Much Mending...
09:55 AM 03/04/2011
All hail the passing of the plague. The first day I just didn't feel like getting out of bed and indeed slept an extra 4 hours at least that morning. The next day after taking cold medcine I slept well enough except that I slept in the wrong position and kinked my neck badly and have been sore the next day or two after.
All that seems to have finally gone away and I'm feeling well today.
Sold something on E-Bay which made enough to cover the fees for the other listed items. Now all I need to do is sell the other items. ;-) Regardless I'm listing more stuff today if I can so I can both get rid of things and make more money.
Still have things to do around the house. I need to pick up a few 2x4's and make the ladder into the pit (partial basement) because I had to take the other ladder outside today so I could get at my packing material in the rafters of the workshop. Anyway I priced the ladder materials at the local big box store and they aren't too expensive. I think we can build the thing for under $25 total. Not bad for a sturdy basement ladder. And we're coming up on the start of tornado season in the Midwest so it's an important project.
Picked up the tax software today. We used TurboTax because it has almost always come up with a good refund for us and because it picks up all our history from previous years to help figure out the current one. I can't see us not getting all our money back this year though. I mean we're running pretty low and we're not generating any cash to speak of. (If I manage to sell more things on E-Bay for big dollars I'll likely have to report it next year but that's not on this return.) Had to go back to the store with the software - I didn't notice that they didn't take it out of the security case until after I drove away.
Other things I priced today were stuff for the big garden project and the main PVC pipes for re-doing our cast-iron plumbing that is slowly unsealing itself. I suppose we could re-seal it but it's better off replaced if we can do it. But that's a pice-by-piece long term project. As it appears most things are going to be.
Tons of things to do today now that I'm back on my feet. Cleaning because without it I can't concentrate. E-Bay stuff. Studying. Processing edits. I'm also planning on opening up the house today to air it out a little. It may be raining but it's definitely warm enough to allow some freshness in from the outside. :-)
I only wish I could start planting but with the way our weather works I could easily see snow again. I really want to enclose the space behind the workshop into a greenhouse and grow all year around. The problem is heating and cooling the place. I can generate heat during most sunny days but when the sun goes down I can't figure out a good way to keep that heat in a free and sustainable way. A greenhouse has to be clear...hmm...
I think I just answered my own question. A greenhouse has to be clear yes but nothing says the walls have to be thin. Consider this...
1) Construct a standard greenhouse using double-pane windows recycled from builders.
2) On the insides of those windows place the inflatible packing "pillows" but filled with CO2.
3) During the day heat the space using the "heat collector" style boxes that use black metal and insulation to collect sunlight and heat the air. Cooling is accomplished by opening vents at the top of the building along with solar vent fans as needed.
4) At night a small battery-powered electric heater should be enough to keep the heat maintained until morning. Alternatively run a battery-powered garden pump to pump antifreeze through the outside wall of the workshop and use the workshop to maintain the heat at night.
It's interesting what ideas I can come up with at times. ^_^
Cross-posted from Dreamwidth ( http://nimitzbrood.dreamwidth.org/225444.html ) but feel free to comment here as well.
All hail the passing of the plague. The first day I just didn't feel like getting out of bed and indeed slept an extra 4 hours at least that morning. The next day after taking cold medcine I slept well enough except that I slept in the wrong position and kinked my neck badly and have been sore the next day or two after.
All that seems to have finally gone away and I'm feeling well today.
Sold something on E-Bay which made enough to cover the fees for the other listed items. Now all I need to do is sell the other items. ;-) Regardless I'm listing more stuff today if I can so I can both get rid of things and make more money.
Still have things to do around the house. I need to pick up a few 2x4's and make the ladder into the pit (partial basement) because I had to take the other ladder outside today so I could get at my packing material in the rafters of the workshop. Anyway I priced the ladder materials at the local big box store and they aren't too expensive. I think we can build the thing for under $25 total. Not bad for a sturdy basement ladder. And we're coming up on the start of tornado season in the Midwest so it's an important project.
Picked up the tax software today. We used TurboTax because it has almost always come up with a good refund for us and because it picks up all our history from previous years to help figure out the current one. I can't see us not getting all our money back this year though. I mean we're running pretty low and we're not generating any cash to speak of. (If I manage to sell more things on E-Bay for big dollars I'll likely have to report it next year but that's not on this return.) Had to go back to the store with the software - I didn't notice that they didn't take it out of the security case until after I drove away.
Other things I priced today were stuff for the big garden project and the main PVC pipes for re-doing our cast-iron plumbing that is slowly unsealing itself. I suppose we could re-seal it but it's better off replaced if we can do it. But that's a pice-by-piece long term project. As it appears most things are going to be.
Tons of things to do today now that I'm back on my feet. Cleaning because without it I can't concentrate. E-Bay stuff. Studying. Processing edits. I'm also planning on opening up the house today to air it out a little. It may be raining but it's definitely warm enough to allow some freshness in from the outside. :-)
I only wish I could start planting but with the way our weather works I could easily see snow again. I really want to enclose the space behind the workshop into a greenhouse and grow all year around. The problem is heating and cooling the place. I can generate heat during most sunny days but when the sun goes down I can't figure out a good way to keep that heat in a free and sustainable way. A greenhouse has to be clear...hmm...
I think I just answered my own question. A greenhouse has to be clear yes but nothing says the walls have to be thin. Consider this...
1) Construct a standard greenhouse using double-pane windows recycled from builders.
2) On the insides of those windows place the inflatible packing "pillows" but filled with CO2.
3) During the day heat the space using the "heat collector" style boxes that use black metal and insulation to collect sunlight and heat the air. Cooling is accomplished by opening vents at the top of the building along with solar vent fans as needed.
4) At night a small battery-powered electric heater should be enough to keep the heat maintained until morning. Alternatively run a battery-powered garden pump to pump antifreeze through the outside wall of the workshop and use the workshop to maintain the heat at night.
It's interesting what ideas I can come up with at times. ^_^
Cross-posted from Dreamwidth ( http://nimitzbrood.dreamwidth.org/225444.html ) but feel free to comment here as well.