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My headboards are the right size, now the challenge is drilling holes in the posts at just the right places, and drilling them square without a drill press, so the long flat-pack pieces that go along the sides of the bed fit in and the whole thing makes sense when it's assembled. I created a stencil jig for some of the pieces and that worked, but I'll have to make new stencils for other pieces and it's kind of anxiety-producing. If a hole is even 1/16 of an inch off it means major problems, because I can't re-drill and it would weaken the posts a lot if I did.

I just want my garage back!
 
Flyover, do you think you can create a jig to drill straight? Maybe you can practice doing the lining up & such on some scrap wood so you make sure you have it right?

Today I slept until 4:30pm because I didn't get home until almost 3AM. Went to help my friend get his cabinets yesterday & stained them. Went home to feed Mom & then went back a couple hours later for a 2nd coat. My brother came along & when I was done staining, we held the kittens. They are solid black. One male & one female. The male is named Namir & the female is Temjin. We're waiting for them to be old enough to take home. Namir is rather mellow & loves belly rubs. Temjin is starting to get more accustomed to being held. We took turns holding her & she fell asleep on us a few times. She seems to be more comfortable when she's near Namir. I'll have to post pics later. They are adorable.

Mom paged me & wanted food but was in a pissy mood. I asked her what she wanted & she sniped at me that she wanted fish but that I wouldn't make it for her. I told her I'd make it for her & asked her what kind she wanted. She ignored me. I asked her several times but she refused to even look at me. So I went and got my brother and asked him to ask her for me. I heard her lying to him & saying that I refused to cook for her. She told him what sort of fish she wanted and griped that she'd told me last week that she'd wanted that sort of fish but I didn't remember. She then tried to claim that she'd told me today that she wanted that type & when I called her out on it she said she told me last week & I should have remembered. She's been a bit pissy the past few days.

She calmed down once she got her fish. Then she wanted some Kale salad so I got that for her.

I'm waiting for my friend to say the cabinets are ready for a coat of poly. We also need to get one more cabinet. We saw a microwave cabinet at the store & he got that instead but he made fun of me for trying to find out the measurements & then when we got it back to the house it turned out it was too big to fit. But, I came up with a solution & said he could put it in the laundry room & the microwave bay is large enough to hold detergent bottles. Once he picks a color for it, I'll paint it. So, we still need to go back & get one more wall cabinet & I can stain it. He & another friend are going to move the lower cabinets a bit & get the corner one leveled, then secure the countertop properly. I'm going to do some touch-ups & then do poly coat after the stain dries.
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I'm gonna get some wood filler for that pit where I'm guessing a knot came out of the wood because it looks like a cockroach & bugs the hell out of me.
 
@zannej: I made my stencil jigs out of scrap. Here's how:

1. Hold up the end of the flat-pack part so I'm looking at the endgrain and down into the pre-drilled holes.
2. Hold a piece of paper flat against the endgrain. One edge of the paper aligns with an edge of the part.
3. Color over the paper with a crayon to produce a relief of where the holes are.
4. Hold the paper in place over my scrap, again aligning the edges.
5. Used my nail punch to mark the center of each hole.
6. Drill, starting with pilot holes if I need to, until I've reached the diameter that corresponds to the holes on the part.

Then I can mark where the piece is supposed to be, place the stencil on that mark, clamp it down and I'm good to go. I had to make three different stencils and they all worked fine.

In other news, I lost my job. Not worried though.

Cabinets look good @zannej! You have lucky friends.
 
Flyover, I like how you made your stencils. Good idea! I'm very glad it worked.
I went over & put wood filer in some holes on the wall cabinets at my friend's house before my friend put the cabinets up. His fiance had no idea what I was doing. I can't read small print so I had her tell me what the instructions said. I tried to do it the way it said using a putty knife but it kept sticking to the putty knife so I said "screw it" and used my finger. Crammed that stuff into the larger hole, wiped away excess, and smeared it in to smaller holes. I helped her clear off the countertop and clean it. She couldn't lift the air fryer or microwave & had no idea where to put stuff. Friend then leveled the corner base cabinet, got all the other cabinets lined up & secured together, pushed the pantry back & got it lined up, drilled a hole for the electrical outlet to go through the pantry cabinet, secured the countertop, & got the upper cabinets installed. I came back over to do touch-ups with the stain. I shook the stain can up, opened it, and only needed to take some dabs from the lid to cover all of the spots. Then I cleaned off some bug guts from the door of the pantry cabinet, wiped down the door and drawer fronts, and we did measurements to double-check my plans for the last wall cabinet that needs to be purchased. 27" leaves more space next to the door, but my friend wanted larger. 30" will actually fit & line up with the edge of the counter. Turns out the 30"x30" is about $20 cheaper than the 27"x30" for some reason. We'll be picking it up Monday.
Thus far the uppers look a lot like my plans from Sketchup.
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Meanwhile, I uploaded a few pics of the kittens we are going to take home.
Namir is the male and Temjin is the female.
Namir1.jpgNamir2.jpgNamir4.jpgTemjin1.jpgTemjin2.jpgTemjin5.jpg
 
Yesterday I went to the store with my friend & Mom came along. I decided to get up a bit earlier than usual to go-- good thing I did because it turns out one of the cats had snuck into the truck the day before when we were unloading the water & groceries. Got in the truck, started it & cat started yowling from the back seat. He was too freaked out to move so I had to pick him up & carry him into the house. We had a dog who died from getting stuck in the vehicle during summer one year so it really upset me that the cat got locked in. I always close the door after taking something out to keep the pets from getting in, but my brother had been helping & he didn't close the door (he was the one who accidentally locked the dog in the vehicle). Fortunately, the cat is fine.

Got the 30"x30" cabinet. Popped in to Office Supply to look at desks to see if my Mom liked any of the styles (I really hate the desk she has now), she got a small item but wasn't interested in desks. In fairness, they were particle board garbage with the veneer peeling off. But I got a sense of what she likes. May have to make her a custom one at some point.

Texas Roadhouse was open earlier than usual but only doing take-out orders. We ordered & waited for the waitress to come out to take payment. Her mask kept slipping & was giving her trouble so my mother gave her a better mask (had a bunch in the glove box) and I gave her a tissue to put under the mask to make it more comfortable.

Food came out awhile later & I gave her a tip-- she seemed surprised. We drove to a shadier spot & ate in the truck, then went in to the Source Plus Liquidation store where I picked up a couple of things (they had a really nice tub spout for 70% off) & a Brookside back rest that was very comfy. My friend got two ceiling fans that were open box (but didn't check to make sure the right products were in the box).

Got back to his house & brought the kittens out to see Mom. My brother showed up awhile later (he'd had a doctor's appointment in town) with food for our friends. He & Mom held the kittens while I sanded & stained the new cabinet. My brother took my mother home for me so I could stay longer. While first coat was drying, my friend installed the ceiling fans and discovered one of them was the wrong fan & neither one of them worked. I handed him parts, picked up screws that kept falling, and ran him to the store to grab some extra screws that were missing from the box. Lights come on but aren't as bright as they were supposed to be-- was supposed to be 1,000 lumens but was more like 400 & fan wouldn't budge. Turns out he got two of the same fan but one was in the wrong box (box of a more expensive fan w/ better features). Receipt said all sales final no refunds. He's going to call to see if they will do an exchange or work with him since the wrong product was in the box. One of the fans had the light keep flickering but it finally stopped. He looked up reviews & they were 1 star saying the fans were garbage that didn't work.

I did the 2nd coat a couple hours later after the fans were installed. My favorite kitten crawled out to explore while I was waiting so I held her. My friend called my brother to come back over to help put the cabinet up & asked him to be there in about an hour. About 2-1/2 hours later we were still waiting so my friend called back & was told he was playing a video game & would come over. Got a call about an hour later that he was on his way. I was still holding my kitten. She had crawled around on the back of my neck to nap, then crawled back to the front. She started staring at my nose and I saw her following it when I turned my head. I put my sweater over her & she fell asleep instantly. She liked having her chin & sides of her face rubbed & started purring a little. My friend's fiance put the kitten back with her mother when she woke up and was hungry. The fiance then asked me to stand in the bathroom while she took a shower to make sure she didn't pass out (her pregnancy has her feeling woozy). I helped her dry off & moved the cabinet (which I stained in the bathroom so the smell wouldn't permeate the kitchen and bother her) so it wouldn't be in her way. My brother finally arrived & helped put the cabinet up.

Now, earlier, my friend had removed some small plywood blocks that were used to hold something in place in the cabinet & I wanted him to keep them rather than throw them out. I said they could be used as shims. He laughed because he knows my hoarder tendencies & wanting to keep scraps of wood & such & thinks it's funny. He was trying to level the cabinet & couldn't find the shims. I remembered I had some in the truck so I went out to get them. When I came back, he told me "Guess what!" and said that he used the plywood blocks as shims & said he knew I was going to be amused. So, the cabinet is now up.

Toekick trim still needs to be cut & stained. Then we need to get some baseboard & molding to cover the gap on the side of the cabinet to the floor (it's about 1" after stuff got adjusted). I need to do some wood filler & touch-ups in some spots & will give it at least a day to dry before I do a coat of poly. I got some aluminium foil sheets to use on the underside of the cabinets so when we put in under-cabinet lights, it will reflect more light down.
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I almost forgot, I got some rope putty (used for installing window screens I think) to put in a gap between the counter and the pantry cabinet. It will be covered with something else later, but the putty will keep stuff from falling in the crack (which was too wide to just caulk) & we'll put something over it later. Trying to figure out what to cover it with. It stays soft so it needs something harder to go over it.
 
Made the wife a planter for Mother’s Day. It’s not perfect but she liked it. Got the rain gauge and the lanterns at a flee market. And I cleaned them up and repainted them . The wife likes to put the battery powered lights in them .we have 5 altogether.
 

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Looks great, Tuffy! It looks better quality than stuff they sell in the stores.
Last couple of days I had anal glaucoma. Couldn't see my behind doing anything. Today it's raining but I made it to the store to get groceries & pick up Mom's RX. Nearly ran over a turkey on the way in. Dumbass ran in front of my truck as I was approaching. I hit the brakes & turkey started trying to run faster then did this "oh $#!+" hop and flap to make it the last foot. Looked like it was trying to fly but was too fat to get enough air. I wonder where it's friends are. They usually run in a group.
I had to break up a cat fight earlier. One of my female cats, Lady Sylvanas, was attacked by her older brother, Yasuke, for no apparent reason. He decided to bite her right on her anus & chased her out of the room. She's a very sweet cat who never starts fights so I don't know WTF Yasuke's problem was. I brought her in to my room & she's sleeping peacefully on a fuzzy blanket next to my legs. Ginger is curled up with her head on her & Bethesda is on my legs. Predicate is perched on my shoulder & Rupert is scratching at the door wanting out but I don't want to displace the other kitties.
 
Took my friend to the big box stores to look for a new stove (since his was malfunctioning in dangerous ways-- oven kept spontaneously turning itself on when no one was around, burners turned themselves on without any knobs being turned or warning lights on-- burned one of the house guests who was reaching over & didn't know it was hot). Lowes had nothing in stock, BestBuy was only letting people in by appointment & we didn't want to wait, HomeDepot only had 2 stoves in stock. One was an LG with mostly digital controls-- touch button thingies that wear out quickly & the other was a Samsung with knobs. It was cheaper & seems like it might last longer so we got that one. It doesn't do convection, but my friend isn't worried about that. His fiance was happy because it was the stove she'd wanted (but we didn't know that). Also got the stainless steel backsplash. I grabbed some shiny aluminium angles for the corner. The smaller one fit perfectly & the larger one can be used to hide the cord once the angle is trimmed a little. Sidesplash didn't go up yet because I didn't realize there's a light switch in the way. I wonder if it can be moved over. I'm going to bring my Dremel tool with metal cutting blades over if it can't be moved. Phone needs to charge so I'll post pics later.
 
Air conditioner went out. Was up sweating all night unable to sleep. Finally got to sleep in the morning. Slept til after 3pm. 88° in the cooler part of the house. I think the capacitor blew outside. It keeps overheating & blowing. I should have hired someone else to cut the weeds around the outside unit-- well, I technically did but he never showed up. It's 87° outside and the sun is on the side with the ac & weeds so there's no way I could go out there. I can't be in direct sunlight & am not supposed to be in too much heat. Friend said to come get him tomorrow & he'll cut the weeds & call the AC guy for me (I don't have the guy's number). Don't know the exact measurement for the capacitor but it's an 80 something...
It's hard to read the thermostat without a flashlight even with the light in the hallway. I really want to get one that lights up-- backlighting or is set so that I can always read the numbers without needing a damn flashlight. But, getting the capacitor replaced is the primary concern.
 
I hope it gets fixed quickly Zannej. Lack of a cool place to relax is terrible.
Today was a crappy day at work. I had a patient that was a jerk, he threw his lunch tray on the floor, called out all the time. Even while I was in the room with him. Told me I didnt know how to count, verbally abusive. Then I had a lady who had a heart valve replaced last week have to be transferred to the ICU for complete heart block and admission and a discharge and a larger patient who need help getting to the bedside commode. I AM WORN OUT! Think I'll look at my little container garden, shower a vegetate the rest of the evening.
 
Shan, sorry about the unpleasant patients. I have several friends who are nurses who have told me some horror stories. I wonder if the jerk was normally like that or if he was agitated due to illness or injury. One of my nurse friends said she had problems with TBI patients becoming violent. Some people go in to jerk mode when they are stressed out. Still, no excuse to act like that.
Turns out it wasn't the capacitor. I went outside to trim some weeds & heard the compressor running. Went inside & heard a whooshing sound from a pvc pipe near the internal AC unit. I remember being told to pour bleach down it from time to time & it is supposed to have a cap on it. Cap had gotten knocked off & lost. I stuck a water bottle cap on it & taped shut. AC started working again. My friend said something about the excess air preventing cooling or something. The good news is, it's fixed.

Meant to get up early but felt awful & had stomach issues. Had to take my naproxyn a second time to get it to work. Friend called me around 11:30 to see if I was OK because it's not like me to be late (although we never agreed upon a specific time). He understood I hadn't been feeling well & told me to take my time heading over. To save him gas I drive him places sometimes. So I drove him to the auto junkyard to go find a passenger side window for his car. We were going to look around more but it was too hot & I can't be in the heat like that. In return he went with me to Lake Charles to go pick up a bathtub. While we were there I found the perfect piece of metal to make a side shelf next to his stove. I mentioned how I wished my tablesaw could cut metal & he said he'd seen a chopsaw with a metal cutting blade on it in my workshop. He stopped and got takeout food from a Hibachi place & we went back to his house so he could measure (I had remembered it correctly, but he wanted to check just-in-case). My friend loaded the tub into my workshop, cut the metal 2"x2" angle to length, swatted a bunch of horse flies that got into my truck, & I took him back to his house & helped him mount the shelf. I sanded the edge of the shelf to make sure it wasn't sharp. I think we're going to try to find heat resistant trim (like automotive trim) to put o the edge (particularly the corner) just in case.

His kitchen is looking a lot nicer now. I wonder if there is a way to safely darken aluminium slightly to match stainless steel.
 
Zannej, glad your ac is up and running again!
I usually dont get upset with patients that act out, because I have no idea of what they have been through or are going through. However, the older I get the less tolerant I am of any sort of violence. He mellowed out a tad bit 11 hours into my shift thankfully. I had a patient hit me in the face with a full 1 liter pitcher of ice water once during shift change, and then I had to be his nurse for the rest of the day. That was mentally challenging for sure because I was angry for several hours. Coincidentally, he had a TBI and their emotions are often all over the place and they get frustrated very easily.
I had several pretty good back days, but it's trying to go out again and I am still waiting on an MRI to be scheduled. It's quite ridiculous, but that's just my opinion.
 
I've also noticed that I have less patience with people as I've gotten older. I'm glad the patient mellowed, but I know that can't have been fun. My best friend had a TBI & has a lot less patience with people & gets irritated a lot more easily. Once he had recovered enough from the wreck, he found he was getting angry over little things. Someone made a rude comment to him on the street & he literally beat the person up over it-- something he never would have done before the accident. He's still a nice guy & he has enough self control not to hit women (and he's had some women *really* push him-- literally). But he yells & gets angry much more easily. I went to see him very briefly today to drop off something he forgot in my truck. I witnessed him losing his temper (but for good reason). Yesterday his grandfather had rolled up at his house & held the horn down (which is something the old man does often at all hours of the day & night) wanting to see my friend's daughter. He had previously kidnapped the girl & is not allowed to take her anywhere, and she's not allowed to go near his vehicle. The girl was having a total meltdown tantrum at the time he rolled up & the horn made her even angrier. My friend's pregnant fiance was completely stressed out & the horn made it worse. She went out to tell him it wasn't a good time to see the girl bc she was having a tantrum. He got mad & started swearing at her, telling her names, telling her she was useless, and accusing her of lying. She then called my friend (who was with me) sobbing hysterically about it. After my friend got home, he called his grandfather that he wasn't welcome anywhere near his (my friend's) home & that he was no longer allowed to see the little girl because he wouldn't listen to people & he didn't want the grandfather causing drama with his fiance. So, when I rolled up, the old man was not only over there, but he was parked across the driveway blocking it so no one else could pull in & was demanding to see his great-granddaughter. He wanted to take her to the store & she didn't want to go with him (because she knows she's not supposed to, but also, he got into a wreck with her in the car so she's scared it will happen again). The old man doesn't even have a driver's license but he runs all over town & goes over & harasses my friend. Police won't put a stay away order on him or do anything to stop him because he's the brother-in-law of the former chief of police. I think I mentioned in the past that the old man uses his connections to send cops over to harass my friend when he doesn't answer the grandfather's calls.
Anyway, I had stopped in front of the driveway to drop off the item my friend forgot & my friend was returning from work. He saw his grandfather in his driveway & gunned the engine and drove off. He went around the block, then came back and parked in the church parking lot next door & waited until his grandfather left. He lamented that he wants to move where his grandfather doesn't know his address because he's tired of the harassment & cops won't do anything about it.
My mom has been in a bad mood the past few days. She's been flying off the handle over minor stuff, having temper tantrums, and being irrational and unreasonable. She gets mad over stuff I can't control & won't stop b***ing about it. She left her hairbrush that had a built in mirror in the truck & the mirror fell out. She never took it inside & she was raging at me about how the mirror fell out. I told her "You shouldn't have left it in the truck" but she was somehow trying to make it my fault. and now she's paging me.....
 
Zannej You had quite the adventures! I think this whole COVID-19 stuff has people on edge. There is so much misinformation out there and so much backtracking, noone knows whether they are safe or not and tempers rise.
I got a little bit of dirt spread out on one side of the house, I planted some pollinator flower seeds and some sunflower seeds in it. I hope something pretty blooms to make the darn house more attractive, because it certainly isnt.
I'd love to build some raised beds in the backyard for next year, it would be a good hobby for stress relief and it would cut down on the amount of mowing I needed to do. I wish I knew someone local who was good at knowing how to plan for that. I'd have them come over and help me plan for it.
My moms respiratory therapist stopped by today to change settings on her AVAPS machine and collect data. The RT was going to bring a new mask but my mom said she told her that someone burnt their supply building down? It's hard to tell what happened. I dont even live in an area where riots are happening.
 
My back was feeling ok today so I cut a little area of the back yard. Looks much better than yesterday. When it cools off here later, I may try to mow a little more.
I did reach out to 2 people and ask them to come and give me pricing. One asked for the address but hasnt shown up, the other hasnt called me back. I'll be searching for a few more people also, just in case neither of these pan out. I'd also like to get it mowed enough that it wony be so expensive for the first cut. I mowed over one of my hostas, itll grow back quickly. I want to mow that area so that I can see how much the yard slopes toward the foundation. Its supposed to rain tomorrow, so i will go to the store and get ready for my work week.IMG_2020-06-03_18-42-49.JPG
 
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To be honest, the Covid thing hasn't changed my mother's life much at all. All but one of her friends have died & the one that's alive has moved far away so we can't visit often. She's never been close to her family & they all life far away as well. She's a bit of a narcissist & is high maintenance so even though she feels good helping other people, she starts to get jealous if I'm helping people. It's weird. She's also frustrated that my brother is refusing to do his chores. Listening to him rant about how he shouldn't have to do any chores despite having almost everything paid for by my mother while him also being completely oblivious to the fact that when he doesn't do stuff I get stuck doing it & he was basically ranting about how I should have to do everything in the house (and outside as well). He really has no respect for me & it is frustrating.
Lawn looks great, Shan! Wish I could go out and mow but I can't be in the heat anymore. I need something to take down all those blackberry bushes. Need to remove a fallen tree as well. Seriously thinking of tying it to the tow-hitch on my truck and trying to haul it to another part of the yard.
Been raining all day & I slept until after 4pm, then had some chicken noodle soup. I'm tired again and ready to nap. I'll try to be productive later tonight or tomorrow. Just having one of my fatigue days where I need to sleep.
 
Zannej, alot of that sounds similar to people in my life. Its tiring I know, I feel your pain.
Thanks, I did finish that spot and mowed another spot, theres still alot left to do. I'm not supposed to be in direct sunlight because.of some meds I'm on. I just stop and pick it up later. I am fairly sure my neighbor was recording my lawn this morning. I'd like to tell him off but I won't.
Here's that part of the yard now.
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One day it will all be better. Idk when that's gonna be, but I have to hVe.hope that it will be.
 
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