davidd's A DOLL A DAY 2026

[Alliecat]

Uh oh. Got some deep-sea-lookin rust going on there. You might need a new gauge too?
Srsly tho, you know how to fix that? I wonder given how "middle of nowhere" it looks like you are, how easy it is to get tradespeople out to fix stuff, or do you really do it all yourself?
...ever think of selling up and getting a place that needs less maintenance...??

[davidd]

You might need a new gauge too?
Srsly tho, you know how to fix that?  I wonder given how "middle of nowhere" it looks like you are, how easy it is to get tradespeople out to fix stuff, or do you really do it all yourself?
...ever think of selling up and getting a place that needs less maintenance...??

Replaced the gauge at the same time.

Replacing this part is much easier than it looks. This is one of those things you have to learn how to do yourself when you live in the stixx. Twenty or thirty bucks for a part, or several hundred to call a plumber or electrician.

Moving to civilization is becoming an increasingly attractive option. Depends on how much this place would bring. For a while, prices out here were an a strong upward trend. Now that seems to have reversed, and unless a property is a practically brand new palace with brand new everything, it's pretty much worthless.

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19 August - A Doll A Day 2026:

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Sealin' Stuff

[Alliecat]

The girls should have their own fix-it blog.
Bummer about the properties. I would think more people would be wanting to get out of the cities, back to the land and all that. There was a great migration of people to the “quiet little Maritimes” in That Weird Time. Not sure it has moderated much since.
I hear ya about getting stuff fixed. I am pretty handy but would like to be able to do still more. Unfortunately that does not extend to car repairs and at least I live within walking distance of a garage. But it can be pretty hard to get stuff done— or just get stuff; have had a couple more rounds recently with “you can’t get that here“. I’m over it.

[davidd]

I would think more people would be wanting to get out of the cities, back to the land and all that.

But it can be pretty hard to get stuff done— or just get stuff; have had a couple more rounds recently with “you can’t get that here“. 

People are still moving here, but they're rich people with effin' BUCKETS of money. They're building ginormous "mansionettes" (what woulda been called a full-on "mansion" when I was a kid, multi-storey houses with three and four car garages and outbuildings) and compounds that they refer to as "cabins." Nobody wants a "fixer upper" or an older house unless it is priced at less than the land value so they can have it torn down to build their "dream home."

I'm mostly just peeved and envious because I didn't do my life right and I don't have buckets and suitcases and steamer trunks full of money to do and buy anything I want and then just laugh it off with, "oh, I've always wanted a little place in the country."

Plus, it's been hotter than hell here all summer, which was part of the reason for the Doll a Day break. It has been too hot to even think, let alone to actually do anything.

And yeah, "you can't get that here" except via Amazon and Walmart.com. It's crazy. I recently purchased 50 pound (20-some kg) bags of stupid cat litter online because it's cheaper than getting cat litter at the store. "The store" in this case means Walmart, a 75 mile one-way drive, 150 miles round trip. Why bother driving there to get it, because the store will be out of stock anyway, and I can get gigantic bags of cat litter delivered for less than it costs to buy it in person even if they had it in stock. But that means other stuff that ya kinda sometimes need at short notice or that it would be nice to see "in hand" before buying is also easier and cheaper to purchase online and have delivered. But then there are the places that say they "do not deliver to your location." Walmart will deliver giant bags of gravel for free but other places won't deliver a little thingamajig that fits in a pocket.

Civilization is collapsing.

Unless you're rich. Rich enough to be one of those people who say, "oh, we're not rich, we're middle class."

Anyway....

20 August - A Doll A Day 2026:

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Janie (Smart Doll Harmony) takes care of loose ends

[Alliecat]

Funny we have the same situation with getting to a store to get stuff, and it being cheaper to order from the corporate giants online.  Even that is effed up for me now because the current Amazon driver is a creep (TL, DR) so now I have to get it delivered to the garage down the road which is a pickup depot.
And, same same about “can’t deliver to your location“. Walmart randomly labels certain things as grocery items which they will not deliver. There isn’t much logic to it – if I recall, one brand of toothpaste could be ordered but another could not.

The collapse of civilization will be accelerated by the fact that people can’t figure anything out for themselves anymore and seem to need a computer algorithm to do it for them.

How hot was it? I hate the cold and our recent 30° days were lovely. Not that I got to enjoy them outside, neighbourhood from hell and all.  I’ve got exactly what you describe, the “mansionette” next door – it’s probably the biggest house on the island and I’d be willing to bet the bylaw height restriction was exceeded.

I can relate to not wanting a fixer.  I don’t want to go through all the upheaval of moving and then have to do a ton of work. I will look at acreage with houses that are better torn down, but that is a lot of work too.  I just want a home with some peace where I can feel like doing life again

Anyway, another cute picture. Even though the tools are too big for her, somehow they don’t really look like they are, and it looks like she could manage them.

[Edit to add: further to “you can’t get that here”, the local store has stopped carrying a particular cereal; the variation they do have is eight bucks for a little 500 g box that I will go through in a week; Walmart has it for six bucks but won’t deliver; then I looked up Amazon and found out I can get the original version for 6 bucks and delivered. Except not to the house because see above. Ordering cereal from Amazon, FFS.]

[davidd]

Ordering cereal from Amazon, FFS.

 I know! Walmart is often out of a certain type of breakfast cereal. Turns out it costs less to order it from Amazon and have it delivered.

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21 August - A Doll A Day 2026:

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When Chaos and Entropy Collide

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Many projects reach a point where Chaos and Entropy converge.

It is not a pretty sight.

[Alliecat]

Chaos plus entropy sounds like my house. Entropy is winning
She still looks efficiently busy though.

[davidd]

Entropy is winning.

Entropy always wins.

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22 August - A Doll A Day 2026:

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Close Enough is Good Enough