MY JUNE SAGA

June so far has not been all that peachy. A run down:

On June 2 I found two "Notice of Violation" taped to front door. A complaint had been made concerning my property. I had piles of branches from trimming trees, sumacs, etc. I admit that I procrastinated about taking care of them. Now have to do something about them. The other violation was for the old Ford van I was using for storage. It has to go as it is an inoperable vehicle. So far the branches and some other yard waste have been taken care of. Rented an 8 yard container for this. It was delivered June 13 and removed yesterday. I did not realize just how many branches and yard waste I had. It was almost filled to capacity. There is still some final work to be done but the worst of it is gone.

On June 5 I returned home late only to find out that I had two bikes and a lawn mower stolen. They were under a tarp and tied to the front of the old van with a locking bicycle cable. The cable had been cut and the bikes and lawnmower stolen. Filed a police report that night. Thought they had also stolen my chain saw but it was later found in the old van under some stuff (not out in plain sight like I thought it had been). Made a lot of phone calls concerning the theft, cost of replacement, insurance claim (not pursued as losses were $600 and deductible was $500), etc. I have since replaced the lawn mower (with help from my Credit Union). I now have two chain saws. That is OK as one has a 16" blade and the other has an 18" blade. The 18" blade also has a bigger motor. The bike will be replaced later.

The Beast (Astro van) went in to the shop for a repair/replacement to the power steering system. My mechanic thought it would cost $550-$575. He called me a couple of days before it went in to let me know it would cost $700+ because the replacement part had gone up in cost. It is now fixed and not leaving spots (it was leaking). There is one other fix that needs to be done but it can wait for a bit. I was going up to the Wool Market in Estes Park on Sunday but did not make it. My check engine light came on so I turned around at 6th and West Colfax and returned home. Went to mechanic Monday and found that it was the EGR valve that was acting up.

Ichabod is now sheared because on June 8 he almost went into heat stress. He is a woolly llama (think sheep only a lot bigger) and is a gorgeous chocolate brown color. A call to the vet helped get him cooled down and back on his feet. Had the vet come out to check him over to make sure there were no adverse effects. He was fine. It took me 6 sessions to get him sheared. Trying to do it in one session would have probably been too stressful. I also did this by hand, no mechanical means used. The fleece/wool is to be given to about 4 different people who have spoken up for it. He looks like a different llama without all that fleece/wool.

I am now waiting for the storage shed I ordered from Home Depot to come in. It should be here some time this week (fingers crossed). I had to get a permit from the City and County of Denver for the storage shed. To get the permit I needed to know the cost of the storage shed so they would know how much the permit would cost. Sounds a little like a "Catch 22" situation. I have the permit so all is ready to go once I get the shed.

Today I "collapsed". Not only did I have a minor crappy sinus headache in the morning but the body insisted on more sleep and rest. My crazy schedule in dealing with the code violations, other stuff, and my work and regular schedule had me really run down. After taking two sinus tablets and going back to bed I finally got out of bed around 11:15 this morning. I am now somewhat ready to go back at it so I can get the City and County off my back.

I think that basically takes care of my month so far. I hope the rest of it a little more sane.