We were supposed to have some trees worked on last week but with the lousy weather it was pushed up until today. There's a large crew here right now I say between ten and fourteen workers, With some heavy equipment and a lot of manpower. They've been cutting trees and brush Basically Given the back yard a haircut. In the photo below you can see our carport surrounded with tarps. Inside is just one of the many piles of boxes and bags that we have to go through. In the next photo you can see tarps covering another pile of stuff. The workers are taken down a large spruce, next to barn.
It's raining now, but before it started I was walking around the back yard and noticed a cardboard box not covered by the tarp. I removed it, from being wet it fell apart and out popped my comic books. Brought them in the house and I spent a couple of hours going through them. The ones that were really soak I toss, some were in sealed clear packages they were ok, the damp ones I'm trying to dry. I'll see how much I can salvage.
After reading a post earlier about a jazz musician playing in the penitentiary it stir some memories of when I was 16. I was playing baseball in a college level league, the manager scheduled 2 Scrimmage / exhibition games with the inmates at Riker Island Jail. We had to take a ferry to reach it and security was tight all the way to our locker room. The players and the umpires we're all inmates, I remember saying to myself if there's a bad call can't call the umpire a thief, he probably is one. They had a well manicured field in a large open area, with bleachers, no dugout just benches. No water fountain, however they did serve us unsweetened Ice Tea in a large metal container which resembled an old fashioned Mike can, and a long handled laddle with a j shaped end that hung over the edge of the can. First game I played right field, my worries about feeling unsecure diminished a little because I wasn't interacting with the inmates, like the infielder were, what if you tagged an inmate hard, or block him how would they react? There were some guard monitoring us, I was feeling good, I threw a player out at the plate, made a good catch on a line drive, until 2 O'Clock an alarm went off and doors opened hundreds of inmates were let loose and surrounded the playing field. Some were 20ft from me off the right field fowl line, one inmate was exercising fairly close to me, his arms were 4X the size of mine. My dilemma was if there's a fowl ball hit into the inmates on the sideline do I, stay or try to catch it. Fortunately the fowl balls hit were out of my reach. They did have some inmates that were minor league players and they we're a good team, however we did win I don't remember the score I know it was close. The second game we played with Rikers Island was scheduled for a few weeks later I was debating whether to go or not but I decided to go why not it's an adventure. The second game we lost however there was a play which I believe they thought was a trick play, a inmate was on second, the next inmate struck out, making it 2 outs, but the Catcher thought it was the 3rd out and rolls the ball to the pitchers mound as if it's the last out, our team and the runner on second start running off the field, our pitcher knowing the outs picks up the ball and tags the runner out, now it is 3 outs. Side note -- while waiting for the ferry I did take my shoes and socks off and go into the East River I saw these worm like things, I though were eels I wanted to catch one. 3 days later my feet got a rash, I had a fungus, which the doc prescribed a creme for. FUN DAYS I THINK
It's been a busy crazy week again.They installed the shower doors for the downstairs bathroom on Tuesday. They tried to install a few weeks go, but one of the glass panels was a wrong size. The painter is here today he's back to fill and touch up after the trim was installed. We're expecting someone tomorrow to fix the patio doors they were installed wrong, the gasket is in the wrong position, their is a 1/4 inch gap, it got really chilly in our bedroom on those 20° nights, especially if it was windy. The contractors punch list is winding down, hopefully in another 2 week all the items will be complete, all that will be left is getting the certificate of occupancy (C OF O) I worked in the yard today, it was difficult for me, I'm ready for a nap. .
They fixed the patio sliding doors yesterday, no more drafts. The next big hurdle is to get the certificate of Occupancy, We're supposed to get a Survey done tomorrow, Which is one of the three things that's needed. Final building inspection has been approved, However we had some issues with the plumbing inspection, Which are being addressed. I pulled 3 - 45rpm record cases from the salvage piles, I Spent most of today Cleaning the 45 records, There were about a 130. Some of the records went back to before I was married. I can see by the amount of stuff left to go through.This is gonna be a long spring and summer.
My tomato plants are growing nicely, but I did notice a tinge of yellow on some of the leaves. I think it time to give then a little feeding. I generally use a fish emulsion, But I'm toying with the idea to use A liquid fertilizer like a diluted miracle grow. I believe the plants absorb this faster then fish emulsion. I'm Not sure Which one I want to purchase.
There's a liquid kelp concentrate. I've used it on sprouts,but cannot attest to how good it works...I've not really done sufficient analysis. Amazon sells it here. A gallon costs $38, and is diluted in an 8:1 ratio.
That's a lot more than I'll need, But you gave me an idea, I am gonna look this up when I got time, a few months ago I purchased 3 large bottles of kelp herbs that I never used, I wonder if they can be diluted? I have this habit of reading about the benefits of a vitamin or herb, I buy it and it sits.
I have to laugh. I bought a bottle of pricey CBD oil and then changed my mind. I don't want it listed on the Meds & Supplements section of my medical records, and I don't want to be taking anything that's not documented in case I have an emergency. I also have an unopened bottle of Nattokinase that I changed my mind on because of its blood thinning properties. It's too light to use as a paperweight. I think the economy owes the two of us a Thank You note.
Still waiting for the contractor to finish some items on his punch list, and getting the necessary approvals to get the CofO. He says he'll be here tomorrow to finish a few items on the Punch list, But he's been undependable in the past, I can't tell you how many times we sat here waiting for him and he never showed. The last time he was here he asked for more money we told him no, not till all the punch list is done and we have the CofO. The agreement we had is the final payment upon completion. Hope this gives him some incentive. I fed half my plants the deluted coffee this morning, if I see good results, I'll feed the rest of the plants.
Another day where I feel sluggish and foggy in the head. I decided not to go out, I relaxed and watch the latest episode of The Curse of Oak Island. I've been watching this show from the beginning, while they found some interesting artifacts no treasure yet. Yesterday we picked up the survey for our property, another step to getting our CofO. The lady who we met was the wife of the surveyer, we had a nice conversation we mostly talked about the difficulty of maintaining our properties at our age, she was about our age, when I told her I was 80 she was surprised she said I didn't look anywhere near 80, I said I feel like a 100. I think she was just being nice. I've been thinking a lot about getting old, and the past. I wrote this poem about a week ago. I have a few questions I'd like to post on SOC, but I have to have a clear head to post them correctly. I REMEMBER I remember seeing it's snowing out I'd yelled to the kids with a shout No school today!!! Let's go outside and play!!! Now I see the snow I say to myself Oh NO!!! Shoveling ain't no fun I've had it I'm done!!! I remember looking through the Newspaper on Sunday for details Of grocery coupons and sales Now to save money I get my grocery sales and digital coupons on the Website Truthfully, I'd rather stay home shopping doesn't excite I remember on a nice day we'd all hop in the car and take a ride Went whichever way the wind blew, no guide Now I don't want to drive my reflexes aren't what they used to be When I get the urge to do something I put on the TV I remember surprising everyone by cooking a dinner once in a while It was worth it seeing their smile Now I don't even want to make a slice of toast Like I'm in another world a ghost The feelings I felt for doing aren't there But memories I can still share Tony 3/20/24
It's holiday tradition time. Went to the bakery this morning with my daughter to pick up some holiday goodies. We got 2 Struffoli Italian Honey Balls trays, they are a specialty treat during the holidays. They're deep fried morsels of dough which are then dipped in a citrus scented honey syrup and topped with festive sprinkles. We also got a cheesecake it was covered in fruit, Italian bread, donuts, and my wife's favorite pastry Sfogliatelle. The food is my favorite part of the holiday. Tonight my daughter is planning on making chocolate Ricotta pie, sometimes I help by chopping the chocolate. My wife was planning on making a Easter egg bread. I hope she's up to it. My middle daughter that we will be seeing for Easter, makes the meat pie using my mom's recipe. It's been a good day except for the Mets right now they're losing opening day game.