Progress....

The picture is of my peach tree in bloom! It didn't die! I'm so very happy that it survived the winter and is coming alive with the rest of nature. Even the rose bush that I thought I might have killed is coming out in fine form.

The past couple of weeks have been hectic. My Mom paid her second visit to my house over the Easter weekend. But, we worked. New carpet was laid in the living/dining room and the master bedroom. It was about as I expected. We had all the breakables packed away though and most of the small stuff out of the way. The carpet layers (whose English wasn't good as was expected) did a great job. I've never seen carpet being laid before and it was interesting. And, there is a carpet pad under there. I wasn't really sure. The best part though, is there is no longer a stripe in my living room where the carpet pieces didn't match. And, for some reason, which neither my Mom nor I can figure out, this carpet looks better and feels better. It's supposed to be the exact same carpet, but it just seems to be of a better quality. I'm not complaining, though. I'm just terribly pleased to not have to look at that stripe anymore.

Then this past Friday, the drainage was fixed! I finally contacted the Warranty Manager (builder rep guy) and asked what the deal was. I knew they'd been out to look at the yard a month ago, but I'd heard nothing. So, he and the irrigation guy came out the Thursday before last, drew up the sketch for the drainage and it was done last Friday. I got home at three and they had dug the trench for the left side of the house, which was the worst. The crew leader recognized this right away. He also asked me, almost immediately, if they were going to fix the driveway. They tell me they will, but apparently they haven't figured out how yet because I haven't heard anything on that. Though, honestly, until the drainage was fixed, it was probably best not to fix the driveway. Now it can rain all it wants.

Then the really interesting thing. A week ago Thursday the foundation repair guys also showed up to cut the post tension cable that wasn't. Their English wasn't good either and I couldn't understand what they were trying to tell me. Finally, they called their manager and he explained it to me. According to him, the cable was cut when the house was built. Something happened and it "popped out." There was no tension on it. So, they were supposed to come the next day (same day as the carpet guys) to pull the cable and put in a new one. They were also supposed to call before they came. Well, they didn't. After the carpet guys left, we were starving, so we went to eat. While we were gone, they came and apparently pulled the cable (I could see the trail from the cable). Since I wasn't here, I have to go on faith that they put in a new cable, because it is now sealed. I've asked Warranty manager for a letter stating what exactly they did. I'm concerned for when I sell the house. I need to be able to disclose these things.

Apparently, I've scared off Warranty Manager. He's assigning me to another Warranty Manager. I finally got fed up and said if folks were sent to my house and I wasn't here I wanted a letter or some other documentation saying who was here, what they did, and what actions would or would not be taken. I'm still waiting to get a report from the roofing company; apparently they were here the week of Feb 13th, but I wouldn't know for sure since I wasn't told they were coming so I was at work. We'll see how new Warranty Manager handles things. Hopefully a little speedier than old Warranty Manager.

Happy Birthday, Kitty Cat....

Tomorrow is Kitty Cat's birthday. She'll be 9. I got her when she was a little over a year old. Hard to believe we've been together for 8 years. Seems like just yesterday that I brought her home. She settled in quickly and has trained me well.

Here she's checking out my new dining room buffet.

In case you're curious...

This is my driveway, or half of it anyway. The crack goes all the way across. And, with each rain it gets worse. It's quite uneven now. Many of the driveways have cracks, but they are at the joints. Mine seems to be the only one that has cracked this way. The builder is trying to figure out the best way to fix this so it doesn't happen again. They've been at this for at least 4 months. Doesn't give one a lot of faith in the builder.

And, I haven't heard from the builder rep guy in a month, so this week I'll e-mail him again. We're supposed to get more rain tomorrow and Tuesday which just means all the various cracks and problems I have will continue to get worse. And, I've come to realize that unless I constantly nag, this guy isn't going to do anything. I'm fairly sure he's got a lot on his plate, but I don't think I should have to nag him. But, I will. I'm guessing he'll soon get very tired of me. That's okay. I figure I paid good money for this house, they can uphold their end of the bargain.

Another backyard visitor...

Early this afternoon, I headed to my backyard with a bottle of Round-up to kill the thistle weeds threatening to take over the back fence row. It's a shame the bottom half is so ugly cause the blooms are actually kind of pretty. Make a note - get the large size next time. I had a lot of them. I hit the side of the yard where big green grassy weeds are growing. These aren't really bothering me too much; I was checking for lurking thistle thingys. I almost missed my little visitor. But, there it was, nestled among the tall grass - a young rabbit. To my amazement it didn't do anything. Just stayed put. Naturally I didn't spray that area and I kept a close eye along the rest of the fence for little rabbit buddies. Alas I didn't see any.

And, birds seemed to have found one bird feeder. For some reason they don't like the other one. I think they might be Robins as they have red breasts, but I can't tell for sure. I'm just happy to see a little wildlife back there.

I spoke with an independent yard guy last Friday and he should do the initial cut and weed and feed next week. Thank heavens - an yard intervention won't be required.