Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[fuzzi]

Shopping is a chore. Some people shop a lot, it is their hobby. For me, I'd rather go to a feed store. But sometimes we do need new clothes and if you never go shopping, it can be an all day thing, or even several days to get what you want.

I only do online shopping for clothes, have for years. Why? Stores not carrying what I liked, what fit, and I finally gave up.

My feet don't miss clothes shopping at all.

 

[Ridgetop]

Friday
Another every-so-often update on progress. Yesterday I went over to DD1's in the morning to go through her purchases. She tried them all on for her husband except the one evening gown that makes her look spectcular. I told her she didn't need to try that one on - save it for the cruise and WOW! him with it. We went through the different items and she will return abut 1/3 of them. Most of them she can use for church as well as on the cruise if she wants to take them. The black jumpsuit was a great buy at $14! It can be dressed up or down and is very slimming. All told, a successful expedition.

While I was gone DS1 installed the new exterior light on the front of the house and replaced the patio GFI. Then we did some inside stuff, replaced a light bulb in the Sola-Tubes with a brighter one, replaced the Sola-Tube covers, and I hung the replacement border in the hall.
Front door entry to back MBR. Bathroom, LR doors on left, BR 4 door on right, large 5' wide linen closet at end of the hall with MBR door adjacent to left.
MBR to front door, BR2, BR3 doors on left; LR andbathroom doors on right
Hallway to door on driveway side (not main hall, but main access to barn) The coat rack and matching boot box (not shown) will stay.

The wallpaper will stay up since without it the hall looks like a tunnel. The BR hallway is 40' long. It was much worse before we installed the Sola-Tubes since it was pitch dark even with the bedroom doors open..
Applying the wallpaper with borders in random angles cuts down on the tunnel effect and gives a picture gallery effect with family photos hung on the painted areas.

The cleaner came yesterday to look at the house. I told her I wanted the windows done first, then the cabnets and floors another day. She didn't want to do the cleaning that way. She wants to do it all at once since she brings a crew. I wanted the windows done first since we need to dremove the screens and repair them and once repaired we need to install them with a screw in the bottom to hold them in place.

DS1 and I are going to Lowes today to get the moldings for the kitchen light fixtures, the return air vent, and baseboards for his closet. I think I will look for one of the window cleaning sprayers you attach to a hose and with that and a squeegee DS1 can do the outside of the windows. I can do the kitchen cabinets later since I want to remove all the handles. Over the years the finish has worn off. I will wash them, and once they are dry, I'll spray paint them dark bronze. There are 42 cabinet handles and with today's prices even the cheapest new handles would cost me over $250! Spray paint - under $10.

We also need to look for a new bathroom light fixture for the MBA. I was shocked to see that the fixture was rusted! Everything else looks fine so we will look for a new fixture. We can find something nice relatively inexpensively. I have also decided to remove the non-working wall heater in the MBA. We will close up the hole with drywall - we have some pieces of drywall in the toolshed. Then tape it, mud it, prime and paint. I am just going to paint the bathroom white. The tile is gray and the floors are white and gray. DDIL2 left a pretty and colorful shower curtain in there and I will pick up a couple new towels at Ross to complement them.

Things are moving along. DH will be flying in next Friday for a doctor appointment. It will be good to see him. Inspite of his habit of calling when I'm up on a ladder I miss him. Lately he has added a new twist to his call repertoire. Just as I answer his call he hangs up and calls DS1. So impatient. He has also discovered video calling. Half the time he sees a view of the ceiling, while I am treated to a closeup of his nose hairs.

Time to start another round of repairs.

 

[Mini Horses]

I KNOW you want to present the best....but, really, you're taking this to extremes. You are not moving back in there!! Leave the darned wall heater in the MBR....TELL THEM it doesn't work, take as is!! Why continue this. You've prep & repaired to a point that it's time to stop.

Geesh, no wonder you're tired, leave there. Go home.

 

[fuzzi]

I KNOW you want to present the best....but, really, you're taking this to extremes. You are not moving back in there!! Leave the darned wall heater in the MBR....TELL THEM it doesn't work, take as is!! Why continue this. You've prep & repaired to a point that it's time to stop.

Geesh, no wonder you're tired, leave there. Go home.

Agreed.

Time to let go.

 

[Baymule]

She doesn't let go. She has the bite of an Anatolian (748 PSI) and the tenacity of a bulldog. She will let go when she is good and ready. After all she is in her PRIME and nothing will hold her back.

It must be SOMEBODY ELSE that gets dizzy, stumbles around, falls, drags a leg, can't get up off the floor, out of breath, tired after 5 minutes........

 

[Ridgetop]

So right Bay!

I know what you are all thinking and saying but my OCD has taken control and I have to finish. (Scary music plays)

With DS1 here it is going faster since he can do a lot of the stuff I would have had to do. DS1 will patch the drywall in the MBA ready for me to paint. I already patched around the "new" HVAC vent in the bathroom and the room needs to be painted. We got the new bathroom light fixture yesterday (old one is rusty) and once the room is painted he will install that. DS1 is going to wash the windows and repair the screens. We bought one of those window washing liquid pumps that attaches to the hose. We have the screening. Today he will cut the trim pieces for the return air in the hall so I can put them up, caulk and paint them. He brought out my electric brad nailer.

DS1 will cut the light trim pieces to put up in the kitchen. I need to wash and paint the kitchen ceiling first, then they need to be caulked, and cut in since they are finished oak.

A lot of the remaining jobs he'll do are small things - the sort that take more time to get the stuff ready than to do the job. LOL Sanding the wood patch on the kitchen door (I added more putty yesterday), painting the exterior of 3 doors and staining the interior of one, exterior door knobs and deadbolts to replace and switch around, painting the entry ceiling, etc. Oh yes, and pull the bathroom doors so he can sand them smooth and put on a coat of Varathane. All small jobs just time takers.

The main thing left to do is remove that climbing structure, patch and paint. I have the adjacent wall to paint as well but I can do that now before removing the climbing structure. I had to wait until DS1 was here since I have to use the tall ladder and do lot of cutting in. I can cut in most of the final wall up to the structure too so that will cut down time.

DH is arriving next Friday evening. He has a cardiologist appointment. He flies home on the 15th. Hopefully most of this will be finished by then. As soon as the repairs are done I will have the buyer come to see the house. I am hoping they will offer more than our minimum and I will take it with the house selling as is.

My strategy is not to make the house "beautiful", but to do all the delayed maintenance. There was a lot of delayed maintenance and repairs while DH and I were concentrating our time, effort, and $$ on the Texas move so . . . .
When the buyers do their inspection I don;t want the inspector to gig us on non-working plugs (possible evidence that the house needs to be rewired - take off at least $30,000), ugly grout around the kitchen sink (take off another $15,000 for new countertops), dirty windows and cabinets (take off another $50,000-100,000 to replace) - you get the picture. There is a problem with limited water flow from the sink faucets in the family bathroom - part of the "As Is". Maybe that will be overlooked if the rest of the house is freshly painted and in good order. Luckily the HVAC and roof are only 7 and 4 years old respectively, we have an overflow septic tank, and a newer copper piping feed from the farm main at the bottom of the hill. I hope the view will dazzle them and they will see themselves hsting large family parties on the massive front patio.

 

[SageHill]

my OCD has taken control and I have to finish. (Scary music plays)

I will have the buyer come to see the house. I am hoping they will offer more than our minimum and I will take it with the house selling as is.

Ah - the method to the madness!!

non-working plugs (possible evidence that the house needs to be rewired - take off at least $30,000),

That's one of the first things they will check too.

There is a problem with limited water flow from the sink faucets in the family bathroom - part of the "As Is".

I'm sure you already know this, but just in case ---- because of the water restrictions in the state flow restrictors are automatically put into faucets, shower heads, etc. I was told that the thingie that does that can be removed. Though you could replace said fixtures with something bought in TX that probably does not have the stinkin' restrictor.

 

[Ridgetop]

HAPPY EASTER! and BLESSED PASSOVER! to everyone.

Got up early, showered, dressed, and turned on the ham. Will turn it off when we leave for mass. When we get back I'll put the glaze on it and turn it on again before we leave for DD1's.

DS1 tried the window cleaning stuff that you attach to a hose. It worked OK but we will have to do them again with the window scrubber and squeegee. I used Windex on the insides of the family room windows and they look look a lot better. One more pass on the outside and they will be fine. I put Red Chestnut stain (had it in the toolshed) on the inside of the kitchen door and it matched well. One more coat and then a coat of satin Varathane and that door should be done on the inside. Filled the inside bolt hole in the driveway side door. We are replacing that fancy lever door knob with a standard one. The doorknob works but there is no key for that lock, and the bolt on the bottom of the handle keeps coming out and is lost. A little sanding and stain and that door is finished on the inside too. It is these little things that are real time wasters. I will paint the exterior front entry ceiling tomorrow. I think we will try the roller cover that does texturing to match the stucco on the walls. I have the paint from those walls so it will match. Not sure about adding molding to the front door. Just more work so will probably forget it. The walls are light gray and the door is bright turquoise. Looks nice and if the buyer wants molding they can put it on themselves. Once the ceiling is painted, DS1 can install the new lever front entry door knob. He will move the one on there now to the driveway side door. Then rekey al the knobs to match. The doorknobs are the Kwikset ones that you can rekey yourselves. He got a new knob for the patio door too and will rekey that one. Then all four doorknobs, deadbolts, and gate deadbolts will be keyed alike. A little touch up of paint on the front of the house and the three outsides of the other doors and another job done. One day's work there. I told DS1 tht he has to step up to the plate and do more of the repairs faster. I mde him a list and he is working throughthat. Sadly, neither he nor DH are good clean painters. That leaves all the painting to me. But at least it gets done properly.

I bought a package of 2 rib eyes and we had one between us yesterday. I felt a need for red meat. I have been living on coffee, Jello, devilled eggs, and occasional frozen fast food of some kind. I do have one fried egg in the am courtesy of DS1. Too busy to stop and eat during the day and by evening I am too tired to fix anything. I did remember to buy some vitamins so hopefully I will get some energy back. Next time I am at Costco I will get some Monster drinks as well.

DH arrives next Friday night. He called this morning to see what he has to pack. I have to check the closet to see what I kept here for him. I'll be glad to see him. He is very lonely. DD2 and Annabel came out for the past 2 weekends to spend time with him. DSIL2 arrived at 4am and DD2 picked him up from where he left his truck. They will go home tonight because Annabel goes back to school tomorrow. Barb is coming back on Friday to feed while DH is out here. He will drive to Wiley and meet DD2, leave his car there, and she will take him to the airport. She will also pick him up on Wednesday. I am playing bridge this Wednesday - they needed a sub. It will be nice to see some old friends.

Time to leave for church. Half an hour to get there, 15 minutes to get out the door,15 minutes to make sure we get a parking place for the giant truck, and get a seat. Mass is at 10 am.

 

[Baymule]

Moving right along! You are on the down hill slide now!

 

[Ridgetop]

Another lapse of several days in reporting progress on CA house and TX ranch. House is moving along.

DS1 repaired the kitchen drawers. They are good oak KitchenMaid cabinets but have some pressboard in the drawer box construction. Two of them had the pieces of the drawer box that attached to the drawer front warp, bow, and pull away from the oak drawer fronts. He got our old table saw back from DS2 and rebuilt them Wednesday. Yesterday we put the pieces back together (a 2 person job). The first one is already back in its location and the second is still clamped whie the glue dries. Today we will refit the last one to make sure it slides properly. The first one felt like it was hanging up on the rollers so we might have to replace those drawer glides.

I couldn't sleep yesterday and finally got up at 4:45 am and installed the closet baseboards in the closets in BR2 (old office) and BR4 (Rick's old room). Then I took down the rods and painted BR4's closet. I painted the baseboards in both closets and reattached the rods in BR4. I had to install the rod supports in BR2 so got those in and the rod installed while DS1 recut the moldings for the kitchen lights. After those were installed (which involved me playing Limbo on the top step of the short ladder) I sat down to recover my neck muscles while he cut the shelf for BR2's closet. All the bedrooms are finished now except for BR2 and BR3 needing closet doors installed.

I painted some of the exterior trim where the paint was damaged. I also filled a dent where someone backed into the front of the house. It is sanded off waiting for the white trim paint today. DS1 removed the heater box from the MBA wall, installed wood on either side of the cavity and did the drywall patch. He does lovely work - it fit exactly. I taped and mudded the first coat last night before my shower.

It was incredibly dusty in BR4's closet and I had been cleaning the ceiling fans as well (filthy!). By the time I finished yesterday I was sneezing, coughing, my head is stuffy, and my nose is running. I have caught either a new cold or Valley Fever. If a cold, I figure it was from Easter with the family. All 3 of DS2's little boys seem to be playing the role of Patient Zero for me. Didn't sleep well so up at 3:30 am, made coffee and waiting for daylight so I can finish the trim outside. Hope being sick doesn't slow me down too much.

Once the drywall patch is finished in the MBA - sand and remud a couple times - I will paint that room. Then I'll paint the front entry - separate from the long bedroom hallway which is finished and looks great. Not much to do in that front entry except to repaint. My list - once numbering over 100 repairs - has dwinded to about 25. LOL
DH has been in the phone whining a lot! We have started the second lambing in TX. It was on my calendar for the first lambs to arrive April 4. The first ewe twinned April 8 - P25 split twins. Two more ewes on April 9 - No Tag single ewe and X087 twin rams. It took DH 3 trips to the barn to get the right ear tag numbers, sexes, and number of lambs for my records. B@#*%#*g the entire time! DH had over a month to clean out the jugs and creep (which I left clean when I came out). Every time I talked to him he said he was on his way out to clean the barn. He didn't bother to do it although I warned him that lambs would be arriving around Easter. He insisted that I told him the first lambs were due in May. No, due in April ending in May! which was why I was trying to hurry through these CA house repairs. Now he has been on the phone many, many times a day complaining about having to clean the jugs, feed, do his laundry, run errands, do the housework, pick up grain and mix it, do the dishes, pack, blah, blah, blah. Both DS1 and I are getting tired of hearing the violins playing in his opus - "Symphony in Sadness". His main complaints are because he can't find things and has to be babied through locating them - like the Iodine, the paint markers (he "can't ear tag" the lambs, the ewe lambing chart (on the fridge), and has trouble checking mama ear tags (the flock #s NOT the scrapie #s!) so we know who has lambed. Never have people wished so hard that the ringing phone signalled a telemarketer!

Luckily, the housesitter is thrilled to have more lambs for her friends to come over and help her with. I am happy he is coming out since I miss him, but I am happy he will be leaving on the 15th. LOL

DS1 has several more electrical projects to do today. He is going to put the new entry door knobs on today. He says the front door is steel so he will have to drill for the extended handle. He has switched around the keyed doorknobs to the other exterior doors so they will all match and be keyed alike. DS1 has decided to wash the windows by hand and then go over them with the spray on hose treatment a second time. I told DH that he could have the job of washing the windows on the inside when he arrives. He wasn't happy about being given a job when he arrives after his crushing duties in TX ALL ALONE! He informed me that I better have the cleaning supplies ready and began enumerating them over the phone. OMG! I told him he could also arrange for the brush clearance since the deadline is approaching and we will get cited. Once the house is finished, DS1 will start on the outside clean up and arrange for the roll off dumpster. The trash will be easier to find after the field is cleared. While the guys hire some day laborers and start the cleanup, I will scrub all the cabinets, remove and paint the worn door pulls, and reapply stain and Varathane to any worn cabinet areas in the kitchen and bathrooms. Also apply nagbetic atches to the cabunets wher the hinges are slightly sprung. All the cabinets are real oak so easy to freshen them up. Some of the cabinets that we installed have painted shelves that are scraped. When I paint the MBA I may roll the roller over those shelves to freshen them up throughout the house.

The major part of the remaining work is mine - painting the MBA, entry, and the last 2 LR walls. The LR will be last since we need to remove the climbing structure. I will finish with a quick mopping of the floors and the buyers can view the interior of the house, do their inspections, and make their offer.

Then home to Texas and Blue Bell. I have not had any ice cream or chocolate since leaving Texas. I gave them up for Lent, now I am continuing that sacrifice until we sell.

Sun is still not up so I guess I will start installing the magnetic catches on the kitchen cabinets.