Do Tread On Me

My major accomplishment for the day was the addition of these treads onto my front stairs. And I have started to add similar ones to another set of outside steps. So excited! The top one I added when I discovered that a squirrel was squeezing under the door to get to the recycling box on the front porch. Someone has a tendency to not rinse their recycling items before putting them into a recycling bin. And the squirrels liked to eat those tidbits. I think that the strip has deterred them.

The main reason for putting these on was the middle step which had been taking a lot of dripping damage from the roof above. I think this will stop that damage from getting worse. Unless the dripping wears through the tread! Eeek! I put the rest of the treads on for symmetry and for peace of mind. I know that sometimes during the winter months, these steps can get treacherous for one reason or another. And I am hoping that this will stop that from happening. Luckily, we won’t find out if this works for months!

Stair treads!

My other task I accomplished today was getting a list to GR that she had requested. TBH, I had forgotten how I generated the list last year, so there was a bit of a re-learning curve. It came back to me though and I managed to make the list in less than 5 minutes. Once I refigured out how to do it! Yay monkey memory.

Other than that, I haven’t done a lot. I have listened to a lot of This Inevitable Ruin (DCC Book 7). I am listening to it on my bedroom television. That one is a Fire Smart TV from Amazon, so there is an Audible App. Of the smart TVs I know, the Fire TV is the only one with a standalone audible app. Neither the Roku TV or the Apple TV have standalone Audible apps.

I can also listen to the book on my phone with my airpods. I did that for a while yesterday while waiting for my tires to be installed. I was a little freaked out (in a good way) because of the sound cancelling feature of the airpods. It really did make the whole experience way better!

Speaking of tire installation – my last set of tires lasted a little over a year. Turns out I had “performance” tires. Not sure what that means, but one of the guys mentioned that those sorts of tires get lower mileage. I think I was right at about 35k miles traveled. Which isn’t too bad. The ones I got this time are rated at 40k. Which doesn’t really matter as I hope to be rid of the car (and tires) by the end of 2025.

The tire place, Mavis, couldn’t find their “lift pucks.” Good thing I had mine! Which I will keep when I get rid of the car. I am also keeping the charging cable and different assorted plugs that I have purchased for it. I don’t think that will change the trade in value of the car.

Speaking of which, does anyone want to buy the car from me? It is a 2019 Tesla Model 3 – white with white interior. I will have a bunch of miles on it by the time I let it go. You can buy them in the wild for between $15k and $20k. Mine will be on the low end of that. Lower for family and friends! Let me know if you are interested. And if you want the pucks and the charging cable, we can certainly talk about that…

I didn’t get to the help wanted sign. I will do that tomorrow.

Next week, I have at least three rides to pick up from the ROC airport I think. Yes. One each on Monday through Wednesday. That’s the most I think I have ever had in a week. Everyone thinks I charge too little. And they are probably right. But I will continue on in my less than strident capitalistic ways. This also means that I won’t be doing as much dashing in a week as I normally do. Yay! I can’t wait until I am not dashing at all!! Come on third bathroom!

I am still a little sad about the solar trailer not working out. Sigh. If I can get a variance, I will see about putting solar in my yard. But since my side yard is considered a “front” yard, DL may be correct that a variance won’t be given. It doesn’t hurt to ask, though. I will do that next week, I hope.

And suddenly we are reaching the end game of the day. It will soon be time to do Duolingo, finish this blog post and eat something for dinner. Huzzuh!

Dinner is going to be the last of the leftover pasta, with some protein. And a side salad. At least that is the current plan.

No Solar At This Point After All

So much for my easy peasy solar dream. Sigh. So many answers were only a phone call away. Which I made today because I was looking for another electrician to do the work of tying the solar trailer into the house and grid. I ended up with Dan Lewis who works out of Penn Yan. Here is what he told me.

He built the trailer. 10 or so years ago. And it was good for what it was. A mobile power station. But, as it stands today, it is not ready to be attached to the grid. It would need new inverters. And the batteries, he thought, were nearing their end of life. So, that isn’t good. He also said that it would be better to build something new from scratch. He suggested solar on the roof (which would mean I would have to have a new roof) since getting a variance to put solar in my yard probably wouldn’t be approved. That isn’t going to stop me from exploring it. I mean, I do live in a mixed use zone – so maybe the variance wouldn’t be impossible to get. He suggested 18 solar panels and 15kw of storage. At first he didn’t include the storage. Bottom line ball park without the batteries was $13k. With the batteries, around $20k. Sigh. Maybe solar isn’t in my future after all.

This means that I am not going to buy the solar trailer since it is useless to me. That sucks.

It has been quite a busy day for me, despite getting up and out late. First off, picked AD up and took him to Staples so he could work on a project there. Then I went to Mavis Tires and set up an appointment to get a new set of four tires. Tires are expensive. And I am getting the least expensive ones I can. One, because I hate spending money on tires. Two, because I plan on trading in this car for a new one come the Winter. I am thinking November or December.

Back home, I finally got the spring reattached on the outer porch door. I don’t remember why it wasn’t still installed. But maybe that will help my boarder to shut the door going forward. Reattaching it was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

After my apple turnover for lunch, I returned my cans and headed to Lowes to get new bulbs for the kitchen fixture. Pricey little things at $13 a piece. I got them back home and installed them and voila! The fixture still didn’t work. So I am pretty sure that the fixture is dead. And I might as well replace it. I saw two and have asked JM to let me know which one he thinks I ought to go with.

I also wandered out into the yard and spread the little container of wildflower seeds around. I doubt anything will come from that. But if something does, yay!

Oh, books. I am reading one of the books that SM passed along to me. I am not impressed. It is a book of short stories that are, frankly, not all that great. Little slice of life stories. Good enough in their way, but nothing really impressive. So far.

And, I came up with a way to “read” the seventh book of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. I joined Audible for free for three months. And I got a credit to buy one book from them. And guess which one I bought? That’s right, book Seven, This Inevitable Ruin. So excited. I have already started listening to it! It isn’t as fast as reading it would be, but it is enjoyable. Especially because the narrator is doing voices for all the characters!

Flers

And there we have it. Quite a day. I am ready for some food. I am going to go to Ling Ling and get a container of food from the buffet. And then have an eggroll from home. And rice. So excited!

Morons and Assholes

Flers

I am trying to switch up my curses when cursing drivers I perceive as bad. I used to use words that I don’t like all that well. So, I have changed them to the title words – Morons and Assholes. And sadly, there are a lot of them out there. Or maybe I am just getting grumpier the older I get and the longer I dash. Grr.

Yes, it was a two dash day. I quit earlier than I have been quitting from both shifts to try to avoid getting the terrible final dash that the AI or algorithm likes to give me. And I managed to avoid it both times. Woo hoo! Decent dashing day other than that.

I spent most of my lunch break reading and doing reminders. Like finding the posts I bought. I plan on buying a HELP WANTED sign and putting it up in my yard. It is frustrating that I can’t find someone to do the crap I don’t want to do. Which actually makes sense since it is crap and no one really wants to do it. Though I might find someone who actually likes to paint. And likes to do random yard work or things around the house. I haven’t seen the woman (except to wave to) who said that the kid helping her mother might possibly be interested in helping me. Hope springs eternal. If I can find someone soon enough, maybe they can help with the demolition of the pantry – which might save me a shekel or two on the bathroom installation.

The kitchen floor is still wet from the second time that my boarder let the faucet run. Sigh. I have now ordered a pair of water alarms that I hope will alert us to the water issue before it gets too far. Like far enough to drip into the kitchen. Maybe after this second time, though, she will have learned her lesson. It can’t be fun for her to try to navigate through the kitchen with the rug and pad flipped up here and there. I know it isn’t pleasant for me…

I did not call the NYCERDA people today. Poo. I have added it to my reminders for tomorrow. I am hoping to get information saying what hoops one needs to jump through in order to get the tax break. I wonder if they can tell me about the Federal program as well.

I am home and I have done my duolingo. Since I get to pick SM up at the ROC airport late tonight (I think the flight is supposed to land at 11:30pm or thereabouts), I’ll basically just read and maybe watch something until it is time to go – around 10:30pm.

Ok, time for dinner. I am having my left over Reuben and fries from Monday. And I am going to have a side salad. And I think I will cook up the artichokes since they might go bad otherwise. I haven’t made artichokes French in a while so will need to look up the recipe again. I am pretty sure it doesn’t include vanilla…