Posts Tagged this old house

happy effing holidays.

November 15, 2009 at 8:29 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged ,

Things are literally — and figuratively — falling down around our ears.

Figuratively falling? Bobby’s officially leaving his company. There’s nothing like getting a phone call from your husband that goes like this:

Bobby: Uh, sweetie?
Me: What?
Bobby: So I have some news…
Me: WHAT?!?
Bobby: You know the paycheck that went into our checking acct last week? Yeah, well, that was the last time I’m gonna get paid.

Commence freak-out. I mean, it would be one thing for the *next* paycheck to the be the last one… but the one that’s already disappeared into the void of bills? Great. Super. That’s just fan-fucking-fastic.

And literally falling? I was sitting here a few minutes ago looking at the shambles that is our budget, and a dinner plate-sized piece of our ceiling fell. Like, PLOP, oh look, there’s a piece of our ceiling lying on the floor.

So what am I doing now? Drinking a beer. I mean, hell, what’s the appropriate course of action when a piece of your ceiling is lying on the living room floor & your finances are an abysmal mess? That’s right, there IS no appropriate course of action. So I figured a beer would work just fine.

I’ve done the numbers… with my little piddly-ass paychecks, and the class that Bobby’s teaching at Clem.son, we go into the red on Dec 15th. Go directly into overdraft. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

I’m aware that I’m bordering on tacky by talking about money… this is America and we don’t talk about how much we make or, in this particular case, don’t make. But this is my blog, damn it, and I can be tacky if I want.

So we have a short-term problem — that would be Dec 15th & beyond. And a long-term problem — that would be my husband is currently unemployed & I don’t make enough to feed a family of rats. Skinny rats. And she’s offered, but I don’t, don’t, DON’T want to ask Bobby’s mom to make our mortgage payment. DON’T. As in Do. Not.

Short-term plan: we’re selling shit. Seriously, anything that’s not nailed down is being evaluated for resale. The dogs are cowering in fear, with good reason. Bobby’s sitting at his computer furiously inventorying his gadgets & gizmos. And I’ve got my eye on the guest bedroom furniture… I never really liked that furniture anyway.

I asked Maggie if I could sleep in her big girl bed with her, and she agreed. So hey, I do have a back-up plan if everything goes completely to hell.

Oh wait. Too late.

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rest easy, little tree

October 9, 2009 at 11:42 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged

The tree  man’s my bitch. Muahaha. No really, though, he backed down from his murderous plan fairly easily, and agreed to prune instead. I didn’t even have to show him pictures to prove what an important role the tree plays in our lives (and trust me, I had them ready). So the ribbon o’ death has been removed, and our lovely little ornamental cherry tree has been granted a stay of execution.

I feel much better, ya’ll. I literally went out a while ago and gave my tree a hug. Like, literally.

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treehugger

October 8, 2009 at 12:53 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged

I love trees. Like really, really love them. I think it’s because I grew up in a house with no trees in the yard, and my mother would lookapr12 109 longingly at the huge, spreading arms of our neighbor’s magnolia trees and sigh. We now live on a street with older houses (circa 1920’s) and the trees are gargantuan. It’s one of my favorite things about our part of town.

Which brings us to the current situation. Two days ago, I came home & noticed that there was a yellow plastic ribbon tied around my favorite front yard tree… the kind that a surveyor would leave. I didn’t think much about it — that is, until I read the flyer in our mailbox. Apparently, our tree has been selected for removal. Yes, REMOVAL. Because the tree service hired by our electric company estimates that it will interfere with their power lines in the next few years. It’s not interfering NOW, mind you… but it MIGHT in the future.

Um, no. I don’t think so. So I called Duke Power, and a nasty old woman answered the phone, and told me that if my tree had a ribbon around it, it WOULD be cut down and there was nothing I could do about it. So I demanded vehemently asked to speak to her supervisor, who told me the same thing, albeit a bit more politely.

This is not ok with me. My tree is a big effing deal, people… it’s not something that can just be disposed of because it MIGHT be a problem in your future. I LOVE my tree. So I called the tree guy directly (the one that Duke Power hired to do the pruning/removal) and very *sweetly* asked him if I could make an appt for tomorrow morning. I figure the dumbasses over at Duke Power don’t really know or care anything about my tree, and the tree guy himself is the most effective target. Tomorrow morning, I’m serving him iced tea and pulling out all my feminine wiles. Surely, SURELY I still have enough of those to convince him that simply pruning is the better option.  The pictures are of this past Easter… seriously, is it not one of the prettiest trees you’ve ever seen?

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How many topics can I cram into one post?

July 30, 2009 at 9:30 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , ,

Starting next Monday morning, I’m going to herding a passel of 5-yr-olds through four days of VBS/Music Camp. Yes, it’s entirely possible that this could be disastrous… Bobby laughs manically every time I mention it, which is doing nothing for my self-confidence. I’m looking forward to it though — it’s the first thing I’ve been asked to do for our new-to-us church, and I’m determined to give it a hearty try.

In other news, something’s gnawing on my tomatoes. It’s gotten to the point of me picking them green and letting them ripen on the kitchen window sill. I’ve been advised that I may have a stinkbug problem — can’t say that I’ve ever been told that before. Anybody know how to repel stinkbugs?

Now, about vampires. I’ve belatedly jumped on the vampire train. I wasn’t so much into the Twilight books — Bella’s character just got on my last nerve. But then I greatly enjoyed the movie (developed an adolescent crush on the little pretty boy that plays Edward Cullen), so decided to put “True Blood” at the top of our Netflix queue. It’s fabulous, ya’ll — funny, spooky, gory, and completely addictive. And the writers have nailed the South dead-on… bigotry, religion, drama, social tension, & sex all rolled up into one big fascinating ball. Sue and I have a date to finish Season 1 tonight — we have to close our blinds so our neighbors won’t judge us for watching smut :)

Next paragraph, home improvement. I love a freshly painted room… the more color, the better. From left to right: our master bedroom is smokey slate, hallways are chocolate, kitchen is gourd, dining room is antique blue, and living room is barley. (The blues look very similar here, but the slate is actually a good bit greener than the antique blue).

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But then there’s the master bathroom. I hate it. I hate the colors I chose (they’re not pictured… that’s how much I hate them). I hate the painted woodwork (which was white, and then I decided to paint it. Stupid idea.)  I hate the curtains I made. Blah. This has never happened to me before. And it would be the room that took the longest to paint, of course. It took a while for me to admit that I chose badly (kept thinking it would grow on me), and when I did, Bobby said “Yeah, I’ve hated it ever since you did it.” Um, ok, super. Thanks for telling me.

It’s directly off the master bedroom, so I feel like I need to blend…  keep leaning toward more blue, green, gray-type colors, but it just feels boring to have everything be in that color family. Also been playing with Behr’s ColorSmart tool, where you can choose a color, and Behr gives coordinating suggestions… haven’t found anything that appeals. Dunno. But I’m feeling antsy. Every time I go in there, I hate it a little more. My bathroom is NOT my happy place.

And one last tidbit. Since the Great Robbery of 2009, we decided to have a security system installed. You have the choice of having your system go through a land-line or cell phone, and we chose the land-line*. Bobby and I haven’t had a house phone since the Charlotte days, back in 2006. Feels all retro and old-school and stuff.

*YES, we know that nefarious beings could cut our phone line and have their way with us, but the paranoia has to stop somewhere, and we drew the line there. Please don’t tell me scary stories about rapists and murderers and home invasions, k?

And so to embrace our return to traditional phone service, I bought this baby off Ebay:

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Yes, folks, that is a vintage orange rotary phone. I laugh every single time I walk by it… the color, the dial, the shrill ring, the cord that strands you in the doorway with it’s 1.5-ft length… it’s great. Ha.

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yard therapy

May 22, 2009 at 8:03 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged ,

What to do when I’m feeling down? Why, yard work, of course! I stopped counting on my 12th wheelbarrow trip to the road…

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Six hours later, I was grimy from head to toe and aching all over, but quite happy with the leaflessness of my yard. Started limping toward the shower when the seldom-used hammock caught my eye. My nastiness doesn’t matter to the hammock, so I crawled right in. Why don’t I lie in the hammock more often?

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Spring has sprung!

March 9, 2009 at 2:50 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged ,

mar9-013Today, I’ve been sitting on the front porch swing and reading a book. Productive? Not so much. Relaxing? You betcha. These first few days of spring really feel like a lovely little surprise — I mean, I knew spring was coming, but I always forget how nice it is to walk outdoors and be greeted by a reawakening world. Smells like freshly mowed grass, sunshine, and the flowering bush on the corner…  I wish that I could take scratch-&-sniff pictures.

Picture to the right is my unkempt flower bed — the blooms are persevering despite the carpet of leaves and weed intruders. My rake and I have an appt with the flower beds & a couple of bags of mulch in the next week or so. I admit that I’m still feeling more than a little intimidated by the disaster that is our backyard, but Bobby says we have to just chip away at it one little project at a time. See? That’s why I married Bobby.

Does anyone know how to deal with a koi pond? Our house had one when we moved it, and I have absolutely no clue how to clean/maintain it. I actually don’t even know if it’s a koi pond… it might just be a goldfish pond?… argh, poor fish that have probably already died due to their incompetent owners.

  1. Koi/Goldfish pond — don’t even know where to start
  2. Hammock — the hammock itself is filthy with wintry muck, and underneath it, squirrels have built a Blair-Witch-like thicket of sticks and leaves and all sorts of fun things.
  3. Garden — this is big one. We really enjoyed having our own little vegetable garden last year, but the actual planning/tilling/planting phase is overwhelming. I guess I need to sit down and just map it out on paper?
  4. Hot tub — the tub has a slow leak, the cover is caving in, and the whole thing just needs to be scrubbed. Hasn’t been used in months. Funny how I always thought I would use the snot out of a hot tub until I got one…
  5. Deck/patio area — Leaves, leaves, and more leaves. Need to rake, hose off, pull weeds, replace lights, and repair some of the cutesy little birdhouses back there that are in the process of biting it. Patio table/chairs need a spring cleaning. Oh my.

So yeah. So glad that I made that list and completely stressed myself out. Does anyone else do that?… find yourself fixating on the “to do” list instead of just enjoying, I mean? Perhaps I need to go back out and swing for a while longer. :)

Welcome to Spring, everybody!!

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Painting like a fiend!

December 8, 2008 at 10:18 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged

The bathroom is FINALLY (almost) done. It’s taken forever – I’ve never painted a room with so many angles & trim & details. It’s rather sloppy, but it’s just my & Bobby’s bathroom, so I don’t guess it matters too awfully much.

It still needs decorative touches and curtains (I think I’m going to make a cafe curtain for the lower half so it hopefully won’t shut out too much of the natural light), but at least the painting is finished!

BEFORE:

Sponge-painting galore!

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And AFTER:

Walls are Behr’s Valley Mist, trim is Pecan Sandie, & cabinets are Shaved Chocolate.

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What now?

November 5, 2008 at 10:56 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , ,

Feel scattered and I’m trying to figure out… what now? Very directionless, sort of in limbo. I know there are things I should be doing, but am a bit fuzzy, mentally & physically.

So ok. I’m making a list:

  1. Find a job. One that pays money and isn’t in manufacturing. I’m pretty open on the specifics beyond that.
  2. Rededicate myself to healthy eating. Got off track with this weekend – Halloween candy, big yummy dinners, cake, and lime tostitos (yum, I’m freakin’ addicted to those suckers). Gotta get my crap together and snap out of it.
  3. Clean the house. I mean, REALLY clean the house. The windows, the blinds, the crown molding, the baseboards, behind & under the furniture. It’s “surface clean,” but feels icky in a vague sort of way. It’s unacceptable that I’m unemployed AND have a vaguely dirty house.
  4. Reassemble the master bathroom – finish painting, put the cabinet doors back on, put the whole dang thing back together
  5. Finish painting the master bedroom – need help moving the bed so I can paint behind it.
  6. List crap on Craig’s List… I’ve been talking about doing it, and just haven’t. Gotta get rid of the sofa & extra dining room table.
  7. List Coach purses on Ebay… yep, I’ve decided to get rid of them. Just gotta do it.
  8. Follow up with Gillespie Marble about having a vase added to Mama’s headstone.
  9. Reorganize, redecorate, reDO the room formerly known as an office. I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do with it, but any sort of functional change is an improvement over the non-space that it is currently.
  10. Buy a bicycle pump and blow up my tire. I have a new bike with flat tire. That feels strangely symbolic for some reason.

Ok, that’s it for now. That should keep me busy for the rest of the day (or week).

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I love, love, love fall. Sure do.

October 16, 2008 at 3:23 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , ,

Have I mentioned that I love fall? Just a few pictures of this morning at the Rettew residence… Bobby’s awake and sitting on the sofa eating toast. Keeping my fingers crossed that it stays down!!



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A Toilet Possessed

October 3, 2008 at 7:03 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , ,

I was awakened this morning by the sound of Bobby yelping “SHIT!!” Uh-oh. Not good. Our toilet had apparently been running all night – the little chain thingy got stuck somehow – and the water didn’t drain fast enough, thus resulting in a lake of toilet water in the bathroom. And the bathroom floor is sloped (a discovery that we, again, only made this morning), so as the water poured out of the toilet, it ran in a river through the bathroom and into the air conditioning vent. When we plunged the toilet, in hopes of jarring something loose, water shot up out of the shower drain. Well now.

So after surveying the damage, I sat on the bed with my head buried in the sand – I mean, the covers – while Bobby scampered around trying to get ready for work. We both had to pee, but both toilets had the devil in the them. So I sat in a down-trodden state while Bobby went outside and peed on a tree. Good god.

After he left, I headed to Jen & Tom’s to use their bathroom – squatting in the yard didn’t appeal, for some reason – then headed back home to assess. Murphy (of Murphy’s Law, in case you’re not acquainted) really does live with us. Damn it. The red car is STILL in the shop, we’re STILL driving Bobby’s mom’s car, our bathroom is flooded and our drains are clogged. Literal drains. Proverbial drains. What a freaking mess.

After a few hours of sitting and watching and trying to cast Satan out of our toilet, the water slooooooowly seeped down to a respectable level, thus allowing me to flush successfully. Have a sneaky feeling that the “fix” is only temporary though. Our drainage has getting slower and slower, so we’re just going to have to suck it up (just a little plumbing joke… heehee) and call in a professional. And I’m sure they’ll do it for free because we’re such nice people. Um, yeah.

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