kk, starting work on jerky now.

Edit 7:19pm: Recently finished.  I also cleaned up and took out the trash.

I did procrastinate a bit with this, but now that I have some jerky in the dehydrator, I'm kinda looking forward to more cooking projects.

TAGS: cooking

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Last Friday when I spent much of the day clearing away the piles of branches from the back yard, I'd say I cleared away about 95% of the piles.  I don't want to declare that they are fully cleared away until the remaining bits have been cleared away.  Some of that stuff includes charcoal and some stumps.  I'm probably also going to include a back yard project that I am also working on.

When I first started working on the biggest pile of the three which is now only stumps, I discovered a LOT of garbage that I have been diligently cleaning up.  At the current stage of my clean up I have decided to take the lengthy, but somewhat enjoyable, step of sifting through a fair amount of dirt to remove mostly trash.  It'll take a bit, but in the end I have hope that it will be worth it.

I purchased a few more tools from the local hardware store.  My jigsaw is now up and running again.

TAGS: none

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Gonna head to bed early tonight, but I wanted to give a small update on the house.  I spent much of today clearing up the two piles of branches although, I'd really call it three.  Anyway, I have been dropping them off at the local compost facility.  They charge $0.50 per container and it doesn't matter the size of the container.  Or free if I don't use a container.  Go figure .  It was quite a bit of fun clearing things up and my back yard looks so much better now.

What remains is to just pick up some stray sticks and clear out a small area of charcoal and I can move on to other aspects of the yard.  Oh!  I also have some nice looking tulips growing around my house that I didn't know about.

TAGS: home improvement

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1. Remove two piles of branches
   
2. Seal porch (R)
   
3. Tune up deck
   
4. Get/Build Shed (R)
   
5. Tune up AC unit
   
6. Unlisted item (R)
   
7. Add humidifier to HVAC
   
8. Consult with flood zone inspector
   
9. Gas Stove
   
10. Remove tree #2
    
11. Roommate (?)
    
12. Basement (big project)
    
    • wall
      
    • floor
      
    • Install door to basement (R)
      
    • Seal AC/Heating in basement
      
    • Fix foundation sections outdoors
      
    • Insulate basement
      
    • ✔ (completed: 03/13/26) Install Dryer (R)
      
    • ✔ (completed: 03/13/26) Install Washer (R)

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1. ✔ (04/17/26) Get Lawnmower (R)
   
2. ✔ (01/09/26) Gas Hearth installed
   
3. ✔ (12/19/25) Extend Gas lines (2)
   
4. ✔ (11/18/25) New water heater
   
5. ✔ (10/14/25) Remove tree 1
   
6. ✘ (10/13/25) Fix Bathroom fan #2
   
7. ✔ (10/11/25) Fix bathroom fan #1
   
8. ✔ (10/10/25) Finish moving items from previous residence (✔ mats, ✔ clothes, and ✔ books from garage)
   
9. ✔ (10/03/25) Sewer
   
10. ✔ (10/01/25) Assemble two shelves
    

I'd say those are all of the really important things.

I'd like to be able to get all, or at least most of it done, within 5 years.

TAGS: home improvement, mini-review