Will It Never End?????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, in addition to the extra $600 we were having to pay to have someone finish the job - add another $582 to that.

Some of it is due to extra bark needed, but mostly due to delays.

Yep, he was out there harassing the new workers today. So the majority of that is labor over rides, because a job that should have been finished today will have to be continued next week.

We tried called the City Manager's office again to speak with the man we spoke to before but they are closed on Fridays.

He went so far as to call the Police, who then called the Code Enforcement Officer out. The CEO stated that there was nothing wrong with the way the job was being done.....and then the Crazy Neighbor proceeded to tell the CEO that he didnt know what he was talking about!

I jsut wish the workers had gotten his ranting and raving on video.

So, lie number one in hs email today was that he had been trying to call us all morning. Well, we were in and out all morning and he never called - there is nothing on our answering service- or on our phone which records who all has called thru out the day.

Now he is bitching about the dirt being put in the back yard (which the workers are also going to grade out and keep away from the shared back fence) saying it is going to damage the retaining wall and fence back there and be quite costly. REALLY??????? Well hey CN, I think the first $1100 is on you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The parts that really kill me - he complained about the ancient shed in the backyard was pushing the dirt up against the fence (not sure how since the shed wasnt mobile!!) so we paid to have it removed.....he complained about some randome seedlings in the front yard possibly sometime in the future damaging the concrete retaining wall in the front yard, so we paid to have those removed (by the very first crew he scared off)..... and better yet, the last time the fence between our properties was fixed - THE WORK WAS DONE BY HIM (and partially or totally financed by my father) and at the time HE CHOSE not to improve the retaining wall below it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He bought the house knowing that these retaining walls had been put in by the builder in the 1950's.

Wish I had a good photo to post about the crappy half dead front yard he has - and here we are trying to make ours look nicer without spending a boatload of money (HA!) since for right now it is only a rental.....

Hubby keeps looking at me and asking: Are you sure you want to move down there someday???????????????? Maybe we could sell it to someone when we can find someone who will be a total slum lord and totally ignore his demands......

The good news is....grandson is doing fine - came home last night - eating and putting up with his brothers, and quietly playing - YAY!!!

Do you have one of these neighbors?

You know the kind, they watch and observe and know EVERYTHING that is going on in the neighborhood.

It is a good thing - right? Yes, I think it can be. But it can also be a very bad thing.

When I was growing up (in the house we have been working on) it was our neighbor on the right - Mrs. Maxwell. She even had binoculars at her chair in the front room in front of the window. I know wonder if she had a police scanner - I want to say yes, but they are much more popular back East than they are out here.

Now it is our neighbor on the left. Dont get me wrong - he was a great neighbor when my parents were getting older and we were living far away. He was especially great when my dad was living alone and we were an hour and a half away. And even my husband knew him because they went to HS together.

But now he has become a royal PITA.

Remember the front yard that was getting dug out? All those over grown junipers (they were lovely when first planted - a yard of rocks with nicely spaced junipers - and my parents took such good care of them - but over the decades they grew from a carpet into a jungle - and the roots will [and did!!!] grow thru the sewer pipe which we had to replace). Well, all the junipers are gone, and all the beer bottles are gone.

And this week the guys were over there ready to rake and level the dirt - put down the weed guard - and cover with bark. But nooooooooo.....our neighbor decided he needed to monitor them. And tell them what they couldnt do.....and then scare them totally away because for two days he kept getting in their face and threatening them with the city.

So they quit. Yup. Quit. All this went down yesterday while I was at work. Poor hubby took the brunt of this - the phone calls from the workers and the phone calls from Mr. Busybody (for want of unprintable name!).

Then, coming home, I get a text from my daughter....our 6 year old grandson is in the hospital....had to have an appendectomy last night. We waited up until we heard he was out of surgery and doing okay - at midnight!

Meanwhile, hubby calls me over to look at one of his teeth - and a filling had fallen out!!!!!! Ok, that is 3 things right ..... all should be over.

Got up early today and headed back to the house (we were supposed to go, see the finished yard and pay the workers so we left some things down there to bring home cause our truck was pretty full on Sunday). So we went down.....and we have someone else that will hopefully finish the yard tomorrow - for $600 more than we originally would have spent!!!!!!!!!

I personally said leave the yard as it is - pray for lots of rain - and let all the dirt pour into our neighbors yard.....hubby veto'd that. But if the fence betwen our houses ever needs to be fixed - damn if I'm not going to say that the first $600 is on him since that is what he has cost us today!

Update on grandson - he was doing well and could have gone home today but he couldnt pee! They tried everything they could think of - then finally medicated him enough that he fell asleep, relaxed, and pee'd. But now they have to wait to see if he can keep pee-ing......so best news is home by 8 PM tonight....worst case will be tomorrow morning....

What A Way To Start The Year

Hubby did allow me to play with this machine - got to do one of the bedrooms with it. It is a monster! You can see the sanded vs the old floors in this photo.

All sanded!

Why does fixing one thing lead to three more things? Sanding the floor led to taking the bar down...which led to painting the wall it was attached to...which led to painting the ceiling....

10 doors - TEN DOORS - that I carried from the house to the garage, sanded, cleaned with orange oil, and then stacked out on the patio....they got to be pretty heavy after awhile!

We called it camping....see our chairs??? And that box was our table....this bottle of wine helped a lot Friday night....also the night we discovered the joys of Tylenol PM!!! Pain and sleep treatment all rolled into one!

The first of 3 coats of polyurethane....still wet... As I said on Facebook, one of the joys of an older dog....and one of the drawbacks...she was fine with everything going on - probably because she couldnt hear 1/2 of what was going on!

Our first 'camping trip' down there - this is what we slept on! Not a good thing for older people - especially older people who ar working hard and in pain - very difficult to get up out of bed in the mornings! So prior to our 2d trip, we bought cots....slightly better...slightly easier to get out bed....but I have to tell you, after 4 nights on a cot, I cant wait to sleep in my own bed tonight!!!!

And now the back story.....

So, when my dad passed away we decided to keep my parent's house with the idea that we will eventually retire there. Small - paid off!! - cheap property taxes - and in the area where hubby was born and raised, and where I spent about 1/2 of my growing up....

As soon as hubby's great aunt heard we would be renting it - we had it rented to his cousin and wife.....as soon as they moved out, our neighbor heard that it was empty, and it was rented to his daughter and son-in-law.....and when they moved out it was immediately rented out to friends. So now they have moved out and our new tenants dont move in until Febuary 1. So we have a month to do all the work that we have needed to do for the past 14 years!

It is midway thru January and a lot has been accomplished.....instead of fixing the roof, we replaced it and the gutters (it was the old fashioned tar & gravel roof, which we discovered was more expensive than a new roof!)......trees trimmed...old shed torn down....side gate fixed....and then we wanted to save the beautiful original hardwood floors. So we decided to sand them and refinish them ourselves.....and in doing so we decided to take down the bar my dad built decades ago, which meant we then had to paint the wall it was against, and then that made the ceiling look so bad we had to paint that....also decided to take out the ancient wall heater in the bathroom and had to repair that....took all the doors in the house down and cleaned them up with orange oil.....We still have a window that needs replaced (on order) and to paint the bathroom now. And then little details.....so we will be back down there two more times this month and then maybe, just maybe, in February I can actually get back to the gym and start getting in shape for the Bras For The Cause Walk in May!!!!!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all - Happy Holidays - a belated Happy Hannakkuh - whatever you celebrate!

RIP Jack 199? - 2011

Many years ago we got suckered in by this crazy dog at the TriValley Rescue. Didnt know how crazy he was. He was - according to them - literally on the table to be euthanized when this group - who is a non-kill group - rescued him from the shelter he was at (which wasnt a non-kill group). He was then adopted out twice - and flunked both. Turns out he liked to chase cows - and people running or biking by! The first one is something that is really nt good when you live on a ranch!!!
He was not a huge swimmer like son's dog (see next photo) but he would swim if someone was in the pool. And when the kids were there, I think he thought he was the lifeguard...

He was patient and accepting of other dogs....except for that little little dog my daughter had - Rufus weighed just a couple of pounds and when he entered a room, Jack ould turn tail and run out the other way! Very hilarious!

If I was home alone - he was at my side....he was my buddy....he loved to run and jump and skid...we called him Jumpin Jack ...Jack-the-Dog once we had Jack-the-boy (grandson) ...ADHD...lots of names....
(I wont mention the ones hubby sometimes called him!)

He was patient.....he may have growled a few times over the years but never bit anyone.

In April he was diagnosed with rectal cancer. We discussed and read up about surgery/chemo. Found out that IF the surgery went perfectly, he would probably have another year after the surgery....

So we chose quality of life. And in the past week or so, he started going down hill. Incontinent of urine and stool. Not eating. Sleeping to the point that he wouldnt even notice if someone came into the house. But when he was awake, he was running around like always....

But he was giving me what I call the 'thousand yard stare". And when he dirtied his 2d bed, we decided it was time to talk to the vet. I cried most of the night before - and almost all that day....I didnt want to do this too soon, but I also didnt want to wait and let him suffer too much.

The vet was the one I really dont like but he was fine and he said two things that made it so much easier....He said that if we had noticed enough of a change just over the past 4 days that we were there asking, that hewould probably be going down hill much more quickly.....And the reason he would act so much like himself is that dogs are pack animals....and as such, do not like to show their weakness/illness/injury to the rest of the pack ....

My buddy.....I will miss him.....and I need to stp grieving caus realistically HE WAS JUST A DOG! But he was my companion and one things dogs have is unconditional love for their people....He joins a group of good dogs on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge....

Weekend Roundup

Nice weekend - even if it took days more for the wind to finally die down.

Went to some of the wineries around town yesterday for the Holiday Wine Tour, or whatever it is called. 'Bottled' 2 bottles of wine at the lovely El Sol winery for Christmas gifts....bought some fancy salts and some rub....and some more champagne splits - yum! - from Chouinard.

Today drove down to Monterey with oldest daughter and her 4 boys for hubby's family reunion - the Russo side - his grandfather's side. He learned some stories he had never heard before - and said he came away feeling old - cause now he is part of the older generation!

This is a barn out on Palomares Canyon Road that I always have wanted to photograph. Didnt have my good camera with me this time - but had the time. Also didnt get the best photos because of the dratted sun! LOL

Wind Wind Go Away

Actually, we live in a windy region. It is always windy/breezy here....but these last few days have been horrendous. While hubby was out last night I kept my cell phone at my side in case the lights went out - it has a flashlight app to!

I made 3 of these scarves. SO CUTE! SO EASY! And yet I did not remember to take a photo before I wrapped the other two. They each have a different button - I didnt realize it would be hard to find 2" buttons but it was! Actually my favorite one was the garnet colored one on which I put a white button. I think I might have to make a few more of these...

And see, I still know how to cross stitch! Arent they adorable? I might have to get few more sleds and make some mor up for next year!

Hubby is working on his Village - the one he wasnt going to put up this year. He is redesigning the landscape - something he also did last year....

Cashed our recycing in today....and took a large bag of presents to Sleep Train for their Foster Kids Secret Santa program...

Now hubby has a chicken in the pot cooking and it is smelling pretty good....think a glass of wine will go well with it? I do!