Sunday, October 30, 2005

Things are coming along

Most of the windows & sliding glass doors were installed on the river side of the house. You'll notice that there are no windows on the second story, they're not here yet. Thank goodness it's been a beautiful fall so far. Let's hope they arrive & are installed before that blast of Arctic weather comes in from Canada (thanks Sharon & Terry).They should finish shingling the roof tomorrow.
The radiant heat in the floors was activated on Friday evening, just in the three rooms we're living in. So by Saturday morning the floors were soooo toasty warm. The glitch however, (you knew there had to be one) was that the heat wasn't hooked up to thermostats yet, so by Saturday afternoon it was 80 in the house. You know you just can't please me. First I'm too cold, now I'm too hot, just never satisfied! What was that about those bears??
Then there's the whole car thing, for those of you who haven't been bored listening to me whine & bitch ( OK Aunt Barb-I'm sorry about the bitching, I just can't seem to get my big girl panties on & deal with it) about the fact that I haven't had a car to drive since the 1st of August, (count your blessings & you can just damn well listen now) the DMV is still at least a month behind. So the fire at the recycling facility along with the screw up with the DMV & ins. agent that rendered our dealer plates invalid & suspended continues. What we all jokingly called "Martha's House Arrest" was funny for the first week, amusing for the second, but the humor is long dead & gone. So God Bless to my two Angels-Mom & my friend Patty, who have assisted in keeping me sane thru the occasional use of their vehicles. The majority of the time I used Tom's truck but not for long because you never know when he was going to need it.
So on Friday I foolishly said I think I would rather go grocery shopping than paint the bathroom (go figure, who would possibly make that choice?). Waited until I was pretty sure Tom would no longer need the truck (4:30 pm) & off I went. Didn't the damn truck die on me on Rte 31 on the bridge! Triple AAA wait time 75 minutes........(This is Martha's PMS week & NO ONE is dead.!) Tom borrowed the neighbor's car & met me & the tow truck at the repair shop. A quick trip home & a couple of glasses of wine on an empty stomach (remember I never made it to the grocery store) and it all wasn't such a big deal any more.
Can't wait to see what November brings !
Will keep you all updated-Menstrual Martha & Tom the Tool Man

Thursday, October 20, 2005

We Have Hot Water !!!!


We Took Hot Showers
In Our Own House!
We Celebrated With A Good Bottle Of Red Zin
(Thanks David & Kristin)
Just thought we'd share the excitement~M & T

Sunday, October 16, 2005

YIPPEE!!!!! WE HAVE A ROOF OVER OUR HEADS!!!

BUT NO HOT WATER YET-WHAT'S UP WITH THAT???
(remember we moved in on 09-29-05)
Most of the missing doors & windows should be here Tues., with the exception of some special order windows and then of course the front door can't go in until the 26 ft scissors lift that's in our family room is driven out.
This is a view of the front of the house
Please note : This is a view of our downsized house
This is a view of the house we're down sizing from:
The majority of the plywood has been laid on the roof & the ice & water barrier
is being applied to the roof top.
We'll keep you posted on the progress
Martha & Tom

Saturday, October 8, 2005

Well we're in the new house!

Have been for over a week now, moved in last Thursday, the 29th of Sept. We spent the night with no heat, no hot water and no doors. It was a crisp 49 degrees when we got up Friday morning (INSIDE), the day of our closing.

We sold the house on my birthday, closed on Tom’s birthday. Quite the presents this year!

New address is 208 County Route 37 Central Square, NY 13036.

Same phone number.

Things were a bit of a rush since we are about a month behind schedule on the new house, the last couple of days before the move, everything that was packed in boxes was shoved anywhere in sections of the new house that were dry. Can't find a darn thing now.

Today is the 8th and we still have no heat, no hot water and only a couple of doors. But we're in!

The couple that bought our house is wonderful & we've been showering over there. They've had us over for dinner twice now. They start with cocktail hour @ 5 & dinner @ 6, anyone that knows us knows that’s a bit early for us (like right after lunch); but it’s a small sacrifice for a home cooked meal and hot water to wash your hands in.

There are still sections of the house that the walls & roof are not finished yet. It was a brisk 55 degrees in our bedroom this morning.

I've hung old curtains over the door ways in the section of the house we're living in, which helps. The biggest problem with no doors (besides the fact that it's cold) is the neighbor’s cat coming to visit in the middle of the night. He & MJ do not seem to get along. So take a couple of peacefully sleeping people, throw in two hissing, spitting cats at 2 or 3 in the morning and it doesn't make for such a quiet night. We've had 3 of these so far.

On a positive note, we do have a gas stove now, the gas was installed yesterday. So we may have heat & hot water by Monday if everything gets hooked up. More good news….my new washer & dryer were delivered, I can't use them yet, but they're here & I can look at them!

On Wednesday we had quite the experience, we brought in a scissor lift. I wish you could have seen the crew driving this contraption in thru the front door (one of the ones that isn't installed yet obviously) and down the hallway & into the family room. The lift goes 26 feet in the air. This picture gives you a good idea of what I'm talking about. Along with a visual of the section of the roof that’s missing. The weather men were predicting up to 2 inches of rain yesterday so the framers tarped the roof.

Well that's the update for now, we'll keep you posted. I'm sure you'll hear me no matter where you are when we get the heat & hot water on.
In the mean time, don't hesitate to stop in for a "House-in-Progress Tour" & feel free to bring a hot cup of coffee or a hot meal. "Hot" being the operative word here.
Martha & Tom