"We made too many wrong mistakes." - Yogi Berra

We're at a McDonald's in Eugene for "dinner," but mostly to use their internet. After a second visit by a different tech we now have Dish service for TV and internet. We don't have a TV here (which is fine) and also don't have a router. So the only way to get online is to sit on the floor next to the window in the tiny extra bedroom that's full of tools and supplies for our rehab of MoHo.

We now have four satellite dishes. The first one is down next to the creek and is a 15' wide eyesore. I think the generator and Sawsall is the only solution, with hopes that it might be worth $2.50 in scrap.

Two by MoHo provide the TV signal. Don't ask me why it takes two - something about three satellites and different signals?? - but they were already there when we bought the place.

The third is the one this last tech installed and it's up by the road, the maximum 150' he can go from the modem. He got a good signal but can't guarantee it will last if the trees grow too much and block the line of site to the satellite.
This internet connection was going to solve our cell phone problem. Verizon sold me (not cheaply!) a range extender that uses the modem to locate a GPS signal (???) that boosts our cell signal. After four calls to four different tech guys I can't get it to work: it can't find that GPS signal. That was their last best hope. So, what do we do? A land line is the first step, but do we keep paying for cell phones that don't work when we're home - which is most of the time.

What you don't see is the NO TRESPASSING sign that was under where that dish sits. I took it down because I can't figure out what purpose it serves. I don't picture a bad guy saying, "Shoot! I was going to burglarize that place but the sign says I can't." And it screams "We don't want people here," when we do. We'd love to have Baker Rd. neighbors stop in. This last gravel stretch of the dead end road is a community where everybody knows everybody else and looks out for each other.

Same thing with the barbed wire fence that surrounds all three acres. Why? The four strands of wire won't keep the deer out; they'll jump it - do jump it - easily.  Who or what does a barbed wire fence keep out?

The plumber came yesterday to fix the leak inside the shower/tub wall. Yeah, I could have fixed it, but he did in in less than an hour and a half and didn't have to make a single trip to Lowe's to buy fittings. I'd have made at least three, and each would have been 45 minutes round trip. The $213 I paid him was worth every cent.
The water-soaked particle board subfloor is mine to deal with.

The picture I took of the 20 yard dumpster didn't get on my camera for some reason. If it had you'd see it's loaded to the very top with all manner of stuff. Fred is now empty, a blank canvas awaiting...I'm not sure how I want to redo it. It needs to be light and crisp. Now in the dumpster are a hide-a-bed that probably qualified as hazardous waste, a mattress from the loft that was even worse, an old washer and dryer, and all manner of junk from shelves and pegs. The only thing I snagged was a very old leather rifle scabbard.
Those four boxes are books I brought up, volumes I don't want to toss but know I won't need in the next four months.

I don't have pics of the inside of MoHo because it's still in process. I have two more days to finish the laminate flooring install in the living room and maybe, if there's time, put up the trim. But every time I finish one thing I seem to find another that isn't right and needs attention. I can't get the laminate to lay right on a floor with more waves that the Pacific Ocean, there's a funky smell we can't identify back by the bedroom, disconnected water pipes underneath MoHo have moisture in them....
The physical fatigue I feel at the end of the day plus the new issues uncovered gets me discouraged about making this an OK place to live for the next 12-24 months, or beyond.

The big development from today was 90 minutes spent with Patti Dilworth, the draftswoman who will draw our tiny house plans when the time comes. She and her husband stopped by so she could see the site and talk about how this process works, then the two of them headed up the road to Corvallis for some kayaking.
Our conversation was VERY helpful for these two newbies, and she has some ideas from her work on other tiny houses that sound like they will really improve the sketches I've done on a floor plan. I asked Pam after they were gone what her reaction to our conversation was and she said, "It makes me want to do the tiny house right away." Our struggles with MoHo combined with her ideas for our tiny house feed the fire.
Meanwhile, I pray for the Apostle Paul's, "I have learned the secret of contentment in all circumstances."

Now off to get a few groceries and cleaning supplies. I'll have another post in the next couple of days with pics of MoHo and some other news.
But before I go I need to say how very thankful I am for Pam and the relationship we have. I get angry on the inside when people say, "you might get really tired of being with each other all the time once you're retired." Don't project your screwed-up relationship on us. We work easily and well together and have lots of laughs as we go. She's so low maintenance it may define the term, and she puts up with my full-steam-ahead, laser focus approach to tasks.
Yeah, I'm blessed.