Sarah has finished her final session of on the road driving practice. Now we wait for a little over a week until we go take her for her driver's test. Since she is having her wisdom teeth out tomorrow, hopefully she won't need much more practice. She told me that her instructor told her she should be just fine and shouldn't have a problem passing.
The final on the road apparently is like a mini road test. Sarah said she went over all the skills they will be testing her on when she goes for her license, and according to her she did pretty well. There were only a couple of suggestions he had for her, thought she wouldn't tell me what they were. Not that it matters all that much, but I want to make sure whatever it is/was, I don't want her doing it in my car, especially when my insurance rates are already going to be exploding.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Stupid Squirrels
This year has been very strange in that we have had so many squirrels and chipmunks running around our backyard. I started by placing the chipmunks traps near hostas, and I ended up catching about 10 or 11 in three weeks. Like always I end up driving them about a mile away and letting them go in the Tamarack Swamp.
Now usually, I trap them because they would be digging up Kris's flowers burying seeds. However, I noticed that for whatever reason the chipmunks were collecting the seed that the birds dropped on the ground from the bird feeders and they weren't digging in the pots. So I thought, why should I trap them? If they aren't bothering me, or digging up Kris's flowers, then I really don't care, and I just let them be. So that gets us to the squirrels.
The chipmunks have been fine... not so much the squirrels. First, they managed to get at the bird feeders, both the seed and the suet. And once they did get at them, they started chewing the feeders apart. Every time I saw one getting at the seed, I would go outside and chase it away. Once they stopped doing that, I noticed that they had started sitting in Kris's flower pots, eating their seeds that they got either from the feeders, or from the ground. And then they began to start breaking off the buds from Kris's Hybiscus plants. I have never seen that before, so it was very strange that they would start tearing the flowers apart. Luckily, they only got at about 5 or 6 buds before we got them scared away. So now I am going to have to monitor the plants to make sure they don't kill all of Kris's flowers. And I can't really trap them, because the chipmunk traps are not big enough for them. I did catch one in a chipmunk trap once, and before I could let it go, the squirrel pretty much went nuts running around inside of it until it had knocked the trap over, which ended up releasing the door, and it got away. I am at the point where I am considering a pellet gun and shooting them from the window. It won't happen, but I am thinking about it.
Now usually, I trap them because they would be digging up Kris's flowers burying seeds. However, I noticed that for whatever reason the chipmunks were collecting the seed that the birds dropped on the ground from the bird feeders and they weren't digging in the pots. So I thought, why should I trap them? If they aren't bothering me, or digging up Kris's flowers, then I really don't care, and I just let them be. So that gets us to the squirrels.
The chipmunks have been fine... not so much the squirrels. First, they managed to get at the bird feeders, both the seed and the suet. And once they did get at them, they started chewing the feeders apart. Every time I saw one getting at the seed, I would go outside and chase it away. Once they stopped doing that, I noticed that they had started sitting in Kris's flower pots, eating their seeds that they got either from the feeders, or from the ground. And then they began to start breaking off the buds from Kris's Hybiscus plants. I have never seen that before, so it was very strange that they would start tearing the flowers apart. Luckily, they only got at about 5 or 6 buds before we got them scared away. So now I am going to have to monitor the plants to make sure they don't kill all of Kris's flowers. And I can't really trap them, because the chipmunk traps are not big enough for them. I did catch one in a chipmunk trap once, and before I could let it go, the squirrel pretty much went nuts running around inside of it until it had knocked the trap over, which ended up releasing the door, and it got away. I am at the point where I am considering a pellet gun and shooting them from the window. It won't happen, but I am thinking about it.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Second Stoop Post
So of course what should have been a piece of cake had to be a problem, because all of my projects are. The second rail got put up today, but only after about four hours of dinking around. I thought it would go relatively smoothly since I had such a problem the day before. But I couldn't have been more wrong.
I go the rail braces attached to the house rather quickly, and was in the process of finishing up when Kris came out to have a look at my progress. She then pointed out that the rails were not even. The height of the top rail on the post relative to the top of the post was about 2 inches different from the first one. However, there wasn't anything I could do as the previous location of the brackets for the stoop railings had to remain fixed, and were actually at the same height on the side of the house. The problem is that there is a big slant from right to left when you are looking at the house (presumably for water to run off?). So the base of the post is actually almost 2 inches lower than the post on the right side.
Since Kris said this was unacceptable, I had to try and figure out how to remedy the situation. After some thought, I had to go and get myself another post since I had already drilled the post for the screws to attached the rails and if I was going to raise it, there would have been extra holes in it. I also had to look for something to use as a base to set the flange of the post upon to raise it. I found what I thought was the perfect thing, a piece of PVC "board" that was supposed to be used for trim. When I got home however, I found that it wasn't wide enough to fit under the complete post flange, so I had to go back and get a 6" wide board (the first one was 5"). I forgot that when it comes to the size of boards, a 5" board isn't actually 5" wide, but 4 3/4".
When I got the second pc. of PVC planking, I was able to trace the flange on it, and cut out a block the exact size of the flange base. Then I could match drill holes, put a couple of quick coats of black paint on it and secure everything in place. So now the height of the top rail relative to the top of the post is identical, but the base of the post looks much thicker on the left than on the right. So it's a trade off. At least it isn't as noticeable as the top of the rail. Maybe one day when I have more time I can redo the post, cutting off a couple of inches from the top so I can make an identical base to match the one I had to make for the left post. But for now, I think I can live with it. Just don't look too closely at it when you come over.
I go the rail braces attached to the house rather quickly, and was in the process of finishing up when Kris came out to have a look at my progress. She then pointed out that the rails were not even. The height of the top rail on the post relative to the top of the post was about 2 inches different from the first one. However, there wasn't anything I could do as the previous location of the brackets for the stoop railings had to remain fixed, and were actually at the same height on the side of the house. The problem is that there is a big slant from right to left when you are looking at the house (presumably for water to run off?). So the base of the post is actually almost 2 inches lower than the post on the right side.
Since Kris said this was unacceptable, I had to try and figure out how to remedy the situation. After some thought, I had to go and get myself another post since I had already drilled the post for the screws to attached the rails and if I was going to raise it, there would have been extra holes in it. I also had to look for something to use as a base to set the flange of the post upon to raise it. I found what I thought was the perfect thing, a piece of PVC "board" that was supposed to be used for trim. When I got home however, I found that it wasn't wide enough to fit under the complete post flange, so I had to go back and get a 6" wide board (the first one was 5"). I forgot that when it comes to the size of boards, a 5" board isn't actually 5" wide, but 4 3/4".
When I got the second pc. of PVC planking, I was able to trace the flange on it, and cut out a block the exact size of the flange base. Then I could match drill holes, put a couple of quick coats of black paint on it and secure everything in place. So now the height of the top rail relative to the top of the post is identical, but the base of the post looks much thicker on the left than on the right. So it's a trade off. At least it isn't as noticeable as the top of the rail. Maybe one day when I have more time I can redo the post, cutting off a couple of inches from the top so I can make an identical base to match the one I had to make for the left post. But for now, I think I can live with it. Just don't look too closely at it when you come over.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Murphy's Law
For the first time in a long time there wasn't much to do here over the weekend. So since there wasn't any running around to do, I took the opportunity to get some little things done around the house. The first thing I went to tackle was the floor flanges for the railings on the front stoop.
I put up the new railings three years ago after mudjacking the stoop. So after three years, the plating/coating on the floor flanges peeled away, leaving a white residue. I think that they were aluminum and the coating looked to almost be like an adhesive coating. I figured that I could just scrape it with a wire brush and then blow it off and wipe it with some mineral spirits and then paint it with some Rustoleum. After wire brushing I thought that I might be able to just unbolt them from the concrete to paint them. It would also allow me to go get some new screws and nuts since they were severely corroded as well. Unfortunately, the nuts were so corroded I couldn't turn them.
First, I stripped one nut, then when I tried to turn the next one, the stud itself broke off. And since I only had two bolts/studs holding it into the concrete, I was left with pretty much having to replace the flange. The same thing happened with the second flange. That one however I had bolted down with four studs, and of the four, I was only able to get one nut off. It also lead to one of the studs breaking off a chunk of the concrete.
That meant going to look for new flanges, which ultimately lead to getting new rails as well. So what I thought would be about an hour long job lead to about a seven hour project and several trips to the store for the right kind of bolts and screws. By the end of the day I was able to get one rail and post replaced, and I left the second one for today. Since I know exactly how to get it installed now, getting the second one up today shouldn't take quite as long. It just always seems like whenever I go to fix something, it turns into a great big deal. I think Murphy's Law is whatever can go wrong, will, and that sure seems to define my attempts at home improvement projects.
I put up the new railings three years ago after mudjacking the stoop. So after three years, the plating/coating on the floor flanges peeled away, leaving a white residue. I think that they were aluminum and the coating looked to almost be like an adhesive coating. I figured that I could just scrape it with a wire brush and then blow it off and wipe it with some mineral spirits and then paint it with some Rustoleum. After wire brushing I thought that I might be able to just unbolt them from the concrete to paint them. It would also allow me to go get some new screws and nuts since they were severely corroded as well. Unfortunately, the nuts were so corroded I couldn't turn them.
First, I stripped one nut, then when I tried to turn the next one, the stud itself broke off. And since I only had two bolts/studs holding it into the concrete, I was left with pretty much having to replace the flange. The same thing happened with the second flange. That one however I had bolted down with four studs, and of the four, I was only able to get one nut off. It also lead to one of the studs breaking off a chunk of the concrete.
That meant going to look for new flanges, which ultimately lead to getting new rails as well. So what I thought would be about an hour long job lead to about a seven hour project and several trips to the store for the right kind of bolts and screws. By the end of the day I was able to get one rail and post replaced, and I left the second one for today. Since I know exactly how to get it installed now, getting the second one up today shouldn't take quite as long. It just always seems like whenever I go to fix something, it turns into a great big deal. I think Murphy's Law is whatever can go wrong, will, and that sure seems to define my attempts at home improvement projects.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Summer Job
When I went to pick up Sarah tonight from work, she informed me that today was her last shift. She knew that her job was only seasonal, but she was also planning on working up until the end of August. But I also think she knew it was coming. She told me a couple of
weeks ago that her boss had told one of the other young guys that she
worked with that he was all done for the season. Plus, for the past three or four weeks, she was only being scheduled for one day a week.
Stein obviously hired more people than they needed for the summer. They went nuts having people work during the busy, spring planting rush, but then once that push was done, they had way more people than they needed. I feel bad for her because she really liked having the extra money to go do fun things with her friends, and saving up some cash for possibly getting herself a car. The good thing is that I suppose she can go look for something else now that will give her some more hours. I think she has some leads already from some of her friends, so we'll see what happens.
Stein obviously hired more people than they needed for the summer. They went nuts having people work during the busy, spring planting rush, but then once that push was done, they had way more people than they needed. I feel bad for her because she really liked having the extra money to go do fun things with her friends, and saving up some cash for possibly getting herself a car. The good thing is that I suppose she can go look for something else now that will give her some more hours. I think she has some leads already from some of her friends, so we'll see what happens.
Friday, July 18, 2014
End of Camp
Ali's week of girl scout camp is over, and other than the water at camp it was very enjoyable for her. As I said, her only complaint was the hydrogen sulfide odor of the well water. Well that and she wasn't wild about the food they got. But isn't that typical? You're supposed to hate camp food.
She got placed with a group of 3rd graders and had a blast. She said all the girls in her group just loved her, and she had fun teaching them and helping their leader. It was a much different dynamic that we were used to with Sarah. Sarah had a moderator for all of her time as a PAIT and as a PA, an she was doing all the work on her own. At Silverbrook there are paid leaders who do all the work and the PAITs and PAs serve strictly as assistants. At least that is how I understand it. So she definitely had fun and thinks she'll probably go back next year.
She got placed with a group of 3rd graders and had a blast. She said all the girls in her group just loved her, and she had fun teaching them and helping their leader. It was a much different dynamic that we were used to with Sarah. Sarah had a moderator for all of her time as a PAIT and as a PA, an she was doing all the work on her own. At Silverbrook there are paid leaders who do all the work and the PAITs and PAs serve strictly as assistants. At least that is how I understand it. So she definitely had fun and thinks she'll probably go back next year.
Fraud Update
There is good news to report finally. I got my credit fraud report confirmed and got a copy of my credit report. After going over various credit agency reports, as of 7/18 it looks like there haven't been any new accounts opened in my name and everything looks clean. But that makes me wonder if the thing with Best Buy was just a mistake and someone accidentally assigned the purchase to my Best Buy account, or if it was maybe some other sort of clerical error. Either way, it looks like I am in good shape, which is the best news I have received in a while.
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