Making SOME Progress
Going...
Going....
Going....
And finally....ALMOST GONE!
As you may remember, our old porch has been sitting in our front yard for the past year. Last fall we ran out of time, before winter set in, and we were forced to leave the porch there for the winter.
This month L, with a little help from me, has been dismantling the porch. He's already hauled a truckload to the solid waste facility(SWF). A lot of the lumber has been recycled and is neatly stacked in our garage. We will use most of it to, hopefully, build the garage workbench this fall. L still needs to pull the nails out of the 4x4s that are usable. The rest of the debris in the bottom picture just needs to be cut into truck-sized pieces and hauled to the SWF. Those tasks will have to wait until next weekend though. L put his back out working on this project this week. He was barely able to make it through work all week, so I let him rest his back this weekend. Aren't I a kind little wife?
Our September weather has been a BUGGER! The temps have been in the mid-80s every day. The good news is that it's only rained a couple of days. The weather has slowed our progress on outdoor projects. We just can't work at full speed in the heat. I can't remember a September where we could leave all the windows wide open all night, every night!
L and I both muddled through a week of a weird stomach flu with accompanying high fever, chills, and severe joint pain.
I've spent the last 2 weeks trying to figure out where the slow leak under our kitchen sink was coming from. I finally figured it out when the spigot on the kitchen faucet came off in my hand. Easy fix-I just tightened up that connection. Now I have counter space again after putting everything back in that cupboard!
I've also been trying to figure out why our outdoor electrical outlets aren't working. One day they worked-the next day they didn't. This was a high-priority repair as I THOUGHT that the outlet our heat tape is plugged into was on the same circuit...it wasn't. After changing all the outlets in the circuit, with no results, I decided to disconnect and cap the wire to those outlets for the winter. Next summer, when we re-side the back of the house, I'll trace the wiring and try to find out WTF is wrong.
I also spent 6 hours on the phone with Sony and our DishNetwork service trying to find out why the closed-captioning keeps going out on our new TV. I accidentally found the solution to this problem on my own. BTW, Sony's tech support crew is condescending and RUDE! The past 2 months I've also spent a total of 2 hours on the phone with my phone company. I've been trying to get them to understand that I DIDN'T sign up for call forwarding and I want the $6 charge removed from my bill! Every month they assure me that they've removed this service, and every month it reappears on my phone bill. We'll see what happens this month.
So far, the word for the month of September has been FRUSTRATION!
We had another fire last night, and that helped soothe my frustrated psyche.
posted by tshsmom @ 8:48 AM
13 comments
13 Comments:
You always seem so busy. And handy.
I love fires. I should build or buy an approved fire containment device for outside. Someone on the block had a wood fire going (I assume in their rec room) and the smell was wonderful. Fires are so peaceful aren't they?
Jeannie, I think relaxing by the fire last night was the magic cure for L's back. He feels much better this morning. Maybe a fire would help cure your neck? ;)
Basic wiring and plumbing repairs are actually quite simple. The internet has lots of self-help sites on these subjects. Plumbers and electricians like to make it all sound more complicated than it is.
I've been slacking most of the summer, so now I'm in a frenzy to get everything ready for winter. :(
Sounds like you're chugging along. I would send your complaint/request about the $6 charge by registered mail to as many people up and down the chain of command as possible and inform them you will charge them for attorney fees for collection of the stolen funds plus interest if they don't correct the problem immediately. Make sure you let them know how much money they've taken from you illegally (date of first $6 charge) for services not provided, not requested, and not contracted for. Also let them know how many times you've complainted about this. Do everything in writing so you have a paper trail.
WE are recycling our wood as fire wood when we have fires but havent had one in two weeks now.. Glad things are getting done slowly.. Its hard to relax when some one is uptight.. No names... LOL... He is just being a pain in the ass some days lately.. It will pass.
YAY! You can check the removal of the old porch off your list. Must feel good - well, except for L's sore back. Glad the fire made him feel better.
Congrats on all your home projects and repairs done. Good for you!
Frustrating September. I knew you were busy - its that time of year! I hate trying to fix broken things over the phone.....I hate trying to fix broken things. Last time I paid $80 to have a tech come out and tell me to periodically pour hot water into the refridg drain to keep it from breaking down the freezer - duh. Good to hear from you - sorry you are sick - its roared through our family - I am coughing too - decided to get rid of dust in my bedroom - stupid - made it worse. Took a friend with Swine Flu chickie soup last week - poor thing, she was fevered 101 for five days....whatever is going around is a whammy for sure.
Hot nights suck. I hate the feeling of not being able to leave your windows open at night.
Screw Sony. If they're tech support is rude, I'll look elsewhere. I hate companies with rude employees. Home Depot for example. I refuse to do business with them.
Hope L's back gets better. Back problems are nothing to laugh at.
Everything looks so green and beautiful in those pictures. G'head. Make another fire and relax. You deserve it.
VV, I just got this month's phone bill and they FINALLY removed the call forwarding!! Yeehaw!
They would subtract the $6 every month, but the next month I'd have to go through the whole process all over again.
Thanks for the legal advice. Your retainer fees are worth every penny! *giggle*
Tweets, we'll be able to build new projects with the wood we recycled.
Marriage isn't easy, is it?
Cherie, it feels great to accomplish ANYTHING now that the weather is cooperating! This weekend we hope to have all traces of the porch removed from the yard.
Gardenia, been there, done that! We paid a fridge repairman $25 to tell us that the motor worked fine. The problem was in the "sealed system". "Sorry ma'am, but you're screwed." Story of my life.
ZS, I talked to 6 different reps and they all had the same line: nothing could possibly be wrong with THEIR product, which was still under warranty! The problem HAD to be with the satellite company, even though captioning was working on the other 2 TVs in the house. Sony literally drove me to drink that day.
Grizz, the green is really weird for this time of year. Normally the leaves are turning and starting to fall. We got summer in September.
We've had a warm September also. It sounds like you've had a hell of a time, but things are starting to straighten out. Better luck with October. :-)
Geez.
New tagline for Sony then - the one and only I won't be buying.
Marriage is horrible some days. Esp with hardly any money coming in even though I am working now. We just cant feel it.. We are arguing all the time now.. Hopefully it will end soon and we will see the end of the tunnel here in a month or so.
Squirl, the high was 65F yesterday...HEAVENLY!
ZS, Z bought himself a 24 inch AOE flatscreen that's amazing. I don't know what their customer service is like as we haven't needed them.
Tweets, sadly, money destroys more marriages than anything else. You guys need to work as a team through your hard times.
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