My new yard sign arrived a few days ago and is out in the front yard. It looks terrific.

 

Although I’m not actively seeking new clients at the moment (in fact, I have one waiting in the wings locally, in case one of my two regular long-term clients stops using me), I actually got the sign mostly to let would-be thieves know that this place is occupied 24/7/365 so it doesn’t look like a good hunting ground for thieves unless they want to risk taking us on. Jackie and I take turns leaving this place. In case of a home invasion where the miscreants don’t care if anyone is home, we’re alarmed and armed.

 

The neighbors on both sides of us have been robbed during the 13 years we’ve been here (none were home invasion robberies while people were home), but we haven’t. I think my yard signs have probably been the reasons why.

 

Our vehicles are parked inside the garage, too, when we aren’t driving them, so no one can tell when we’re here or gone, and we watch as we leave to make sure no strangers are sitting around in vehicles or walking on the street.

 

We’re fenced on three sides of the property, too.

 

So, we’ve done what we can to secure our place. I’m not worried, and never have been, but Jackie has been watching FOX for years (the station that breeds fear of “the other”) and firmly believes the world is “out to get us,” so she insists on being armed and alarmed.  That’s very sad, IMO. (But if it makes her feel better, that’s what’s important! I just wish she weren’t so fearful. It’s a sad way to perceive life and other human beings. Armed nervous people make me super nervous!)

 

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW

 

My old smartphone isn’t holding a charge anymore, so I ordered a new one from Consumer Cellular. It’s on its way and should be here tomorrow. Then I get to figure out how to run it.

 

My old one is a Motorola. The new one is a Galaxy A12 (if I’m remembering right). I’m sure there will be a learning curve, and I want to have it all figured out before I venture north to the dental consultation in Seattle next month to see if I’m a good candidate for a tooth implant. I hope so, and I hope I can afford one if I am.

 

My flipper works okay, but I forget to put it in. I take it out to eat and then usually leave it out.  With an implant, I will have a permanent tooth that can stay put when I eat. That will be nice!

 

EDITING WORK IS FINISHED FOR NOW

 

I have edited two manuscripts in the past two months (I will get signed copies when they’re published so I can post images here) and done a little work for several clients, but this week I have been on a sort of “hiatus” (in between tasks), and that has been nice. (Weird, but nice!)  I’m sure I’ll get slammed with tasks again as soon as I meet with my most prolific client this weekend via phone or Zoom.

 

The most recent manuscript I edited still needs to be reviewed and any final changes made, but I anticipate that won’t take much time. The author wants to tweak a page, is all.  His book is fabulous.  I hope it gets him more exposure and even a movie made about his amazing life.

 

SBA EIDL LOAN UPDATE

 

I finally got  auto pay working for my SBA EIDL loan ($5000) payback. Jeez, what a PITA!  I’ve tried twice before and even received confirmations that it had been set up, but nothing has ever come out of my bank account, so I finally sent them a letter DEMANDING they straighten it out.

 

This morning I was able to set it up and receive confirmation (again) that the money will start coming out in mid-April.  We’ll see how that goes!  They said it would start coming out in January and it never did. Last year I sent them $1075 before they extended the deadline for repayment, and I tried at that time (a year ago) to have them take out $25/month from then on, but they never did, so now I’m having them take $50/month out. IT HAD BETTER WORK or I’m going to have a major meltdown.

 

(I qualified for a loan two years ago because COVID tanked my business so significantly that I needed help to keep it afloat.)

 

TREE-TRIMMING TIME

 

Yesterday, Jackie and I spent about an hour trimming the two smallest trees in our garden out front.

 

We asked a company to give us a quote to trim the biggest tree in our front yard. They came back with a quote of more than $1,000, so we declined.

 

The last time we had that tree trimmed down, nine or ten years ago, it cost a little over $300, so we’re going to get a few more quotes to see if we can get one that makes sense to us. If we can’t, we’ll figure out a way to do it ourselves. A chain saw that will do the job will cost about $300. (We have three chain saws, but the two not on a pole are too big and  too small.) We can build a scaffold using the sawhorses we have to get up high enough to cut the big branches, and we can use the small chainsaw on a pole to cut the smaller branches and twigs. So, we’ll get ‘er done, one way or the other!

 

What else?

 

SWAPPED OUT THE RAT CONDO FOR A NEW, EXPANDED ONE

 

Last night, I combined two cardboard box rat condos into one massive complex and invited the rats to move to it.  They did so readily. (They like to move into new digs.)  I swap out their condos about once a week, as soon as I catch a whiff of rat urine.  They don’t like being in stinky places any more than I do. They’re very fastidious.  They use a birdcage for most of their droppings at night, when the cats are banned from the room.

Yes, my rats are loose. No, they don’t go anywhere. They stay right where they’re supposed to.  It’s amazing, but there you have it. I’ve had them almost a year now and they’re fabulous pets. They will live about two years. After that, I’ll get my den back. I will be able to put the ferret habitat and the terrarium (which serve as foundations for the rat condo and additional play spaces for the rats) outside and reclaim all that space.  I won’t know what to do with it, but I’ll probably put plants there. I rescued these eight female rats from almost certain death (from becoming snake food at a pet store). I’m glad I did it, but I’m also ready to reclaim my den as soon as these ladies go to ratty heaven. I’m hoping to rescue a ferret someday. That’s why I have the ferret habitat. (A friend gave it to me.)

 

I guess that’s all the news that’s fit to print for this time. Take care, go for a walk, and think happy thoughts!

Try smiling (even if you don’t feel like it) and feel what it does to lift  your spirits. It’s A-MAY-ZING!