Last Post of 2023. Really.

 

Final Blog Post of 2023

Yes, it really will be, this time. 😁

My plan for the next year is to post at least one blog entry each month. It may be short, or it may be long, but I’ll post at least one.

Lots of things are going on (as usual), but the biggest happening is right next door – literally. Our next-door neighbor to the west, Linda, sold her house, and moved to an apartment. It was sold to one of those “flipper” places; the ones that send out the postcards, “We’ll buy your house!”

Linda, bless her heart, was a really sweet lady, and when we first moved in 20 years ago, she and her mom were living there together. Her mom passed away several years ago, and Linda lived there alone.

To make a long story a bit shorter…. The clean-up crew got started a few weeks ago, and OMG! The stuff that came out of that house! I talked with the new owner, and about fell down when he told me he paid her $50,000 for that place! I didn’t think she’d get 10K..

The clean-up crew has been doing a fantastic job with this place. They’ve cleaned it out, stripped the walls down to just the studs, cleaned up all the crap in the yard, cleaned out the fence line, and installed a new garage door. The difference is night and day – but they still have a lot of work to do. They start about 8:00AM, and work ‘till dark. It’s going to be noisy(er) around here for a while.

 

Here's the back of her house as it was not long ago. 

And remember the backyard photo in my last blog?

 

 

Here's the backyard and back of the house now.

 

 

They were just getting started when I shot this view of the garage.

This is what it looks like now. They also
replaced the garage door.

 Here's the front minus all the junk and unkempt shrubs. 

That lamp post was buried in a bush before.

  

 Like night and day. The inside has been stripped down to the studs, so there will be lots more work to do. But what a difference!

 

In other news….

Things here are going pretty well. I’ve had a few minor medical issues, but nothing too serious. We don’t have an actual doctor at the moment (our wonderful doctor we’ve been seeing for years retired), and the only doctor left in the office is booked for months. There’s a FNP (Family Nurse Practitioner) in the office, and we’ve been seeing her.

During one of my checkups, she said I had rather low blood pressure, and an irregular heartbeat. I saw a cardiologist, and he looked me over pretty well. He said the BP wasn’t all that low – not enough to be concerned, but I should take a reading every so often. He also ordered a heart monitor for me to wear for a month.

I bought one of those Omron home BP monitors and have been keeping track. And I’m feeling just fine. The results from the heart monitor came back and look good. There was no fibrillation, and the irregular beat is a fairly common thing, and not a big worry.

We’ve got our Medicare wellness checks the first week of 2024, so we’ll see how that goes.

I’m creating some new business cards for my photography and graphic arts. I thought it might be an opportunity to make a buck with all the work going on next-door. When I see the guy that bought that place again, I want to hand him a card and let him know my services are available. And close by!

I am also going to be doing some studying. I’ve not flown either of my drones in a long time. With all the new rules, regulations, and requirements coming from the FAA, I don’t want to risk getting fined for doing something they don’t like.

If you want to just fly for fun, you have to register your drone You also have to buy (your cost) a little “Remote I.D.” transmitter that attaches to your drone.

I just decided if I have to do all that just to fly and take a few photos, I might as well go the whole 9 yards, and get my “Part 107” certification. Having a 107 not only allows you to fly for profit (as in if the guy that bought that house wants aerial photos, and is willing to pay me for them), but you can also do a lot of other things you couldn’t do without it. So, I’m going to go for it!

You have to take a test, and upon passing, you are issued a certificate for Part 107, and you have to have it available when you’re flying. No problem. I’ll have it clipped to the side of my carrying case.

I’ve been playing around with the newest version of Photoshop. The stuff you can do with it is just mind-bending! Yes, it incorporates AI, and as many of my pals know, I’m not a big fan of AI in most cases. But it can be useful, if used thoughtfully, and as a TOOL, not an end-all, be-all.

OK, that’s about it for now. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Holiday with lots of family, friends, and awesome food!

Stay well, stay safe, stay sane, and for the love of life, choose WISELY in November. Please think it over seriously. That’s all I’m going to say.

Happy New Year, everyone!