PROGRESS AND TIME OUT.

Last weekend was a nice time out with family. Virginia, Cedric and the boys came on Saturday. We were able to view pictures of their Australian adventure on computer and the extension trip they took to Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam. They took a cooking class in Thailand and a biking tour in Viet Nam. Great memories and getting acquainted with different cultures? What an education. Here Theo practices his juggling. He is good at it.

We took a walk around the neighborhood. It was chilly but nice to get outside. The boys are  13 and 15 now, but still willing to keep company with we adults.

Daffodils are blooming everywhere in my yard.

One neighbor has a tulip tree.

I had never heard of them until I moved to California. Spectacular.

I have a stunted one in my yard that didn’t take well to being transplanted from my former yard. It might get two blossoms, sometimes none. This is what they are supposed to look like.

After my mailbox project, I was charmed by this little postal box birdhouse. People can be so clever. Kind of reminds me, sadly, of the carrier pigeons. To think they were of such valuable service to us in WWI and no one thought to protect them.

Our neighborhood has many redtailed hawks. Majestic and beautiful.

Beautiful plumage and adept hunters. A very young hawk makes passes over my chickens as though sizing them up for a future meal. I don’t cut their wings so they have some natural protection.

Ken and Laurie joined us on Sunday and we all went to brunch. Not Bix and Coco, though. None of the pictures I took of the adults turned out. Its okay. I’ve got a lot of pictures of them anyway.

Yesterday was a grand marker day. I’ve gotten my heating and air conditioning heat pump contracted. The new mini-split heat pumps operate efficiently without ducting. Doug moved in a dumpster and did a major clean-up around the place getting ready for inside installations. Cabinets are chosen and drawn. The cabinet installer will measure the house on Friday. Today, I’ll shop for flooring, to get an idea of types and costs. The electrician will come in and do his wiring after the heat pump tubing and wiring is finished. Everything should move along quickly, now for the house. Then Doug will start on a garage/storage building. There is still much to do which keeps me absent these pages. But, taking time out was a welcome refreshment.

 

 

 

CURING AN ANNOYANCE

Whenever I reach for a power cord, I’m faced with this mess.  A tangle of 3 or 4 different  power cords in the bottom of a bucket. With the huge “yard” I have, the one-hundred foot cords are the worst. It takes half your work time to untangle the dang things. I had a temporary worker fold one of my long cords into neat little loops. I hated to use it because I knew I’d never get it back that way.

I have a new guy doing yard work for me and I knew he would need one of the long cords. I went on-line and found a video showing how its done. The hardest part was untangling the mess and laying my light weight cord out on the driveway into thirds.

The next step was marking the cord with black electrical tape to mark the thirds for the next time I folded it.

Then you grab the cord at one end, make a loose knot and begin to loop and insert cord into loops all the way to the end. I couldn’t have done it without seeing the video, so here is the link. And, my loops are not as small and even as the demonstater on the video made his.

http://home-tools.wonderhowto.com/how-to/store-your-extension-cord-without-tangling-274714/

Now, I have a problem. When I went back on-line to find the link I used, I couldn’t locate it. There were many, many sites that give directions on folding cords. The  video  above is even simpler. You don’t have to fold your cord into thirds and mark it. The beauty of folding it in thirds is that you have your plugs at opposite ends and can partially unfold your cord, use it half unfolded, and reloop it without starting over from scratch. This video makes the same claim, but the one I watched explained why folding it from thirds is best. Either way, you can simplify your life by learning how to properly store a cord.

Once I got into the swing of things, I did three fifty foot cords, another 100- foot multiple plug end cord, and my black heavy-duty 100-foot cord.

My loops got better as I worked but the satisfaction from having accomplished a job long gone wanting was terrific.

I know men do this all the time, but you women out there on your own, this is a valuable skill in reducing annoyance. Go for it.

Next, I’m going to tackle this tangle of rope.