We Have No Idea What We're Doing, But I Have One Foot In The Grave Anyway...

 My Dad, after the better part of 50 years of being a contractor, finally retired on December 31st. I called my Mum the other day and she told me he was enjoying his retirement by putting in a window for a customer. I don't really think he understands what being retired is all about, but still, I suppose there's an enormous difference between having to go to work, and wanting to go to work.

I called him today to ask him some technical advice. Hubs has been asking for a shed for years and I was thinking about getting him one for his birthday/father's day this year.  I had some general questions about size, permitting, etc. I am thinking about a pre fab one, simply because while I think both of us here at Clueless Construction can create a level platform for a shed to sit on, I am not fully confident in our ability to build a watertight roof that will not crush under potentially 2 feet of ice and snow. After all, our moto is "We have no idea what we are doing."

Me: So Dad, I know you're retired, but ... blah blah, size, lot lines, plastic, prefab... blah, blah

Him: Well, why wouldn't you just add on an extra room to the garage?

Me: Like on the side? And tie it into the roof line?  You do realize we have no idea what we're doing right?

Him: Eh, it's fine, just keep it a low roof, and follow the pitch... blah, blah...

Me: Maybe if you came over and knocked it out with Hubs, but like you're retired...

Him: Yeah, well that could be fun.  You let me know.

I'm not sure how much fun that would be, but I hope he likes getting paid in steak and cheese hoagies.  Because after pricing everything out, we will need a small mortgage to get this done regardless of if we decide to do prefab or not.  The cost of building materials, and well, everything, is ridiculous. 

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I bought myself an everlywell food sensitivity test to see if there's an ingredient I have a sensitivity to that I'm missing. It was a relatively simple test, and the results came back in about a week. Turns out I'm highly reactive to eggs, and moderately reactive to milk (but not cheese which is weird), Brazil nuts (not even sure I've ever had one) and chicken. I'm already Celiac, so no wheat, oat, barely or rye for me since 2007.  

If you're wondering what I can eat based off these results, you are not alone.  I have no idea either. 

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My ADD is in high gear lately, not sure why.  My restlessness has spurred a flurry of projects, many of which have sat undone for weeks. Of course, it doesn't help that we've had to tag team laundry duty at the mat twice a week, and I'm still working 6 days a week due to covid shortages, but I still needed a plan of attack or we'd be in pretty bad shape soon. So, I've made a list, no matter how small or big, with the goal of checking a few off a week. 

This week, I plan to fix Oldest's laundry bag and the hole in my sweatshirt, frame and mount Hub's collectible Bordaro Pinheiro Portugues fish so they don't break (again), work on finishing a puzzle with Hubs that he got for Christmas (from me), put up shelves, clear the wall of stuff from the breaker so the electrician has access to it, and buy/change the filter for the furnace. While this week's list isn't huge, I assure you, it's a feat to get it all done. Especially since the puzzle, now complete, took us collectively about 40 hours to finish, it's a tough one.

I also have a "business meeting" scheduled with Youngest. He has big plans, but no real steps to get there, so I have a choice, stay quiet and watch him fail, or give him my best advice (not as a mom but as someone with a degree in what he wants to do, and nearly 20 years in that field) and let him do with it what he wants. It's also a "life meeting", as his plans include moving out and being self-sufficient, neither of which he will do in the short time frame he would like if he doesn't have some deadlines. He approached me for advice on credit cards, and he's secured a, albeit a part time, job.  I find comfort in his communication, but while he's up for the meeting, he has yet to actually sit down for it.  We shall see...

Hubs and I did find time last week to run over to the burial plot I bought so he'd know where it was. The ground was all squishy, semi frozen, and super sticky as the weather's been wonky here.  It was the kind of mud that envelops your feet and can suck your shoe in.   While walking back to the vacant section, my foot slipped a bit, got stuck in about 4 inches of mud, and took me more than a second to pull out. It also happened to slide me right into the edge of a tombstone.

"I literally had one foot in the grave!!!"

Hubs just laughed and laughed.  

Keep laughing buddy boy, with everything that needs doing this week, your foot might be right in there with mine.