Category Archives: House

Three Words

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I’ve been picking three words as a theme for the year for several years now. Well, I’ve picked three words each year but sometimes only one or two words really come through for me. One year I chose the word reduce as one of my three words and that’s the year that I got rid of a lot of things in my house by having the estate sale and was the year that I really started to lose weight. This year my three words are:

  • pull-up:  I like pull-up because I’ve set a goal at the gym (Summa Wellness Institute in Hudson) to do one pull up. That is an unbelievably difficult goal for me but I’m working on it. I also like the whole “bootstrap” thing. So, the multiple meanings work well for me.
  • income: I could not think of a multi-meaning word that really got to the point for me on this so I went with the word that means what is important for me. I really need to focus on generating income now that I’m self-employed
  • consolidate: I want to consolidate my possessions and actions so that I’m living a more efficient life and in a less cluttered environment.

If you’re not familiar withe the idea of choosing three words for the year over setting resolutions, read Chris Brogran’s blog about it. He started this in 2006 and has been using it ever since and encouraging the rest of the world to follow suit.

Three Words 2015: Pull-Up, Consolidate, Income

Three Words 2015

Home Repairs

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This morning I figured out why the shower door in my son’s bathroom was always difficult to slide open. The one door was off the track so I managed to lift it up and put it back where it belonged. This was not difficult at all but I was pretty pleased with myself for seeing what the problem was and fixing it.

This past weekend, I realized that an earring had been laundered and was stuck down in the dryer’s filter trap. I tried and tried to get it out but could not lift it out. I remembered that Dave had a magnetized screw driver but didn’t know for sure what it looked like and if it was still around. I was feeling very frustrated when all of a sudden I thought of chewing gum. I ended up not using gum but put a big wad of scotch tape on a stick and used that to retrieve the earring. I was pleased with myself over that too.

Earlier, I replaced the screens on my back porch with the glass windows for the colder months. The windows are heavy and bulky but I managed to do it on my own. That too made me happy.

So, hooray for me for fixing some things. Unfortunately, my garage door suddenly is malfunctioning, my outside light has quit working, and my kitchen faucet has developed a leak. I already know I can’t fix those things so it’s time to make some calls.

I dislike having to take care of everything. It’s tiring and I always end up feeling inadequate.

 

Tools

Foundations

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It’s great how many meanings there are to the word foundations. I’ve been fixated on the foundation that holds up my house.

I’ve been working on getting someone in to repair the foundation in my house. Oh, what a mess. I have cracks in the foundation walls. I gather that they need to be repaired but according to the various men who have come out to look at it, they have all seen worse. Apparently this town is full of houses with cracking foundations because the place is full of clay. I, however, lie in bed at night worrying that my house is going to collapse.

Plus, while worrying about my house, at the same time at work, I was writing a class on structural damages in houses. Sometimes the world just hits you over the head. Repeatedly

Five estimates from five different companies. Prices ranged from $5250 to over $30,000 and everyone had different ideas as to what to do. I chose one of the lesser priced solutions. I think it will work. The guy I went with was a name I got from a friend. Then the woman who does my taxes gave me the same name and then last night I met some friends at the local wine bar and one of the women also knew the guy and was very positive on him. So, three personal references work for me.

Now he just has to get me on the schedule I guess. Contractors do not have the finely honed communication skills I would like.

 

2014 Update

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I’ve been remiss in posting here. I was struggling with so many things that I just didn’t feel like sharing my feelings with the world.

So here’s my update:

  1. My son has graduated from high school and is off to college in North Carolina. He’s doing well and seems to be enjoying himself.
  2. My dog Nunu is still alive…she’s elderly and probably doesn’t get enough attention since it’s down to just me at home with her. I’ve thought about getting another dog but I’m just not home enough to do that right now.
  3. I’m still working in the same place. Nothing much has changed with that.
  4. I have made teeny steps towards fixing up my house. I do want to sell this house and move out of it but getting there is more work than I want to do at times.
  5. I had a tag sale last summer and sold off the wood working shop in my basement. I sold a bunch of other things as well. We’re still trying to figure out what is gone and what we still have. A lot of Dave’s clothes were donated to a veteran’s shelter so that was good. Having that sale was both freeing and very disturbing.
  6. I got out all of our Christmas decorations this year and decorated the house. Nick and I went out and chopped down a tree and brought it home and put it up. That was a lot more work than we realized. Next year we’ll probably buy a pre-cut one! That too was emotionally difficult but also positive.

I’ve been missing writing here so will try to come back to this.winter scene

 

Squirrels in the Attic

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Last year we dealt with a raccoon trying to get into our house. The noise a raccoon makes while tearing at the siding on a house is quite loud. It sounds like someone is taking a baseball bat to the house.

This year I’ve been lucky so far with that. Keep your fingers crossed because I really don’t want to deal with that again.

I did have to call the wildlife removal people though because some animal was caught in my chimney. I woke up on Sunday morning thinking my dog was in the living room scratching and then realized that the dog was in my room. I could hear something trying to claw its way out of the chimney.

I debated on calling the wildlife removal company. After I called the company, I debated if I cancel it. I really struggle lately with these ordinary daily decisions.

When Joe the wildlife guy arrived, he checked out my roof. There is a cap on the chimney but apparently an opening had appeared in the screening. He discovered a bird trapped in the chimney, right where I said it was. Joe dropped a rope into the chimney. The  bird grabbed onto the rope and Joe pulled it out. The bird, rather sooty and dusty, immediately flew away.

The good news is that I didn’t feel compelled to tell Joe that my husband has died. I told some repair man earlier that my husband had died and then realized I told a complete stranger who was at my house that I live here alone. Not so bright so I’m glad I’m learning restraint.

The other good news is that the bird is out of the chimney and the rest of my roof and soffits look fine. We won’t discuss what it cost to save the bird’s life.