Winter To Do List

Was outside yesterday clearing some more weeds and vines in the back yard; our winter to do list was born. Siding behind the A.C unit is in bad shape, that will be replaced up to the windows, same with a patch of siding on the deck; this work will most likely reveal rotted sill as well. Also an area above the front porch will be replaced. What I'm really looking forward to is rebuilding the deck....it is pulling away from the house and looked terribly skewed; will will tear it down and rebuild, probably lower to the ground, using as much of the existing "Trex" materials as possible. Depending on the level of rot found with the siding, we may not get to the deck until next year. There is a "Frankenstein" door (pieced together in a rather rough manner) on the side of the house off the office which needs to be worked over and painted; we can probably fit that in before it gets too hot again. We will also repair a few of the windows which are in the worst shape.

Phew! Has it REALLY been that long??

I honestly don't know where the time goes....here we are in October! Not much as changed in this old house...still have many outstanding projects. It was a hot summer, and our electric bills went as high as $600...if only we could afford to reside, replace the 40+ windows and insulate, we would save some money on the bill, but probably not enough to pay for the work in my lifetime. We will eventually need to work on some of the windows as they are about to fall off the house...silly old rotted wood! We had a year or so of hardly any work being done following the husband getting sick last summer, and my having surgery this past spring, followed by a horrible post op infection...no more details here, but let's just say I am happy to be sitting here, insomnia or not! 
My "hope list" for the cooler months coming up will include the replacement of some siding that I can't stand looking at anymore....I literally will not go on our deck any more because I can't look at the rotted state of some of the siding back there....just a few spots here and there...that's the way it will be unless we win Lotto and can reside the entire house. Also included on "the list" is some backyard work; this got really out of hand during the time where we could not physically do any work....the backyard is another spot where I would rather not spend much time....too bad too, it's a HUGE backyard and has...yes, I'll use that word...POTENTIAL. Right now it looks like the only thing it is lacking is a couple of old appliances and maybe a 72 Lincoln Town Car. We try to do outdoor projects while it is cool because we are not 20 and fit, so working too much outside in 95 degree weather creates a "drop dead in the yard" hazard. WE may pay some attention to the front porch as well, but we have some major work to do there, so that might wait until next year. We have tackled the deadly bougainvillea hedge along our driveway, we still are killing off the baby sprouts...as gorgeous as this plant can be, the 4 inch thorns which can easily poke you in the eye if you walk too close kind of puts me off. We will put some sort of kinder, gentler plant there...I didn't realize we had so much space between the driveway and the property line fence...the bougainvillea was over 5 feet deep! We also have a palm tree which has fallen over (one of the violent windstorms from a month or two back) and is laying across a power line...no ill effects thus far, but it looks HORRIBLE, and will probably eventually cause a problem; TECO won't take it down because it is in our yard.  We will have to have the power shut off the day we plan on cutting it. Anyone here in the hood have a chainsaw we can borrow?? ;-)
Since I last posted we have lost another dog as well, George was out 14 year old cocker spaniel...I miss him and his brother Louie, who was put down a year ago. We are down to one dog for the first time in 14 years! I have thought about getting Sally, our loyal watchdog, a companion as she is very playful with other dogs and I think she would enjoy a young dog friend...and she is not an affectionate dog; I really miss having a lap dog who slobbers all over you; but it is so peaceful here now, I hesitate to break the silence with a new dog. We have been working long, crazy hours too, so a puppy might not be a good idea. 
I am going to try to post more here...I lost my password again and it was like pulling teeth resetting; I need to get this onto my gmail account, I just haven't figured out how.


Oh, and thank you, Japanese person, for your continued comments! I will probably start requiring registration for comments going forward...but you did keep the blog alive in my absence! 

Been Busy, and Totally Into Facebook......

Where does the time go?? I have been working so much, I haven't thought much to post here, although I do pop onto Facebook daily to see what my neighbors and former classmates & coworkers are up to....I'm not addicted...I can stop anytime.....
I am posting pictures of this week's project (next week's too). We are finally tiling the den floor....the wood floors in there are not original heart pine like the rest of the floors, and have been eaten by termites to the point of needing total replacement. The room has dark stained wood walls, so I thought black and white checkerboard tiles would brighten the room up....so far, I think it looks great (the bottom pic is the contents of the den hanging out in our dining room). Makes me want to do checker board throughout the tiled areas....the kitchen, downstairs bath and laundry room. Maybe later. We have volunteered to host the Porch Party in April, so we are now working with a time line in which to finish some of the "hangers on"....the ceilings still need to be patched, the backyard is a MESS....paint touch ups are needed everywhere....This will be another Speakeasy party, so it should be fun. I don't strive for perfection, I will never have that until we win the lottery, but I'd like for it to look decent....

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....