We just went to the dump that is at the end of our road. About 2 miles or so. We filled the van( well, I watched as B did it), with all kinds of junk and the insulation from under the house. that has been a huge undertaking for my husband and a very messy one. He’s wearing a hazmat suit and air mask thing. The reason is rats!!!! Why does it have to be rats? But NO one on our hill has cats anymore. Our 2 cats are inside and only go out when we’re with them. Blackie our feral turned lovey cat died 2 years ago. He was a great ratter. So in the past year, we’ve had the rats coming and going . We’ve done a lot like keep the chicken food locked at night, put a sonic thing under the house and traps. It has helped a lot but the damage was done to the insulation under the house and it all had to be removed.
Thus, it all went to the dump this morning plus other tidbits. Yay!!!! I love dropping stuff off and that much is gone.
Not much frugal happening in our life right now, just keeping the budget going. Our health insurance thru UNFI went up over a 100 a month so that’s a bummer but I’m grateful for the health insurance as it is excellent coverage. I have my LLS grant so that covers my portion and I am so grateful to the people that donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If you’re looking to make donations this year consider them as the donations go to research into finding a cure for blood cancers.
Our next set of projects are finishing the fence line along the property line. This started as our chickens kept going over there and the neighbor was yelling at them. Of course, this is the hoarder who has 6 boats (abandoned), loads of crap everywhere, and then he started a garden in his ”round up” yard. I certainly wouldn’t eat anything from his garden. Anyway, B is putting up a fence so they don’t go over there.
Then we need to build a new deck off the studio as that one is rotted thru and dangerous. It did last 18 years so not bad. But that might end up pricey as my son would like the deck bigger so he can put a few chairs out there. We’ll start that sometime this month.
No big inside projects. I had hoped for a minor kitchen redo but that’s not going to happen this year.
I’ve been out to the barn and pulled out most stuff that was in my son’s side so he can organize it. Also, getting into the back room and taking everything out so it can get cleaned. I started washing some of the windows. The floors are dirt so B has rugs down and they need to be taken up and shook out. It is looking all way better. B even got rid of an old cabinet and there’s a second to get rid. Hurray!!!! The space is looking much better. This is old funky barn not a cool one so whatever we do is helpful. We’d love to pour a concrete floor but that would be too expensive for us.
The temperatures are inching up after some really lovely mid-’80s temperatures. We are watering quite a bit but it’s nice to have green gardens around the house. Unfortunately, the water bill is high. $170 is high but what are you going to do. Our water is supplied by the local water company and there’s no way around it.
Dinner is BBQ carne asada( I picked it up at Trader Joes) and a salad. I have some tempeh left so I’ll BBQ that for B. I also have some garden potatoes so I may roast them up too. We had lovely roasted veggies last night and they were yummy.
Tahoe Girl 
yes……..it can be a very difficult thing to keep all the extra critters away when you have chickens……..the grain gets everywhere and it’s a free-for-all for so many others creatures. Hope you are able to get rid of the pests.
you are so right. We actually didn’t put 2 and 2 together to make 4 till just this spring when the rats seemed to multiply. We have made headway and we are planning to get 2 barn cats this fall or sooner. We have resisted as we do have coyotes that love cats in our area but we’ll just have to take our chances. When we had ‘Blackie’ the feral turned love boy, he did a great job ( apparently) of keeping the rats down.
I am so sorry, what a mess. I know that in our area you can adopt “barn cats” that already know how to live outside (with a shelter) so they already have street smarts but won’t work as a house cat.
That’s where they will live is in the barn. I just need to go over the SPCA and sign up. They require a month in an enclosed space so, we’ll need to be sure the exits are sealed. But I think that will solve the problem.
$170 for water???? Is that for one month? I know you’re in California and I’m in the Midwest, but I’m shocked.
It is!!! I know really crazy!!! our water company is only for our town so there’s not much we can do. Our water bill never is lower than $65 in the winter. that’s the base. So with us watering every day the gardens, it adds up.
Wow, my water is included in my monthly utility bill and it’s $97 for electric, water, and trash service. It’s budget billing for the year. My water usage is higher right now because I’m doing a bit of watering also. I’ll shut up now because you don’t want to hear Midwest prices. Of course we don’t have mountains, an ocean, and our humidity makes it feel pretty miserable right now. I love it when you stumble upon other people’s normal.
what a difference, isnt it??? our garbage runs $65 for 3 months, and electric can be as high as $400 a month in the winter. But the average is $200 . Right now I got the electric to $129 and that’s probably as low as I can get it. I enjoy other peoples stuff too. It’s fun to read how others live their lives. Some with lots of money others with less.:)