August 26, 2015

We need a new front door.

Since the day we moved in we knew that we would eventually need to replace it. It is a wooden door and every year during Monsoon Season it swells so much that not only does it not close but once it is closed, it gets stuck.

The door has other issues as well. It hangs crooked and because of that you can see the sky peeking through the gap at the top of the door. The panels on the door are separating from the actual door so square cracks of light have been starting to peek through.

The other day, the door was stuck. When trying to open it, the door jam cracked in half and it tore the trim and some paint off of the wall. It looks just like someone kicked in the door. So, we started on our quest to find the perfect new door. A few days later, the door knob broke off. Which is most definitely a sign telling us that we need a new front door sooner rather than later.

 August Break 2015: Day 26

Deceptive Beauty

When we bought our house it came with two very ugly bushes in the backyard. We knew that eventually they would have to go but it was not a task that was on the top of the list. It has been a very rainy spring and the bushes started to turn from brown to green and the white bottle brush type flowers turned a pretty purple color.

I have lived in the desert my entire life. I have heard of Buffel Grass and knew it was bad (it kills the native plants and is very quick to burn) but never knew what it looked like.

I took this photo back in April. It is now September. It was not until I got this month's electric bill (that happened to include a photo of what to look for) that I found out that this bushy plant is the dreaded Buffel grass. I had seen this bushy plant everywhere and never knew what I was looking at. I think I will digging out this weed a lot sooner than I had planned.

There's no secrets this year

The last days of 2009 (that would be December 30 & 31) we had new windows installed in our home. I LOVE our new windows but the experience of getting them installed is starting to mess up that love.

We have 2 bathroom windows. We ordered frosted privacy glass and frames that opened from the bottom AND the top since one of the windows is actually inside the shower.

When the windows were installed it took two days. The first day to take out the old and put in the new, the second day to plaster & finish up. The first night (before the plaster) I was trying to figure out how to open the bathroom window from the top. We found that the windows that were installed only opened from the bottom. (As you can see from the photo, a window that only opens from the bottom is not really ideal).

The next morning when the installers returned we explained the situation and they plastered and finished all the windows except the bathroom windows. We then had to wait for the correct windows to be ordered and the window trim for all the windows (as the company did not even order it).

Fast forward to February. The installers return to install the correct windows. I get a call at work from the husband that although the windows are now the correct style, they are missing the privacy glass. But no one realized until after the windows were installed (and plastered in). So yet again, we wait for new windows. But this time the company was only going to change out the glass and not the entire window.

I do not really like that we will have new windows that were no longer considered new. I worry about the window seal not being as good as an original window.

Fast forward to March. The windows are in and the installers come. It appears that the company had ordered 4 Top windows and no bottom windows. Installing just the glass has chipped the actual frame, we were told we could paint it (although we were originally told that we could not paint this type of window). I don't want to have to paint over chips on my window frames when they are supposed to be brand new.

So now we wait to see what happens next. I wonder how long it will take this time.

Our first over-night houseguest

It all began a couple of days ago. I awoke early, before the alarm. I went to the kitchen for a glass of water. On my way back to bed, I flipped on the switch for the cooler's water pump. I heard a noise that sounded like something was inside the cooler vents. Then it sounded a bit like a cat running on the roof. I tried not to freak out about it and when I woke the next day, I asked B if there was a way that something could get into the vents from outside. He told me no.

After that I just kept feeling there was something inside the vents. I half expected to look up at a vent and see something looking back at me. I kept bringing it up but B would respond (or not respond) that there was nothing there.

Shortly after we arrived home one evening B mentioned that it sounded like one of the cats was trying to puke up a hairball. One of the cats was on the bed and the other I did not see. I got concerned because it (the sound) was going on for awhile so, I followed the sound to make sure she was not choking. The sound led me to the kitchen. There was no cat in the kitchen.

The sound stopped for a bit and then started again. It was coming from behind the kitchen wall. I yelled out to B that the sound was coming from behind the wall and it sounded like there was something behind the wall. Of course B responded back that there was nothing behind the wall. I think about this time he was a bit tired of me talking about something being in the house. Okay, I admit at times my imagination may get away from me but I just KNEW there was something there. The sound stopped and I didn't hear it again.

That night when B was asleep and I was working on my school work, I heard a noise come from the kitchen. I thought that one of the cats may be on the counter or getting herself into something she should not be into. So I went to investigate (and see if I could catch her doing something she shouldn't). I snuck into the kitchen to see if I could catch her but when I flipped on the light. . . there was no cat in the kitchen. There wasn't a cat even anywhere near the kitchen.

I then heard a rustling sound come from under the rolling kitchen cart. I peaked under the cart and saw a pink nose that quickly moved backward. Oh boy! It was definitely not the cat under there. I was thinking maybe a mouse, a rat, a hamster, a guinea pig....

I got the broom and moved it toward the cart. What ever was under that cart GROWLED! Okay, something was definitely in the kitchen! I yelled this out to B and woke that man up! It wasn't until I moved the broom again and it growled that he believed me. What could be under that cart? What lives in the desert that would make that noise? All sorts of ideas where going thru our heads. B tried to look under the cart and said from what he could see, it looked kind of like a ferret. So we were thinking maybe a neighbors' pet had gotten loose.

Then we saw it. It's head peaked out from behind the rolling cart, and so did its tail. B saw it first and said it looked like a Ringtail Cat. But what was a Ringtail Cat doing in our house? I have lived in the desert my entire life and have found all kinds of creatures in my house, but this one, this one was for the record books. I have never even seen a Ringtail Cat in the wild.

I had a plan. I opened the back door and started to move the cart away from the wall hoping that the creature would run out the back door. That was the plan. Of course when dealing with animals nothing ever goes according to plan. The Ringtail ran out from behind the cart, ran around B and went straight under the stove. B pulled out the stove but the Ringtail was no where to be found. There were no holes behind or under the stove. We did not know where it went.

B found someone in the phone book that was willing to come out (at 1am in the morning) to help. That awesome someone would be Marc. Once Marc arrived he and B went to work looking inside, around, and under the stove/oven. They still could not find it. After looking for awhile, B found an opening under the cabinets that just maybe something could fit thru. They pulled apart the baseboards around the cabinets and removed the bottom of one cabinet. JACKPOT! Although there was no Ringtail under the cabinet, we had evidence that it had been there. It appeared that we were going to have to set a trap and wait.

Marc explained to us how to set and disarm the trap. He set a couple of traps and then we said good-bye. I closed the door behind him and turned around to see the Ringtail sniffing the food in the trap. B ran back outside to see if he could catch Marc before he left and let him know that we probably would not have to wait long. B and I stood there watching as the Ringtail came right out from under the cabinet, looked right at us and went straight into the trap. It sure must have been hungry.

I guess we can officially say we have had our first over-night houseguest in our new home. It may have caused a lot of commotion but at least it was cute.

it's been a month

It has been one month (and a couple of days) since we moved into our house. I cannot believe that it has already been that long. Some days it feels like no time at all has passed and others it feels like it has been a long time. We are pretty much all moved in and settled. Well except for my crafty stuff. I was so busy unpacking the rest of the house that I had to wait to unpack the good stuff.

Now we just need to decorate. But first we need to find a painting, some kind of art for the walls, then we can go from there. We have been looking for years now and have found nothing we could both agree on . . . although, there are a few paintings I saw recently that could be a possibility.

It has been a busy month. First the move, then the unpacking, and then the re-arranging (because I just can't make up my mind on where to put stuff). We have already had our first plumbing emergency and our first family gathering (10 humans, 2 cats, 1 dog). All this and we haven't made our first mortgage payment yet.


The place is starting to feel a bit more like home with each day that passes. Even the cats (for the most part) are getting comfy. At least we no longer have to deal with the exorcist kitty. Now that was a joy, NOT!

I am looking forward to the time when I actually have some time. It seems like all I do now is clean. Is it just me or do Swamp Coolers make everything much more dusty and gritty? No sooner is something is wiped down, it gets re-covered in dust and needs to be cleaned again. I am not used to having to clean my stove multiple times a day, especially when it has not been used.

I am looking forward to the decorating, and even more visits from family. I am so happy to finally have a place that is actually large enough to entertain. Now I just need to do it, instead of just talking about it.

Family.....gotta love 'em!

officially clean

The puddle got worse.

I won't go into any detail but let's just say that I would not wish this on anyone.

The guest bathroom was a mess and water also started to come up under the tiles in our master bath. We finally got a plumber to come out to the house. $232.50 later we found that our plumbing problems are due to tree roots (thanks to our smokey neighbor's tree) and a piece of cloth. We need to get some additional work done and have the pipes cleaned out at least once a month. I guess it is THAT bad. At least now we can use our own facilities. Just in time too since we have family coming to visit next week. Seven women and a no working toilet would have been a disaster.

The plumber came on Wednesday so I left work early to meet him. After he left I then had the wonderful job of cleaning up the mess. I don't think I have ever used so much soap. Maybe I used a bit too much but at least I know it is clean. Since we had not been using this bathroom I had not yet cleaned or put out any rugs etc. I guess it was a good thing that I had not unpacked or put out any of the bathroom stuff. That way I did not have to worry about cleaning any of it. One point for procrastination.

issues

When I used to work technical support for a software company we were told never to ask the customer what the "problem" was. Problem was too negative. We were to ask our customers what the "issue" was. "Issue" was nicer, more positive, fixable.

Woke up on Sunday to a mysterious puddle of water covering the guest bathroom floor. Today it happened again but we were able to figure out where it was coming from. Yep. We need a plumber. Hopefully it won't cost us too much. Especially since we haven't even paid our first mortgage payment yet.

I didn't get much accomplished around the house this weekend. I have one of our neighbors to thank for that. We have discovered that our neighbors like to burn things. So there is smoke constantly coming from their yard. They are on the same side as our cooler (and bedroom window) so all the smoke gets pulled into our house. The house constantly smells like a campfire. The husband introduced himself to the guy today and found that they recently moved in themselves and they are renovating. I guess that is the cause of the smoke. I really don't know. It does not help to breathe in all this smoke on a daily basis. I have to say on Sunday it was pretty miserable here as they burned stuff four different times during the day.

Luckily I had some laundry to do and got to escape. I ended up at the most wonderful laundry mat. No coins are used (you buy a card). The attendant was so helpful and the place was clean. It was a bit overwhelming. LOL! I am so NOT used to that. Too bad I found a nice laundry mat now that I don't need one. Rumour has it that we will be getting our own washer and dryer a lot sooner than we thought. The in-laws purchased us a washer and dryer as a house warming gift. I can't wait!

Even with all the "issues" I really do like my new house. It already feels like home.

making progress

Today was the husband's day off. While I spent the day at work, he spent the day moving furniture, boxes and unpacking. He even put together the computer desk. That means I am one step closer to having my own crafty space.

I have spent the evening trying to make every crafty thing I own fit into the tiny room. It is slowly coming along. The only thing I really managed to accomplish was mess up the modem. All I did was unplug it and now I get a message that my computer has different settings than the modem. I will need to look into that further this weekend. Thank goodness for neighbors with unsecured wireless.

I hope to get the room pretty much finished this weekend. Then there is the laundry. The in-laws have promised us their washer/dryer as they are buying new ones. We were supposed to get them after we moved but now it may be awhile. I really am not looking forward to going to the laundry mat but I guess a person has to do what they have to do. I was told of a pretty nice one a little ways up the street. They don't even use quarters. I kind of want to check it out just because of that.

One week

Exactly one week ago we moved into our new house. I cannot believe that we have been here a week already. It may have had a rocky start but it is starting to feel like home.

Last week was probably the worst for moving. It was SO hot and humid. The day before signing we walked thru the house just to check it out one last time. We found that the cooler was broken. So the morning we went to sign, there was someone over here to fix the cooler. When we started to move in that night (Wednesday) the cooler still was not working. It was a good thing that we had planned to stay one more night at our old place. We really did enjoy having the A/C that last night. Last Thursday was our main move-in day and the cooler still was not working. It was terribly hot. I have to tell you....I really am not a pleasant person when I am hot. Luckily I have a hubby that is very handy. The husband bought a new vent for the bedroom so we had more air flow. He also installed a brand new cooler motor. It was just what we needed. The house is so much nicer when there is actually air blowing out of the cooler vents.

We are slowly getting settled. There are still boxes to unpack but it shouldn't take too long to get them all emptied. I am really looking forward to having a room of my own to set up with all the crafty things I like to pretend to work on. Maybe once it is all organized I will actually create something.

I am really looking forward to the weekend. If only I did not have to get past Friday in order to reach it.