What did you do today?

zannej said:

What are hot plates? Something to set hot stuff down on?

Incognito, sounds like you'll be busy with woodworking.

Rusty, that is a nice rocking chair!

Today I fed kitties, went out and brought in some PVC boards and trim that were on the porch. Took several trips. Brought in another L-bead trim to my bathroom & cut it to size so I could trim out all around my tub walls. Did a dry fit of the tub walls to get the trim in place. I'll still need to cut a little off the part going over cementboard so it doesn't overlap, but I'm having a hard time getting trim to stay in place when I move the wall panels out of the way.

I really struggled with the center panel. It kept falling over. Its going to suck trying to get it moved out of the way and keep it from toppling. I've asked my friend for help in messenger but he hasn't seen the message yet. I know I won't get any help from my brother. He's been in a really bad mood lately. Last time I tried to ask him something he screamed at me.

Mom forgot to give us the new insurance cards for the vehicles (but claimed she had-- if she had given them to me I would have had them in my wallet). So I dropped by the insurance office to get cards printed. I was not about to play Jenga with the pile of junk on her desk trying to find them. Drove up to HD to get a pickup order. Got some outside corner trim. Only length they had was 12' so it will have to be cut down to size. Went to the local Walmart to return a crappy printer that wouldn't work properly. Couldn't find the paper receipt but I'd taken a picture. Was able to return with that. Also returned the protection plan.

Deli was still closed (they claim there's a problem with the water) so I only managed to grab some salads. Although, I think something may have been wrong with them because it gave me digestive issues. I did more measuring and such in my bathroom. I was thinking I had the same ceiling height as the guest bathroom/laundry area (just under 9'). Nope. I've got just under 8'. Just a hair shorter because of the ceiling tiles I think.

This is what it looks like now (center panel will have to be adjusted and I'll have to make sure the left panel sits flush to the side. View attachment 16868

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Coasters for hot pots and pans.
Trivet would be more accurate.

Looks like the shower is going to happen.... Getting close.

Incognito said:

I really like that design. Is it all solid wood?

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Yes, but it is pine.

Highup, that's what I thought but I wasn't sure. I came across the word "trivet" awhile ago.
Speaking of which, I'm trying to find something like a solid trivet that is relatively flat and won't interfere with my squatty potty that can fit between the wall and the toilet on the floor so I can put the plunger and other toilet cleaning supplies on it without the stuff dirtying up the vinyl flooring. I am currently using an oatey toilet base plate that has a hole in the middle. I want something just as flat but without the hole.

I want something completely waterproof and easy to clean.
The pet food/water mats stick up too much as they are all too wide. Wish I had a 3d printer and ability to print a flat waterproof white sheet. in the desired size. I do have a holder for my plunger, but I mostly want it for the toilet clorox toilet wand pads that I reuse. I set a pad off to the side and click it back on to re-use it. I suppose I could find a small round soap dish or something though... Hmm.. I do have a soap dish I'm not going to use on the counter...

Rusty, pine is a decent wood at least. Better than balsa. LOL.

I feel like I am soooo close on the shower thing, but I will absolutely need help with gluing the surround up. Especially messing with that center panel. That thing is the bane of my existence. I have such a hard time moving it around by myself. It fell on my head, dropped on my feet, & generally was a pain for me to get to stay in place. Still need to do the "mudding" with thinset. Need to remove some staples on a trim piece that shifted out of alignment (because the wall panel shifted forward). Stomach isn't feeling great today so I'm resting.

Was up a good bit of the night bc Mom woke up all confused and jittery. Low blood sugar and was not understanding things. She had me really worried. I got her to drink something with sugar and waited until she was able to walk to the living room. But her hands were shakey, coordination was garbage. She spilled a drink all over herself. It had a lid and a straw but she managed to spill. She dropped her salad (but it didn't tip over) so I had to actually feed it to her. After she ate that she was able to feed herself some chicken strips I cut up into itty bitty pieces. She's sleeping right now but I keep going to check on her and make sure her breathing is normal.

Floorist said:

Yes, but it is pine.

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I'm on my second one. I spent the whole afternoon trying to get the rockers on and fitted right. I guess that is what they make wood putty for. I also redesigned the one, made a change in the design. I'll post picture when I'm totally done. I know one thing if I was to make another one, I'd make my templates out of 1/4" plywood.

That's awesome, Daris!

Today is the last day of a sale at HD and I decided to look online and saw this: RYOBI 9 Amp Corded 7-1/4 in. Compound Miter Saw with Universal Miter Saw QUICKSTAND TS1144-A18MS01G - The Home Depot

I don't have a compound miter saw and that one comes with a stand and was marked down by $199. Got an additional 10% off. Tax was just under 10%. My friend has a miter saw like that but I don't know where he keeps it & he doesn't have a stand. Now I won't have to borrow his.

The Ryobi, or even the Kobalt, 7.25” saw isn’t that bad of a saw. If you take the time to check and adjust the saw after it comes out of the box, it’ll make decent cuts for you all day long.

I may need some guidance on how to adjust it. LOL. I know my friend's miter saw worked for what I needed.

Stomach is not feeling good today but I'm hoping I can be productive.

Edit: I have been a bit productive. Unloaded stuff from the truck. Got the thinset bag brought in. It's small for 50lbs but damn is that thing heavy. I'm trying to figure out the mixing ratio I need. 50lbs was the smallest they had available and I only need a small amount. I need to know how many cups of water per how many cups of powder. The instructions only say For a 50-lb. (22,7-kg) bag: About 5 to 6 U.S. qts. (4,73 to 5,68 L) of water. I don't know how to convert the weight to cups. It's this stuff: https://www.lowes.com/pd/MAPEI-Rapid-Setting-50-lb-Gray-Thinset-Tile-Mortar/5014025091

I only need to cover the seams, screws, corners, and the edge trim. Although I do need to build some up under one of the trim pieces to make the wall more plumb as the cement board warped in the upper middle of the right wall panel.

I marked with red the areas where thinset will be used. Any suggestions?
I've never used thinset before.

Edit: I found a Q&A on Lowes that said it's 4 parts powder to one part water. Same as the Henry's leveling mix.

zannej said:

That's awesome, Daris!

Today is the last day of a sale at HD and I decided to look online and saw this: RYOBI 9 Amp Corded 7-1/4 in. Compound Miter Saw with Universal Miter Saw QUICKSTAND TS1144-A18MS01G - The Home Depot

I don't have a compound miter saw and that one comes with a stand and was marked down by $199. Got an additional 10% off. Tax was just under 10%. My friend has a miter saw like that but I don't know where he keeps it & he doesn't have a stand. Now I won't have to borrow his.

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Ok, so here’s a hack I have done once or twice. I’m not proud of it but then again I don’t mind sticking it to corporations.

If I forget my saw on a job that’s not close to my house I’ll go buy one from whatever big box store is closest. Use it for what I need and then return it after the job. Both Walmart and Lowe’s have got me out of a pinch.

Helping my wife with a craft show again today. Last one she sold $450. of the jewelry she makes. Even makes her own beads. She uses some polymer clay and resin.

Tile Tom said:

Ok, so here’s a hack I have done once or twice. I’m not proud of it but then again I don’t mind sticking it to corporations.

If I forget my saw on a job that’s not close to my house I’ll go buy one from whatever big box store is closest. Use it for what I need and then return it after the job. Both Walmart and Lowe’s have got me out of a pinch.

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You’re not the only one, Tom. After I finished reading Rug Man the next day my wife asks me if I want to send it back. I said no I’m keepin the book, besides, why the hell you returning a perfectly good item. It’s Amazon and she don’t care. lol.

She sold three of my carved wood figures.

I took the crappy HP printer back to Walmart after we printed the taxes, but honestly, that thing was so aggravating it wasn't worth keeping. I felt no guilt returning it. I would feel bad about taking back tools if I liked them. But then, I'm a bit of a tool hoarder. LOL.

Can't remember if I mentioned the other night I came in to find Mom sitting up in bed & she was very confused and not very lucid. I got her to drink some root beer (she keeps sugared drinks in her room in case she gets low blood sugar) and she kept trying to drink from the empty bottle for 5 min. I kept asking her if she wanted another bottle and she said no. I kept telling her the bottle was empty but she didn't seem to believe me or understand. Then she picked up a bottle she'd used as a spittoon and I had to take it away from her. She kept saying she was going to get up and then not getting up. Also flopped back on the bed and was staring at things wide eyed. I stayed with her until she was lucid, helped her to the living room, and then had to actually feed her-- as in put food on a fork and put it in her mouth-- a salad. Then I cooked some chicken tenders and cut them up for her. She was able to eat those.

Last night in the middle of the night my brother woke me up saying something about ambulance and her falling. I had music on to help me sleep so I didn't hear properly. She'd gotten confused again and fallen down. She was out of drinks so I found some candy. We both had stomach issues and took turns staying with her while the other used the bathroom. He had taken all of the Pepto to his room so I asked him to bring me a bottle. She didn't remember falling the first time.. My brother got her back on her feet but she fell again. Landed in the bathroom and spilled the dog's water bowl. She couldn't understand why her pants were wet. I stayed with her until she was lucid and strong enough to drag herself over to her bed, but I was having chest pains and feeling dizzy. My brother came back and took over while I went to lie down. He got her back into bed. Later I came to check on her and she was sitting up with her feet off the bed saying she couldn't get her feet back up on her leg cushion. So I picked her legs up and got them on the pillow and tucked her in. Kept checking on her every couple of hours. She complained it was too cold to get out of bed so I put the heat on and she got up while I was napping (after I went to the store).

I just cooked for her and she's at her computer feeling fine. My stomach still hates me and I'm not feeling great. I'm about to get some sleep again but I told her to call me if she needs anything. I'm going to keep checking on her tonight.

zannej said:

I took the crappy HP printer back to Walmart after we printed the taxes, but honestly, that thing was so aggravating it wasn't worth keeping.

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Even the professionals that work on conputers hate printers. I was looking at one in Staples and the salesman said they get a lot of printer returns because people can't figure them out.

Bought a folding cot at Walmart on clearance. It was defective so I returned it. Before I took it back I stuffed a note down in it. "Dear unfortunate purchaser: I hope Walmart's not mean enough to sell this again. If you're already at the place you plan to use this for sleeping, you're just outta luck. If you're looking at this note in the store, stuff everything back in the bag & walk away. If you're reading this note after you bought it, take it back right now."
My wife thinks that was just too weird. Probably so.

zannej said:

. I'm going to keep checking on her tonight.

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How old is Mom and how’s everyone doing today ?

Side note: I’m only on chapter 5 of the book ‘ Rug Man ‘ but after reading some of Zannej’s posts, that are written very similar to the author, It feels like I’m further along And ! …… Surprisingly, there’s a comfort that comes over you when reading about daily so to speak mundane human activities.

C.J. said:

You’re not the only one, Tom. After I finished reading Rug Man the next day my wife asks me if I want to send it back. I said no I’m keepin the book, besides, why the hell you returning a perfectly good item. It’s Amazon and she don’t care. lol.

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I would never pull that on a small independent business but a corporation??? Absolutely!!!

I don’t loose a second of sleep for sticking it to them. With their billions of dollars and what not.

install4you, I don't think that was too weird, it was a kind gesture to warn the next would-be victim of purchasing a defective product.

MSLI, she's 73 and has diabetes but has not been checking her sugar. I want to get a constant glucose monitor, specifically the Dexcom G7. It is supposed to be covered by Medicare but the doctor has to put in the right codes to get it covered or they will refuse.

Feeling slightly better today. Met with my friend to put gas in his car. His former employer still owes him over $4k and he might not get it without suing. That company lost their contract on May 5 and he moved to another company. They still owe him the $4k from over a month ago and I think they are not intending to pay him.

I cooked for Mom and am making sure she gets food before bed so her blood sugar won't be too low but I will also check on her at night.

First thing when the doctor's office opens I'll try to schedule an appointment for Mom and see about getting her dexcom thing. I ordered some stuff from HD. Need a new outlet under Mom's desk. Current one is moving around in the wall and causing issues with the backup units.

My brain just froze on me.

zannej said:

I want to get a constant glucose monitor, specifically the Dexcom G7.

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Z, I had the Dexcom G6 and threw it out. It would never get past the loading up . We never did figure out why, but it took 2 hours for it to read the device and then it would say failed. We went thru that numerous time and finally said screw that and went back to poking my finger when I remember it. We had the options of 2 different ones and this one didn't require any monthly payments over and above our insurance. I still have a 2 month supply of the G-6 left.

A year and a half ago I bought a 3 gauge temperature, oil, water temperature gauge set in custom fitted into my dash. The water temperature gauge quit working, so I bought an electric one by the same manufacturer. I finally got that installed yesterday though I still need to find an unappropriate ground. I just got some extra wire and ran into the battery to see if it works and how reacts. The original gauge reads off the side of the engine block. The sensor is installed into the upper radiator hose, via an anodized aluminum coupler. The original sensor raise the temperature on the side of the block and this one reads the temperature coming out of the thermostat housing when it opens. Once warmed up they read pretty much the same. The stock gauge that Chevy put in the dash really sucks. Well the whole instrument cluster sucks. The colors are light blue, dark gray and black, a lousy combo. Many years ago, I took off the original fan on the engine and installed dual electric fans out of a Dodge Intrepid. It's a common modification on s10s because the fan shroud is almost exactly the width of the radiator. I just clicked the fan on when I need it because most of the time I don't.
Have had the new gauge for a month and finally decided to wire the sucker in since weather finally permitted it.

Daris, sounds like the problems Mom has with her finger prick machines. None of them want to work properly. Over on the homesteading forums there's someone who said the G6 saved his life when he had low blood sugar at night. Woke him up so he could get some sugar.

The G7 is ready to read in 30min instead of 2 hours, is more reliable, and has more accurate readings. It can also be linked to a cellphone. Mom just got a new phone so the device would be able to send alerts to her phone and wake her up.

I scheduled an appointment for her but she pitched a fit like a toddler and canceled it.

Went to the post office and store today. It's raining and all I want to do is sleep. Left arm is bugging me a bit and the cats want to pile on me. One of the kittens at my friend's house died. The other two are desperate for attention but won't hold still. I hope they pull through. I'm worried they will all drop.