Chit Chat in VOLTVILLE Thread #2 :)

[SandySu]

Lizzie, you asked when my next tutoring session is, and I did one today. Every Mon., Wed., and Fri. The kids have been itchy lately, but today, they were good. I guess they got it out of their system before I arrived, because the little girl was in tears because her older brother snatched the last piece of seaweed from her and ate it. I consoled her, she dried her eyes, and we had a good lesson. When it was her brother's turn, I lectured him about "Do unto others," a concept he hears from me but doesn't really believe in. And then for the lesson, he was good, too.

The little one still needs to know the names of all the letters and he has to learn to write them on the guide lines provided. He tends to write the lowercase ones up near the top for some reason. I "read" him a book today. It had lots of pictures, and mainly I pointed out the animals and named them and let him gaze at a picture a long time if he wanted to study it, or to turn the page quickly if he wanted to move on. It was a book about night creatures, and he seemed particularly fascinated by the bats.

 

[Renolizzie]

moanin', Volties.

Thanks for asking, Lizzie. My back seems to have gotten back to what passes for normal. I was at the chiropractor this AM for another "adjustment" and will go back again in a week for the final tweak. I was supposed to go yesterday, but the chiropractor canceled at the last minute, just before I left the house. He fell getting out of the tub last Sunday and gave himself a nasty concussion. He's a younger guy, 40's maybe, and works out daily and is in great shape. Gotta watch those tubs, their dangerous at any age!

You have more patience than I do dealing with that customer who's having problems. It's one thing if you're friends or at least close in some way, but with just a business relationship hearing all that stuff gets old really fast. I know people need to talk their problems out but he should be a little more selective in who he talks to. Just my take on it anyway. I have a friend that I value and he's going through some really serious medical problems. I don't mind talking with him about it at all, he's a good friend, and try to provide an ear and some common sense viewpoints to him. In short, I care about him, his health and his well being. That makes it easy, well difficult really, but you know what I mean.

Glad you feel better, awsum.

Hope your chiropractor feels better, too. Poor guy.

Yeah, I have been thinking about dropping this client for some time. I'd like to get through the fall and three vacations before telling him I am retiring.

 

[awsum140]

What we saved on heat from using wood helped put our two kids through private grade school. It was a lot of work, and I complained then and now about it, but it was worth it.

 

[cindycated]

What do you do if you don't have a forest full of dying trees? Are there lots? Do you cut the neighbors' trees?

 

[awsum140]

I cut either standing dead wood or trees that came down in storms. I did get some wood from contractors clearing land for development, but very little. Here, in this house, I have cut down two "nuisance" trees, sweetgum, and a couple that were termite infested. Another source, for me, was a local cabinet factory. I'd get an 18 yard load of oak trimmings from them, kiln dried and burned super hot.

 

[Renolizzie]

We get ours from standing scorched trees from fires. Hubby also cuts trees for homeowners if they don't look dangerous. A landowner in Fallon has talked him into cutting Russian olive. Burns good but lots of work and thorny side branches.

 

[Wuzznt Me]

Wuzz, doing a lot of smoking?

Not so much but when I do I smoke a lot of meat. It freezes well and we eat it about once a week. When it runs low I do another batch.

I dunno. I cut firewood, and hauled firewood, and split it, and stacked it, year 'round then dragged it inside, and burned it, and cleaned out the woodstove, in the winter, for almost ten years. It got old after the second year and I was in my 30's then.

I did all that when i was a kid but then lived in house/apartments without a fireplace or stove. When we built our house here in 1977 I made sure we had a fireplace. Oak is plentiful here. We take a tractor and trailer out in the woods and make a weekend project out of it as often as necessary. We haven't turned the heat on yet. I do have a log splitter now. Bought it about 4 years ago due to my age and cancer recovery. Before that it was all hand split It hasn't gotten old with us yet and I don't expect it too. Much as I love summer in the fall I can't wait to start burning and enjoying it.

 

[cindycated]

Not so much but when I do I smoke a lot of meat. It freezes well and we eat it about once a week. When it runs low I do another batch.



I did all that when i was a kid but then lived in house/apartments without a fireplace or stove. When we built our house here in 1977 I made sure we had a fireplace. Oak is plentiful here. We take a tractor and trailer out in the woods and make a weekend project out of it as often as necessary. We haven't turned the heat on yet. I do have a log splitter now. Bought it about 4 years ago due to my age and cancer recovery. Before that it was all hand split It hasn't gotten old with us yet and I don't expect it too. Much as I love summer in the fall I can't wait to start burning and enjoying it.

Hmm, I didn't think it got cold enough for all of that where you are...

 

[celticluvr]

Hi volties!!

Fiance LOVES chopping wood. He got a new splitting axe by Fiskars and he is in love !!! (It's okay I ain't jealous cuz he splits all my pine for my firepit. ) I also have maple and oak that I use when grilling over my pit. I love love love to cook over my firepit and seriously want some campfire cookware for it. I would buy everything from the spit to a dutchoven and beyond if I had more'n two pennies to rub together!

I am so weird! I love my firepit so much that I fire it up even when it is 100 degrees outside! Crazy right? I like to get a good fire started then let it burn for a good 5 or 6 hours to get a nice red hot coal base so I can have spectacular fires after the sun has retired for the day. Generally it doesn't take that long to get a good coal base if I am burning pine but if its hedge trees (we call them hedges but we actually don't know what they are besides annoying ) then you basically need to burn all day... Speaking of which it is about time to give the pine a break and call out some hedge tomorrow.


I went grocery shopping today, it turned out to be a five hour event. For some reason the was a whole heck of a lot of people at the Wally World. Older folks and a whole heap of young folks (yes even younger than me! ) All of the young folk had kids and they were all getting their WIC vouchers filled. The older folks never bother me but it was these kids with kids that were fighting and cussing and yelling all over the store, hogging the aisles and not letting the older folk thru and just being a public nuisance. I understand when folks need help paying for groceries so they get food assistance. But it was totally ridiculous seeing all these able bodied teenagers with WIC vouchers and food stamps all the while driving expensive cars and wearing designer clothes. By the time I got out of the store I was so ready to be at hoe sitting on my kiester but when I pulled out to go the way I always do there was a huge massive car wreck blocking the road. So after a quick prayer for well being to those involved, I had to go the long way. My ice cream melted in the 20 minutes it takes to get home. I am pooped!

 

[tmcase]

I dunno. I cut firewood, and hauled firewood, and split it, and stacked it, year 'round then dragged it inside, and burned it, and cleaned out the woodstove, in the winter, for almost ten years. It got old after the second year and I was in my 30's then.

Well when I get to be your age I might feel the same way. LOL

 

[tmcase]

OK Terry, let's see if you still feel that way after a couple more winters over there...

I have a feeling I'll be looking forward to winter very soon. I'm not use to this heat and humidity and I don't like it.

 

[tmcase]

I don't mind cutting wood at all. Of course, Hubby does most of the work but I don't mind hauling it in or cleaning up after it. Saves us a ton of money and is so much toastier than the propane heat. We also get to go out into the woods and hang out, have lunch and feel superior to the rest of America who is sitting on their .... while we are earning our heat with our own hard work

Well said.

 

[celticluvr]

Oh I forgot to say that I hack at the kindling with my Fiskars hatchet to make tinder to start my fires. So I like cutting wood too!

 

[tmcase]

Hmm, I didn't think it got cold enough for all of that where you are...

Yeah' that's what I was thinking.

 

[Wuzznt Me]

Hmm, I didn't think it got cold enough for all of that where you are...

Not as cold as it gets where y'all are but yeah, we get cold. A few years ago we went through a couple of months of hard freeze every night and DIL from Michigan was glad to help with the wood. That was an unusually cold winter here. Last winter was an unusually warm one. In 82, I may be off a year or so, all our orange groves froze and put our family out of that business. Christmas 89 we had an ice storm. I was going to Ocala for Christmas dinner. When we started driving it was raining and before we got halfway the windshield wipers and defrosters wouldn't keep the ice off. Got near and traffic started backing up because the bridge over the river was iced. All the warm river water steamed over it and froze. Tried to get back home and when we got to the St Johns the bridge was frozen there. They finally got enough salt on it for cars to cross one at a time. The ice didn't completely melt off the car for a week. Two days before that we were standing around in t shirts and I didn't believe FIL when he told me it was coming. A normal winter with only one or two hard freezes I go through about 2+ cords. When the temp drops below 60 at night we usually have an evening and morning fire. When it stays below 60 we burn a slow one all day. We have been known often to have the fireplace going and the door open lol. Normally our cold snaps and fronts only last a few days to a week. We warm back up and another blows through.

I am so weird! I love my firepit so much that I fire it up even when it is 100 degrees outside! Crazy right? I like to get a good fire started then let it burn for a good 5 or 6 hours to get a nice red hot coal base so I can have spectacular fires after the sun has retired for the day. Generally it doesn't take that long to get a good coal base if I am burning pine but if its hedge trees (we call them hedges but we actually don't know what they are besides annoying ) then you basically need to burn all day... Speaking of which it is about time to give the pine a break and call out some hedge tomorrow.

Mans first tv.

 

[SandySu]

What do you do if you don't have a forest full of dying trees? Are there lots? Do you cut the neighbors' trees?

When I had a wood stove for a short while, I bought firewood. It was still cheaper than propane.

 

[Renolizzie]

Good morning, Voltpeeps.

We had a storm come through about 4pm, nothing too major with no real lightning and just a bit of thunder. It did cool the area down from the nineties into the seventies. So, I opened the door and the windows protected by the shade cover. Nice to listen to the rain.

Hubby says, "That is a rufous hummingbird!"

We were pretty sure we had at least one broadtail hummer to go with our black chins but a rufous hummer? Wow, we were excited.

We were looking in the backyard and we started seeing hummingbird wars. We sat down for the action and realized we have at least 5 or 6 rufous and at least broadtail plus a couple of juveniles of unknown species. They all get to flying around and trying to eat from the feeders and the flowers and fighting one another.

The rufous are rusty orange colored and shine like little jewels in the sun.

It's impossible to get an accurate count but we know that we managed to count 8 at one time.

Towards the end of the sunlight, they called a truce [more or less] and five of them were sitting on the feeder at one time.

We were delighted and amazed by the antics of the little buzz bombs. I can't believe it. We have three kinds of hummers in the yard right now - rufous, black chin and broad tail.

They are out there buzzing and thripping again this morning.

 

[Uncle]

Just as an FYI:

I can attest to the Cold weather in North Florida, which does happen more often then Ya' might think, and the NEED to have a way to warm up . . . Matter of fact, It can even get below 50* here in South Florida too . . . After living here for the past 12 years, I actually had to turn on the small Electric heater in the bedroom a couple of times overnight and leave it on for a day or 2 also . . . Thankfully - Really cold weather doesn't last as long down here as it does everywhere else North of Lake Okeechobee . . . AND - On the rare occasion when there is chilly night (50* - 60*) here in South Florida and when a lot of people are pulling out of storage & wearing their Winter Parka's/Heavy Leather coats - the most I ever need is a Long Sleeved Flannel Shirt/Sweatshirt/Sweater. . . SO - YES, it does get Cold in South Florida . . .

 

[Renolizzie]

Hi volties!!

Fiance LOVES chopping wood. He got a new splitting axe by Fiskars and he is in love !!! (It's okay I ain't jealous cuz he splits all my pine for my firepit. ) I also have maple and oak that I use when grilling over my pit. I love love love to cook over my firepit and seriously want some campfire cookware for it. I would buy everything from the spit to a dutchoven and beyond if I had more'n two pennies to rub together!

I am so weird! I love my firepit so much that I fire it up even when it is 100 degrees outside! Crazy right? I like to get a good fire started then let it burn for a good 5 or 6 hours to get a nice red hot coal base so I can have spectacular fires after the sun has retired for the day. Generally it doesn't take that long to get a good coal base if I am burning pine but if its hedge trees (we call them hedges but we actually don't know what they are besides annoying ) then you basically need to burn all day... Speaking of which it is about time to give the pine a break and call out some hedge tomorrow.


I went grocery shopping today, it turned out to be a five hour event. For some reason the was a whole heck of a lot of people at the Wally World. Older folks and a whole heap of young folks (yes even younger than me! ) All of the young folk had kids and they were all getting their WIC vouchers filled. The older folks never bother me but it was these kids with kids that were fighting and cussing and yelling all over the store, hogging the aisles and not letting the older folk thru and just being a public nuisance. I understand when folks need help paying for groceries so they get food assistance. But it was totally ridiculous seeing all these able bodied teenagers with WIC vouchers and food stamps all the while driving expensive cars and wearing designer clothes. By the time I got out of the store I was so ready to be at hoe sitting on my kiester but when I pulled out to go the way I always do there was a huge massive car wreck blocking the road. So after a quick prayer for well being to those involved, I had to go the long way. My ice cream melted in the 20 minutes it takes to get home. I am pooped!

Celti - I love a fire but haven't got a fire pit in the back yard. I've been thinking about getting the old Lopi wood stove from the front yard and putting it back here where I could use it to cook on and have a fire in the fall. I could sit out here as the days cool down and enjoy my backyard into the fall and even the winter.

Yep, Wally World can be an incredibly frustrating experience.

 

[Renolizzie]

Just as an FYI:

I can attest to the Cold weather in North Florida, which does happen more often then Ya' might think, and the NEED to have a way to warm up . . . Matter of fact, It can even get below 50* here in South Florida too . . . After living here for the past 12 years, I actually had to turn on the small Electric heater in the bedroom a couple of times overnight and leave it on for a day or 2 also . . . Thankfully - Really cold weather doesn't last as long down here as it does everywhere else North of Lake Okeechobee . . . AND - On the rare occasion when there is chilly night (50* - 60*) here in South Florida and when a lot of people are pulling out of storage & wearing their Winter Parka's/Heavy Leather coats - the most I ever need is a Long Sleeved Flannel Shirt/Sweatshirt/Sweater. . . SO - YES, it does get Cold in South Florida . . .

LOL