Just Not Enough Hours

I figured I would be posting more often now that I found my password and all, but I guess there are other reasons for not regularly posting as well....time.....I work ALOT, and even from home sometimes.....subject matter......working so much and feeling as monetarily challenged as I do, not a lot of things are going on at the money pit these days....my better half has begun undoing the damage to the front yard from neglect....he is still getting his strength back....there are some things we will need to attend to over the winter, including the back yard which is an absolute jungle (seriously, not kidding!) and some pieces of wood and plaster which need to be repaired before they fall off the house. It will move slow, unless we win the lottery and can hire out all of these jobs.
I'm still missing my eldest daughter, but she seems to be thriving at college.....so I'm happy for her. I haven't even cleared out the huge mess she left in her room when she moved out...maybe I'll let her handle that when she is home on break......; )

I'm Adjusting, She's Adjusting

It was a bit of a rough week, but I'm doing better.....I talk/text with Gaby every day, she seems fine. No dorm mates yet....we don't know if it is due to the storm(s) or they both are just not coming......so Gaby has the dorm to herself so far. The campus is beautiful....brick buildings, old oak trees, fountains......there was just that moment when I had to leave to catch my flight back that I totally lost it......and then Gaby started crying to in response to me crying......boy, that was a tough few minutes, when I had to say "OK, I have to go.....bye honey, love you" and turn around and leave my daughter there.....I honestly don't think I had experienced anything that hard even in the passing of my parents....this was someone who I had brought into the world, watched grow up and was now not going to be a daily part of my life at home......I don't know where I pulled the strength together at that moment to walk to my car.....but I did.....and I fought back the urge to run right back in there. I sat for a moment, talked to my husband on the phone and drove off. Phew! I would have felt better if there had been a dorm mate or two, just so I wasn't leaving her alone, but Gaby has always been very independant, and I think she was relishing having the dorm to herself...
I had some long delays on the way home, both due to weather and mechanical issues, and didn't get home until 1am. The campus was being used as a shelter for evacuees, and probably will again this week. It is inland enough (6 hours north of New Orleans) that it is not in immediate danger from the hurricanes. The area was already full of evacuees Friday night, when we discovered our hotel was a complete dud and could not transfer anywhere else as they were all booked.
I feel a lot better now, she sounds good, all grown up.....classes have started, so she is becoming busy. I will plan for her travel home for the holidays....

College Time

Today is the day I take my oldest daughter to college in Louisiana.......I figured I would be pretty torn up when it was time to say goodbye, before I headed back to Tampa, but it has been really hard this morning, looking at her room all emptied out, and the suitcases piled up in the foyer......I've had this person in my everyday life for 18 1/2 years, not I will not be part of her daily life, and she will not be a part of mine....physically speaking anyway. I will not hear the pounding sounds of her music resonating from her room, or see the little drawings she does around the house, or hear her argue with her younger siblings......a major component of my daily life will be missing. I am so proud of her, and I am happy she is doing what she is doing, but it is so hard to see things change in this way. I guess I have gained a new respect for my parents in feeling a little bit of what they felt when my brother and I left the house. There is just no easy way to say goodbye to a child, knowing that when they come back to visit, it will be just that, a visit, and they will change in ways you won't realize until you see them again....growing up, maturing, gaining Independence...and you will not have been a part of thoses changes as you have been for so long......they will come from your child, and the other influences around her. I guess grown ups keep growing up too.

Seminole Heights Real Estate Recovering?

I have been watching the listings and prices in our neighborhood, and while my observations are not scientific by any means, I think I am seeing an uptick in both buying activity and prices....I use Zillow (not religiously....there are plenty of bugs) as an unofficial gauge.....it shows recently sold properties and properties for sale....my estimated value has climbed almost $100K over the past couple of months....for awhile it had the lowest estimated value in the area, which didn't make sense to me since we have a double lot. Again, Zillow is NOT an accurate valuation tool, but you can sort of pick up on trends by looking at the sold properties. While some properties have been on the market forever, I do see some movement, and if something is priced right, it sells, unlike the way it had been for awhile where nothing was selling no matter what the price was. My next door neighbor has put his house on the market again at a lower price....I will be curious to see what happens and when. I wish him luck.....
I received our TRIM notice this week, and I was quite happy with it....almost $2K down from last year. That's a lot of wood!

Loooong Time

I have neglected to post for a couple reasons; the 1st being that I have been so consumed by my work that I have not had the chance to breath.....the 2nd being that in being so consumed by my work, nothing much has happened to write about (except a couple things...I will mention) and the 3rd and most embarrassing, I kind of lost my log in information, and never got around to recovering it so that I could sign on and post......

In the past few months, bedsides working insane hours at my bank, I have dealt with my husband being extremely sick......some mysterious infection which caused a 30 lb weight loss in a short amount of time....compounded by his bad knee, he spent 5 days in the hospital, and is still, a month later getting daily IV antibiotics. During this time, I had to bring my good old buddy Louie, a 15 year old cocker spaniel in to be put down......which was extremely difficult, but I am glad I was in there with him........

My husband is better, I still miss Louie, and I am still slammed at work, trying to hire someone currently, which should help, but until then, I might as well bring a pillow in. I can't complain though, I am happy to be in the role I am....many people are not.

Today is my birthday...so my gift to myself is to take a few minutes to myself and type about myself....selfish, heh?

Due to my schedule and my husband's illness, my house is a disaster area, my back yard has been reclaimed by weeds and vines and the front yard needs attention in a big way...we will deal with these items....one by one......I had started mulching the back yard and planting some trees as "anchors" planning on putting pathways into the mulch....I can't even see mulch right now.....2 /3rds of the yard had been mulched, but the weeds have covered it....I'm told some round up and a weed wacker will restore my mulch to it's former glory...not so sure, but we'll see. The Japanese plum and rubber trees we planted are doing well back there...albeit a little diminished in the tangle of weeds. Maybe I will have another porch party and make it a "weed the backyard" party....bring your garden gloves and I will provide beer!
Time to climb back onto the hamster wheel.......I now have my password, so I will post again and not wait 6 months........

The Documentary

I know much has already been posted on this, but I just wanted to express my absolute awe at the turnout for this event. I don't think anyone expected so many people, particularly so many of the beautiful people who lived here long ago. This was obviously a special place to live then, and this was solid, in-the-flesh proof of the sense of community fostered in this neighborhood. I felt bad for those unable to get in. The setting was a natural. The DVDs flew off my table as I sold them, but I fear the event was really a "had to be there" situation; not that the DVD will lack anything, but it was as close to magical in the Tampa Theater that night as I think I will ever witness. Great evening. Thanks to Suzanne, the Howes and everyone who helped.
(still laughing over "The Balloon Factory")

One Week Post Tenting

What a major inconvenience tenting your house is! (expensive, too!) By the time you figure in the job itself on a big house like this, boarding the 3 dogs & two cats, plus the expense of having to live else ware for several days......we could have gone on a nice vacation, a frivolous shopping spree or made a decent dent in our property taxes for next year. Or we could have saved our money.....regardless....the house will not fall in onto itself from termite damage.....I guess that's worth something. When you spent that kind of money on your house, you kind of want to SEE it...new floors, new siding.....anything visible. Done and over.......
Oh, did you know the stuff kills your plants? OOOOPs.......I had 7 or 8 orchids out back in various stages of regrowth.....no more. Plus all the ferns around our deck are looking a bit fatigued now....was wanting to thin them out anyway....
We are still trying to "unpack" the bags they give you to bag up items staying in the house, catch up on laundry and tidy up...I got a little embarrassed that they saw the sad state of our home office under mounds of stuff....I'm sure they see plenty, but this was MY stuff. Just not enough time in the week to property prepare for or clean up after. I'm a little under the weather as well this weekend, so I'm just one big pity party.
I wish I had gotten a picture of the tent...it was green, not circus stripes; that would have been a fabulous picture. "The Big Square Circus Tent"

Thanks for Coming!!

The Speakeasy we hosted Saturday night was a lot of fun...thanks to all who came; the costumes were fantastic....Once I get the chance to upload the photos I took, I will post a few. Getting to meet more of my neighbors is something I enjoy, and doing so always reminds me of how much I love this neighborhood. I can see perhaps an annual Speakeasy at our house.....
Thanks to all who brought goodies, and all local businesses who contributed gift certificates....
And of course, thank you Tommy and the involvement committee who organized the whole thing.

Silver Lining in Property Value Decline?

I checked my tax assessed value on the Hillsborough County Property Assessor's site (http://www.hcpafl.org/www/index.shtml) and was really shocked to see what my assessed value had dropped to.....I know it's not a sales price, and it's due to flucuation...and in this market, we will not be selling for some time anyway......but as a gauge, it's scary to think houses could lose value this quickly. I won't go into actual numbers.......it's public information, so anyone can access anyone's assessment. My shiny, happy moment was when I did the "Tax Estimator" tool......and I wasn't even accounting for the extra $25K in homestead exemption from the new tax amendment. It made me smile...just a little......and I think if this valuation is still standing when TRIM notices come out this summer, I might even dance that envelope around the living room for a bit.....instead of the usual immediate hiding in a drawer treatment.

Not Much Going On

I have not had much to update; my new job has been keeping me really, really busy, (and so have my kids) so the house has fallen a little to the wayside. We are currently digging out the clutter and polishing the silver (so to speak) in preparation for the Speakeasy Porch Party we are hosting in March. I've done one party before, in JULY, and that's not going to happen again.....you can't keep a poorly insulated old house cool enough with dozens of people walking in and out.
I hope there are some cool costumes; I'm going to check out Sherry's, I got a shirt for my son there he wears while working at the Ren Fest. It's handmade - she is using a seamstress to make period clothing and costumes.....not thrift store cheap, but excellent quality and not as expensive if we had bought the shirt AT the Ren Fest. I don't know if I have the time/money/concentration to put together an actual costume, but I want one of those cute hats!
Our 23rd anniversary is this weekend (married at 12), our daughter's boyfriend is coming the following weekend, then the party is the following weekend. THEN, the immediate neighbors get to behold the spector of a big square carnival house, as we get "tented". Maybe we will stay at the Dutch Motel during this time......
I have also been reading obsessively about extended warranties. Many people think they are a rip off, but use one for one or two major repairs, and they actually do pay for themselves. I am a Saab owner, and anyone who has dealt with these cars, as much as I love them, knows they will have repairs....expensive ones. Saab owners are a little cult like, so it's hard to explain why I am on my 4th.....and this one is a purchase (used) and not a lease as my two previous cars, so I don't have free maintenance. I have decided on Continental. despite possibly the most obnoxious sales model in the universe, they cover costs to the NEW value of your car as opposed to the current value. They all look the same until you star comparing side by side.......they are not cheap either, but I figure I got my car for a couple thousand under book value, so adding this cost in doesn't put me far over that. Still not money I wanted to spend after buying a car.....but a piece of mind is priceless to a constant worrier like me.
So there is a lot of stuff going on for me.....just not outwardly.
We are sanding /putting fresh finish on some of the floors..stinky work. There's a house thing.......