Carpenter ants will chew wood into something resembling foam.
SocialMediaRefugee
I'm trying to convince myself I need a table saw to replace a rotten board in my deck.
Similar to auto repairs. If you have one vehicle and you start working on it make sure you have uber or a neighbor willing to drive you to the parts store because you forgot a part/wrong one.
Reminds me of dental issues too. If you bust a tooth it will ALWAYS happen from Fri evening-Sun when the dentist is off.
Depends on the condition of the home. Make sure you get a good inspection before buying and understand the ramifications of anything they find if you go ahead with a purchase. Things that eventually need to be replaced, likely in the lifetime you'll own it, are the water heater, refrigerator (assuming it is cheaper than replacing the compressor), HVAC and roof. Not terrible but you have to budget for it. Since you say you live in a "fixer upper" I'd say just keep it so it doesn't leak. Don't worry about ants as long as you keep all of your food sealed up and they aren't carpenter ants. If they are then you need an exterminator.
You WILL find the occasional bug, odd noise, scheduled repairs and replacements, etc. These aren't causes for panic. I can do most basic repairs but I leave plumbing and bigger electrical jobs to pros because they require specific skills, familiarity with the issues and lots of tools I wouldn't need again. Yard maintenance is just work. I call it my "gym" lol.
My mortgage payments will go down over time unlike rent that just goes up. On the downside my property taxes and insurance costs have gone up as the value of my home has gone up. I have great neighbors also.
Doomscroll the news, play some games, check if there are any updates to social media accounts. If I'm feeling ambitious I'll follow rabbit holes on wikipedia or google some obscure science subjects.
To get all of the tricks remaining in the deck
I knew a professor who named his dog "Sweety" just to annoy his wife because he called her that also.
While trying to come up with a name for our previous cat I kept getting shot down by my wife. "Nah...nah..." One day we were walking through the supermarket and she asked again and I facetiously looked around and saw a sign in the produce section and said, "How about Kiwi?" We both realized that we liked it. lol
Rub that belly!
Adopted our furball from a foster family after their original owners couldn't keep him. We liked the name and kept it.
I'm afraid we're accumulating genetic defects and weaknesses because we're not allowing them to be weeded out anymore.
Printing out tickets as a backup. I do this for concerts and travel because then I don't have to worry about batteries dying, wifi/roaming not being available, getting logged out and having trouble getting back to the ticket, etc.
I also print out maps when doing wilderness backpacks because even if you download the map you'll burn through your battery life well before the hike is over but a paper map is just as good. If I really need to confirm my location I can occasionally turn on the app and shut it off. I keep the maps in a gallon ziplock so water isn't an issue.