BEFORE PICS - Utility Room and Crawlspace

Hold onto your hats, ladies, this is gonna get rough!!

But first, let's start off with the money shot ... the photo of my pretty new furnace!! Ain't she grand? 

The little brown door to the left of the water heater is the access door for the approximately 20 foot x 28 foot (three foot high) crawlspace located under the main living area.  

Next we have the previous location of Gizmo and Drama-rama's bed. Yes, all that crap in the corner was once just shoved under their bed!! Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Furniture left behind ... a slightly slanting computer desk that I'll put on FreeCycle (free if they pick it up) and in the back corner, the entertainment center that I'll use once the family room is done. I'll probably need to refinish it, though. But it'll be worth it, as this was a piece my dad built for me a long time ago. And no, this room was never finished, the whole time they used this as their bedroom there was exposed studs and insulation.

Just another angle looking at the under-bed stash of crap.

Gizmo's collection of Star Trek videos still sits here. I don't believe this to be the entire collection, though. Odd how he'd take some, but not all of his precious video collection.

And opening the little brown door to the crawlspace we see ... piles and piles of what looks like CRAP!! Some in storage totes, a lot not in totes (that gold looking vintage lamp shade is indeed a lampshade from the 70s that I salvaged for use as carpeting in the antique dollhouse that will be restored once I have my house - and my life - back!). I have no idea what's in those totes, or who the contents belong to at this point!

See the vintage picnic baskets that were lovingly just shoved into the crawlspace? Nice. I can also see an antique galvanized coffee pot ... I have no idea what that cord is!

Just another angle of the same crawlspace. I notice what appears to be insulation hanging from the rafters. However, I see no other insulation in any of the other pictures. Great, something else to add to the to-do list ... insulate the crawlspace!

I also noticed in one of the crawlspace photos that there's a steel shelving unit. Good!! I can use that to organize the stuff in the utility area.

I'm dreading this more than I am dreading the gutting of BossMan's bedroom!! But once done, there will be ONLY the artificial Christmas Tree and the two boxes of ornaments. Everything else either distributed to other parts of the house (kitchen, office, craft room, etc), given away, sold, or tossed.

There's gonna be one huge yard sale at my house late this summer!!

Tulips Growing In The Strangest Places ...

Some five years ago Brother Deere had re-sided my house. He also decided to till the lawn and plant new grass seed. During the tilling, he disturbed a tulip garden that had been growing ever since I first moved into this house. Every year since then, I get tulips growing in strange places throughout my front yard. This year, however, I haven't seen them spring up in their usual spots.

Today while out getting the mail I noticed that a lonely little tulip was growing very close to foundation of the house. Much more growth and it'll be growing literally up into the bottom edge of the siding.

I guess tomorrow after orientation, I see if I can successfully move it to a location where it can be better admired, one that will allow it to actually grow straight and tall!

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I finally got the assortment of herb seeds sown today. It'll be interesting to see what grows. Hopefully I'll even recognize what they are once they've grown. Otherwise, I could give new meaning to "chef's surprise". LOL.

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I ventured back into the crawlspace today to see if I could pull out some of my antique glass and the two dollhouse kits I blogged about yesterday. OMG!! I couldn't even locate them with all the stuff that's crammed into that crawlspace!

A little back-story here ... around the first of December last year Drama-rama started whining that she needed a Christmas Tree (I haven't put trees up in ages), and wouldn't take NO for an answer when I told her we didn't have the space, nor did we need it since Christmas wasn't going to be held here. I got so sick of the whining I sort of gave in with a "whatever, just STFU about it already". In preparation they ripped up the 20+ year old carpeting, stripped the wallpaper, put a thin coat of paint on the walls and called the room ready for Christmas decorations. Oh, and they they moved the book cases to their present location, destroying one short and one tall bookcase in the process (that honestly were ready for the junk pile anyway). The tall bookcase held my antique glass collection ... a variety of Carnival Glass that my grandmother had collected throughout her lifetime, hand-painted (by my own mother) china, and a few other highly fragile glass odd and ends that mean a lot to me.

All packed away and put in the crawlspace because they were in the way of someone's Christmas decorations. And they never asked (or were given) permission to so much as touch the stuff!! But then again, I have to remember who we're talking about here ... Drama-rama ... that person with grand delusions of entitlement ... who just wouldn't understand the boundaries or limits involved in living in another woman's house.

Thankfully, Gizmo did put them in plastic tubs so they're somewhat safe. He didn't wrap them up in paper first, though, so each tub will have to be treated with extreme care until the contents are determined. 

Every time I think of the condition of that crawlspace, I could cry. Three years ago, it was empty, except for the artificial Christmas tree and a box or two of decorations that hadn't been touched in a few years. Today? Well, I can't even locate the tree! I'm sure it's been pushed so far into the back of the crawlspace that it'll take Search and Rescue to find it!!

I did take pictures of the crawlspace and the room formerly used by Gizmo and Drama-rama as their bedroom. It makes me sick just being down there for the few minutes it takes to put a load of laundry into the washer, or swap it over to the dryer.

I'll post those in a separate blog entry, only because  it'll be easier for me to find them later on down the line when I want to take a walk down memory lane and remember what it used to look like around here ... and as a reminder of why this nest will forever stay empty.

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And since tomorrow is Orientation I'm going to call it an early night tonight. I've got a bottle of Zzz-quil at the ready just to make sure I fall asleep and stay asleep until my alarms go off at 6 am! Otherwise, I suspect I'd be too geeked about starting this new job tomorrow to get a full night's sleep!!

But first, I'll post those pictures of the utility room (including my pretty new furnace, lol) ...

I'm sure I'll blog all about Orientation tomorrow and how that went!!

More Before Pictures ...

Here's some more before pictures ...

LIVING ROOM:

Still a dumping ground for the Wrecking Crews stuff as it's sorted and eventually removed from the house. Note: the stuff on the sofa is from the entertainment center you see in the picture below. It's waiting for demolition (later today). The crap on the sofa is mostly movies that need to be sorted and boxed for Alien. She's also getting that huge ol' tv set and a dvd/vcr that isn't visible in the photo below. Bookcases from the family room (see below) will occupy the space the entertainment center now occupies, the beige chair will be the only seating in my new "library".The sofa will be moved to the family room when that room is finished.

FAMILY ROOM: 

Notice there's no carpeting? That was ripped out before Christmas 2012.
The tall book case will be moved up to the living room (visible through the railing). I still have another bookcase that needs to be assembled that will take the place of the smaller bookcase (on the left). I just hope there's enough shelf space for all of my books!! The short bookcase will house the videos I will save for my viewing pleasure.

Below is the last of the Wrecking Crew(s) stuff in the family room. Then Rusty Knight can begin painting!! He'll paint the walls, the paneling, the ledge, and the ceiling. Then we can lay the flooring, move the couch from the living room, bring in a different entertainment center, move the toybox to this room and make it a usable family room!! I can't wait!! It'll be a great place for the grandsons to play when they visit MomMom!!

 

More pictures will follow shortly. I still haven't photographed the storage room (Gizmo's former bedroom), or the crawlspace.  I'm working up the nerve (courage?) to tackle those areas. 

But first things first ... the living areas. Then I can figure out what from storage I wish to keep and what I'm ready to let go of once and for all.

UPDATE: 8:30 PM ... well, BossMan totally forgot about coming over today to help demolish the entertainment center. He says he'll be over Monday now to do it. You know I'll be burning up his phone with reminder texts.  Then I'll have to burn up his phone on Thursday night, when the trash goes to the curb. There's no way I'll be able to get that stuff down to the curb!!

And they claim *I* have memory problems? Geesh.

Two days and counting ...

Time's flying! A month ago I applied for the job at Home Depot. Orientation is finally only two days away. I'm so ready to get back to working for a regular paycheck.

And, in all honesty, I've missed working with customers. I also have missed the pace of retail. Crazy, eh?

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Speaking of "paychecks", BossMan paid me a fraction of what he owes me. Enough that I was able to get some groceries and have enough left in my wallet for putting gas in the van. Now for him to pay me the rest, I have a student loan and a medical lab bill I need to pay off. I'll be paying them off in full, getting those monkeys off my back once and for all.

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BossMan was here on Tuesday to pick some things up. He was telling me that only that morning, Gizmo was in a car wreck. First thing out of my mouth was "is he okay?" He's fine, just some front end damage that makes the car un-drivable. Since BossMan is now working for a towing company, Gizmo called him to tow the car to my ex husbands house so repairs can be made. Seems that good ol' Exie-Poo worked on Gizmo's brakes over the weekend. They worked for a total of SIX stops, the seventh Gizmo rear-ended someone when the brakes failed. All Exie-poo had to say was "oops, sorry".

I don't know how he's getting to work, since his van is STILL here. And it really isn't my problem, Momma's Loan-a-car is out of business.

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Other than that, not a word from Gizmo. I still need him to come get his crap out of here. It's getting to the point I'm about to load my van up with his crap, and drop it off on his porch. Forget the fact I don't know exactly WHERE they live now, that's not my problem. I need this crap out of here, and I've told him that quite a few times now. I'm tired of the excuses that Drama-rama gives me as to why they can't make it when I ask. 

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Not a whole lot else going on here, besides cleaning and sorting.

BossMan will be over after work today to help me demolish an old entertainment center and get it to the curb for tomorrow's garbage pick-up. I'll give the old tv set and dvd/vcr to Alien, along with a few dozen kids videos that I still have from when my kids were younger. I know she'll appreciate them, she's sick of watching the half dozen kids videos they have now. LOL.

I'm still in the process of taking BEFORE pictures ... so stay tuned for those. I'm still bouncing around doing assorted stuff, not really concentrating on a particular room. I really don't think you want to see before pics of the two coat closets, the linen closet, or other miscellaneous closets that I've been tackling. LOL. Then it's onto the big stuff, like... the entertainment center has to go before I can move the bookcases up from the family room. Then the books will be moved after that. Then the family room will finally be ready for painting!! While the paint dries, I'll organize the books and start a new project. After that, the crawl space (that's worthy of a bunch of before pics, btw), and organizing that crap into GARAGE SALE, FREEBIES, THROW AWAY and KEEP piles.

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I did manage to get a few seeds planted. Eggplant, and cucumbers to start. Tomorrow I plant an assortment of herbs (not sure what's in the packet, it's a mixture of various seeds that my mom gave me). Monday I'll plant the seeds for sweet peppers and tomatoes. Oh, and there's the coleus seeds that Gizmo gave me, they're planted and waiting for some sign of growth. LOL.

I wanted to get my outdoor planters ready, but I'm holding off on buying them right now. First off, this is the first time I've planted seeds so I'm wondering how successful I'll be in this whole sowing thing so I'm not sure exactly how many containers I'll need (I'm thinking two but we'll see). Secondly, I need some money to buy them along with all of the other things I'll need, like dirt and plant cages. LOL.

I don't want anything fancy, just a few galvanized tubs. Coincidentally, Home Depot sells the ones I want. Twenty one bucks each. Not bad. Plus, that employee discount ... and I'll be in business.

What I need to solve is the double shepherds hook problem I have. I will use it for my hanging baskets of tomatoes and peppers ... the problem is that this house was built on sand. Now, it's great because I don't have to worry about drainage issues, BUT the shepherds hook will not stay in the ground. It started last season okay, but after the baskets grew heavy, it started to resemble the Leaning Tower of Pisa. My only solution seems to be sticking it in a container of some sort and filling the container with concrete. My problem seems to be finding a container (that I can afford) that would survive six inches of concrete in it.

Because of the siding on the house, I can't use hooks to hang them off the eaves of the house, either. Brother Deere put siding on the underside of the eaves, so that hanging anything off them would destroy the siding. It's a nice architectural finish, but crap when it comes to using the overhang of the house for hanging anything. Not even my flag pole!!


Any thoughts? Other ideas on what to do to keep that blasted thing anchored in the ground with or without concrete?

Thus Ends Another "Era" ...

And that era being that of begging for transportation someplace. Five long years I've had to either coordinate usage of a shared vehicle, or these last few years having to beg for a ride to wherever.

Meet my new wheels ...

Isn't she pretty? She's a 2005 Chrysler Town And Country. Less than 70,000 original miles. First red vehicle I've ever "owned".

She's actually a lease for now, but if the price is right, I'll buy her when the lease is up.

Since the lease is primarily in my mom's name, the use of this beauty comes with these conditions ...
1) The house must be cleaned and stay clean. Mom knows I'm working on that. She also knows I'm so over the wrecking crew and living in less than desirable conditions.
2) I must stay employed. That I have every intention of doing, and hopefully will be made permanent soon.
3) I pay the lease payment (she'll cover insurance for now until I'm permanently employed).
And ...
4) NO ONE ELSE is to drive her! Not a problem!! I had already promised myself that I'm done loaning vehicles out to anyone. So this is really a no brainer, lol.

 It's so nice to know that if I need to run to the store I don't have to sit and wait for someone to come pick me up, or have to walk (in the rain or snow) to the gas station to pay too much for whatever I need. And I'm sure not going to have to bum a ride to work either.

Yay!!

Like I said over on facebook earlier "shit's looking up for Momma".

After Pics!!

Finally! After photos of the kitchen. I know, there's still a lot of clutter there, all those candles, vases and stuff. But it's a huge difference (and I love the smell of those candles burning whilst I cook).

Look at all that counter space!! Isn't it grand? And I can find everything I need! What I need to put on my wish list is a crock pot for all of those utensils!!

Not sure why I'm including this ... this is the view from my kitchen sink. It's a stained glass design film sheet that offers me privacy from the too-close next door neighbor.

And an overview of the kitchen. Much cleaner than in the before pics, eh? It's a joy to walk into the kitchen now, that's for sure!! 


But it's done! The kitchen is finished. I decided to not bore you with after shots of the interior of the cupboards ... but they're nice and organized for the first time in more than a decade. I know where stuff is for a change! And it's grand!!

What A Week ...

I can't believe it's been a week since my last blog. So much for trying to do better at blogging. I really do need to try to stick with this!!

Things here were going well until Easter Sunday. But let's start closer to the beginning of last week ...

Mom loaned me the money I needed to get the bills current. The $500 worth of bills that Gizmo stuck me with are now paid off. I'll pay Mom back when I can. She said to just wait until next year when I get some sort of tax refund back.

Daddy's really complicating this getting a new car thing. He's researching to death the different models of cars they might consider leasing when they give me the van. Then they still have to test drive whatever they decide on. Daddy's a stroke patient and getting in and out of vehicles is a challenge on a good day. A new vehicle can't be too low, or too high off the ground, or it causes major problems for a man with huge mobility problems.

Thankfully, we have nine days before I start working at The Home Depot! I'm wondering if I'm not going to have to ask someone for a ride for orientation, LOL.

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Speaking of the utilities ... I've already noticed big drops in my gas and electric usage. Gas bill has already dropped $20 a month (down from $140 a month), and that's just from the thermostat NOT being tampered with any more. I can't wait to see what the new high efficiency furnace will bring me savings wise!!

The electric bill is on a monthly payment plan. It's $101 a month. I'm expecting that bill to drop dramatically after my June low-income payment re-evaluation. I barely use two or three lights/appliances at a time, where it used to look like Grand Central Station lit up around here!!

I also talked to the phone company, and managed to get my bill lowered by about $25 a month. Just for asking!! Well, I did tell them a bit about my financial situation, and they were more than willing to work with me to keep my service affordable to me. Guess being a life-long customer helps, eh?

Since Mom pays the water and sewer bill, I'm not sure what those bills will see as far as savings, but I know they'll be much lower with a whole lot less showers, loads of laundry and even toilet flushes around here.

Speaking of toilets, LOL, I found the toilet plunger. Seems Drama-rama didn't steal it after all! Nope, one of them took it down to the laundry room to unplug the laundry tub down there, and never returned it to it's place in the bathroom. It fell behind the washing machine, had I not dropped something under the laundry tub, I'd never have spotted the handle poking from behind the washer. Don't get me started with them using it to unclog the laundry tub. Needless to say, about a gallon and a half later of bleach in the laundry tub, and I'm sooooo over this having "room mates" thing!

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On Good Friday I was informed by BossMan that he's closing down One Time Express. There wasn't enough profit in it ... which I can understand. I haven't been paid in five weeks now!! That's $500 that he owes me for those weeks. And I need it. I kinda wanna eat, you know? Thankfully, Mom's come through for me again ... with a gift card to the local grocery store and cleaning out her pantry of food she claims she won't eat. Right, we believe that, don't we?

Anyway, he's shut down 1te for good. I have about three more weeks of paperwork to do (as it comes in) and I'll be done working for 1te.

BossMan starts work for a local towing company tomorrow.

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Easter Sunday was a bad day here. There were no plans for the day, which was fine with me. I texted BossMan telling him Happy Easter, and asked if he could do me a favor on Monday by taking me to the bank so I could deposit the money Mom had loaned me for the bills. Instead of getting a "sorry Mom, I'm busy tomorrow but how about on Tuesday" he jumps down my throat with a "why does everyone assume I have nothing to do but sit in the couch with my thumb up my ass?" Of course, that lead to a pretty nasty text-message fight.

In the meantime, he's also texting Alien, telling her that he thinks I'm being unrealistic about wanting Gizmo to replace the vehicle that he destroyed. That it's MY fault, that I shouldn't have loaned him the vehicle to begin with. Alien tried to reason with him, but failed. BossMan then goes on to say all sorts of crap that really angered Alien. That I'm unreasonable for the bill money, and that if I think he's going to pay rent for staying here, I'm full of it.

Alien texted me asking if she could be my only child. And then proceeded to tell me about the lengthy text-fight they got in too.

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A bunch of ingrates, that's what my sons are. Forget the seven years I housed BossMan AND his family, and two long time live in girlfriends of Gizmo's, and didn't get anything in return except for their messes, demands, bullcrap and lies.

Nope, I'm done ... DONE ... none of them will be moving back in this, or the next dozen, lifetimes.

And no, BossMan hasn't been sleeping here. Today is the second time I've seen him in the last week. Maybe an hour or two at a time. He says he's crashing on Gizmo's couch. Funny, since he claims that Drama-rama grinds on his nerves. But whatever, Hotel Momma is closed.

Now, for him to pay me what he owes me ... AND get his crap out of here, too!!