1) Somebody from Pompano Bay, FL (says Google), tried to get into all my Google-related accounts. I had to change passwords, blah-de-blah-de-blah, etc. Got it finally squared away today.
2) I've been busy moving and settling into our new home. The cardboard boxes aren't completely gone, but I've made a good dent in them!
And, don't feel bad. I DID manage to post a lot of pics to Facebook from our trip and Oklahoma. None from the house, yet, though. That is a LOT of pictures.
I really like my little home. It is cute and has a ton of potential. But today, I wanted to focus on those inevitable little surprises that pop up at you and make you wonder if you did the right thing by buying this thing.
Getting ready to move in, we had asked our realtor for any recommendations for plumbers, electricians, handymen, etc. Ken is a lovely helper, but don't put him in charge of projects. He's not handy. Luckily, our realtor gave us a list, and one has been a real goldmine. He's been to the house several times now and I just call him whenever I need a little advice.
We knew there would be problems; we read our inspector's report thoroughly, putting at the top of our list the most urgent matters. As part of the selling of the house, the family refunded our good faith money so that we could use it for some of these repairs.
We decided to tackle the issues with the water heater first. After all, I am not a fan of cold showers and I like my dishes to be sanitized. My new friend, the plumber, came over to fix the problems but...duh-duh-DUH! - found another one. Coming up from under the house he showed us a picture of the galvanized steel water line running under it. Galvanized rust was more like it; the plumber said he was afraid to touch it for fear it'd fall apart in his hand. Guess what just became our new top priority?
Mr. Plumber came over last week to replace the water line. I'd received my new washer & dryer the day before, but was afraid to use it until the water line was in, so I had loads of laundry piled and waiting. My plumber replaced it with this new stuff called pex pipe; I guess it's used in all the new housing and with reason - it can expand some, so it won't burst if there's a freeze in the winter. It's not very expensive, but the brass fittings for it are! But Plumber is upright and reasonable and while it ouched our wallet some, we knew we couldn't put it off. Plus, when he removed the old pipe, he showed me the inside...what there was of it. I hadn't had much water pressure before and now I know why! Talk about a clogged artery! Plus, that had to mean the water coming through was pretty gross. Luckily, we've been drinking bottled water because Ken doesn't like the taste of the local water.
That seemed to be it, and we could breathe a little easier until yesterday, when I noticed that it was very warm in the house despite the a/c being on. Oh, goody. After passing a very warm, uncomfortable night, I called my buddy the plumber again (because he does more than plumbing, really, and could refer me to the right person if he couldn't do it) and, while the filter needs replacing (it's dirty, but not completely clogged), it could be we need more freon. I just hope that's it. His pal, the a/c guy is coming over to check it. I don't have a lot of money for a big expensive fix but it is in the 100's out there and...what windows in the house that AREN'T painted over don't have screens.
Oh, and now there are ants in my back bathroom. Probably thinking it's cooler in there than outside. If they only knew...
Other issues with the home are annoying and will have to be dealt with in their own time (and some when my pocket $ builds up). One, while I love my three pecan trees, I don't appreciate at all their little seedling children everywhere. Some I've been able to pull, others I need to get my trowel and spade and dig them out. Another are these bolts that stick up at the edge of the garage and I'm afraid I'll drive over and puncture a tire. (By the way, I had to get a new battery for my van this last week on top of everything else.)
Then, there's the crazy issues of "Why did the previous homeowners do that?" The painted windows are one of those. Another is why they planted little plants in the back of the planter and bigger ones in front of them. And then, why are there two and three plants practically planted on top of each others? Probably that bugs me more than most people, mainly because I care more about my yard & garden.
No, really, I like my house a lot. I love to sit under the trees and watch the clouds fly by. We all like to look for squirrels and birds...so far I've seen robins, blue jays & scissor-tails. The carpet in our home is pristine (compared to the yucky stuff back in Corona), the bedrooms are spacious, the kitchen is big, and the neighborhood is nice and quiet. I'm just kvetching. It's all part-and-parcel of the moving process and "this too shall pass." Thank goodness!
No comments:
Post a Comment