Well, the past week and half have been full of little things. First, the AC guy, who was supposed to come to my house on a Friday, didn't. I left work early and even called them twice, at about 4:30 pm and 6:00 pm to verify that he was coming. At first I was told the ticket was closed... they left a note on my door. I said, no that would have been yesterday. I've been here since 2:00 pm (he was due after 3:00 pm) and no one has been here. Oops... he found it. He'll be there. Same conversation an hour and half later. No AC guy on Friday. However, he did come on Saturday, which really surprised me. Turns out that the way it was installed, it's vibrating something against the framing or something in the wall. Ya think? And, how do they fix this? The AC guy tried moving the pipe from the AC unit to the house a bit and oochied the AC unit over a bit on the it's concrete pad. The result - it's not as bad, but it's still there. I'm thinking that vibration in the wall can't be a good thing and will cause some type of problem eventually. And now the programmable thermostat changes settings 15 minutes ahead of what I programmed. I'm thinking they'll be back at my house some time soon.
The people who are supposed to fix the ding in my back door didn't show up either. I re-scheduled for last Friday. Left work early, but was still running behind. Called them to confirm I would definitely be there, but might be late. Their response. The tech is still in South neighboring city and probably won't make it today. I'll have him call you. He didn't show and he didn't call. I'm tempted to live with the darn ding, but it's the principle of the thing. I've been trying since I moved in in January to get the ding fixed.
So, several items still remain from this last round with the builder. I'm going to continue thinking the house itself is sound, but this builder's finish out work I'm not impressed with. I doubt I'd buy a house from them again or recommend them to anyone. Really a shame, since they are supposed to be one of the better builders in the area. Makes you wonder.
Then I spent a weekend killing spiders. I don't particularly mind small ones (don't really like them either), but after killing several large ones, I called the pest control company. I could do this, since the one repair that did get done on time was the sheet rocking for the window above the door. I have tubes in the wall of my house where they spray. But, for the first visit they come out and treat inside the house as well. Service still includes treating the yard and outside the doors and windows. I'm very bug phobic, so this is a very good thing. He also knocked out two wasps nest, one which was above my front door. This guy showed up on time and did an awesome job. You always run the risk of seeing more bugs before less. So far, not in my house, but, ugh... some really big, thankfully dead, spiders on the porches. Moths, too, which is kind of sad cause I don't mind those. Never seen this many moths, though.
Exercise. Ack... not so good for the past couple of weeks. Had to be home early three times to meet repair people, plus some not so good weather equals very little gym time. I think I went twice one week and three times the next. On the plus side, while I'm still having some joint problems, nothing like when I was doing step aerobics. I'm hoping once things settle down with the home repairs, I can get back to a more regular schedule.
Not that I haven't gotten exercise in other forms. I have finally organized my garage! Naturally, I chose a hot, humid Saturday to do it and naturally, the rain and cold front moved through after I was done, but I got it done! Probably not as good as my Dad would have done, but he had some mutated gene for organizing that I don't have. I think he was just born with that ability and alas, he did not pass it on. However, I now have some usable space in the garage and can start going through boxes that were in storage and getting rid of stuff. That's the goal at least.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Exploding soda cans, alarm systems, and a stressed out kitty....
Well, last night my goal was to get to bed early so I could get to work early because the builder had arranged for warranty work to be done on my house this afternoon. Not to be. Right before bed, I decided to put a few more sodas in the refrigerator so they'd be cold for this afternoon. I dropped one, which is not an out of the ordinary thing. Well, it blew up. And, it set off my alarm system. I have a unit which is supposed to detect shattering glass (most alarms don't detect a broken window, just a window being raised or a door opening). Apparently, mine also detects exploding soda cans. It's a new system and is just a high pitched wail. It's awful. After I recovered from my heart attack, I looked for the cat. She was under the bed and there she stayed for quite a while.
I have a walk-in pantry and that's where I dropped the can. There was still soda in the can, so less that 12 oz got splattered. It was EVERYWHERE. I was amazed at all the places I had to clean soda up from. Thank goodness for the Swiffer mops... at least the floor isn't sticky. But, I didn't get to bed early. Kitty cat did eventually come out from under bed.
Today wasn't much better. One of the warranty jobs was someone to look at my AC unit. I'm not sure it's working up to par because it just stays kind of muggy in the house. Plus, in the master bedroom the noise is awful... this loud, grinding sound like something is going to burst through the wall any minute. All appointments were made for after 3:00 pm. Alas, the AC guy showed up at 11:55 am. I wasn't home. So, now I get to repeat this tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll both be here at the same time.
The other warranty work went okay, but while I have guys in the house with drills and hammers and blowers for texturizing the wall (short story - they forgot to sheet rock and finish the bottom of the window above the door), the yard guys showed up. It wasn't quiet by any means. Kitty was again under the bed. She didn't come out until she was good and sure everyone was gone.
The last warranty work had to do with my door knobs. Sounds weird and I felt like an idiot saying these door knobs feel "loose." (I did get second opinions before doing this). End result - the front door knob was installed wrong. It's been fixed. Three others actually have defects and will be replaced. It's nice to be validated.
I have a walk-in pantry and that's where I dropped the can. There was still soda in the can, so less that 12 oz got splattered. It was EVERYWHERE. I was amazed at all the places I had to clean soda up from. Thank goodness for the Swiffer mops... at least the floor isn't sticky. But, I didn't get to bed early. Kitty cat did eventually come out from under bed.
Today wasn't much better. One of the warranty jobs was someone to look at my AC unit. I'm not sure it's working up to par because it just stays kind of muggy in the house. Plus, in the master bedroom the noise is awful... this loud, grinding sound like something is going to burst through the wall any minute. All appointments were made for after 3:00 pm. Alas, the AC guy showed up at 11:55 am. I wasn't home. So, now I get to repeat this tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll both be here at the same time.
The other warranty work went okay, but while I have guys in the house with drills and hammers and blowers for texturizing the wall (short story - they forgot to sheet rock and finish the bottom of the window above the door), the yard guys showed up. It wasn't quiet by any means. Kitty was again under the bed. She didn't come out until she was good and sure everyone was gone.
The last warranty work had to do with my door knobs. Sounds weird and I felt like an idiot saying these door knobs feel "loose." (I did get second opinions before doing this). End result - the front door knob was installed wrong. It's been fixed. Three others actually have defects and will be replaced. It's nice to be validated.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Stormy Weather
Well, it's becoming a weekly thing and one I could do without. Last night we had severe thunderstorms. Up until yesterday, I'd had the good fortune to either be at home or at work and not in my car.
The storms were predicted, but nothing severe, so while it was overcast when I left work, I went to the gym. I'd missed Tuesday and was looking forward to a good bike ride and finishing my book (Curiosity Killed the Catsitter). Well, I did both. 35 minute bike ride to finish the book. I looked out the window at the gym to see that it was very dark. I should have left then, but it probably wouldn't have done me much good. I decided to skip the weights and just do sit-ups. Good thing. It was a little sprinkle on the walk to the car. By the time I made it to the main road to get home, it was POURING. I cross a major interstate almost as soon as I turn on that road and I could barely see it was coming down so hard. And, lightening. It was the surround you kind of lightening. Then the interstate intersection lights started flashing red, then they'd turn green. That made it a bit hairy. But, people weren't zipping and zooming like I've seen them do when it's "normal" rain. Then, a tornado warning - where I'm headed. I thought "what an idiot to be driving in this" but decided perseverance was my best option. It did let up after a while, but the water! I'm thinking "where's the flash flood warning?" Then, the radio announced the flash flood warning for my county. My thought was "ya think?" Again, everybody remained careful going through the water, which I was really grateful for. I thought I was home free when the rain let up. I wasn't. I was almost to the neighborhood, when the sky just fell out. Have I mentioned the wind? It was almost white because the rain was being blown completely sideways. I've never driven in anything like that and hope I don't again. Turning into my neighborhood, the trees near the park looked like what you see on TV when there are hurricanes. I probably went about 3 miles an hour because I simply couldn't see; I thought at that point stopping would probably be just as dangerous and just poked my way home. I gotta say I was really, really glad to have a garage to pull into. Home at last.
I ended the evening with no power. The storms had already passed by that time, so I thought it odd as I would have thought to lose power when it was pouring, but I guess it depends on where the power is coming from. At almost 10:00 pm, it flickered about 3 times and then was gone. Thank heavens I have a portable lantern so I was able to wrap things up and go to bed. I thought I'd know when it came back on, but apparently not. I woke up at about 2:00 a.m. and the power was on. I heard on the radio this morning that 300,000 customers lost power last night. The power company said they were finding trees not limbs on the power lines. Some people are still without power and may be for almost a week. It appears it took out a major transformer station (?) as well. They're calling in help from other parts of the state and Oklahoma. And, they said the winds were the equivalent of a category 1 hurricane.
This morning I could see bits and pieces of the storm. One traffic light on my route was still affected and a police officer was directing traffic. Branches and trash and other little signs that nature had really run through last night.
The storms were predicted, but nothing severe, so while it was overcast when I left work, I went to the gym. I'd missed Tuesday and was looking forward to a good bike ride and finishing my book (Curiosity Killed the Catsitter). Well, I did both. 35 minute bike ride to finish the book. I looked out the window at the gym to see that it was very dark. I should have left then, but it probably wouldn't have done me much good. I decided to skip the weights and just do sit-ups. Good thing. It was a little sprinkle on the walk to the car. By the time I made it to the main road to get home, it was POURING. I cross a major interstate almost as soon as I turn on that road and I could barely see it was coming down so hard. And, lightening. It was the surround you kind of lightening. Then the interstate intersection lights started flashing red, then they'd turn green. That made it a bit hairy. But, people weren't zipping and zooming like I've seen them do when it's "normal" rain. Then, a tornado warning - where I'm headed. I thought "what an idiot to be driving in this" but decided perseverance was my best option. It did let up after a while, but the water! I'm thinking "where's the flash flood warning?" Then, the radio announced the flash flood warning for my county. My thought was "ya think?" Again, everybody remained careful going through the water, which I was really grateful for. I thought I was home free when the rain let up. I wasn't. I was almost to the neighborhood, when the sky just fell out. Have I mentioned the wind? It was almost white because the rain was being blown completely sideways. I've never driven in anything like that and hope I don't again. Turning into my neighborhood, the trees near the park looked like what you see on TV when there are hurricanes. I probably went about 3 miles an hour because I simply couldn't see; I thought at that point stopping would probably be just as dangerous and just poked my way home. I gotta say I was really, really glad to have a garage to pull into. Home at last.
I ended the evening with no power. The storms had already passed by that time, so I thought it odd as I would have thought to lose power when it was pouring, but I guess it depends on where the power is coming from. At almost 10:00 pm, it flickered about 3 times and then was gone. Thank heavens I have a portable lantern so I was able to wrap things up and go to bed. I thought I'd know when it came back on, but apparently not. I woke up at about 2:00 a.m. and the power was on. I heard on the radio this morning that 300,000 customers lost power last night. The power company said they were finding trees not limbs on the power lines. Some people are still without power and may be for almost a week. It appears it took out a major transformer station (?) as well. They're calling in help from other parts of the state and Oklahoma. And, they said the winds were the equivalent of a category 1 hurricane.
This morning I could see bits and pieces of the storm. One traffic light on my route was still affected and a police officer was directing traffic. Branches and trash and other little signs that nature had really run through last night.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Exercise and supermarkets
It's beautiful today. Sunny and breezy and mild. This is especially nice since Tuesday severe storms once again rolled through the area. Even though I left work late (by almost an hour), I still went to the gym. I have a lot to do tonight and tried to talk myself out of it, but then I thought I'd probably just come home and watch tv. What a slug. So, I went. I rode the bike and finished off with sit-ups. I didn't do the full workout, but I still went and I'm proud of that. Especially since I tried talking myself out of it.
Last week was different, but some hard lessons. I did yoga on Monday, the step class on Tuesday and Thursday (when it's a Step Jam class, basically more pepped up), and the bike and free weights on Wednesday. After each step class I did free weights, either leg or arms, and sit-ups. Thursday almost killed me - literally. I've been having problems with my hips and I was just in pain after that class. So, I took Friday and the weekend off and decided to play the aerobics by ear this week. Well, with the storms on Tuesday and not feeling really well anyway, I just headed home. However, I did exercise Monday, Wednesday and tonight. And, I'm pretty sure I'll go tomorrow. That's four days and it ain't bad. I'm also going to aim for Yoga sometime this weekend. I used to do that Sunday mornings, but if Church Search continues (see previous post), I'll either be doing it really early or later in the day. The two churches I'm considering though have 10:00 services, which is a nice time. So, if I'm particularly energetic I could do yoga before church. Wouldn't that be nice?
You're probably wondering why the supermarket part? Well, this past Saturday, co-worker LH and I went to Central Market. It was my first time to visit one even though there was one available where I lived (in TX) before. Oh my gosh. What a cool store! They had a great patio area to enjoy lunch. We just got sandwiches, but they were very good and very reasonably priced. The weather was nice, so we got to eat outside. Although, they don't anchor the umbrellas that are at some of the tables, so when the wind gusted, which it did several times, these umbrellas fell over the table. Thank goodness no one got hit, but it added an extra dimension to lunch keeping an out for a falling umbrella. After eating, we headed inside, first stopping to look at their plants. The had a very nice collection of herbs. I've always wanted to do an herb garden. Plants aside, this is just a grocery store, which I really liked. They weren't trying to hawk clothes or office supplies or electronics or anything else. Though they did have a very nice selection of organic personal care products (shower gel, bubble bath, make up, candles). I was happy to see the organic personal care products as several months ago I started using organic products for my facial cleanser hoping it would help with my extremely sensitive skin. So far, so good.
Grocery shopping was just as fun. An awesome veggie and fruit area, along with meats. If you're in to wine they had plenty of that, too. My favorite isle was probably the chocolate/candy isle. Oh, the selection they had! Also, European cookies, including Hit cookies, which brought back fond memories of my trip to Germany many years ago. And, I lucked into flavored water, without sugar. So far, I've sampled three flavors and like them all. Friend TW and I liked Le Nature, but it became very hard to find upon arrival in AR. Haven't seen it since I moved back to TX either. This was a bit more expensive, but it is also 20 oz as opposed to 16 oz for the Le Nature. I've been taking a bottle to work as I'm trying to increase my water intake and reduce my soda intake. I was very proud of myself this afternoon, when instead of getting another soda, I drank the water and didn't miss the soda. Hmmm... maybe that means it won't take me long to develop that habit. It'd be good for me.
Last week was different, but some hard lessons. I did yoga on Monday, the step class on Tuesday and Thursday (when it's a Step Jam class, basically more pepped up), and the bike and free weights on Wednesday. After each step class I did free weights, either leg or arms, and sit-ups. Thursday almost killed me - literally. I've been having problems with my hips and I was just in pain after that class. So, I took Friday and the weekend off and decided to play the aerobics by ear this week. Well, with the storms on Tuesday and not feeling really well anyway, I just headed home. However, I did exercise Monday, Wednesday and tonight. And, I'm pretty sure I'll go tomorrow. That's four days and it ain't bad. I'm also going to aim for Yoga sometime this weekend. I used to do that Sunday mornings, but if Church Search continues (see previous post), I'll either be doing it really early or later in the day. The two churches I'm considering though have 10:00 services, which is a nice time. So, if I'm particularly energetic I could do yoga before church. Wouldn't that be nice?
You're probably wondering why the supermarket part? Well, this past Saturday, co-worker LH and I went to Central Market. It was my first time to visit one even though there was one available where I lived (in TX) before. Oh my gosh. What a cool store! They had a great patio area to enjoy lunch. We just got sandwiches, but they were very good and very reasonably priced. The weather was nice, so we got to eat outside. Although, they don't anchor the umbrellas that are at some of the tables, so when the wind gusted, which it did several times, these umbrellas fell over the table. Thank goodness no one got hit, but it added an extra dimension to lunch keeping an out for a falling umbrella. After eating, we headed inside, first stopping to look at their plants. The had a very nice collection of herbs. I've always wanted to do an herb garden. Plants aside, this is just a grocery store, which I really liked. They weren't trying to hawk clothes or office supplies or electronics or anything else. Though they did have a very nice selection of organic personal care products (shower gel, bubble bath, make up, candles). I was happy to see the organic personal care products as several months ago I started using organic products for my facial cleanser hoping it would help with my extremely sensitive skin. So far, so good.
Grocery shopping was just as fun. An awesome veggie and fruit area, along with meats. If you're in to wine they had plenty of that, too. My favorite isle was probably the chocolate/candy isle. Oh, the selection they had! Also, European cookies, including Hit cookies, which brought back fond memories of my trip to Germany many years ago. And, I lucked into flavored water, without sugar. So far, I've sampled three flavors and like them all. Friend TW and I liked Le Nature, but it became very hard to find upon arrival in AR. Haven't seen it since I moved back to TX either. This was a bit more expensive, but it is also 20 oz as opposed to 16 oz for the Le Nature. I've been taking a bottle to work as I'm trying to increase my water intake and reduce my soda intake. I was very proud of myself this afternoon, when instead of getting another soda, I drank the water and didn't miss the soda. Hmmm... maybe that means it won't take me long to develop that habit. It'd be good for me.
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