Story A Day

The flames were good, the sweets were plentiful, and the company was great.  Good times at our 2nd annual fall bonfire last night.  If you couldn’t join us we MIGHT have another one before the snow flies, we’ll see

It was such a gorgeous day that I needed to seize some time to sit by the lake.   Upon arrival I noticed that there were many Coots in the water, a very unique looking duck that shows up in the lake during fall and spring migration.  They have black and gray bodies and a white beak.  I had a good time watching them today as they bobbed in the water, challenged one another, dove for food, and tried to take off.  Have you ever really watched a duck take off from the water? It’s actually quite entertaining (yes, I am amused by simple things ).  They flap their feet in the water to get going, but I noticed with the Coots they continue flapping their feet until they are about an inch above the water.  I thought it was kind of cute actually, watching them “run on water”.  Cute Coots. 

This was the view from my back window this afternoon. I was so awestruck that I was nearly late for my night class because I wanted to get a photo!

Perhaps it is a good omen, right? A rainbow over my garage, the thing causing me lots of stress lately! Probably not. But I can dream, right?! If you haven’t been reading lately and are thinking “the garage looks fine, what is she talking about?” I got it’s good side The front…whole different story. We’ll see what happens with the insurance company, but for now, I enjoyed the beautiful rainbow!

in the life of Jennifer…

3 phone calls to SELA this morning, no resolution to getting a new roof and siding until I asked for the “highest up person in the office who was best able to solve a problem for a very dissatisfied customer.” – long story. Good news…once I got to the “high up” person and expressed my long story of very poor customer service, they promised me work on a new roof by Monday. Yay.

4 phone calls to HVAC contractors trying to get bids for duct work. 0 for 3, and eventually one voicemail. One company doesn’t do duct work this time of year, too many furnaces to get rolling. Another company just had their only duct work estimator quit and they haven’t hired a new one. A third company just plain doesn’t do duct work. And the fourth did return my call and leave a message about an estimate – phew…I was starting to think no one wanted my money.

Oh, and how about the whole work thing I am supposed to be doing Got to that too – conducted the last couple interviews and made hiring decisions – yipeeeee!!!! That’s the good news. That was in between my computer crashing – not just “needs a restart” crashing, but more like “the IT center had to wipe the hard drive and start over” crashing. Fun. Lots of deep breaths today. Good thing I do yoga and remember to breath, otherwise today might just have put me over the edge

And finally…a nice, calm end to the day – THANKFULLY! A lovely dinner out with friends.

Now…sleep time

Home ownership is fun…mmmmm, sometimes. Not so much right now. Our list of things that should get done before the snow flies has gotten quite long. I guess that’s what happens when we’re on a timeline to get a basement done AND a huge storm damages your house and garage! So, if we want to have a garage to park in this winter, and a basement in which to host my dad on return trips from DC (as well as a place to put all the free furniture we got from him, other than in my mom’s garage), we have a lot of work to do…

- Renew basement building permit
- Get rid of all basement debris in garage
- Fill in tree hole in front yard with dirt from backyard slab
- Move all landscape bricks pulled up by tree off grass to backyard slab
- Finalize contractor for home siding and roof repair from storm
- Tear down existing garage
- Remove all garage debris
- Demolish existing garage slab
- Remove all slab debris
- Pull permits for new garage
- Hire contractor to pour new slab
- Build new garage
- Repair backyard patio to remedy moisture problem in basement
- Insulate entire basement
- Hire contractors for HVAC work in basement
- Wire all outlets, switches and lights in basement
- Lay sub-floor in basement
- Hire contractor to sheetrock, mud/tape basement
- Paint basement
- Hire contractor to install carpet in basement
- Schedule and satisfy all necessary inspections for building permit

We are crazy. Yes, we are. We might not get it all done. We might decide to hire out more of it than we’d like to. We might park on a concrete slab all winter and build a garage next spring. We might have to take up space in my mom’s garage longer than we’d like to. We might get it all done. Want to help? I guess we’ll see what happens!!!

Heather was wrapping up her trip to MN today and I got to spend the afternoon with her as she prepped for her return to the fly-in only town of Dillingham. Each time she visits I am reminded of how many conveniences I take for granted. She and her husband Dylan plan ahead for their shopping and get many of their supplies via barge shipment or on trips to Anchorage. And, of course, when she’s in MN she stocks up a bit. Today, apples and stickers, among other things They are for her kids back at school (she’s a teacher). Fruit is quite expensive in their town so for her kids apples are a special treat. And, of course, stickers are always fun! Hopefully she will come back to visit us again soon!

You have to read that title in a kind of sing-song, cheery rhythm to get the full effect. I’m a nerd. I know this already. I get excited about the littlest things – like grass growing! There is a good reason for my excitement, however See, after our big, giant, beautiful and beloved Ash tree fell (can you tell it was a little rough ) we were left with a big pile of dirt. Blah. Dirt, and rocks, and some glass too – wierd! But now, the grass is starting to grow! Just tiny, little, itty-bitty hairs of grass – but it’s growing! Yay.

Kate D and Greg got married today!!! Yay.  Good friends, good fun, good dancing, good conversations, good times…Congrats Kate and Greg!! Lots of photos coming soon…

Dugan is getting married this weekend!  Here we come!  This will be fun…

More good applicants today. What to do, what to do. Think, think, think. I feel like Winnie the Pooh – think, think, think…didn’t he say that in the cartoons? Or was it Piglet? Not sure. Either way, lots of thinking going on here…