Anti-HOA

 Why YES- yes I am... I think if you own a piece of property you should be able to paint your door what ever color you like- I believe you should be able to plant whatever trees and shrubs you like- as long as they aren't illegal substances- but that's a slippery slope as well because someone will argue that poppies are the parent plant of opioids.

I believe you should have a lawn of whatever kind of grass you like, or if you dont want grass, maybe a lawn full of clover or a wildflower meadow/ cottage garden. No Matching mailboxes, no rules about my kids bikes in the front yard or a basketball hoop set up in the driveway on the front of the garage. 

Who in their right mind wants to live in a cookie cutter community? Unless you're a Stepford resident.

Who put Karen in Charge?  Not me- she can do whatever SHE likes in HER OWN yard.

And no- I dont live in an HOA neighborhood- I have the best neighbors in the world. I did the HOA thing ONCE- and vowed never again would I ever......and I wont.

New Idea for the Compound!!!

 I just though- maybe three detached Garages with an apartment/tiny house for each of us on the upper level??? 

Separate but together!!

This and That.....

 Time Flies when you are busy, and boy have I been busy!!!!

I did my duty last week and got my taxes "done". I refuse to do them myself- I know for a fact I would screw them up and end up financing the entire bazillion dollar debt of the USA. So I leave that mess up to the professionals. A certified accountant who understands all the Maths. 

So now we wait.....  What tiny bit I get back will be going directly into my Savings Account to finance a family compound for me, my daughter and my son. We've been looking for a property in a certain area, but we may need to branch out a bit.

I'm totally serious about a family compound- I'd LOVE to go totally off grid, but I'm not sure that's going to go over well with the rest of the fam. We'll see.

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I'm all over the place with my job right now too. With fuel prices the way they are now , after paying the rent I'm having to put gas money back and use whatever is left to pay for a few groceries and then be REALLY creative with meals for the week. I absolutely LOVE my job and most of the people I work with, but the 110 miles a day to and from work is killing me. 

Add to the mix I'm on patrol driving at least another 25-50 miles a day once I arrive AT work and I'm a bundle of nerves by the time I get home and don't feel up to doing anything until the weekend and I'm beginning to think I'm turning into my grandpa- or my stb ex hubby. But I DO go out and do things with the family on the weekends- and I do spend time with them in the evenings before going to bed. 

I've thought about transferring to another site closer to home, but if we buy a property in the area we hope to- that just means I would be transferring back to the area I work in now. Is there a point in doing that? Is there another option I haven't thought of? Would my company even consider letting me do that? And transferring would prob mean a bit of a cut in pay as well....can I even afford that option???? 

I'm so torn....

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Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch.....

 Life is good.

Compared to last week when I had a gawd awful headache . And I'm fully taking responsibility for that one. It had been a HORRIBLE stressful week at work despite getting Maggie fixed. Monday was the one great day last week- Me and my baby sister got to spend time together, I got Maggie in good shape, and the weather was glorious. 

Then it hit the fan. I won't go into details(I know- quite uncharacteristic for me but it was that bad I don't even want to recall it except as vague generalities), but I gave up smoking about 28 years ago. Now the only time I smoke is when the stress level has reached a point I'm about to snap. And if it's a Friday a bit of drinking may/may not go with the smoking, but I try very hard to keep from doing that as that usually leads to "Hey- I wanna dance so lets go out to the bar!!" and then we all have to make sure the bail bondsman is on everyone's speed dial(it already is but we all make double sure before we go out together- us sisters are the hell-raisers in the family)....So I bought a pack of ciggies. Smoked 2 on the drive home(forgot how stressful trying to juggle smoking and driving a stick shift can be as well,) then once I arrived home I sat on my front porch swing and proceeded to chain smoke all the rest of the pack except 3..... Two hours later- the barely there headache was a raging full blown migraine. And my mouth was on fire from what I can only describe as nicotine overdose. It's happened once before under the same circumstances- only that time my tongue actually swelled up and it required a couple doses of  Benadryl to stop the reaction. I didnt know that's what caused it then, but I certainly do now. As soon as I felt the tingling begin on my tongue, I stopped and took a tablet. I also brushed my teeth, rinsed my mouth with loads of water then gargled with mouthwash to get rid of the nicotine residue. Listerine. Getting the picture of how THAT burned????

Yeah- uhhhh uh...nah....we aren't going to do that anymore. I'm done for good this time.

Meanwhile- after I finally got rid of that headache- I started working on the workout EVAN generously provided for me a few of his posts back.  Boy, do I have some work to do. But I'm gonna do it!!! By end of the year at latest I'm going to be able to do minimum!!!!  I've set myself a goal!!

We are still looking for a property to buy..... and I'm toying with the idea of repainting Magg's Santa Sleigh Red. My daughter does NOT want me to do it- as she says it would remind her too much of the MATRIX her brother had when he passed in an MVA  many years ago. Magg's paint job now is a lovely Royal Blue- but the clearcoat is flaking off all over her so that's what gave me the idea to repaint her Christmas Red.

What's funny is- when I talk about repainting, my kids have started referring to Maggie as the Ho-ho-ho Mobile. ROTFLMBO.....Well, at the very least I want to get her some red and white stripe leather seat covers. I would look very patriotic with that combo if she stays blue.

Anyway- so that's what is going on at the Ranch Now...... 

Later yall!!!

Don't Get Too Excited...A Cautionary Tale.. and other stuff

 Well, Maggie came thru her surgery. Sis got a call from the Surgeon(ie the mechanic) around noon saying Maggie was out of surgery and we could pick her up whenever we wanted. 

That would be end of shift since we was at work....

So  End of day I head to our site base and turn in my equipment, Keys, Phone, and Patrol device. Then I drive to the main base and park the patrol vehicle. I grabbed all my stuff and waited on my sister to arrive. Our schedules are a half hour different since I'm a mobile supervisor and she works a static post.

So she arrives and I am soooo excited to go pick Mags up and drive her!!!!! Well, the drive to IVA was uneventful- sis and I had a lovely visit and we got there in due time. We retrieved the keys for her- and as we was walking out, my sister glanced down and looked at my waistband. 

"What are those to?" pointing to my waist......

I looked down and lo and behold- I still had the patrol vehicle keys and the keyring to all the gates clipped to my belt. 

Son Of A Nutcracker!!!!

So I had to make the hour and 20 minute drive BACK to the site to drop them off and then another hour and 20 minutes home- after already driving the same route that morning and then again to get Maggie drives like a quiet dream now- no shakes, rattles, nor rolls - just a quiet calm as we roll down that road that never ends.

I- or WE made it back home by 7pm and then ate. Was going to watch at least one more episode of TWD with my daughter, but by that point we was both exhausted(she and Grand D rode with me to return the keys so they could see where I work) so we didnt watch anything except the back of our eyelids as we slept.

So in other news, the tub is draining now- the landlord came out and made the repairs to the drain pipe in record time. It was kind of funny- he was trying to explain and show my daughter what he was doing- like she was actually going to try to do it herself next time. 

Not our circus, not our monkey... it will be handy info for when we get our own property tho. I don't think ours will have the barbie stuck in the drainpipe issue tho, tbh.

I've been researching different types of buildings and my daughter has been researching properties available in the areas we would like to be. I've looked at the Home Depot type buildings for doing tiny house community. I've researched Conex type containers and the costs involved with the tiny house or linked container style to do the compound. We have researched singlewides, and doublewides, along with moving buildings/ houses already built but needing removed from the site they are sitting on. 

My latest research involves steel buildings. There are some really well made ones that are reasonably prices that we could call on certified family members to install electric, plumbing(we could do that ourselves-we all helped mom and dad build their house when we were growing up in the country), insulation, painting and flooring. We could divide it up and it be a multi-generational dwelling for us all. There is one plan I'm VERY interested in- barn shaped with two "shed" sides- one on each side of the taller main area. I'm thinking Two generous bedrooms with a shared bath between for each of those.  The central area between would be a great room/kitchen area with center island bar seating instead of a dining room. The "loft" are could be a den with gaming area set up. It could double as a sleepover/guest room area as well. I personally would like a fireplace with bookshelves in the great room, but we could always do smaller electric fireplaces and bookshelves in our bedrooms instead if we so desired. Or whatever we wanted. A small seating area for personal gaming, a vanity table /dressing area, a crafting station.... the possibilities are endless- and all down to our personal preferences!!!

It would be a simple design to do- I could draw up the plans in less than a week for the entire project. 

I'm hoping that by calling in some favors and putting in the elbow grease ourselves it will mean a great deal more to the kids and cost us all a great deal less than a stick built home. Maybe save enough to be able to put some "recreational equipment" in the back yard!!!

We are a resourceful bunch!!!! My daddy dug out a fishing pond/swimming pond for us all by HAND with a pickax, a shovel and a wheelbarrow with minimal help from anyone. He loved his I did it myself projects!!!!

If Daddy had that kind of ambition and drive- we certainly can do whatever we put our minds to also- his blood runs thru our veins!!!! 

He is and always will be my HERO!!!!!

Saga of Maggie Continues...

 Well, Maggie is back in surgery today. Last time it was Stabilizers and this time it's the whole Struts assembly. 

Don't ask me what they do because it's been so long since I did ANY mechanic work on my car I couldn't tell you. I know it has something to do with steering and alignment...I think?

Anyway- I hope to pick her up this afternoon.  Over the weekend my granddaughter and I cleaned up the interior. I was just going to hoover it out, but Granddaughter is as OCD as I am and she kept finding little other things to clean, the door panels, the door frames, the console, the door pockets, the light switches, everything. Then my darling son came over and while Maggie was sitting still he repaired my headlights and checked my fluids and such.  So soon as Mags gets finished with her surgery, I'm going to get her a DELUXE car wash to finish up her Spa-Day.

So, I stayed with my sister last night and we carpooled to work today as we both work the same shift on Mondays. Got a call about 11pm from daughter and son saying the main drain pipe in the bathroom had burst. Called the landlord and he came out first thing this morning to fix it. 

On the upside- the tub hasn't been draining properly- has been taking about 4 hours to drain the water from one person taking a shower. When son cut the drainpipe(metal and rusted I might add) he found out the reason why it wasn't draining.....There was a full sized barbie stuck in the drainpipe.  For real.... !!

I mean, I can see a barbie HEAD getting stuck maybe, but an entire Barbie doll??? I think that may have been an intentional act on the part of a disgruntled former tenant......Lord knows tho- there was enough glitter glue and nail polish spilled on various surfaces throughout the entire house it might have actually been a kid's doing... You just never know. 

Well, Shop just called and Maggie is ready to be sprung. 

Fingers crossed it's done and dusted.

Later Yall!!!!

My Birthday Week.... A Non-Fiction Post- the Short version.

 Well, this didnt happen the way we thought it would. 

My Someday 2 B ex celebrated his birthday MONTH. All Month. I'm not quite that ambitious- although maybe I should be. LOL

I only celebrate my Birthday Week.  And it was pretty good right up to the actual day of celebrations.

I actually took the day off and lost pay to do so- I felt I needed a fun mental health day and my birthday was the perfect reason to do so.

Well, the day before said day off- my boss needed me to cover a third shift post. sigh... so he let me leave early from first shift and I went home to get some rest before going back in at 11pm. 

My body said No. I might have gotten an hour total sleep time.  Got back to the site, worked all shift, then headed home. Nodded off at the wheel and bolted awake when I hit the "wakey-wakey-ridges" on the side of the pavement 4 times on the way home.  It was stupid of me not to pull over in a Dollar Gentral Parking lot to have a nap before carrying on. 

But I finally made it home. Yay- My Birthday- AND my day off!!!

My baby sister and I had planned to go out to brunch before she had to go home and get ready for work on 2nd shift. I laid down and slept the sleep of the dead for two hours before waking up and waiting on her to get there. Meanwhile, she was waiting for me to show up at HER house. Simple miscommunication that cost us our morning together. But she came up and brought me flowers and a bottle of my ready made cold brew before she went in to her shift. 

Meanwhile, my daughter had put on my fav dinner of Crockpot cube steak and gravy . She and my son and my granddaughter was planning on having dinner with me!!! My granddaughter made me a chocolate cake and we were going to have a green veggie and mashed potatoes with the cube steak.  YUMMM- I was so excited!!

Then my son's fiancée had to take their car to take her grandmother to the hospital to see HER son(Granny's, not Fiancée's) so that ran well into our dinner time plans. He finally called me and asked if I wanted to come pick him up, so I drove a half hour and got him. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, my daughter had a blood sugar drop and ended up having to eat before me and son got back. Then once we got there my son got overheated and didnt feel up to eating either right away so I had to go ahead and eat by myself.(Granddaughter is an extremely picky eater(textures do her in) and she took one bite of the cube steak and went to make herself a sammich...smh)

Then my son got a call from fiancée saying she was stuck at the hospital with Granny and it would be after midnight before she was able to come by and pick him up. Son said he would walk back home because I was getting ready to go to sleep and had to be up at 4am to drive an hour to work for my normal first shift job. I was NOT going to let that man walk almost 30 miles after him refusing to let  my birthday go by without him coming to see me somehow-someway. 13 years with me in the UK and them being without me was the final straw for him.  So I insisted on driving him back home and drove myself back home and ended up back in bed at 1am. Up at 4:30am to be back at my job at half 6am.

Got to work   on Thursday(my busiest day coincidentally)and had a TON of things to do( lot of walking and driving back and forth) but I struggled thru and got it all done and then refused to drive any more the second half of the day.

Then I FINALLY got off work and drove to my bestie's house for my birthday dinner with her and one of my other long time sister/friends. Only our other friend had to cancel because she was feeling under the weather. Sigh.....

Picked up Reuben sammiches for me and bestie and opened her door and about cried. I put the food on the dining room table with out saying a word except the hi before I glanced around... then walked back to my car and went to park it in the visitors parking area- turned the car off and burst out crying.

She has lost all 3 of her sons, one to accidental OD one to S!c!de, and one to murder. She's also lost her Dad to Covid and her fiancée to a massive heart attack... all within the last 5 years. Her health is bad, she has awful vertigo and COPD and a bit of a weight issue- plus the added issues with mental health /Depression. Well, very recently she decided to adopt a tiny little puppy for company- even tho me and her mom tried, vigorously, to tell her with her health issues she wouldn't be able to take care of it and train it properly. Alas, she didnt pay the slightest bit of attention to our reasonings and got it anyway. 

And the whole house was destroyed. Puppy poop and pee all over the rugs, paper shredded over the entire house...my bezzie couldn't even take her trash out because when you open the door the little rascal zips out the door and is under your feet trying to trip you up. Not on purpose- she's just doing what untrained puppies do. But with Bezzie's health issues she couldn't manage to take the chance.(She lives very near a busy intersection)

Anyway, I cried for 15 minutes, then cleaned my face, put on my big girl panties and trudged back in to try to clean up in there a bit so I could eat without gagging and sit down to rest before I fell on my own face from exhaustion. It took an hour to clean up enough that I had a clear clean path to the bathroom as I was staying overnight there. While I was cleaning up I was honestly thinking about just going back home for the night although it was another hour and a half from her house to mine at that point. I couldn't just leave Bezzie there abruptly like that tho. It's not in my nature.

I don't know what to do about this situation. I know for a fact that Bezzie cant take care of her furry friend except to feed and water it, and I don't have the time or energy or resources to help her with it all. Nor do I have the slightest inclination to offer to do so if I'm perfectly honest. I have a cat- That is MINE to be responsible for- not the other 3 in my household that belong to other members of my family who also live there. And I'm not going to volunteer to take care of anyone else's pet either- no matter how much I love that person. I want to spend time with Bezzie- but not her pet. 

My problem is I'm literally stretched to my mental and physical and financial breaking point right now and ready to snap. I need to go stay somewhere that has NO PETS, but I honestly don't know a single soul that doesn't own at least one pet- and most own several of different species. Wait- I take that back- I DO know someone who doesnt have a pet- however- the DO have several unruly undisciplined kids which would be no mental rest at all........

 I know- I sound selfish don't I? I cant help it tho. I'm just exhausted and I need some downtime and I need it asap.

Thanks for letting me vent. Just that makes me feel a tiny bit less overwhelmed. And if anyone has any suggestions about the pet situation, please advise!!!! xx