The Story of Lori, Chapter 2

[Northern Star Girl ✅]

@Lori Dee
Dear Lori;
Thank you for your update and the wonderful photos...

   .....Where is your picture of the GOLD that you discovered?

Hugs, Danielle

[Lori Dee ✅]

I'm still scouting areas.

I doubt I will find any this year. I spend my winters doing research so I know where to go in the Spring. Hopefully, I will have a lot to show next summer.

For now, it is just landscape and wildlife pics. 😀

[Emma1017]

To me, "For now, it is just landscape and wildlife pics." is also "gold"...Although I would love to read about the gold nuggets that you found as well!😁

[Lori Dee ✅]

I would love to read about the gold nuggets that you found as well!😁

On my personal website, Lori-Dee.com (or click the globe icon under my profile pic), I have articles I have written about how to find gold, as well as my "Gold Gallery" photo album.

I will be rewriting the prospecting articles this winter. I want to organize them better and write them a bit more clearly.

Enjoy!

P.S. - I love the new profile pic! You look so happy and relaxed. I love it.

[Emma1017]

I love your website!  It is casually informative, as if you're just sharing with a friend.

Perfect...but then, hey, you are sharing with friends.😁

[Lori Dee ✅]

The window armor for my Jeep that was due tomorrow arrived today. Yay!

It was also trash day, so our maintenance man was riding around in his gold cart putting trash cans away for the residents. He is a great guy. Served in the Coast Guard during Vietnam, then retired from the Sheriff's Department. He does both maintenance and security in our community.

He saw me finishing up the installation of the window rack and came over to take a look.



He asked why I needed that over the windows, while he was looking at the sticker on the back window.



I told him that is so the zombies can't break the window when they attack.

He pointed to the back doors and asked, "What about those windows?"

I said, "Jim, those are not windows. Those are machinegun ports for my door gunners."

I thought the man was going to have a stroke; he was laughing so hard.

😁

[davina61]

I like the missile launcher hidden in the roof rack!!!!

[Lori Dee ✅]

I like the missile launcher hidden in the roof rack!!!!

I'll have to post pics of the inside when I get it sorted. I have a cigarette lighter plugged into the 12VDC outlet on the dash. It is red and says "Fire Missiles." 😄

On the roof rack is my steel-handled shovel. It sits down low in the rack for aerodynamics.

The racks on the inside of the back windows had to be temporarily removed. The cargo shelf I installed uses the same mounting bolts. But the shelf and rack are from two different companies, so they don't mate properly at the mounting points. The inner window racks just need larger slots cut into the rack so the shelf base can fit into it and be bolted down. I started cutting the first one yesterday, and my old hacksaw needs a new blade. The racks are powder-coated, hardened steel, so it took an hour to cut one hole. I gotta get new blades.

[davina61]

Or an angle grinder.

[Lori Dee ✅]

Or an angle grinder.

I don't do much metal work, so I can't justify getting one to sit and collect dust. I miss my Sawsall. I might pick one of those up. It is a reciprocating saw, so I can get an assortment of blades for tree trimming and firewood cutting to pesky hardened steel window racks. 😁

[Maid Marion]

I've been using a Sawzall to chop up the stumps of some bushes.  I bought it twenty years ago and bought a replacement 18V rechargeable battery on Amazon. Runs for about 15 minutes under a heavy load before I need to recharge it.

They now sell the tool and battery/chargers separately.  The new Sawzalls now have 20V batteries, the same as the leaf blower and grass trimmer I bought a decade ago.

[Lori Dee ✅]

They are great machines. Mine was a Milwaukee brand. The carpenters used them on wood and to cut out drywall for doors and windows. On the electrical side, we used them to cut conduit to length or for demolition work. Fun times.

[davina61]

I will be using my Lidl Parkside brand saw on Sunday to chop the roof pillars on the Herferod. Must remember to charge both batteries up Sat!!

[Lori Dee ✅]

I had a VA appointment this morning, and overslept. I was sort of rushed, but got there on time. While sitting in the waiting room, a veteran in a wheelchair came over and said he liked my pink hat and sweater and that I looked nice. I thanked him and thought to myself that maybe I wasn't as rushed as I thought.

When I got called back, the audiology technician checked my hearing aids and downloaded the program to her computer, so they have a record here on file. I told her that I hadn't been wearing them because the battery in the left one doesn't hold a charge. VA hearing aids have a three-year warranty, and batteries can be replaced yearly. My warranty is up in March.

She is sending my hearing aids in to replace the batteries, then I will come back in February for another hearing test. Then, based on that recent test, she can order new hearing aids for me. I told her that if the batteries are good and the software updated, I may not need new ones. These things run about $5k, so if we save the VA some money, maybe we save someone's job.

Sadly, the budget supplying hearing aids cannot be used for salaries.

As I was leaving, a veteran was asking about the Veteran ID cards. The woman said that the new ones are being issued with an expiration date, but the old ones are still valid. I asked her why they needed an expiration date, since our military service records are for life. She didn't know for certain, but believes it is to have an updated photo every ten years.

I haven't talked to my neighbor yet this morning, but we were planning to go out to his property tomorrow. He went to the County Administration Building yesterday to pay his taxes and find out what he will need for building permits. He drives an electric car that sits low to the ground. I suggested we take my Jeep this time so we can drive to the far side of the property.

So maybe more pictures coming, and hopefully we will get very lucky and find a stash of Spanish silver coins. As my brother the prophet once said, "You never know until you find out."

[Northern Star Girl ✅]

@Lori Dee
Dear Lori:
I liked reading your good news regarding the comment from the veteran in the
wheel chair and complimented you on your appearance with your PINK hat and sweater. 
It is always a nice day when your receive unexpected affirmation.

Smart move, offering to use your high clearance jeep instead of the low clearance Electric Car to drive around the property.  Wait till it snows, he will have more problems.  Electric cars and battery life are not good in cold climates and the low clearance will hang him up in snow over a foot or so on un-plowed roads.
You may be his "ride" during those times.

Thanks for sharing your good report.

Hugs, Danielle

[Lori Dee ✅]

Electric cars and battery life are not good in cold climates and the low clearance will hang him up in snow over a foot or so on un-plowed roads.
You may be his "ride" during those times.

He is a bit of an environmentalist. His yard is planted with things that support local wildlife, and I respect that. But he and I both belonged to the electricians' union (IBEW), so I never pass up an opportunity to razz him about his car. I remind him that as an electrician, he used to work at the COAL-FIRED electric generation plant that supplies the electricity for his electric car.

It's not totally true. The coal-fired plant has been taken offline for repairs and is scheduled to be decommissioned next year. Our electricity comes from a gas-powered backup system. But I still enjoy giving him crap about it.

😄

[Sephirah]

I will be using my Lidl Parkside brand saw on Sunday to chop the roof pillars on the Herferod. Must remember to charge both batteries up Sat!!

Is that the one with Arnie in the advertising?

I never thought of you as needing hearing aids, Lori. You listen probably more than anyone I've ever known.

[Lori Dee ✅]

I never thought of you as needing hearing aids, Lori. You listen probably more than anyone I've ever known.

What? Huh? 😄

I have them, but I normally don't wear them. They are perfect when I need them, but most of the time I don't need to hear the dog barking across the road, or the motorcycles on the highway, or my refrigerator running. We live in a very noisy society. No wonder I feel most at peace out in Nature, away from noisy humans.

[Sephirah]

What? Huh? 😄

I have them, but I normally don't wear them. They are perfect when I need them, but most of the time I don't need to hear the dog barking across the road, or the motorcycles on the highway, or my refrigerator running. We live in a very noisy society. No wonder I feel most at peace out in Nature, away from noisy humans.

Probably all the monstrous tank shells firing like a foot away from you. When you fire those immense shells... they aren't quiet. I was lucky. I only slept on top of a torpedo tube (not even kidding... all new ratings on a sub got that "honour" because there were limited bunks). Never got to fire one outside of an exercise. Then it was like a muffled "Ka-thunk!". Firing a shell as big as a Labrador... in basically an echo chamber... must have been like a coal miner next to a pneumatic drill. I can understand why you like the quiet.

[Lori Dee ✅]

Probably all the monstrous tank shells firing like a foot away from you. When you fire those immense shells... they aren't quiet. I was lucky.

Exactly right. The ammunition we fired was 105mm shells. Not to mention my .50 caliber machine gun, and the tank's 7.62mm machine gun. But inside the tank, we wore helmets with headphones connected to an intercom. That way, my crew can hear my fire commands, instructions to the driver, etc. It deadens the sound somewhat, but the crew microphones just blast it back into our headphones.

I had one incident where I was outside the tank, right in front of it, when a gunner fired. On a stationary range, if the weapons are clear, you fly a green flag. People get on and off from the front of the tank so the driver can alert the crew that someone is boarding. If the weapons are loaded, you fly a red flag, and the tank is mounted from the rear.

I was going to be evaluating the battalion commander's tank crew (not my crew). The commander said he needed the radio frequencies from the tower. So I went and got them. On the way back to the tank, I saw a green flag. I went to the front, and just as I was pulling myself up, the main gun went off. It knocked me back on the ground and knocked me out for a few seconds. I got up, went to the back of the tank, and mounted. I grabbed the colonel by the shoulder and told him he was flying a green flag, and I was going to the medics. The medics said I had a mild concussion and kept me under observation for about four hours.

About a year later, I got into shooting in military tournaments. I'll have to find my medals and post some pics. I fired everything from .45 and 9mm pistols to rifles and machine guns. It was a lot of fun.

So when the VA said they were evaluating if my disability claim for hearing loss and tinnitus, they ruled that there was no question that it is service-connected. However, instead of paying compensation, they give me free hearing aids as treatment. These are not some cheap over-the-counter hearing aids either. Starkey Evolv AI runs thousands of dollars per pair. So I am not complaining.

I am sure that as I get older, I will be even more grateful to have them. So I will know when to go outside and yell, "Get off my lawn!"

😄