End of the World. Beginning of a new one. The Life of Amberwolf.

[amberwolf]

In an hour or so, I will be "home", at last, after 3/4 of a year of waiting for the house to be rebuilt after the fire. It's not the home I left that day last April--that doesn't exist anymore...it's just a similar building on the same spot (same walls, but everything inside is different, and lots of the outside), and much of the backyard is the same (little of the front)...and of course, most importantly, the dogs don't exist anymore either, except in memory, other than some bones in the ground in the backyard. I'll have Tiny, who I love just as much as any of the others I lost, but it still wont' be the same, and is going to be a while, maybe a long while, before it is "home" again.



I've disassembled Tiny's dogrun area to get her trailer out andhooked it up to the bike,which is recharging aftery my work commute now, to ensure it has a full charge for the trip just in case.

When I got to Bill's after work tonite, Tiny ran around for almost 3 full minutes before slowing down a little, only stopping a few times to ocme see me while I did the above. She know ssomehting is up but probably not what. Sh'es a lot more excited than I am. A month and a half ago I would've been excited about all this...now I am just vaguely relieved, and nervous that things will not go as well as I hope.


I am posting this now before I leave for home because I won't have internet there, unless someone has unsecured wifi within my small range (probably not), until I hav eitme to build a cantenna or similar, which is likely gonna be a while. I might post from Bill's tomorrow when I come up here to do the last loads of stuff, but dunno if there will be time.


After I post this, I've got a little more packing of small stuff to go with me tonight, to stick in the cargo pods, and then it's off to the house with Tiny we go, where I have to unpack all the blankets/pillows/etc and drag the mattress to a bedroom, make up a bed, set up my white noise fan and the laptop, make dinner (tiny just had hers, and I snacked, but wil lhave to really eat something solid before I will be able to go to sleep (or I'll jus twake up from hunger a couple hours after I doze off).

I'm sure the bike's done charging by now, so I should go get packing and head out.


(but first, thank you all for your thoughts, and a reply to Dogman's points):

Once you are home, take your sweet time getting settled back in. The looters will catch on quick that you are back, so enjoy having some space in the house again.

Oh, I have no plans on putting all my "junk" back in the house. Now that I *have* multiple sheds, they'll stay in use for that stuff. But some things I have to move back in--kitchen stuff, tools, all sorts of household stuff that's scattered thru them all. Reorganizing the sheds after I get the stuff in the house that has to be there...that's a whole other thing.

Concentrate on the things that you will enjoy the most, rather than feel pressured to get everything back in the house. You need a break, rather than a marathon of moving back in work. Just get the stuff you took to Bills back in the house for now.

Mostly, tha'ts what I will do tomorrow. But...some stuff I have to get out of the sheds, anyway. Not a lot, but some.

As for a break....I really don't have enough vacation time left to actually get a vacation. It's all been used up just dealing with situations and crises since the fire. I did take one "vacation" last fall, but I guess that's really all; I can't remember anythign else being one, and even that didn't seem like one. I get more vacation time in September, but that's the earliest i'd really be able to get one.

I'll get a few days off late next week, hopefully, to settle in, but that is really just so I can spend the whole day each day working my butt off to get stuff the way I need it to be so I can function there, and "feel at home", a little bit. And ot ensure Tiny will be ok and safe there out in the yard even when I'm not out there with her. (some of that has to be done tomorrow, Saturday)

So...vacation. Rest. I don't see that happening anytime soon. Even if you or others were here helping, I'd still have to be doing a lot of stuff, because I have to at least "supervise" what others are doing, to be sure it ends up the way I'd need it to be. (and more than one helper at a time is not helpful, cuz I can't keep track fo them and stuff happens that I don't want, gets done in ways I just have to completely redo, etc--that's pretty much why I have no idea where things are in the sheds, or even what actually got saved and what didn't, because the "helpers" mostly didn't listen to what I'd asked in those cases I had directions, or use any common sense for things I didn't).

Of course, some of the stuff that will make you happy is getting back to projects. But seriously, de stress a little bit first with your dog before you dive into those sheds. You have had a long hard road, and need to relax into the house a bit before trying to move it all back in.

I have a lot of work to do simply moving bakc into the house;bike projecsts won't happen for a while yet. Myaby a long while. But there ar e several projects that have to be done just to move bakc in, that are themselves quite a bit of work, like cleaning up furniture and things I want to move back in, putting new power cords on the washer/dryer/etc that I am going to also have to move back into the house pretty much immediately .

I have to have the washer right now, to wash all the stuff Tiny has leaked on while at Bills, cuz I coudn't wash any of it in his front-loading washer, which does not clean sutff very well, and would also leave tremendous amounts of dog hair in there that he's allergic to; it just doesnt' clean out very well--bad enough just washing my work clothes in there; everything else I have held off on, so it's literally been almost two months worth of Tiny's leaking on her trailer kennel blanket, and on my own bed b lankets and some of the pillows, etc.

Let me know when you are ready to really dig into the sheds. I'd like to try to come help.

I definitely appreciate the offer--but are you sure you'd be able to do it? I certainly have a room you can stay in while you're here, but I expect it would take quite some time to do this stuff--I still have to work, and rarely get more than one day off at a time. That means I rest up on that day off so i cna go back to work, and don't usuelaly get to do very much stuff, if anything at all, for some weeks. I might putter around at things sometimes. Probalby be better now that I will be "home" but I don't know until I've been ther e a while. If I could get two days off in a row, I could rest the firs tone and do stuff the second, and that works out pretty well when I can get that schedule...but it all depends on what othe rpeople can work at my workplace. It' sposslbe I could get that set up just for this purpose, for a while, but I don't really know.

Anyway, the shed digging's probably gonna have to start fairly immediately, on my own, as I have to get some stuff out of there to build my "nest" area that I miss so much: kind of like a tent inside a house, only it used to be a curtain-wall hanging from the cieling, like those hospital curtains aorund beds, only made of blankets. Since the cieling is new like everything else I can't do it the same way now, so I will be taking some of my salvaged pipes or square tubing or something, and welding up a frame to go around the bed to put those on instead.

Sleeping outside on Bill's porch in the blanket tent is the closest I have been able to come to that "nest" since the fire. It makes me uncomfortable to sleep "in the open" like normal people do, and I prefer enclosed spaces. If closets were big enough I'd probably sleep in those (I did in the house my mom and sisters and I shared before the one I'm at now, but that was a bigger closet than anything at this house).



And I've got lots of my kitchen stuff, tools, etc., all scattered thru the various sheds, all over the place; who knows what where. To find any of it, I pretty much have to take most of the stuf out of all the sheds. I have *barely* enough stuff to do some basic cooking and whatnot with, kept out of the sheds and taken with me to Bill's.



And I need to weld up some "extensions" to the sides of the manually-adjustable (lost the electrically-adjustable one to the fire) "hospital bed" frame so it can hold a wider mattress. That part doesn't matter yet cuz I don't have a mattress to pu ton it anyway, since I couldn't put the queen size on there that I have now; I'd have to widen the whole thing way too much to make that work safely. A "full" is probably the widest I could go, I guess. Might be weeks before I get a mattress to worrya bout that, and it's possible I may not use it at all, and just ues piles of pillows on the queen matteress to get the right positions and paddings for comfort; it's how I did things before I got that much-loved hospital bed.



I guess you can tell my mind is spinning in circles with thoughts of all the stuff that "has to get done right now". :lol:

I guess stuff will happen as it happens, and I'll get done what I can as I can.

 

[dogman dan]

Yeah, I was afraid you would need to dig into the sheds immediately. Whatever you need most will be in the back, and you might even not be that sure which shed.

I thought maybe you would be able to put off some of it till next week at least. I could still come help you anytime, like empty all the sheds for you, so you could sort before putting stuff back in a more sensible order.

Mabye It's not that bad, but I had an idea stuff was just crammed into the sheds random by various helpers before they lost patience with you. I was assuming that you'd have to dig like hell to get some things, or even just figure out what you even have left.

I'm a hell of a lot stronger now than I was last summer, and don't have to stay to help care for dad now that his ashes are in a pot. Between the better diet, and not punishing myself overworking every week, I have made actual permanent gains in endurance. Physically, as long as I can have the energy, I can still lift big stuff.

Use a bit of the funds we all sent you to buy a few more kitchen items cheap at the thrift store, if that will help you avoid emptying the sheds so much. And seriously, I would love to come help you when you have a couple days, late next week. I can drive out the day you are working, and at least help you empty sheds so you can sort with less effort. Then I could stick around if needed, till enough of the stuff is secured back in the sheds.

But no pressure. If what you want is to be alone in your own place, I totally get that too. I just still feel guilty that I was not strong enough yet to be there to help you last summer.

 

[dogman dan]

It just occurred to me, in my old camper there is a foam mattress, in a single size I think. In decent condition, about 6 inches thick at least. I'd need something to lay on myself anyway. I tend to throw dog beds in the back of the Subaru when I travel. Makes me miss my dogs less sleeping in their stink. Sounds barfy, but it works for me.

 

[amberwolf]

It just occurred to me, in my old camper there is a foam mattress, in a single size I think. In decent condition, about 6 inches thick at least. I'd need something to lay on myself anyway. I tend to throw dog beds in the back of the Subaru when I travel. Makes me miss my dogs less sleeping in their stink. Sounds barfy, but it works for me.

Miss your dogs? :? Did something new happen?

Yeah, I'm used to the stinkiness of dogs, though Tiny is the worst in a long time now since she leaks. Have to give her baths at least once a week to keeep her back end clean. (haven't been able to do that at Bill's, so she is really stinky right now, and so are most of my bedding blankets/pillows used at Bill's, cuz she's leaked on them for almost two months).

 

[amberwolf]

Yeah, I was afraid you would need to dig into the sheds immediately. Whatever you need most will be in the back, and you might even not be that sure which shed.

Some of it IS in the back, like al lthe dog food, but I do know which shed it's in. :lol: But I still have two big bags of that left that I had at Bill's so we're good for a month and a half or so, I'd guess, on that part. The washer and dryer are near the front of another shed. Everything else...I dunno. Scattered thru them all, I guess.

I thought maybe you would be able to put off some of it till next week at least. I could still come help you anytime, like empty all the sheds for you, so you could sort before putting stuff back in a more sensible order.

Well, I won't turn you down on that, and it would also be good to meet up with you again, but I think it'd be best to see if we can coordinate me having time off at the same time you'll be here.

Most stuff I can put off, and in fact have to, until next week. The washer is the one thing I pretty well *have* to dig out, though, today if possible.

Next week I will be (theoretically) off Wed, Thu Fri and Sat. I don't know if you are talking about coming here that soon, or some time later. Since I'm not getting a full week off I probably still have a few vacation days left, and can probably get more time off a little later when they have hired another cashier.

Mabye It's not that bad, but I had an idea stuff was just crammed into the sheds random by various helpers before they lost patience with you. I was assuming that you'd have to dig like hell to get some things, or even just figure out what you even have left.

That's partly tru, but at least 3/4 of it was all crammed in tehre at random by *me* (and Mark).

I'll reply to the rest later (was just taking aquick break at Bill's betrween loading up stuff in his truck).

 

[amberwolf]

I'm a hell of a lot stronger now than I was last summer, and don't have to stay to help care for dad now that his ashes are in a pot. Between the better diet, and not punishing myself overworking every week, I have made actual permanent gains in endurance. Physically, as long as I can have the energy, I can still lift big stuff.
<snip>
And seriously, I would love to come help you when you have a couple days, late next week. I can drive out the day you are working, and at least help you empty sheds so you can sort with less effort. Then I could stick around if needed, till enough of the stuff is secured back in the sheds.

Ok, well, if you REALLY want a road trip, I can be sure to set you up a room to use while you're here. The "master" bedroom with 3/4bath is unoccupied; I'm in the one opposite corner of the house from it. I should have Wed-Sat off, and will be working tomorrow (sun) thru tue, probably be home around 9-10pm Mon-tue, probably 8pm Sun..

Use a bit of the funds we all sent you to buy a few more kitchen items cheap at the thrift store, if that will help you avoid emptying the sheds so much.

Well, I've been looking hard since about late July, August, last year, for the things I use, but mostly haven't found what I used to use a lot--or at least, not the right version of it to work for me like I'm used to. ATM I now have enough stuff to do basic cooking with, though the crockpots and baking stuff is still out there somewhere (I hope).

But no pressure. If what you want is to be alone in your own place, I totally get that too. I just still feel guilty that I was not strong enough yet to be there to help you last summer.

Actually, I don't usually want to be alone--it's bette rfor me to be around people (and dogs) still. So far I haven't freaked out being at my place, but I have had a few bad moments that I'm really glad Tiny was there for, or I would have. I know it will be like this for a (long?) while.

I have moemnts I'd rather be alone, but mostly just for sleeping.

And you shouldn't feel guilty, either.

 

[amberwolf]

Alrighty, now for update on the house itself:

I left bill's after midnight last night, partly cuz I was gtitred and parlty cuase i was waiting for fridayn nite traffic to die down to nogthing so it'd be safer to pull Tiny in her traierer at 15mph or less (cuz it's easier that way and not as bumpy for her). Took about 45 mintues to get home. about 37wh/mile, partly cuz this motor is less efficient at those low speeds, and partly cuz of pulling tiny/tralier.

Got home, opend door and let tiny out of trailer and into the house, which sh ehand't been in yet at all since it was finished up. She explored it all over while I undid the trailer, brought it in, then brougth the bike in, took wheels off trailer and left in the SE corner of front room, and parked CB2 along hte front waall of the front room under the window, so i'd be able to move all the stuff back and forth past it into the bedroom and whatnot.


Then i went out back and turned on the breakers for the dryer outlet and the hot water heater, and retried the front room breaker that was popping earlier that day--it still popped, so i put it back in the OFF position for later troulbeshooting (i'd already let the landlord know but if i can fix it myself then it saves him some time/money to be spent better elsewhere). The dryer/wh breakers didn't pop and were on normlaly.


Then fixing the fence was next: I used some discarded 75ohm cable they'd taken off the house months ago that was still in my lantana by teh porch, and tied the SE corner of the fence by the carport together, where either looters cut the chainlink ties away from the post or else it was never put back together after the back room was torn down months back. I don't know which. Anyway, without dooing that Tiny would jsut be able to walk right out of the backyard if she discovered the gap. I also tied the top of the chainlink to the top rail in the middle of the loosest section, so it oculdn't be pulled down by her pawing at it, if she decided to. (hasn't yet, but....).


I was too tired to do anything more permanent for the bent-down post/chainlink right next to the east wall of the house at the west end of teh carport, so i just stakced a nearby discarded pallet and some of the masonite i'd previously screwed together there (that someone ripped off, probably a looter?) to keep tiny in. It won't keep her in if she wants to paw at it and knock it over, but it should keep her from discovering the giant gap in the fence behind it and wanting to go thru it int he first place.


Until I put up a new upright post and retie the chainlink to it, it still isn't something i'd trust tiny with unsupervised, so i can't just let her out to roam without checking on her a lot, just in case. But that'll probably be a day or two, maybe several days, before i can do that.


I'd guess around 130am i finally got done with all that and let her out to roam the yard, whcih she got all excited about even though normally she'd be "crashing" from her seizure meds and nodding off. She ran aorund the yard a while, then walked all ove rit back and forth every which wya sniffing everything, marking a few things. She's been in the yard a few times now, when i've been here with her during the repairs, but everytime she comes here she has to reinvestigate cuz it's always different.


While she did that, and just per=iodically checking on her, i started going thru boxes for essential stuff like food and whatnot, and putting those things away. Moved all the clothes and bed stuff to the bedroom, moved the mattress in there and made the bed, with plastc bags layered under some already-stinky blankets at the foot fo the bed, under the sheet, so fi she leaks it won't make it into the mattress, i hope.

Then i decided i wanted a hot shower to relax and wash off, and i was going to give Tiny a bath too, cuz she deserves and needs one after almost two months without one. But the water was ice cold, even at the taps on the master bath right on the other side of the wall form the water heater.

So...i went out back an dmeasured the breaker output, and it's 230vac as expected, between the pair. Found he instructions on the side of the wh and verified the right wires hooke dup rigth on th eremovable side panels, but no voltage anywhere. opened up the top panel, however, and found the obvious problem, right where power comes in from the conduit--the black wire was not hooked up at all; the external wire was in the wire nut, but the wh's black was not. looked like it had just pushed itself back out as the wire nut was tightned, from the wya they were laying. Flipped breaker off outside and then went back in and fixed the wire into the wirenut properly, and verified the red ones were already coorrect, and flipped breaker back on, and voila! coudl see the SRP power meter suddenly running much faster due to power draw from wh now working.


I went back to organizing kitchen stuff and lookign for my showerhead with hose on it (cuz i don't like the fixed heads like what's installed in the house by default), and put that on in the main bath by my bedroom. After i got done there the water was warm enough to try a shower..

But it wasn't relaly hot enough, just very warm, and since i wasn't using the heat or ac at all (system off on the control panel) it had gotten down to abou 64F in the house, a little less in the bathroom cuz i'd opened the windoe in there to be able to look out and see Tiny wandering around, or call out to her if i couldn't see her, while showering, to be sure she wasn't getitng int otroulbe she couldn't get out of.

I finsihed the shower anyway and then after drying off i turned up the thermostat on the wh per it's instrucitons, to just above "HOT" on it's markings (well below the "VERY HOT" mark). Went in the bedroom and hooke dup the latop's external keyboard, monitor, speakers, etc. to the docking station and booted it up, and by the time all that was done the water was nice and hot. Only thing i don't like is that even with this new blue plastic piping it still wastes a lot of water wiating for th ehot water to reach the faucet being used--even the closest one to the wh takes almost 20 seconds, whcih is probably a coule of gallons of water, at a guess (will have to measure sometime).

not very efficient. I'd like to find some of those point-of-use wh units, that heat only on-demand. It wouldn't waste as much water, and also would probably save a lot of power, over using the regular water heater tank style, which is a 40 gallon size electric, that says it will use around $500+ per year to operate (I'm assuming using middle-of-the-road settings, but i didnt' check yet).


Direct Solar water heating would be even better for power efficency, but it's gonna be a while before i get around to that, probably summertime. I think I stil have the tank that was to be used for tha tproject, but i dont' know about any of hte other stuff I'd collected for it. Probably not.


I'm rambling agian; am really tired.

I didn't get ot sleep until well after 4am, maybe 5am. ketp waking up over and over after that, too, like normal these days. eventually crashed compeltely and slept till 1030am, wya past time i meant ot get with Bill to move the rest of my stuff over today. Even TINY was still asleep, and tok a minite of beley rubs before she woke up! Let her eplore the yard more after breakfast, she found a rawhide one of the other dogs must've left in the yard somewhere that dind't get picked up in the cleanup, and munched on that, and i chatted with some of the neighbotrs to let them know i am back here now, and for me to see what's going on here lately..

Aorund noon i headed out for Bills, once there we began packing stuff into his truck, then we moved the freezer and other heavy stuff together, and managed to get almost everything into one load. but there's still one more load of stuff cuz of the trike, mostly.


Once we got it unloaded at my place, I treated them both to Top Shelf Mexican restaurant that's just down the street, which is a favorite of theirs, and after we were stuffed to the gills Bill and i went ot Goodwill that's right next door and i found some more blankets, pillows, one pair of jeans, and other odss and ends. Not taking htem home tonite but will leave them for the next load, which will happen sometime later next week on one o fmy days off, whichever is convenient for Bill.

Posting this now, heading home, then probably gonna sleep, cuz i am too worn out to dig the washer out of the shed and all of what's neede dt o get it going and use it. Gonna have to wait till tomorrow night, probably.

g'night everybody.

 

[doctorGONZO]

Thanks to Lord God for getting you and your loved one Tiny back into your home!

May the blessings pour upon you and your house from a large cup.

Amen.

 

[dogman dan]

Looks like I'll be driving to Phoenix to see Tiny.

Re the dog smell, When I go camping in the car to ride an ebike someplace fun, the dogs stay at home. So sleeping on a stinky dog bed keeps me from missing the dogs so much. No pee, just the lanolin from their fur in the old dog beds.

This trip, I'll just be able to get a whiff of tiny and a dog hug when I get to missing my pack of St Bernards. I have a hard time being without dogs for very long. When we went to the balloon fiesta, we'd be without our dogs for 10 days. By the 5th day, if we saw a dog we'd go crazy trying to get to pet it.

I am truly a dog in human form, I need to be in the dog pack. Humans I can take or leave.

 

[doctorGONZO]

Looks like I'll be driving to Phoenix to see Tiny.

Re the dog smell, When I go camping in the car to ride an ebike someplace fun, the dogs stay at home. So sleeping on a stinky dog bed keeps me from missing the dogs so much. No pee, just the lanolin from their fur in the old dog beds.

This trip, I'll just be able to get a whiff of tiny and a dog hug when I get to missing my pack of St Bernards. I have a hard time being without dogs for very long. When we went to the balloon fiesta, we'd be without our dogs for 10 days. By the 5th day, if we saw a dog we'd go crazy trying to get to pet it.

I am truly a dog in human form, I need to be in the dog pack. Humans I can take or leave.

During my 7 decades of human life, I have known, befriended , and, loved many dogs and cats.

I share your sentiment that humans are much less reliable for providing friendship and love.

However, Jesus explained that Lord God is not willing that even one human shall perish.

It aint easy, but there is something about these humans that is important to God. We must try to figure it out and try to be helpful to God.

 

[The Stig]

back in the house, a dogman visit... woohoo!

So has anyone seen Cesar Milan's new show "leader of the pack"? An opinions on the new show? I was amazed when I found out he went through a crisis, but now hes back and doing good.

 

[dogman dan]

Haven't seen his new show. I'll look for it on Hulu.

Cesar taught me a lot, with his old show and books. I don't talk English commands to dogs anymore. I do it all with body language. But I also learned how big an advantage he has with his core pack of stable dogs. Trying to work with man biters was a disaster for me, since my core pack got outnumbered by the psycho dogs. I was in deep shit for a time. I saved a few dogs that were mislabeled, but had a few that I could do nothing with.

I don't hate humans, or want to be alone all the time. I just must have my dogs is all.

 

[Solcar]

Good to see you back home again and I can relate to the readjustment time needed.

I think you would like point source water heating if time gets available for working on it. $500 a year is so much money involved in storing hot water, and that hot water heats up the house as it looses its heat. I even tricked my refrigerator to run warmer, around 50degF (10degC), and that cut 50-70% off the bill for running it. Food except bananas doesn't stay fresh as long, but the saving of power costs was worth it for me.

 

[bigmoose]

Solcar careful with the fridge. The NSF specifies the danger window for food storage from 40 deg F to 140 deg F. In other words restaurants must keep foods below 40 or above 140 to prevent the growth of food borne "bugs"... 50 is pretty far from that window.

 

[Solcar]

Bigmoose, I can understand how important that is for people in the food industry. I just put less in my fridge now, and so the amount of food spoiling is actually less even though it doesn't keep as long.

 

[dogman dan]

Perfect for a diet of beer, hot dogs, and twinkies. Only the beer will be bad hot.

I would only be worried about storing leftovers, especially poultry or fish at 50. Most stuff, all your condiments, veggies, even milk will be fine at 50. If you eat that stuff. A hoarders fridge better be at 33 degrees.

Delete these highjack posts if you want to AW.

 

[dogman dan]

I seriously doubt the hot water cost will be $500 a year for one guy, living where hot water flows from the tap 4 months a year. Use cold on the washing machine is already done I bet. Storing it hot is not the real cost in his climate, even in winter. But when you use some, and that winter temp water hits the tank, that's when money gets spent.

A solar pre heater is what both AW and I need. The same amount of hot water is cheap all summer, when the water in is at 60F or so. I can tell because my hot water cost is right there on my E bill every month.

But I keep putting off getting a new water heater so I can make a preheater from the old one.

 

[amberwolf]

I thank you all for your thoughts. Tiny and I are adapting to the new place, though she's not quite as excited about being here as she was at first, and has yet to run circles around the yard when I get home from work like she did at Bill's, but that took at least a couple weeks to really start, once she decided the place was "hers", I guess.

I've got about 1/4 of the stuff I brought over unpacked, mostly kitchen stuff and food. I have to dig out my toolboxes from a shed and put them in the utility room so I can put away all the tools. (I have one toolbox Bill gave me but it needs it's drawer slide fixed before I can fill it up with stuff; it's too hard to work on otherwise). Clothes and stuff I've just tossed into the bedroom for clean stuff and dirty stuff into the utility room until I get the washer set up, and a clothesline built.

I figured out the problem with the front room outlets and lights--a teeny little breaker pair at the bottom that seems to be added-on from when I first looked at stuff a while back has the wire from those, and it was flipped off, and is behind a not-yet-removed knockout plate, so I didn't see it when I was checking the breakers a few days ago. I took the main cover plate off to verify wiring and voltages last night, and found that breaker and reset it, and now the front room and lights and fans and porch light work. I still have no idea what that other breaker is hooked to that is popping it. I'd like to figure it out on my own if I have the chance (cuz then I'll know that much more about the place I'm living in, and I like a challenge).

Gotta run soon to get across the street to work, but a quick reply to a few things first:

I think you would like point source water heating if time gets available for working on it. $500 a year is so much money involved in storing hot water, and that hot water heats up the house as it looses its heat. I even tricked my refrigerator to run warmer, around 50degF (10degC), and that cut 50-70% off the bill for running it. Food except bananas doesn't stay fresh as long, but the saving of power costs was worth it for me.

I can't run the fridge(s) warm cuz I have to store lots of food for a long time, since I buy in biggest amounts I can get when they're really cheap, and then don't buy anything else for a while, if possible. It's cheaper by a lot to do that incluing power to store it than to just buy what I need as I need it.

I want the pointofuse wh type mostly cuz I hate wasting power to heat/store the hot water, more than I do the cost of doing it. But both are good. I just have to find one really realy cheap (or make one) because otheriwse the cost of having them is higher than the cost of heating/storin the water, except over a really long term.

Looks like I'll be driving to Phoenix to see Tiny.

Will be good to see you here, and I defintely aprreciate the help, more than I know how to say.

Re the dog smell, When I go camping in the car to ride an ebike someplace fun, the dogs stay at home. So sleeping on a stinky dog bed keeps me from missing the dogs so much. No pee, just the lanolin from their fur in the old dog beds.

Ah--now THAT I can empathize with, greatly.

This trip, I'll just be able to get a whiff of tiny and a dog hug when I get to missing my pack of St Bernards. I have a hard time being without dogs for very long. When we went to the balloon fiesta, we'd be without our dogs for 10 days. By the 5th day, if we saw a dog we'd go crazy trying to get to pet it.

Exactly--I was having that problem all the time after I started to recover a little from the shock, right up till I got Tiny and the apartment.

I am truly a dog in human form, I need to be in the dog pack. Humans I can take or leave.

Mostly, I agree with you--but I find I need both, at least with certain humans.

I seriously doubt the hot water cost will be $500 a year for one guy, living where hot water flows from the tap 4 months a year. Use cold on the washing machine is already done I bet. Storing it hot is not the real cost in his climate, even in winter. But when you use some, and that winter temp water hits the tank, that's when money gets spent.

Well, I actually have to use really hot for the washing machine, cuz cold doesn't get either the dirt, dogstuff, or soaps out of things. But I only turn it up that high half an hour before washing stuff, and turn it back down afterward.

I doubt my actual heating costs will be even a quarter of what it estimates, but since it is the type of thermostat that takes a screwdriver to change, not a big knob, and even that is behind a plate that has to be removed for access, I cna't just go turn it down every time I'm not using it, and turn it on a little while before I need it. I don't want to wear out the breaker so I can't just go flip it off when I'm not using it, either. So I'll have to work out a different solution.

A solar pre heater is what both AW and I need. The same amount of hot water is cheap all summer, when the water in is at 60F or so.

Maybe that's what I'd wind up doing, rather than full solar water heating. Gonna be a while before I have time to investigate options, much less do anything about it.

Here, the input water in summer could already be at 110F or above, if I used a tank in a black glass-cased trough on the roof as a preheater/recirculator/whatever.

 

[dnmun]

electricity for a load using hot water should cost about 7-10 cents. using the dryer to dry the clothes is about $1-2.

refrigerator uses about $4/mth electricity. AC about $400/mth in summer.

 

[Dauntless]

I am truly a dog in human form, I need to be in the dog pack. Humans I can take or leave.

 

[amberwolf]

Dogman made it yesterday afternoon, and we talked a while, Tiny barked at him a lot and tried to eat him a few times before she decided he was mostly ok. :lol:

She still barks at him all the time, so to get things done, she has to stay in the house while we're outside, etc.

Dogman unpacked a large portion of one shed, and got the majority of my kitchen stuff out for me, as well as the washer and dryer and some furniture out.

We've gotten the washer inside, and I replaced the cord on it. I found one cold water hose for it at goodwill a few days back, but still need to buy a new one for hot, since they cut the hoses instead of unscrewing them when they took it out of hte house.

He cleaned off a couple of chest-of-drawers and moved htem insde for me, and moved my tool cabinets (mostly empty sitll) into the utility room. Then we repacked most of the stuff not being used yet into the north shed and put the table nad treadmill upagainst it's doors (after unintentionally boobytrapping them, so whever opens them next will get quite the surprise, if it's not me).

Now have some access to get into hte almost-north shed, and get stuff in and out, etc.

Almost-south shed is about ready for me to start digging into, now that Dogman's moved the stuff out from in front of it. Then I can get garden hoses out and water stuff, etc.


Right now we've pretty much gotten all the hard stuff done for the day we're going to manage, and went up to Mcdonalds near my work for hte wifi and some food, and to go for groceries when we're done (and the water hose and stuff if we can find one). And goodwill, since it's right here.

We rode our bikes (me crazyBike2, him Bouncing Betty the cargo longtail). Fun watching the looks we get.


Now for the bad news: Tuesday morning while I was gone to Bill's to get the last load of stuff, the landlords decided to "help me for the long term" (whatever that means) to cut down all of my lantana (except a stubby little thing between two sheds), including that which was covering the grave of Hachi, Nana, Loki, and Fred. They said it was all dead or dying or diseased, none of which I could see--it's just winter and hasn't had any water for 3/4 of a YEAR, but was still alive and beginning to bud leaves with the weather change. Might've needed trimming back, but not complete DESTRUCTION.

They also cut down a perfectly good tree over by the almost-north shed, saying it was "dead or mostly dead" which isn't true--it had green leaf buds all over it; I'd seen that when watering it jsut that morning!

They also cut off the shade branch of the biggest southwest mulberry tree, which I'd already gotten agreement from them last summer when they ahd to cut stuff for SRP's power lines, to leave so it would shade the shed entrance and the fish tank I was going to set up as aquaponics out there.


Then all the stuff that had been just coming back in front was all cut down to the ground again. I'd already said I was going to be moving that stuff to the backyard to try to get shading/etc along the fence, after I mvoed back in--but I ahven't even been here long enough to unpack my clothes yet and they've already come and destroyed it all instead.

And all I was ever told about any of this was just before I was to move back in, was that they'd be doing some landscaping IN THE FRONT YARD after I moved back in. Nothing at all about the backyard, nothing about murdering the lantana and trees that me and my mom both worked hard to get going and keep going for the last 13+ years.

I know I'm just a tenant, just renting. But I want to live here so much that I've offered to buy the place more than once over the years, if I could buy direct from them and not go thru a bank (cuz I doubt a bank would approve a loan for me; I don't make enough money). And I am the one that's living here, and have been since the turn of the century, and want and intend to stay here unless I'm forced out for some reason. So why wouldn't they at least talk to me about what they were going to do?


Instead, I got a shock like that from almost a year ago: I came home to find destruction and death, even though it wasn't as bad as last year, finding the dogs all dead, it was bad enough that it brought all of that back. I couldn't sleep at all last night, not even getting to sleep to have nightmares, until almost 4am (when I had planned to get up to be working with Dogman who gets up early), when I finally dozed off from exhaustion--but didn't stay there more than a few minutes at a time, because in my nightmares people with chopsaws and chainsaws invaded the house and cut up the dogs, and I went outside to find dog parts hanging chopped up everywhere, and all the trees razed to the ground, with the house burning behind me, with Tiny trapped inside and I couldn't get back in to let her out.

That nightmare just kept replaying itself one way or the other for the almost two hours I managed to try to sleep before I gave up and just went outside to help Dogman, and let Tiny bark at him and try to eat him some more.



So...I think I'm back at step one for stress, nightmares, and lack of sleep.


But at least I've got Dogman here helping with the hard physical stuff fro these few days, and I'm not alone--if I was alone, even with Tiny, I'm not sure I could handle what happened yesterday. I might have had to move back to Bill's for a while, and I don't know if that would work out very well.


We'll see how it goes from here. :/

 

[marty]

Like a bad hair cut. Bushes will grow back.

 

[Ypedal]

Had not checked this thread in a while ... Glad to see you got back to your own place, sorry to hear about the stress factor.

Trees can be transplanted easily enough, and if you dig them up yourself, they are generally free !!.. ( * pictures Amber on his Crazybike with an 8ft Tree strapped to the back, flopping in the wind .. best part is you can start with any type you like and a healthy one !. ( Tho, i know, and understand you like things the way they are.. .. but i hope this piece of advice cheers you up my friend... )

tiny must smell dog off Dogman, might want to get him to feed her some treats, they might slobber and make up ! :wink:

 

[e-beach]

Dead and diseased trees and shrubs...more likely they don't want to pay for water bills...unless you pay for the water?

Sorry for your nightmares, still part of your PTSD I suspect. Takes a while to really go away, but never fully does. Time does a great deal to dissolve it though, so try to surround your self with the happiest thoughts possible. I know it sounds dumb, but that helped quiet my mind after loosing my apartment in the earthquake of '94. Anything positive you want to think about....IMHO, lingering on the negative never seems to help......After that, think about what you want to replant and then go find the plants for free. Lots of plants are out there, if you put in the effort.

As for water, a wet one is coming this weekend to L.A. I just got a bunch of seeds in the ground for the spring planting and the rain water will wake them all up again-for sure!!!. So consider getting your garden planted now, if you want one, because you are certainly going to get some rain from this storm system as well. New Mexico probably also.

Edit: Ps. Think "The Lorax"

 

[The fingers]

You're in our prayers AW. May you find this a time to plant, moving ahead from the time to build, and still finding a time to heal. I just pruned the roses and planted a standard azalea, so spring is here in climate zone 23. I pick dandelions to feed Chomper (his favorite), and Oliver is watching Lassie (his favorite) rescue a little boy and his terrier from the surf. May God bless you, and give you many happy outcomes to encourage you.