What did you do today?

[Snoonyb]

Well, that's where there's tons of variables. Before Monsanto was bought by Bayer, they would sue small Organic farmers if their GMO seeds found their way to the Organic farm next door. It was purely a Demonic move to shut down the Organic farm since the little farmer had no chance against a huge Corporation... That "Karma" caught up to Monsanto in the form of the Cancer lawsuits they had to pay Hundreds of Millions for. (And the Nazis of Bayer still bought the chemical corporation... Big shocker there)

That's the basic description, but the wind blows everywhere, so there is no such thing as 100% Organic that I have ever heard of, no massive Greenhouses that block all the incoming pesticides because it isn't practical. There of course could be many of those on small scales locally, but there's nothing like that here. They spray here constantly, so I can't eat anything local.

That furthers the argument though... Eating "100% Organic" according to the USDA Labels compared to doing what I just did is extreme proof that there's very little if any pesticides that end up on Organic foods... The Cornucopia Institute releases the "Dirty Dozen" and the "Clean Fifteen" every year telling how much pesticide is detected in their tests of Conventional produce... Some foods either don't absorb pesticides or they don't spray them...

That's just additional stuff to investigate though, but that has to do with people that think Organic costs a lot more, so they want to eat Conventional. Many cases exist where Organic is the same price or less though.

Az time goes by, and folks start self indulgent gardening, again.

Back to your chocolate covered almonds, with legs that may interfere with swallowing.

Since those are reputed, as with some forms of mesquite, to exist, along with me, after the species annihilation, the return of this aperture would assisting seating; https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-don-t-humans-tails-093029401.html

 

[68bucks]

Well, that's where there's tons of variables. Before Monsanto was bought by Bayer, they would sue small Organic farmers if their GMO seeds found their way to the Organic farm next door. It was purely a Demonic move to shut down the Organic farm since the little farmer had no chance against a huge Corporation... That "Karma" caught up to Monsanto in the form of the Cancer lawsuits they had to pay Hundreds of Millions for. (And the Nazis of Bayer still bought the chemical corporation... Big shocker there)

That's the basic description, but the wind blows everywhere, so there is no such thing as 100% Organic that I have ever heard of, no massive Greenhouses that block all the incoming pesticides because it isn't practical. There of course could be many of those on small scales locally, but there's nothing like that here. They spray here constantly, so I can't eat anything local.

That furthers the argument though... Eating "100% Organic" according to the USDA Labels compared to doing what I just did is extreme proof that there's very little if any pesticides that end up on Organic foods... The Cornucopia Institute releases the "Dirty Dozen" and the "Clean Fifteen" every year telling how much pesticide is detected in their tests of Conventional produce... Some foods either don't absorb pesticides or they don't spray them...

That's just additional stuff to investigate though, but that has to do with people that think Organic costs a lot more, so they want to eat Conventional. Many cases exist where Organic is the same price or less though.

So what about organic pesticides? There are many.

 

[Spicoli43]

So what about organic pesticides? There are many.

Yeah, they are generally considered "from nature", AKA natural and not synthetic... "Organic" doesn't mean anything besides straight up produce that hasn't been sprayed with synthetics. I would think the farmers wouldn't spray with anything that would cause issues since it's their sticker you see and that can trace back to them. I know based on my violent reaction example that what I eat normally doesn't cause me any issues.

As far as "Organic" on a Box, that probably doesn't mean anything since almost all those boxes are owned by Big Agriculture, who get away with calling stuff "Organic" when it isn't... A key example is Horizon "Organic" Milk that isn't Organic and probably never has been, but it's been at least a Decade since they were exposed, and the USDA doesn't do anything because Horizon paid them off.

 

[zannej]

Are you sure that the death benefits are taxable, because I was advised that death benefits from insurance affect Medicaid/medicare, proportional payments, only.

To clarify, the death benefits are my dad's pension. He took less $ while he was alive so that when he died, Mom would get more $ per month from his death benefits pension. They had already reduced the amount from what he was getting paid while he worked (obviously). Although they screwed him over on the total amount bc they underpaid him on his LEAP (Law Enforcement Availability Pay). He was supposed to get the LEAP of GS14 step10 but they were only paying him the LEAP of GS10 step1. He didn't find out until it was too late to do anything about it. Anyway, Mom has to pay tax on that and has been paying that tax for the past 15years. She is also supposed to pay tax on the interest for his life insurance policy-- which is one of the things she said she wasn't sure how to get the info on. H&R block person said she should be able to use their website to retrieve the info, but I don't see how. Mom is going to have to call the thing that has the life insurance, social security office, OPM, and DOD to get the info to put in to the tax forms. She keeps waffling on whether or not she knows how to get the info. One minute she says she knows and the next she says she doesn't. She's too busy playing some stupid Sheriff of Mahjong game on her computer to actually make calls. I'm going to have to get on her again about it.

Shan, I hope the electrician will call you back. Sounds to me like he knows he screwed up and doesn't want to own up to it. I'm still not hearing back from the AC guy. Going to call him again after lunch. Nice SUV and toolboxes!

Ron, the ceiling fan and using trim to mount the mops and stuff looks good!

Made breakfast for Mom and watched the final episode of Doc Martin with Mom. I enjoyed that program and am sad that it ended. Got to watch Fippy get extremely jealous because Princess was climbing on Mom's lap and getting cuddles. She is super cuddly with everyone. Fippy is only cuddly with Mom. Rupert was snoring in the room very loudly. So loudly that Mom (who has some hearing loss) could hear him across the room and was asking if my brother was in the kitchen making noises at the cats. I said "No, that's just Rupert snoring". His sister Ginger snores loudly too.

I'm about to get back up and clean litterboxes and then go outside and see if the water trough needs leaves cleaned out with a pool skimmer. Caught Itsy trying to pee on the floor so I told her "Nope", bumped her with my foot, picked her up and put her in the litterbox. She went in there instead. But she keeps going outside the litterbox-- sometimes right next to it.

 

[Jeff Handy]

That doesn't make any sense... In an area like Z where there's one Electrician, I get that... Not where you live. Did you get any help from Electricity forums?

Is there a gfci outlet that is tripped, which feeds the freezer?
It might be anywhere, not even in the same room.

 

[Snoonyb]

Is there a gfci outlet that is tripped, which feeds the freezer?
It might be anywhere, not even in the same room.

Ain't that the truth!
3 recep. on one garage wall, backing up to the kitchen, are gfi protected from an upstairs bath, 22', as the crow flies, away.

 

[zannej]

Cleaned litterboxes, cleaned up in the kitchen, cleaned up the hallway, etc.

The AC people *finally* called back and came out. They opened up the AHU and pulled out a big honking thing that has the blower motor inside. The "brain" of the unit was attached to it. They didn't have the tools to test to see what was wrong but there was visible corrosion on the "brain". Mfr date on it showed Feb 2009. Sucker is due for replacement. They took the whole thing with them and said they were going to see if they had a replacement and they were going to ask "the boss" what to replace it with and that they will order the right part. Said it will likely be around $500. I said that was about what it looked like with online prices and hopefully there will be an updated version that is better. Said they won't charge until they bring the new thing, install it, and get everything working.

I'm about to go get mail and pick up some stuff from Walmart.

 

[shan2themax]

@zannej I hope they can find a replacement and that it doesn't take a long time to get it all fixed.




So..... yesterday and today for a few hours each day, I went through all this junk


And moved the bookcase and desk to that room and made it look a little better. I sorted through multiple tubs and found homes or designated a bucket to go in a different room.

So we now have this



Still lots to do but at least it's better and more organized(ish) than it was.

 

[Ron Van]

So we now have this



Still lots to do but at least it's better and more organized(ish) than it was.

Looks good!

 

[zannej]

It looks good, Shan!

They had a used motor that still worked as a replacement. Had to get a new "brain" and "squirrel cage". They just installed it today. New one is louder than the old one- makes sort of a humming sound, but it doesn't bother me. It's really loud in the hallway now. I think it won't do that when the fan is off.

Apparently something was stuck in the old one and they had to take apart whatever the big honking thing was to get stuff loose and something was corroded inside. Probably from the humidity.

Took one of the cats to the vet to get her ear drained. It puffed up with fluid and was bothering her. Ear will curl up because of it, but at least its not bothering her like it was. She was mad at me at first but she's already forgiven me and wanted cuddles.

Mom had to wake me up a couple of times last night bc of her blood sugar getting low. Doctor's office still hasn't sent necessary info for her to get the insulin pump yet and its aggravating.

 

[Snoonyb]

It looks good, Shan!

They had a used motor that still worked as a replacement. Had to get a new "brain" and "squirrel cage". They just installed it today. New one is louder than the old one- makes sort of a humming sound, but it doesn't bother me. It's really loud in the hallway now. I think it won't do that when the fan is off.

Apparently something was stuck in the old one and they had to take apart whatever the big honking thing was to get stuff loose and something was corroded inside. Probably from the humidity.

Took one of the cats to the vet to get her ear drained. It puffed up with fluid and was bothering her. Ear will curl up because of it, but at least its not bothering her like it was. She was mad at me at first but she's already forgiven me and wanted cuddles.

Mom had to wake me up a couple of times last night bc of her blood sugar getting low. Doctor's office still hasn't sent necessary info for her to get the insulin pump yet and its aggravating.

You might want to ask your moms provider about CREON;
CREON (pancrelipase) is a prespcription medicine used to treat EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency). EPI is a condition where the pancreas doesn't release enough digestive enzymes to break down food. CREON treats EPI due to cystic fibrosis, chronic pancreatitis and pancreatectomy by replenishing enzymes you are missing.

My DIL's sister, as a result of a pregnancy some 20+ yrs ago, developed diabetes, which has persisted, and as a result of her inability to comfortably control her blood sugar, Creon was prescribed and her blood sugar is so far easier to control, so she often doesn't use insulin.

 

[shan2themax]

Is there a gfci outlet that is tripped, which feeds the freezer?
It might be anywhere, not even in the same room.

@Jeff Handy So, the outlet in question is a gfci. I did try to test and reset it. It didn't make that "click" sound that my other one does, my tester beeped on the hotside, but when you plug something in the other receptacle, it didnt work. However it has rained on and off the past few days so I haven't messed with it again.
I may try to when I am off on Sunday, but since it is Easter, I may just wait until my stretch off which starts next Thursday (8 days).

I still haven't heard from him. I have not texted him again. Maybe I will mention it to his wife while at work this week. I did not know that they were married when infirst hired him.

So, some more back info on the electricity. This is a brand new circuit, new breaker, new outlets. I checked the outlet on the opposite side of the one in question, but not the entire roo.. so I will do that next. I will probably text him back closer to my days off. I will definitely be present while he is here. In the meantime, I have the breaker turned off and the freezer is still plugged into the extension cord.
It's full and was too hard to get out there to begin with or I would just drag it back inside for peace of mind.

Work week starts tomorrow, I am going to go in a little early, my coworker in crimes back is out, she's been on steroids for several days and is having trouble getting relief, even with just walking.
Being a nurse is terrible for your body, that's for sure.

 

[zannej]

You might want to ask your moms provider about CREON;
CREON (pancrelipase) is a prespcription medicine used to treat EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency). EPI is a condition where the pancreas doesn't release enough digestive enzymes to break down food. CREON treats EPI due to cystic fibrosis, chronic pancreatitis and pancreatectomy by replenishing enzymes you are missing.

My DIL's sister, as a result of a pregnancy some 20+ yrs ago, developed diabetes, which has persisted, and as a result of her inability to comfortably control her blood sugar, Creon was prescribed and her blood sugar is so far easier to control, so she often doesn't use insulin.

I've never heard of CREON. I'll have to look into it. Mom developed diabetes with her last pregnancy (which ended in miscarriage & required a procedure to remove) back in 1987. The diabetes never went away.

Shan, I hope that you enjoy your days off. I know I wouldn't have the patience or energy to be a nurse.

Boo decided to let me sleep in until 8am this morning. He was next to my bed on the nightstand until I got up to go to the bathroom. He followed me in and wanted to be held on my lap for awhile. I put out food for him and refilled the waterer. He starts to go somewhere, stops, and then sits there and gets confused. I think he's having the issue I have where I walk into a room and forget what I'm doing or why I walked in. Poor old boy is showing signs of dementia. He's also only eating small amounts of food and then getting distracted. I have to sit with him and move the food bowl around to get him to eat more. Started putting some sort of powder in his wet food to prevent him from getting crystals in his urine again- since he won't eat the special canned food for that.

Went into town to get groceries. Brother tagged along and used a riding cart. his lower leg is swollen and still sore. He said that the mess in his room is exacerbating it because the empty bottles make the floor so uneven. Grabbed some breakfast to take home. Tried to get Mom to work with me on contacting people for taxes but she wants to watch Youtube videos instead and if I pressure her when she's not in the mood it won't accomplish anything.

Grabbed a 55 gallon trash bag and sat on my brother's floor (after clearing a spot) to start stuffing it full of trash. So now he has some laundry on his floor but the trash is mostly cleared-- at least in the walking path. That way he won't be tripping as much when going through is room.

Waiting for Mom to say she's ready to work on the taxes stuff so we can start doing stuff online and/or making calls to get the info sent. Been trying for over a week to get that done and need info from her to get stuff done or I would have done it myself already.

 

[Spicoli43]

Grabbed a 55 gallon trash bag and sat on my brother's floor (after clearing a spot) to start stuffing it full of trash. So now he has some laundry on his floor but the trash is mostly cleared-- at least in the walking path. That way he won't be tripping as much when going through is room.

Did you then dump it on his bed?

 

[zannej]

Naw. There's no room on his bed. Stuff is already piled up. But I figure if he isn't tripping over bottles he has less to complain about-- and I was waiting for Mom to get motivated.

I had to watch one of her Dimash videos again to get her in a good enough mood to do stuff. So, I called and she gave permission for me to speak for her. Explained she'd had medical issues and was elderly so had trouble focusing. OPM lady was really great. She's having the forms mailed and a new password mailed/reactivating Mom's account to see her tax forms online. She then transferred us to DFAS which is what was needed for the DOD stuff. The lady there was also very nice. She is having stuff snail mailed and explained how to login and reset the password (as she confirmed Mom did have an account). Now we need to do the social security and the bank-- I think Mutual of Omaha or something. Not sure. Her blood sugar is low right now so she's waiting for it to come back up before we work on those two things.

But, I feel good having accomplished something. They said forms should arrive in a week and a half. Hopefully that will give her time to get stuff in order and then we can find a printer to print stuff bc the state won't let us submit online for some reason.

It's a beautiful day outside so I went for a brief walk. Pollen is crazy, but I took allergy meds.

 

[Ron Van]

I changed out the kitchen faucet in the pool house yesterday. The sprayer froze in December because we lost power and the mini split heat pump didn’t come back on. Weird! But anyway, I didn’t notice it wasn’t working for a while and the sprayer froze and cracked.



I found a replacement sprayer for pretty cheap but Ruby hates the gold color so I had to replace the entire faucet.



Here’s the new one

 

[havasu]

Way better Ron!
My neighbor has all gold fixtures, mine are all oil rubbed bronze. He told me to stick with gold, because they will be coming back. Based on the many fixture brands i have signed up for deals, he is right. Oli rubbed bronze is now fading out, and they are going back to gold.
What is old today is new tomorrow!

 

[Ron Van]

Way better Ron!
My neighbor has all gold fixtures, mine are all oil rubbed bronze. He told me to stick with gold, because they will be coming back. Based on the many fixture brands i have signed up for deals, he is right. Oli rubbed bronze is now fading out, and they are going back to gold.
What is old today is new tomorrow!

It really boils down to what you like. Just stay away from really weird colors (for re-sale). Ruby doesn't like gold so that's the end of the story.

Our house had a lot of gold and a ton of mirrors. I was just looking at some pictures of the day we first saw this place. It took a lot of imagination to overlook what it looked like that day and to visualize what it could become.

Here's one of the mirrors on the right wall. It was huge!


There was another mirror the same size in the bedroom that I didn't get a picture of.
Here's another mirror in what became the TV room. Ruby and her mother painted that stone wall white.



I'll bet those mirrors where expensive but we didn't like seeing ourselves that much.

We had the local glass company come out and take them all away. I forgot about the above photo. It's a good "Before" shot of what I think was the original door from the carport to the kitchen. That would have been an exterior door. There was a window behind the round mirror and another window behind the piano. Below is the same wall now...

 

[havasu]

I like the dark painted crown molding. It really accentuates it.

 

[Ron Van]

I like the dark painted crown molding. It really accentuates it.

Yeah…it didn’t want black at first, but it grew on me. Ruby decided she wanted it white again, so it’s white now. Do you know how hard it is to paint gloss black, white? I told Ruby that’s it….white forever now!