Only 3 More Days!

I will be so glad when the election is over next week. Only 3 more days! No more political ads, the news should (but probably won't) move on to other topics. Sadly, I know the reality, and there will be sensationalized close races that will not be conceded and will be contested. It does not matter which side wins or loses; it's going to happen. Then there will be the counts that will drag out for days.  Then that will dominate the news cycle. Then if the media does not like who was elected, they will start the bashing of that/those individual(s). Anyone want to take bets on whether or not that will happen?

Speaking of government. I got a jury duty notice. Our jury duty terms here in South Dakota are 90 days. We do not have a lot of jury trials here in our county, but I did get a notice to appear later in the month. I highly doubt that I will get selected due to my quasi-law enforcement background and the fact that Barb worked in a county attorney's office for years, but we shall see. 

And since I am on a roll, let talk about health care relating to Barb's surgery. First of all, she is doing well, and 6 weeks later there is still some tenderness, but she says she is 95% or so. Still has a hard time with weighted objects over her head but she never lets anything slow her down and it will just be a matter of time before she is 100%.

We have a high deductible health care plan through Health Partners with a $5,000 max out of pocket. Meaning that once we pay $5,000, the plan takes care of everything else for the rest of the plan year. Health Partners and the hospital have been awesome with no billing issues or disputes. What we have noticed is how the drug companies are gouging us compared to what they charge the insurance companies. Here's a couple of examples; one prescription that costs us over $300 out of pocket in the past, the insurance company paid less than $100 for. An Epi pen that we have paid $609.52 for in the past, the insurance company only pays $200. I get that the insurance companies are big companies and have huge buying power, but are we not part of that insurance company and should pay the same as them and not these inflated prices?

Okay, on to our week.....

Sunday, we had our niece Alana and her husband Ryan over to watch the Vikings beat the Cardinals. But the real guest of honor that we were looking forward to seeing was Sophie, their little French Bulldog! 

I love the image on the TV in the background!

Zoey and Sophie played and played and played! Sorry Harry, no videos as it was nearly impossible to keep up with them as they zoomed around the house for 4 hours. Just kidding, here is one video for your viewing pleasure. I had to trap Sophie between my feet just so I could slow them down long enough to get a video. 

Sophie was not really sure what to make of the turkeys. I thought maybe she was going to go through the screen after them!

Poor Dakota just sat back and watched. Sophie tried to play with Dakota a few times, but a minor growl sent Sophie on her way. A couple times Zoey and Sophie got a little too rough so Dakota would get up and stand over them kinda saying "Okay kids, that's enough".

It was great seeing Alana, Ryan and Sophie and we appreciate them driving the hour and a half down from Spearfish to see us. 

The weather Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was in the upper 50's, even lower 60's so I put the workshop on the back burner and spent my time outdoors. I first attacked the stonework on the north side of the house. I really wanted to get that side done! 

Still needs to be grouted, but the north side is done!

I had hoped to get the south side done as well but with only two days left before it turned too cold to do stonework I moved on to another project. One that has been waiting for me for since May of 2019 when Guy and Sue stopped by for a visit and helped me construct the sliding doors for the shed. At that time, I screwed the doors to the shed and put them on the back burner while we worked on the house. 

Guy, back in May of '19

Now, it is time to get the tracks up and make them operational! It was a two-day project, but I am happy to report that we now have functioning sliding doors on our shed!

No headboard pictures yet but Barb is close. She spent a couple of days making the framing for it. This week she went to the lumberyard and got a couple of rough-cut 2x4's, sanded them, cutout a 1"x2" section on the back for the fence boards to lay in and then stained and varnished the framing. All that is left now is to put it together. Next week, I promise! 

My workshop project is moving along. I got 1/2 of the floor joists up and some flooring in the loft area. The loft will serve as storage for all of our outdoor gear as well as seasonal decorations. The loft area will eventually span the whole 30' of the garage, it will certainly be nice to have all this extra storage space!

Next up will be to finish sheathing the sides, run some electrical and insulate the workshop area. 

In between projects I found time to change the fuel filters in the Ram. This was a first for me and it was not too bad. I had both of them changed in about 45 minutes. This picture shows the new one in the middle, the old front filter on the left and the old rear filter on the right. The rear one was really dirty!

And just like that the warm weather was gone and it got cold with a dusting of snow. 

I've been out bowhunting a few times, watching the deer, watching nature and just enjoying the outdoors. I took this picture one morning on my way out to the stand.....

I've seen a few bucks but not the one that will fill the freezer this winter.  This guy was tempting....

Friday night we went over to Kevin and Cheryl's for a visit. I could not help but take these two pictures of Reba on the couch and Peanut (or Leisel, I cannot tell the difference) on the recliner. Who do you think rules the roost in this household?!!

Next week looks like more of the same, highs in the 20's and 30's lows in the teens. Whose idea was it to stick around for the holidays?!?!