Blooming Plants... among other things

After over a year, maybe even two, my African Violet has decided to bloom again! I got the camera out and did a little experimenting and came up with what I think is a pretty good photo. I'm hoping the second bud opens soon so I can try it again with the two blooms.

On the home front, it continues to move slowly. I got a call last weekend from someone wanting to schedule an independent carpet inspector to come to my house and check out the carpet. I didn't know there was such a thing or that one needed to come to my house. I thought the carpet guy had already been here. It appears that the flooring company that installed the carpet filed a claim with the mill and the mill requested the carpet inspector. Takes more time away from work, but it's gotta be done. She came out Wednesday. Nice lady. Apparently it was installed wrong; it's a dye problem with the carpet. And, if you look carefully, it's also present in the master bedroom. She says it's fairly common and that she sees it a lot. In all my years, I've never seen anything like the stripe you see in my living room where the two carpet pieces were put in. So, I guess I'll take her word for it. At any rate, she said her report would be turned in by yesterday (Friday) and I should hear something within the next couple of weeks. We'll see how quick builder rep is at getting that information to me.

It's been cold and rainy and just icky today, so I've pretty much holed up in the house. However, when I looked out the window at the rain earlier today, I noticed my driveway is much worse. One side of the crack is now noticeably higher than the other. And the rain won't make it any better. Builder rep supposedly has been out to my house with the folks who are going to correct the drainage. I hope it's soon. But, according to rep guy, they are still in discussion on the best way to fix the driveway. Ummm... rebar maybe?

I had a landscaper out to the house for ideas on the front flower bed and the back yard. His first question though was what was up with the driveway. He's done home construction before and has never seen anything like that. He got down and peered into the crack. Couldn't see any steel. The rebar comment was his. But, he's like the third person to say that. I looked at the driveway across the street, which was poured recently. They put steel in the end of the driveway but not in the part above the sidewalk. Maybe that explains why they've had to replace so many. At any rate, the builder has been debating since December on the best way to fix mine and the others. I'm ready for them to make a decision.

Back to the landscaper. I gave him my budget after we talked. He didn't seem scared off. He actually suggested that we focus on the front flower bed and the back patio, which I agree with and which was my get started plan. So, hopefully, this one will follow through.

New stuff....

The past month has been full of new stuff. First, a new vacuum cleaner. Yes, those of us with basically no life enjoy getting a new vacuum cleaner. Especially when the new one works! I don't know why it took me months to realize that the one I had wasn't working. I'd vacuum and you couldn't really tell. Of everything to do with house cleaning, I'm the pickiest about floors; I hate dirty floors or natty looking carpet. So, I did a bit of research. Consumer Reports now rates vacuums on how well they pick up pet hair in addition to their other factors. Having a cat that sheds just cause, I wanted a vacuum sure to get the pet hair up. Their highest rated was a Kenmore of all things. I'd just about decided on another high end brand (with awesome customer reviews), but CR rated it pretty low. So, I checked out the user comments for the Kenmore. Over the top. Well, it was cheaper than the other brand and that weekend was on sale, $100 off. So, I got it. Oh, gosh. How lovely to have a vacuum cleaner that actually picks up lint off the floor and the pet hair and the kitty litter. After my first run through the house, I checked the bag - it was full! Since I wasn't sure about the vacuum, I didn't get extra bags. I have extra bags now.

Last weekend, my new furniture arrived. I love the buffet! It's perfect where it sits and will provide awesome storage. I'm just tickled every time I look at it. The TV credenza and coffee table are great, too. Again, great storage. I'm put all my video's in the credenza and only used half the space! However, my bookcase and the TV credenza on the same wall is just too much, so I'll be re-arranging furniture. Probably going to move the bookcase into my home office, which I had given thought to doing off and for the past year.

My last new item is kinda little, but one I'm also throughly enjoying. A rice cooker, with a steamer tray. I debated on this off and on for quite a while and finally got one. Oh, gosh, it's great. Just put the rice and water in and it cooks up wonderful rice. This has been really good because with my move toward better, more healthy eating, I've been eating more rice and including it in the dishes I take to work for lunch. Being able to dump the stuff in and leave it is great. I'm hoping to try more varieties of rice as well.

And, speaking of the new, healthy me. It's not going as fast as I'd like, but so far I've lost 18 pounds. Some weeks are slower than others, but fortunately there has been no gain. And that makes me happy. Some of my clothes are getting very droopy, but I'm hoping to wait until I lose at least 10 more pounds before shopping for new clothes. Spin class is still the longest hour of the week, but I like the results, so I'm still going on Saturday mornings.

The Verdict...

I'm a little behind on this post, but I thought I'd have more to post. I spent the morning of December 27th dealing with various house issues, including getting the engineer's report from the builder's rep. Big surprise, the drainage needs to be fixed. The house isn't level, but it's not structural yet. So, the builder's going to fix the drainage. The recommendations were pretty much in line with what I'd been told by someone else. Course, I've not heard anything from builder rep guy since and he's out of the office until the 28th. Sigh.

There were some other things. Two were complaints I'd lodged when I first moved in - the water pressure and the carpet in the living room. The water pressure was low, but builder rep said it was the city. The inspector picked up on it again. So, since toilet issues in the guest bath, he had the plumber look at it. Well, it was set at almost half of what it was supposed to be! I have water pressure now! I'm thrilled and more than a little peeved that when I reported it in January he just blew it off. Then the carpet. There's a line where the two pieces meet in the living room. Kind of hard to miss. Last January's reply, Oh well. Reply in December was that the seams just needed smoothing. Carpet guy came out. Carpet guy took pictures. He has no idea how they laid the carpet the way they did. The naps for the two pieces are running in two different directions (i.e. one runs N-S and one runs E-W). One piece will have to be replaced. My question: this carpet has been in the house a year - how do you match it after a year? Still waiting to hear.

Guys also came to adjust the sprinklers. Very little English, but they did a great job. A/C guy stopped by to check the study, which is hard to heat and cool due to 12 ft ceilings. End result - they came back out and ran duct work to put that room on it's own duct. I was impressed and it's helped a bit. Some other minor issues were taken care of as well.

However, the driveway is still cracked (almost in two pieces), the roof and gutters haven't been looked at, and no one has addressed the drainage. The post tension cable that wasn't cut still isn't cut. And, of course, none of the interior damage from the shifting has been fixed because I'd like to have the cause fixed first. And, now I get to wait another week to hear from the builder rep. I'm getting more than a little peeved.

Decision made....

I've come to a decision regarding the house. I did look at others, both online and in person. The in person looks were for new construction. I looked at floor plans similar to mine as well as townhomes. I like the idea of a townhome, especially since the one I saw was geared more toward working professionals than families. The size wasn't bad, but by the time you account for stairs, and other layout features, the builders had sacrificed in the kitchen. Nice kitchens, just small. I'd prefer a bit more room in the kitchen since I like to bake and I'm trying to cook more.

The look sees were to help me determine what to do. What I decided to do was stay where I am... commit to this house. May sound strange, but given the current housing market and the fact that new homes are still available in my neighborhood, I don't think it would be all that easy to sell my house, especially with the problems I have right now. The only way that would work well for me would be if the builder bought it back and I don't see that happening. So, I'm staying put.

The builder is responsible for everything that is happening. Many neighbors have problems with their driveways, but most of their problems have occurred at the joints, where mine is cracked across the middle. The builder did send out an Engineer last Monday, after I stated in an e-mail that I was considering it. Actually, I think it was a technician and he had the personality of a limp dishrag. His demeanor reeked of "I've got better things to do than be at a new house determining if it's moving, but we have to accommodate the flaky female." He would have done the whole thing without talking to me if he could have. He only did a cursory look of the problems in the house. I pointed out the cracks in the brick of the house, but I'm guessing his "inspection" of the rest of the house was as lackadaisical as his "inspection" of the interior of the house. I asked his thoughts. He didn't have any. He said the sloping by the house was good. I just looked at him. He then said the sides did have some problems. His final statement. He'd take the numbers back to the office and someone (the way he phrased it, it's not him) would put them in the computer and then they'd know. The report should be to me this coming week. I won't be surprised if they say, nope, not a problem. And, then I'll probably have to go get another engineer, one that I pay, not the builder. We got more rain this past week. Several days worth and on Friday night it came down hard. As you can guess, the sides of my house are really soggy, I can see more seams showing up in the ceiling, one crack is wider, and one seam has now cracked. I'm not sure I want the builder to do the repairs as I feel some of them are due to poor workmanship. My alternative though, is to pay for it myself and I don't think I should have to do that. I'm really trying to hold out though until the cause of the shifting is complete, otherwise, I'll be repairing every six to eight months or so or figuring how large a crack I can live with while the house settles.

And, to firm up my commitment to the house, I celebrated my birthday by buying new furniture! Yep, three new pieces coming at the beginning of January. I got a new TV credenza (which should be much better suited for the size of the tv I got last year), a new coffee table (I've had my current one for almost 18 years and it was given to me, meaning it was old when I got it), and a buffet for the dining area. The buffet was the one piece I didn't think I wanted, but it's the one I'm the most psyched about. What storage it has! Of course, this means, I have to de-clutter some spaces, so that's what I'll be doing over my Christmas break. We have a week and half off, so after traveling to Louisiana for Christmas, I'll hunker down and organize my house in preparation for my new furniture. I'm also trying to program in time to visit with friends as well. Definitely looking forward to the time off.

And, for a kitty cat update. I finally got freaked enough about her and the bald spot she created that on my last visit to the vet I got a diffuser for Feliway. It's a hormone based product that is supposed to sooth stressed kitties. I call it kitty aromatherapy. I had no expectations, but was getting desperate. I think it's working! It appears she's getting fur in her bald spot and she's much more her "old" self. She's not hiding in her chair under the dining room table. She comes into the kitchen with me in the morning, follows me at night. And, last night, for the first time in almost a year, she helped me change the sheets on the bed. The Feliway isn't cheap, but if it works, I'll stick with it.