Weekends are for Catching Up

We're not all fat and Happy, but we're happy for the weekend. It's a great time to catch up on EVERYTHING.

I rarely get to see Shane's virtual school, but I know he attends. We've got a system that works out and he even remembers without being told most of the time.

I assumed he was doing great since he was always in class. 

So I was surprised when I checked his account for the first time in forever. He had 23 missing assignments!

We spent the whole weekend catching up. Shane knocked off 19 assignments by Monday morning. I'd make him finish two or three and then turn him loose for an hour. Then I'd call him back and we'd chip away. There were some he could do in mere minutes while others were like trying to pull teeth from a wild animal (mostly writing assignments!).

Early on, Shane was whining about a math assignment, because "all of the clicking was too much work."

"How about I show you a better way to do it?" I said.

"You're not listening, Dad," Shane said.

"Oh, I hear you. How about I show you a better way?"

It only escalated. Shane wanted to whine and I didn't want to hear it. I was in teacher mode and kept stating we'd get it done in a calm voice while Shane kept raising his.

"No! YOU'RE NOT LISTENING, DAD!"

Once he started yelling at me I raised my voice right back. "NO. I HEAR you. YOU aren't hearing ME."

And then I showed my trick and Shane was silent. I'd like to think he realized both how much easier the trick made his life and that he'd put his foot in his mouth.

The worksheet had a bunch of blanks for numbers. He didn't want to click and put a text book in every single blank. My solution was to just make a big text box, type on top, and hit enter move down a line each time. 

He'd have made 24 text boxes, but my solution used 6.

And then I showed him how to copy-paste.

The math assignments all went very quickly.

My grading did not. I spent over 7 hours catching up on everything. The server crashed Saturday night, so I was forced to work more on Sunday than I wanted.

It felt good knocking out all the work. I even liked some of Shane's assignments as talking points.

Looking into the future - Carrie saw what we did and worked with Shane during the school week once she knew the assignments were there. She found he'd skipped some essential assignments, too, and had him fully caught up in everything by Wednesday.

School wasn't the only thing we worked on. We finally got our bi-monthly dump trip in Saturday afternoon.

I had been trying to get us to go for a month. I dream of the day we can fit all of the trash in the truck bed without the trailer and do light runs.

Instead, we dropped off 640 lbs of assorted trash and lots and lots and lots of cat poop. 

We recycled cardboard, too. The highlight for Shane was the cardboard compactor.

Not that it was easy to see anything!

We were already out so we swung by Costco to take care of groceries. 

When we got home I started working on dishes and laundry before Carrie and I did Saturday night barn cleaning to get things ready for the boarders on Sunday.

Next weekend should be a lot easier. There won't be trash, groceries, or Shane-work! It felt good to gain ground.

Bi-Monthly Dump Day

I dream of the day we can visit the dump without filling the trailer. Waiting two months instead of one hurts the cause.

The awning's delivery produced more crash than the truck bed could have handled. I didn't have much luck fitting the pallet in the trailer, either.

We decided against throwing it away. Carrie wants to use the chainsaw to cut it into some trellises for the garden.

We didn't trouble filling the trailer with other junk.

Some paint got spilled that I wish we could take to the dump. It'll be easier to clean once it dries (and it will bake in the heat for sure!).

What was it like to park a car in the garage? Was it really so long ago?

Shane helped with the recycling per usual. It's fun to chuck things!

The dump got an upgrade, too. The bins and signage all look exactly like the one in town. We can recycle plastics now!

I was happy that we made it before the temperature crept over 90 degrees. Say one thing about my allergies, a stuffy nose helps deal with terrible smells. Whatever had been marinating in the heat and decomposing in our cans went right through the mask. I turned a pair over to drain.

Old cat pee ate a small hole in the bottom of one. It leaked in the garage. Bleh!

It was probably less than 2.5 hours worth of work including the drive. I felt accomplished for the rest of the day. My summer standards for work are much lower than during the year.

BONUS: 

One of the reasons we have so much stuff is excessive packaging. Did this really need FOUR bags Amazon?

COVID 19 - The Coronavirus: Dump run

Two months later, it was time to go to the dump again. It'd been too long.

We had lots and lots of boxes from deliveries and I've been having Shane crush cans and sort recycling as a chore every now and then.

It's amazing what you can fit into a horse trailer.

We filled a good chunk of the cardboard container all on our own! Unfortunately, the dump still doesn't accept plastics (#1 and #2's), so those had to stay in the back of the truck for an eventual city run.

It was $9 to dump 340 pounds of trash. Recycling was free of charge.

I'd guess it took a couple of gallons of diesel at around $2 a gallon and with some minor wear and tear on the car, let's say it was $15 bucks and less than three hours of our time with driving (which we listened to Evil Spy School on the way there, so it was fun!).

NOTE: There were some people with masks, but we never got too close to anyone. Everything is outside. I tied a bandanna around my neck at the transfer station in case I needed to pull it up. The workers in the transfer station had masks they'd pull up if someone got close enough. It was all business for me, though. Shane and Carrie stayed in the car while I threw everything out and then hopped back in. Two months of cat waste cooking in a plastic can smell terrific.

COVID 19 - The Coronavirus: When We Do Go Out....BEFORE the "Stay Home"

Thursday, 3/26 we went on our bi-monthly dump run. It was the first time Shane left the house since we dropped Nibbs off on 3/15. 

I had a virtual staff meeting at 1:30 PM, so Carrie didn't think we'd have time to drop off some cardboard boxes.

There was no one ahead of us. We really should have grabbed more stuff to get rid of!

I was the only one who got out of the car at the dump. When we drove to Costco Carrie was the only one who got out.

Gas prices were the lowest I've seen in over a decade. I had to have still been in college. I remember it being cheaper, but that goes all the way back to high school for me.

We dropped by Southern States on the way home and it was Carrie's turn to get out again. 

Then we swung by Ace Hardware for a final stop where Carrie backed the truck and trailer up pick up sweet feed (She had to park at a weird angle due to a semi and then brought the trailer around hard and drove up in reverse. One of the guys laughed and called out, "You can drive, girl!").

Did you see the pattern? 

Only one of us got out at each stop. Shane stuck in the car, because he can't be trusted not to crawl on the ground and lick his hands or pick his nose.

Are we high-risk for the virus? No.

Based on the numbers there's less than a 0.1% chance we'd bump into anyone who's carrier. At the time there were less than 1,000 positive test results out of over 8.5 million people in VA. Even if you suspected there were 20 times as many cases due to lack of testing and asymptomatic carriers that would put the percentage at a little over 0.2%

However, if we're going to support the system, Carrie and I figured we may as well do the self-isolation thing right. She has gone to the grocery store or hardware store a couple of times, but Shane's stayed at home and I've stayed at home.

Except for book club.

I have left the house for a little under 2 hours each Sunday. We've met at Mark's brewery where we were the only three people sitting around, because it was closed!

We've always sat far enough apart (I had my own table!) and Mark washed his hands before he grabbed anyone some beers.

It's not following the rules of quarantine 100%, but we did the social distancing bit and there hasn't been a stay at home order.

Until now.

The order came out at 2 PM Monday. Patrick was happy the government was endorsing his lifestyle of choice!

Carrie was in the barn when the announcement was made. She was in the process of trying to shut down when I told her to hold up.

Not that it stopped, Carrie!

She saw Madeleine pull up when we were talking in the garage. Carrie ran down to tell her we were closed ("Game off!"), but I caught up to her with the written order on my phone. I showed her what I'd read and we were back in business ("Game on!").

1.E applies to our barn from my understanding of what was written. Carrie decided that to best follow the directive, any boarders who wanted to visit would need to text or call in advance. If anyone else texted for a similar time, Carrie would direct them to come earlier or later so that only one boarder was on property at a time. That way we could ensure there were always less than 6 people around the barn to allow for easy distancing.

I don't think we even needed to do that based on Section 2. Gatherings of 10 or more people are prohibited, but I think our record was 9 people on property when the cousins and grandparents visited. At that only happened once!

We're doing our part to keep with the spirit of things, though. The 'mandate' was mainly targeted at the larges groups of people on beaches or going to parties and acting like there isn't a need for social distancing. I could understand more resistance to staying in all the time in the really rural stretches, but Virginia Beach? I get that it's outside. I get that the odds are low. However, I also know that if enough people play the odds the virus is going to get passed around more than it needs to be and the odds will become higher the more people play them (and very stealthily with the way the virus presents itself).

Working Saturday

There was a layer of fog as Loki and I went outside for some morning relief. I saw something out in the fields and went to investigate.

Somehow, Kitty managed to ditch her blanket. I picked it up and dropped it in the barn for examination.

Carrie had the pole barn guys spread gravel dust out in all the dry lots during the week. It survived it's first test with all the rain we had. The dry lots are not a giant mess of mud. It looks nicer and helps with drainage.

The downside is we now have to scoop poop wherever this is gravel dust. That adds ground to cover.

Shane's done a good job of helping out. He hasn't complained too much since I assigned him as my helper following the cat pee incident (Carrie sprayed a bunch of air freshener and now the laundry room smells like peppermint piss). He doesn't do an A+ job and it makes everything take longer, but he's learning to be useful. He's not doing a bad job either.

I have Shane scoop poop for the most part. It's a crappy job, but someone has to do it!

Kitty and Annie are getting along famously. I have limited experience with horses, but I know enough to laugh at their lack of personal space. I've started to think of them as a "two-headed monster."

When Shane and I were done with horse chores, I had him suit up for TKD. That he protested. There was no wrestling tournament, though, and I wanted him to do something around other kids. His protests were ignored.

In typical Shane fashion, he told me he had a ton of fun when class was over. We had the same talk about "choosing our attitudes" I feel like we always do when he throws a fit about doing something and ends up not wanting to stop.

Maybe this time it will stick (but I'm not holding my breath).

It felt like spring, so I wanted to do a dump run when we got home. Carrie and I team lifted old stall doors while I assigned Shane tasks that fit his stature.

He provided some imagination.

Shane helping stresses Carrie out sometimes. She'd rather do things herself, so they're done to her standard and in her time. I'm a stickler for making Shane participate. I figure it's work and time for me now, but I hope it will grow him and help him to be more useful later. Mistakes will happen, but I'll deal with them and blog about anything funny enough to repeat!

We spent over half an hour cleaning out the barn and the garage of broken pallets, doors, cardboard, and trash.

It normally costs $7 to dump our trash, but we had to pay $17 today because we went over 600 lbs! That's a lot of trash! We dropped off the cardboard at the recycling center before hopping on the scales, so all 630 lbs of trash was true trash.

It was the afternoon by the time we got home. There was some cleaning and some rest before Shane and I went out for evening horse chores. It was a productive day.

To the Dump!

How long can we go in between dump runs? Over a month apparently. 

We were in desperate need, though.

I'd mentioned our need for a dump run to Carrie a few times hoping she'd do a run while I was at work one day. Alas, there have been 1,000 other things going on. She's had work, used the trailer for hay, and hurt herself.

Today was the day. All hands were on deck. Shane helped Carrie and I pull out all the garbage and all the recycling and we filled the horse trailer. We had a mountain of cardboard from moving and ordering barn bits and pieces online.

We cleaned trash out of all the cars except the blue truck, too. I'm happy to report we did work.

Unfortunately, it all took way longer than expected. First, Shane missed TKD. I refused to admit we wouldn't make it to soccer until we were long past the point of no return. Our one hour "throw the junk in the trailer and swing by the dump" was nearly a three hour escapade.

After spending nearly an hour gathering all the trash, all the recycling, and cleaning out the cars we spent half an hour driving to the junkyard. We might have got there faster with an alternative route, but we stuck to larger roads for an easier haul.

We unloaded 200 lbs of trash for $7. We had to wait for the bulldozers to finish tidying up before we could throw all of our junk out (Thankfully, we had the foresight to put all the trash near the end).

We learned many lessons when we dropped by the recycling center.

Lesson #1 - They expect all your recycling to be pre-sorted.

We had no idea. The recycling pickup was single-stream in the city. 

Carrie was stressed and worried about timing and broken glass. Shane was thrilled to play toss the can!

Lesson #2 - The guy said no plastic.

That's right. No plastic bottles. 

We said, "Really!? We brought so many...." and he said, "Well, throw them in that one I guess."

Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Lesson #3 - No one's in a hurry at the dump.

We pulled up to the cardboard dumpster and it was full.

So were we.

We asked one of the workers and he came over and said, "Yup. That's full." That wasn't very helpful, but he followed it up with, "I'll switch them out."

He walked away and 15 minutes later we were wondering what ever happened to him. We'd sorted through a lot of trash and Carrie was getting nervous about timing. Her parents had wanted to meet us at Shane's soccer game. They were already arriving in Charlottesville and detouring to pick up lunch and we were still stuck at the dump. We'd spent most of the morning on trash detail and normal chores so the house was not picked up.

Carrie was ready to drive off, but I refused. I wanted to get rid of all the cardboard.

A big truck hauling a dumpster showed up a minute later. He had to drop the new container off, shoo off some cars to get to the full dumpster, and haul it off.

Then he drove back, moved the new dumpster, and opened it up for business.

We unloaded everything as fast as we could.

We discovered we missed a can full of recycling, but I compromised and we saved it for next time. There was no time to spare, so we took the small roads back and it was a good thing we did. A contractor called about giving an estimate. They were at our house and we were still 15 minutes out!

We made it in the end. Carrie hopped out to talk to the contractors and Shane and I went inside to do a blitz pickup. Loki was happy to see us.

Grandpa and Grandma arrived with lunch and we all watched Penn State clobber Purdue. Carrie took a nap, Grandpa phased in and out, and Shane mused aloud that he would much prefer the iPad (spoiler: he didn't get it).

Grandma and Shane went out to measure lengths for potential gardens. If you didn't know this about Grandma, she's a master garden. She already has her house master gardened, so she's eager for a new canvas!

I did not expect to spend my Saturday afternoon with a foxtail picking party in the front lawn. I was the gopher.

I would have liked to have taken Shane, Loki, and (in my dreams) Carrie to Silas' wife's bday party at a winery, but our timings were out of whack all day. I hadn't known we were having visitors when I said we'd try to go and family takes precedence. 

Shane finally earned the iPad after Grandma was done working him. Grandpa, Grandma, and Carrie discussed all sorts of things including a good location for a picnic table.

At one point, Grandma asked me a question and Carrie supplied, "He's probably not the one to ask!"

Which is true. I'm happy with the way things are and in no rush to do anything. Grandpa wants to start working to get grass as soon as possible and I'd just as soon leave it be for now. I feel like we've been going and working fairly non-stop on anything and everything.

When Grandpa and Grandma left....well, I went to work on other things. I'd done some grading before cleaning in the morning, but there was more to do. I'm trying to avoid doing any school work on Sunday, so if I don't do it Saturday I won't be prepared Monday!

Loki was tired by the end of the day. He wasn't the only one!

We enjoyed the visit. I may want more down time, but I also want more visitors to help fill the down time.