The Old Folks Home

[gryeyes]

Oh, tick - it's not always true that what you don't know won't hurt you.

No, wait, it might be true, but not always true fits.... Or have i made it into a double negative positive?

Crud. The approaching sixtieth anniversary of my birth may be contributing to what I remember as right once changing into everything that's wrong now.

I do know my long career in the Public Safety Communications field has greatly tempered my behavior and thought processes. Not always in the direction preferred by the brass....Yet, now that I have retired, I find it so surprising that folks without law enforcement work experience have such INTERESTING views and opinions of "cops."

People still ask me if I can fix their tickets.

What has really surprised me is that I did NOT setup my radio scanner when I moved here, nor have I taken it out of the box post retirement. I thought, when I was younger, I would turn into one of those old retirees who listens to the police calls all the time - volume cranked high of course, to combat occupationally-developed deefness - calling to correct mistakes or offer suggestions.

Nah. I prefer listening to poultry gabble, cluck, crow, gobble and honk.

 

[Wisher1000]

My DH likes the construction of coops, and we are always behind, darn chicks grow so fast! We are overloaded with turkey poults, too, right now. Hoping to have a few breeding trios come spring. Sweet Grass, Auburns, and Narrigansetts in addition to the BOurbon Reds. I will need breeding pens. And, fortunately, DH likes making them. he he he

Quote:
Actually, I was talking about the husband.......

 

[Wisher1000]

mmm, so I take it Wisher is a cop!!!!!

Is she another not so old person that seems to hiding here from her peers????? (whatever that means)
I got to watch what I say and do, or she will find out how us oldtimers do things. It took many years to learn the tricks we do. snickers.....

Don't bother, Tick, I'm already watching what you say and do.........

 

[Wisher1000]

To the best of my knowledge, Wisher isn't hiding from her peers, but I *might* be hiding from my offspring. (She'll never find me in here!)

Your secret's safe with us.

 

[Arielle]

Quote:
Actually, I was talking about the husband.......

Sorry, my honey-do list is rather long . . . . if it's not building a coop, it's fixing the horse fencing!

 

[bamachicks8]

Speaking of jobs I'm gonna vent. Ok first a little background dh2b works for a lady who has exotics during the off season she rents land too a traveling zoo. Most of the time the traveling zoo owner is out of town leaving the workers to care for the animals. So this afternoon I get a text from the owner (who is in la preparing for the tonight show) Can you get a vet down here(meaning the vets office I work at) its an emergency the kangaroo is sick. They are there with her now. Ok we just closed 30 minutes before he sent the text. Most of the time animals don't become dramatically sick within 30 minutes. Which means they knew this before we closed. Then dh2b says it's been sick all morning. Grr why wait until right after we close to bring her in. In light of the circumstances I wasn't in the mood to be all that helpful. I did give him the clinic number to see who was "on call" . Really hoping it was Dr Kendrick or Dr Howard. Dr Kendrick works at another clinic and is a know it all with no clue about what she is actually doing. Dr Howard is our new Dr and he is very blunt. I get a good laugh off of it.

 

[gryeyes]

Learned something else new about living up here in the mountains: keep an eye on that propane tank gauge!

Last Thursday I ran out. The new heater wasn't installed until last February; I used electric baseboard and space heaters last Winter. Anyway, when the propane company came out some months ago, the guy 'splained I should call for service when the gauge got to 20%. He also added he'd probably have me on his check route, as I hadn't called for that visit- he just came by to check.

Well, during this past horribly cold freeze (for me, folks, I know 18 - 20 degrees ain't cold for everybody) it was too cold for me to go deal with a metal propane tank thingie-whatsit that covered the gauge and valves.

I don't cook much, so running out of propane wasn't a big enough issue in the kitchen department. Got a microwave, an electronic pressure cooker, a toaster, my Keurig coffee maker, a hot pot, so I'm good. I also have a George Foreman grill still in its box...

Oh, and a wonderful heated throw for the sofa. Plus a heated mattress pad, which I haven't had to use because I like chilly night air to breathe when sleeping AND I need chill to work on that old trick of sticking a leg out from under the flannel blankets to mitigate night-time hot flashes.

So no big deal if I forgot to call the propane company... Until yesterday.

The gal answering the phone asked how I knew I was out of propane.... Uhh...the heater doesn't come on and the needle in that gauge on the tank is not even visible. There's some propane in the line to the stove, because I did turn on a burner and it flamed up fine.

Well, if I am totally out, it means the there may be leaks, as the propane is a lubricant for the lines and valves. That would take a separate visit from a service tech to make sure there aren't any pressure failure issues.

The tank was filled yesterday, at 4:30 PM. The same nice guy reminded me he had warned me about watching that gauge. Friend like, not snotty. We had a nice talk while he was filling the tank. He asked if I ate my turkeys (the MW Tom was showing off for him) and said, "Good for you!" when I replied in the negative. He said a LOT of customers had run out DURING the freeze, and warned I might be charged for the service call the next day, or I might not, because it was my first time. Some customers just turn their valves on and merrily use the propane without having the service call because they've been charged after running out more than once.

I thanked him for the late work and tipped him 18 colorful eggs.

This morning's service tech was the same guy who installed the lines and fittings when I first purchased the tank in 2011. I supplied broken down cardboard boxes for him to lay on the ground under the deck so he could reach the secondary regulator without getting muddy and/or covered in poultry crap. Under the deck is a favorite spot for the flock.

Then my eldest doxie decided to pee on the deck instead of going out into the garden. Right above the service tech.

Mortified, I offered to wash his shirts, but he didn't plan on hanging around that long. Not surprising, huh? I found a carpet remnant for him to use under the deck after he removed his t-shirt and uniform shirt, as he finished under there shirtless.

No leaks, he relit the heater pilot light and thanked me for the 18 egg tip I offered him, too.

My house is nice and warm again and I have learned some important stuff.

...don't let the old dog out whenever somebody has to get under the deck....

 

[bamachicks8]

I forgot to turn the ac off last night I definitely noticed
It this morning. I'm pretty sure it's colder in here than it is outside.
As far as dog pee goes it probably the least offensive thing the dog could do. Although not good way better than anal glands they are similar to a skunks sent gland and smell almost just as bad.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Number 2 was that a Stick shift in a traffic jam on a hill is a bit challenging--especially when cars like to hug your bumper. I did the parking break trick. Number 3 was that 3 hours of driving is a lot harder on me at my age.

What's the parking break tip? Not that we have traffic (or hills) around here...

My left knee pops when I extend it. Sometimes if I don't extend it fully (like when driving) it'll get "stuck" and I have to pump it to get it to crack and relieve me. BF's been working the same shift as me this week so he's been hitching a ride in my good gas mileage vehicle. He asks me every day when I'm trying to get my knee to crack why I don't just buy an automatic. I love manual transmissions, and that's why I bought a Suzuki. One of the few cars left where they still make them in manual. Although, they just went out of business.

Anyone keep bees? I'm signing up for a bee class that starts in 4 weeks. I'm probably going to regret it - it goes late into the night (2030... yes, that's LATE) and is 90 minutes away. Won't get home until 10ish, then I get up at 4. I'm going to be pleasant the next day.

 

[bamachicks8]

Scg coffee and lots of it. 10 is usually what time I get in bed and up at 4 the next morning. Anything after six is late for me. Driving through town at 7, wow I didn't know they stayed open this late. Oh wait it is only 7. I've always wanted to keep bees they are so interesting. Although I don't think I will ever venture into this territory because bee stings hurt. I'm assuming you would be keeping them for honey.