Well, I think I am having one of those days consecutively
and I am pretty much ready to just throw in the towel. The only luck I have is bad, and it just seems to never end.
The last year or so has been a rough one in the house: not a lot of work coming in (self-employed), so things are being stretched to the point of being VERY bare bones. You make due, just keep tight belts, a lot of simple foods, nothing fancy. I understand that, and do what is necessary.
Then, this Fall came, and things just seemed to go to heck in a hand basket:
1: Farmer down the road bringing his corn to the mill in town had some spill out on the side of the road. A doe grazing on the pile decided it was a good idea to run into the side of my wife's car while I was bringing in a chainsaw for service on a pitch black night
$4,700 in damage
2: Windstorm a week after that TORE the storm door off our entryway. Literally TORE it off.
That is now sitting aside the entry (unrepairable).
3: Was running the outdoor wood boiler (primary heat source), and last week, opened the door to load it, & instantly a wave of water flows out the door onto me. Yep, firebox ruptured
If I didn't have layers of duck fabric and mickey mouse boots on, I would probably have been in the burn ward. Damaged beyond repair, and it is now heavy winter. Backup is a fuel oil furnace which is 40 years old & VERY inefficient. So, either cough up $9K for a new outdoor boiler, or burn ~ $1,000/mo in dino bones to keep the house at "coat warm" temperatures (i.e. just enough to keep the pipes from freezing). And to make it even more "interesting", we now have 14 inches of snow, so even IF I can find a bank to lend me the money for a boiler, I got to somehow GET the thing out there.
4: Sunday a significant storm hit here (Minnesota). Need to move snow, but my 1450 is still in pieces (because of everything ELSE falling apart and needing attention), so I dragged in my "other" 1450 I picked up a while back. I knew it needed iso mounts, steering linkages, front tires, etc. So spent all day yesterday into this morning swapping parts from my primary 1450 onto this backup unit (welded engine cradle, super-duty steering linkages & rods, ISO mounts). Get it all buttoned up to "good enough" & running (including oil change & the 6 quarts of hydro it was low). After all that, bust through the snow from the shop to the pole barn (where the accessories are at), put on the snow thrower, start it back up, engage the PTO...... nothing. Really? Alright, I will use the plow blade, push snow around, and get it cleared out. Yard off the blower, put the blade on, then go to install the wheel weights. The weight bumps the valve stem as it is going in (not even very hard), and SHEARS IT clean off
So, quick tear off the plow, and have to high-tail it back to the shop (no power/lights/etc in pole building: purely cold storage) before it is flat. Hobble it back into the shop, pull it in, turn it off, and just walked away. 16 hours of thrashing around to get things running, and that is how it all ends. Call the landscaper down the road and paid him $40 to plow us out. I don't even want to look at the damn thing, let alone swap the rear tire off, and TRY to diagnose if the PTO is dead or just not getting juice. With my luck, it will be a $400 PTO.
I really don't know what I did to get the karma I have been dealt, but is getting old. Wife said that the universe just seems to constantly take a big dump on me. To that, I apologized to her for getting caught in the "splatter".
Just want to sleep for a couple years. Maybe by 2015 this string of luck will have run it's course. Or just walk away. Anyone interested in a 5 acre 100 year old hobby farm that needs some TLC? If I didn't have 3 monster dogs and a dozen chickens, an apartment would sound like a great option right now.
Enough whining. Just needed to vent. Maybe I will take a look at that PTO tonight...