hqueen's collection of Far From the Usual stuff.

[Denim Deb]

Hope it works for you.

Where's the waterfall?

 

[baymule]

Yeah, you need another vehicle, hope you can swing it. it sounds like just what you need.

 

[hqueen13]

@Denim Deb it is outside of Baltimore by about 45 minutes to an hour. Very close to where I am on the northeast side. It's in the midst of random farm land and houses, which is why the park controls is so carefully because it has gotten so popular recently that people were abusing the area and leaving lots of trash and such

I GOT THE TRUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I applied for the loan yesterday morning, and they approved me. Apparently they think I'm worthy of giving a whole bunch of money to. The rate wasn't great that they quoted me, but it was livable, as were the payments for a 60 month loan. So yesterday the BF got off of work early so he could go to the MVA (with a CDL he had to go change his address in person so they can issue him a completely new license instead of the paper card with the new address on it, which is what I have to carry around and hope I don't wash too many times before I need to renew my license again in a few years). So after I got done with my business call at 5 we headed down to the dealer to look things over. The dealer was way down where I used to live a long time ago, and with traffic it took a while. But we took it out for a drive, well the BF did the driving. I did the poking around the vehicle to make sure everything works, all the seats down, flaps up, mirrors move, vents blow, yaddi yaddi yaddi. He was slightly disgruntled to find that it has no transmission fluid dip stick, but it isn't surprising since it only has 2 gauges anyway (also to his irritation, but then they don't want you working on your own vehicle these days, so yeah).

So then after sitting in the dealership for what seems like forever and signing a billion papers I walked away with a slightly better rate, and paying slightly more than I expected, but it includes a paint and interior protection system that will be really good to deal with the dirt on the farms that has a 7 year warranty, and key replacement at no charge, plus the gap insurance (MUST have that). I feel really good about it, even if I'm not 100% sure how I'll make all the payments, but it doesn't matter at this point. I would be putting the same amount if not more into the repairs on the old truck so it is very much worth figuring out how to work it in the budget. It also just means that I really have to fire up my business now!

So I have a pretty copper colored explorer now. I think we're gonna call it the foxmobile We'll see what happens once I drive it for a while. So now on the todo list for the weekend is cleaning out the old truck and getting it posted for sale on craigslist so that I can get that money and replace a little in my savings and put the rest into a payment on the new truck!

Also on the to do list for the weekend is getting down to home depot (the original plan for last night) and picking up smoke detectors and such, plus a few other things with some of the gift cards that we have. We'll have to pick out a project or two to take care of and see what we can get done.

I started calling around to fence posts, and it looks like they're about $12.00 each. The post pounder is also $250 for the weekend, so that's a cheap investment that I will be making! I need to find out how much the vinyl is so I can figure out the per foot cost, and figure out how many feet we're gonna need. Then I'll be able to figure out how fast I can do this as I start saving money. First order of business is to get a hay feeder built for Storm, second order is to start saving up for the fencing and a shed. I guess I'm only limited by how quickly I can get my business off the ground!

 

[baymule]

GAP insurance can be a life saver, glad that you got that. Congrats on the new truck! I like the name Foxmobile, it is cute.

What is your business?

Fence posts for $12, they must be treated wood. Are you putting up vinyl plank fences? I would think with the cold temps that you have they wouldn't last long.

 

[Denim Deb]

I just use 4x4s. They cost about $9.00 in Lowes or Home Depot.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Congrats on the new truck!!

 

[sumi]

Congrats on the new truck

 

[hqueen13]

Thanks yall!!

I think that is pressure treated, baymule. It is what everyone uses around here. I'd prefer the extra size to the 4x6's over the 4x4's. I have a draft

And yes, baymule, I stay away from PVC fences. When the pvc ages it gets brittle and when it does break, it breaks into very sharp shards. Not my idea of a good time! I think the BF wants to go with the poly vinyl, which is like Ramm fencing. It is a continuous piece of flexible vinyl that has a heavy wire in the top and bottom. It looks similar to board fencing from a distance, but yet it has give to it if the horse hits it. It doesn't injure the horse if they get tangled in it, and it is really strong and also easy to maintain. It's cheaper than board (here), and looks nice and clean. I'll run at least 1 strand of electric wire around the top, and possibly one in the middle if I need to, just for added security (and to deter people from messing with it). It comes in several colors, and has a pretty long warranty, too. I probably won't get it from Ramm because they're pretty expensive all things considered. I found a couple other cheaper sources of it several years ago, so now I need to do my homework again. I think you can also space the posts a little further apart than you can with regular board fencing, too.

I feel like I didn't do much of anything this weekend. We did run some errands (the ones we were originally going to run on Wed but got side tracked buying the truck!), and used some of our gift cards that we were given. We got one of those amazing folding ladders, and also picked up some fire place tools and a bellows, plus got the chimney cleaning stuff. We also got the wiring for the lamp out front so that we can replace that and get it working so it's not so dark in our front yard. I'm very grateful to everyone that blessed us with such generosity at our party. We really didn't ask for anything, nor did we want anything, but it all really helps! We also used our Bed, Bath, and Beyond gift card to get a new shower curtain, and get a new set of sheets. I wanted a curved shower rod, but we needed the new sheets more since one of the sets we have has basically given up. The elastic in the fitted sheet is all but gone and then the BF tells me that the sheet itself split the other day so now it has a hole in it. Time for something new! I also found a date book that I can track the temperature and weather in. I started doing that last year and enjoy it, and so I just waited to find something on clearance that would work and only paid a couple dollars for a pretty book.

Sunday morning I had to take care of the barn, which took me way too long. Of course part of that was because I talked to TM for a while to catch up, but it still took a while since I had to hack ice again. It was 14 yesterday morning, and basically the same again this morning, too. I finally got home and made myself some lunch. The BF was at a turkey shoot so I figured he would be gone for most of the rest of the day (I was right). I ended up talking to a friend and her cats to help her out since she was having some trouble with them pooping outside the litter box since they moved. I also talked to a lady who wants several hay feeders built for them since they bought ours from us when we moved. I need to get the BF on top of getting that figured out so we can get a deposit from them and start building! That's gonna pay for a new saw and a feeder for me for Storm so that I don't have to keep hauling hay out to his field! I need to figure out how to light a fire under his @ss to get some of this stuff done!

I'm in the office extra days this week which is great for the pay check, but not quite so great for having time on my hands. I hope that I don't end up too frazzled, and I might not work quite as long on my regular days since I'll have to work full shifts on the days that I am covering. We'll see how things go.

Had to fill up the truck this morning. Gas tank is definitely BIGGER than the old truck... which is a good thing and a not so good thing. It means filling up less often (GOOD), but it also means that it's almost $50 when I do! Yikes! I had been watching my mpg since it has an electronic tracking thing, and I wasn't all that happy to see that it only said 16.4 or so for this first tank of gas. However, when I checked the mileage and then divided it by how much gas I put in my truck it came out to closer to 22 mpg or so. If that's the case that's AWESOME. My old truck averaged around 17, and I had to work hard and pay very close attention to how I was driving to get it (the BF consistently got 15-16 when he drove it a lot ). So I'll check the next tank and see if the math comes up to be higher than what the little computer says. I don't mind if the little computer is off, but I'd like to know what it thinks it is so that if it changes I know something isn't right with the truck.

So that's about all from these parts. Not much else is happening, it's gonna be a busy week. I need to make sure that I plan meals so that we don't have to eat out, especially since I'm going to be busy most of the week. I was thinking about doing lentils and rice casserole tomorrow. It takes 2 hours to cook in the oven, though. So curious question - if I put it in and mostly cook it earlier in the day, can I just leave it in the oven all day, or should I let it cool and put it in the fridge before getting it out to put it back in the oven again? How does one do that? I don't want to cook it the entire 2 hours tomorrow evening because I've got to do chores in the barn and so I won't be getting home until 5 or 6ish depending on the weather and how long it takes wrangling ponies.

Oh, and to answer your question @baymule my business is working with people and their pets, I'm an animal communicator, and also do energy healing. I'm really trying to get my business up and running to where I can do that full time and not have to worry about office jobs or farm sitting (though my friends might have an issue with that! lol). It has been a long slow road to get to where I am, which is mostly wading through my own self beliefs and old patterns and habits that served me at one time but no longer are helpful. I'm feeling much more ready this year to begin working in earnest to get the business off the ground so I can live the life I want to live and feel that I am meant to live. It's fun stuff!!

 

[Denim Deb]

There is that vinyl fencing on part of my field and I hate it. It looks nice when you first put it up, but it stretches out. And, if you have one that's really talented and small enough, they can get out under it. And you're right, it is expensive. I know they now carry something similar in TSC, but you may have to order it.

One thing you can do is to get the posts for slip board fence. Then, instead of putting it up on the regular holders, run it thru the holes. Only problem w/doing it that way is if one of the fence posts breaks. Then, you have to undo the whole fence to replace it.

 

[baymule]

An animal communicator! How awesome. Can you read what animals are thinking, do they talk to you? How did you discover that you have this gift?