Cool

More rain has brought another bout of cooler temperatures to central Oklahoma.  It was GORGEOUS yesterday!! 

So we got the next load of bricks for the flower bed, and will install those today.

I felt like I was getting sick yesterday.  I felt like that last Tuesday, too, with a migraine along with it.  I think I am just over tired and over stressed, and it will all get better when we get the office moved, and I can settle into a new routine.

There was a fever yesterday, though, so I took it easy and rested.  Today, it's just a cold sore in my nose, really annoying congestion, and a banging head.  Comparatively speaking?  It's an improvement!

Thank the gods for ibuprofen.

When we got home from doing errands on Friday evening, there was a black widow spider ensconced in her web on the front stoop.  This did not please me.

It's one thing to find one hiding behind something in the shed....that's expected.  But by the entrance to the house?  Not. Good.

She was dispatched in multiple ways, and the web swept away...and I sure as hell hope there are no more like her.

The cooler summer and end of drought has made for some very happy insects, arachnids, and birds.  There is plenty to eat, so all of them are out there in abundance.

We can't sit on our porch for a minute without being swarmed by mosquitoes, and every day when we go out to work, there are new and multiple garden spider webs every-freakin-where!

The neighbor with the barking dog has finally gotten her 8 foot high privacy fence put up in the back, so that the pit bull mix behind us can't get into her yard anymore.

This has resulted in us having a nice privacy fence in part of the back yard, too!  Dave is going to take out the beaten up old chain link along that area, and even though we see the "ugly" side of her fence, it's still a great improvement.

We are considering taking out a home equity line of credit in order to get the stuff done on the property that we had previously considered just doing here and there with tax refunds.  If we wait for tax refunds, it will take years to get everything done.

If we do the line of credit, we can get it started and finished, and pay over time....paying a big chunk when the refunds come.

Plus, the rates are pretty good.  Plus, we aren't getting any younger, and we want to enjoy our home to the utmost NOW!

We need to replace most of the driveway, and the front steps, and we want to pour a concrete pad in back that will have a deck put on it, and will leave one corner un-decked for a little hot tub for two.

The garage that was built with the house and later converted into a shed needs to be overhauled.  We can probably leave the structure and just replace the chip board bits that someone thought it was a good idea to add.

Chip board does not last long outside.  It was a stupid move on someone's part to replace the garage door with a chip board wall with a door in it.  The chip board is rotting and ugly.

They also built a side shed onto the garage and made it entirely out of chip board.  So, we can probably avoid the original idea of demo and replace by simply replacing the chip board parts.

That will achieve the same end without costing another $5K.

Our lawn mower is still in the shop, and we've had to pay a service to come out to mow.  They managed to cut down my rose bush and three of our bamboo plants.  Bastards. 

Dave is going to call them tomorrow and see why they did that when he expressly told them NOT to cut down the bamboo! 

It's going to be our privacy barrier between us and the pit bull's house...eventually.  If we can get it to come back.

I'm hoping that when he calls and complains about this, they won't charge us for one of their visits.

It's the least they could do.  Replacing those plants will cost us money.

 Well, off to enjoy our Sunday as much as we can!  You have a good one, too!