Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[flowerbug]

perhaps just learning the hard way that this isn't what he wants to be doing with his life/time. if he's already making good money as a construction contractor building then adding the side jobs may be a really bad move for him, especially if he doesn't like communicating well and abiding by agreements...

having grown up and worked in a family business aimed at commercial flooring/tile/etc. i certainly know a large number of workers who absolutely do not like residential jobs and will not do them (unless they're desperate)...

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I honestly think he's an entitled rich kid who works for daddy and he still wants more, more, more! He's very good at what he does and he overbooks himself. But, for me to be sitting here 3+ weeks into this project is absolutely ridiculous.

Even if he does finish up today and tomorrow, as promised, MY work won't even be half over. I still have to put all the trim back and paint the walls. (He's definitely painting the ceilings.) Not looking forward to it but whaddya do? One day at a time, right?

I've already bought a power roller to speed up and simplify the upcoming painting process. New window treatments will be next. Crazy ridiculous prices there! I've got big windows. Oh - and DH ordered us a new washer/dryer combo which will be delivered Thursday. Simply bleeding money here, lol. Good thing we've got goats, gardens and chickens - at least we won't starve, lol.

 

[baymule]

When finally finished, you can heave a big sigh of relief, then enjoy all the improvements. But it’s the “getting there” process that sucks.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Sheetrock guy showed up today. He was without his helper. Apparently, his helper was offended when I asked him why he was standing in my dining room chair with his boots on, lol. Poor guy needs to grow the heck up. I think SR guy thought I was mad at him too....but I'm really not. Mad is not how I conduct business unless I absolutely have to. I might talk crap about 'em behind their backs though, lol. However, kill 'em with kindness is so much better, lol.

So, SR guy worked his butt off and he should have no trouble finishing up tomorrow. I kept offering to help him since he was a crew member short and I think he was grateful that I got in there and moved furniture and covered stuff up before he even needed to. It helped his attitude an awful lot. It's no fun working in conditions that are tense so I wanted to alleviate that. A couple hours later we were joking and cutting up.

For a reward I sent him home with a quart of goat milk. He said he'd always wanted to try it so now he has the chance.

In other news - as we were sitting outside this afternoon we heard sirens approaching. Not only heard them but they came right down our little dead-end road. Fire truck after fire truck! Also several pick-up trucks with different town logos on them. We had trucks and crews from our town and two towns close to us. Seems that one of my not-so-bright neighbors decided that today would be a good day to try and burn down the whole neighborhood. We had high winds at wake-up this morning that lasted all day. Who lights a fire under those conditions? Sigh....

 

[flowerbug]

... Seems that one of my not-so-bright neighbors decided that today would be a good day to try and burn down the whole neighborhood. We had high winds at wake-up this morning that lasted all day. Who lights a fire under those conditions? Sigh....

yeah, i have a family member like that who will not be named... i put a ban on burning shortly after moving in here when i saw how they were doing things. um, nope, we can bury stuff instead (and it's much better for the gardens anyways).

 

[flowerbug]

so glad things are going better with the SR guy. i'm the same way, i'll help anyone as long as they want me to. i love it because i learn a lot by doing and helping is a way to observe their methods/techniques while also just getting the job done. it was also how i learned a lot about masonry and housebuilding as a kid. i went around the neighborhood and watched a lot of houses get built along with helping in any way they'd let me.

i also learned to not move bales of fiberglass insulation without protection ...

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Major progress is being made on the home front! Sheetrock guy would have finished yesterday but we were a little short on paint. Decided not to start a room when he'd have to stop in the middle of it. Instead we stood around and gabbed about chickens, goats, gardens. As soon as I laid out expectations so there were no more communication failures things got a lot better. Finding out that you have common interests helps a lot too. And - he likes goat milk so he can't be all bad, lol!

DH has an appt at the eye doc this morning and he'll pick up another gallon of paint. That should finish it.

I've been investigating some other gardening ideas. I'm going to give aquaponics a try - on a very small scale, lol. I like fish! I have it partially set up. Still waiting on a few components to be able to put it together.

I've got 20 small "feeder" fish in a 40 gallon tank. I picked these fish for the starter tank because they can survive all kinds of crazy temps. I've had some in my stock tanks for a looooong time. They've gone through 100+ degree summers and they survived under the ice during our crazy freezes. No major expectations here and willing to admit that it may turn out to just be a tank of pretty fish but it seems like a fun experiment.

 

[flowerbug]

i didn't know SR guy was also painting. i'm glad progress and civility are happening.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

He's painting the ceilings only. We had the popcorn texture removed, he re-textured and is painting. It was only $100 extra to have him paint all the ceilings downstairs. A bargain for sure!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Hey @Mini Horses - remember way back when we made wine? I have several bottles that had never been consumed. I thought they were probably bad since they are 6 years old now. I opened one up today to verify before I threw it out. Holy Wino! It's delicious! It's very sweet, more like a dessert wine but it is smooth, smooth, smooth! And sneaky, lol. I'm sure it would be great as an after dinner, before bed, liquid muscle relaxer!

I picked some peas and pulled a couple of carrots. Thats my dinner. No idea what DH is having, lol. Kinda glad he's not a peas 'n carrots fan. More for me!!!!