Till Tomorrow

The guy with the tractor (I assume a small one) is coming tomorrow to till the yard. I have everything all cleared for him to get through and around, just have to drop the zip line, which will take under one minute. 

I promised him $40 for the job, since it will save me money, time and labor. Just renting a tiller for one day would have cost me $55-60. The $40 isn't a completely necessary expense but it's reasonable. Besides, I am still hoping to make some return on the garden investments in the form of reduced grocery bills. 

Got a used ceiling fan at Restore today for $10. I need at least one more, preferably 2-3 more but the others on hand right now were either questionable in their completeness or just didn't match the color continuity in the house. I'll go back at later dates. They're between my house and work office and one hospital I frequently work at. The one I got today is nearly new, saved me at least $30 and helps keep it from the landfill. 

I'm hoping I can find a used water heater for under $100. New one costs over $300, minimum and can go up over $1000. WTF? Why would you pay over $1000 for a water heater?! Also hoping I can find one non-working but not leaking for the solar project. (Can move up to multiple tanks later, after I have a chance to experiment with the idea. Is it worth it to go that far? More plumbing, more weight.. No urge to have three water heater tanks crashing through the roof from combined weight to gain 5 degrees extra heat in the water. Doesn't sound like fun.)

Daughter is still sick. Turns out it's strep. I have her loaded with enough medication to combat a nerve agent. She's better but still coughing from all the mucous. That's the bad thing about strep, aside from feeling like garbage all over. The sore throat and mucous cause coughing. The coughing irritates the throat, making your throat worse and that causes more mucous production. But the worst part of all is trying to sleep with it. I keep hearing her coughing and moaning with frustration. She's an amazing kid. She stays energetic and mostly cheerful even though she's sick. Wanted to go for a long walk this evening. It was sunset and too late to go walking, with all the snakes and coyotes around here. Besides, it started getting colder around 3 PM today, so not a good idea with strep. Maybe we'll try tomorrow afternoon, if it's warm enough. 

Need to get to bed. Still keeping the monitor on.