Unfortunately , there is nothing really new to share this week. It has just been too hot and Twila has repeatedly warned and advised me to severely curtail my outside activity as there are heat advisories and aerial spraying in our area for mosquitoes because of outbreaks of West Nile Virus. Also , my plan to surround my Texas cutout to make a form for the concrete map has hit a snag. My yard has only a very thin layer of topsoil and underneath is heavy , heavy , dense clay. Even after sharpening my hatchet ,trowels ,and shovel with a file and then my kitchen knife sharpener I am unable to make any real headway for the depth of trench I need to partially bury the rubber edging that will comprise my concrete form. It is like trying to put a groove in a brick. Time for a new plan. Sure hope I can come up with one.
What I have decided to do for now is recover the square that will be the site of my concrete state with newspaper weighted down with boards ,stones etc and wait for both inspiration and cooler weather. In the meantime I'm hoping to enlist Twila's help in getting a portion if not all of our current collection of cacti and succulents into the ground so they will have a chance of surviving. I'll probably also try to finish this portion of the stones surrounding this large part of the yard and spreading some more marble chips.
Depending on how any or all of that goes , maybe we can start deciding on placement of our existing "art " on the new fence in the back yard and then I can work on nailing it all up - a relatively simple matter that should not afflict or affect me as much as digging in the heat.
While the heat has discouraged outdoor activity , I have been generating some heat indoors , wrestling with various government entities and people wanting to put me back to work. In order to qualify for unemployment , I have to apply and send resumes to online job postings ( MONSTER , HOTJOBS , Work in Texas , etc . ) and I'm getting calls from various HR types wanting to know my salary requirements , the nature of my disability , availability , and so forth.I am amazed that these companies would even CONSIDER hiring someone my age , the dates on my resume clearly allow anyone to do the math and come up with at least my approximate age.
I also have been trying to make sure everything is copacetic with Social Security and get lined up and signed up for Medicare part B as my company health coverage expires at the end of this month. After a false start at the office I was told to go to down near the Astrodome ,where I was informed that I needed a form from my previous employer , I was able to secure all needed documentation and had a very pleasant and rewarding sit-down next day at the ( much closer to home ) Conroe office where a very engaging and helpful young man answered all my questions and got me squared away.
Now if only Mother Nature would cooperate and dial it back about 20 degrees I could get this home improvement (?) show back on track. As a side note , what with having to provide my own meals and the outside exercise and furious sweating , I have managed to lose over 10 pounds in the last month and get some color on my pasty fat body. If enough people read this and ask Twila , I may even let her take some pix of me in manual labor mode for y'all to enjoy.
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