The thing with being a homeowner is that it changes your priorities in life.
Just over two years ago, I moved into my house. I’d lived in apartments before and was ready to have something that was actually mine. It has been a joy having the freedom to do what I want whether it be painting, ripping up a floor and replacing it as well as having a garden fit for dogs and for growing vegetables.
It’s just that this has now become my life. I’m not complaining, trust me. I rather love my life. When I lived in an apartment, it was much easier to find time to go to my parents’ for the weekend or take off and fly to L.A. to visit. Nowadays, it’s not that easy because there’s always something to do at home.
I don’t mind. I’ve actually got to the point where I like mowing. If you read back over the blogs I wrote when I first moved into the house and had to start mowing, you’ll see this is quite a departure. I find it slightly peculiar that I now take a weird sort of pride in making sure my lawn looks tidy and looked after. I like to drive home and see my tidy lawn and how it contrasts with Mr. Enormous Trouser’s unkempt one. I find it therapeutic to pull out the mower and cut the lawn.
I especially like the feeling I have after the grass is cut and I can sit on my patio, drinking a beer and admiring how nice it looks while the pups roll in the clippings. Why the like to roll in the clippings, I do not know. When the grass is dry, it’s not so bad. When it’s wet, it makes a mess. It’s most annoying when I give the girls a bath and they immediately run outside and roll in the grass clippings.
If it’s not mowing, it’s laundry. I have to admit, after years of having to pump quarters into machines, including the college years, I’m still thankful that I have my own washer and dryer and that if I forget my clothes in the washer, there’s no one to dump them out on the floor. Since the pups are afraid of the laundry area due to the fact that I accidentally knocked a laundry basket on the floor, narrowly missing them, I highly doubt they’re likely to dump my clothes out. Also, they have no thumbs. This would make it difficult.
There’s also the small things such as remembering on Wednesdays that Rumpke come the next day so I should have my rubbish out by the curb. This is actually pretty easy to remember because my neighbours remind me by putting out their own rubbish. Also, confession time, the pups and I enjoy our Wednesday evening walks because we’re nosy and it’s quite fun to see the boxes and things by the curb and know who bought a new TV, who has a new baby and who got a new puppy. Yes, we’re nosy. I prefer to think of it as “studying humans” in order to be a more effective writer. Ok, fine…it is nosy and probably a little weird but I think I get it from my grandmother.
It’s nice to have the freedom to decide that I want to have DirecTV without having to find out from a landlord whether I’m allowed a dish or not. It’s nice to have dogs without having to pay a deposit for them. It’s nice to decide that I’m fed up with the window coverings and I can change them without having to worry about storing the old ones to put back up when I move out.
Of course, the flip side to having all this freedom is when you have a period of time where you have termites, your dryer dies and your fridge dies in the same week, it’s expensive. When the air conditioning goes out, it’s my responsibility to get it fixed. I have to be the one who’s there to let repairmen into my house because it’s my responsibility.
It’s an up and down journey that has become my life. I’ve somehow transitioned from someone who will splurge on a pair of Vans shoes to someone who’d rather buy a new side table for my Tuscan room. I price the cost of a new bathroom when I go in Home Depot. I get excited by the Lowes advertisement to see what’s on special.
You get it. I just did. It wasn’t until I was sitting at work thinking of all the things I had to do this evening when I realized that they’re things I have to do because I own my house. I don’t mind one little bit but it occurred to me that my life has become rather quiet and peaceful throughout the years. I don’t go out as much after work because I’d rather come home to the dogs, kick of my shoes and curl up with a good book in the sanctity of my Tuscan room.
I don’t know if this makes me boring or not. It probably does. Yet there’s a strange peace in finding a life where being able to own my own grill and use it is a little bit of a delight and where I can sit out on my patio, surrounded by sunflowers and herbs that I planted and know that this little corner of the world is all mine.
Whether it’s exciting or not is irrelevant. It is exciting to me, even in the quietness of the life I have. I think that’s what really matters. And I think the dogs would agree.
Happy Thursday!
Showing posts with label termites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label termites. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Death of a Refridgerator
It’s official. My refrigerator and freezer passed away sometime between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. yesterday.
I’m not actually sure of the time of death but based on my rather limited CSI abilities, the fact that my food in the freezer was still cool but mostly defrosted leads me to think it had been out most of the day. Also, my fridge was still cool-ish when I got home from my parents around 7 p.m.
Either way, my fridge has hummed itself to wherever it is that fridges go when they die. It was a good fridge. It was prone to making rather odd noises at times. It buzzed very loudly most of the time. However, it kept things cold and did the job and I suppose you can’t really ask more of a fridge, can you?
Of course, while I mourn the loss of my fridge, most of the loss is born of inconvenience rather than a strong personal connection with the fridge itself. This is what happens when you move into a house and the fridge is already there. It’s useful and I was glad I had a fridge but it never felt like my fridge, per se. Also, when I moved in, it was still quite full of things the previous homeowner had left behind so I had a lot of cleaning to do. While this provided a bond of sorts with my fridge, it never felt new because it was full of half-eaten lunch meat and such when I first ‘met’ it.
I’m very lucky. I didn’t lose everything in my fridge and freezer. While I lost a lot of things, including a collection of homemade soups I’d put in the freezer, some things were salvageable. Also, I have a little chest freezer in the garage so what could be saved went in there. For the fridge’s part, I’m temporarily using my little wine fridge as a fridge-fridge. It doesn’t get super cold but it’s cold enough to keep my food safe and uncontaminated.
I’m trying to look on the bright side of all this which is a bit of a challenge because firstly, it’s Monday and I’m not fond of Mondays as my regular blog readers will know. Secondly, it’s a very, very wet Monday. The lake in my back garden has just become even lake-ier and when you walk on the grass even where there’s no puddles, there’s enough water that it seeps up over your shoes. Finally, this has been a rather cruddy month for me as a homeowner.
I tried to smile through the termites. After all, I caught them before the damage was severe and they could tell all their friends that my house was free for the eatin’. I tried to laugh at the lawnmower. After all the hot-metal-piston-thingy didn’t hit me in the head, my neighbour loaned me his mower and I was able to get a new mower with no trouble. I’m trying to smile about the fridge. On the plus side, I get a shiny new appliance out of the deal.
On the negative side, it’s adding up financially. Certainly, I’d probably want a new fridge eventually but there’s a big difference between wanting a new one and needing one. Nowadays, fridges are essential. I’m sure there are arguments against that statement but unless you’re Amish and don’t believe in electricity, it’s rather hard to live without a fridge. I’m not really sure how the Amish do it, honestly. It’s not that I even like my beverages that cold. It’s more that I like my food to be uncontaminated by bacteria and keeping it cold prevents that. Also, it’s a great money-saver for a single person- it’s hard to find single-serving portions of things and it’s usually more economical to buy a package of chicken and then split it in two or three before I freeze it.
Still, I’m fortunate that I changed jobs in October. If I’d been on my old salary without the beautiful benefit of a commission check once a month, I’d be completely and utterly panicked and stressed. Fortunately, I was raised to save rather than spend when I have a little extra cash (thanks, Mum!) and so the fridge won’t hurt as much as it would have if I was living paycheck to paycheck.
It still sucks though. I’m just saying that because it feels good to say it. It sucks. That’s all there is to it. I know it’s easily fixable and in the grand scheme of things, far worse things could happen but, well, I just want to say it. I spend much time trying not to whine and complain because friends and people I know always have it worse: sick parents, husbands, spouses….overworking, being stressed, etc. but sometimes, I just have to take five minutes and let myself feel a teeny bit sorry for myself that I have to buy a new fridge and a lawnmower and there are termite holes all over my windowsill.
I feel better already. Like I said before, my fridge situation is definitely not the end of the world. I’m not going to sit there and whine, “Why is my house against me?” when, really, it’s not. To quote “Phantom of the Opera” (the musical): “These things do ‘appen.”
Of course, just like my air conditioning woes last summer, the death of my ceiling fan and the broken kitchen sink, these things do seem to ‘appen all around the same time and I sort of wish they’d spread themselves out but, well, hopefully this will be the last ‘appening for a while.
If nothing else, April is almost over. I’m christening it “Anti-Homeowner Month.” Fingers crossed that May will be better.
At the very least, I’ll begin the month with a new fridge.
Rest in Peace fridge that belonged to the nice old lady who sold me my house. Thanks for keeping things cold and making a lot of noise while doing so. It was only when the silence of your hum was deafeningly loud that I realized I had lost you for good. May you enjoy your days of never having to cool anything again.
Happy Tuesday and thanks for reading (and letting me vent)!
I’m not actually sure of the time of death but based on my rather limited CSI abilities, the fact that my food in the freezer was still cool but mostly defrosted leads me to think it had been out most of the day. Also, my fridge was still cool-ish when I got home from my parents around 7 p.m.
Either way, my fridge has hummed itself to wherever it is that fridges go when they die. It was a good fridge. It was prone to making rather odd noises at times. It buzzed very loudly most of the time. However, it kept things cold and did the job and I suppose you can’t really ask more of a fridge, can you?
Of course, while I mourn the loss of my fridge, most of the loss is born of inconvenience rather than a strong personal connection with the fridge itself. This is what happens when you move into a house and the fridge is already there. It’s useful and I was glad I had a fridge but it never felt like my fridge, per se. Also, when I moved in, it was still quite full of things the previous homeowner had left behind so I had a lot of cleaning to do. While this provided a bond of sorts with my fridge, it never felt new because it was full of half-eaten lunch meat and such when I first ‘met’ it.
I’m very lucky. I didn’t lose everything in my fridge and freezer. While I lost a lot of things, including a collection of homemade soups I’d put in the freezer, some things were salvageable. Also, I have a little chest freezer in the garage so what could be saved went in there. For the fridge’s part, I’m temporarily using my little wine fridge as a fridge-fridge. It doesn’t get super cold but it’s cold enough to keep my food safe and uncontaminated.
I’m trying to look on the bright side of all this which is a bit of a challenge because firstly, it’s Monday and I’m not fond of Mondays as my regular blog readers will know. Secondly, it’s a very, very wet Monday. The lake in my back garden has just become even lake-ier and when you walk on the grass even where there’s no puddles, there’s enough water that it seeps up over your shoes. Finally, this has been a rather cruddy month for me as a homeowner.
I tried to smile through the termites. After all, I caught them before the damage was severe and they could tell all their friends that my house was free for the eatin’. I tried to laugh at the lawnmower. After all the hot-metal-piston-thingy didn’t hit me in the head, my neighbour loaned me his mower and I was able to get a new mower with no trouble. I’m trying to smile about the fridge. On the plus side, I get a shiny new appliance out of the deal.
On the negative side, it’s adding up financially. Certainly, I’d probably want a new fridge eventually but there’s a big difference between wanting a new one and needing one. Nowadays, fridges are essential. I’m sure there are arguments against that statement but unless you’re Amish and don’t believe in electricity, it’s rather hard to live without a fridge. I’m not really sure how the Amish do it, honestly. It’s not that I even like my beverages that cold. It’s more that I like my food to be uncontaminated by bacteria and keeping it cold prevents that. Also, it’s a great money-saver for a single person- it’s hard to find single-serving portions of things and it’s usually more economical to buy a package of chicken and then split it in two or three before I freeze it.
Still, I’m fortunate that I changed jobs in October. If I’d been on my old salary without the beautiful benefit of a commission check once a month, I’d be completely and utterly panicked and stressed. Fortunately, I was raised to save rather than spend when I have a little extra cash (thanks, Mum!) and so the fridge won’t hurt as much as it would have if I was living paycheck to paycheck.
It still sucks though. I’m just saying that because it feels good to say it. It sucks. That’s all there is to it. I know it’s easily fixable and in the grand scheme of things, far worse things could happen but, well, I just want to say it. I spend much time trying not to whine and complain because friends and people I know always have it worse: sick parents, husbands, spouses….overworking, being stressed, etc. but sometimes, I just have to take five minutes and let myself feel a teeny bit sorry for myself that I have to buy a new fridge and a lawnmower and there are termite holes all over my windowsill.
I feel better already. Like I said before, my fridge situation is definitely not the end of the world. I’m not going to sit there and whine, “Why is my house against me?” when, really, it’s not. To quote “Phantom of the Opera” (the musical): “These things do ‘appen.”
Of course, just like my air conditioning woes last summer, the death of my ceiling fan and the broken kitchen sink, these things do seem to ‘appen all around the same time and I sort of wish they’d spread themselves out but, well, hopefully this will be the last ‘appening for a while.
If nothing else, April is almost over. I’m christening it “Anti-Homeowner Month.” Fingers crossed that May will be better.
At the very least, I’ll begin the month with a new fridge.
Rest in Peace fridge that belonged to the nice old lady who sold me my house. Thanks for keeping things cold and making a lot of noise while doing so. It was only when the silence of your hum was deafeningly loud that I realized I had lost you for good. May you enjoy your days of never having to cool anything again.
Happy Tuesday and thanks for reading (and letting me vent)!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Termites, Lawnmowers and Work...Oh My!
I think this is just going to be one of those weeks. I’ve resigned myself to it and I’m ok with it. I’ve been trying to think more positively these past few weeks and it’s working out well. Or, at least, it’s preventing me from going a little mental and throwing things and whining to everyone I know about how much my life sucks. My life doesn’t suck. I know this and I’m very grateful to that.
I’m also grateful that Terminix came today and though I discovered that I had nasty termites in another area of my house, it’s not untreatable. Also, my house isn’t going to fall down. By this time tomorrow, my house will have been treated for the nasty critters and I’ll be far less itchy.
I find that a fascinating thing, by the way: The Itchies. I find that I get them under the following circumstances:
- Seeing large quantities of creepy crawly things on TV
- Seeing large quantities of creepy crawly things in real life
- Seeing a creepy crawly thing that takes me by surprise in a place where I didn’t expect it (spider in my bed, for example)
Basically, The Itchie’s make me feel like the creature/s are crawling on me even though I rationally know they aren’t. This is why that, ever since I discovered the termites, I’ve had a case of The Itchies.
Fortunately, Terminix is coming to save the day. I’m not thrilled that it’s going to cost a lot but it’s reasonable to make sure my house doesn’t get eaten by termites and it is one of the expenses homeowners have to face. Other expenses are things like new lawnmowers, new air conditioners and other things that I used to be able to call my landlord to get fixed.
All in all, the termite issue, while yucky, is under control. My new mower is on its way. I’ve solved the frustrations fairly easily.
It still doesn’t stop me from being very glad that tomorrow is Friday. Last week wasn’t a great week as far as work went. This week hasn’t been so bad but it’s been a lot busier and a little more stressful because I’ve been going it alone due to my coworker dealing with his mother’s death. I don’t mind covering for him, naturally. It’s just a lot for one person to handle, particularly when we’ve got some urgent things going on in the office.
The nice thing is that even though it’s meant bringing work home with me, making some phone calls in the evening and staying late at the office, I don’t mind. I think that’s the difference between my last job and this one. Working extra hours and extra hard doesn’t bother me because I LIKE my job. I don’t feel as though I’m watching the clock, waiting for it to hit Going-Home-Time.
Yet, tomorrow is Friday and I’m quite happy about that. It’s supposed to be cold and gloomy this weekend. I’m not sure what that means for me and the pups. My original plan was to start replacing the hideous mustard coloured carpet in my Tuscan family room with the vinyl terracotta tiles I’ve picked out. I have half the tiles. I need the other half. Unfortunately, between checking three different Lowes’ (who are the exclusive sellers of this tile), no store carries enough for a decent sized room at one time. Thus, I bought half at one Lowes and was planning on getting the other half this weekend. However, the extra expense of the termites as well as the cost of a new lawnmower means I might have to put Project Floor Tiling on hold for a couple of weeks.
It also doesn’t help that I’d need to be able to leave the dogs outside while I tiled since that room is their passageway to the garden. If it’s raining, I’d end up with two wet, soggy, unhappy dogs.
So, it means I’ll have to come up with another plan for my weekend. My alternate plan if I couldn’t do the floor due to rain/cold weather was to wrap up warm and do some landscaping. Unfortunately, I need to mow the lawn to do that and without a mower, that will be hard since the mower isn’t due to arrive until Tuesday.
Ah well. My homeowner mishaps this week have put a wrench in the plans for the weekend, it seems. The best laid plans and all that, I suppose. Sometimes, the best weekends are those that aren’t planned at all. Given the chaos of the week, perhaps that’s not a bad thing and perhaps I should just accept that I can’t control everything.
It’s just hard because, as you know, I’m a control freak. Which is probably why busy work weeks, termites and exploding lawnmowers have thrown me through a loop.
You just don’t see them happening until it’s too late. But they keep life interesting…right?
Happy Friday!
I’m also grateful that Terminix came today and though I discovered that I had nasty termites in another area of my house, it’s not untreatable. Also, my house isn’t going to fall down. By this time tomorrow, my house will have been treated for the nasty critters and I’ll be far less itchy.
I find that a fascinating thing, by the way: The Itchies. I find that I get them under the following circumstances:
- Seeing large quantities of creepy crawly things on TV
- Seeing large quantities of creepy crawly things in real life
- Seeing a creepy crawly thing that takes me by surprise in a place where I didn’t expect it (spider in my bed, for example)
Basically, The Itchie’s make me feel like the creature/s are crawling on me even though I rationally know they aren’t. This is why that, ever since I discovered the termites, I’ve had a case of The Itchies.
Fortunately, Terminix is coming to save the day. I’m not thrilled that it’s going to cost a lot but it’s reasonable to make sure my house doesn’t get eaten by termites and it is one of the expenses homeowners have to face. Other expenses are things like new lawnmowers, new air conditioners and other things that I used to be able to call my landlord to get fixed.
All in all, the termite issue, while yucky, is under control. My new mower is on its way. I’ve solved the frustrations fairly easily.
It still doesn’t stop me from being very glad that tomorrow is Friday. Last week wasn’t a great week as far as work went. This week hasn’t been so bad but it’s been a lot busier and a little more stressful because I’ve been going it alone due to my coworker dealing with his mother’s death. I don’t mind covering for him, naturally. It’s just a lot for one person to handle, particularly when we’ve got some urgent things going on in the office.
The nice thing is that even though it’s meant bringing work home with me, making some phone calls in the evening and staying late at the office, I don’t mind. I think that’s the difference between my last job and this one. Working extra hours and extra hard doesn’t bother me because I LIKE my job. I don’t feel as though I’m watching the clock, waiting for it to hit Going-Home-Time.
Yet, tomorrow is Friday and I’m quite happy about that. It’s supposed to be cold and gloomy this weekend. I’m not sure what that means for me and the pups. My original plan was to start replacing the hideous mustard coloured carpet in my Tuscan family room with the vinyl terracotta tiles I’ve picked out. I have half the tiles. I need the other half. Unfortunately, between checking three different Lowes’ (who are the exclusive sellers of this tile), no store carries enough for a decent sized room at one time. Thus, I bought half at one Lowes and was planning on getting the other half this weekend. However, the extra expense of the termites as well as the cost of a new lawnmower means I might have to put Project Floor Tiling on hold for a couple of weeks.
It also doesn’t help that I’d need to be able to leave the dogs outside while I tiled since that room is their passageway to the garden. If it’s raining, I’d end up with two wet, soggy, unhappy dogs.
So, it means I’ll have to come up with another plan for my weekend. My alternate plan if I couldn’t do the floor due to rain/cold weather was to wrap up warm and do some landscaping. Unfortunately, I need to mow the lawn to do that and without a mower, that will be hard since the mower isn’t due to arrive until Tuesday.
Ah well. My homeowner mishaps this week have put a wrench in the plans for the weekend, it seems. The best laid plans and all that, I suppose. Sometimes, the best weekends are those that aren’t planned at all. Given the chaos of the week, perhaps that’s not a bad thing and perhaps I should just accept that I can’t control everything.
It’s just hard because, as you know, I’m a control freak. Which is probably why busy work weeks, termites and exploding lawnmowers have thrown me through a loop.
You just don’t see them happening until it’s too late. But they keep life interesting…right?
Happy Friday!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
StatCounter
