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Post by Ozarks Tom on Apr 29, 2024 23:27:19 GMT
Well we dodged a bullet last night, a few tornadoes came through the area, with one touching down only 10 miles from us, but all we got was high winds and about 2" of downpour. Our little weather radio woke us up just after 10pm saying there was a tornado touching down in Clever, about 25 miles from us, so we went back to bed. Talking to the guy who brought us firewood today he said one touched down for about 20 seconds in Crane, much closer.
Our new handyman was here today, and our luck is running about as usual. If he was any slower he'd be backing up. Did some weeding and complained about his knees, so I found a few other non-kneeling things for him to do that would have taken me about an hour if my back would allow it, but three hours later he was out of time with still a bit to do. I really shouldn't be complaining, advertising on Craigslist for Part-Time Farm Help will get responses from people who can't find permanent employment with Help Wanted signs all over town for a reason. We pay what I'd consider well, $16/hour for manual labor, but then, the pool of people looking for that kind of work is pretty shallow.
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Post by cornhusker on Apr 30, 2024 11:30:19 GMT
Nobody can find help these days Ozarks Tom, nobody wants to work. We can't find welders, and it's to the point we are looking to get some robot welders just to keep up. Glad the tornadoes missed you, keep your eyes on the sky.
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Post by Tricky Grama on Apr 30, 2024 12:39:59 GMT
The worker thing is driving me nuts. I guess its all over the country. I DREAD trying to find someone to re-do our shower in ME, this will be the 3rd summer there w/shower that only holds 3/4 of a person. Not to mention the need for kitchen re-do & someone to take down a 'pony' wall.
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Post by wildhorseluvr on Apr 30, 2024 13:25:10 GMT
Yep, DD spent 2 years trying to get some remodeling and repairs done and a new garage built. Not tiny projects…new windows, new siding, laundry room remodel, new heat system, new fencing, and a new garage…plus a few little projects. She’s been dealing with contractors who wouldn’t return calls, wouldn’t give estimates, lots of no shows, or those who’d come out and look at the house, tell her they’d do it, never to be heard from again. We’re going into our 3rd summer here and she finally found a contractor who is good about communicating, gave estimates, shows up when he says he will and seems to be doing a good job.
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Post by cornhusker on Apr 30, 2024 16:55:26 GMT
We had a guy hired, he was supposed to email me an estimate. He went home and I never heard form him again. I texted and emailed him, but nary a word in return. One guy quoted us $97,000 for siding and windows. That's why I'm doing most of the stuff myself. There's one guy, Daniel, who is willing to do some day work. We hired him to tear out plaster and lath in the kitchen, bathrooms and part of the drywall in the dining room. He and his wife showed up bright and early and worked like dogs all day. While he was tearing stuff down, she was loading it into buckets and hauling it out. Even though they didn't get it done until the next morning, they cleaned up and swept the floors at the end of each day. They only asked $400 for a lot of work, but worth it. He said he can do insulation and drywall too, so when I get to that point, I'll get ahold of him. The only drawback with Daniel is his English isn't great and his wife's English doesn't exist. He texts me through a translator app he has on his phone. There's a farmer near us, he and his son hunt on my place, but he does some light construction on the side and can do the windows. My biggest hurdle is time. We are fortunate to have a good plumber and a semi-reliable electrician. I sure wish we could have got a contractor.
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Post by joebill on Apr 30, 2024 17:56:59 GMT
Tom, your term "farm help" took me back a few decades to the years when "Mother earth news" was all the rage. Back then, people were paying out good money for the privilege of living and working on a farm for a summer. Advertising in the magazine for "positions" in that industry. Maybe you should run an ad offering "the farming experience" for the low, low price of $600 per week, all summer long.....with "camping privileges". There surely MUST BE a few aspiring hippies left in our society with aq few bucks in their pockets ......Joe
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Post by Ozarks Tom on Apr 30, 2024 20:29:08 GMT
joebill, Maybe I should include a caveat, "Bring Your Own Dope". Over the years I've probably hired over a thousand people in both the drywall and flooring business. You can develop a general sense just meeting them if they'll be stellar, mediocre, or a dud. I should have trusted my senses when I met this guy. He didn't get "rotund" through physical exertions. One guy I hired many years ago brought his wife to fill out the application, explaining he was dyslectic and couldn't read or write. Turned out to be the best wood flooring sand & finish man I ever had. Just don't ask him to get the "Golden Oak" stain off the shelf. My friend up at the feed store has been looking for help for years. He's hired a few people who'd last a day or two, but I guess pitching 50# bags of feed all day isn't today's kids cup of tea. He's 63 I think, and to look at him you'd guess a good wind would blow him down, but the hardest working guy I know. Honest to a fault. I asked for 3 bags of Meat Maker for the meat chicks and he said he had some new bags he'd sell be two of, and give me a third that was a few months old. Smell it before dumping it, and if it smelled okay, he'd add it to my next order, if not, throw it away.
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Post by Tricky Grama on May 1, 2024 15:09:07 GMT
Tom, your term "farm help" took me back a few decades to the years when "Mother earth news" was all the rage. Back then, people were paying out good money for the privilege of living and working on a farm for a summer. Advertising in the magazine for "positions" in that industry. Maybe you should run an ad offering "the farming experience" for the low, low price of $600 per week, all summer long.....with "camping privileges". There surely MUST BE a few aspiring hippies left in our society with aq few bucks in their pockets ......Joe Wow! POTDA! Wrote a letter to my DD, finished a book, pulled more weeds, went to audiology FREE screening app't. Gee for $5690 I can get "MID-RANGE" hearing aids. For 4390 can get the 'cheeeep' ones. Guess it's just "HUH" for me a while longer... PS-DH looked up hearing aids & found some for $99. & others for $199. Suggested we try some. He only has 1 bad ear...so he thinks...
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Post by cornhusker on May 1, 2024 18:51:39 GMT
You could get some of those game ear hunting/shooting ear muffs or ear buds. They will magnify the sound unless it's too loud (like a gunshot), then it will instantly turn off. I always thought that if my ears start to go, I'd try those first. I have the earmuff style, but after an hour or so, they hurt my gigantic ears.
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Post by joebill on May 1, 2024 19:52:20 GMT
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Post by Ozarks Tom on May 1, 2024 22:35:48 GMT
First of the month ritual, start the generator, Bronco, tractor and let them run until well warmed up. I keep a trickle charger on the generator that keeps the battery up.
The weather has turned hot, 85 degrees today with upper 70's for the next week. We'll start planting seeds in the garden this weekend. This is the first year in many we haven't had a frost around the end of April. On and off rain guessed for the next several days, on top of the 4" we had over the weekend. The drought is over apparently and you can be sure the farmers around here at tickled. Hay fields have been looking pretty darn bad the past month.
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Post by Tricky Grama on May 2, 2024 12:35:27 GMT
I've often thought about this thing!! What a hoot. Won $35 at bingo! I think that's the most ever in one win. My neighbor who usually goes is sick w/bad cold & needed me to get her some OTC meds which I did & really don't want her to reimburse me...so I'm gonna tell her I bought HER a card & she won & it covers her med $$. DH's once a mo. poker is here Friday nite & were having brats & saurkraut, potato salad. Cooked the eggs for that & did a little house cleaning. DH swept & vacuumed. Made pork roast, potatoes, carrots for dinner-it was sooo good!
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Post by Txsteader on May 2, 2024 19:49:30 GMT
Seems I have too many irons in the fire these days. Working the garden, painting the bathroom, crocheting a blanket and a sweater jacket & dehydrating lots of frozen veggies that I'd stocked the freezer with- that's in addition to the regular daily chores.
No wonder I fall asleep as soon as I quit moving @ 6 pm.
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Post by daw on May 2, 2024 20:08:01 GMT
You have me beat Txsteader, I have the garden to take care of and picking up all the trash someone left, talking to the blind lady neighbor, walking the dog early and painting the kitchen ...
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Post by Txsteader on May 3, 2024 9:47:49 GMT
I don't know daw, it sounds like your days are just as full as mine. I have to just do a little each day on each project because of my back. So I work in the garden for 20-30 mins as soon as it gets light, rest, paint for 20-30 mins, rest, crochet a couple of rows while I'm resting, housework & cooking in between all the projects. And that's on days when DH or I don't have some sort of medical appointments. I just finished all my wellness tests that my insurance insists on - bone density scan, mammogram, cologuard, blah blah blah. DH has a slew of drs so had to do all his annual visits/tests. Of course on those days, I don't get much done at home as most of that stuff takes up at least half a day. Naturally, I'm too pooped to do anything else for the rest of the day. I guess I shouldn't complain though, but instead be thankful I'm still able to do those things.
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