So Long Kitchen and Rotten Sub Floor

Things seems to be moving at a quick pace at the house these days. It's nice to be able to see big changes each afternoon when I stop by the house. Wednesday when I stopped by, the cinder block had been laid in preparation for the slab to be poured. I cleaned up some debris from the yard while I was there. For the life of me I will never understand why construction workers just throw their trash on the ground instead of in the dumpster or the trash bin. I'm sure I'll be cleaning up a lot more in the coming weeks and months. 

Thursday one of the biggest changes occurred. The workers tore out the kitchen cabinets and the wall where my little pantry once was and started tearing down the wall between the kitchen and the back room. Underneath the wall was old shiplap which had once donned the outside of the house. I had forgotten it was there. We had uncovered it in the first renovation, but this time around I was more enamored with it. I asked the contractor to be gentle when taking it down because I wanted to repurpose it. I have given this assignment to my cousin Jan because she is great at making old things look great and coming up with ideas for random things. She suggested just hanging it on the wall or using the wood to build a little cabinet for the bathroom which I need. At any rate, I'm hopeful that the wood can be salvaged and we can do something fabulous with it. 

Some of the cabinets were kept in tack as well as the sink. They were placed in one of the bedrooms and I'm assuming the contractor is going to ask me if I want to keep them or trash them or maybe donate them. My plan would be to donate them, but as I'm typing this I was just thinking that I might could hang a couple of the cabinets in the shed for storage. I'll have to ponder that thought. Otherwise, it's all going to the Habitat for Humanity Restore. The sink is being replaced with a farm house sink so it's no longer needed. 

The plan was to have the utilities turned back on, but the city wouldn't allow it since an addition is being built. So, the contractor had to go to the utilities to order a temporary pole. The contractor's name is Richie, by the way, and so maybe from now on I'll just refer to him by his name. It seems like the right thing to do. Richie also had to have the water transferred to his name for some reason which he told me and I didn't really understand. The new plumbing was also installed on Thursday for where the washing machine will go and miracle of miracles, it will be plumbed to the city sewer line. This makes me super excited! 

Finally, the sub floor that was rotting in the living room was torn out and it looked like they were adding some flooring joists. They either ran out of time or wanted the old joists to dry out some before they laid the new sub floor. It's definitely interesting to look at the inner workings of your home. The sub floor in the back bedroom still has to come up and be replaced and I'm hoping they got to all of that on Friday. 

So, everything is moving along nicely and I'm so excited to see the progress each day brings. This weekend I plan to spend a few hours at the house cleaning up debris and trash and straighten up some closets so I can put a few more things on the shelves. I'm storing a few things on the shelves of the closets because I think I mentioned I ran out of room in the POD. The house is in such shambles, but I know it will be great when it's done. I laugh at the thought that I was actually planning on staying in the house during all of this craziness. What in the world was I thinking? I'm so glad I moved. I cannot imagine trying to live in the house with all that demo being done. 

Week Two Is Underway

Since my last post about the house, there have been quite a few changes. I stopped by on Sunday to get the mail and my Japanese maple tree (so I can try and keep it watered and alive) and walked around to see if there were any new changes. It appears that the phone company finally showed up and disconnected the line from the house. However, instead of doing anything with the line, it seems they just kind of left it dangling in the back alley. I hate to break it to them, but I have no intention of them reconnecting that line so they may as well come on back out and cut it completely. 

Monday afternoon I stopped by and discovered that the new meter box had been installed on the side of the house. It isn't hooked up yet (we have to pass inspection first), but that should happen some time this week I would think. On the inside of the house, a hole had been cut in the inside wall adjacent to where the new meter box was installed in order to run a line from the meter box over to the breaker box and there was a hole in wall where the breaker box was as well. Other than those few things, it didn't appear like much had been done on Monday other than someone getting their muddy footprints in the bathroom which isn't supposed to be used by anyone (that's another post for another day). Thankfully, the port-o-potty should arrive this week. 

Tuesday morning I got a call from the contractor who was concerned about some food that had been left in the fridge. The power had been off for about five days and he was concerned the food would be rotting. But, there were only some sodas and condiments inside so I assured him I could come by and throw them out that afternoon. I stopped by after work and cleaned out the fridge and freezer. There were only condiments and sodas in the fridge as I suspected. The freezer, however, had some ice cream bars and creamed corn which I apparently didn't notice when I dumped some things out last week. There were also a lot of chocolate chips and pecans, all of which I gave to my friend Cindy who will be making desserts for my cousin Tyler's wedding in May. Maybe she will be able to use some of those things. 

The workers had torn out all of the hardwood flooring and taken the dishwasher out and started taking down the trim around the doors and windows in the rooms that are going to be knocked out. The cinder block for the reinforcement of the slab was also delivered and the dumpster finally arrived and was placed in the front yard, not the back, which was not what I was expecting, but hey, less grass to mow. I moved the furniture from the front porch down the street to my cousin Anna's house as well as my ironing board and a couple of bins that were missed in the move to the POD. When moving things down the street, I almost stepped on the skeleton of a possum that was laying in the front yard. So, I sent a text to the contractor and asked him if it had been found under the house. He ended up calling me and saying that yes, it had been found under the house when they disconnected the dishwasher and then proceeded to tell me what a hot mess my plumbing was. 

Y'all, first let me say I was not at all surprised to find out about the plumbing. When my dad, granddad and I renovated the house 11 years ago, we sub-contracted all of the work. One day I came by the house to be introduced to the plumber and about fell off the porch when I discovered that it was a guy I had gone to high school with and immediately knew this was not going to be a good situation. The guy's name was Kevin Sisk and I'm publishing his name only because I want EVERYONE to know it and know he should NEVER be hired for any plumbing work. 

Y'all, first let me say I was not at all surprised to find out about the plumbing. When my dad, granddad and I renovated the house 11 years ago, we sub-contracted all of the work. One day I came by the house to be introduced to the plumber and about fell off the porch when I discovered that it was a guy I had gone to high school with and immediately knew this was not going to be a good situation. The guy's name was Kevin Sisk and I'm publishing his name only because I want everyone to know it and know he should NEVER be hired for any plumbing work. I voiced my concern to my dad and granddad because the guy was a few bulbs short in high school, good looking, but dumb as a rock, and I didn't think he would be capable of putting anything together, let alone plumbing. My granddad, bless his soul, wanted to give Kevin the benefit of the doubt and let me tell you, my dad and I had to show up at his house in the wee hours of the morning just to catch him at home and make him come finish the shoddy work he started. 

The bad plumbing resulted in my having to spend thousands of dollars to have the flooring and sub-flooring replaced in my spare bedroom because the floor had rotted because the washing machine wasn't connected to the sewer line. The flooring in my den has been rotting away for years and I had always thought it was from the HVAC unit condensation, but it now appears it could have been from the dishwasher because apparently it wasn't hooked up to the sewer line either and all the water was just being sent under the house. The contractor went on to say that whoever did the plumbing wasn't a plumber and he has seen some things he has never seen before. How in the name of the Lord that plumbing passed inspection 11 years ago is beyond me. I'm thinking either Kevin paid the inspector or the inspector was too lazy to crawl under the house and actually inspect the plumbing. If I wasn't having to use the inspection department right now, I might sue them. I think it goes without saying that this situation has made me a little hot under the collar. At any rate, if you ever need a plumber, DO NOT HIRE KEVIN SISK! 

So, that's where we are as of Tuesday afternoon. No doubt there is more drama to unfold. 

A Foot and a Half Became Six Inches

In the last post about my house, I made mention of the property line and how the new structure had to be four feet off the property line and how my dad ordered a survey, but then I told him to cancel. Well, apparently we couldn't cancel because after the failed inspection, the city required a survey of the property line. So, the surveyors came out and as it turns out, my fence was not on the property line and I had about one foot more of property than thought. So, instead of the addition being offset by one and a half feet, it will only be offset by six inches which is really not a big deal. 

My dad talked to the zoning commission and I could have gone before them to ask for a variance to keep the new structure in line with the existing house. There was a lot of paperwork and such that would needed to be completed, including getting permission from all neighbors within 500 feet of the property, which wouldn't have been a big deal, but it would have delayed us a few days. We also might run the risk of aggravating the inspector and that could lead to problems down the road. So, we talked about it and decided to just offset by six inches since six inches isn't really a lot of space. We felt it would just be easier in the long run. 

So, on Wednesday, the concrete truck came out and poured the footing for the slab. When I went by the house that afternoon, I discovered the telephone line I mentioned in my last post was still connected to the house when I got there. I also realized some time during the day on Wednesday that the line that the builder needed cut was actually not the telephone line, but instead a cable line which was being used for the internet. So, I called the internet service provider and arranged for them to come out and cut their line off the house as well. Then, I called AT&T again about the ticket I opened on Monday. The lady on the phone told me the ticket had been closed on Monday and the work was completed. I told her that was funny since I opened the ticket on Monday, they were supposed to come Tuesday and here is is Wednesday and the line is still connected to the house. We set up another appointment for the techs to come out on Friday. 

Thursday morning at 7:00 a.m., the utility company called me and wanted to confirm that the line needed to be taken off the house and service disconnected that day. It was pouring down rain and I'm sure they were hoping I would say no. I told them, yes, to please go ahead and disconnect and cut the line. We are transferring the utilities from overhead to underground and so it should be connected back some time next week. Around 8:30 a.m. the internet company called. Apparently the technician was unclear on what exactly needed to be done; so, I explained to him that the line needed to be cut off the house because that particular was was going to be knocked down. I then asked him about transferring from overhead to underground for the cable as well and he said, yes, that could be done, but there was a fee associated with it. There's a fee for everything, y'all. I assured him, the fee was no issue and that I would be in touch about that soon. Thursday afternoon I stopped by the house to pick up the mail and a couple of packages and confirmed both the cable line and the utility line had been cut and the meter was gone from the house. I guess they must take it when they disconnect service. Who knew? Not me. 

Friday they are supposed to lay cinder block if the concrete is dry and next will be gravel and the slab and then framing should start next week. It's all going very well so far and I'm really excited to see the daily progress! 

The Enchanting Rose Tea Cup Exchange #8

I recently participated in a tea cup/mug exchange sponsored by The Enchanting Rose. Erika had done this previously and really enjoyed it and sent me an email when this most recent one was announced. You may recall that Erika actually wrote a guest post on the blog describing the goodies she received from her last mug exchange. I loved hearing about all the lovely things Erika received in her package and since I don't have enough going on in my life right now (she says sarcastically) I decided to go ahead and participate this time around. 

A week or so after the sign-up deadline, I received an email with the information of the person to whom I was supposed to send a mug and gift. You are supposed to send a mug or tea cup (depending on what you signed up for) and some tea or coffee and another small gift. I signed up for the tea cup exchange and received the name of Maggie in Missouri. I bought her a tea cup and saucer and spoon set that was a pink floral pattern, a bag of Front Porch Special Tea from Piper and Leaf (my favorite!) and a dish towel with pictures of historical landmarks in Huntsville. I included a note describing why I chose each item and included my information inside and sent it to her on Monday, March 21.

When I went by my house this past Monday to check on the progress of things and collect the mail, I had a thank you note from Maggie and a package from the person who got my name. As it turns out, Maggie is 12 years old and is the fifth of eight children! When I signed up for the exchange, I didn't even consider that there would be young girls participating. I guess I just assumed it would be a lot of old ladies (yes, Erika and I often consider ourselves old ladies). Maggie's thank you note was very sweet and she mentioned she would like to get to know me. This brought back very fond memories for me because as a child I had many pen pals and loved writing letters to people. In fact, I still have most of those letters. This was long before the days of email and blogs when the written word was still cherished. At any rate, I wrote Maggie a letter and am planning on sending her another small package soon with some small gifts I think she will enjoy. One gift I had actually ordered when I got her name, but it didn't come in before I had to send my package. I've thought a lot about Maggie since I got her thank you note. I hope we will stay in touch over the years. I think it will just warm my heart to watch her grow into a young lady and see what life has in store for her.

 

As for the package I received, it was absolute perfection. I really don't recall what all I included in my likes and dislikes on the information page, but Emilee from Utah interpreted it beautifully and sent me a box full of wonderful surprises. First of all, she taped the box so well I wasn't sure I would be able to open it; but, I was finally successful in the opening of the box and loved everything that was inside. 

The tea cup Emilee chose was a cream color with a navy pattern and it was just gorgeous! I am planning to paint my new dining room navy and so the tea cup is just perfect! Also in the box was some pomegranate tea and lemon cookies. I'm really looking forward to trying the tea and will probably enjoy a cookie as well. My cousin Jan and I have been having hot tea at night and so I have no doubt the pomegranate tea will be put to good use. Emilee also sent a cute "things to do" note pad which is just perfect for me because if anyone loves to make a "to do" list it's yours truly. Finally, there was a cute dish towel inside which depicted flowers and birds and water cans and was very cute. I'm anxious to use everything included in my basket. Emilee did a fantastic job of picking out items for me without even knowing me! 

I told Erika just the other day that I wasn't sure if I would participate in the mug exchange again because I had spent a little more money than I had ever intended. However, after receiving my thank you from Maggie and my package from Emilee, I think I will definitely participate the next time. Erika had told me she found the last exchange very encouraging and uplifting and you know what, so did I. I'll be on the lookout for the next time The Enchanting Rose does an exchange and I'll try to remember and post it here so you all can participate as well if you want. 

Until next time...

Days One and Two

Perhaps all it took was a post about nothing being done at my house for something to be done because I'm pleased to announce that work began on my house this Monday, March 28! I'm super excited to see red clay instead of patchy grass in my back yard and soon there will be a concrete slab where the addition will be built. It's all starting and I'm just pleased as punch! 

They started moving dirt a little after 7:00 a.m. and it wasn't long before I got a call about the lines attached to the house. Long story short, we determined that in addition to the utility line (which will be taken care of on Wednesday), there was a phone line coming into the house which also needed to be taken down and I needed to call someone to take care of it. Considering I had a phone line for about three months about nine years ago, I had no idea who to call. I'm pretty sure when I had my landline for a brief shining moment that I set it up through BellSouth and BellSouth doesn't even exist any more. I ended up calling AT&T and miracle of miracles, after I made it through two automated systems and one transfer, I had an appointment for the crew to come out and disconnect the line and it only took about 15 minutes of my life. I was thrilled it went so swimmingly.

Monday the backhoe man came and dug the footing for the slab. They decided to put a base of cinder block and rebar in trenches as a base to make it more stable. I went out Monday afternoon to take some pictures and they were still there working. They finished up about 5:30 p.m., packed up the backhoe and headed out. It was super exciting to see the work that had been done and gave me a better understanding of how big the space would be and how far it would go back. 

On Tuesday morning, the concrete man was supposed to come, but first an inspection of the footing was in order. We failed. Y'all, we failed the first inspection! I feel a long road ahead. The building has to be four feet off the property line and according to the footing and the fence line, it was too close. My dad ordered a survey because there was some thought that my property actually went beyond my fence. The survey was going to cost $500 and if there wasn't another foot and a half on the other side of the fence that was my property, then there was also going to be a charge for the backhoe man to come out and redo the footing on that side. We talked it through and both though that there was some property on the other side of my fence. 

Then after hanging up with my dad I started thinking about it and decided to cancel the survey because I really don't think there is a foot and a half of property on the other side of the fence. Long story short, I had to put that fence up because of a property line dispute with the previous owner of the property next door and I'm sure we put it on the line, if not a few inches off the line which means the footing would have to be moved. So, instead of paying $500 for the survey and whatever extra charge for having the backhoe man come out, I decided to do away with the survey fee and just pay the backhoe man more. This also means the back bedroom will be offset by a foot and a half, which will look a little goofy, but there's really no other way around it. I'll just have to make it work.. You would think we would have known about this four foot from the property line requirement before we starting digging, but you know, those are the breaks. I'm currently just looking at it as having saved myself $500 that I didn't have to spend. I'll adjust, It will be okay. In the end, it will still look great and I'll have the added space I want and need and it will still be beautiful when it's all said and done, just a foot and a half less wide.

Pippa's Place

Well, since my last post, there still hasn't been any work done at my house. The backhoe man was supposed to have come at the end of the week ending March 18 and then he was supposed to come at the end of this week (March 25), and now he is supposed to come on Tuesday, March 29. I'll believe it when I see it. I think the most frustrating part of construction is waiting to get started. The backhoe man didn't put any jobs in front of mine, but he was apparently backed up on jobs he already had scheduled because of all the rain we have had recently. Of course, it's supposed to rain next week as well and so I am not very hopeful that he will start then. I'm just really ready to get the show on the road because I've been out of my house for two weeks and nothing has been done and that is super frustrating. 

I know I wrote a little bit about finding Pippa a place to stay in my last post, but apparently I wanted to write even more about it in this one. Finding a home for Pippa has been a nightmare. She was originally staying with my brother's "friend", but then the "friend" had to go out of town because of a family situation and Pippa was left to her own devices. Long story short, when I went to check on The Pip while the "friend" was out of town, there was a note on the door from animal services and other things I wasn't too happy about. 

I arranged for Pippa to go out to New Hope to meet the dogs of some friends of my parents. They had said that if Pippa got along with their dogs they would keep her for me. Well, Pippa did fine, but two of the four dogs that belong to my parents' friends did not like Pippa. We all felt like if the dogs were left alone they would try to attack Pippa and no one wanted that. Then I tried her at my cousins house (the house where I am staying), but my cousins' dog Rosie and Pippa didn't get along too well. 

So, Pippa ended up staying at our empty house a couple of days by herself and was let out in the mornings, evenings and afternoons by whoever could make it by (primarily my cousin Randy who lives across the street). I did some searching on the internet and found a web site with insured, background checked, trained dog sitters and emailed a few of them. I corresponded back and forth with one lady and made arrangements for Pippa to go to her house on Sunday afternoon to meet her dogs and her and to look at the place. We arrived and Pippa got along great with all of the dogs. The lady worked with me on a price that I could afford. It's about half of my monthly house payment which is a lot less than the original price I was quoted. I was hoping to save that money while the house is being renovated, but paying for peace of mind is worth it in the long run. I think. 

The first night Pippa did great. The lady emails me in the mornings with an update on how Pippa is doing and sends a picture almost every day as well. The lady and her husband let Pip sleep with them and so, I'm sure she felt right at home. The second day, however, Pippa didn't do as well. She had some behavior problems and tried to bite the lady and another man who came with his dog. The lady is working with Pippa on her behavior problems and I'm hoping Pip will improve and not get kicked out. I'm also hoping the lady will teach me her methods because goodness knows I need to learn a few tricks myself. 

Overall, I think this is the best situation I could have found for Pippa. She has a great yard to roam around in and gets to stay inside like she is accustomed to. I'm sure she's staying clean and getting lots of love and the people who are caring for her are just super nice. I'm just pleased as punch about founding Ashley and her husband Shawn and I am hopeful Pippa will have a great experience there and also not forget about her mamma!

Book Review: I Will Follow Jesus Bible Storybook

Today I need to review for you a wonderful children's Bible. I've had this book for a while now and have been meaning to post a review; but, between work, school, packing, moving, and having the flu, I just haven't had a chance to do it. Until now. 

"I Will Follow Jesus Bible Storybook" was written by Judah and Chelsea Smith and it retails for about $12 on Amazon. It is a little over 200 pages and is geared towards children ages four to eight. There is a different story on every page with a scripture reference. The stories sum up the scripture reference and come with a very detailed and colorful picture which depicts the story being told. There are usually children in each of the pictures and I think the thing I love about this most is that there are children of all shapes and sizes, ages and stages, and color in each of the photos. In other words, it's not all a bunch of pretty white kids and I think that makes it more relatable to all children. The book is a hardback and is about the size of around 7x8 inches. It's a good size for carrying to church or leaving by your child's bedside so you can read a story from it each night. 

The book does not cover every verse in the Bible, but does include most familiar stories from both the Old and New Testaments such as Noah's ark, Zacchaeus, Daniel and the lion's den, Jonah and the big fish among others. It's such a cute book and I think it will help interest your children in learning more about the Bible and also help them learn what it means to follow Jesus.