Well, I am....ask my old school buddy. My mom had to clean my room everytime I invited my friend home. Right? I just never grew out of it. I have my geneaology papers in the living room, on top of my sheep papers. I have most of my notebooks on the computer room floor. And, I have my old house papers on the couch, where the cats constantly lay on top of them. Sometimes they even slide under the couch.
I wouldn't mind so much....I live in the country. But....my victorian old house is in town. I haven't lived in the city for over ten years. I forgot....it's a constant battle to keep up with your neighbors. I would say the old phrase "Keep-up-with-the-Jones."But my neighbors ARE the Jones. Argh!
I now have the only messy yard on the block. OK so there are only four of us. There is one more house across the alley from me but they have a high wood fence around it. There is a big brown barking dog inside, who takes long sniffs in my direction, when I come close. I'm guessing the fence is to keep the dog inside....well, it could be to keep me outside too. Anyway. That yard isn't visible, so except for that one....I have the messiest yard.
Oh dear.
The lady behind me had her church group come and cut up her downed trees, stacking everything neatly near her house. The neighbor beside me, cut all the trees out of his yard....including the big one from my yard laying across his front yard. Then he neatly stacked all the evenly cut and measured firewood into exact piles according to wood type. AND....he raked his yard totally clean....wow! How embarassing!
The lady across the street had a hired man there for five days. He tied the branches into neat bundles and stacked them on the side of the road.
My yard is still hip deep in oak branches too big for me to drag away. I told my contractor....I don't DO chain saws. He must have sawed enough branches to pull his truck in....I could tell because there are deep ruts where he got stuck. Oh dear, maybe that is why he wasn't there working. I did move what I could out of his way.....
But I still have a messy yard. The worst one on the street. The street looks even worse. All the wood that fell on main street is pushed in front....and I threw everything I could carry over the stone wall. So, it is laying there too. Not in neat stacks tied with bows....but in criss-crossed jumbles of branches and tree trunks woven together by chance.
The winter is not being kind to me. I'll get it right, one of these days.
peeps
Friday, February 13, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
say yes
When your contractor calls, just say yes. Those guys are hard to find. Hopefully you have found one you trust. Mine called with the final roof estimate yesterday....I AM sitting down, I said.
OK, now I have a figure....of course, now he has to start NOW. Sure. I'll ask the banker for money as soon as I can. Until then, do something...anything. First thing he has to do is cut his way into my back yard to park a car. Did I mention the oak trees down?
I did have bad nows too. The ice storm that tried to drop my porch roof, managed to pull the supports half way out of the brick work. A place they were happily living for over 100 years. So now they have to take the porches off and rebuild them....dang! Not much I can do about it. I am going to be stuck in my valley for days because there are more storm coming over night with heavy rains. Wonder if he can really rebuild a porch to look like the old ones?
Bother!
On the subject of roofs....he called back to say I must go and pick out my shingle. YOU go pick out my shingles, I am going to be stuck in this valley all week. Oh it's hard to be a house-mother to a victorian. I suppose they are happily tearing my old roof off, right before the storms move in. Wonder where my sleeping bag is? I could use one right now.
Guess I'll go do the dishes and pace the floor for a while.
Peeps
OK, now I have a figure....of course, now he has to start NOW. Sure. I'll ask the banker for money as soon as I can. Until then, do something...anything. First thing he has to do is cut his way into my back yard to park a car. Did I mention the oak trees down?
I did have bad nows too. The ice storm that tried to drop my porch roof, managed to pull the supports half way out of the brick work. A place they were happily living for over 100 years. So now they have to take the porches off and rebuild them....dang! Not much I can do about it. I am going to be stuck in my valley for days because there are more storm coming over night with heavy rains. Wonder if he can really rebuild a porch to look like the old ones?
Bother!
On the subject of roofs....he called back to say I must go and pick out my shingle. YOU go pick out my shingles, I am going to be stuck in this valley all week. Oh it's hard to be a house-mother to a victorian. I suppose they are happily tearing my old roof off, right before the storms move in. Wonder where my sleeping bag is? I could use one right now.
Guess I'll go do the dishes and pace the floor for a while.
Peeps
Sunday, February 8, 2009
time to re-evaluate
OK....We have now owned this particular victorian house for five weeks. If I was fixing this house for resale, I would be anxious to be making progress on something.
Yes, I am anxious to be making progress....any progress forward. So far, we are going the other way.
To date:
1.... A lovely neighboring child used my windows for target practice. He got pretty good too....at shooting out the stained glass pieces in the attic dormer. Fortunately, he wasn't going in the front, because he could have been seen from the street.
2....An historic ice storm crippled the town and surrounding area. Making it impossible for any roofer-so inclined- to climb onto my roof and get a good estimate of the many problems up there.
3....The ice storm also took down many of the trees we had so carefully had trimmed, by our first ever hired tree trimming expert. Those trees are being pushed around on the street by city crews, cut off the wires by the electric crews, guarded by neighbors who have them across their front yard...whoops....and stepped over by me. Stepped over, when I can lift my legs high enough. The entire south west part of the property is so deep in huge oak branches that it can't be navigated. Our tree timmer isn't yet answering his phone....I don't blame him.
4....The ice storm also tried to drop the side porch. This caused several tears to fall, when I sat on the front porch....which did not seem ready to fall on my head, as I surveyed the damage. Oh happy day, we have had an historic ice storm. Wow....lucky huh? My contractor on seeing the situation was moved to prop said porch back up. So now we have two propped up porches and two we have to avoid for our safe-being.
5....The largest window in the house. 52 X 48.....times two. Was broken by the tree limbs or the wind, because it was cracked by a BB gun. Although I tried to pull plastic over the gaping 8 foot hole, I didn't have the tools to fix a lasting repair....or a ladder high enough. So as the severe thunder storms loom over head tomorrow, I will be going to glass or cabinet shops trying to figure out the next thing to do. I don't even know if I can get glass that big....let alone have the old sashes hold it in. Bother.
Now, as I mentioned, I see the house done.....fixed....perfect. I don't see holes in the ceiling, holes in the windows, holes in the floor, broken headers. None of that. I see the house in it's finished state. So today I am excited, because I found a pair of victorian glass wall vases for the entry. Inexpensive too. I had drawn them into my planned room diagrams. The entry is too narrow for a center table, so now I can put flowers on the wall instead.
Nice huh?
Being a victorian lover, I am also totally impractical too. Oh, who cares? We saw a flock of robins moving north last week. Maybe the contracters and tree trimmers will also show up pretty soon.
Later,
Peeps
Yes, I am anxious to be making progress....any progress forward. So far, we are going the other way.
To date:
1.... A lovely neighboring child used my windows for target practice. He got pretty good too....at shooting out the stained glass pieces in the attic dormer. Fortunately, he wasn't going in the front, because he could have been seen from the street.
2....An historic ice storm crippled the town and surrounding area. Making it impossible for any roofer-so inclined- to climb onto my roof and get a good estimate of the many problems up there.
3....The ice storm also took down many of the trees we had so carefully had trimmed, by our first ever hired tree trimming expert. Those trees are being pushed around on the street by city crews, cut off the wires by the electric crews, guarded by neighbors who have them across their front yard...whoops....and stepped over by me. Stepped over, when I can lift my legs high enough. The entire south west part of the property is so deep in huge oak branches that it can't be navigated. Our tree timmer isn't yet answering his phone....I don't blame him.
4....The ice storm also tried to drop the side porch. This caused several tears to fall, when I sat on the front porch....which did not seem ready to fall on my head, as I surveyed the damage. Oh happy day, we have had an historic ice storm. Wow....lucky huh? My contractor on seeing the situation was moved to prop said porch back up. So now we have two propped up porches and two we have to avoid for our safe-being.
5....The largest window in the house. 52 X 48.....times two. Was broken by the tree limbs or the wind, because it was cracked by a BB gun. Although I tried to pull plastic over the gaping 8 foot hole, I didn't have the tools to fix a lasting repair....or a ladder high enough. So as the severe thunder storms loom over head tomorrow, I will be going to glass or cabinet shops trying to figure out the next thing to do. I don't even know if I can get glass that big....let alone have the old sashes hold it in. Bother.
Now, as I mentioned, I see the house done.....fixed....perfect. I don't see holes in the ceiling, holes in the windows, holes in the floor, broken headers. None of that. I see the house in it's finished state. So today I am excited, because I found a pair of victorian glass wall vases for the entry. Inexpensive too. I had drawn them into my planned room diagrams. The entry is too narrow for a center table, so now I can put flowers on the wall instead.
Nice huh?
Being a victorian lover, I am also totally impractical too. Oh, who cares? We saw a flock of robins moving north last week. Maybe the contracters and tree trimmers will also show up pretty soon.
Later,
Peeps
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)