It's so...Quiet!

Me: "If we get any other applicants to the gulch, and they start making noises about building a concrete house..."

Landlady: "Throw them out?"

Me: "On their ear. That's my vote, anyway. Or at a minimum, I'm busy that day."

L: "For the rest of your life."

Me: "And beyond."

Well, Landlady had a good week. Got all the electrical working, lights in the ceiling, got the eave on the front of the house sealed up with T&G (after chasing a pigeon out the night before), refrigerator and microwave moved into the kitchen, big sofa in the living room, windows caulked, vents installed in the utility closet, some plywood installed in the attic, a few other things.

This morning the retaining walls at M's Dome got substantially higher, and we poured a lot of concrete to fill them. I think my back is broken, but we need to get that done. Winter's coming, and there's a lot to do before the Dome is weatherproof. We really shouldn't leave it in its current state for another wet winter.

My own progress was ... well, kind of retrograde. I blew up my inverter, installed a toilet in the wrong place, and when M and I went to dig out the septic field trenches we had tractor issues. I think we're going to be chasing "issues" on that tractor for quite some time, but I've been here before: the vital systems are basically in good shape, so if we keep with it we'll run out of issues caused by bad maintenance and we'll have a very useful and possibly even profitable tool.

I thought I was going to be able to announce the introduction of a new addition to Joel's Gunz, and that would have made Joel a happy boy. I've been wanting a big-bore revolver for some time to replace the .45 I use for EDC, and one of M's friends has a slightly beat-up stainless Taurus .44 Special that would have fit the bill nicely. But the price went up $100 past what I was told to expect on the same week I learned I needed a new $100 inverter, and adding a new gun and caliber would mean expenses for leather and ammo and reloading stuff, so ... not so much. That's a want, not a need. The .45 has done just fine for several years, and it's gonna have to keep doing fine for a while yet. Some day my wheelgun will come.

We had supper at S&L's last night, and Ghost elected to spend the night with them. They just headed back to the city, so Ghost is back home now and the boys and I are camped in the nice quiet scriptorium. I love my friends, I really do; wouldn't trade them for the world. But one thing that has been confirmed since Claire moved back to the Pacific Northwet is that I truly am a hermit at heart. I enjoyed her being here, but honestly I enjoy being here alone even more. And now, after my busy week with Landlady, the prospect of five days alone is ... well ... awfully nice.