Friday

Yesterday Marvin (#1 boy cat) appeared to have a swollen eye. Probably the result of a "slap on the face" from one of the "girls". So we made an appointment with the vet. Today his eye looked better but we took him anyway. You should have heard the noises he made on the short 1.5 mile trip to the vet. He sounded scared, mad, nervous, angry - all at the same time. Two shots (rabies & distemper) later and he repeated the performance all the way home. His eye was clear. We decided to take the girls in too. One at a time. Much meowing, hissing, and slapping. Just for shots. Well, I hadn't had them in since 1998 so I guess it was time. Polly has real bad teeth. After the move we will look into that.

Other than that the day was rather calm. I did go over and preview the color the finisher had applied. It will look great.
Next week we should have everything finished; Lights, ceiling tiles, carpet and appiances delivered. Then the move....

Wednesday

It's 2:50 pm and the plummer finally showed up. He was due at 9:00 this morning. I skipped swiming so I would be here for him to let him in etc. We installed a tall toilet in our unit two years ago and want to take it with us. So the toilet in #9 went to #1 & vice versa. That chore is done.
The electrician, who I wanted to come in this week, won't be able to come until next Monday. That means that the ceiling guy won't be in to drop the rest of the ceiling in until Tuesday? But the carpet is due to be installed Tuesday.....
It will all come together in the end, I know, but it is rather frustraiting, especially since I was unable to do much else today except wait.....and pack boxes.
I did send my entertainment center and dining room table out to get refinished. They will be stained dark Mahogany to match the chairs and end tables.

Old Pictures

For Christmas, Robin always wanted what the boys asked for. Skate board - not skates; sports stuff - not dolls. One year I got her a toy sewing machine - I don't know if she asked for it or not. Anyway, it was the first "girly" thing she took interest in and now she is an accomplished quilter/designer/fabric artist.

We're getting there

The vinyl is all in and the trap door looks great. The grid work for the ceiling is finished. I purchased new light fixtures today and will get rid of the ceiling fan that was in the bedroom. So, the electrician finishes up. The ceiling guy follows him. And then the sewing room gets put together. And finally the carpet gets laid. By the second week of May we should be calling the movers to haul down the bed and dressers etc. And I'm looking at what to do with the back yard.
Went to the doctor yesterday for my annual physical. I had had my blood work done so she could review it with me. ALL the numbers are within the normal range. Hooray!! My cholesterol is 190; Triglicerides are 90; and HDL is 57. With these three numbers so good the fact that the LDL is 115 does not bother her (should be below 100). So, all in all I'm feeling pretty good.

baby name

And her name is:
Anessa Elizabeth Francesca Kruczek.
Good thing she doesn't have to learn how to spell all of that before she graduates from Kindergarten. lol

Baby

She appears to have Chinese Eyes. What do you think?

Little miss bright eyes. Seems to be very curious about her new world. Only one day old and so allert.
Wish I could be there to hold her. I've got tickets for June.

I'm a Great Grandmother

My first born in now a grandfather. His first born delivered a little girl this afternoon, weighing in at 6 pounds, 8 ounces, she is 20 inches long and has gobs of black hair (so, her grandma says). The name - Anesia - I'm not sure of the spelling.

Workmen

Lets, see. The front entry way tile is now down and grouted. I feel like we are finally on our way. Had the electrician in yesterday. He gave me power to the north end of my living room (where the walls were torn down). Very good, ' cause that's where the computer goes. I got a chance to go into the crawl space. I wonder how much trouble I'd get into if it excavated down a bit so I could stand up down there. I was hoping to put plastic bins there but the dirt floor isn't level. Well, it is where the furnace and AC are but the rest of it sort of slopes up to the footings.
We decided to replace the patio door. It is of the old aluminum vintage. The guy comes today to measure. Carpenter comes to make repairs to the scared areas, and the realtor is showing our place again. Have had lots of visits but no nibbles yet.

Tuesday

The tile man took up the subflooring at the entry way and found concrete. The plywood was only glued to the concrete so he cleaned up the surface and put a "leveling compound" over it and will come back and lay the tile tomorrow.
While he was there, I had asked the carpenter to come in and decide what he would need to fix the bare ends of the walls (where the old walls were removed). He thought I meant for him to do the work today. But he couldn't do that with the tile man working at the front door. He left in a bit of a huff. Said he would be back on Friday. I hope so.
The carpet guy brought three boards of carpet samples today (because the one I picked out isn't available). I picked a Mohawk in Rainforest green. Then the carpet I picked for the bedroom looked dead so I changed to Lavender (very soft and warm). I will certainly be glad when all of this is a done deal and we can finally move something into the unit.
Sydney has her class music performance tonight.
I still need to look at a new slider to go out on the patio. The one there is very old, single glass and aluminum frame. Talk about energy loss.

Monday

How does that go? The only thing for certain is change? Well, that seems to be my life of late. Last week the carpet sales person called to say that the tile I had selected was not available therefore, the installation could not occure today (Monday). I picked out a new tile, which he assured me could be delivered Wednesday (day after tomorrow) and installed on Friday. So I called the ceiling installer and put him off till next week. Today I am informed that the tile will probably be here Tuesday noon so the installer is going to prep the area tomorrow and probably install in the afternoon, finishing Wednesday. That will be one job finished. The vinyl will be installed next Monday.
Then, today (Monday) he tells me that the carpet I chose .. You got it.. isn't available and won't be made until May for a middle of the month ship date. BUT he can probably get the same color in Mohawk .. at the same price. (I'd like to know the price of the one I'm not getting and the price of the one I am getting to see if I really am getting a "deal".) And if he can get the livingroom carpet in the emerald green I want it would be a good idea to order the bedroom carpet from the same manufacturer because then they would be the same heighth. OK. I"ll look at samples tomorrow.
Wilst I was contemplating the hanging of the ceiling I suddenly realized that the wall scar where I tore out the room divider should be repaired before the ceiling guy comes in. Quick call to my carpenter. He'll be here tomorrow to have a look-see. Hopefully he will be here in the morning -- but, the tile man will be here in the morning -- EEEEK! The tile man doesn't want anyone walking through where he will be working and since it is the front (and only) door...
And I wonder why my sholder is in constant tensness.
Happy spring.

Unit #1

I typed up a whole paragraph just a minute ago and inadvertently deleted it all. Bummer. Let's see if I can remember what I said.
I didn't get much sleep last night because I am fussing about what happens next in the remodle. Sunday the walls came down. Tuesday the carpets came up. Wednesday the painter began - he did my bedroom and all the prepwork. Today he is finishing up. I have a call in to the electrician, plummer and phone guys. They can come at any time. The ceiling sample came back with asbestos so I am dropping the ceiling. That guy finally returned my call today. He should be able to work me in the end of next week. I hope so. The carpet can't be laid until the ceiling and walls are finished. So, then it looks like the first week of May is our move time frame. Mind you, I have been taking a load down each time I go down the stairs. Yesterday the carpenter came and dissasembled the built-ins I have in the sewing room. He hauled them to unit #1 but could not install because the vinyl hasn't been laid. So they are in the dining room. I have half of my "stuff" from the sewing room in my livingroom here and the other half in the kitchen there. Moving is such fun.
There, I'm not going to do a spell check this time as that is what deleted my first attempt.

And the walls came tumbling down

Here are Jason and his son Joshua (Jerry's son and grandson) working dillegently to remove the rock facing on the wall that would have been my computer room. It will now be part of the living room in my new unit. Lots of dust and rubble but it's all gone now. I have to call an electrician to see what can be done about the electrical at that end of the building (there is none now). Things are moving along.

The ceiling

As you can see by this picture of the living room ceiling, I have a big UGLY going on throughout the entire unit. The ceiling in the kitchen/dining area has been dropped but the ceilings in the rest of the unit look like this. Those beams are concrete supports covered with that sprayed accostical stuff. I have a sample in to the lab now for testing. If it contains asbestos, I will have the ceiling dropped. If it does not, I will have plasterboard installed. I'm not at all sure which is the least expensive way to go. At this point I really do not care as the uglyness just has to "go away". Why would I want to keep dirty ceilings that have those ugly beams when I'm getting new carpet and fresh paint? You agree, right? Today we purchase the paint. Hopefully, next week the carpet comes up and the painting begins and I find out what will happen with the ceiling.

This is my sewing room floor sample. There are green leaves, yellowish/tanish flowers and a hard to describe purple that I will try to pull for the walls. Definitely not what I have in my sewing room now. The carpet man dropped it off. Glad he did 'cause I need to take it to the paint store. 

Wednesday

Picked out carpet, entry tile and vynil for the sewing room yesterday. Today we picked out the washer/dryer & fridg. This is all very tireing. Next, I suppose is to find the right color for the walls. Now is the time I guess I should get the flooring samples to put beside the paint chips.
The ceiling is still a mystery. There are really ugly cement beams running through the unit. They have sprayed them with that popcorn stuff. I'd like to just cover it over with sheetrock. Hope I can find someone who is willing and able to do that.
I haven't started packing up anything yet. The realtor is already showing this unit. I hope this all falls into place and we are out of here (meaning this unit has been sold) and into the new one by the middle of May.

Looks interesting

My daughter, Robin found this website and is doing the challenge. Here's the plan for the week. Each day she'll focus on one color when taking photos. I've decided to participate in Kerstin's week of colors challenge, but not just now. Robin will take a pictures and post her best on her web sit http://quiltantics.blogspot.com/. If you decided to do this challenge too, e-mail me so I can see your pictures.

Monday morning

Last Sunday our pastor informed the congregation that he was being transferred to Salmon Creek UMC in July. There were tears is sadness in the congregation.

This week he announced that his father had died. Sighs on Ohhh, then Julie (minister of education) got up and prayed a beautifully touching prayer of supplication and comfort for Mark to be able to greive and heal. Hardly a dry eye in the house.

Julie is a loving person. I love her prayers, her mind is sharp and her heart is only for the Lord. She is trying to jump through the Methodist hoops to become an ordained minister. She has all the schooling in the Presbyterian church but is switching to Methodist. Her sermons are getting better, still reads a lot but she is getting easier with delivery. I think she will make a great loving pastor of a small church that needs nurturing. I think Central would be too much just because it is a big facility with lots of people set in their ways and we do minister to the downtown people (a challenge in and of itself).

Saturday evening

Well the auction is over. We only made a little over $2000. I am really bummed. We worked so hard and there were no bidders in the audience. My tea party went for $10. Should have gotten $75 at least. A full Mexican dinner for 6 went for $10. That is pure bull. I'm really thinking strongly of not doing it again next year. Too much work for so little return. Maybe its because I have gotten my eye off the reason (fellowship, social hour, drawing the church together) and gotten it on "the bottom line" ( wanting that almighty dollar) and it has taken the fun out of it. I'll sleep on it and hopefully fell better in the morning.

Saturday

Today's the day. The auction is turning out to be OK. We have 36 items for the oral auction and 77 items in the silent. The entertainment should be great. And Robbin always fixes great a great meal.
Carrie is working today so we have Grandparent duties. Planning on going out to breakfast to celebrate Caseys birthday. Then Jerry goes to Yoyo club (no foolin, he loves to yoyo and they actually have a group of kids that get together to practice their stunts). After he returns we go to Central to set up the auction. Jerry takes the girls to their dad's in the afternoon. Show time is 5:30. I will be glad when it is over but am secretly looking forward to next year's.