Normal Returns

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Frog

Last night we ate off our plates for the first time in weeks. It was delicious.

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As the better-half pointed out, this is one of the few week nights we’ve had sausage fresh from the butcher shop we like so much. Because before last night it was a pain in the butt to get over there and then get home.

Late yesterday we retrieved the cats from the boarder. They reported that Lucy was rude. I think her feral background came out. Like sometimes my Jersey comes out. Not that I’m from Jersey, but being related helps with the attitude. She was pretty rude to me when I was trying to get her out of the cage (hissing and spitting). The better-half thinks it was because the employee was in the room getting Simon out of his jail cell. Once the employee left and I paid attention to our old man, Lucy sweetened up and let the better-half put her in the crate.

She was my glue last evening and Simon managed to come out from under the bed and has started his pacing. His pacing is a good thing since he seems to be mapping the new house and the boy loves to pace. I think I’ve mentioned that before. He was probably a border collie in a previous life.

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The weather has been beautiful

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Frog

The weather has been an absolute dream this week. We’ve been sleeping with the windows open and one night was chilly enough that I wish I hadn’t packed away all of the blankets.

Yes it’s gotten so bad that I am writing about the weather and packing. The good news is the moving truck comes tomorrow and so I’ll have to move on to unpacking conversations next week.

I can’t decide if I like the new IOS7 yet. I am digging the options for the camera. A quick shot of a plant on work’s rooftop deck:

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Wee Pity Party

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Frog

In cleaning out stuff, I came across my offer letter from 2005. I am now, two advanced degrees later, making $500 less than I did in 2005. Just let that sink in.

Posted in General Spleen Venting | 1 Comment

The Countdown Begins

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Frog

We move out on September 21st. That date is so close now. Our house is trashed. We had an auction company come on Saturday to pick things up. At this point, I hope we make as much as they charged to come and get the junk. If we make exactly that I’m fine because I never have to deal with that stuff again.

The new dishwasher was finally delivered on Saturday. It was supposed to be delivered and installed on Friday. Lowe’s screwed that up and they somehow forgot that they were installing the dishwasher. So the delivery guys dropped off the new one and took the old one away. The better-half rocks and he installed the new one. TWO HOURS of time we did not plan on spending doing stupid crap. Thanks for nothing Lowe’s.

In good news, a group I worked with at Virginia Tech won an award for our work. At least one member of the team is going to be at the upcoming conference to accept. My certificate will be mailed to me. Huzzah!

Posted in Generic Thoughts, House Proud | 1 Comment

And we labored

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Frog

We woke up before the sun was up and headed home from the beach. The traffic wasn’t too bad but it helps that it was o’dark thirty. We got home and then got busy. The better-half replaced the water filter and the two HVAC filters. The last time the HVAC maintenance people were here we had the wrong filters and so now the correct ones are installed, marked with the date, and the buyers of our house don’t have to whine about it. I cut every last piece of grass from the roadside to the orchard grass to the front, back and side yards. That is the last time I will do all of it unless it becomes a condition of our sale. The orchard grass is only supposed to be cut every couple of months but I’ve done it a lot this summer and I’m sick of it. So. Done.

We also went to Lowe’s and bought a replacement for the dishwasher. Same brand, same color, newer. It was on sale (Hallelujah) and we saved money on the install costs. Of course we have to wait until Friday for the install because there needs to be some actual work attended to this week. Not happy that we had to buy a new one, but I am glad that there is an end in sight for hand-washing every dish, pot, and glass. I’m a big baby and am not afraid to say it.

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Now that’s what I’m talking about

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Frog

We decided to get away for a few days. Some may call us crazy with an impending move, and I may do the same later, but for now I can’t hear the naysayers over the roar of the ocean.

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We got to the coast without incident which is pretty great since we’ve heard horror stories all summer of terrible traffic. Our room wasn’t ready when we arrived so we walked on the beach and then had lunch. The wait for the room was worth it because I can get behind the view from our little balcony.

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Hooray

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Frog

Today we had an open house because the realtor had already paid to advertise and apparently you can keep selling a house even after an offer has been accepted. I guess this is referred to as Plan B. The Nieces spent the night on Saturday and so I was a bit grumpy that we had to bug out so quickly and keep the house generally put together while they were here. Usually a bomb goes off and that’s totally cool. Nut 2 made the bed in the guest bedroom without any prompting…good egg.

We had hoped to go see a movie, but none of the times worked for us so we went to Maymont instead. We noticed this on the way into the “back” entrance:

Neither of us had ever noticed this before and it’s pretty darn accurate once you follow the instructions on the base and add an hour for Daylight Savings Time.

We hadn’t prepared to go to Maymont to hang out so we looked for benches to sit on and sat across from this view:

After taking some silly selfies, we walked past a very old tree with lots of tunnels built into the root system. I said I bet someone lives here and the better-half said, “I think it could be a groundhog”. As soon as he said that I saw this:

We decided to go have nachos and a beer at a bar we like and then came home to discover most of the real estate signs out of the yard and the key lock box off of the front porch. I think we can start packing now. I know the cats will be elated that the reign of terror of having strangers in the house is over. On Saturday, I ducked into the study to grab a book for one of the nieces and then popped back out into the foyer. Lucy puffed up and hissed at me. She’s never done that and I think it is completely related to being wigged out for weeks at a time.

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It Figures

Posted on August 24, 2013 by Frog

On Thursday afternoon I got home and realized our dishwasher was full. I added the soap and started it up. Then I went outside to cut grass. It hadn’t rained that hard earlier and honestly I had no idea when I would cut the grass if not Thursday afternoon. Of course, just as I was finishing, the heavens opened. When I finally got back in the house, the better-half asked me if I had already had my post-grass cutting shower. Ha. Very funny. And, as it turns out, yes. Just changed my clothes and dried off my hair.

As we were preparing dinner, we both noticed the dishwasher was acting a little weird. Our model counts down and the last 10 digits can seem like they take forever because it is the sanitize portion, I guess, and we heard some draining. As it turns out the damn thing didn’t actually wash the dishes because what we saw as weird was dying gasps. Eh, so what, you may say. Get the repair guy out. No big deal.

Friday afternoon was our buyer’s house inspection. Yep. The POS couldn’t have died on Friday or Saturday night, but it had to do it Thursday night just before our inspection. Figures. We left a sticky note that said this POS is broken and we’ve called someone. As it turns out the people we call can’t even get out here to diagnose until 8/29. Because there has been a rash of broken dishwashers. Really. I can’t even make this stuff up.

We’re without a dishwasher until the repair guy comes and eyeballs the problem and then who knows how long before the part can be obtained. It won’t be fixed until September. I’m holding my breath on all other major appliances/infrastructure.

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Taking Stock

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Frog

The new house is smaller than the one we are living in now and so this weekend we’ve started eyeballing all of our stuff. We have way too much stuff. There is so much that won’t be coming with us and FINALLY!!!! a boatload of stuff we’ve been holding on for the better-half’s mother’s family will be jettisoned as well. I think this is probably the 4th time we (or someone) has gone through her crap fine things and the next person who goes through it will be the person who buys it from a thrift store. Can I get an Amen?

The toughest decisions are the ones about the books. Two English majors should never set up house together. We’ve agreed that we’ll each go through and pick the ones we can’t part with and then we’ll get rid of the rest. I’ll have to get into the mood and then just (wo)man up and make two stacks. One to keep and one to go. I’m sure the books won’t care which pile they end up in, but it will be a struggle for me.

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Making a Negative into a Positive

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Frog

Negative: So we found a house that we like and have moved into negotiation and torture. That’s a little known part of the house-buying process. The people who own the house must be in financial difficulty or they are just nucking futs. There are also tenants involved who signed the most specific lease I have ever read in my life. The make, model and name of their pet is listed in the lease. When they saw that lease, they should have high-tailed it away from the house and the owners. I am sorry they are caught up in this, but they need to find less crazy landlords pronto.

I believe we have just signed our 4th go-around on the addendum to the contract and there was one more clause that our closing attorney said oh hell no you are not signing that. So, the nucking futs must now just haul their carcasses to the bank when our check cashes in a few months. Good lord, don’t put your house on the market if you don’t want anyone to buy it.

Positive: When we sell our house we will not be crazy and unreasonable people. It’s not our style anyway, but after the past two weeks you can bet your sweet bippy it isn’t our style now.

Positive: Yeah, finding a house that’s worth the back-and-forth is a positive. I can’t wait for the process to be complete and we move in.

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