Weekend

Over the weekend, Don & I decided we had had enough of the house. We had date night on Saturday, ate a great dinner at the Spaghetti Factory and then walked around down town. It was warm but we had a great time. Downtown Indianapolis is a busy place. We got up on Sunday and drove to Linton to see if we could find the spoonbill bird that was supposed to be there. We didn't see it but while we were down that way we went to Shakamak State Park. As far as I can remember, we had never been there. What a nice park. It was a nice, fun weekend. Even though we still have house problems and did lots of work on the house before having our break, I am so thankful we took a step away from it. So, what was your weekend like? I hope it was as good as mine. :)

Today is Friday

I am not sure why or what I am writing about today, just feel the need to write.

Today is Kelli and Joe's anniversary. Happy Anniversary!! I hope you have a wonderful day!!

The painters are at the house again this morning, trying to correct all the mistakes that they made the first time they painted. For those of you that did not read the previous post, it has not been a good experience. I am ready for the work and the hassles to be over. I am certain that the house will need another touch up since it rained last night and the house was still wet this morning while they are trying to paint. Grrrr. The saga continues, we ordered new shutters and they are not the same width as the old ones so we will have to drill more holes to make these fit. I am begining to believe nothing is ever going to go smoothly. It makes me nervous thinking about the next project, because it is inside the house and as bad as it has been with the outside stuff I don't even want to think about the inside of the house being torn up and dealing with incompetent contractors. There are no good ones, at least that is what I am finding out.

The weather is hotter than blazes and it takes everything out of you when you are out in it. I am sure there are people that would say it is Global warming but whatever it is I am ready for some cooler weather.

That's all for now. I am grumpy! :)

Trust is not a word for contractors

This past week we have had contractors and workers at our house fixing the damage that was done by the squirrels. I have come to the conclusion that you can not trust any of them to do what they tell you they will do. I am discouraged and frustrated and STRESSED. It started with the gutter boards and soffits. We were told that not only the area around the squirrel damage needed fixed but that the rest of the house probably had 3 years left on the life of those boards. We opted to replace them now instead of having to go through this again in 3 years or so. The neighbor next door offhandedly made a comment that the crew probably hadn't worked much this year due to the economy and that the boards probably weren't as bad as they were letting on. Doubt set in!! To late to stop it now, we did have some boards that looked ok as they took them down and others not so good. They did some things that they weren't supposed to, like cutting into the bay window. I hope it doesn't leak. They caulked only about 1/2 of the new boards they put up. They put up wood that they should have thrown away. The list can go on and on. Now, the painters are there. What a nightmare that has become. They showed up on Friday and instead of priming the new boards as they said they would,at an added cost, they put paint on it and then tried to convince me that it was ok. They have repeatedly told me they have put more coats on then they have had time to do. On top of that, they put the wrong color of paint on the trim and when we told them, they blamed me for it and said I gave them that color sample. They are now putting the right color on the trim but are saying that I purposely let them put the wrong color on. Let's get real, why would I do that, I didn't like the color they were putting on. I sure wouldn't want to keep it. I am ready to tell them all to take a flying leap. When I arrived home today, we now have 5 painters working on the house. I am sure they want to get it finished as much as I want them off my property. It amazes me that in todays economy that people don't try harder to do things the right way. I will never recommend the painters to anyone and will tell all of my friends not to use them. Ok, so now I have ranted but honestly I don't feel better just because I wrote it down and there is so much more that I have left out. I am still frustrated and honestly I am angry!!!

I hate squirrels

Several weeks ago, as most of you already know, we got squirrels in our attic. Four squirrels later, we believe we have caught all that had nested in the attic. On Monday, contractors came out to fix the damage that said squirrels had done to the house. Upon arrival and removing various areas of the roof, we now have to have all the soffits and gutter board all the way around the house replaced. What started out as a semi major repair has now turned into a MAJOR repair and lots of money. So I am back considering that street corner with the tin cup, only this time I may really have to do it. Catching squirrels, house repairs and painting do not come cheap. $$$$ Sorry Don, that lens will have to wait. :)

Shelling on Sanibel Island

It has been said about shelling, “It’s a very natural, thought-free, meditative thing to do while walking on a beautiful beach. It’s a ‘task’ that takes only enough of your mind to be enjoyable, but lets the rest of your mind just be, in a good way.”

Oh, how I wish I could do this every day. :)