Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #65 – Getting Things Done!

 

Wednesday, August 19^th, 2020……  This morning I set out to paint the wall finally! But when sis came by with Quincy, we decided to go to breakfast. Kevin’s was closed (no reason just a locked door) so we drove out to Shirley Mays and ate there. Once she dropped me off at home, I changed clothes and got the new can of paint out and stirred up and brought the big extension ladder back in so I could reach the high area and went to work. Penny came back over and we got the first coat on. We rested and waited for that to dry which was about an hour. In the period, she decided to go to Taco Bell for lunch because she ate a light breakfast. I just got a chicken quesadilla. Then we started in and got the second coat on. Again, we rested and later saw that it was dry, so I started removing the tape. We made quick work of that and I cleaned up the brushes and roller and she got the tarp off the floor and folded up. I left the stepladder because I wanted to touch up some spots that bled under the tape. I will have to go search for paint to match the eggshell on the adjoining walls and ceiling.  I did a quick-vac on the floor and we were done. I so much like this tint of green better than the first attempt!  It’s hard to see but it looks right in the light and better matches the green in the entry alcove across the room. I’m sure glad to get that done. I just wish I would have done it way sooner when Lydia could have seen it because I know she would have liked it! 

I still need to get the new curtain rod installed and the weird scalloped curtains figured out but I will wait for Frances and my sister to help sort that out. Frances is due in on Tuesday. No Raymond this time but it will still be nice to have her visit.  After that, I went out and started on the assembly of the bagger for the zero-turn. It sure had a lot of pieces but it went together and on the mower, pretty easily. I finished about 90% of it.  All I need to do is to add the counterweight to the front but I will get to that tomorrow morning because I can’t mow until the grass dries out from the morning dew anyway.  I dumped Rylee’s pool but still let her chase the water from the garden hose. I can shoot it out about 60 feet and she loves running and trying to ‘eat’ it!               

Thursday, August 20^th, 2020……  Today was mowing day!  But first I had to get the weight bars installed on the zero-turn. But even before that, I had to fix my Facebook account because Teri and Frances both texted me to make me aware that they received a friend request from me – and, of course it wasn’t from me.  I was hacked!  I sent out a post to warn everyone not to accept a friend message from me then I called Frances because I needed a little help to maneuver in FB, trying to find my security settings. Even though I didn’t know Lydia’s FB password, I have her phone still active so they sent me a code which allowed me to go in and change it. I also got some advice from other FB friends and changed some settings to lessen the chances of this happening again. I do remember Lydia having these issues from time to time so maybe this will help.  Everything seems to be working as it should.  Now, I could go out and work on the mower! But wait! I had gotten a call last evening that my pressure washer was done so, after walking butthead, I headed off to go pick it up ($69.35 total for a new carburetor and install) and also got breakfast to bring back home.  I made the decision to do the touchups on the paint this morning so I could get the ladder out and the room straightened up a bit.  I found some white paint/primer that I had used in the dining room and decided to try that. It worked and looks a lot better now. I got everything cleaned up and the wall plates and pictures back on the wall.

So, now I could finally go out and get the weights hung. I also gassed up the zt and the tractor. When Penny got here, I used the tractor to mow around the grapevines because I didn’t think I could get the zt in there between the grapes and the blueberry cage. Then, I turned it over to her so she could go out and mow the field grass, and got on my new toy!  I must say it was a real learning curve in the way this thing works. Each rear wheel has its own transmission and it controlled by lever bars that you push and pull for throttle and forward and backward movement. It’s called a zero-turn, because you can literally turn the thing around like a top!  I was doing ok – for the first 5 minutes – until I came up to a sprinkler riser just in the flower bed at the edge of the lawn. I saw it too late and yanked the levers in the wrong direction and knocked it right out of the ground!  So, now I will need to put that on my list of things to do before I turn the timers back on for the sprinklers!  But that was about it and I learned pretty quickly how to make my turns and everything went well. It cuts great and is a lot quieter than the tractor (still wear ear muff protection though) and it cuts a wider path. You wouldn’t think that the difference between a 54” cut and a 60” cut is a lot, but it makes for lesser trips around the yard – and that saves time!  I appreciated the bagger but I wasn’t used to not seeing clippings on the lawn as I made my passes. We are in the later season and the grass isn’t growing as fast as in the spring, so there wasn’t much in the way of clippings. But what I had went into the triple bags on the mower and was easily dumped right into the regular trash can. I ended up with a load and a half and that included half of the field grass which I normally wouldn’t pick up anyway.  

After we got to the end of the task, I turned it over to sis to see if she liked it. She was very much intimidated (as I was) and only did a small patch of grass, but I think she would easily get used to it. For now, she is very much content to use the tractor and will want to do more of the same in the future.  We got the grass blown off both machines and she parked them in the shop garage and we were done. The good part is I don’t have to go out tomorrow and pick up the grass clippings!  We are done until next time!  Sis went home and I came in and showered and then headed up to the farmer’s market in town to pick up some more honey. I have been taking one teaspoon every day for some time now and I find it helps with my allergies. They say that the pollen from the local bee hives (as close to where you live as possible) will help in giving you a small immunity from the environment in your area. With all of the field work done here, and all of the grass and clover and pollen and such in the air, I need all of the help I can get!  Very few days with a runny nose and I sneeze a lot less now so I want to keep on this regiment.  Once I got back, I relaxed and watched tv for a while. I had a Jack in the Box breakfast burrito plus I tried a Starbucks bacon and egg and gouda muffin sandwich today, so I was not hungry for lunch or even dinner. Believe it or not but my dinner was 4 pieces of Texas cheese toast and several cherry tomatoes (from one of Penny’s neighbors). That was it. I spent the rest of the evening working on my checkbook and also on this blog.  Then it was tv for a bit then I headed off to bed. A busy day and very productive!