08/01/07
We've been in a holding pattern for quite a while. Most of the months that we have not written are because of working 10-12 hour days. Getting up at 3 am and crashing around 8 pm. No fun at all :{ It was hell!
We have since quit the job that kept us sick for four months. Took more then 8 weeks to get mostly well. Mike got a job at the Jenne-O Turkey Store in Barron, WI. Worked picking orders & driving forklift. Jennie-O let Mike go after 5 weeks stating that he could not keep up with the younger men. No shit!
Of course when Mike applied for Unemployment Insurance, it was denied. Then, just as we were about to run outta cash, a letter arrived from the Wisconsin Dept of Workforce Dev. It seems that some kind soul in Madison to another look at my application and decided that even though I declined a lesser job, I did so with good cause. Seems there is some kinda rule about how far you drive to work in relation to how much you are paid. Apparently, it was too far for the dollars. Thank you, who ever you are.
11:35
Just got a call from an IT Recruiter for ADP with a permanent full time position in Madison, WI. This was just the first contact, but; it already sounds better then most I've heard this year. More later.
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August 6, 2007 |
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There are fourteen inch tires where the dock is hinged on the shore end and on the far end. One of the tires on the hinge is flat. It has been flat every time we have put the dock into the lake. John suggested that I buy an inner tube to put into the tire. I did that. Only problem is that I can not get the tire off of the rim. I even tried to drive over the rubber next to the rim, but; to no avail.
I expect that the tire will probably come off in pieces and have decided to take it and the inner tube and another fourteen inch tire into Balsam Lake and let Peper Auto Service fight with the thing. Once that is done, it should not be too difficult to get the dock in the water. Then all that needs to be done is to drop the feet that hold it in place.
08/30/07
My how the rest of the month flew by, except when we were thinking about how slow time was passing. Mike managed to succumb to a kidney/bladder infection and took two weeks to get rid of it. Yesterday we finally got the tire for the dock back from the garage and put back on the dock. Unfortunately, the dock did not get in the water for the Kallevig Family Reunion, but; that's OK. It rained a lot that weekend. Doesn't look like the dock'll get put in this year and that's OK. It was quite a job getting it out last time.
Faun has taken a shining to making photos of mushrooms and we have millions of them growing in the back-forty. She's working on web pages to put the photos up. Says she's got enough to make her own mushroom book.
10/13/07
Time does fly when you're having fun. NOT!
The look for suitable employment goes on, and on, and on. Mike may as well just retire with Social Security.
On the brighter side, our neighbor on one side, tried to pick a fight with Mike. Got right down into his face and yelled at him. Acted like a bully. Then called the Sheriff on us. The Sheriff came out and we talked. Turns out, Mike used to work with his mom many years ago in St. Paul. When the Sheriff didn't get any bad results for us, the wonderful neighbor called the County Zoning Department on us.
The nice lady came out and told us about an anonymous phone call about engines and too many vehicles in the yard. Then she asked us about the three vehicles we had on the property. We told her that we drive two of them and that the third will be operable when we put a new battery in it. She said we were allowed one inoperable vehicle. Then we told her we didn't have any engines laying around, but; we had two transmissions that belong to John and we would move them if it was a problem. Later that day we called John and let him know what had happened.
John came out the next day, in the rain, with his dump truck and the three of us proceeded to load three engines into the back of the truck. The next day we loaded up the last engine and two transmissions. The neighbor came out the next day and apparently, walked through the area where we had moved the engines and proceeded to pull up some plastic that had been used to cover the engines. This guy has some nerve! Well, enough of this fun and games.
Last weekend we went on part of the Alpacas of Minnesota Tour. We went to two alpaca farms and talked with the owners about the fun and games involved in raising alpacas. It seems that they are expensive to buy but inexpensive to raise. They are not particularly time intensive. Most of the owners we talked with had other jobs too. We were thinking that if we raised some alpacas, lamas, and goats for fiber, we might be able to get them to pay for themselves. We're gunna go to see another alpaca farm today. This one is in Wisconsin and Faun's mom knows the people.