Stop Bugging Me

We've been having more pest problems this year than any other year we've lived in this house. I wonder if it is the heat or the drought, or Congress. We've had enough cockroaches in the house and garage, that I'm starting to overcome my fear of confronting them. For the first time ever, I've found ants creeping into our kitchen to "borrow" a cup of sugar.

It was time to spray. I think I might dislike the pesticide smell more than the bugs. I really needed a gas mask or something, but a bandanna is the best I have. I left the dog inside until I was done so she wouldn't get sick.
First I sprayed around the foundation and the openings to the house. I moved all the toys, dog dishes, hoses, plants, etc. away from the area I was spraying. If you do this yourself, look for a bottle with a sprayer that you don't have to continuously pump, it wears your hand out. If someone else does it for you, let them worry about their own hand fatigue.

Then I spread this product on the lawn to take care of fire ants. In hindsight, I would have done this on a legal watering day because you have to water it and it isn't safe for kids and pets to play until you do. The lawn got some extra water this week and I'm going to pay for it. Our water bill has been huge this summer without the extras.

If you don't know the wheelbarrow story, I had been searching for one on Craigslist for a while and having no luck when one day I saw one sitting in front of a house with a free sign on it. The only thing wrong is the wheel was flat. I thought that it had an inner tube and that if I were lucky, it would only require a tire patch. I discovered that this tire does not have a tube and must be sealed against the wheel, but the tire is cracked and won't hold air.

I love this little ratcheting wrench.

I bought a new wheel assembly for the wheelbarrow for $20. It wasn't much more than buying just the tire and I don't think I had the right equipment to put the new tire on the old wheel.

I was able to put it back together tonight and make my first load with it.

I bought some paving bricks for $16 to finish extending my patio. Oops, forgot to put that on the list.

I was also reminded of the ceiling in the dining room where I tore the new paint off the ceiling when I left the painters tape on too long.

I found a jewelry box in the garage that my mom wants to give to my daughter. It needs to be painted and a couple of hooks would be nice.

My daughter got a water toy for her birthday today and part of it is already broken. One of the toys doesn't play music anymore, I think because it got water in it. Who designed this thing anyway?!

Day 80, Score: -15 (2 new fixed, 4 new broken, total fixed=65, list total 122), Funds: -152.76