I spent 7 hours messing around with lawnmowers yesterday.  I ended up spending money on new tires for the riding mower, just one left to go, but it's still holding air.  Those tires aren't cheap.  I also ended up driving clear to Longview to find the right size belt, of which I did - or hoped I did anyway.  

I got back from that trip, put the belt on and it appears as tho it's the correct size.  Loose when not engaged and firm but not too tight when it's engaged.  But at that point, I had only replaced the front tires, trying to get out of this without dumping too much money into the thing, at the same time, trying to get it running to where I won't have to fool with it for a while.  

But, it was obvious one of the rear tires needed replaced and so, I went and bought a tire, took it to the tire shop - I can't bust those tires off of there - got that done and now it's sitting in the back of the vehicle.  I didn't get back there after that yesterday, it was near 4:30 in the afternoon and I was done.  I'm waiting to go over there for the tent lady needs a ride from a repair shop.  Her car's tail lights aren't working, she got stopped for it, got a ticket and that was that. James tried to figure it out, there is a short in the system somewhere and tho he took half the car apart (not literally, of course but he was digging well into it), he couldn't figure it out and declared he didn't have the time to be fooling around with it any further.

Don't blame him at all.  I've let her have a break on rent/payments until she gets that resolved. Otherwise, she has no wheels, can't to go work and I have people living in a unit that isn't paying anything.  It's not like the New Jersey people who don't work at all, she's actually trying.  There is a huge difference and hence my differing viewpoints of these people.  They're both poor but one is trying. I would say the other is not, but the NJ lady has a serious disability with her hands basically fused together, but that dude living with her? Healthy, young, could be working, won't keep a job. If she were alone I would have a different perspective.  

I'm slowly easing myself back into weight lifting again. Nothing grand, just my arm muscles have slowly been wasting away with truck driving that doesn't really demand anything of you. This new job is different, lifting hoses and walking up and down stairs and ladders, but nothing like the flatbed job with Ferguson that had me lifting hundreds of pounds on a daily basis, multiple times per day.

I feel like I  am slowly returning to some semblance of normal in my sleep patterns.  Still far from rested, I wake up now and it's nothing like it used to be and I thought what used to be wasn't all that great.  Again, that orientation and training is nothing I ever want to go through again, not under those types of circumstances anyway.  

So, Republic Services calls anything in the dumpster that goes above the top level of it "overage" and charges you extra.  $67 per pickup.  There are no other players in the area that does dumpster service.  There is one service that local businessmen were trying to get to start service here that is far cheaper, they started the discussion in the local gossip group and many concurred the extremely high prices of Republic, but they never followed up with it.  I tried to get anyone to update, no word.  

I'm going to revisit this issue today and see if anyone got anywhere with this.  The other company said if enough businesses would sign up, they would expand service into our region.  I have done whatever I can to reduce expenses, I was okay with the price they were charging but now that I have found out that they are charging that much extra even for a small amount of overage, I'm going to try again.  I haven't had a lot of it going on since those people across the street moved out, but every dollar spent on expenses is less profit for me.  That's the bottom line.

The giant electric bill hit the bank last night after paying it yesterday, ouch.  I've got some payments coming in the next several days that will help, the quiktrip worker never did respond, I'm going to text him again today.  The electric bill will go down more this next billing cycle, but it still stayed warm for a couple of weeks into it. Temps are definitely down now, highs in the low 80's the next few days and then drops to highs in the low 70's after that.  

If I can get that riding mower going this morning, I can spend the day cutting everything down and be done with that for a little while and can face the prospect of going back to work. I don't do the doggy park anymore, that lady does that by her own accord.  However, there is the entire area behind the trailers, the small field behind the shed, the area next to the driveway next to the field (there is a line of trees in between the two) and there is the front by the signs.  

Oh, that riding mower also needs new blades. Just not going to do that right now, will take too much time and it works - not as good as it could - but it works.  The blades aren't particularly expensive, the problem is taking the entire deck off the mower so that it can be brought out from underneath the tractor and turned upside down to work on it.  It's just going to take a day to do it, I can easily predict that right now.  I don't know when they are going to "demand" me going back to work, spending a day on that isn't in the cards right now.  

I'm just sitting here watching continuing coverage of the war in Israel.  I am personally not a fan of wars, I understand why Israel is engaged in it and it's a necessary evil, but it's still sad to see so many people dying.  They put up mothers and fathers of children who have gone missing and they tell the story of how those children ....

....time is up. The tent lady called, she's headed to the shop, I'm picking her up and taking her to her work.

G'day