A rainy day in a quiet life

      It's stopped for now but we've had rain for hours, I woke in the night to hard rains making music on my metal roof.  And thought how wonderful I now have a solid roof to protect this old house and me.  And a comfortable bed to snuggle back into and sleep.

     I worked on some knitting yesterday and I cut 1/4" grosgrain ribbon into lengths for face masks, and now have enough ready for 20 masks, it's time to start making child-sized masks again and I do have the fabric for that, and more ribbon ordered. 

     And I did work on plotting out as much of my Ameren billing as I could, I seem to be short on records that are before 2010 but know I have owned this house and lived here since 2006, so those records are gone.  The house has had a lot of work over all the years it's been mine, and yes, that's given me that under house utility area and that over 600 sq. foot expansion up under that steep roof, my studio, retreat, and even space that someday might actually become that 2nd bathroom.

     I need to get boots on and make a store run and should do that while it's not raining, and I will get to that, right now I am tucked in my studio with an archeological program playing on YouTube and have been knitting on the next pair of socks for son Ben.

     Finances are stable and going through 10 years of checkbooks sure showed me a lot of discretionary spending over the years, I am slowing that way down now as I work to pay off my debt load and do more to get ready for retirement, I want the house to be ready for that fixed income, and my finances so that I don't have to sell stuff to keep the utility bills paid in the winter or not have adequate food in the house.

     And, yes I do want a nice supply of stuff like yarns to knit with, fabrics to sew with, and a comfortable place to enjoy those hobbies.  Planning will help me gain that and I like making plans,  Sticking with them is a bit of a problem for me but I am working on more discipline on that issue.

     I know this life of mine is not what I dreamed I would have when I was 18 or 32, but it's what I have now and it's my choices and hard work that has given me the stability and security that I now have and that I do treasure.

Loosing the battle…

    Ok, so maybe I am not quite loosing, but it’s getting to be a very costly war here… trying to update my electrical service and not only is it expensive it it’s a lot of hard labor, not enough help when I really need it and not getting done very darn fast.

     But, after 16+ years of living here a granddaughter of the owners who bought it from the lumber company,  stopped by yesterday.  It was built in 1900 for employees housing and is 1 of the few left with little structure changes.  Most have been turned down or burned down years ago.

     That young family bought the house sometime after 1921, but before 1925, I had a history done years ago and that paperwork is here somewhere. And they raised their family and their grandkids grew up in and out of this house.  The rundown small house north sold to a local couple, just married who raised their kids.  

    That original ‘first private owners’ passed away in time and someone across the street bought the place for a rental.  That income helped put their kids through college and then it was sold to the tenants living in the place…who I bought it from in 2004.  And in all these years it had Never had proper maintenance or repair work done.  A lot of quick and cheap fixes, a lot of neglect and it was a mess when I got it.

     Crawling with cockroaches and stinking filthy, east foundation wall coming apart and sliding into hole that first family dug under it… but I have put in 16+ years of work and $$$ and it’s improving.  A solid foundation and a solid metal roof, safe wiring and a handicapped friendly kitchen. An expansion up into the space under that steep roof. 

     My landscaping is not what they had, and there are No big trees on my property, those were down before I bought it, old and dead or dying trees and I took out the dying maple several years back. I do have some small trees, they will get bigger and all are far enough from the house to not cause damage to the foundation or the structure.

     That now older woman talked about what the house was like when she was a child and on what her grandparents did for ‘improvements’ here.  And I bit my tongue and didn’t tell her all the costs to deal with the damage from her grandpa’s really crappy repair and poorly done work.  

    Yes, it’s an old and still shabby, still neglected looking place, but those are all new, double paned windows, and that’s a metal roof that will last years and years.  It’s still got a ways to go but the internal wiring is good, I just want more, like a tankless water heater and wiring to my shop building and yes, this sun soaking house has solar coming once I have the darn electrical service upgrade done.

    I am tired and hurting, but the trenching is done, the wiring is run and the shop has its electrical breaker box installed.  And I have better hooks up to hang my folding chairs for guests when I invite others over and use my little grill.  

     It’s a 3am alarm and this week we are 8+ hour days, last week was 10’s for my day shift.  The rains really have helped the grasses I moved but sure helped the lawn grasses and weeds grow also.  Maybe I can get some mowing done tomorrow after work.

    And yes, despite the problems, no jobs on this old house have Ever gone smoothly or easily, it’s still worth it to own this little old house. And it’s been making me a good home for the longest I have ever lived in 1 place in my entire 65 years of living.  Hopefully this old house and I have a lot more years to keep working on those repairs and improvements.  

Rantings from an old woman in an old house in an old town

    I know this is a small, old town and that this small house was built in 1900, and that electrical wiring and plumbing were not installed when it was built, it also didn’t have living space above the ground floor or any sort of basement area. 

But it’s my house and has been for over 16 years now and it’s my life and my money and what I want that rules here, within the laws of city, state and nation.  And I get to set a lot of the priorities for whatever reason suits me when it comes to repairs and improvements.  After all, I do pay for them and live with or without them, depending on the case. 

And I actually use my brains and do that stuff called research to help me make decisions I am happy with long term, I don’t have a penis, don’t need a penis and believe having 1 doesn’t make a person smarter or more able to make the decisions here about those upgrades.

Yes, I absolutely did already buy that tankless water heater and that size and yes, I do know how much More hot water it will produce than I need, on a very hot day in the middle of summer.  I also know how much hot water per minute I can expect during a bitter cold winter night in this same house and that’s probably when I will be so glad I chose this water heater and not a lesser one. It’s for those comfortable and as long as I want them showers or baths in the middle of a bitter winter night that I planned for.  Because research tells me that’s where you want to do your decisions on for those tankless heaters. Not a hot summer day.

And yes, I do know those solar panels will not provide enough electrical power for that water heater- at the time and moment I am bloody using it the most... ya, night, sun, I got that.. but during the day, even winter days, those panels will produce power, probably more power than the house is using some days... oh, ya, I do work days and live alone and set the air conditioning at 78 and have been constantly working to make this old house more energy efficient...

Yes, it will cost me $$$ to upgrade what I have to upgrade for power, got a new list and have already started buying the parts, and yes, had a talk with the solar company last night, about that meter and the not adequate power line coming to my house, which IS the property of the utility company and yes, I do believe it’s their job and their Cost to replace that line to meet the needs (and wants) of the owner/resident of this house.  Suck it up, guys, the panels will be installed after Fathers Day and I will be having that tankless water heater too, it’s going in this week while I am on vacation, even IF I cannot use it yet.  Yes, I am just fine with upgrading to 320 service here, gee, it’s actually 2021 even in small town Illinois.

And I also upgraded my internet router recently, no, the 1 I had was just fine, but it’s over 6.5 years old and cable routers have had a lot of improvements since I bought that 1, and my son can inherit it, it’s in the box the new 1 came in and can wait here for him to have a need for it. It’s not fruit, it won’t spoil.  And yes it is my $$ and I am the person who earns it.  

But I am not unhappy with everyone male, just the ones who yesterday made bumps in my little road of life, including Kevin, employed at Lowe’s who didn’t respond to customer needs help in your area for 45 minutes....seems he did look and notice that old woman in long skirt but he didn’t THINK he saw a customer...  who had him measure out and cut 38 feet of 1/0 copper electrical wire that will be needed for the upcoming job, 4/0 is code, 2/0 is what the annoyed utility technician who has to do the line replacing job is demanding and since it was out of stock I bought a grade higher and better...now as the price for it will be higher in 2 months when it’s actually needed.

And my Liberty scooter tire is off, in the car and MotoEuropa is expecting me with tire and a box of Diana’s Bakery goodies today... and yes, overnight stay in the city to play and yes, this is my vacation time.  But a bank errand first, they don’t open until 9, and a stop to drop off some paperwork before leaving town.  

And yes, I do still own 3 Piaggio scooters and no, even after that accident this past September I am Not selling any of them and yes, I will still be riding...but not down to the city this week. It’s still too cool and the weather too UN dependable this time of year, it’s still early April.

And my orthopedic team are Very Pleased with how well leg and I are doing, and after x-rays and carefully examined screw in those X-rays, my concerns about screw working out and migration issues has been laid to rest. Yes, that screw has to be removed but not right now, we all can safely leave it alone until it’s pushing up against the skin, it’s got at least 30mm/3cm of shaft to work out before it can migrate and it will be pushing against the skin before it’s crawled out even 1/2 that distance.  I had not actually looked at the total length of that trying to escape screw and though it was far shorter.  

About that rally week and vacation

  Weather was great, and I love the Airbnb where I stay... but the first ride of the rally, on a borrowed scooter with way too much air pressure in the front tire for my weight and the downhill steep curves ended abruptly with me in an ambulance to the nearest hospital and the scooter with minor scratches. I ended up with major splintering of my fibula and a long, painful recovery. 

 I am on vacation this coming week but spent over 4 months off work healing up.  And I will never walk the same again.  But, yes, I will still be riding, and yes, I will check tire pressure far more often. I tend to ride with my front tire just slightly below recommended tire pressure as it’s about weights of riders/load also and I just am not up to ‘average’ weight of riders on those models of scooters I own. 

And the Huge vacation project is all the electrical work and then plumbing work for a tankless water heater, and I am well started with the job, and yes, son Ben is helping as he has time. I absolutely would NOT have gotten that 6 gauge wire pulled from under house through the conduit and into the new shut off box without him and his help and strength.  This upgrade on my hot water system will save me a lot of $$ as my current hot water tank costs me a lot to keep reheating the same water and is a huge lime factory. I will need to set up my plumbing so that new tankless water heater can be flushed with vinegar easily but that is in the planning and well worth the cost of the parts.

I need to also work on my scooters, and yes I will still be riding. It was not my skill that was the problem, it was science and that includes gravity.  Far more carefully and a lot longer rides time wise to go the same distance, but I also now have a budget friendly recumbent exercise bike that I am putting time on every day to help with my legs and knees, especially that damaged knee/leg.