Opening the Storage Shipping Container, Moving my Security Camera & THE County
I confess: The last few weeks have been a blur. Last week I was still tired at the end of the week, from staying over Sunday night and into Monday for the storage shipping container to be delivered. I planned on an easy day. It stated with me taking my ladder out of storage and then I had to figure out how to bungie it down in Authie, the Jeep Gladiator. It was sticking out about a foot past the bed and I had never traveled with anything like that in the bed. Now while this may seem obvious to you … it wasn’t to me. I could just see the lightweight fiberglass ladder flying out of the bed going 70 mph somewhere along the 100 miles I had to travel. So I did what I knew to do … which was wayyyyyyyyyyy overkill. But, I got to the property without it moving an inch. By the time I got there I only had a few hours to work, I was already tired and I had 2 tasks I was committed to doing so away I went.
Task 1 was to move my Reolink Go PT Plus security camera. Now that the home shipping container was in place it was blocking my view so I needed to move it to another tree (thus, the ladder LOL). All I can say is that I had secured it on that tree really well (note: overkill is my mode it seems). After 2 hours in the blazing sun I still had not gotten the board, that the camera was attached to so it would be portable, off the tree. FAIL# 1! So I grabbed the camera & the solar panel off the board and gave up on it for the day.
Task 2 was to get into the newly delivered storage shipping container for the garden. When it was delivered, the week before, I had to run back to where I lived so I never even got to see inside. This seemed like an easy job, righttttttt? Wrong! After an hour of using every muscle I had and watching a few YouTube videos about how to handle the latches, it still wouldn’t open. The sun was still belting down on me and I stopped. FAIL # 2. Was it because it wasn’t level? I dunno’. I would figure it out and come back at it next week. Between the heat and me being tired it was just NOT a Sunday where I left with things done and all proud of myself.
During the week I had time get a little rest to think things through. I even had a few YouTube folks who made comments that were helpful about getting the storage shipping container doors open. I watched a video where I guy recommended a particular kind of lubricant (which I did buy). The most helpful was the person who said it wasn’t because it wasn’t level and that I needed to put some “a$$” into it. OK, so now I got no a$$ … never have had … I come from a long line of no-a$$ women on Mom’s side … BUT … I assumed he meant that I needed to add more muscle. Okie Dokie.
So this Sunday I went back armed with some rest and a few additional tools to attack the camera move and the storage shipping container doors. I even got there relatively early to assure I had more time. Camera first. I grabbed the ladder that I had stored in the home shipping container and got it set up by the tree again. Besides the nail pullers that I had used the week before I also had my large rubber mallet. If all else failes use the mallet I figured. After a few moments with the nail levers I resorted to the mallet. I whacked the back of the board until it cracked in half with part of it dropping to the ground. Then I whacked the piece that was left until it fell too. TAAAAAAA DAAAAAAA! Only and hour of sweating so far. I then finally got the nails out & apologized to the tree.
The camera came with nylon ties to tie the camera to the bare tree so that was what I was going to use to put it on the other tree. First I still needed to get the support parts of the camera off the board. That took another hour but I fought with it and my drill inside the cab of the Jeep vs. standing in the heat to do it. Finally I was ready to reinstall the camera in it’s new location. I was able to back the bed of the Jeep up to the tree I was placing it on and that allowed me to be steady while I worked. After about 45 min I had both the solar panel and the camera attached to the new tree with the nylon ties. It looked like it would hold. I plugged the solar panel into the camera and turned the camera on. I went to the app in my phone and it connected immediately. WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO! The placement was good. I could now see the whole front of the home shipping container and all the property in front of it including the path where you drove up to the home. VICTORY!!
Then it was time to get back to those storage shipping container doors. I had all the gear I needed, I hoped, including gloves, eye protection, a mask, a wire brush and spray lubricant. I wired off the rust I could reach on the hinges, handles and locking cams and then I sprayed them all with the lubricant. I let it sit for a few minutes and then proceeded to try to open the two opening handles on the right side and then the left as the videos had instructed. I got a little movement … enough to give me hope! This was the time to add more a$$ I assumed. I kept tugging and spraying lubricant and I FINALLY got the right door opened! OMG. Now, I knew it could be done so I moved to the left door and repeated everything. Within an hour I finally had BOTH doors open! Another big WHOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!
It was dark inside toward the back, but I could see enough to see how large it was! WOW. I grabbed my light and walked in! It was in great shape. The floor had some ring stains from where it looked like tanks of some kind of liquid might have been stored but it was not damaged. The walls had some black streaks where that had rubbed against it but they were in great shape too. And now that I was inside the 40′ HC felt enormous! More than enough room to drop things from my current storage unit, all my gardening supplies and tools, a brush hog lawn mower and even extra space for shelves and a workbench on the front side by the doors. Sooooooo Perfect. Now all I needed to do was get the doors closed again LOL. OK, so that took another hour. I had to once again push, tug and finally use my handy dandy rubber mallet to finalize getting the door handles secured in place. But, I did get it closed. It was a GREAT GRAND OPENING! I danced around with Gracie with what little energy I had left just coz I had to make up for the failure I had felt the week before.
I posted videos of everything related to both Sunday’s including the ladder adventure, the fails and the final victories of the camera move and the storage shipping container opening on the Freedom Acres YouTube Channel, and as always my exciting end of the day report on both Sundays & various videos with Gracie. Feel free check it all out by clicking HERE. Also, feel free to subscribe and you can get notified when new videos go up! 🙂
We are now in the last week of August and I have changed the game to be living on the property THIS Fall!! LOL. I have for two weeks now been dealing with what I am needing to do to get past the county’s latest demands. That includes but is not limited to: going back to the home shipping container shell company and asking for specs on EVERYTHING behind the dry wall including the electricity, plumbing and insulation. I need certifications on everything it seems now.
Once I get all of that I will be delivering it to our architect who will write a letter to the county that will hopefully resolve most of the inspections they are now requiring. I also have Roger from Kennedy electric coming to the property this coming week to spec out all the electrical work in the container to Florida code to tel me what may need to be changed and/or added. Bottom line is that a lot of detailed paperwork needs to be done and none of that moves fast. So I have no idea how long it will all take to get it resolved. I know we will get it resolved one way or the other though!
The only dilemma is that the inspection process is stopped until we get this passed. That means we cannot get the plumbing or electric installations done so they will, no doubt fill in and then I will need to pay them to re-dig the trenches when it is time to inspect them again. In the meantime there is still a lot of other work to do. We still need to fix all the concrete guy’s errors which includes shimming up the 6 interior piers to the bottom of the home shipping contain and re-doing the foundation piers for the deck since he measured improperly and it is literally unusable at 2’7″ off.
This is where Jason from Guardian Fencing come back to the rescue. He will do that repair work AND a multitude of other things that still need to be done including: build the deck, install the siding on the container, build a little platform under the electric box outside so by code it can be reached, and move the garden storage shipping container from th place it was delivered to the slab in the garden area. God Bless Jason. He has continued to be my hero in all of this as he and his company seems to had a ton of skills and always does really quality work! Between him and Roger at Kennedy electric we will get all the critical pieces handled.
My job is to keep things moving and to avoid self-imploding. I keep reaching out to everyone, moving the ball and inch at a time. So does Nair, my friend/GC. We are looking at cabinets and siding. I am saving tools in my wish lists for things that are coming up like sanders/grinders to remove rust, and paint for the storage shipping container. I am tending to the plants where I am staying in St Pete. Anita bought me a few more crepe myrtles and an olive tree and a cherry tree to hang out with the Magnolia tree and Ice Cream banana plant and crepe myrtles she already bought me. The plant collection is growing and doing well in their bags and pots.
It IS happening no matter what and somehow it will get handled even though I still have no idea right now. I get a little more of an idea each day and I am hanging onto my “Universe has my back” attitude even if it means reminding myself a million times a day. I KEEP TELLING MYSELF: WE ARE CLOSER NOW! I knew this would be a lifetime project but I was off in thinking that it would all be when I lived on the land. I had no idea how much of my life would be involved in just getting to the point I could live on the land LOL. So, STAY TUNED coz no telling what will show up this week!
As always, I send you FREEDOM and LOVE!
