has blessed us with an abundance right now so we can fix things that have long needed fixing on this old house and place. I praise Him for it!

feels good to get things accomplished eh?

 

[IAFarmGirl]

You are correct Bee! God IS good to his children if they but ask for it. Too bad so many have forgotten.

 

[OHhappychicks]

Quote:
How adorable!!! Did you make the quilt out of bluejeans? I have one made out of my husband, 2 children, and my jeans. Some of the jeans came from when I was pregnant.

**********

Here is one of my favorite recipe for beans:

RED BEANS AND RICE

l lb dry red kidney beans (I have used pinto)
2 t garlic salt
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t hot pepper sauce (I use more)
1 qt. water
1/2 lb fully cooked ham, diced
1/2 lb. fully cooked smoked sausage, diced
1 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
2 bay leaves
1/4 c minced fresh parsley
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
Hot cooked rice

Place beans in a Dutch oven or kettle; add water to cover by 2". Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain beans and discard liquid. Add garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute ham and sausage until lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon to bean mixture. Saute onion, celery and garlic in drippings until tender; add to the bean mixture. Stir in tomato sauce and bay leaves. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until beans are tender. Discard bay leaves. Measure 2 cups of beans; mash and return to the bean mixture. Stir in parsley, salt and pepper. Serve over rice. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Lisa

That sounds Yummmy! Good ole texas style beans!!! I file this one for next time! Thanks Lisa

 

[LindaB220]

LJ, I agree....it sure does work to have a man around to handle mechanics, contractors, etc. Why is it that men~in this day and age~think women cannot handle such things and so they just talk over top of you or try to bully you into things? I hate confrontation but the good Lord has blessed me with the ability to do so effectively when need be...but I'd love it if I just didn't have to act like a man and shame another man just to get a point across. It's unbecoming of a lady to have to do so, but they just force one to!

Just had this issue when we had to fire an unscrupulous roofing contractor for failing to start the job on time...twice. He was one of those with word diarrhea and would talk over top of you to try and bully you with words. Kept telling us how much he tithes at his church like that was some kind of badge of his integrity and dependability....it left the taste of puke in my mouth. At one point I had to say, "George, focus! We want to cancel this job and we've told you why, so pony up our money and we'll meet you in town bright and early for the check!" Then he started hem hawing about being able to give the money back and I had to bring him up sharp about that as well. I think he thought that he would get away with taking a little old lady's money and it would be easy but he didn't count on her daughter...and the Lord.

In the end, I just prayed that night and prayed the next morning for help from the Lord in this issue and the Lord did indeed shut the lion's mouth! George was mannerly, quiet and pleasant...not a bit like he was the day before...and he coughed up all the money he was supposed to refund. We took the check straight to the bank~which was our bank too~and the teller withdrew it directly from his account and placed it right into ours. We breathed a huge sigh of relief and thanked the Lord once again....escaped from the clutches of the evil one and He shut the lion's mouth for us, praise Him to the highest!

I've noticed this about you.

Be glad that there was a happy ending on this. Sooooo many people are taken advantage of. Be proud that you were able to help your mother with this. Good going.

 

[perchie.girl]

LJ, I agree....it sure does work to have a man around to handle mechanics, contractors, etc. Why is it that men~in this day and age~think women cannot handle such things and so they just talk over top of you or try to bully you into things? I hate confrontation but the good Lord has blessed me with the ability to do so effectively when need be...but I'd love it if I just didn't have to act like a man and shame another man just to get a point across. It's unbecoming of a lady to have to do so, but they just force one to!

Just had this issue when we had to fire an unscrupulous roofing contractor for failing to start the job on time...twice. He was one of those with word diarrhea and would talk over top of you to try and bully you with words. Kept telling us how much he tithes at his church like that was some kind of badge of his integrity and dependability....it left the taste of puke in my mouth. At one point I had to say, "George, focus! We want to cancel this job and we've told you why, so pony up our money and we'll meet you in town bright and early for the check!" Then he started hem hawing about being able to give the money back and I had to bring him up sharp about that as well. I think he thought that he would get away with taking a little old lady's money and it would be easy but he didn't count on her daughter...and the Lord.

In the end, I just prayed that night and prayed the next morning for help from the Lord in this issue and the Lord did indeed shut the lion's mouth! George was mannerly, quiet and pleasant...not a bit like he was the day before...and he coughed up all the money he was supposed to refund. We took the check straight to the bank~which was our bank too~and the teller withdrew it directly from his account and placed it right into ours. We breathed a huge sigh of relief and thanked the Lord once again....escaped from the clutches of the evil one and He shut the lion's mouth for us, praise Him to the highest!

Thats why I wont hire friends or family to do "jobs" for me. I need to be able to fire em or Sue em.... Or ruin them in casual word of mouth. The latter I reserve for only measures that keep them from damaging others.

I have hired Tweakers and Alcaholics to do jobs for me... I am pretty good at listening through the Bull Poo and hearing if they really know what they are doing. The deal is with them expect them to start go so far and once they get money disappear till they need money again. Got my roof done and my Bathroom done with very good workmanship this way. But you have to be there to "supervise"... Not telling them what to do but to keep them focused.

Alcaholic reahabbed my bathroom and went through the DTs in the process. Nice nice nice man... Special needs daughter and wife with COPD. He brought in a helper for the demo who immediately broke my toilet. He hung his head after I came back from feeding the critters.... "I guess I owe you a toilet" I told him it was OK just keep working. He fired the helper and blasted through the demo in half the time. I greatly approved his rehab plan and he did a marvelous job. it did take about three times the time to do the work but because I dont pay by the hour I pay by the job and hold them to it. I buy the materials from their materials list And the Alcaholic taught me how to order from Home Depot Contractors desk without having to be a contractor.

Then the Tweaker was the one who tiled my floor. Outside of him driving me nutso over obsessing over stuff he did a stellar job. Again disappearing after getting a partial payment. But I tell you that floor is FLAT the grout lines are laser straight and I will have a hard time finding someone to do an equivalent job.

So what I do when semi contracting stuff, is get a quote from them on time to do the job. Then get from them a list of materials they are going to need for the job. I get a quote for the materials so I can estimate the total cost.

Technically they are supposed to have their own tools but if I have to buy them a tool.... its MINE after the job. I order the materials from the sources I want to buy them from. Those materials and all the left overs are MINE aftter the job as well. They do need to clean up after the job is done.

My house isnt to code but when work is done on stuff that could require code inspection I make sure they do the proper work. for instance I have to have the house rewired before I can comfortably move back in. Lots of issues that need a licensed electriction. I have gotten quotes for cash for work like that and surprisingly the cost comes down quite a bit. From Licensed Electricians.

My next main issue is the well again. The pump guy came out to replace the pump IN the well and while we were talking he looked over the equipment in the pump house. I have two booster Tanks 80 gallons apiece. At the time he showed me that only one was functioning and good bet the other would go out soon. In wich case I would not have any water pressure at the house at all. Yep its happened. Replacing one tank is going to cost me around 500. I dont remember if that was materials or materials and time...

All is ok I am only watering the horse and the pump in the well is handling it. but There is NO water in the house.

Sigh... it never ends

deb

 

[LindaB220]

Getting driveway graveled.....all quarter mile of it. Had a culvert put in one spot and now the gravel....lots of things happening here today that have been put off for so very long due to lack of dollars. God has blessed us with an abundance right now so we can fix things that have long needed fixing on this old house and place. I praise Him for it!

Woohoo, one step at a time.

 

[Beekissed]

feels good to get things accomplished eh?

You have no idea! You know that feeling at the back of your brain that niggles and niggles? The one that tells you that things need to be done but for some reason or other you can't or haven't done them but that niggling just doesn't stop? Well....they are getting more and more faint with every job completed....I dislike the niggles.

I've noticed this about you.

Be glad that there was a happy ending on this. Sooooo many people are taken advantage of. Be proud that you were able to help your mother with this. Good going.

I don't like bullies......they make my tongue come out and get exercise and it dearly hates to exercise.... it gets a little cranky....

That's the thing...my mother and I have never contracted for things such as this as we just never had the money. Mom's been climbing on that roof for the past 20 yrs doing her own roof repairs but she has done all she can do without getting a new roof and that's where contractors come in. We are babes in the woods when dealing with contractors as we have always done our own work, so we don't know what is a good deal, if they are telling us the truth or not, how much we are to place "down" for work to be done, etc.

But...we are learning....God is helping and we are learning.

 

[LindaB220]

@TexasLisa How adorable!!! Did you make the quilt out of bluejeans? I have one made out of my husband, 2 children, and my jeans. Some of the jeans came from when I was pregnant.

Now Lisa, I'm really gonna have to have a picture of this. I can understand making one out of the jeans, but your husband and 2 children? Where will they fit in?

 

[Beekissed]

Deb, I'm going to show my ignorance here...once again....what, pray tell, is a "tweaker"? That's what I call it when I improve and change things around the house and coop, tweaking, so I guess that would make me a tweaker of a sort, but the context tells me I am barking up the wrong tree on that one......

 

[perchie.girl]

Deb, I'm going to show my ignorance here...once again....what, pray tell, is a "tweaker"? That's what I call it when I improve and change things around the house and coop, tweaking, so I guess that would make me a tweaker of a sort, but the context tells me I am barking up the wrong tree on that one......

sorry its so prevalent here. A tweaker is someone who use Methamphetamines.... or Meth. Tweakers use it constantly through the day to keep them speeded up. Back when it first came out it was called Speed. Meth that is sold around here is nothing like speed.

To look at them they will be somewhat thin and in constant motion. Often times with a runny nose because thats how they take it in by sniffing it. They talk alot too. A long time user will begin to loose his teeth because the last little bit of the "line" gets swiped up by a finger and rubbed on their gums. That and the bad diet because they forget to eat and drink.

There are some that can be functional like a functional Alcaholic. Then there are some that just only exist long enough for their next dose.

Edited to Add. the drug tends to accentuate perfectionism in work.... The ones I have met that were working seemed to have OCD where their projects are concerned. The fellow working for me when he cut a tile if it wasnt perfect he would have a fit and toss it out the door and start another.

There are quite a few women who use it for weight loss. 30 years ago I gave it a try for about a week. At first it was like drinking two cups of really strong coffee. Finally I was standing on my kitchen counters washing the walls near the ceiling with a wash cloth. The part that scared me was I really liked it alot. Scared me so much I have never done it again.

And I know quite a bit about it all because I used to be in love with a cocaine addict. They have some of the same charactiristics.

deb