Kit's Kitty Korner [back to work]

[Kitalpha Hart]

Gon s focus on the house this year, dad still has to remove his shed, the playset, and some other things before I can focus on the outdoors

I want some sort of stone/slate tiles around the fire pit tho, preferably larger ones so I can put down furniture. A pergola, a bit from the pit as a second (covered) area, maybe around where the playset is now. Make the front all flower garden/clover so it doesn't grow too long, plus mowing on a hill gets removed. Mostly flowers, I think. Back yard that's still lawn will be clovered as well. Or something that's local and good for the environment here. Maybe expand the one copse a bit, several pines there are finally dying and it makes a wind break
The side yard has been sloooooooooooooooooooooooowly getting taken over by violets, I might encourage that somehow. Also a low-growth plant
To the side of the garage is basically an ugly dump pit that has no priority cuz it serves as home for a lot of critters and is pretty well hidden anyway
Behind the garage, if I bother, might become a small veggie garden. Realistically, more flowers, preferably of the plant and forget variety. I work nights, so the best times to tend to crops I'm either asleep or at work so a veggie garden isn't really feasible for me

[Lemon Cheesecake]

There are different kinds of coverage to put down instead of grass (or weeds) ... I am working on replacing areas with ice plant. It flowers very pretty & for the west coast grows well on its own.
Violets sound beautiful! I've had difficulty growing them where I am... maybe too hot? But I love the flower.

You are going to have a very comfy place when you get everything completed.

Can you make the playset into something you can hang a chair swing or hammock on?

[Kitalpha Hart]

Yeah, the whole lawn thing is a rich person from the middle ages showing off kind of thing that's lasted

I am. It'll take some years, of course, but it'll be very me

The playset is gonna be moved to mom n dad's so no point

[Lemon Cheesecake]

I have a grass allergy so not good to have it. I didn't mind mowing but that is a whole other maintenance issue.

Any improvement you do increases the value of your house should you decide to sell later... but it sounds like it is going to be so cute so why would you?

[Kitalpha Hart]

Oof

Maybe when I'm something like 80 and need to live in a retirement home lol

[Kitalpha Hart]

Had a mandate
Had my lead give me stuff I needed for my job, somehow instead of saying "thanks [lead]" or just "thanks" I said "thanks dad" and didn't clock it until half an hour later
A coworker of mine is pretty sure that he didn't clock it at all himself, but since I wasn't looking at his face when I said it, who knows

[Lemon Cheesecake]

I like the long term thinking on the house.

Ohhh something you can laugh about.

[Kitalpha Hart]

Thinking long term also means I don't need to rush to get it all done ASAP, I can save up for it
Dad has referred to me as a spending saver in the past. I'll spend my money, but I also keep in mind what kind of money I have and hold some back, moreso if I'm saving for something. In this case, the bathroom reno. But at the same time if there's something I want to get and it's something that's going fast and I have the money on hand with the knowledge that the money will be replaced, I'll drop the dough. I did this back when the Switch was still new and almost impossible to get your hands on. It was early enough in the work season (I was still at my summer job at the time) that I could get the last Switch Amazon had in stock at the time and still save plenty up during full season
Unlike my sibs
Oldest sister spends money she doesn't have and then doesn't prioritize what funds she does have (a cruise somehow ranks higher than moving from an apartment to a house)
Second sister I'm not in contact with, haven't been in nearly a decade, so I don't know for her her choice to not be in touch
Brother is somehow both a skinflint but also drops money like it's nothing. $600 vacuum cleaner? Yes. $3 inner tube for his oldest child's bike? No, too expensive. No one gets it

Pfft. Another coworker agrees that our lead likely didn't clock it. So do I keep calling him dad, do I act like it didn't happen and just use his name, or do I go full smartass mode and call him mom?

[galled]

Saving money (amassing credit/currency) is not only important and responsible, but the other aspect in the equation is it's not how much you make, but how much you spend that makes all of the difference.

When it comes to home improvements for example, buying quality components (not the most expensive, but the best value=quality/price) at the lowest price by shopping is a no-brainer, but figuring out how to get it installed properly at the cheapest price (again value--having it installed cheaply, but wrong is no savings) saves huge amounts of money!

You've got it figured out, Kit. I have no doubt you'll get there.

That said a $600 vacuum in today's inflation isn't that outrageous. Whether someone needs that level of performance (as opposed to just buying trendy) depends on how much vacuuming needs to be done. Could be a bargain if a lot of vacuuming is done and it can last for decades.

[Kitalpha Hart]

It is when you realize he has other, similar, vacuums that do the same stuff just as well. And dad has shop-vacs he could borrow if he really needed some oomph
I've got the little one at the moment. Is the one dad used to unclog whatever had been clogging up the bathroom sink. To this day, we still don't know what clogged it. A snake caught nothing. The vacuum went ka-thoonk and had only water to show for it, but hey the sink works fine now. I joke that it can undo spiritual clogs, and his larger one can handle some serious ones. And the one he's gonna get, which is even bigger, can catch ghosts

[Gingerale]

Someone may have dropped something in the sink that they shouldn't have. Nice you were able to get it clear without it happening again.

Sounds like you aren't making the same mistakes as your older siblings.

yes, call him Mom & see how he reacts.

[Kitalpha Hart]

There was nothing in the tank other than water

Somehow. But it is what it is

He's either gonna be hella confused or be laughing his ass off cuz that'll most likely be me being a smartass if I do call him mom

[Lemon Cheesecake]

A chuckle a day is a good thing.

[Kitalpha Hart]

Especially after a day where nothing has gone right. I know just by how we leave things some nights he's walking into a headache and he's gonna be a grumpybutt on first

[Lemon Cheesecake]

Oh, that sounds like a lot of stress for the poor guy.

Are you working the week end, Kit?