The renovations and upgrades are done at last

  At the beginning of March, Miss D. and I received payment of a long-overdue debt.  We immediately paid off all our revolving credit and short-term-debt;  but rather than bank the rest (where inflation would eat it away at up to a quarter of its spending value every year), we decided to take care of… Continue reading The renovations and upgrades are done at last

State of the author – exhausted!

  I just don’t have the time or energy to put up a Saturday Snippet excerpt this week.  Let me explain by giving you a follow-up “State of the Author” post, following on from earlier this month and in early April. Our new utility/garden/storage shed was erected in mid-May.  The electric power has since been installed,… Continue reading State of the author – exhausted!

Well, the shed’s up. Now the real fun starts.

  As I mentioned on Wednesday, the work crew arrived yesterday and erected our new utility building in only a few hours. It’s not very large by metal building standards, but at 400 square feet it’s more than six times bigger than the old, dilapidated, owner-built shed that came with our house.  Once it’s complete,… Continue reading Well, the shed’s up. Now the real fun starts.

Getting closer to the end of our construction and renovations

  In March Miss D. and I were finally paid a long-outstanding debt, which helped clear our credit cards and put some money in the bank.  Rather than leave it there in our present high-inflation environment, we decided to use it to upgrade various aspects of our home that we’ve been wanting to do for… Continue reading Getting closer to the end of our construction and renovations

Another reason for the supply chain crunch: daft personnel policies

  Looks like the bean-counters are holding the reins at BNSF, one of the country’s biggest rail companies.  A Montana newspaper reports: Freight trains don’t usually run on a set schedule and they don’t stop moving just because it’s a weekend or holiday. However, on the flip side of that unpredictable lifestyle was the fact… Continue reading Another reason for the supply chain crunch: daft personnel policies

Advice needed: how to mount a window A/C unit in a metal building

  I’ve just learned that installing a ductless, split-level air-conditioning unit in my new garden shed/utility building will be financially out of my reach.  A quote obtained early this year was about $2K, but one obtained this week is literally double that, with one option reaching almost three times as much.  It looks like the… Continue reading Advice needed: how to mount a window A/C unit in a metal building

State of the author in early April

  It’s been several weeks since I updated readers on the progress (or lack thereof) in my writing.  Briefly, there hasn’t been much, because as I mentioned some time ago, Miss D. and I received payment for a large and long-outstanding debt.  It’s cleared our backlog of bills, which is very welcome indeed.  Rather than… Continue reading State of the author in early April

The joys of juggling contractors

  As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Miss D. and I were recently paid a sum of money that’s been due to us for a long time.  We’re putting it to work, rather than leaving it in the bank to lose double-digit percentages of its value every year to the ravages of inflation.  So… Continue reading The joys of juggling contractors

The joys of installing a new HVAC system

  A short while ago, I noted: We recently got paid a useful sum of money that’s been owed to us for some time.  If we put it in the bank, the inflation rate would reduce its buying power by double digit percentages every year; so we’re going to put it to work instead, by… Continue reading The joys of installing a new HVAC system

No Saturday Snippet today…

  … because life has gotten in the way.  I’m tied up with the domestic rearrangements I spoke about earlier, making preparations for a great deal of work to be done by contractors over the next week or two. Please amuse yourselves with the bloggers listed in the sidebar.  I’ll try to put up my… Continue reading No Saturday Snippet today…