Ugh

The temperature yesterday was 89 degrees, with 88% humidity. For this I could have stayed in Tennessee. Blech!  I have been getting a little bit done here in MN, mainly trying to hack down the 4 foot tall grass and clean up a bit of the downed trees and brush from the big ice storm two years ago. I had to get a new burn permit, and it's been activated almost every day. Still waiting for my brother to find time to fly in from Phoenix and deal with the land transfer in northern South Dakota. In the meantime I've started cleaning out the house. It's over 100 years old, and not aging well at all. The cellar foundation is large boulders, and the concrete holding them together has been spalling off for decades, causing the house to sink and settle in rather unnerving ways. I really need to get everything out of here in case it goes down. My problem is what to do with all of it. I've got a good 30x50 shop building, but when it gets humid the concrete floor sweats and everything gets damp, plus the mice traipse in and out like it's got a revolving door. None of my books, nothing paper, nothing fabric can go out there for storage. I don't have space in TN to store it either even if I was willing to make a special trip to haul it down there.

So... the big sell-off and throw-it-out has begun. I had a dumpster delivered Monday, and it's nearing half full already, which is a positive thing. For a size comparison, that's Bubbles, my Great Dane, checking it out.

I've also started going through "stuff" in the shop, sorting out what to keep, what to throw away and what to try and sell.  Some of the stuff may be of interest to people who read here, so I will be posting some of it as I go along. If you see something you are interested in, leave a comment. Everything will also be listed other places, but I'll try to keep everything updated as much as possible.

The first pile of items I started sorting today contained all these vintage camp stools and a couple folding camp chairs. The first 7 feature dark green canvas seats striped with yellow, red/orange and light green. All are in fair to good condition for their age, some have some water staining on the bottom of the legs, and the canvas may have some stains and wear. I am not cleaning these other than to wipe off the worst of the cobwebs and shake off some of the dust. Asking $18 each plus actual shipping, buy 1 or all, I'll give a discount for multiple purchases.

This single dark green, red, yellow and black striped stool has a large stain on the canvas and a slight hole visible on the top edge where the canvas goes over the wooden frame. Asking $15 plus shipping.

The rest are in various states of disrepair. This white canvas is missing a whole strip along the back edge, replacing the canvas wouldn't be a difficult job. Asking $10 plus shipping.

This green wooded frame has had a previous canvas repair, it looks like someone just added another layer over the original and now both are shot. $10 plus shipping.

This orange framed one has had a hard life. The leg braces have been doubled up, and it needs more work to make it sturdy. The canvas seat was replaced with heavy webbing. $7 plus shipping.

There are two director chairs both missing the fabric for the back. The seat on the left one is much more stained than the one on the right, and the arms are missing most of their finish. Asking $25 each or both for $40 plus shipping.

Lastly there is a small folding camp chair, missing it's canvas seat. Asking $20 plus shipping.

This is just a drill

But don't worry, Ebola could never break out in the US they assure us. 

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/26170612/drill-in-new-york-city

NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) -
The New York City Department of Health conducted a massive emergency preparedness drill at 30 facilities across the city on Friday.
They tested the delivery of emergency medications in the event of a biological attack, such as anthrax, or other large-scale public health emergency in the city. The majority of the deliveries will take place to public school buildings.
It's the largest surprise drill in the city's history. The drill was scheduled to take place from approximately 6:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The majority of participants were given no notice to better test and simulate a real emergency and response.
“The NYC Health Department is responsible for developing and executing plans for the mass dispensing of life-saving medicine in response to public health emergencies,” said Dr. Oxiris Barbot, First Deputy Commissioner of the Health Department. “This exercise demonstrates our commitment to ensuring we have the capability and resources to protect the health and safety of all New Yorkers in times of crisis.”
The city warned that supply trucks would be escorted by NYPD and other law enforcement vehicles across the city.
The exercise involves deploying more than 1,500 staff members from more than a dozen city agencies and setting up 30 temporary locations that would be used in the event of an emergency to dispense life-saving medication.
The goal is to see how quickly they can get the drugs distributed in case of an attack. The Health Dept. says that no actual medications would be distributed as part of the drill, and there should be no impact to other planned activities in the affected facilities.
“It is our responsibility to make sure New York City is prepared for the variety of hazards we may face, from a coastal storm to a public health incident,” said NYC Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito.
Called RAMPEx, which stands for Rapid Activation for Mass Prophylaxis Exercise, the drill's estimated cost was $1.4 million. The city says it will not share the results of the test due to security concerns. The Health Department says it will use the results to make policy and operational changes to its emergency response plan.
On Monday, Aug. 4, Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan reported a patient was placed into isolation because they displayed symptoms of Ebola.

End of the season

The blackberry season is winding down rapidly here, I only got about a pint this evening and there aren't many more on the canes. My season here is also winding down, about 4 months late. I have managed to get the yard looking fairly respectable, and the neighbor's adult son is going to mow it once in a while so it doesn't look completely abandoned while I'm gone. In return they got the large chain link dog kennel and all the organic raspberries they can pick between now and frost. I'll settle up with him when I get back if I owe him more.I've got a day or two of sorting and packing the camper, then finally I'll head north. I'm still trying to work out a good system for filtering water into the camper holding tank and I'm not sure I"ll get that sorted out before I leave. I may just pack up the homemade Berkey style filter and hope the fragile candles survive bouncing down the highway.