Sunday, June 12, 2011

THE SAGA CONTINUES

They couldn't fix it.. left at least 10 inches of pipe sticking out of the ground. Took about 6 guys working on and off through the day to get it to that point. The next day it rained almost all day long. I took this picture on Friday and guess they won't be back until tomorrow to try to finish it up. Something about old pipes and fixtures fittings etc. NO KIDDING..the house is over 130 years old..it's never had replacements. This was not going to be an easy job by any means!! Glad we are not footing the bill that is for certain. Quite a topic in the neighborhood. They are wondering what comes next???
Mom and Dad are just chuckling over this one I am sure!!!

Monday, June 6, 2011

WATER WORKS!!

                         

You won't believe what happened! All the hub-bub surrounding getting things closed up on the house, Sis and I stood waiting for the city water dept guys to come turn off the water. We called them quite awhile back but decided to wait until we finally had the house empty to finish the job. GOOD thing we did.. one day it was like an oven in that house with no air. I stood under a COLD shower and boy did it feel good. LOL at least we could cool off.  SO....
  
Anyway, today the guy finally came to shut things down and he tried and tried to shut the water off at the curb. City crews do this almost on a daily basis so it is no biggie.. but this time.. well he ran into a problem. NOTHING budged..he hit it with a hammer and used a large turning wrench and it still would not move. I know you all know that picture of guys standing around ONE guy working..THREE guys later.. they broke the darn water valve. Seems it had been so long since the water had been shut off the valve was "frozen". I laughed and told the guys that probably was about 50 years worth! They will have to replace the whole thing! Glad we don't have to pay for it.. then one guy comes inside the house and into the basement and again.. he has trouble with the meter he is supposed to remove. It won't budge!  (I think MOM may have had something to do with this. She was sooooo stubborn!) The number two guy says he will step in and "help" it come loose. Can you guess what happened? YEP..it broke into two pieces.. but they got it off. The city will have to replace it with a new one anyway when and if a new owner comes along. One guy asked me.."did the gas company have any trouble here?". I told him .."no, the meter was no problem..  he laughed and said."poor electric guy is next, I hope he doesn't electrocute himself trying to disconnect it here!" Gremlins..spirits..MOM..whatever it is..seems the old house just won't give up. The electric connection is way up the pole, between a tree and a fence and hard for a ladder to get to. I sure hope I am no where NEAR when the guy does it. If I hear an ambulance I will surely stop and see what's going on though.
Who knew there was such a real life in the old house..a  sort of will not to give up.
Sis and I left the house with echos of laughter over the antics of those fellows. Nice to hear it there one last time.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

HOME SWEET HOME!

Thought I should at least update once a month when I get time.. I truly miss my blogging time a lot. Journaling time has been cut too and that is just not good for me
as I tend to forget a whole lot these days with so much going on.  Here is the picture of the house we used to own. NOW that I don't LIVE there any more I can finally show you it and all it's glory.  Three floors including the basement! Sixty years of STUFF! 
It is finally empty! Took a lot of time to do and lots of sweat and black and blue spots to prove it. Looks a lot better from a distance but I assure you up close you would see
all it's problems. To the side is a large double driveway in dire need of sealcoating and a two car garage. YES, it was full of STUFF too. NO, I didn't call it junk, because it had some very useful things in it.  Imagine trying to get all that stuff into a small house or apt.. no way!! So many sales and donating had to occur to help out. Don't ask me where things are right now.. I have NO IDEA.. put all urgent stuff in a shoe box and pray I don't lose it. 
I find myself very tired these days and want to sleep a lot. WONDER WHY??? I think it will take weeks to be able to walk through my small apt and not stumble upon some thing that is in my path. This too shall pass, they say, and sometime soon I will feel settled in a new place.. can't come fast enough for me!!   

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

MAY DAY!!

The end of the month is fast approaching. I feel like the fire is under my feet to move quickly to get things done. Deadlines are good, I keep repeating to myself, trying to be convincing at the same time. I  came across this yard filled with tiny violets, it was soothing in a way, mother nature is waking up from such a long winter's sleep.
So many flowers blooming and standing tall after the snows we had just weeks ago. It amazes me. The work continues here and the new temporary place takes shape slowly. Not wanting to unpack a whole lot because the future is kinda cloudy, I can say my new kitchen is looking better and better.  
Some of the old things from the old place are there and some new things too. It's a work in progress, not sure how l will be there so sure don't want to unpack a whole lot. I still have to get used to a way smaller space again. I loved the small place I had in Ca. years ago..I don't think it will take too long. This kitchen was built probably nearly 80 years ago. My place was the servants quarters, compact and useful and not over the top. The kitchen was redone in the 40's and is very much like the kitchen that mom and dad had in their house before it was re done in the 60's. Love the light over the sink and the little shelves. The larger shelves go all the way to the ceiling. Not using those much as  it would take tall ladder to access them, but it's nice to have that storage space anyway. Time is wasting..got to get moving.

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY!!                                                                    

Monday, May 9, 2011

OK UPDATE TIME...

Thanks for your patience with me.. I heard you Seth..it was wayyy past time....

 I have so much on my plate my blogging time has really suffered. I miss it so much. I went from blogging every day to several times a week, to once in a while.. that really is just not me. I have so much in my head  running around that I want to say. What's happening isn't the easiest to hear, it's the same old thing. Losing mom was harder than on me than when I lost my dad.The whole having to deal with the estate and what to do with things and moving. I am juggling about 5 things all at once and it is certainly overwhelming.  I find time to just get away and not think about stuff and make myself enjoy some down time when I can, but it sure doesn't happen as often as I would like it to. Writing always helped me out with any problem I had..journaling has been private thoughts for awhile and that is why you haven't seen me here. I assure you I have been keeping track of things though. Laptop..you have been a lifesaver, as the old desktop is packed away..the storage has been a challenge..trying to get things not to topple as it is piled in there over my head. Trying to put your whole lifetime in a 10x10 storage has been scary. It makes you really look at things a new way and know what is the most important to you.


I had the best friend in the world come and help me pack up stuff and move things and she  was such a joy and help to me. She knew just what to say and was there when I needed support and that was so important, especially this holiday weekend. What in the world would we do without our friends? I have had such encouragement from all mine in person and here in my blog family. I appreciate that so very much, you will never know.

YES I still have been taking pictures,
 almost daily of things, don't think I will ever stop that. On my travels I captured this tree that obviously had been grafted..it was quite the site to see..two colors and types of tree in one.
Well, that's about it from here.. same old same old.. packing and re packing and moving on to what will be..whatever that is, is what GOD wants it to be. I may not be ready for it, but will be confident that it is supposed to be that way.
Until next time...Hope you all have a wonderful SPRING!!