It is still January and already we plan for our summer vacations. Trevor has a football camp I need to get the dates for so we can schedule the annual beach trip around it. My Sister is coming to visit from New York. I want to keep time open for her visit. She wants to do a big family trip somewhere. We may repeat our trip to Lost Lake on Mt. Hood or a beach trip to the coast.
If everyone is like me they have started scheduling and scrambling for dates to figure out where children are supposed to be and when. I am planning to attend my 25th class reunion from college. There, now you can figure out how old I am. I want to take the boys and show them my campus. Of course Tom is cringing, as a state school boy, at the thought of his children even expressing an interest in private school.
I just know that I want the boys to see what options are out there, big or small. We have toured OSU multiple times. Now we are out of state, attending OSU would cost almost as much as a private school. It might be easier to get in to state college as an out of state resident as more state schools look for out of state tuition to boost their bottom line.
Tom freaked out when he heard a close friend was sending his daughter to an in state college at $23,000 a year. He freaked big time. It is one thing to read about the costs of tuition, it is totally another thing to live it. I did read one article that said the advertised price is not what it seems. That the posted price is the worst case scenario. The schools negotiate if they want you. Discounts, scholarships, loans all help ease the pain.
Living off campus is another big savings. I would like the boys to have that freshman on campus experience that both Tom and I had. There really is nothing like it. That feeling of being away from home, away from watchful parents. If the boys can present grades that warrant our assistance, I would love to help them succeed and have a freshman year on campus.
There is also the fourth of July to plan and book. Are we staying in town to blow things up or are we going up north to some one else's house. We are glad to be out of Oregon for the fourth as they do fireworks like we do in our back yard.
Tom found a great Indian reservation where you can buy big beautiful fireworks at incredible prices, exit 84 on I5. He and a group of friends are talking about a big trip to load up for a lovely explosive display.
I want to take my boys to the beach with my girlfriends and their children at some point. We didn't do anything last summer with the house move.I want to do the long weekend thing with bonfires and cookouts. I try to push that to mid July so we can count on some good weather.
Riley's doctor wants to see him back in six months, which would be mid July also. He told us he would be gone the last two weeks in July. Probably doing his own family vacation with his daughters. I might move that appointment as needed since it is now just check ups. We will see where our summer schedules take us.
I am calling to make an appointment for Riley with Drivers Ed today. Tom said to just sign him up. It was time, past time. Since Riley didn't pass the test with just reading the book, we figure he needs some behind the wheel training. The class gives you your permit without taking the test, so you can practice. Let someone else train Riley, someone not stressed and calmer than we would be.
The boys also got their new school schedules yesterday for the new semester. Riley has World Studies instead of a PE class. Trevor's football coach finally got him into weight training and out of swimming by having Trevor be an assistant in weight training since the class was full. The class is called clerical assistant, but I doubt there is much clerical work being done in weight training.
Trevor's computer teacher is going to have me e mail her each week to make sure Trevor stay up on his homework in her class. It is all about typing skills. Trevor types really slowly which puts him behind, but if he doesn't get the work done then he stays behind. I was pleased he got from six words per minute to 16 words per minute. If he had done more of the assignments, he probably would have done even better. He was telling me he was caught up, when he wasn't. So now the teacher is having me do weekly check-ins with her. I told Trevor typing is crucial to success these days. He said he was getting pretty fast at the ten key.
I am dreading the report cards this time. The boys are all over the place grade wise. I think the spread will be from one end of the spectrum to the other, A to F. It all came down to home work, which they didn't get in Oregon, but they are getting it now and it is a new experience.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
The empty house
No one has wanted to rent the old house. I have it for rent and for sale. Taxes are $4400. Insurance is $1200. Today I decided to cut the utilities off. I will call this week to notify the utility companies. Why pay for a vacant house.
No luck renting it or selling it. No one interested can come up with the equivalent of first and last month's rent. They want a big house but to pay for it is another problem.
I have one last hope. My realtor has some clients that want to up size, good long term renters who are taking in a teen and want more room. I pray they accept. They probably don't want to pay our high rent requirement. Which really isn't high for what you get. There is no house even close to our size renting. But then renters usually can't afford a house this big.
Who wants to pay for a rental when for the same price you can buy a mortgage. And if you are renting its because you have gotten into a bind and can't get a mortgage. Which means you should be saving your money and not spending it on a big rental.
I asked for feedback from someone who saw it with an interest to buy. He said the price was still too high for him by $20,000. He said the house needs a complete interior paint job, like I didn't know that already. He didn't like the flooring. I know some people like carpeting, but not me. But that price puts us into short sale.
First thing is to cut expenses, cut off the utilities. Keep showing the house, but just in daylight. Maybe with no lights they wont notice the need for a total paint job. I told the property manager that we would paint if she got a contract. I wasn't going to buy $500 in paint with no renters. Just let them know I would do it once they made their non refundable deposit.
No luck renting it or selling it. No one interested can come up with the equivalent of first and last month's rent. They want a big house but to pay for it is another problem.
I have one last hope. My realtor has some clients that want to up size, good long term renters who are taking in a teen and want more room. I pray they accept. They probably don't want to pay our high rent requirement. Which really isn't high for what you get. There is no house even close to our size renting. But then renters usually can't afford a house this big.
Who wants to pay for a rental when for the same price you can buy a mortgage. And if you are renting its because you have gotten into a bind and can't get a mortgage. Which means you should be saving your money and not spending it on a big rental.
I asked for feedback from someone who saw it with an interest to buy. He said the price was still too high for him by $20,000. He said the house needs a complete interior paint job, like I didn't know that already. He didn't like the flooring. I know some people like carpeting, but not me. But that price puts us into short sale.
First thing is to cut expenses, cut off the utilities. Keep showing the house, but just in daylight. Maybe with no lights they wont notice the need for a total paint job. I told the property manager that we would paint if she got a contract. I wasn't going to buy $500 in paint with no renters. Just let them know I would do it once they made their non refundable deposit.
Friday, January 27, 2012
The numbers
Saw the doctor yesterday. Took Riley out of his last class of school early to make the appointment. Tom came with me. We picked up a burger at dairy queen with a vanilla shake before we grabbed him. Good call as he got into the car he said he was "starving". I had it covered.
The drive in was uneventful. We stopped at the lab for the blood draw then headed up to the clinic. We were an hour early, but the doctor is used to our punctuality. He just squeezes us in, besides I think we are usually the last appointment of the day, so after us he may get to go home.
The numbers are unchanged from last time. four months of virtual stability.
Hemoglobin 12.2
Whites 4.9
platelets 140,000
neutrophils 2.8 #
I will probably continue watching Riley for signs, But the doctor now says Riley is stable. Riley can stop taking the weekend antibiotics. So Riley will be off all meds. He said 2% of the population live normally with these numbers even though they are at the very low end of the bell curve.
He said Riley can do any sports he wants including skiing, biking. I am thinking of putting him in tennis. It is a nice sport and there is an indoor club in town so he can play during bad weather. He said a three hour cardiac surgery might be an issue, but otherwise get on with life.
He wants to see Riley back in six months, which puts us some time in July or August. In a year they will want to do a bone marrow biopsy again just to see how things are really looking under the skin. The long term worry will always be leukemia. a 15% chance of happening at any time of Riley's life. But we will worry about that if it happens. We have already beat the odds with his response to the drugs and recovery.
We stopped at my mom's for dinner and to avoid driving home during the commuter hours. Had a delightful time just hanging out and talking. Then we headed home where Trevor had already arranged his favorite play date to be delivered, since there is no school Friday with the end of the semester. Friday is a grade day.
I am off to go walking with some friends. The regular exercise is making a difference with my weight and mood. It just the dragging out of my warm bed in the morning that is hard.
The drive in was uneventful. We stopped at the lab for the blood draw then headed up to the clinic. We were an hour early, but the doctor is used to our punctuality. He just squeezes us in, besides I think we are usually the last appointment of the day, so after us he may get to go home.
The numbers are unchanged from last time. four months of virtual stability.
Hemoglobin 12.2
Whites 4.9
platelets 140,000
neutrophils 2.8 #
I will probably continue watching Riley for signs, But the doctor now says Riley is stable. Riley can stop taking the weekend antibiotics. So Riley will be off all meds. He said 2% of the population live normally with these numbers even though they are at the very low end of the bell curve.
He said Riley can do any sports he wants including skiing, biking. I am thinking of putting him in tennis. It is a nice sport and there is an indoor club in town so he can play during bad weather. He said a three hour cardiac surgery might be an issue, but otherwise get on with life.
He wants to see Riley back in six months, which puts us some time in July or August. In a year they will want to do a bone marrow biopsy again just to see how things are really looking under the skin. The long term worry will always be leukemia. a 15% chance of happening at any time of Riley's life. But we will worry about that if it happens. We have already beat the odds with his response to the drugs and recovery.
We stopped at my mom's for dinner and to avoid driving home during the commuter hours. Had a delightful time just hanging out and talking. Then we headed home where Trevor had already arranged his favorite play date to be delivered, since there is no school Friday with the end of the semester. Friday is a grade day.
I am off to go walking with some friends. The regular exercise is making a difference with my weight and mood. It just the dragging out of my warm bed in the morning that is hard.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The book shelves
I have lost the cheap melamine bookshelves every time we move. They just don't survive the jostling. The joints rip apart. I have been on the hunt for book shelves, unable to unpack due to no storage and no book shelves. I really want to build one of those great storage closets in the basement that you see in other people's homes. This house was built for a minimalist which we are not.
I have been checking craigslist. There was a local listing but the shelves seemed extremely expensive. I contacted the listing and talked to the nice man on the other end of the phone. He was selling things off for his mother who has moved into a nursing home. She set the prices. I told him my thoughts and what I was willing to pay of shelves off of craigslist. He said he would run it by his mother and get back to me.
He called back and was willing to come down to my price for some of the shelves. They were in storage in our area and he would be down on Sunday to meet us. I took my girlfriend. You never go alone. I would have taken Trevor but my girlfriend had a big rig we could use for hauling. I could only do two shelves at a time. Taking two vehicles we could get more stuff. This worked well as once we got to the storage unit, we saw all sorts of wonderful things. I had a budget though and only so much cash on me.
I ended up buying some open silver pantry shelves along with the three book shelves I had come for. He also offered us half of a sectional for free just to get it gone and out of his way. The other half of the sectional had disappeared through the moving of mom from home to hospital to nursing homes. It probably hadn't fit in her room so the nursing home disposed of the part not needed. He felt he couldn't sell half a couch so he offered it to me. It was a two seater with one side reclining. It had heat and vibration. My boys wouldn't care that half the couch was missing. It would be perfect for their cave, and it was free for the taking.
We raced home and unloaded the shelves into the garage, giving the boys instructions to get the shelves down into the basement, we were coming back with a couch. The guy had somewhere to be so he wouldn't be sticking around the storage shed much longer.
The boys floated on air. If only the book shelves had been that light. I left to go pick up the couch, happy I wasn't watching the moving process of getting the shelves around the corner down the dingy stairs and around another corner at the bottom, dealing with the pitched roof of the stairwell as they went.
I had to laugh when we got back. The boys had put the shelves right in the one damp patch in the whole basement. Under that utility box with the drip. I have a bucket collecting the water but the floor was still a little damp from before the discovery. I had to tell the boys to move the shelves out of the damp patch and into the other room where we are setting up their space. They will love it when we are done.
I am having the couch face the lovely shelves. I think the skinny TV would even fit on one of the shelf units. It will look quite homey and I will get my boudoir area returned to me. I am off to tackle that space right now. I can unpack some more boxes. I would like to get my hands on some gorilla shelves still. But haven't been successful finding any in our area. I am checking out the auction house also. Maybe this weekend will be another auction day.
I may even call the guy with the storage shed back and see if I can buy some more shelves. He had a dozen to deal with. Find out when he will next be in town. Spread the purchases out over a couple of months.
Anyway, enough updating. Back to sorting tossing and unpacking. When will it end? You don't realize how much stuff there is until you move.
I have been checking craigslist. There was a local listing but the shelves seemed extremely expensive. I contacted the listing and talked to the nice man on the other end of the phone. He was selling things off for his mother who has moved into a nursing home. She set the prices. I told him my thoughts and what I was willing to pay of shelves off of craigslist. He said he would run it by his mother and get back to me.
He called back and was willing to come down to my price for some of the shelves. They were in storage in our area and he would be down on Sunday to meet us. I took my girlfriend. You never go alone. I would have taken Trevor but my girlfriend had a big rig we could use for hauling. I could only do two shelves at a time. Taking two vehicles we could get more stuff. This worked well as once we got to the storage unit, we saw all sorts of wonderful things. I had a budget though and only so much cash on me.
I ended up buying some open silver pantry shelves along with the three book shelves I had come for. He also offered us half of a sectional for free just to get it gone and out of his way. The other half of the sectional had disappeared through the moving of mom from home to hospital to nursing homes. It probably hadn't fit in her room so the nursing home disposed of the part not needed. He felt he couldn't sell half a couch so he offered it to me. It was a two seater with one side reclining. It had heat and vibration. My boys wouldn't care that half the couch was missing. It would be perfect for their cave, and it was free for the taking.
We raced home and unloaded the shelves into the garage, giving the boys instructions to get the shelves down into the basement, we were coming back with a couch. The guy had somewhere to be so he wouldn't be sticking around the storage shed much longer.
The boys floated on air. If only the book shelves had been that light. I left to go pick up the couch, happy I wasn't watching the moving process of getting the shelves around the corner down the dingy stairs and around another corner at the bottom, dealing with the pitched roof of the stairwell as they went.
I had to laugh when we got back. The boys had put the shelves right in the one damp patch in the whole basement. Under that utility box with the drip. I have a bucket collecting the water but the floor was still a little damp from before the discovery. I had to tell the boys to move the shelves out of the damp patch and into the other room where we are setting up their space. They will love it when we are done.
I am having the couch face the lovely shelves. I think the skinny TV would even fit on one of the shelf units. It will look quite homey and I will get my boudoir area returned to me. I am off to tackle that space right now. I can unpack some more boxes. I would like to get my hands on some gorilla shelves still. But haven't been successful finding any in our area. I am checking out the auction house also. Maybe this weekend will be another auction day.
I may even call the guy with the storage shed back and see if I can buy some more shelves. He had a dozen to deal with. Find out when he will next be in town. Spread the purchases out over a couple of months.
Anyway, enough updating. Back to sorting tossing and unpacking. When will it end? You don't realize how much stuff there is until you move.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Girls Night Out
In January I like to indulge myself. I invited some girl friends to my house for cocktails and fun. I had been to a jewelry party a month early and agreed to host a spin off party. I was more interested in the gathering of friends than the jewelry party though. The jewelry was going to be our entertainment.
I made a dip and cracker platter, a vegetable platter, and Riley made a cake. I set out the wine glasses on a silver tray and opened some bottles. I decanted my cheap vodka into pretty cut glass, and put out the mixers.
My friends arrived and we played. We got to dress up in pretty jewelry and giggle and laugh. I over indulged again. I started out with good intentions, with just a cup of coffee, but that soon disintegrated into a real drink. I did try to be good by filling the glass with ice and juice first than putting in just a splash of vodka. The problem is the number of glasses. A splash still adds up when you have a few. Should have drunk some water between.
The men were playing poker at another house, which was a brilliant way to occupy Tom while I had my chick party. One of the other women drove us all over to the poker party. I sat down on her couch and the next thing I know someone is putting a warm blanket on me. Tom drove us home.
I woke this morning feeling a bit fragile.
My property manager called. I have great respect for this woman now. She evicted our aweful tenant in 21 days. She would have had her out months earlier if I hadn't interfered trying to work with the tenant. My property manager saw through her faster than I did, with all her dealings, trying to chase down the late rent each month. Turns out the tenant had not paid any of the utilities since she moved into our house. The tenant played us and others. Thank goodness for the large deposit we required. We were able to use it to salvage some of her debts and get the house cleaned and ready to re rent. The tenant left without cleaning.
Learned experience, bad credit is bad credit. If they have to borrow funds to move in to the house, than they can't afford the house. The now ex-tenant called and left an extremely hostile message when she found out she is not getting as much of her deposit back as she anticipated. Personally, I wouldn't give her a dime for what she is putting us through.
January is a hard time to find a new tenant. Few people move in January. The rent prices have fallen. I was forced to lower our price, which doesn't help a bit. I am learning about the rental business in a trial by fire. Please, lets have our next tenant be more reliable.
Sadly, I fear my property manager will have to deal a couple more times with the ex-tenant as she sends her the minimal funds left from the deposit, with the expense account on how the rest was used. The tenant is going to blow a gasket, but that is what you get when you try to live for free.
I told the tenant I couldn't do zero rent. I gave her every opportunity I could to make this work, but zero didn't work for me. Finding out she hadn't been paying her utility bills, and services were about to be cut, was a huge eye opener. I found out when I called to get service restored to us during the eviction process. The fact she hadn't been paying any of her bills and hadn't from the beginning, made me all the more grateful to my property manager for her efficiency in getting the tenant out of our house.
My property manager even had a sheriff be there for the lock out process just to make sure the tenant didn't get ugly. That was a good call as I hear the tenant was ready for a fight. The locks were changed in front of her so she would see that her keys were no longer good. My property manager crossed her "T's" and dotted her "i's" with this woman.
Now we just have to get someone good into the house and soon. A few nibbles, but no bites so far. Many respond that they don't want to move in until March. That is two months without a tenant. On the other hand, we have been lucky that we did get a renter in quickly the first time so we really have been able to break even on the mortgage up until now. Its those property taxes that hurt big time. I can't wait to do our taxes and see if having a rental is really worth the supposed write offs.
I made a dip and cracker platter, a vegetable platter, and Riley made a cake. I set out the wine glasses on a silver tray and opened some bottles. I decanted my cheap vodka into pretty cut glass, and put out the mixers.
My friends arrived and we played. We got to dress up in pretty jewelry and giggle and laugh. I over indulged again. I started out with good intentions, with just a cup of coffee, but that soon disintegrated into a real drink. I did try to be good by filling the glass with ice and juice first than putting in just a splash of vodka. The problem is the number of glasses. A splash still adds up when you have a few. Should have drunk some water between.
The men were playing poker at another house, which was a brilliant way to occupy Tom while I had my chick party. One of the other women drove us all over to the poker party. I sat down on her couch and the next thing I know someone is putting a warm blanket on me. Tom drove us home.
I woke this morning feeling a bit fragile.
My property manager called. I have great respect for this woman now. She evicted our aweful tenant in 21 days. She would have had her out months earlier if I hadn't interfered trying to work with the tenant. My property manager saw through her faster than I did, with all her dealings, trying to chase down the late rent each month. Turns out the tenant had not paid any of the utilities since she moved into our house. The tenant played us and others. Thank goodness for the large deposit we required. We were able to use it to salvage some of her debts and get the house cleaned and ready to re rent. The tenant left without cleaning.
Learned experience, bad credit is bad credit. If they have to borrow funds to move in to the house, than they can't afford the house. The now ex-tenant called and left an extremely hostile message when she found out she is not getting as much of her deposit back as she anticipated. Personally, I wouldn't give her a dime for what she is putting us through.
January is a hard time to find a new tenant. Few people move in January. The rent prices have fallen. I was forced to lower our price, which doesn't help a bit. I am learning about the rental business in a trial by fire. Please, lets have our next tenant be more reliable.
Sadly, I fear my property manager will have to deal a couple more times with the ex-tenant as she sends her the minimal funds left from the deposit, with the expense account on how the rest was used. The tenant is going to blow a gasket, but that is what you get when you try to live for free.
I told the tenant I couldn't do zero rent. I gave her every opportunity I could to make this work, but zero didn't work for me. Finding out she hadn't been paying her utility bills, and services were about to be cut, was a huge eye opener. I found out when I called to get service restored to us during the eviction process. The fact she hadn't been paying any of her bills and hadn't from the beginning, made me all the more grateful to my property manager for her efficiency in getting the tenant out of our house.
My property manager even had a sheriff be there for the lock out process just to make sure the tenant didn't get ugly. That was a good call as I hear the tenant was ready for a fight. The locks were changed in front of her so she would see that her keys were no longer good. My property manager crossed her "T's" and dotted her "i's" with this woman.
Now we just have to get someone good into the house and soon. A few nibbles, but no bites so far. Many respond that they don't want to move in until March. That is two months without a tenant. On the other hand, we have been lucky that we did get a renter in quickly the first time so we really have been able to break even on the mortgage up until now. Its those property taxes that hurt big time. I can't wait to do our taxes and see if having a rental is really worth the supposed write offs.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Snow Snow Snow
The first winter storm finally hit. The boys so wanted to miss school. The first front came and school was delayed two hours. The boys' bus was on snow route so they had to walk to the bottom of the hill. Trevor called from the stop saying they were the only ones there. Turns out most families either skip school or drive their children. I think that is crazy, to take your car out and potentially slide off the road or have someone else slide into you, when there is a perfectly good bus to deliver everyone.The boys said there were a lot of children missing from school.
I shoveled the deck.
The next storm hits with even more snow the next night. School is officially canceled. The boys are ecstatic. Trevor wants me to go pick up his best friend. I tell him I am not driving in this weather with these road conditions. It is just not worth the risks. I tell him to go wonder the neighborhood and find some local kids. He rides the bus with a big crowd. He needs to meet the neighbors. Trevor puts on his snow clothes, well the equivalent for a teen, which consists of jeans and jacket, hat and gloves.
Several hours later he returns wet and frozen, but extremely happy. One of the dead end streets had barricaded itself off from the snow plows and made a sled run. Nice and safe, not headed into traffic or anything. I know the block from the summer neighborhood picnic. some one even allowed Trevor to ride a snow mobile. Trevor had a soft sled which worked really well in the slush of the afternoon, but not so well in the heavy snow of earlier. He was able to share with some other kids and trade sleds back and forth and find different routes that worked. His legs were red from the cold when he got home and his clothes were soaking wet.
Riley stayed inside safe and warm. Eventually I had him help shovel the walkways and the deck with me, so he could get some fresh air and exercises. He enjoyed the work. I shovelled all the snow away from the drains to promote easy run off. The big deck was a challenge and I worked up a sweat.
My goal is to have the snow moved away from the house. My mom has a beach house that flooded because the snow created a dam around the house that wouldn't allow for the melt to escape. The snow forced the water into the house under the door. I wanted to make sure the melt went down the hill, not into my basement. The easiest way to achieve that is to shovel the snow well away from the house
Trevor's best friend convinced his parents to drive him up and pick him up later. When he arrived, the boys went back out to look for more snow activities in fresh dry clothes. The neighbors were setting up a snow ball fight with fortresses of snow in their big back yard. Trevor and his best friend were invited to join in the fun. The play date only lasted a few hours though as the friend's parents were picking him up during daylight, to make sure they got home safely before things started to freeze up in the evening.
Freezing didn't happen though. The snow melted and melted all night. In the morning it was back to school. It was a perfect snow day, enough to really play in, at least 10 inches, yet virtually gone the next day. No big effort on my part with a long drive to the mountain. It was right here in my own front yard.
I am having issues with water in my basement as the snow melts. I found water heavily dripping out of the main power box which is a lock out box owned by the utility company. I put a call in to have someone come look at it. with all the outages we are low on the priority list.
It is nice to find the source of the water in the basement, and that it might be something someone else has to deal with. I am hopeful this is a utility company problem and that they can resolve it.
Nasty, while cleaning up the excess water, I finally put down two buckets to catch the drips and prevent more water mess, while I waited for the utility company to call and come over. I was using towels to mop up the mess. I swept a wet towel back behind the furnace intake and pulled out a mummified rat. Probably ate some of my Decon poison way back when we first moved into the house. Good to know that stuff really works. It is just really yucky having to deal with the wet carcass, but my floors will be mopped clean now.
I also checked out my drain lines that I had reattached to the house in the fall. I shifted a couple to promote better drainage. The end result was there was no more water coming in under the door like there had been when we first moved in. I am dealing with the water issues, one spot at a time and I love resolving the problems!!
I shoveled the deck.
The next storm hits with even more snow the next night. School is officially canceled. The boys are ecstatic. Trevor wants me to go pick up his best friend. I tell him I am not driving in this weather with these road conditions. It is just not worth the risks. I tell him to go wonder the neighborhood and find some local kids. He rides the bus with a big crowd. He needs to meet the neighbors. Trevor puts on his snow clothes, well the equivalent for a teen, which consists of jeans and jacket, hat and gloves.
Several hours later he returns wet and frozen, but extremely happy. One of the dead end streets had barricaded itself off from the snow plows and made a sled run. Nice and safe, not headed into traffic or anything. I know the block from the summer neighborhood picnic. some one even allowed Trevor to ride a snow mobile. Trevor had a soft sled which worked really well in the slush of the afternoon, but not so well in the heavy snow of earlier. He was able to share with some other kids and trade sleds back and forth and find different routes that worked. His legs were red from the cold when he got home and his clothes were soaking wet.
Riley stayed inside safe and warm. Eventually I had him help shovel the walkways and the deck with me, so he could get some fresh air and exercises. He enjoyed the work. I shovelled all the snow away from the drains to promote easy run off. The big deck was a challenge and I worked up a sweat.
My goal is to have the snow moved away from the house. My mom has a beach house that flooded because the snow created a dam around the house that wouldn't allow for the melt to escape. The snow forced the water into the house under the door. I wanted to make sure the melt went down the hill, not into my basement. The easiest way to achieve that is to shovel the snow well away from the house
Trevor's best friend convinced his parents to drive him up and pick him up later. When he arrived, the boys went back out to look for more snow activities in fresh dry clothes. The neighbors were setting up a snow ball fight with fortresses of snow in their big back yard. Trevor and his best friend were invited to join in the fun. The play date only lasted a few hours though as the friend's parents were picking him up during daylight, to make sure they got home safely before things started to freeze up in the evening.
Freezing didn't happen though. The snow melted and melted all night. In the morning it was back to school. It was a perfect snow day, enough to really play in, at least 10 inches, yet virtually gone the next day. No big effort on my part with a long drive to the mountain. It was right here in my own front yard.
I am having issues with water in my basement as the snow melts. I found water heavily dripping out of the main power box which is a lock out box owned by the utility company. I put a call in to have someone come look at it. with all the outages we are low on the priority list.
It is nice to find the source of the water in the basement, and that it might be something someone else has to deal with. I am hopeful this is a utility company problem and that they can resolve it.
Nasty, while cleaning up the excess water, I finally put down two buckets to catch the drips and prevent more water mess, while I waited for the utility company to call and come over. I was using towels to mop up the mess. I swept a wet towel back behind the furnace intake and pulled out a mummified rat. Probably ate some of my Decon poison way back when we first moved into the house. Good to know that stuff really works. It is just really yucky having to deal with the wet carcass, but my floors will be mopped clean now.
I also checked out my drain lines that I had reattached to the house in the fall. I shifted a couple to promote better drainage. The end result was there was no more water coming in under the door like there had been when we first moved in. I am dealing with the water issues, one spot at a time and I love resolving the problems!!
Auction house
OMG, I have found a new fun thing to do. No drinking involved, just fun fun fun. I had heard about this local auction house way back when we used to live in the area, but had never gone to it. A friend got a great deal on a huge dining room set with multiple chairs for her huge family of six kids at the time. I had wanted to go check the place out and finally got around to doing it.
A good friend and I went to this old beat up barn that looked like it was right off the farm. The parking lot was pitted with pot holes and we had to step gingerly to avoid the mud. Inside the barn was a hodge podge of everything. These people buy estates and do consignment items. We check in at the door and get our own bidding numbers. It is just a little Rolodex card. I am told that this number is now my permanent number for when I go back again. We wander through, browsing all the items.
Around 2:00 we find seats. There is a stage in front. The auction begins. It is a low key family affair. The old man up front is the auctioneer. His grand children run the concessions and give out raffle tickets. We find out that we should have been really digging through the boxes like at a garage sale. Boxes come up for auction with lot numbers. Without having dug through thoroughly we take a risk bidding. Many of the items go for less than $5.
Tom has asked me to keep my eyes open for a power washer. He also said to watch out for tools. I bid on a hammer drill and get it for a fraction of the price new. Of course I hadn't really meant to get a hammer drill, but it is a really cool tool. It is a drill that drills through concrete, great for basement remodels.
I also bid on a folding extension ladder, which I win for $30 plus the 10% fee the auction house adds. I had priced them at Home depot when we first moved, they started at $200 and go up in price. I loved that deal.
I bid on a box of drill bits, which I win for $7.50. There must be 30 drill bits in the box. I am pleased again. I buy a bucket of tools for $10 including a heavy duty stapler for upolstery work
Other things come up which I pass on. A grandfather is there with his grand children. The oldest child, of about age seven, holds the bidding card. His grandfather signals him when to bid. The boy buys himself three boxes of old baseball cards for a bargain price of $10 a box. There were hundreds of cards. It was fun watching the excitement in the boy's eyes as he bid. The grand father also has the boy bid on a box of gun parts, which they win against several other bidders.
My girlfriend is talking to me and the auctioneer takes it as a bid. She has to announce she wasn't bidding. You have to be very careful not to even scratch your nose during the auction. Between items we scratch like crazy every potential itch just to make sure we don't scratch while the bidding is in progress.
Everyone is cheerful. One young woman bids and wins a beautiful drop leaf antique desk for $90, easily worth much more. She grins ear to ear after she wins. I was tempted to bid, but I have enough furniture at the moment. I am on the hunt for book shelves, really tall ones.
An add on craigslist had responded to my inquiry regarding book shelves. I don't find anything I like as much at the auction. I will be buying the craigslist shelves. We have to leave before the auction ends as Tom is home worried about the weather. A snow system is expected. I could have stayed all night. As it was we got there at about 1:45pm, with just enough time to briefly look around. We left close to 6:00pm and they hadn't even really made a dent on all the stuff they had. I had heard the auction can last until very late, ten or eleven at night.
I could see many hours sitting watching the bidding. It is like one of those TV shows I like to watch. You just never know what may turn up. The audience is fascinating to watch. The serious faces while bidding and the smiles and comments when someone wins the bids. The audience watching is half the fun. We notice the number of men in Camouflage gear. It almost appears like a dress code, Jeans and camo jackets. I could have stayed all night and not been board, just waiting to see if the next item up is something I really want.
It was like going to 20 garage sales, but instead the garage sales are coming to me as I sit in my chair with my number card. I have found a new past time. Love It!!!
A good friend and I went to this old beat up barn that looked like it was right off the farm. The parking lot was pitted with pot holes and we had to step gingerly to avoid the mud. Inside the barn was a hodge podge of everything. These people buy estates and do consignment items. We check in at the door and get our own bidding numbers. It is just a little Rolodex card. I am told that this number is now my permanent number for when I go back again. We wander through, browsing all the items.
Around 2:00 we find seats. There is a stage in front. The auction begins. It is a low key family affair. The old man up front is the auctioneer. His grand children run the concessions and give out raffle tickets. We find out that we should have been really digging through the boxes like at a garage sale. Boxes come up for auction with lot numbers. Without having dug through thoroughly we take a risk bidding. Many of the items go for less than $5.
Tom has asked me to keep my eyes open for a power washer. He also said to watch out for tools. I bid on a hammer drill and get it for a fraction of the price new. Of course I hadn't really meant to get a hammer drill, but it is a really cool tool. It is a drill that drills through concrete, great for basement remodels.
I also bid on a folding extension ladder, which I win for $30 plus the 10% fee the auction house adds. I had priced them at Home depot when we first moved, they started at $200 and go up in price. I loved that deal.
I bid on a box of drill bits, which I win for $7.50. There must be 30 drill bits in the box. I am pleased again. I buy a bucket of tools for $10 including a heavy duty stapler for upolstery work
Other things come up which I pass on. A grandfather is there with his grand children. The oldest child, of about age seven, holds the bidding card. His grandfather signals him when to bid. The boy buys himself three boxes of old baseball cards for a bargain price of $10 a box. There were hundreds of cards. It was fun watching the excitement in the boy's eyes as he bid. The grand father also has the boy bid on a box of gun parts, which they win against several other bidders.
My girlfriend is talking to me and the auctioneer takes it as a bid. She has to announce she wasn't bidding. You have to be very careful not to even scratch your nose during the auction. Between items we scratch like crazy every potential itch just to make sure we don't scratch while the bidding is in progress.
Everyone is cheerful. One young woman bids and wins a beautiful drop leaf antique desk for $90, easily worth much more. She grins ear to ear after she wins. I was tempted to bid, but I have enough furniture at the moment. I am on the hunt for book shelves, really tall ones.
An add on craigslist had responded to my inquiry regarding book shelves. I don't find anything I like as much at the auction. I will be buying the craigslist shelves. We have to leave before the auction ends as Tom is home worried about the weather. A snow system is expected. I could have stayed all night. As it was we got there at about 1:45pm, with just enough time to briefly look around. We left close to 6:00pm and they hadn't even really made a dent on all the stuff they had. I had heard the auction can last until very late, ten or eleven at night.
I could see many hours sitting watching the bidding. It is like one of those TV shows I like to watch. You just never know what may turn up. The audience is fascinating to watch. The serious faces while bidding and the smiles and comments when someone wins the bids. The audience watching is half the fun. We notice the number of men in Camouflage gear. It almost appears like a dress code, Jeans and camo jackets. I could have stayed all night and not been board, just waiting to see if the next item up is something I really want.
It was like going to 20 garage sales, but instead the garage sales are coming to me as I sit in my chair with my number card. I have found a new past time. Love It!!!
Monday, January 16, 2012
The cars are in the garage!!!
The snow threatened all weekend. The boys are anticipating no school tomorrow. According to the weather man we may get up to 10 inches. Haven't seen anything yet. The roads were clear when we went to the store, Trevor and I, to stock up on groceries, just in case.
$349 later at Winco, I felt we had enough to get through a couple more days of the boys being home. The dog and cats also were replenished with fresh bags of food, just in case. Checking out was a pain though. A few days ago I was at Winco and my debit card didn't work. Luckily the bank was still open so I just ran over and got cash out and came back and paid for my groceries. I was told I had a new card coming in the mail. Winco doesn't take credit cards. It is one of the ways it saves money and has lower food prices.
The new card arrived today in the mail, but not until after I borrowed Tom's debit card and found his was also obsolete. I had to drive all the way home to get a check, and found the new card in the mail box waiting. The new card refused activation though, when I tried to pay for my groceries with it, the second time around. I ended up writing a check in the end. I am getting tired of all these updates from Bank America. It is making my life difficult. The money is in the bank, yet I can't seem to access it easily. My old cards were not expired. It is a little frustrating to say the least, if not a little embarrassing.
Nice thing about having babies and being over 40 is that you realize a little embarrassment is survivable. After delivering my children at the hospital, with family and strange nurses and doctors around, I realized everything else that could possibly embarrass me is an improvement
to having my legs spread and everyone seeing everything below the waist.
Today, one of my dearest friends, who is a great organizer and someone who can tell me the truth, always, came over. She had her car in at the shop and had me pick her up and come to my house while she waited for the repairs. We live close to her mechanic's shop. It was a three hour job, supposedly.
Tom has been wanting me to tackle the garage. I get so bogged down by everything that needs to be done, I never finish one project. She kept me focused on the garage. We sorted and boxed. The boys were home for the three day weekend. Trevor owed me work time for driving him to basketball games and fronting him the entrance fees and snack bar money. Riley helped because Tom was home and he knew better than to balk at the work. Besides he knew I would reward with treats later if I was made happy.
The boys carried boxes and things up and down the stairs as needed. We donated a huge box of linens and bedding, plus another two boxes of books, and some kitchen things that I didn't need or want. We stuck them in the Taurus, but once the garage was cleared out, we wanted to try out the new space and see how the cars fit. I decided with the weather that I should take the jeep with the 4WD, just in case. We transferred the boxes.
There was also room for Trevor to come with us to the grocery store by taking the Jeep. There was no room in the Taurus for a third passenger with the boxes. My girlfriend swept out the garage. The Taurus is now parked inside, out of the snow. We had to shovel the day's accumulation off the car before we parked it inside so the snow melt would not make a mess on the floor. We used a broom to sweep the car clean of snow.
There was plenty of room for both vehicles. When I got back from the store loaded down with groceries, I backed in and was able to open the trunk having closed the big door against the weather, and have the boys help me unload the groceries.
Riley and Trevor were both pleased with the treats I had purchased as a thank you for all their help. It was pretty funny though how often they would disappear for stretches of time to avoid the carry and haul.
I am thrilled at the progress. We are not done. I still have to set up shelves on the wall for the tools and set up the work bench properly. It wont be long before the third car can also be parked in the garage. The roof box needs hooks on the wall so it can be hung up out of the way.
I do need to insulate the ceiling of the garage as it was quite pleasant working out there, even with the snowy weather, since the heated man cave above seems to be heating the garage also. It took the edge off the chilly air.
I am so excited as to our progress. Even the basement has made progress. Next week I have the opportunity to pick up some shelves at a good price. I can unpack the boxes of "keep" items once the shelves are in place. I feel so close to being on vacation with the thought of those last boxes being unpacked.
I can no longer say my book collection is huge anymore. I have seriously weeded out the detrious. I kept my favorite children's books, which will need to find a good home on the incoming shelves. Tom wanted to keep much of his reference books from college. I kept many momentous from my Dad's collection and some history books. The boys didn't care about many of their reading books. I took license and tossed in the donate box. I recommend checking out Goodwill if you need good books for your second grader to middle school reader. Many of the books I don't even think were opened, the bindings were unbent.
I still have boxes to sort and toss, but the volume is declining rapidly. My girlfriend worked hard keeping my boys and me focused on the task at hand today. The end result was amazing.
$349 later at Winco, I felt we had enough to get through a couple more days of the boys being home. The dog and cats also were replenished with fresh bags of food, just in case. Checking out was a pain though. A few days ago I was at Winco and my debit card didn't work. Luckily the bank was still open so I just ran over and got cash out and came back and paid for my groceries. I was told I had a new card coming in the mail. Winco doesn't take credit cards. It is one of the ways it saves money and has lower food prices.
The new card arrived today in the mail, but not until after I borrowed Tom's debit card and found his was also obsolete. I had to drive all the way home to get a check, and found the new card in the mail box waiting. The new card refused activation though, when I tried to pay for my groceries with it, the second time around. I ended up writing a check in the end. I am getting tired of all these updates from Bank America. It is making my life difficult. The money is in the bank, yet I can't seem to access it easily. My old cards were not expired. It is a little frustrating to say the least, if not a little embarrassing.
Nice thing about having babies and being over 40 is that you realize a little embarrassment is survivable. After delivering my children at the hospital, with family and strange nurses and doctors around, I realized everything else that could possibly embarrass me is an improvement
to having my legs spread and everyone seeing everything below the waist.
Today, one of my dearest friends, who is a great organizer and someone who can tell me the truth, always, came over. She had her car in at the shop and had me pick her up and come to my house while she waited for the repairs. We live close to her mechanic's shop. It was a three hour job, supposedly.
Tom has been wanting me to tackle the garage. I get so bogged down by everything that needs to be done, I never finish one project. She kept me focused on the garage. We sorted and boxed. The boys were home for the three day weekend. Trevor owed me work time for driving him to basketball games and fronting him the entrance fees and snack bar money. Riley helped because Tom was home and he knew better than to balk at the work. Besides he knew I would reward with treats later if I was made happy.
The boys carried boxes and things up and down the stairs as needed. We donated a huge box of linens and bedding, plus another two boxes of books, and some kitchen things that I didn't need or want. We stuck them in the Taurus, but once the garage was cleared out, we wanted to try out the new space and see how the cars fit. I decided with the weather that I should take the jeep with the 4WD, just in case. We transferred the boxes.
There was also room for Trevor to come with us to the grocery store by taking the Jeep. There was no room in the Taurus for a third passenger with the boxes. My girlfriend swept out the garage. The Taurus is now parked inside, out of the snow. We had to shovel the day's accumulation off the car before we parked it inside so the snow melt would not make a mess on the floor. We used a broom to sweep the car clean of snow.
There was plenty of room for both vehicles. When I got back from the store loaded down with groceries, I backed in and was able to open the trunk having closed the big door against the weather, and have the boys help me unload the groceries.
Riley and Trevor were both pleased with the treats I had purchased as a thank you for all their help. It was pretty funny though how often they would disappear for stretches of time to avoid the carry and haul.
I am thrilled at the progress. We are not done. I still have to set up shelves on the wall for the tools and set up the work bench properly. It wont be long before the third car can also be parked in the garage. The roof box needs hooks on the wall so it can be hung up out of the way.
I do need to insulate the ceiling of the garage as it was quite pleasant working out there, even with the snowy weather, since the heated man cave above seems to be heating the garage also. It took the edge off the chilly air.
I am so excited as to our progress. Even the basement has made progress. Next week I have the opportunity to pick up some shelves at a good price. I can unpack the boxes of "keep" items once the shelves are in place. I feel so close to being on vacation with the thought of those last boxes being unpacked.
I can no longer say my book collection is huge anymore. I have seriously weeded out the detrious. I kept my favorite children's books, which will need to find a good home on the incoming shelves. Tom wanted to keep much of his reference books from college. I kept many momentous from my Dad's collection and some history books. The boys didn't care about many of their reading books. I took license and tossed in the donate box. I recommend checking out Goodwill if you need good books for your second grader to middle school reader. Many of the books I don't even think were opened, the bindings were unbent.
I still have boxes to sort and toss, but the volume is declining rapidly. My girlfriend worked hard keeping my boys and me focused on the task at hand today. The end result was amazing.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Walking the dog
Walked the lake again this morning. It is becoming our routine, trying to do the walk three days a week. While the weather holds clear and not raining, my walking partner and I both agee the outside excersize makes us feel better than the indoor arobics.
I take the dog. He loves the walk. He sits still while I put on his harness. At the lake he moans with pleasure. He moans with pleasure the whole walk. He can't shut up about it. It is really humorous the way he just continues to chatter just like we do during the walk. He tries to great everyone he sees. Big dogs he is more hesitant. to approach. Really big dogs,
he ducks behind me and hides as we walk. He is quite entertaining. His favorite moments are when he is aknowledged by another human. A petting goes a long way. He might even be silent for a few moments until he sights someone else on the path to great.
We grab a doggy bag just in case, but more often than not I don't have to use the bag. The dog doesn't have to go poop. Probably too embarrassed to do it in public. I feed him when we get home. He collapses from exhaustion on the couch for a good long nap.
I take the dog. He loves the walk. He sits still while I put on his harness. At the lake he moans with pleasure. He moans with pleasure the whole walk. He can't shut up about it. It is really humorous the way he just continues to chatter just like we do during the walk. He tries to great everyone he sees. Big dogs he is more hesitant. to approach. Really big dogs,
he ducks behind me and hides as we walk. He is quite entertaining. His favorite moments are when he is aknowledged by another human. A petting goes a long way. He might even be silent for a few moments until he sights someone else on the path to great.
We grab a doggy bag just in case, but more often than not I don't have to use the bag. The dog doesn't have to go poop. Probably too embarrassed to do it in public. I feed him when we get home. He collapses from exhaustion on the couch for a good long nap.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Car oops
I was off to go for a walk with a friend. The dog was all excited to come with me. He had his harness on and sat in the front seat. I back up the driveway. On the way up, my left front tire goes up and over the concrete barrier that lines the driveway. Usually when this happens the car just plops back down into the drive and I keep going. this time I turn the wheel and the tire falls on the wrong side into the barked planting bed.
My Taurus is a low slung sporty car. Not a lot of clearance under the carriage. I try to slide the car forward, then back in hopes I can just drive the car up and over the barricade again. I am stuck in the wet leaves, scraping up the bottom of the car. The tires spin. I call my girlfriend to warn her I am probably not going to make the walk, my car is stuck.
I think about getting the other car out of the garage, but I can't get it by the car that is stuck in the driveway. I go into the garage and grab a hammer and some boards. Perhaps I can build up a ramp and get the car out. The problem is the concrete boarder is just a little tall for the undercarriage.
My girlfriend arrives to watch, gloat, and offer advice, and see if by pushing the car we can push the car out. The wet leaves and height of the barrier defeat us. My girlfriend laughs enjoying the moment of adventure. She tells me she had been anticipating my doing this. She was just waiting for it to happen. I call the tow truck.
$85 dollars later, the truck driver hitches the tow truck up to my bike hitch in the rear of the car. He lays down 4x4s which are taller than what I was working with and the car backs up the rest of the drive, with one wheel on the wrong side until it reaches the top and can be driven right up onto the road over the boards to prevent the front end from being dragged off while crossing back over the concrete to dry land.
Some guy in a red pick up drives up the street in the middle of the towing process. He roles down the window and asks us to move out of the way, like we could move. Idiot, I can't believe he is such a grouch. Our street is a circle. Turn around and go the other way. Can't you see we are stuck and in the middle of getting out? I call out to the driver an apology and ask him to go the other way. What a jerk, he roles up his window at me. Finally after he sees this is going to be a slow and careful job, he turns around and goes the other way. It wasn't like he didn't have a choice. Me, I was stuck right where I was, unless that tow truck can pull me out.
The whole process took an hour. From my struggles alone, to my friend trying to help, to finally caving in for the tow truck. Luckily the tow company is very close. When we were finally out, my girl friend is out of time, so no walk. The dog sits confused in his harness. I got some pictures to remind me of what not to do again.
I want to order some bark to fill in the planting bed. I figure if I can raise the level of the dirt, if I ever get stuck again, it wont be so difficult to get back on the right side. The problem was that both sides of the barrier have a significant drop which hung my car up. One inch higher and I probably would have cleared the impediment and been able to drive my car up and out myself. I will add a ground barrier and spreading bark to my to do list.
I turned the car around and backed down the driveway this time, so next time I pull out I will be facing forward. All our houses have had wierd driveways. I wish we could have a drive that allows for a turn around.
Once I have recovered enough from my little adventure, I drive the car to Les Schwab for a free tire rotation. Get those spinning front tires on the back and the less erroded tires on the front for my front wheel drive. I also want them to inspect the under carriage, make sure there is no damage. It is a free rotation, since I buy my tires from them. They see no significant damage. The tire is not going flat, which was my other concern, having spun it and had it up on boards, dragged the car across concrete and dropped. In the grand scheme of things, all is well that ends well.
While the car was being looked at I even got some grocery shopping done at the store nearby. No wasted time at all. I am sorry we missed our walk, but we'll go again on another day.
My Taurus is a low slung sporty car. Not a lot of clearance under the carriage. I try to slide the car forward, then back in hopes I can just drive the car up and over the barricade again. I am stuck in the wet leaves, scraping up the bottom of the car. The tires spin. I call my girlfriend to warn her I am probably not going to make the walk, my car is stuck.
I think about getting the other car out of the garage, but I can't get it by the car that is stuck in the driveway. I go into the garage and grab a hammer and some boards. Perhaps I can build up a ramp and get the car out. The problem is the concrete boarder is just a little tall for the undercarriage.
My girlfriend arrives to watch, gloat, and offer advice, and see if by pushing the car we can push the car out. The wet leaves and height of the barrier defeat us. My girlfriend laughs enjoying the moment of adventure. She tells me she had been anticipating my doing this. She was just waiting for it to happen. I call the tow truck.
$85 dollars later, the truck driver hitches the tow truck up to my bike hitch in the rear of the car. He lays down 4x4s which are taller than what I was working with and the car backs up the rest of the drive, with one wheel on the wrong side until it reaches the top and can be driven right up onto the road over the boards to prevent the front end from being dragged off while crossing back over the concrete to dry land.
Some guy in a red pick up drives up the street in the middle of the towing process. He roles down the window and asks us to move out of the way, like we could move. Idiot, I can't believe he is such a grouch. Our street is a circle. Turn around and go the other way. Can't you see we are stuck and in the middle of getting out? I call out to the driver an apology and ask him to go the other way. What a jerk, he roles up his window at me. Finally after he sees this is going to be a slow and careful job, he turns around and goes the other way. It wasn't like he didn't have a choice. Me, I was stuck right where I was, unless that tow truck can pull me out.
The whole process took an hour. From my struggles alone, to my friend trying to help, to finally caving in for the tow truck. Luckily the tow company is very close. When we were finally out, my girl friend is out of time, so no walk. The dog sits confused in his harness. I got some pictures to remind me of what not to do again.
I want to order some bark to fill in the planting bed. I figure if I can raise the level of the dirt, if I ever get stuck again, it wont be so difficult to get back on the right side. The problem was that both sides of the barrier have a significant drop which hung my car up. One inch higher and I probably would have cleared the impediment and been able to drive my car up and out myself. I will add a ground barrier and spreading bark to my to do list.
I turned the car around and backed down the driveway this time, so next time I pull out I will be facing forward. All our houses have had wierd driveways. I wish we could have a drive that allows for a turn around.
Once I have recovered enough from my little adventure, I drive the car to Les Schwab for a free tire rotation. Get those spinning front tires on the back and the less erroded tires on the front for my front wheel drive. I also want them to inspect the under carriage, make sure there is no damage. It is a free rotation, since I buy my tires from them. They see no significant damage. The tire is not going flat, which was my other concern, having spun it and had it up on boards, dragged the car across concrete and dropped. In the grand scheme of things, all is well that ends well.
While the car was being looked at I even got some grocery shopping done at the store nearby. No wasted time at all. I am sorry we missed our walk, but we'll go again on another day.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Tossing
I have been sorting and tossing, frantic to get the garage and basement done. With the burglary of my car I want it parked in the garage. With the loss of my personal space in the basement, I want it back.
A friend of mine with a talent for organizing came over with her daughter. they have been motivating me to toss and purge. She just roles her eyes at the mess and digs right in. She said yesterday, I have more books than a sane person needs. I am now up to 10 boxes that have been donated or are on their way out the door. I can see concrete floor.
I will be shopping a rug and couch soon at goodwill. If I can make the space look pleasant the boys will love it. It is much brighter than the other space they are occupying at the moment.
I feel overwhelmed by the project unless I have my help with me. I can see the items through their eyes, and it is easier to purge. There are items I am torn about, those I put aside. I need a maybe pile but right now there is so much that is certain donate, I don't need to worry about the maybes yet.
There is a lot of art work I am stacking in the garage. Eventually I will hang the art downstairs to make the space more friendly and finished. There is just so much to do. I do a little everywhere and you cant tell I did anything.
My girlfriend comes in like a whirlwind and with the help of my boys to carry up the boxes, soon dents appear in the piles.
Though she doesn't understand about keeping favorite childhood books, she re boxes them and adds them to the keep pile. I am just happy to purge what I do want to get rid of, and I am pleased with how much and how easy some of it just goes out of the house. And there is more, so much more to be gone through and tossed.
A friend of mine with a talent for organizing came over with her daughter. they have been motivating me to toss and purge. She just roles her eyes at the mess and digs right in. She said yesterday, I have more books than a sane person needs. I am now up to 10 boxes that have been donated or are on their way out the door. I can see concrete floor.
I will be shopping a rug and couch soon at goodwill. If I can make the space look pleasant the boys will love it. It is much brighter than the other space they are occupying at the moment.
I feel overwhelmed by the project unless I have my help with me. I can see the items through their eyes, and it is easier to purge. There are items I am torn about, those I put aside. I need a maybe pile but right now there is so much that is certain donate, I don't need to worry about the maybes yet.
There is a lot of art work I am stacking in the garage. Eventually I will hang the art downstairs to make the space more friendly and finished. There is just so much to do. I do a little everywhere and you cant tell I did anything.
My girlfriend comes in like a whirlwind and with the help of my boys to carry up the boxes, soon dents appear in the piles.
Though she doesn't understand about keeping favorite childhood books, she re boxes them and adds them to the keep pile. I am just happy to purge what I do want to get rid of, and I am pleased with how much and how easy some of it just goes out of the house. And there is more, so much more to be gone through and tossed.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Work projects
Yesterday, a dear and wonderful friend with a dear and wonderful husband and their dear and wonderful daughter came to our home to do projects. They arrived at 11:00 am. Originally, the husband had wanted to cut down trees in the back yard, but it has been raining and it would have been a muddy mess. Tom wanted to wait another month for the weather to be dry again a little longer.
Tom and L discussed which trees they wanted to topple. L is a real project guy, having built several additions to his different homes he has owned over time. He now has a house that is pretty much the way he wants it, or only has outside summer projects to address. I loved when my friend E offered up her husband's services for work projects. L is also an electrician. With the wiring in this house I need all the help I can get.
L looked in our garage power box only to find the wires are 14 gage not 12 gage, which is code. He recommends caution when plugging in to the outlets to make sure we don't put in to many items with high amp age and over load the wires, as the breakers might not trip as they should. We'll add the breaker box to our to do list. We are to go around and match and label all the breakers to lights and outlets. L had a cool plug tool that told you if an outlet was wired properly. I am going to get one for myself.
Since the trees were off the table for the day, we picked different projects to address. I had taken the cadet motor, in the man cave, in for servicing last week. New elements had been installed and the dusty motor had been cleaned. That visit cost me $115, but a new cadet would have run $240. I brought the cadet home and installed it. I thought everything was fine, but when Tom tried to use it, it kept shutting off. We thought it was the thermostat. L took a look at everything and finally opened up the cadet to look at my install. He found I had installed it upside down. 50/50 shot at getting it right and I miss. Everyone laughs, but I am grateful the problem was that easy to solve. It took an hour to figure out what the matter was.
Our next project is the running toilet. The main floor bathroom has a toilet that just occasionally runs. A slow leak from tank to bowl seems to be the culprit. My friend E pulls the plug and we add a replacement part to our list we are making of things we need at the hardware store.
Tom brings in the instant hot water, in a box that has been sitting in the garage since the first month we moved into the house. He wants to install it. Under the sink are all sorts of interesting plumbing. The list of things the men will need from the store grows; clamps, copper piping, isolation valve, caps, pressure joints. The list is long and if you have ever tried to do plumbing, everything has to be the right size and the right item. I am mentally rolling my eyes as I think it might be best for the men to go get these items themselves just to make sure what is brought home is correct, but I go ahead and do the run, twice.
Finally, three hours later the instant hot is installed and Tom is happy. I am happy. I don't like having boxes of things just sit and not be installed.
We had also been on a time crunch because the Lions were playing the Saints in New Orleans. Tom had to watch the game which started at 5:00 pm. After 5:oo pm he was done with honey do lists. We were so excited to get our projects done. E and I had time to sit on the couch and chat.
We even got more than one project done. The heater in the man cave works. We added a switch onto the cadet itself, but found once the motor was installed properly, the thermostat did operate properly. Now the two switches work together. The room feels delightfully warm and turns off the heat at just the right time.
The toilet still needs one more item to operate without running. I think the float needs adjusting and the washer in the bottom may need replacing. The float is a screw on the side of a tall tube on this model. My girl friend knows how to adjust it, so we will finish tackling it this week.
It was just so much fun accomplishing these tasks with friends. I called my girl friend this morning. When she picked up her first comment was "it's leaking". She tends always to think the worst, but I told her it was just the opposite. Tom was almost giddy as he filled his coffee cup this morning with instant hot water, not having to wait for the microwave for two minutes.
There is a reason he doesn't do Starbucks. He needs his caffeine NOW, with no waiting in lines, or for it to be prepared. He almost clicked his heals with glee, as he took his first sip from the cup. I thanked her and her husband for their assistance.
I can't wait until our next project day. I look forward to the chain saw day. E even has a friend that will buck up the wood and take it away. Tom's face perked up at the thought. He had not been looking forward to clean up. L was looking forward to the manly task of using his chain saw on a big tree. Nothing is more satisfying to a project driven man, or frightening to me, than seeing a tree 40 feet tall fall over. The trees I cut down were spindly things. These next trees are older and more substantial in their girth. A satisfying challenge to any testosterone driven male. So, in March, we tackle the trees. In the meantime I am still sorting and tossing in the basement.
I made room enough this week, that we can set up the resistance trainer today with Trevor's help. Then I want to move the TV game center in to that room. The boys want me to get a futon or couch for them. Right now they are using folding chairs which will work just fine for a while. I might even bring down the camp chairs for them. Anyway, off to the dungeon for more house keeping.
Tom and L discussed which trees they wanted to topple. L is a real project guy, having built several additions to his different homes he has owned over time. He now has a house that is pretty much the way he wants it, or only has outside summer projects to address. I loved when my friend E offered up her husband's services for work projects. L is also an electrician. With the wiring in this house I need all the help I can get.
L looked in our garage power box only to find the wires are 14 gage not 12 gage, which is code. He recommends caution when plugging in to the outlets to make sure we don't put in to many items with high amp age and over load the wires, as the breakers might not trip as they should. We'll add the breaker box to our to do list. We are to go around and match and label all the breakers to lights and outlets. L had a cool plug tool that told you if an outlet was wired properly. I am going to get one for myself.
Since the trees were off the table for the day, we picked different projects to address. I had taken the cadet motor, in the man cave, in for servicing last week. New elements had been installed and the dusty motor had been cleaned. That visit cost me $115, but a new cadet would have run $240. I brought the cadet home and installed it. I thought everything was fine, but when Tom tried to use it, it kept shutting off. We thought it was the thermostat. L took a look at everything and finally opened up the cadet to look at my install. He found I had installed it upside down. 50/50 shot at getting it right and I miss. Everyone laughs, but I am grateful the problem was that easy to solve. It took an hour to figure out what the matter was.
Our next project is the running toilet. The main floor bathroom has a toilet that just occasionally runs. A slow leak from tank to bowl seems to be the culprit. My friend E pulls the plug and we add a replacement part to our list we are making of things we need at the hardware store.
Tom brings in the instant hot water, in a box that has been sitting in the garage since the first month we moved into the house. He wants to install it. Under the sink are all sorts of interesting plumbing. The list of things the men will need from the store grows; clamps, copper piping, isolation valve, caps, pressure joints. The list is long and if you have ever tried to do plumbing, everything has to be the right size and the right item. I am mentally rolling my eyes as I think it might be best for the men to go get these items themselves just to make sure what is brought home is correct, but I go ahead and do the run, twice.
Finally, three hours later the instant hot is installed and Tom is happy. I am happy. I don't like having boxes of things just sit and not be installed.
We had also been on a time crunch because the Lions were playing the Saints in New Orleans. Tom had to watch the game which started at 5:00 pm. After 5:oo pm he was done with honey do lists. We were so excited to get our projects done. E and I had time to sit on the couch and chat.
We even got more than one project done. The heater in the man cave works. We added a switch onto the cadet itself, but found once the motor was installed properly, the thermostat did operate properly. Now the two switches work together. The room feels delightfully warm and turns off the heat at just the right time.
The toilet still needs one more item to operate without running. I think the float needs adjusting and the washer in the bottom may need replacing. The float is a screw on the side of a tall tube on this model. My girl friend knows how to adjust it, so we will finish tackling it this week.
It was just so much fun accomplishing these tasks with friends. I called my girl friend this morning. When she picked up her first comment was "it's leaking". She tends always to think the worst, but I told her it was just the opposite. Tom was almost giddy as he filled his coffee cup this morning with instant hot water, not having to wait for the microwave for two minutes.
There is a reason he doesn't do Starbucks. He needs his caffeine NOW, with no waiting in lines, or for it to be prepared. He almost clicked his heals with glee, as he took his first sip from the cup. I thanked her and her husband for their assistance.
I can't wait until our next project day. I look forward to the chain saw day. E even has a friend that will buck up the wood and take it away. Tom's face perked up at the thought. He had not been looking forward to clean up. L was looking forward to the manly task of using his chain saw on a big tree. Nothing is more satisfying to a project driven man, or frightening to me, than seeing a tree 40 feet tall fall over. The trees I cut down were spindly things. These next trees are older and more substantial in their girth. A satisfying challenge to any testosterone driven male. So, in March, we tackle the trees. In the meantime I am still sorting and tossing in the basement.
I made room enough this week, that we can set up the resistance trainer today with Trevor's help. Then I want to move the TV game center in to that room. The boys want me to get a futon or couch for them. Right now they are using folding chairs which will work just fine for a while. I might even bring down the camp chairs for them. Anyway, off to the dungeon for more house keeping.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Karma
I feel like I need to do a voodoo seance or something, burn feathers maybe. We have some bad Karma going at the moment. Trevor has been looking for his cell phone. We had it last Friday in my car coming home from the farm. I think on New years eve or the next night someone tossed my car, burgaled us. While drive to the store on Tuesday I noticed my charger was gone from its plug in my car. I looked in the back seat and my big beautiful brown purse was missing along with a bucket I kept in the back seat for collecting things. My glove box was empty of the manuel and other odds and ends. Some one had taken these things and most of the weekend my car was parked right in my own driveway, of course unlocked.
The eviction went through and the sheriff kept everyone calm on Wednesday. The locks to the house were changed just to be safe. No one is scheduled to look at the house. I don't want it to sit for long. The other competition has come off the market so I imagine they got rented. Ours is the only one of its size listed in the area.
The tenant had not cleaned. She had vacuumed, but the kitchen needed a thorough wipe down. The stove, microwave, and refrigerator were dirty. The bathrooms had rings in the toilets and hadn't been scrubbed. We spent five ours cleaning on Thursday. I mowed the long grass in the lawn and found a sprinkler head broken and laying in the yard. I remembered the call when the tenant asked how to turn off the sprinklers. So much for winterizing, which is what she told me was the reason she wanted to know how to turn them off. You know, if she had told me there was a sprinkler broken rather than hide it, I would have had it fixed at the time. Now she has to pay for it out of her deductible as damage to the house.
I am playing ketch up with the utilities out of the deposit, the ones that are refusing service unless paid. Natural Gas and electric said they will go after the tenant. The others I am paying out of the deposit to get them started up again as they are liens against the house or refusing service.
I had to ask my neighbor in front, to move her RV again until we get a renter in. She had been parking it in the driveway again. I need the house to show well, and the driveway needs to be open and accessible.
We had one viewing earlier, but the couple didn't like the flag lot. My thought is they probably didn't like the RV blocking the driveway. Any way the less there is to find wrong with the house the better.
The other neighbor in front of us that had the foreclosure, their house now bank owned finally sold after two and a half years, $239,000 back in October. It sets the floor I feel for our house which is bigger but still in their back yard and not on the street. Houses are beginning to move. A friend in Bend said their rental they were living in is selling, and they have to move. Wish they wanted to come to our neighborhood.
Went to the bank today to get all our accounts closed and switched over to new accounts for safety. Just in case there was something important in the car. Still have a couple more accounts to close. I had my main billfold in the house, so they didn't get my license, and favorite credit cards. I am struggling to remember what was in my back up billfold and get it all canceled.
So the big white elephant is back. I hold my breath every day when I open my e-mail in hopes that someone will be inquiring after the house. Not a good way to march in the new year with a burglary and a vacant rental. I am hoping this is bottom and we go up from here. Pray, burn feathers, do a voodoo dance, do something to change our outlook to positive.
The eviction went through and the sheriff kept everyone calm on Wednesday. The locks to the house were changed just to be safe. No one is scheduled to look at the house. I don't want it to sit for long. The other competition has come off the market so I imagine they got rented. Ours is the only one of its size listed in the area.
The tenant had not cleaned. She had vacuumed, but the kitchen needed a thorough wipe down. The stove, microwave, and refrigerator were dirty. The bathrooms had rings in the toilets and hadn't been scrubbed. We spent five ours cleaning on Thursday. I mowed the long grass in the lawn and found a sprinkler head broken and laying in the yard. I remembered the call when the tenant asked how to turn off the sprinklers. So much for winterizing, which is what she told me was the reason she wanted to know how to turn them off. You know, if she had told me there was a sprinkler broken rather than hide it, I would have had it fixed at the time. Now she has to pay for it out of her deductible as damage to the house.
I am playing ketch up with the utilities out of the deposit, the ones that are refusing service unless paid. Natural Gas and electric said they will go after the tenant. The others I am paying out of the deposit to get them started up again as they are liens against the house or refusing service.
I had to ask my neighbor in front, to move her RV again until we get a renter in. She had been parking it in the driveway again. I need the house to show well, and the driveway needs to be open and accessible.
We had one viewing earlier, but the couple didn't like the flag lot. My thought is they probably didn't like the RV blocking the driveway. Any way the less there is to find wrong with the house the better.
The other neighbor in front of us that had the foreclosure, their house now bank owned finally sold after two and a half years, $239,000 back in October. It sets the floor I feel for our house which is bigger but still in their back yard and not on the street. Houses are beginning to move. A friend in Bend said their rental they were living in is selling, and they have to move. Wish they wanted to come to our neighborhood.
Went to the bank today to get all our accounts closed and switched over to new accounts for safety. Just in case there was something important in the car. Still have a couple more accounts to close. I had my main billfold in the house, so they didn't get my license, and favorite credit cards. I am struggling to remember what was in my back up billfold and get it all canceled.
So the big white elephant is back. I hold my breath every day when I open my e-mail in hopes that someone will be inquiring after the house. Not a good way to march in the new year with a burglary and a vacant rental. I am hoping this is bottom and we go up from here. Pray, burn feathers, do a voodoo dance, do something to change our outlook to positive.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Deposits
I am so glad we had a huge deductible required. As I called the utility companies I found out the tenant had not paid any of the utilities since she had moved in to our house. I think she was surprised at how quickly we were able to evict her in the end. We got her out in 21 days, well 26 days since I gave her the extra days due to the Christmas holiday.
I am waiting to hear about the condition of the house. Meanwhile, I have bills that she didn't pay that will have to be paid out of the deductible or the utility company wont turn the services over to us again. Nothing was paid since she moved in. It makes me wonder about the games she was playing. How many people has she conned. At least with the deductible we charged up front, all our cost are covered so far. I really want to know the condition of the house though. To make sure everything is in good order. I can see this is a very stressful business, being a rental landlord. We are learning everything by trial of fire. I hope we can get it rented again quickly.
I am waiting to hear about the condition of the house. Meanwhile, I have bills that she didn't pay that will have to be paid out of the deductible or the utility company wont turn the services over to us again. Nothing was paid since she moved in. It makes me wonder about the games she was playing. How many people has she conned. At least with the deductible we charged up front, all our cost are covered so far. I really want to know the condition of the house though. To make sure everything is in good order. I can see this is a very stressful business, being a rental landlord. We are learning everything by trial of fire. I hope we can get it rented again quickly.
New Years
Tom and I weren't thrilled with the band choice for the club for the new years party.I had bought a dress I really wanted to wear, but I could save it for a charity auction we like to go to in the spring. One of those fun affairs where you can dress up. We opt to make a couple of phone calls resulting in an impromptu party at our house.
The catalyst was Trevor having his best friend over for a play date. The boy was supposed to be home by one as he had his own out of town guests coming over. I was going golfing New Years eve day with some girl friends.
The women gathered at the club in the morning, with cocktails, and decided to play a horse race, which is a game where each team plays one ball with everyone taking turns. First one person tees off, another hits the fairway and the next team member putts or hits again as needed. The team with the best round wins.
I played awful. I Didn't even get out of the tee box on two of my shots. I lost the team ball in an out of bounds hit on the fairway. I missed the putts, even the close ones. I aimed way right and way left when ever I hit. When I did make great contact, I could have used some direction. After lunch I went home and napped. I just wanted to put that disastrous round behind me. It was so bad that the women started giving our team "Gimmes" on the putts. That means that even though you missed the hole, you were close enough to count it as going in, which women rarely do.
I think I also got distracted during the round as a text came through from our ex tenant asking for another day to finish moving out. I had given permission for her to have until December 31 to move out, even though the court said she was to be out on the 26th. She hadn't shown up in court on the judgement day so the judge automaticaly ruled in our favor. After some heated texts that she had sent me regarding our evicting her, when she received her notice, and realizing she had screwed up and badly, she had "respectfully" asked until the 31st, as none of her friends were able to help her move due to it being the Christmas weekend.
I just couldn't bring myself to be so mean as to evict someone literally on Christmas, so I texted her, she could have until the 31st. I did not respond to the text on the 31st asking for another day, as I felt she should ask the property manager, not me, if she wanted one more day. The distraction did not help my round at all though. The text brought back to me the worry that the house would be stripped or left a mess, or we wouldn't rent it again soon.
One of the best players in the club was on our team. A highly competitive player, she was very forgiving, which I appreciated greatly. She went out and played another round after lunch to put the earlier round behind her. She asked if I wanted to join her, but I was whipped and beaten by the first round and just wanted to go home and lick my wounds, so to speak.
When I arrived home, Trevor's friend was still at our house. I asked why he was still there when he was due home an hour earlier. Trevor said he was spending the night. I called the parents to find out what had happened. Their out of town guests had a child come down with a cold so they couldn't travel. I offered them to come to our house, since their new years plans were now in ruins, thus evolved the impromptu party. I figured they had already bought stuff for their canceled party, why not just bring it to our house.
I called another friend who I knew didn't have much planned. Her family also accepted our invitation. Tom called a friend who waffled at first as he had other guests over. I called the wife and told her to bring everyone. They accepted the invitation also. I told everyone to bring ice and champagne or sparkling cider. They also brought hor d'ouvers. I do love a party where all I do is provide the destination.
One of the couples has a husband who is something of a gourmet cook. He brought a baked brie with Cinnamon apple filling in a pie crust that was Divine. Another friend brought nacho dip. The last couple brought a delicious salad to add to the menu. I heated up a spiral ham and mashed potatoes. No fuss, the boys helped tidy up before everyone arrived.
There was some complaining during the clean up phase, but all was good in the end. We used the every day china and finally put away the china we used at Christmas.
Trevor's friend's father brought a few fire works to light off at midnight. All but one was lit off a good two hours earlier. Tom set the fireworks up on the deck. I could see them explode through the sky light windows above the house. The first one gave me a fright it was so close. I shrieked. The boys all crowded in at the deck door trying to see the fireworks, without getting on their shoes and coats to go outside, and too cold to just stand outside and watch.
Two of the families left before midnight as they didn't want to be on the road with the drinking crowds. The other family opted to stay and spend the night. My girlfriend and I went to get their dog, which had been locked up for the evening and needed to be let out. We just brought the dog over to our house. I figured that way in the morning they wouldn't have to run off. they could hang out and have a leisurely day. I had to swipe eggs and milk from their kitchen to add to my stock as I didn't have enough for the morning. After the trip for the dog we were set for the evening.
I was surprised at how quickly the time flew with good company. I had planned to watch the 9:00 pm show in New York, when midnight struck back east. By the time I realized what time it was I had missed that show while talking to everyone. Midnight flew at us and we never made it to the TV. Everyone did the count down on their cell phones.
Tom and I shared a champagne toast. Tom asked for New Years resolutions from everyone. Tom's was he wanted to be happier again. I said I wanted a job. I think if I had a job that would fulfill Tom's happiness request also. Two birds with one stone.
We slept in late the next day. When I finally got up we sat and held our coffees in the living room for a while talking. I motivated enough to go into the kitchen and start preparing food. I whipped up some waffles and found some ground pork in the drawer to throw into a scrambled egg concoction with onions and cheese. I made up patties to fry of the left over mashed potatoes from the night before. It was a lovely buffet. I left it to the boys to self serve.
Some time in the afternoon, our friends headed home. It was a lovely way to host in the new year. As soon as they left I attacked the Christmas trees. I had the trees un decorated and the garlands off the stairs in less than an hour. I had the boys carry everything down to the basement where they left it all for me to stow away later. The trips downstairs took longer than the defrocking of the trees.
The door knob to the garage broke at some point during the day. It had been on its last legs earlier. I was grateful it survived the party. The children were having a hard time opening the door to get in and out of the dungeon. To be able to open the door after the lock gave out, we had to take the knob off and stuff the hole with a cloth to keep the cold air from coming into the house.
Today's project was to take the broken cadet heater in for repair from Tom's man cave and get a replacement knob installed on the garage door. Two more things ticked off the home improvement list.
Putting on the new knob, the instructions don't tell you the trick to installation is to put in one particular screw before the other. I spent twenty minutes fussing with lining up these long screws trying to align them with the receptacle from the other side. Once I figured out the order of the screws, the door handle went on easily.
The cadet will get fixed tomorrow as I have to turn off the power to the man cave to reinstall the unit. Today Tom is home watching the bowl games. I can't cut the power off.
Today, Monday, I worked in the basement with a girlfriend and her daughter for two hours, after walking the dog with another friend. Tom is giving me a hard time about all our stuff, the books especially. We made up three boxes of discards and sorted through eight boxes of books. My goal was to discard half our books if I could, and unpack the rest. Much of the books are books I bought Trevor when I was trying to encourage him to read. Half my choices turned out to be duds. Other books were books Riley had read but had outgrown. I was able to dispose of a lot of old books we have been carting around through several moves, and before we were married from both Tom and myself. I made up a box of text books that I thought Tom woulod appreciate. I kept a few of my favorites for when I have small children over or I just couldn't let go of them. I was not disappointed in my progress, but there is still much to do.
I have to get that basement under control. I will be needing another couch or sectional for the boys, but not yet. My step mom gave me a gift card to home depot. She had asked me what I wanted and that is what I told her. I am looking forward to trying to decide between drywall and insulation or pine boards for bookshelves. HHmmmm.
The catalyst was Trevor having his best friend over for a play date. The boy was supposed to be home by one as he had his own out of town guests coming over. I was going golfing New Years eve day with some girl friends.
The women gathered at the club in the morning, with cocktails, and decided to play a horse race, which is a game where each team plays one ball with everyone taking turns. First one person tees off, another hits the fairway and the next team member putts or hits again as needed. The team with the best round wins.
I played awful. I Didn't even get out of the tee box on two of my shots. I lost the team ball in an out of bounds hit on the fairway. I missed the putts, even the close ones. I aimed way right and way left when ever I hit. When I did make great contact, I could have used some direction. After lunch I went home and napped. I just wanted to put that disastrous round behind me. It was so bad that the women started giving our team "Gimmes" on the putts. That means that even though you missed the hole, you were close enough to count it as going in, which women rarely do.
I think I also got distracted during the round as a text came through from our ex tenant asking for another day to finish moving out. I had given permission for her to have until December 31 to move out, even though the court said she was to be out on the 26th. She hadn't shown up in court on the judgement day so the judge automaticaly ruled in our favor. After some heated texts that she had sent me regarding our evicting her, when she received her notice, and realizing she had screwed up and badly, she had "respectfully" asked until the 31st, as none of her friends were able to help her move due to it being the Christmas weekend.
I just couldn't bring myself to be so mean as to evict someone literally on Christmas, so I texted her, she could have until the 31st. I did not respond to the text on the 31st asking for another day, as I felt she should ask the property manager, not me, if she wanted one more day. The distraction did not help my round at all though. The text brought back to me the worry that the house would be stripped or left a mess, or we wouldn't rent it again soon.
One of the best players in the club was on our team. A highly competitive player, she was very forgiving, which I appreciated greatly. She went out and played another round after lunch to put the earlier round behind her. She asked if I wanted to join her, but I was whipped and beaten by the first round and just wanted to go home and lick my wounds, so to speak.
When I arrived home, Trevor's friend was still at our house. I asked why he was still there when he was due home an hour earlier. Trevor said he was spending the night. I called the parents to find out what had happened. Their out of town guests had a child come down with a cold so they couldn't travel. I offered them to come to our house, since their new years plans were now in ruins, thus evolved the impromptu party. I figured they had already bought stuff for their canceled party, why not just bring it to our house.
I called another friend who I knew didn't have much planned. Her family also accepted our invitation. Tom called a friend who waffled at first as he had other guests over. I called the wife and told her to bring everyone. They accepted the invitation also. I told everyone to bring ice and champagne or sparkling cider. They also brought hor d'ouvers. I do love a party where all I do is provide the destination.
One of the couples has a husband who is something of a gourmet cook. He brought a baked brie with Cinnamon apple filling in a pie crust that was Divine. Another friend brought nacho dip. The last couple brought a delicious salad to add to the menu. I heated up a spiral ham and mashed potatoes. No fuss, the boys helped tidy up before everyone arrived.
There was some complaining during the clean up phase, but all was good in the end. We used the every day china and finally put away the china we used at Christmas.
Trevor's friend's father brought a few fire works to light off at midnight. All but one was lit off a good two hours earlier. Tom set the fireworks up on the deck. I could see them explode through the sky light windows above the house. The first one gave me a fright it was so close. I shrieked. The boys all crowded in at the deck door trying to see the fireworks, without getting on their shoes and coats to go outside, and too cold to just stand outside and watch.
Two of the families left before midnight as they didn't want to be on the road with the drinking crowds. The other family opted to stay and spend the night. My girlfriend and I went to get their dog, which had been locked up for the evening and needed to be let out. We just brought the dog over to our house. I figured that way in the morning they wouldn't have to run off. they could hang out and have a leisurely day. I had to swipe eggs and milk from their kitchen to add to my stock as I didn't have enough for the morning. After the trip for the dog we were set for the evening.
I was surprised at how quickly the time flew with good company. I had planned to watch the 9:00 pm show in New York, when midnight struck back east. By the time I realized what time it was I had missed that show while talking to everyone. Midnight flew at us and we never made it to the TV. Everyone did the count down on their cell phones.
Tom and I shared a champagne toast. Tom asked for New Years resolutions from everyone. Tom's was he wanted to be happier again. I said I wanted a job. I think if I had a job that would fulfill Tom's happiness request also. Two birds with one stone.
We slept in late the next day. When I finally got up we sat and held our coffees in the living room for a while talking. I motivated enough to go into the kitchen and start preparing food. I whipped up some waffles and found some ground pork in the drawer to throw into a scrambled egg concoction with onions and cheese. I made up patties to fry of the left over mashed potatoes from the night before. It was a lovely buffet. I left it to the boys to self serve.
Some time in the afternoon, our friends headed home. It was a lovely way to host in the new year. As soon as they left I attacked the Christmas trees. I had the trees un decorated and the garlands off the stairs in less than an hour. I had the boys carry everything down to the basement where they left it all for me to stow away later. The trips downstairs took longer than the defrocking of the trees.
The door knob to the garage broke at some point during the day. It had been on its last legs earlier. I was grateful it survived the party. The children were having a hard time opening the door to get in and out of the dungeon. To be able to open the door after the lock gave out, we had to take the knob off and stuff the hole with a cloth to keep the cold air from coming into the house.
Today's project was to take the broken cadet heater in for repair from Tom's man cave and get a replacement knob installed on the garage door. Two more things ticked off the home improvement list.
Putting on the new knob, the instructions don't tell you the trick to installation is to put in one particular screw before the other. I spent twenty minutes fussing with lining up these long screws trying to align them with the receptacle from the other side. Once I figured out the order of the screws, the door handle went on easily.
The cadet will get fixed tomorrow as I have to turn off the power to the man cave to reinstall the unit. Today Tom is home watching the bowl games. I can't cut the power off.
Today, Monday, I worked in the basement with a girlfriend and her daughter for two hours, after walking the dog with another friend. Tom is giving me a hard time about all our stuff, the books especially. We made up three boxes of discards and sorted through eight boxes of books. My goal was to discard half our books if I could, and unpack the rest. Much of the books are books I bought Trevor when I was trying to encourage him to read. Half my choices turned out to be duds. Other books were books Riley had read but had outgrown. I was able to dispose of a lot of old books we have been carting around through several moves, and before we were married from both Tom and myself. I made up a box of text books that I thought Tom woulod appreciate. I kept a few of my favorites for when I have small children over or I just couldn't let go of them. I was not disappointed in my progress, but there is still much to do.
I have to get that basement under control. I will be needing another couch or sectional for the boys, but not yet. My step mom gave me a gift card to home depot. She had asked me what I wanted and that is what I told her. I am looking forward to trying to decide between drywall and insulation or pine boards for bookshelves. HHmmmm.
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