July chitchat

[Howie]

[Virginia]

I had a good day yesterday. Went to the birthday party for my one year old great nephew. There were 17 to 20 attending. One was a 2 month old and one was a 2 1/2 year old. He got so many presents and he didn't even know what was going on. He got a big blue car that they can strap him in and Mommy or Nana can take him for walks. It has a handle on the back. I think they have been taking him in a carriage that sits up high. Nana and Grandpa Eric got that and a slide for him. The 2 1/2 year old liked the slide. He got a red truck that was big enough for him to get in. The first thing he went for was the steering wheel to find the horn. He got enough stuff to last him until he is 5 years old, but of course he will get more and these things will need to be donated.

I enjoyed seeing people that I had not seen in more than a year and two friends of my Niece since about first grade. Their husbands were also there. Niece's MIL is here from Kentucky and her husband's brother and wife from Ohio. I also got to see my SIL's father and brother. I had not seen them since the death of his wife and of course the murders that took place 2 days later. I was just getting out of hospital and rehab at Christmas and unable to attend Christmas party.

I ate a hotdog which was the first I have eaten in years. My nephew in law had grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, so I put slaw and chili my SIL had made and it was delicious. I do not normally eat hotdogs, but I knew they would only get all beef ones. The sides I got around to were also great. If I eat much more chicken here at home I am afraid I am going to start clucking. It was nice to have a change.

It was also good to be with Eric again. He picked me up and brought me home and much to my surprise he came in and told me to have a seat. We talked for a full hour. It surprised me but he started talking about what it would take to keep me in my home. I told him I just need a GOOD maid and a handyman. Since he is so far away I don't know what he can do about those things.

Eric looked good yesterday. He is some better, but can't do the slightest thing. He put two toys together for his one year old Grandson the night before and had to take a pain pill afterwards. He is going to take the disc from his MRI to his Doctor this week and see what he has to say. Eric thinks it is a slipped disk and it is trying to go back in place. He said what worried him was will it be prone to slip again.

He left a few minutes after 8 and I went to the grocery store. I forgot 3 items, but got most of what I need. It was 10:15 before I got everything in the house and put away. I changed clothes and took off my makeup. By then it was 11PM, but I was hungry again. I had a snack, and set down to wind down. It was 1:15 before I got to bed. I am very tired today, but it was worth it.

[agate]

Wow, Virginia, you've had quite a sociable time lately! It must have been nice to be among family--and interesting to see the assorted toys. Kids' toys are so much more colorful and sophisticated now compared to years ago--your 1-year-old nephew will be involved with electronic toys before you know it.

I don't know about your statement that if you eat any more chicken, you'll start clucking. Don't some of us here on this board cluck routinely?

If you know any neighbors, you might be able to find a reliable handyman nearby. That's how I found one once years ago. A neighbor who was also a friend gave me the name of the handyman she was using because her husband wasn't a handyman type. I hired the handyman she recommended for several jobs, including painting the two main doors of the house and recaulking a couple of bathtubs that badly needed it. He was competent, and since he lived in the area and his reputation depended on word-of-mouth among neighbors, maybe he was especially likely to be dependable.

Another option would be to sign up for your area's online Nextdoor. People advertise their services on there, and they would be people not far from you. You probably have tried this already--?

[Howie]

I've been a good rooster lately, so the clucking has died down.

[Virginia]

Yes, Howie you actually have been behaving. At least as far as we know. Sam might could tell us different.

Agate, my neighbors have as hard a time as I do finding a handyman. They usually end up getting family to do little things. I have been on Nextdoor, in fact I check in on there most days. That is where I got the man that was supposed to stain my deck. He came and power washed it and I paid him for that, then a couple of weeks later he finally had the paint store call to get my credit card number. The paint was charged, and he has it. That was another two weeks ago today. So this has been going on for a month and my deck is still not stained.

Only one time did I see a handyman on there. He came on and said he was retiring but would like to stay busy. He said he could do most anything around the house. Before I could even get my thoughts together, he came back on and asked people to please stop contacting him. He was getting so many calls he couldn't handle them.

Everybody that knows how to do anything is at a premium around this area. It is again, supply and demand. The demand is so high.

[agate]

Anyone who has those skills is really in demand, eh? I wish I'd taken woodshop and other courses like that in school.

Virginia, the handyman who bought the paint using your credit card is coming back to do the job, isn't he? I hope you have some way of contacting him to find out what's going on. Maybe he's been ill but at least he should have let you know the reason for the delay.

There's also Angie's List, now called Angi.

Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...

I haven't actually used them but have always heard good things about that Website. Might be worth a try.

[Virginia]

Agate, that was the plan, that he would come back to do the work, but it was also the plan that he would come back before now. If he doesn't come or bring my paint that I paid for then I will go on Nextdoor Neighbor and say some bad things about him. He knows I can do this.

As far as Angi's goes, I am personally not fond of them in this area. They don't really check out anyone, they just get you to put in your zip code and you choose someone from that list and they are all expensive people I have found.

[agate]

Are the people or their companies given any consumer ratings on Angi? I like looking businesses up on Yelp because the ratings system they use seems to be unbiased. They try to keep it honest and prevent people from giving positive ratings to their friends or family even though they don't deserve the positive ratings/reviews. It's a good way to report a business you're not happy with too. I did that once and there was prompt action on the part of the business.

[Virginia]

I suppose I could get the names from Angie's and then check them out on Yelp before actually hiring them.

[agate]

I would certainly go that route. I rely on ratings and reviews on Amazon all the time. If something I want there has no ratings or reviews, I won't buy it. I've heard that sometimes the reviews are bogus but that Amazon and Yelp (and probably other reliable places) make an effort to weed out the reviews that are by someone with an "agenda."

[Virginia]

Well, finally deck people are here this afternoon. I pointed out a spot that I thought was rotten. Turned out it was. So I got them to check all over deck. They found two other boards that had rotten spots. They went and got 3 boards and put them down and now they are painting. They are supposed to put two coats on. I sure hope that happens.

They got the deck paint from Sherwin Williams. I told them to just get a redwood. Well, they did. It is pretty red. I am alright with the color as long as the deck is protected.

[agate]

I'm so glad they showed up for you, Virginia. Nice that you like the color too. I once had to paint a fence in a redwood stain, and it might be the same color--I really liked the color, and it brightened up the fence considerably without making it stand out too much.

Will you be able to sit out on your deck in the nice weather with a glass of iced tea and just relax?

[Virginia]

Well, when finished it turned out to be really RED. I am now $900.00 poorer. That is not the really bad part, that came after they left. Within an hour and a half it started raining some and twigs and straw and everything has blown up on the deck. I can't go out there to see how much damage that little wind and rain did because it is wet.

Agate, I can't go out and sit because the deck is real hot in the summer and of course in the winter the weather is not conducive to sitting out. So, I don't use the deck. When I first came here I used it about nine at night, but the furniture I had bought went bad after some years and I did not bother to buy more.

[agate]

Fixing problems with rotting wood can be really costly but they have to be fixed unless you want carpenter ants and other unpleasant things, or at least that's how I remember it.

My house had a problem with carpenter ants, and it turned out that the wood fascia board that was behind the gutters== or maybe it was part of the gutters-- was rotting, and there was a big ant nest in there. The rotten wood had to be cut out and replaced. You'll probably be very glad you had this job done.

[Virginia]

I am celebrating tonight. For several weeks I had kind of worried every time I thought about the fact that I had to go in person to get my drivers license renewed. I know that I am a good and safe driver, but I also know that I could not stay here in my house if for any reason I could not drive. The reason I had been so worried was because 5 years ago I renewed on line which you can do one time. So that meant it had been 10 years since I went in person and the 5 years before that they only tested me on some road signs. I didn't take a written test.

I figured with my age and the fact that I had not been tested in so long, that they would give me both the written and oral tests. I did not make an appointment, so I had to wait about an hour and a half. When the man called my number the first thing he did was told me to stand up against a board and remove my glasses so he could take my picture. I told him he seemed confident that I was going to pass and he just grinned. I had to sign my name 3 times and he had me look through a machine and read the top line, then he said that will be $27.50. He gave me a temporary license and said I would receive my hard copy in about two weeks.

It was 100 degrees here today and I hate to think what the heat index was but Eric might come over tomorrow and both Monday and Tuesday I have plans so I just felt I had to get this one thing off my mind. The way I am celebrating is I stopped at Food Lion and got some tomatoes that were supposedly grown here in N.C. and some turkey. I had some bread like Howie mentioned and I had a great sandwich. I also bought some gelato, the first I have had in probably six to eight months. Sam could come eat with me. So glad to get that drivers license behind me.