Quacks, clucks, and a big white box

Last week we finished the shop and the chicken coop enough to begin moving the shop tools and equipment. This week the move continued with daily runs to the other house to clear out the shop and my big white shipping container which had to be empty for transport. Friday my folks went back to the frigid northland (Pittsburgh) and I headed to Loxahatchee to make another trip.

ER visit

Friday morning when I woke up I could tell something wasn’t right with my left knee. It felt like the early stages of an infection – that’s not good. I headed to the other house and started loading the trailer. By late afternoon it had swelled up to twice it’s size and I could no longer bend it. It hurt like the dickens too. Oceana got off work and joined me at the house and I had her run me to the nearby ER. Sure enough, it was cellulitis – a skin infection. It hadn’t gotten into the joint yet which is real good. I’ve had that happen before and it’s all bad. Doc prescribed me an IV full of antibiotics right then and sent me on my way with a prescription for a 10 day round of antibiotics. We headed out and hit publix on the way home to grab the prescription.

Moving the birds

The goal for this trip was to bring back the ducks and chickens. The best time to do it is either at night after they’re asleep or early in the morning for the same reason. I opted for early morning as I’m a morning person and not a night person. I hobbled down to the coop where Oceana did all of the chicken wrangling. Fortunately they were asleep and didn’t struggle too much. Even the ducks loaded up nicely. We hobbled them up to the back of the van. Once loaded, I set out for Lake Byrd. I got the Lake Byrd birds unloaded and into their new home. The ducks loved the pond and the chickens seemed right at home. And then I went to bed. I forgot how tired you get when your body is fighting an infection. I generally slept and sat around all day.

More trips

Sunday and Monday were more round trips to get everything cleared out. Monday on our way back with a loaded trailer we blew out a trailer tire near Okeechobee. That got a little exciting for a minute. A quick swap out with the spare and we were back on the road.

The last trip

Tuesday we headed back but without a trailer. I rented a car dolly from a local Uhaul near Loxahatchee and used it to take Oceana’s Audi to the mechanic. The car had developed a bad coolant leak and wouldn’t hold fluid. We got her car to the mechanic and headed back to load the remaining items. In Loxahatchee I have an old 16′ open utility trailer that I bought as a project that I haven’t gotten to yet (we bought a house in Lake Byrd which has been taking up much of my free time). I hooked up to it and got it ready to ride. I also loaded up some longer items that we’d be hauling off. We barely fit the remaining items in the van (it was packed to the roof) but everything is out and this was the last load. That’s a good feeling.

Lithium Ion battery

Wednesday morning I swapped out the house battery in Oceana’s van with a lithium ion battery. The house battery runs the lights, fridge, and power inverter for 110v power while on the road. This battery is extremely lightweight but has twice the useful amp hours over a lead acid battery 3 times its size. Just crazy technology. We generally get about 2 years out of a lead acid house battery before they don’t hold a charge well anymore. Since we’ve had the van for over 4 years, this means it would be our 3rd battery change. As such, we started doing research on lifetime costs of a battery and even though the lithium ion are much more expensive up front, over the lifetime, they’re about 30% cheaper.

Dirt work

After the battery swap, I started prepping the pad for where the container would sit. I always think this is going to go quickly and it never does. I was hoping for an early day as my knee was ready for a break but I didn’t wrap up until after 5. Oh well.

The big box is here

Early Thursday morning the container showed up. The container is actually the box off of an old refrigerated box truck (like one that hauls ice cream). It is one of the better looking shipping containers that I’ve seen. Also, it’s insulated. It actually stays relatively cool in the summertime. It is the reason I was so adamant about putting insulation in the shop roof/walls. The delivery was uneventful, which is great. It also meant I had a long day ahead as it was empty for transport. We had stuck everything from inside it into the shop. I spent the day moving stuff into the container and generally organizing things. I made a big dent in getting the shop cleared out but there’s still a lot to go.

Odds and Ends

Thursday evening I was invited to dinner over at Bud and Diana’s. Good food and good people. My knee is generally feeling better but it still hurts to kneel on it. But it’s almost there. At least I can walk again without pain. Our house is scheduled to close Friday this week. On Thursday I found out that the buyer’s mortgage company dropped the ball on something and needed a few more days. Bummer. It’ll close next week. That’s all for this week. Thanks for following along!