Sunday, October 30, 2011

I am glad to have a family and wish they lived closer to me. On the alternate days, I am glad they don't live near me. Grandson has a drug problem. He has attention deficit syndrome and controls it with legal drugs. The problem is He abuses those drugs. He has made a mess of his life, fired from jobs, evicted from housing, trouble with girlfriends. He shows up at my door asking for sanctuary. The problem is We've gone that route. I spent over a decade giving him room, board , medical care, clothing and even paid for his education. He is in my living room. The words that come out of his mouth tell me that He hasn't progressed at all. He is in his early 30s. My expectation was for some maturity by now, some learning of life's lessons. After a day or two of listening to his con artist speech, I ask him to leave.

Daughter doesn't take care of herself. I suspect it is a combination of depression and genetics. She is passive, just like her aunt and grandmother. Daughter needs dental care. I paid for it. It is only half done. Daughter finds a lump in her abdomen and does nothing about it for over 9 months. I send her an email and tell her that Steve Jobs died because He delayed seeking surgery. Perhaps she is scared of what the doctor will tell her. If so, then she is like her grandmother and it will cost her her life. There is nothing I can do about this situation...except ...leverage: I am expected for Thanksgiving and expected to pay for the feast, as they have no money except for the basics. Per phone call to daughter, I tell her that unless she sees her physician or goes to a clinic and also gets her dental work done, I will not be coming for Thanksgiving and I am not paying for the feast. I think she went into shock hearing me talk like that. Perhaps it will light a fire under her and she will seek the medical care she needs.

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I had planned on spending the winter at the beach house, to enjoy the fireplace and peace and quiet. This house has a shower while the other house has a bathtub. This house has a very good washing machine and dryer, while the other house has a top loader that isn't as good. An ad goes in Craig's List...firewood for sale.

The problem is my dog poops on the rug. Did I tell you the whole place is carpeted? After three days of cleaning up after Jack, I am throwing in the towel. It took a lot of energy to move my clothes and the contents of the kitchen to the beach house. Now I move them back. I am seriously contemplating giving up this dog. What stops me is his loyalty. He follows me everywhere and gets upset if I go out the door without him.

So, back We go. I had the land line phone transferred over . Now I must transfer it back. Some good things , though: the house on Park Circle got a good cleaning. The refrigerator looks cleaner than I've seen it in years. I have a waffle iron. I celebrate with toasted cheese sandwiches and sizzled apples all made in the iron.

The work is coming to an end. Ernesto will start stripping off the siding on the water side of the beach house, wrap the house in tyvak and reside with cedar board and batten. When the siding project is finished I will be done with repairs to this house. Hopefully, I won't have to do anything for a long long while. Even the decks will be upgraded. The Honda generator is ready to go should another flood happen. (It wouldn't dare, not this winter, would it?)

My tenant called me. The toilet is leaking. It never rains, but it pours? pouring toilet water?

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Thursday, October 06, 2011

We are coming to the last of this project. By Friday, Ernesto will have finished painting the walls , installing the kitchen cabinets and addressing small repairs.
On Monday, Stanley Steemer will shampoo the rugs upstairs and down. I used a shop vac to remove most of the mud and sludge that was deposited on the downstairs rug, but it isn't really clean. There is still a smell downstairs.
In preparation for the cleaning, all small stuff has to be moved out of the way. I have to get the lamps, small tables, plants and things moved either to the bathroom, or outside on the deck so that the rug cleaning can commence. They wanted me to move the beds out of the way, but I said I could not do that. Instead, they will bring long wands to clean under the beds. I hope that is clean enough.
That leaves the windows, furniture cleaning and placement and calling my tenant back. Will she want to come back? Who knows?

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