The Front Porch Swing

[LBejaran]

You can say that again! We are taking a slow morning because we're all a little sore, but after we eat, we are going to get back to work.

I'm going to be scrubbing the floor and removing any old pet stains. We've had cats in there for awhile now (those kitties my sister and I raised from little closed-eyed babies) and the male hasn't been neutered yet, so I think he tried marking at one point. Not recently (it's stale) but still present.

So lots going on today!

 

[wyoDreamer]

@lbejaran Congratulations for having the personal strength to do want needs doing!
I need to work on that for myself.

It always seemed to me that DH preferred for me to wait for him to do any projects that I want done. Whenever I would do a project, he would just look at it, grunt and walk away; or he would "help" me by finishing it - his way. Guess I was wrong as we had a blow up this weekend. I commented that there was a broken support on my ATV, not a big deal, I just commented about it because he talking about some work it needs done to it and I was simply acknowledging that it was broken. He felt I was "heaping" more on his to-do list.

He is also getting kinda crabby about the people who are gathering the wild asparagus from along our property line. Once again we have been told we have the best stretch of wild asparagus in the area. It is frustrating because they will come through all day long. There was a 2inch stalk in our front yesterday, figured I would let it grow until today when it had some length on it. Nope, someone got it yesterday evening while we were out to eat with my parents.

 

[LBejaran]

@lbejaran
 Congratulations for having the personal strength to do want needs doing! 
I need to work on that for myself. 

It always seemed to me that DH preferred for me to wait for him to do any projects that I want done.  Whenever I would do a project, he would just look at it, grunt and walk away; or he would "help" me by finishing it - his way.  Guess I was wrong as we had a blow up this weekend.  I commented that there was a broken support on my ATV, not a big deal, I just commented about it because he talking about some work it needs done to it and I was simply acknowledging that it was broken.  He felt I was "heaping" more on his to-do list.

He is also getting kinda crabby about the people who are gathering the wild asparagus from along our property line.  Once again we have been told we have the best stretch of wild asparagus in the area.  It is frustrating because they will come through all day long.  There was a 2inch stalk in our front yesterday, figured I would let it grow until today when it had some length on it.  Nope, someone got it yesterday evening while we were out to eat with my parents. 

I totally understand what you're saying about your husband. My dad is the exact same way and he acts as though I need to fulfill some sort of punch card in order to the receive advice. I asked for advice on making a lamppost and he said in order to help me, I'd need to do blah blah blah. I just wanted to know what kind of wood I should use!

He didn't like my coop. I figured making one from salvage materials would tell him it would look a bit shabby but he's been in a mood lately, so I guess it bothers him more than it should. Unfortunately, his bad mood has also made cleaning the garage a little harder. Now he doesn't want me to move his old stuff and he won't tell me how to dispose if his old motor oil, so I have had to move everything to his shed (and I had to carry it all because he claims I'm not allowed to use his wagon). I got it done but I felt it was just him being petty.

I would be pretty peeved about someone coming in and picking, too! A couple years back, someone tried to come into our backyard and pick rio red grapefruit from our tree. Luckily, the dog scared him off but it was still mind boggling. Now we have dogs and geese to help alarm us to people trying to come in. Nobody has been stupid enough to try, though. Our dog is pretty formidable!

 

[Firstchic]

What a marvelous time to come back to church. I am sure your g-baby had a great deal to do with it. One of my sons just came back to church after his son was born. We were talking the other night about how his life has changed. But, we are in the end times, so stay prayed up and the Lord will see you through.

 

[bruceha2000]

My garage renovation is coming along really well! We've moved tons of stuff, dumped a truckload of junk, and are well on our way to making it a comfortable multi-purpose room for my sister and I!

I have been having a couple bothersome issues with my new brother. The kid is good, but he's so obviously arrogant at times.

He has had a project that he works on when he has spare time. He's building a small aviary for our doves, so it's essentially just a wooden cube frame with 1/4" wire. Not a huge deal and not too much work. He even got all new materials and has been going slow for the past couple weeks.

Well, the kid has all these plans for this one cube cage and I got tired of waiting to see the end result, so I got to work on my own little cage for my ducklings.



I used scrap wood from broken pallets (it took a couple hours to remove nails/screws) and spent a day outside putting it together. I didn't need to cut anything because I was able to find matching pieces. It looks a little rough but I think I did pretty good! (I'm still finding my scrap wire from storage, so now only parts if it are covered, hehe

)

Kiddo wasn't as pleased. I think he feels like I don't find him useful but I just don't see it that way. He asked if I tried to build a birdcage and I said, "No, I didn't try to build one. I built a bird cage." I did apologize to my mother for the sass mouth (I was raised properly, after all!), but she told me not to worry and that I had a right to defend myself against people who treat me that way. She have him a talking to, though, so he'd remember to show a little respect.

I wonder if it's just a young guy thing, this need to do what you want and if someone does okay without you, you gotta punch holes in it.

I have long since realized that getting things done takes more than a promise. You actually gotta put in the effort and time to get things moving. Had I waited for him or my dad to help me, I'd be waiting until the end of time.

Now, I have a bird cage, a nearly finished garage, and I feel pretty darn accomplished! I can't wait to get back to work tomorrow!

I could KINDA understand it if you made a box for the doves since it would usurp his project but you made it for entirely different animals! If he thinks he is the resident bird box builder, he needs to think again. Now if he had taken the day or two it SHOULD have taken to build his, then started one for your ducks, THAT would have been useful. He may not be speeding along if he isn't real sure what he is doing. I know I go faster if it is something I've built before but most of what I do is a once and "unique" thing so I design, work on it some, ponder on it some, work some more. Not a fast process.

I think you are doing great Laura.

@lbejaran Congratulations for having the personal strength to do want needs doing!
I need to work on that for myself.

It always seemed to me that DH preferred for me to wait for him to do any projects that I want done. Whenever I would do a project, he would just look at it, grunt and walk away; or he would "help" me by finishing it - his way. Guess I was wrong as we had a blow up this weekend. I commented that there was a broken support on my ATV, not a big deal, I just commented about it because he talking about some work it needs done to it and I was simply acknowledging that it was broken. He felt I was "heaping" more on his to-do list.

He is also getting kinda crabby about the people who are gathering the wild asparagus from along our property line. Once again we have been told we have the best stretch of wild asparagus in the area. It is frustrating because they will come through all day long. There was a 2inch stalk in our front yesterday, figured I would let it grow until today when it had some length on it. Nope, someone got it yesterday evening while we were out to eat with my parents.

These wild asparagus are on your property? And people come pick them? Geez. Maybe we can be generous and "assume" they don't know where the property line is and they assume the plants are on the outside. Maybe a temporary wire fence on the property line will slow them down.

With regard to his build/repair attitude, well I don't know the man

He might be a bit of a perfectionist and if he thinks he can do a better job of something, he might have a hard time letting go. I know I do

But I don't have time to do everything that needs doing and have to remind myself that there are "this is 'permanent' and has to be 'right' things" vs "does it REALLY matter if it isn't done exactly the way I would do it?" things. As to the ATV, who the heck knows, I would be a lot happier if I had to do some repairs on it and know ahead of time that the support was part of that list. PITA to get all ready to fix something then have to stop midway to go get parts.

I totally understand what you're saying about your husband. My dad is the exact same way and he acts as though I need to fulfill some sort of punch card in order to the receive advice. I asked for advice on making a lamppost and he said in order to help me, I'd need to do blah blah blah. I just wanted to know what kind of wood I should use!

He didn't like my coop. I figured making one from salvage materials would tell him it would look a bit shabby but he's been in a mood lately, so I guess it bothers him more than it should. Unfortunately, his bad mood has also made cleaning the garage a little harder. Now he doesn't want me to move his old stuff and he won't tell me how to dispose if his old motor oil, so I have had to move everything to his shed (and I had to carry it all because he claims I'm not allowed to use his wagon). I got it done but I felt it was just him being petty.

I would be pretty peeved about someone coming in and picking, too! A couple years back, someone tried to come into our backyard and pick rio red grapefruit from our tree. Luckily, the dog scared him off but it was still mind boggling. Now we have dogs and geese to help alarm us to people trying to come in. Nobody has been stupid enough to try, though. Our dog is pretty formidable!

Oh my. What sort of power struggle is "you can't use my wagon"? While you can't just dump everything, you are doing him a huge favor cleaning out the garage. Yes I know it is for YOUR benefit, but he gains as well since most of what is in there is stuff he would toss if he really thought about it and he would organize the rest if he had the time.

I would be really happy if you came up here and cleaned stuff out. You can use the kiddie wagon, you can use the garden cart, you can use the garden tractor and dump cart - just clean up the stuff I've not gotten to!

As for used oil, if you have a landfill or transfer station, they should have somewhere for you to dump the used oil. If not, call the city and ask, I would bet they have plans for hazardous waste. This isn't the 60's where people just dumped it in the storm drains to be "processed" at the water treatment facility (if it even went to a treatment facility). I remember in So. Cal when they outlawed that and went around with spray paint and "no oil" stencils - painted it in front of every drain in the road.

 

[Tomtommom]

As for used oil, if you have a landfill or transfer station, they should have somewhere for you to dump the used oil. If not, call the city and ask, I would bet they have plans for hazardous waste. This isn't the 60's where people just dumped it in the storm drains to be "processed" at the water treatment facility (if it even went to a treatment facility). I remember in So. Cal when they outlawed that and went around with spray paint and "no oil" stencils - painted it in front of every drain in the road.

I believe Autozone and similar stores recycle used oil for free.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Also some recycling places will take oil... But here in the phone book under county services there should be a listing of places that take oil.

deb

 

[LBejaran]

I could KINDA understand it if you made a box for the doves since it would usurp his project but you made it for entirely different animals! If he thinks he is the resident bird box builder, he needs to think again. Now if he had taken the day or two it SHOULD have taken to build his, then started one for your ducks, THAT would have been useful. He may not be speeding along if he isn't real sure what he is doing. I know I go faster if it is something I've built before but most of what I do is a once and "unique" thing so I design, work on it some, ponder on it some, work some more. Not a fast process.

I think you are doing great Laura.


Oh my. What sort of power struggle is "you can't use my wagon"? While you can't just dump everything, you are doing him a huge favor cleaning out the garage. Yes I know it is for YOUR benefit, but he gains as well since most of what is in there is stuff he would toss if he really thought about it and he would organize the rest if he had the time.

I would be really happy if you came up here and cleaned stuff out. You can use the kiddie wagon, you can use the garden cart, you can use the garden tractor and dump cart - just clean up the stuff I've not gotten to!

As for used oil, if you have a landfill or transfer station, they should have somewhere for you to dump the used oil. If not, call the city and ask, I would bet they have plans for hazardous waste. This isn't the 60's where people just dumped it in the storm drains to be "processed" at the water treatment facility (if it even went to a treatment facility). I remember in So. Cal when they outlawed that and went around with spray paint and "no oil" stencils - painted it in front of every drain in the road.

I would have loved it if Nathan had gotten through with his bird box. The truth is, however, that he's dragging his feet and he has all these "plans" but he's not taking into consideration that we've spent money on the materials and we need things done. If it was some sort of elaborate configuration, I would understand, but it's not. It's a cube with a door.

I've taken into consideration the fact that he has school and a job, but he has days off pretty often. All he'd have to do is just get to work for a couple hours and he'd be done.

As for Dad, he's a whole different kind of beast. He seems like a logical guy, but in reality, his arguments never really make sense. He's angry with me right now because I told him that putting in a window A/C unit would be better than a portable-draining A/C. For one, I have allergies and would like something that casts water out of the garage rather than bringing it in. Plus, he's made claims that he wants to keep his furniture safe and protected, but he wants me to use a water-cooling system that can ruin the furniture if it doesn't drain well enough. He knows about my allergies, but he doesn't care.

He is more concerned with the outward appearance of the house than making the garage an efficient bedroom. We have these three arched windows in the front of the house (one above the front door, one huge window for a bedroom and the other one is on the garage). A tree blocks a good portion of the view of the garage window from the street.

Anyhoo, I told him that we'd probably go with a window unit and he took it as me doing something just because he disagreed. Trust me, I don't have the time it would take to do everything that he disagrees with. He did bring up the animals I have rescued, though, and used them as part of the argument. He hasn't let go of the fact that my sister and I rescued two tiny little kittens last year and hand-raised them before paying for their spay/neuter out of our own pockets. He takes it as a personal affront. I really don't know what the deal is. Dad is kinda...ergh, I don't think I can say what he is. The point is that he's not an agreeable person and all I can do is let him have his hissy fits and ignore his nonsense. I love the man, but he's not a very nice person.

Bruce, I would happily go to your place and help clean up stuff! Cleaning out the garage has been incredibly therapeutic and I felt better the moment I saw changes. Honestly, cleaning out another person's place would probably be way easier than clearing out our stuff. There was so much opposition to moving stuff out because I had to go through everyone first to make sure nothing was too important. You can see how well that worked, haha!

 

[bruceha2000]

We had an OLD window A/C unit at the other house and bought a portable one figuring it would be more efficient. Guess what? The portable didn't cool the room much at all. The heat it produced is supposed to go out the hose through the window. BUT the hose pretty much acted as a heater. AND, because it is blowing air outside, that means it is pulling air in from somewhere, the house isn't a vacuum. If this is at all typical, I wouldn't get the portable one. And yes it was a REAL PITA to get rid of the water it collected. It might be OK (in this respect ONLY) if you had a floor drain near by.

Plant a nice tall thin bush between the window and the road, no one will see the window A/C unit.

 

[LBejaran]

We had an OLD window A/C unit at the other house and bought a portable one figuring it would be more efficient. Guess what? The portable didn't cool the room much at all. The heat it produced is supposed to go out the hose through the window.  BUT the hose pretty much acted as a heater. AND, because it is blowing air outside, that means it is pulling air in from somewhere, the house isn't a vacuum. If this is at all typical, I wouldn't get the portable one. And yes it was a REAL PITA to get rid of the water it collected. It might be OK (in this respect ONLY) if you had a floor drain near by. 

Plant a nice tall thin bush between the window and the road, no one will see the window A/C unit. 

I figured something like that would be the case. My sister said we'd have to cut a hole in the garage door just for a place for the AC to drain. It wouldn't be worth it when we can just open a window and use that.

There are some pretty efficient portable ACs I've looked at but it gets so hot down here and I'm gonna have to live in there. I need something that will actually work. Otherwise, I'll be living in a sauna.

I might have to put in the unit while my dad is out of town picking up my brother from school. I have been getting the silent treatment lately but I wouldn't put it past him to make a big hooplah because we did what he didn't want us to do.