Tag Archives: blogger

Fascinated by home seller presentations

Posted on by
Reply

When my siblings and I were teenagers and ready to sell our first cars, Dad taught us a clean car sells fast. I’m not talking about running it through the $1.98 car wash. Cotton swab, white glove inspection clean to be specific. The engines were steam cleaned. The inside of the bumpers were spotless, graduation tassels removed and all Exxon tiger tails retired. There was enough Rain Dance and Armor All used to buff a Carnival Cruise Liner. The vehicles always sold fast and for the asking price.

The same can be said about listing a home for sale. I am presently searching for a home along the Texas gulf coast. The houses I’ve viewed have kept me awake and freaked out at night. A prospective buyer does not want to see cabinet doors hanging from bent hinges or your foundation garments hanging from a door knob. At least hang the pretty bras out – not the dingy ones. If you don’t own a vacuum cleaner, it would be wise to borrow, rent or steal one. Improvement would be evident if some of the carpets were swept with a broom.

Depersonalizing the home is as integral to cleanliness. Walls of family photos are important to the owners but not to potential buyers. I am haunted by a professional photograph of an older woman with a crown, like Queen Elizabeth’s, on her head. She may be some type of royalty but the home was no castle. I would rather see the hideous red velvet wallpaper than a wall full of hundreds of family photos. Yes, the dog is cute and the babies are adorable but I want to see what type of dynamite it is going to take to remodel the room.

Knickknacks, tchotchkes, trinkets, miniatures, collections and doodads all need to be put in a box and removed from the home. Statues, glass collections, paper weights, CD/DVDs, magazines, newspapers minimize the size of a room. I was afraid to turn around, with my handbag on my shoulder, for fear of knocking something off of a side table. By the way, there were multitudes of small tables in a few homes.  There were enough ducks, geese, eagles and cardinals displayed to represent the Audubon Society. Dead wildlife suspended above every doorway, fireplace and portal are, especially in the wild west, trophies of achievement to a specific fan club. Your prospective buyer may be a member of PETA. A neutral environment will enable a buyer to picture themselves living in your house. A Disney theme with Mickey, Goofy and “It’s a small world” piped in throughout the casa will not cut it.

As a home buyer, when I exit your home, I should have zero knowledge of your:

  • College affiliation
  • Religion
  • Pet preference – unless you have a built in wall aquarium or a farm/ranch property
  • Political views
  • Hoarding
  • Collection passion – e.g.: antique dolls, weapons, porn anything, dead plants, etc.
  • Smoking

“Know your selling audience” is an understatement. Your private abode will become a public forum when your home is listed. Remember, photos tell all. Understand your communities tolerance for stripper poles, trophies from the Swingers Club, bondage equipment, etc. If applicable, it would be best to put all of your toys away!

Less really is best. Fewer pieces of furniture and a minimum number of items displayed allow the seller/home owner to maintain a super clean environment with ease. It is an arduous task to ready a home, you and your family are currently living in, for a real estate viewing.

You probably don’t live in a model home. Model homes are staged environments. There isn’t anyone dropping butter bread on the carpet or leaving wet towels on the floors. Trash is virtually non-existent. Mold will not grow on a shower curtain or glass door if the home is uninhabited. Real folks live in resale homes. Develop a routine when the house is posted to the MLS.

Instead of frying fish and cabbage, keep the food smells to an infinitesimal amount. Cereal and salad usually have no smell. If you need more than two hours notice to take Barkinowski and Miss Kitty Lion for an outing and remove all pet hair in the process, pet accommodation can be included with Agent Remarks for the listing. My dog was sent on sabbatical to a relative’s home to sell our residence. Our home had multiple contracts within seven days. Alleviate any circumstance for a potential buyer to say, “no”.

Bribe the kids. Cajole your spouse/partner/roommate/other half/better half/significant other/soul mate/lover into being on your team. Be detail oriented. Mow and edge the lawn.

Curb appeal is as important as interior presentation when selling your home.

Curb appeal is as important as interior presentation when selling your home.

Pick up tripping hazards. Dust the ceiling fans and chandeliers – including the light bulbs. Keep laundry to an extreme minimum. There is no joy in dirty sock smells.  If you can pluck your eyebrows while peering intently into the kitchen sink faucet – you are on the right track.

(Please don’t steal a vacuum. This article was written with a hint of humor by an active Realtor®. Examples and experiences are real.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is the Levoxyl recall really a recall?

Image

Reply

Levoxyl 01-2014When is Levoxyl going to be available? Will Levoxyl become available again? When trying to gain answers to a mystery – you start to question the sources of information when seeking answers to the conundrum.

Levoxyl, (levothyroxine sodium), previously manufactured by King Pharmaceuticals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer Inc, is no longer in production due to smells being emitted by some container situation. After some preliminary research due diligence, another reason production was halted may be due to a profit gain/loss decision to move the manufacturing to another facility.

When a company has to answer to shareholders, it is always a money decision. A recall has to ring adverse when presented to the public keeping consumers “informed” and investors “happy” in harmony. A voluntary recall is not the same tiger as a mandatory recall by the FDA. It would upset the public to hear a necessary prescription was out of production because it wasn’t keeping the money bags content. Shareholders want to be held in high regard when it comes to media output. A bad smell from a container almost conveys a sobersided directive of grievous content.

A quick, brief and analphabet review of the Pfizer board of directors reveals credentials conducive to profit over health ethics. I personally have been a director on multiple boards with members not having a business clue to the company mission, means or mechanics of the organization, with one being an exception. The Pfizer board does have a lot of fancy titles and upper echelon corporate titles.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists website claims, according to Pfizer, Levoxyl will become available March 2014. This may be more of a hypothesis than fact. As of the date of this post, I have been unable to verify any information in reference to a date Levoxyl will become available or if it will ever become available.

The repercussions of not having Levoxyl is pragmatic. Beside the fact many families are affected by plant closings – which is tragic and can take another bandwagon tour in itself, thyroid patients unable to get their hands on Levoxyl now have a diminished quality of life. I know because I am unable to fill my long term prescription for Levoxyl. Health care professionals uninterested or unknowingly think other drugs such as Synthroid or generics can be automatically substituted for Levoxyl. Patients know this is not true. It takes a true time commitment with qualified endocrinologists to know everyone reacts differently to different drugs.

Generics are not the same as name brands. Research for this post resulted in seeing a lot of formulary lists for health insurance providers. Health insurance companies are quick to say generics are sufficient. Their primary concern is not for your health. It is to watch profits soar. If your health was a primary mission, formulary lists would not be necessary.

I found out my Levoxyl prescription could not be filled the day after my beloved husband passed away. The nurse practitioner and pharmacists did not have an explanation as to why it was not available. I found the information myself and informed them. I am on my third substitute in 8 months. Blood tests have revealed the current substitutions are not the same. My thyroid levels communicate why my hair is falling out and clogging drains and snarling the vacuum cleaner. My skin is so dry my hands are cracking and snag leggings and fine fabrics. I am lethargic – sleeping twice as much as a normal human being. Intolerance to cold is unfavorable with frigid polar vortexes rampaging. The thermostat is cranked and I’m still wearing a coat around the house. It is best explained as feeling like you are walking through the bottom of a huge swimming pool. I am exhausted, fatigued and frustrated. Blood tests are a true gauge of physical limitations. I thought I was just severely heartbroken and grief stricken. It obviously is not a good time for a compounded predicament.

This is clearly an unscientific and non-professional opinion. It is purely personal.   If anyone has additional information in reference to new production or availability of Levoxyl, please share. Your opinions and thoughts are valued and valuable.

 

Realtors want you to call them

Posted on by
Reply

Never think you are interrupting a Realtor when you call with a question. Believe it or not, they are waiting by the telephone like a crazed teenage girl waiting for some over-sexed teenage boy to call them. This is a true fact. A Realtor depends on each and every telephone call to make their living. Too bad, if your call comes in when the Ellen show is on or they’re waiting in the Escalade, in line in front of the elementary school. (Why they drive one block from their home to wait in a line of cars and SUV’s, an hour in advance, to drive their child home is beyond my comprehension. Do they know how to walk down there and walk back?)

No question is mundane. Even if you are just being nebby and want to know information on a neighbor’s listing, a Realtor always has time to speak with you. Each and every conversation leads to a networking opportunity and a means of marketing. If a Realtor does not return your call, almost immediately – Call another Realtor. Real estate agents conducting their business in a professional manner will have a high interest in speaking to anyone interested in listing or buying a property. If you are just “thinking” about listing your property, call an agent for a comparative market analysis. Most agents will create this report for you at no cost. If an agent wants to charge you for the initial CMA, call another agent!

Call a Realtor to ask them what needs arranged in your home for a quick sale. Ask a Realtor how fast homes are selling in an area you’re thinking of purchasing in. A Realtor can calculate the monthly payment for financing your future residence. A real estate agent will know the interior and exterior paint colors in your area which dominate most sales. Call a real estate agent and ask! No real estate professional ever starved to death because they answered their phone during lunch or dinner. We actually understand that not every customer works 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday! Calls are expected before and beyond “standard business hours”.

A Realtor worth their paycheck will be forthright and up front when telling you to pack up the nick-knacks and paint the fluorescent orange den a neutral color. Factual information will be provided to assist you when making an offer on a future home. A real estate expert representing you will be working for you. Don’t apologize for calling them. They are waiting, with baited breath, for you to call them!

A casual conversation with a Realtor allows insight into new avenues when you will be ready to move. Rapid changes in the real estate vertical have created different tools, creative outlooks and economic turns which may be very different than the last real estate transaction you may have participated in. The world is spinning faster. Changes within the industry are constant.

The value gained by calling a real estate professional can make a difference in thousands of dollars in your pocket. Take advantage of their expertise.

 

Complaint-Lamar County Tax Assessor/Collector office

Posted on by
Reply

Recently, I went to the Lamar County courthouse in Paris, Texas to conduct changes on vehicle titles. I also had a registration that had expired in November 2013. The reason this specific registration had not been updated was due to Haskell Maroney – I take it is the person as the named Lamar County Tax Assessor-Collector, returned my check to me because the bank or credit union does not appear on their list as being “local”.

I asked the “representative” behind the counter, what specifically constitutes a local bank. Said “representative” told me if the bank wasn’t on their list, they could not accept the check. I asked how this policy or rule got instituted. She informed me the county lawyer made the rule because he was unable to collect on bounced out-of-town checks.

I think an attorney who knows how to collect bounced out-of-town checks needs to replace an attorney who does not know how to collect on insufficient out-of-town checks. For pennies per item, the checks can also be validated at the counter from an out sourced system. So, to save this “attorney” from conducting due diligence, the citizens of this county are subjected to being treated like a deadbeat. The assumption is every check not written on a local bank is bad.

If you use a debit or credit card, you are charged an extra percentage above the transaction. Without being privy to their merchant agreements, I don’t know if this percentage exceeds the amount the financial institution is charging. There are not any disclosures displayed at the counters.

Your choices for paying for the vehicle registrations are:

1. Get back into your car, find an ATM and obtain cash to pay the registration transaction.

2. Use your debit or credit card and pay an additional fee.

3. Get back into your car and drive to a bank, listed as a “local bank”, open an account, drive back to the courthouse, and wait to see if the bank is still on the local list and your check is accepted.

I did #3. When the local check was presented for the registration, I was then asked how many tickets did I receive for driving a vehicle with an expired registration. I informed the “representative” that the vehicle had not been driven with an expired registration. I had just paid her for title changes on two other vehicles with current registrations. Again, being treated like a deadbeat.

One of the title changes I requested was for an antique plate. The original antique plate registration was paid for in March 2013. This plate was good for 5 years. The “representative” told me it was expired. I informed her it was less than a year old and expires in 2018. She told me it was too late, she had already entered into the system to reissue a new one in my name only. The previous owner was my deceased husband. Because she read the expiration date as 2013 instead of 2018, it cost me more money to issue the new antique plate. When I questioned the transaction, I was immediately dismissed, again with “it’s too late, I already put it in the system”.Auto Registration 01-2014

There seemed to be little to no interest in looking at the insurance verification I presented at the window. It makes me wonder who is insured around here and who isn’t.

Word to the wise – don’t change the titles until the registration expires. Know who your elected officials are and what they won’t do when you go to the polls. Mail your “local bank check” to the Lamar County, Texas Tax Assessor/Collector so you don’t feel like a common thief, deadbeat, low life when doing it in person.

Customer service is non-existent when there is no competition. It takes training, common sense and effort to convey respect and “delight” to serve from behind the counter of a public office. Even if the policies were made by someone uneducated in the means to create fair and non-discriminating practices to the majority, the message could be relayed in a professional and positive manner. I’ve goggled this specific office and have found this situation is not new or recent. The solution to the problem is someone speaking up, providing the information necessary to rectify the adverse actions and implementing the personnel willing to practice the golden rule.

I have volunteered at a local food pantry. The clients utilizing the services of the food pantry are treated with higher regard and respect than at the courthouse where we pay all of the salaries.

 

Building a fire

Posted on by
Reply

My resume does not include fire building as a high priority or emphasized line item. It is a good thing and bad thing, to know it takes some effort to create fire in a fireplace or wood burning stove.

If I didn’t want something to burn, it would catch in a second. Intentionally creating fire is an art to behold when needed. I have learned the equipment list and supplies are as important as the task.

Keep all junk newspaper items received from the United States Postal Service. If you have a newspaper subscription, keep them handy. You are going to use them. This is integral to getting an inferno blaring. Unless you are handy with a hatchet, chain saw, DeWalt saw, or are willing to walk your legs through the woods to pick up kindling that won’t infiltrate your chimney with scum – talk nice to your cousin-in-law who is kind enough to share his kindling with you.Those long handled butane lighters are important for spark so as not to burn your hands, arms, sleeves, eye lashes and hair. Those incidental necessities will catch fire immediately. It is a good idea to have a working fire extinguisher nearby. Knowing where it is and being able to see it could be a life saving measure.

A rack to stack tons of wood on will keep it off the ground outside. You still need easy access when it is snowing, pouring down rain or the outside temps are freezing. The backyard neighbors have seen it all when I engage in obtaining a new wood supply for inside by going outside in my leopard slippers, exotic night wear, knee length red and blue striped sweater, rust color ski jacket and wrapped in the blanket with the coffee latte’ motif on it. Try carrying a fourth of an oak tree while the wind is whipping your butt and the chill factor is filling your orifices.

Different size logs will determine the internal temperature of the inside the house environment! One skinny log, half a ton of kindling and the Sunday Houston Chronicle will maintain a temperature of approximately 62 degrees for a short period of time. That is, if the fire catches on. A split medium log, a skinny log and a weekday newspaper will get the ponderosa up to 70 degrees. A bunch of piping hot coals, left over from the initial fire starting attempts, a split medium log and 2 fat logs may get the temp up to a toasty 80 degrees. If you intend to keep warm throughout the night, as my friend Frances refers to it, a huge “night” log is necessary. Depending on the size of your stove or fireplace, you still may be getting your cold tired ass out of bed around 4:00 am to throw more logs on the fire. Important Note: make sure the log fits into the wood burning stove BEFORE shoving it into the fire storm. You certainly don’t want a burning log hanging outside of the stove door!Building a fire 01-2014 a

Designate tons of time to this activity unless you have a house boy named Sven to assist in taking care of your every comfort. Building a fire will lead to contentment and a coziness few electric heating units are able to replicate. Practice and patience will accomplish the task.

A life changing event

Posted on by
Reply

Apology is extended for the lapse in time in posting to this blog.

Your normal self walks around with striking confidence, a cocky attitude, omnipotent disposition and wham – the earth falls out from under you. A life changing event is truly a “life changing” event. You are shocked. You are afraid. You have now become someone else. The crazy cloud surrounding you makes everything a daze. It is unkind but oddly protective.

Through my walks in life, I hear or know someone who has lost their partner or spouse. If it has never happened to you, and it will, you extend sympathy, condolences and prayers. Your expectation is for the person with affluent loss to bounce back into their own true selves. Everyone else is in their comfortable routine of work, kids, family, hobbies, activities and even the mundane of watching Lockdown at 1:00 am. It is understandable they do not grasp the internal panic the grief-stricken party is experiencing. We are not them or in their moment.

So we walk on eggshells and try to be sensitive to selective subjects. We don’t mention the precious conversational tidbit recently shared with our own spouse. Conscientious effort is made not to even mention a squabble. The lone surviving wife or husband views someone else’s fight as a cherished event they wish they could have had – always wishing for those “few more minutes”.

Extreme turnabout is the oblivious asses asking what you’re going to do with the partner’s personal possessions. It isn’t small talk or an extension to assist. They want the cowboy boots they saw on the back porch or the lace tablecloth that is on the table. It is self-serving and greedy. It is usually someone not in the inner circle with no ties to sentimental journey.  Concrete comparison is required to know the genuinely good from the classless bad.

When any of this, from either side, happens to you – keep in mind we are each human. There is no right or wrong. Unless someone has lost multiple spouses to death, they have no experience with what is happening to them. Losing a partner in your twenties may be very different from losing one when they are fifty. Life plans for the survivor instantaneously evaporate. A solitary passage of doing everything for one instead of two.

Please understand a smiling face, a gracious greeting and a brave face may be veiling extreme sadness and grief. Fill their lives with new experiences, fanciful flashes and be open to share a memory or two down the lane when that special door is open.

 

Building a dream house – Addressing the address

Posted on by
Reply

Addresses equal your homestead and where you go each night to leave your shoes on a floor. It is your abode, castle and nest. It allows you to know where you live and wash dishes. As trivial and enlightening as it sounds, our future home became real when we received the 911 address the other day.

There are multiple addresses for properties, especially for those in rural areas. As the area turns and becomes populated, rural routes and post office boxes regurgitate into county road and farm market destinations. The government wants to know where to go when you have a fire or health emergency. Therefore, 911 address are created to be able to quickly assist your emergency need. This is a database not easily celebrated or embraced by “other” entities.

Confusion escalates when the utility companies, water, electric and gas, list the property address as it was initially presented. They appear to be unable to change it to the current or most recent label. It may even be an address unrecognizable to a current owner because the address they’ve been using for decades is different. We have actually purchased multiple properties with addresses to connect utilities were unknown to the current owner. They obviously used different information, previous account numbers, ESI ID numbers, etc to light up the house or flush a toilet. You are told when calling the utility to provide the “service address” as well as the “physical address” or the “911 address”!

To get the lights on at our current home, we had to call the previous owners, who had inherited the property and kindly ask them to search out a previous electric bill for an identification marker to get the lights on. This became the project of the week and a grand fiasco. Their search through a deceased member’s past, yielded an ESI ID. We relayed this info to the retail electric provider. Much to our chagrin and wonder, a security light in the back of the property became illuminated. The property had multiple ESI ID’s and the puzzle wasn’t complete until the one for the house was located.

To avoid mishaps like the previous, we worked diligently with the proper authorities to provide the “911 address” to use for hooking up temporary electric meters for construction purposes. The “911 address” was established by walking up and down the subdivision street and notating the current house number assignments. Obviously, where we will live has a “do it yourself” method for creating your new house number. You call the government agency assigning the 911 address and they ask you to provide the current house numbers. The rhyme and reason of next 4 digits did not apply to this application!

Why are you entitled?

Posted on by
Reply

As old as I am, it is still a shocker to hear someone verbalize their entitlement. It can be as small as a cosmetic customer asking for a mascara sample because she simply doesn’t want to pay the ticket to purchase the item. Samples are provided for “paying” customers to use a new product. If they like the new product, they return to “purchase” it. Sample whores never want to “pay” for anything. They feel entitled to receive.

One of our teenage daughters brought home a parasite for a date one evening. He was about 8 years younger than I was, at the time. We asked him what his ambition in life was. He stated emphatically that he was waiting for his parents to die so he could inherit their printing business. I asked him what position he presently held and he looked at me as if he’d been shot with a stun gun. He didn’t really do anything there. My husband promptly escorted him to the front door for his “do nothing” exit. Needless to say, the daughter thought we were the nut cases until we informed her of the values of work ethic, responsibility, compassion and you don’t work – you don’t eat.

When Hurricane Ike hit Bolivar Peninsula and Crystal Beach, Texas, an acquaintance, we checked on told us she was waiting for government assistance because she didn’t evacuate when required to and lost her car. Needless to say, she lost her home and her minimum wage, part time job, also. Tragic as this was, she was given a new furnished, two bedroom apartment so her unemployed boyfriend could stay with her. She was also given a check for new clothing and transportation. She told me she was going to take 5 or 6 months off before looking for a job because she had money to live off of. While she was on vacation, our neighbors were fighting with insurance companies for 2 years to settle claims for homes wiped off the face of the earth from a tidal surge. They worked hard to pay for those homes and the expensive insurance. I had to watch them shovel their personal belongings and busted pieces of their homes from their lots as they were piecing their lives back together while the entitled collected checks.

I volunteer at a food pantry. The majority of recipients are extremely appreciative for the help. The ones which irk my ire are the ones with the expensive smart phones, new cars, and smell like dope and cigarettes with their mouths going. They complain about checking in. They want you to hurry up because they have to be somewhere else. They are agitated if they have to wait. The biggest bam is they complain about the food items they are receiving. They want steak and pastries.

You should live your life with the rewards earned. No one owes you anything. You are not entitled to receive something simply because you exist. If you didn’t pay in – there should be no proceeds available for you. The world would work better. I draw the line for the elderly and children. Never condemn the innocent and those needing true assistance. Education is the key to correction.

 

Building a dream house – Plans and planning

Posted on by
Reply
Plans & Planning

Plans & Planning

It took a long time to plan the move to the Paris area. Years of fretting over how to leave a city life behind. The decision actually fell into place with frustrating 2 hour commutes, road rage incidents,employment incidents, turning neighborhoods and the world we knew changing – as we changed.

There have been a great number of sacrifices, including leaving the locale of where our grown children live. Reality kicked in full blast with the lack of retail access to items we took for granted. It was beyond comprehension a convenience store would close at 9:00 pm before moving to Northeast Texas. The sidewalks roll up early here. If you want a Hostess fried pie – you’d better get your ass in the car before 8:45 pm.

We tried to buy a house here. It didn’t work for me. We bought our property before we were sure what to even do with it. Countless hours were spent searching the internet and home plan sites. We made the final choice of house plans about 4 times. The size of the house and how much bucks it would take to build it were the most prevalent factors. Sure I could pick out plans for a huge mausoleum but who was going to clean and maintain it. How could we afford a gazillion doors? With a few bottles of wine and endless conversation, we came to the conclusion, this new house would have to take care of us when we are unable to care for ourselves. Just as our first house raised our children and created the suburban dream.

Your house is never truly yours. I always wanted to create a fantasy world in my home. I didn’t want to be like my parents – which were the epitome of “The Wonder Years”. I didn’t want that but that is exactly what we created. We are – what we know. We did keep a bicycle in the vestibule and had huge acrylic abstract paintings on the walls but it was a mainstream house. The new house was initially going to be like an urban modern loft type of joint. Then I realized no one in Paris, Texas would want to purchase it when we truly needed a buyer. The taste of most homeowners in the Northeast Texas area points more toward kikker cowboy western motifs. So, we will be traveling the middle of the road type of hacienda.

The outside will be beautiful garden-variety by the home plans we purchased and will be to the liking of many. We have become minimalist in the sense we are tired of cleaning and packing and kicking around chachkis.  I enjoy them at other people’s homes but not in ours. The interior will be easily switched to unexceptional and standard when we are ready to exit the premises permanently. I am tired of painting everything country white, white-white and beige by all the names – eg: Swiss Coffee. Paint is easy to change.

We’re not going to go crazy and hang the Jeep Scrambler from the ceiling. It will be uncrowded, modern and artsy-fartsy. Less is best. It is not what has been planned, but rather what is disliked, discarded and eliminated. We now know what we don’t want.

The last of the brush and stumps on the house site.

The last of the brush and stumps on the house site.

The wood on the lot is actually still smoldering. It smolders slower in the rain. It hasn’t rained here for months until we needed to get ride of a bunch of debris. The extra dirt needs brought in. The next step will be to sit and watch it settle!

We are in need of a truss builder, either on-site or off-site. There are a lack of them listed in the vicinity. Hardly any craftsman have websites. It may be the lack of internet access. Still planning and researching where to find materials and construction experts. There is no sense of urgency among the masses here. I guess they’re waiting for a bigger job to come along – like cousin Eddy.

Building a dream house – The burning bush

Posted on by
1

When you cut down a bunch of trees, it leaves a lot of debris left over. There has to be enough room to actually build the house, move heavy construction equipment through and be able to park a bunch of vehicles. It has been determined, the man shop must be built first in order to store necessary items, like windows and doors, for the house. Like all female she people, my fear is out in the open that I may be living in the man shop if my general contractor gets tired of building after man shop is standing on it’s own. I certainly do not want to consider that option. I would be on the first bus out of here and headed back to the big city if that joke spontaneously continues to thrive.

During a drought, a burn ban is in effect. You can not burn huge trees when the wind is blowing 30 mph. We had the lots cleared for the man shop and house but had to wait for rain and the burn ban to be lifted. This project does not move as quickly as my heart wants it to. I certainly do not want to burn down our 8 acres of trees, nor do I want to piss off the neighbors by burning down their woods or homes. I like our new neighbors. They stop by to view the progress and are as excited as we are to see a home being created.

It finally rained last week. We verified the burn ban was lifted and proceeded to burn the ginormous piles of cut trees and debris left over from clearing the 2 lots. It isn’t as easy as one would think to burn green wood and keep the fires going. burning bush cThe supply list included a propane tank, diesel fuel, newspaper and the lighter we use for the grill! Every Girl Scout knows the rules when creating a camp fire. As a previous Scout, I know it isn’t as easy as it appears in all the videos to make a fire. If you don’t want a fire to start, the fear is always prevalent. If you want to start a fire, on purpose, all elements will be uncooperative.

Then my old lady anxiety kicks in. I shouldn’t be on site when fear factor hits. I could hear my mother’s voice coming out of my mouth with, “Be careful. Don’t stand so close. Is that going to catch in the woods?” I was obviously using my “outside voice”. Needless to say, this project has been going on all week. Thank God I have a few full-time jobs and extra curricular activities to keep me out-of-the-way, most of the time. I did make a mistake and tried to sashay the site in regular shoes instead of wearing the work boots purchased specifically for being on a construction site. It took the better part of an hour to clean them up. To keep me in check and shook up, everyone on site keeps telling me to look out for bobcats and wild animals. My weakness for not wanting to run into exotic animal life is apparent at all times. I took photos of what I thought were big game footprints, until our neighbor told us she walked her precious dog, Patch, down the driveway shortly after it rained!burning bush d