Weekly Chat Thread June 6th - 12th

[labbypaws]

Lola is doing fine today. They surely like to scare us!  Thanks everyone!

[Shirley U Geste]

Another vote for the Raid Wasp killer, that stuff is great!

Supposed to be 107 here today, we never get this hot. I already watered outside & filled the birdbaths & have the AC on to try to stay ahead of it.

105 tomorrow so no relief in sight for awhile.

[kritter]

I think we will be 104 today. This is more like August temps for us. Pretty sure the global warming battle has been lost.

Just moved 10 bags of mulch from my garage to the front yard while it was a little cooler (90 degrees) and now will water and put down more mulch on the plants that were planted last month.

If Desire lived next door to me, I would be taking quick dips in her pool today.

[denise15601]

I keep a can of wasp spray in my nightstand. Since it shoots 20 feet, I read that it is a good deterrent for intruders. I don't have a gun.

[Desire]

Wow, that's some HOT weather you are having, Kritter and Shirley.  We're at a comfortable 76 degrees with windows open.

Kritter, stay safe working outside with that mulch in that heat!

[sunsetpainter]

Just an FYI...in a pinch, WD-40 kills wasps, hornets, and other flying buggers almost instantly.

[val2525]

Jun 10, 2022 23:16:49 GMT denise15601 said:

Val-Can you call a bee-keeper? He should charge the complex. But since they know how to take down bee hives, they should know what to do with wasps.

Calling pest control is up to the apartment office, not me. I doubt they'll do anything about the nests if I'm the only one reporting problems. I rarely see anyone on their patio or balcony, so it's entirely possible no one has noticed the wasps. There are nests all over the complex. Building 7 has some really large ones. There are still some wasps out on my balcony today but not as many as Monday. I think the spraying and the wasp trap might work. I'm picking all that up at Walmart in a bit. Given that we'll be in the 99-102 range for the next 10 days (and the hottest part of summer hasn't even hit yet) I doubt I'd be sitting out there anyway. If they're still a problem in September when the temps get a bit better, I'll annoy the apartment office then.

[val2525]

Jun 11, 2022 16:03:21 GMT kritter said:

If Desire lived next door to me, I would be taking quick dips in her pool today.

You can come over and use my pool. They did a good job on the resurfacing and the pool looks really nice.

[kritter]

You can come over and use my pool.

Thanks but I was really jonesing for a pool a lot closer than where you are. 

Like I could be working in the yard, jump in for a cool off, and then back to the yard.  Might have to look into an above ground pool or even a deep wading pool except I should be finished soon so will just jump around in the sprinkler for now.

[staytuned]

Jun 11, 2022 20:10:28 GMT sunsetpainter said:

Just an FYI...in a pinch, WD-40 kills wasps, hornets, and other flying buggers almost instantly.

Anything with petroleum product is instant kill. Carburetor cleaner and disc brake cleaner both have a good spray distance, too. Only thing they do work great, but not good for the environment. The Raid gets great reviews so we keep a can on hand in case.

If you're spraying nests, as another poster said, do it at dusk when all the insects are in the nest and less active. 

[pyrexandpearls]

Well, it has been quite a transformative week for my yard! We had our wooden privacy fence installed and we went ahead and pulled the trigger on cutting down the tree. It completely changed the look of the yard. The best price we found on the tree still ending up being over 2K but I can say it was worth every penny! It stormed today and I did not sit in fear of a giant limb crashing down. We chose not to remove the stump yet - that would have added almost another 1K to the bill so we still have a stump. Some of the estimates we received for the tree/stump were over 4K. Its nuts! I was very impressed by the company we used as well. If you own a house, you know how incredibly difficult it can be to find reputable people to work on your house. They told me they'd be here at 8am on Thursday and they pulled into my driveway at 7:59. It took 3 guys from 9am til about 4pm to take the tree down piece by piece. They also did an amazing job cleaning up. There isn't so much as a tiny stick left in my yard. It is so nice to find a company that does what they say and at the time they say they will be there.

I have been listing this week but I need to ramp it up even more next week. DH, who wasn't 100% on board with cutting down the tree to start with, now has grandiose plans for a patio with a fire pit. Uh, slow down there buddy until we recover financially from the fence and tree! LOL We have lived at our house for 5 years this month and those two things have been on the "wishlist", at least for me, since we moved in. I always thought we'd live in this house 5-7 years and sell but the housing market is so insane here we won't be going anywhere anytime soon. Our house is now worth what I thought the "upgrade' house price range would be.

[val2525]

You can also kill most bugs with dish soap in water. It suffocates them. The residue doesn't do anything to them, though, so it's not an option for spraying on my wasp nests.

Pryex, if your BF is handy, a patio and firepit is a fairly easy DIY project. Not fast to do, but simple to do.

[labbypaws]

Sounds great Pyrex. I know getting trees taken down is expensive. We no longer have trees in our yard. Neighbors all have dead ash trees that hang near ours so we still get their branches and leaves.

All the ash trees here are dying and it is hard to see the neighborhood having minimal shade. We are getting older and don’t want the maintenance cost of having new trees or shrubs put in. We need them though. I think we spent over $9000 on tree services since we moved here. Maybe more.

Last time we needed 2 ash trees removed but went ahead with the other 2 since we had the money. Good thing because the insides were rotting out.

[jesmelric]

Well guys DD lost her pup Friday evening She's the one that was diagnosed with lymphoma in March of 2020. She had treatment and just really did well and had been off chemo about 6 months because it was no longer working. She turned 15 in April.  And then she started having seizures and they believed it had spread to her brain so they knew it was time. I'm heartbroken because I loved the pup as well and because I know DD is grief stricken about it. She got the pup not long after she moved out at age 20 and she had her pretty much her entire adult life and was truly her fur child. And this is really DD's first experience with real loss. She and her husband (she and BF married recently after 10 years) are trying to get a house right outside of Portland and I'm hoping all will go through and that will give them something to look forward to and put their energies in. I haven't talked to her, it's unlikely we'll discuss the loss because it will be too emotional. I sent them some goodies from Etsy yesterday. They had some lovely condolence pet loss items but they were making me cry like crazy and if they are making me cry they will surely make her cry and I want to send something that is more of a comfort.

Pyrex we have had to have several trees removed. We've used an arborist in the neighborhood, he really knows what he's doing and the prices are very good. We had a HUGE oak tree the back yard, he said it was probably the biggest in the neighborhood, and it was losing branches. One caved in our back patio roof. I hated to lose it and the shade, but it was becoming a danger. I think we paid about $1,500 and that included stump grinding. When they cut it down there was a split down the entire trunk so it was really fortuitous that we had had it removed. Now our cedar tree in the front yard is looking really bad because ball moss has gotten to it. I don't know if it can be saved or will have to come down. I sure hope not, maybe it can just be topped off, it gives so much shade to that side of the house, and my shade garden is under it. When the weather cools off we are going to have to call him to come look at it. I sure hope it can be saved. 

Bath and Bodyworks is having their semi annual sale if anyone is interested. I spent too much on candles and hand soap

[Tabby]

Jun 12, 2022 15:20:01 GMT jesmelric said:

Bath and Bodyworks is having their semi annual sale if anyone is interested. I spent too much on candles and hand soap

I love their foaming hand soap!  

Once I started using it, I just can't go back to anything else.

[val2525]

Jes, I'm sorry about DD's dog. It's hard to lose a pet no matter what their age.

[kritter]

I liked their eucalyptus mint deep cleansing hand soap but they don't have it anymore.

[Tabby]

Kritter - They actually do have that scent right now.

It's not in the 50% off sale group, but it is available.

[kritter]

But it is not the same as the one that I liked. Same smell but not the deep cleansing. The deep cleansing soap had little like micro beads in it sorta like a scrub.

It looks like they dropped the whole deep cleansing soap line.

I found the lemon deep cleansing on Amazon.  You can see the little bead things in it.


www.amazon.com/Bath-Body-Works-Cleansing-Kitchen/dp/B00BMED4PG/ref=asc_df_B00BMED4PG/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309970845296&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2882297330027301113&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028050&hvtargid=pla-633352081117&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=62033898416&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=309970845296&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2882297330027301113&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028050&hvtargid=pla-633352081117

[Tabby]

That's really surprising how many people are re-selling Bath & Body Works products on Amazon. 

Although, that reminds me that when B&BW discontinued the Volumizing Shampoo in Mango Mandarin scent, I continued to buy it from eBay sellers at a significant mark-up. 

[frakinfashion]

((((Jes + DD)))) So sorry about her pup. The pain of that loss is always there. I couldn't live without a dog here. After I lost Janie, I jumped desperately into getting Frankie (Francesca) the psychopoodle. No regrets but I still miss Janie very, very much.

[kritter]

Although, that reminds me that when B&BW discontinued the Volumizing Shampoo in Mango Mandarin scent, I continued to buy it from eBay sellers at a significant mark-up.

I hate it when they discontinue stuff without any warning.  I have benefited off other discontinued items like a brand of shampoo and conditioner that I had purchased in quantity for almost nothing with coupons.  It was back when I was doing yard sales.  Had a ton left over and started selling it on ebay for a healthy markup about a year later.  Now I have none.

[denise15601]

Jes....so sorry about your grand dog.

[val2525]

Woo hoo! The wasps are temporarily under control. I sprayed the ceiling and stucco areas where they like to congregate last night. I'll be treating different areas over the next several evenings.

Even better, the little wrens are back! I wonder if they stayed away because of the wasps?

Hot as heck here today, with a heat advisory. I was going to look at apartment complexes this morning but I got up late and shelved that idea. I don't really have to start looking seriously until mid-August so I figured goofing off inside on a hot day was more enjoyable.

[labbypaws]

Jes very sorry for the loss of your granddog. They need a cure for lymphoma.

[kritter]

so I figured goofing off inside on a hot day was more enjoyable.

After my mulchathon in the front yard yesterday, I pretty much did nothing today.  I did get dressed and a few minutes ago, I took out the trash for tomorrow's pickup but that is about it.

Today was a couple of degrees higher today than yesterday so I am glad that I got it done.  Will find a day below 100 degrees to mulchathon the back yard beds if I can.

[val2525]

Jun 12, 2022 23:34:21 GMT kritter said:

Today was a couple of degrees higher today than yesterday so I am glad that I got it done.  Will find a day below 100 degrees to mulchathon the back yard beds if I can.

Looks like Tuesday or Wednesday will be under 100, unless they change the forecast.

I spent the afternoon researching ways to replace my futon mattress. I don't want another mattress, they're heavy, too hard to flip, and once a spot goes flat you can't poof it up again. I wanted something more like sofa cushions - pieces that can be flipped and moved around so they all get equal wear. Once I measured the futon frame, I discovered that a standard 24"x72"x whatever thickness you want foam cushion fits perfectly as both the bottom and back. Yay!

[staytuned]

jesmelric- I'm sorry for the loss of DD's pup. It's so hard to lose a beloved pet.

[sunsetpainter]

(((jes & DD))) I'm so sorry about her loss.