On or about: 01-23-08  22:56, Ardith Hinton did engage James Bradley
regarding, but not limited to: YooHoo to You

 JB>  Happy New Year to you, too! We *survived* another un.

 AH> Yes, we did!  Okay... maybe neither of us is old 
 AH> enough to brag about our age yet.  But in view of what 
 AH> we've experienced, here's to us... [chuckle].

CHEERS!!!  Glad to get that one over!
 
 
 JB>  I suppose I have enough literature here to learn how
 JB>  to feed myself in thin times, but who could imagine
 JB>  life without a grocery store?


 AH> Uh-huh.  I've studied a bit about edible wild 
 AH> plants, and I have some reference materials... but finding 
 AH> enough to live on could be quite a challenge in built-up 
 AH> areas.  What else is there to eat around here?  Snails??  
 AH> No thanks
 AH> ... the neighbours may have tried to poison them.  Pigeons, 
 AH> or seagulls???  :-)

They eat the snails that are almost dead from poison.

A friend was setting out poison for the gopher population on his acreage. I
told him to house a rat snake. (I don't even know if they could survive
here.) Naturally, he wanted *nothing* to do with the idea, as he was
filling out the form to buy whatever they feed the soon to die. I'm pretty
sure I mentioned the Sawheat owl I saw the year before, but he wanted none
of that action. A 70yo doesn't have that kinda patience? ;)

I think my neighborhood knows a loosing cause when they see one, so -
thankfully - I have all *sorts* of wildlife pass through here. I mentioned
the gaggle that migrates through here for the past two years? I don't know
where they might nest, or where they might be off to. (It's a HUGE commute
to the next body of water.) Oh, and I have a bunch of frogs (No idea what
to call a "bunch".) wintering (hopefully) in my front yard. I
didn't put them there, but imagine my surprise to hear them calling all
over the place during mating season. I then put out a source of water for
them, but I did nothing else specifically to encourage them. They somehow
found this nut, with an overgrown wildflower collection, so I feel
compelled to put a water feature out for them next year. It's not as if I
didn't have a handful of drawings for it, anyway. <-;

 AH> [WRT my preferred reasoning style.  Sorry, I realize this
 AH> theory is baffling to a lot of other folks.]
 JB>  How about a briefing? I've been sick of school...
 JB>  I mean, sick from school for a year.


 AH> I enjoy digging below the surface... that's the "N"
 AH> (intuitive)  part. When you see something from a different angle you
 AH> get  me thinking... that's the "T" part... and enable me to 
 AH> generate new ideas & perceptions.  A lot of people tend to 
 AH> think in sound bites.  I prefer stuff I can get my teeth 
 AH> into....  :-))

It didn't help my studies by the disconnection here, I'm sure. Is there a
publication I might find in our library on the subject? I'm sure you did
already toss me a title, but I expect to get to it this time.
 
 
 JB>  enough time finding the starter on my 1-ton. 
 
 AH>  Well... we did it in days gone by when time, energy, and
 AH>  willingness to rush in where angels might fear to tread
 AH>  came to us more easily than money.
 
 JB>  I'm still livin' the dream. 


 AH> Heh.  I figure I'm worth $90,000 a year... i.e. what a
 AH> friend of  ours was paying a few years ago for help with his aged

Doesn't it seem that they charge *just* less than the combined potential income?

 AH> mother!  One can  dream.  It's healthier than feeling resentful about
 AH> crawling on the carpet applying a splint for the umpty 
 AH> gazillionth time, or wishing for a more exciting & 
 AH> lucrative job. If you want a vehicle fixed you have to do 
 AH> the work yourself or pay somebody to do it for you.  With 
 AH> the family responsibilities we have now, it makes sense to 
 AH> hire people who specialize in fixing cars while we 
 AH> concentrate on doing what we do best.  Balancing time & 
 AH> money can be difficult, however, either way....  :-)
 
Another one of those struggles for *survival* that we all have to dance.
/-: "Gainful employment" seemed to disappear from my
encyclopedia. Even those tiles I horded a couple of years ago, now have to
be utilized. I thought I could keep riding that horse I jumped on last
year, so before laying down for some R+R, I pulled the toilet out of the
main floor bathroom, and measured it for some cement board. I really tried
to get at it in October, but I only managed to cut the backer. November
went about as well, so I knew I'd have to put it off until this year.

I'm sure when some people see the work I did in '07, can't imagine how I am
on disability, but they fail to measure the toll it took on me physically.
When I mention I had to take most of the rest of the year off in recovery,
I doubt they can calculate that. 


 AH> Yes, the vehicle I was referring to predated "black boxes". 
 AH> While  it didn't have the bells & whistles people take for granted 
 AH> in modern cars all the problems we encountered were 
 AH> basically mechanical, electrical, and/or cosmetic. With 
 AH> patience & persistence we could usually find some way to 
 AH> repair things for ourselves... or at least come up with a 
 AH> cheap & readily available solution.  In those days I could 
 AH> also see teeny tiny things more clearly than I can now.  ;-)



I've only started to do some of my own mechanical work. I wish I had a
better understanding, but there I am. I have a friend not far from me who
has plenty of experience, so usually I try not to get in his way, and
anticipate what tool he might need next. Thankfully, I don't have to rely
only on CPP for my existence, or I doubt I could afford to have *a* vehicle
on the road!


... James

___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20

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