In the garden, and RAIN!!! (2)
POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Monday, September 7, 2026 11:50
VIEWED: 338648
PAGE 20 of 834
Talk of snow around me tomorrow in the afternoon. Have to see what shows up.
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Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Well then, you've made a lot more progress on changing your work style than I have.
I'm only (very!) rarely an intensely -focused person, altho there are times it could be very useful.
Oh... I'm still super intense and it nags at me in the back of my head when things are left unfinished. I've just had to switch from thing to thing this summer. The biggest reason was I had to drop everything I was doing when my friend's dad finally started making good on the work he owed me for over a year. (He did finally square up, BTW).
The other reason is cutting down on waste. Both wasted product and wasted time. If I know I'm going to be primering 8 different unrelated things, it makes sense to have all 8 things prepped for prime at one time rather than clean the brush and waste 1/3 of a gallon over time. Same with caulk and liquid nails and watertite too. Much less time wasted doing cleanup that way too... especially when I'm making a mess of my garage. Why clean up the garage once or twice a week when I can do a ton of stuff in there all at once and just clean it up once?
The trick is not to make it TOO MUCH at once though. I've still got 100 things I need to prime at some point, but if I spent all summer prepping everything I wouldn't have even started priming anything yet.
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Usually, the dog takes me for a walk every day, and the family doesn't appreciate late meals, so I'm kept somewhat on a schedule.
I hear ya, although I can't relate. I'm never joking when I say I have zero obligations. That will change when my old man is no longer around to look after my brother, but for right now it's really all on me to keep myself motivated and working. It's why it's so easy for me to slip into a streak of depression and not get back up for a while. That happens less frequently these days than in the past, but winter is always hard. Last winter was almost a complete waste. I got hooked on a couple of PC games and there had to be about a 2.5 month stretch where nothing of value was done.
This time I did bury myself in my computer project for a week when it was really cold though, and after I got back from visting my brother I've been managing to keep busy with physical project work, and prepping most of the stuff I need in my basement for work I need to do during the winter that I can't do in the garage becasue of the temp. But when I was working on that computer project I had a few nights where I slowly started creeping from 12AM bedtimes to 4AM bedtimes. I can really get wrapped up in that and even though I know there's no reason to be staying up that late because there's always tomorrow, I get a bit OCD about it.
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It would be great if we could just switch on certain personality traits, wouldn't it?
If you find a way to do it, tell me how.
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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Well, with looking after my mom and then helping Blair before he died. I've had a lot of things to unlearn especially in regard to my mom. So, I'm trying to take it easier on myself now.
For a long time on these boards my signature was "Do right, be right".
As long as you're doing that, no sense in being hard on yourself, right?
Quote:
You definitely are and you should be proud of what you have accomplished.
I try not to be as hard on myself as I used to be. It's easier these days because even though I always fall back into a slump eventually, I know that I'm doing right with more of my time than not.
But it's still a long way for me before I find balance.
But it's a worthwhile goal.
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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.
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Speaking of balance, I made a compromise with myself and bought some new toys.
It turns out I was right about that 4-tool set with the battery and charger. I really wasn't going to save much at all on it. Maybe about $20 with a free charger I didn't need and a 13th battery that I really didn't need either.
So I ended up only buying the cheap glue gun that was on sale for $20 instead of $35, and really treated myself with a cordless hand planer that was $70 instead of $100. The glue gun isn't the dual temp one, but that isn't on sale and it's $80. I've never had a glue gun before, although I bought a ton of glue sticks that were free after rebate a year or two ago, and now I have one. If I decide down the road I want a dual temp gun I can give that one away or just have a backup.
The planer is going to be AWESOME. When I can get my hands on more pallets down the road, I will be able to use it to turn ratty old pallet wood into furniture quality stuff. Sure... I'd love to buy a table top planer, but the one I was looking at for almost $400 didn't get very good reviews, and if I want a Dewalt or Milwaukee we're talking like $650 to $800. Let's start with the small one and see what I can do with it first, right?
I still really need a random orbital sander, but the only sale they had was that and a corner cat sander for about $5 more than the ROS would have been on its own. That's a PHENOMENAL deal, but I already have the corner cat sander that I got with the same deal a few years back but with the square palm sander instead. I'm sure if I'm patient I'll see the random orbital sander for a good deal alone or bundled with a tool I haven't already gotten. When I finally do buy one, I have TONS of hook and loop sand paper in various grit for it. I bought a lot of boxes full of them that were something like $7.99 each but only $0.99 after rebate. I think I have like 12 boxes that have 20 pieces each.
I really didn't need that cordless router. I already have a badass corded one. The problem with it is that it's so big and beefy that it's not great for using by hand. What I really need to do is get a table for it. That would be better than a cordless version anyhow then. The one I got I bought off of a guy who's dad died and he was looking to get rid of his woodworking equipment. It's a pro piece.
And as nice as that rotary tool looks, I did just buy one at Harbor Freight a while back. It's a POS that only cost me a few bucks on sale, but until I really need one and/or can get it on a good sale, it will do me. The only reason I bought that cheap one is because I thought it would help me get the candle wax off that entryway table, but it was of no use for that. I would have shredded that basket weave for sure with it.
I also bought a few small electronics things that will give a boost to the ol' quality of life. Most notably a bluetooth dongle for my computer where I've got my music stored. I have a portable speaker with great bass that does bluetooth, but I only ever use the small SD card inside of it that has like 75 songs on it. Now I should be able to take that into any room in the house and listen to my full music library and not hear the same songs everyday.
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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.
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I really like your "Do right, be right" signature.
Even tho you don't use it anymore, I occasionally think it bc it's very centering.
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Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake
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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.
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Just heard from my friend. He's coming by to drop off some other things he had including a few items from his bathroom before he remodeled it. I already got the pedestal sink and oak medicine cabinet, but he's got the over vanity lights which are a lot nicer than the crap in my bathroom and a few other things in his car that he wants to drop off after work.
He's not sure when we're moving the furniture to my place yet, but it will be this week or early next week.
He just asked me if I'd be willing to help him take apart that pool table and transport it back to his place and help him paint the small basement in exchange for that fireplace heater. Absolutely.
That's exactly what I hoped would be the outcome here. That's about a $400 unit when it's not on sale. I'm not a huge fan of moving heavy things, but I love painting. And I already offered to help him move the pool table regardless.
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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.
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Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Well, with looking after my mom and then helping Blair before he died. I've had a lot of things to unlearn especially in regard to my mom. So, I'm trying to take it easier on myself now.
For a long time on these boards my signature was "Do right, be right".
As long as you're doing that, no sense in being hard on yourself, right?Quote:
You definitely are and you should be proud of what you have accomplished.
I try not to be as hard on myself as I used to be. It's easier these days because even though I always fall back into a slump eventually, I know that I'm doing right with more of my time than not.
But it's still a long way for me before I find balance.
But it's a worthwhile goal.
--------------------------------------------------
Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.
It was.
My thing was that I got into this routine with my mom especially where everything was a rush in the last few years of her life with doctors and hospitals. It can be very hard to get out of that mentality. I still every so often fall back into it.
True. But like they say old habits are hard to break. And that one keeps sneaking back up on me.
Balance is.
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Well, weather still calling for so but so far none in my area. But I've got to be prepared when I go out just incase it arrives when I am out. Need my meds and make a dental appointment for next year.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
It was.
My thing was that I got into this routine with my mom especially where everything was a rush in the last few years of her life with doctors and hospitals. It can be very hard to get out of that mentality. I still every so often fall back into it.
True. But like they say old habits are hard to break. And that one keeps sneaking back up on me.
Balance is.
Trust me. I know the feeling of rushing. If I didn't waste so much time, then everything wouldn't be a rush when I'm working on it. Add to that me being a perfectionist, and it's like my psyche is tearing itself in half sometimes.
But now that I finally feel like I'm starting to get ahead of it, I'm able to have downtime without feeling so guilty about it these days. Boy... it will be nice to finally have the house done and only have to worry about regular maintenance stuff. I'm still a few years away from that, but I'm hoping I can really start to find the balance at that point.
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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.
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