Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

Ridgetop

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Monday -
Island will be large - about 3' x 7' and need to be secured since it will have a12" eating area on one side. However, it won't take that much to install and remove since I will not install the toe kicks until after we remove the tile and refloor the kitchen. We might not put the final countertop on until then either. DH used to say, "Some people rearrange furniture, my DW rearranges walls". LOL For now DS1 is putting the 24" and 27" cabinets together and will put a plywood top on them for a temp countertop.

DD2 and DSIL2 had their final custody hearing today. Although the investigator said that they were the better parents he said that the child should stay with the mother and stepfather (who showered naked with her) because it would "be easier for DD2 and DSIL2 to make trips to visit since they had an open and stable family situation and could stay with relatives when visiting". The evaluator only interviewed 2 people and assuming that the extended family could just drop everything and put up a visiting family of 4 whenever they wanted to visit their child, is infuriating. Too bad we are such a good family, we should have said that DD2's siblings would not allow her in their homes when she visited. LOL Maybe they would have been able to take Maisie to Texas. What is worse is that Maisie wanted to live with DD2 and DSIL2 instead of her birth mother. When Maisie is with the birth mother and stepfather, she must call the stepfather "daddy" and is punished if she calls her real dad "daddy". She must call him by his given name and is not allowed to talk about her times with DD2 and DSIL2. Sick people.

The judge was very sympathetic to them and decided that there had been so much upheaval in Maisie's 6 years that moving her out of state would be detrimental to her. I know they are devastated by losing Maisie. On the other hand, they have her for ALL school holidays, and can have as much visitation as they want. DD2 gets the same visitation access as DSIL2. The birth mother was really awful about keeping up with schoolwork, did no dental or medical visits, and would not communicate with DD2 and DSIL2 about any Maisie related issues. It will certainly be financially freeing for them since they do not have to pay child support - the birth mother makes a good salary, and since Annabel is autistic, she is considered disabled, and the judge took that into consideration when making his financial ruling. DD2 says that it is a relief to be finished with the court thing since they have been involved in it for over 5 years and have spent tens of thousands on court and attorney costs. The stress on them with the birth mother has really been awful. DD2 and DSIL2 agreed that they need to move out of California for financial reasons and if the court wouldn't let them take Maisie they would not fight anymore. Our whole family is upset by the ruling since we feel that Maisie has a more stable life with DD2. In 2 years the judge will revisit the ruling and if the birth mother has not kept them totally informed about the child, or causes any problems with visitation, they will be able to take her. Or if they return to live in California the joint custody ruling resumes.

Bryan texted that he will be installing the generator tomorrow. He asked if we had WiFi now since he needed it to hook up something in the generator. I hope I can remember the WiFi passwords. I think I put them in my phone. :fl

DS1 said he will start working on cleaning out the tool shed tomorrow. He has to pull everything out and move shelves around. Then he has to install the cabinets. The shed walls are lined with plywood, and he says that the shed doesn't get as hot as he expected it would. It is possible that Pete MacDonald did some kind of insulation when he put up the shed. DS1 said that he will need help putting the heat barrier up on the rafters so we will do that this winter. We definitely need to put the cabinets and shelves in and get the big tool chest and work bench (with storage drawers) in so we can get the tools unloaded from the boxes. When we do the heat barrier, we can look at putting an exhaust fan in the gable, or a small AC in the shed.

Looking out my bathroom window here is very sad. No corrals, no sheep, mule, horse, dogs, just bare ground out there. I used to love looking out first thing in the am to see the sheep, dogs and animals. Now nothing. In 2 weeks I have only heard the coyotes sing once. :( So strange. On the other hand, sitting on the patio, surrounded by children's toys, sidewalk chalk on the pavement, etc. I could almost hear the house smiling. We renovated this house and built the patio for kids and entertaining. I am happy that DS2 and DDIL2 will be entertaining her large family here and having toddlers and kids running around again.

Pre-op with knee surgeon tomorrow. More blood draws probably and the bruises from the last 2 visits haven't gone away yet. LOL More packing to do and the last 2 pieces of furniture to take to DD1's house.

DD1 came over today and when DH told her we might sell Gammy's rug she was very upset. She said that she wanted the rug and would go home and measure for a place to put it. DH told her that we were sending the rug out for cleaning and when DH said that she could pay for the cleaning fee, she hit the roof. She said that she shouldn't have to pay the cleaning fee since we got it dirty! ??? What? The rug has been in a formal living room with baby gates to keep out dogs and small chidren. It is only being cleaned because we are taking it up to store it. To put it mildly, DH was not happy with her. When she got home, she texted that it would fit between the small formal living room through her large open dining room to the family room. That area is a walkway and the rug would be under the dining table for family holidays and have all the traffic from the exit to the pool across to the bedroom hallway and kitchen. Not a good location for the rug. DH is really pissed about her rude refusal to pay a $200 cleaning fee when she would be getting a Persian rug worth thousands! If the guy makes a good offer, we will sell it. I wish DH hadn't mentioned selling it since DD1 will harp on it but too bad. We will also sell the Chinese rug. It's not as valuable as the Sharouk, but was valued at $10K. DH needs a tractor more than DD1 needs our rug. ;) We won't get an offer at full value, but depending on what he offers, we will see. If the offer is too low the rug may stay in the Connex, it certainly won't go to DD1 after that attitude! DH is really peeved.
 

Ridgetop

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Had pre-op with surgeon today. Must be at hospital 5:30 am. I am first patient under the knife. No Ibuprofen or Alleve for arthritis or pain, no Furosemide or one of the other prescriptions I take. Better look it back up.

Scheduled the first PT appointment for the 11th for my review to set up program of therapy. I plan to do what I did last time, stay in bed for first couple weeks, watch TV and do exercises every half hour. You are only supposed to do them 3x daily but doing them more is better for movement. Walking is less important than stretching, straightening, and bending the knee. I have the walker, toilet chair, knee wedge, elastic exercise bands, etc. ready to go. Also will ready a bag to hang on walker to carry stuff from kitchen to bedroom when necessary (coffee in travel mug mainly). Hope doing this knee now is a good idea.

Everything in TX is fine according to DS1. He replaced the leaking shower hose in the bathroom, has been doing some repairs and modifications in the barn, and watering my fruit trees. He says that the 3 surviving trees - apple and 2 pears - Jeremy planted a year ago are doing well and are now over 6' tall. The surviving peach trees I planted are also surviving (the horses broke off the apple tree) although oe has wilted leaves falling off. The pear trees looked like that last summer, survived, and are now growing well. Very strange but I guess that is what happens to fruit trees in Texas. He has not gotten the plumbago and lantana planted yet, but is keeping them watered and living so I will do it when we go back if he doesn't get it done.

S1 heard the dogs barking at the driveway and went to see who it was. It was a brown dog - looked like a chocolate lab. We think he may be the dog DH saw near the north fence a month ago. Told DS1 to check Ozel since she may be in seas
 

Ridgetop

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Told DS1 to check Ozel since she may be in seas

OOPS! . . . she may be in season. DS1 called Animal Control and they said they don't come out for that. He asked if he should shoot it and the person said Yes, if it was bothering the livestock. DS1 was worried that if it went onto the highway it could cause an accident. He didn't want to shoot it since it wasn't doing anything, couldn't get into the yard, and if it did Angel, Rika, and Ozel would probably kill it. At any rate it had wandered off when he went back outside. Looked like a chocolate Lab, male, unfixed.

The generator is not hooked up yet. Bryan got it on the pad but got an emergency call from a campground that he has a repair contract with. A transformer had blown out and they needed power restored to the campground. Bryan was going to tell them he would come tomorrow but DS1 said go ahead now - you don't want to lose the contract. Bryan said he would be back on Wednesday or Friday. Hopefully the power grid will stay on. DS1 said there had been a couple short power interruptions already but not too bad.

He is going to put a water filter on the refrigerator ice maker since he says he doesn't like the taste of the water. DH told him to try the water from the well after letting it run a while to see if the taste is better than city water. DS1 got a Britta type water pitcher and wants ice cubes so he can leave the Britta on the sink since there isn't much room in the fridge. We really need to get a larger fridge. DS1 has been calling frequently. DH and I think he is getting lonely. He is not a sociable person and spends a lot of time in his bedroom when here, but although he enjoys being alone, I think he misses being able to come out and see the family when he wants.

The rug guy is coming out on Friday to pick up the rugs for cleaning. He said that there is not as much call for the larger rugs because of the smaller size of new homes. I might look online and find a high-end auction house. I will need to put a reserve on the rugs if we send them to auction. In the meantime, we will have them cleaned and store the larger one in the Connex with the Chinese rug. The small one will come to Texas.
 

Baymule

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That’s so sad about Maisy. Too bad she’s not 12, they could have her for a visit in Texas then refuse to take her back. At 12, she can choose who she wants to live with. Maybe when they get to Texas, they should consult with an attorney here. Just keep her, file for custody here and her birth mother would have to come here, spend $$$$ tons of money to fight back. Since distance and money would be involved, she would give up. Maisy would probably never be able to go back to California or her mother would do the same to them.

Your DD1 got indignant over paying $200 cleaning fee,, wanting a rug worth thousands? Aww HELL NO! I’d set fire to it first! Sell it and send her pictures of the tractor y’all buy.

Countdown to surgery, therapy and coming back home!
 

murphysranch

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Angers me to no end about your Maisy. Soooo wrong and unfair. Schit mother...

Also angers me about your Dd snipping at you for "how dare you ask me to help pay for something I'm getting for free". So ungrateful. I know. I have one of those, but at 38, she's calming down a bit in her old age...
 

frustratedearthmother

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At 12, she can choose who she wants to live with.
FYI - at 12 she can speak to a judge and express her opinion however the judge in the case has the final say.


TEXAS FAMILY CODE 153.009​

Under Texas Family Code 153.009, children have a voice but in a more practical way. Sec. 153.009 allows parents to request that the judge speak with their child. If the child is aged 12 or older, the judge must meet with the child. If the child is not 12, the judge isn’t required to meet with the child.

The new law does more than address where the child will live, it also touches on visitation and a number of other issues in which the child may have an opinion or preference. Under the new law, a child can meet with the judge and voice his or her opinions on visitation, (if the judge agrees to hear the evidence).

It’s important for parents to understand that while their request for an interview between the judge and their child may be granted, the interview is still evidence that the court may use to make a decision. As before, the judge is still the one who ultimately makes the decision regarding custody (unless a parent chooses to submit his or her case to a jury) and possession or access; the law does not require that the judge follow the child’s wishes.
 

Ridgetop

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At this point they are going to move on and have her for all holidays they can. Now they are talking about coming back to take her for long weekends, etc. but I think once they see how long the trip is that they will settle into a more sensible plan of just bringing her back for the longer holidays. They get her for the whole summer, all Christmas vacation, etc. They need to get back on track financially too - they have been spending every penny on legal fees for several years now.

DS1 just called again about some of the stuff he is doing on the house. He is picking up a couple of pieces of the tile we want to use in the bathroom to see what it will look like. He is also checking on the amount we need so he can order it. It will run to the ceiling - doing it that way cuts the amount of edge pieces which are much more expensive that field tile.

I am anxious to get back to Texas and get more done on the house. I suppose if I get too bored and nervous here, I can start stripping the wallpaper in the hallway. It is showing signs of wear. I put it up in a slanted edge design with a border. It looked great and hanging photos on the painted wall spaces really set it off. Stripping wallpaper is an easy job but now that I think about it I have to do it sitting down or standing which may not be so good on the knee. :\

Tomorrow will be a quiet 4th of July. DS2, DDIL2 and their boys are going to visit DS3 and his family. DS3 has a week ff and plans to take his boat on the lake with the kids. DS2 wants to fish. DGS2 was invited but is away at scout camp. DD2 is inviting her friend from high school and her fiance over which will be nice. I'm going to start referring to my grandchildren by their names. With 9, I start having to count on my fingers as to which number they are. LOL Anymore grandchildren and I will have to take off my shoes.

DH had to run an errand. He told me to be sure to listen for the door since the tree lady would be coming by for her check. Instead, John from Bardwell's Flowers showed up with a beautiful bouquet! Today is our anniversary. We have been married for 53 years and DH surprised me with these. They are so beautiful I had to post a big picture.
PXL_20240703_182146911.MP.jpg
:love
 
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