Deja Vu

Posted on January 10, 2018 by cordeliasmom2012

What kind of fool fixes up a house for the sole purpose of selling at a better price, and then buys a “new” 77-year-old house which needs pretty much all of the same updates?  A fool called “Cordelia’s Mom” – of course.

Poor Teddy Rosalie remembers sitting in the empty hole for the medicine chest when the last house was under renovation (check the old story, here), and now I made her do it all over again.

(For those of you too lazy to click through to the prior post, here’s the photo from our 2015 bathroom renovation.  Poor Teddy Rosalie – but she’s such a good sport!)

The plumber came right on time this morning to install the shutoff valve in the downstairs bathroom.  While he was here, I had him do the prep work for the rest of the plumbing that will be required in connection with replacement of the sink, vanity and toilet.  His only comment when he pulled out the old vanity was, “Boy, this really was a custom vanity!”  It didn’t sound like a compliment.

It was quite interesting the way the heating ductwork had been run under that old vanity, instead of stopping at the wall like most ductwork does.  The general contractor is going to have to deal with that.

Thanks heavens for home improvement financing.  Rather than tapping out a good portion of my remaining cash, I was able to set up a low-interest payment plan for only $37 a month, which will allow me to have all the lead pipes in the house replaced, a new laundry tub faucet installed, an outside faucet installed, a new toilet supplied (and warranted) by the plumber, and installation of the vanity I purchased.  It may be a bit extravagant to have all this work done now, considering I’m currently unemployed, but at least I’ll have a liveable house and no plumbing issues.  And the new fence guy will have water to mix his concrete when the time comes.

As soon as the plumber left, I ran upstairs to use the half-bath.  Upon flushing the toilet, there was a horrendous BOOM!  Then I turned on the sink faucet – dark brown sludge poured out, and then the water stopped completely, both hot and cold.  Fortunately, the plumber was still sitting in his truck in our driveway, so I ran out in my sneakers and skated (literally!) to his vehicle to ask him to come back in.  Turned out the aerator on the faucet had become plugged.  Most likely, the booming toilet was simply due to air in the lines.  Scared the hell out of me in any event!

Now that the water in the rest of the house is back to normal, the general contractor has started on the bathroom renovations.  As I write this post, he is busy installing new subflooring – apparently, the old floor was uneven and warped due to water damage at some point.

Lots of sawing, banging, and scraping.  Poor Puppy Cody is again barricaded upstairs.  But the contractor says today will be a short day.

Tomorrow, he says, is going to be a very busy day.  Can’t wait.

Hopefully, this is all going to be worth it in the end.

May your day be more peaceful than mine.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com

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Images by Cordelia’s Mom

Posted in Household Items, Teddy Rosalie, That's Life | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments

And We’re Off!

Posted on January 9, 2018 by cordeliasmom2012

Finally!  This truly ugly bathroom will be history!  Demo and renovation started this morning.

Of course, you all know the way my luck runs.  The first thing we found out is that there is no shutoff valve on the kitchen sink, and the plumber can’t get here until tomorrow morning.  Meanwhile, the general contractor has removed the toilet (which did have a shutoff – go figure).  Thank heavens we have a half-bath upstairs.

Despite a number of recent family medical events (including my eye infection, more on that later), I managed to go yesterday to Home Depot to buy the new vanity, medicine cabinet and lights.  I can only hope they’ll all fit.  Well, the vanity will, anyway.  I bought the smallest they had because it’s a small bathroom, and the next larger size wouldn’t fit in the back of my SUV without putting down the back seat- which I can’t do right now because we have a tarp tied to it to protect it against Puppy Cody’s snowy/muddy paws when we take her to my daughter’s house to run (thank you, crooked fence guy).

Anyway.

I did find a new fence contractor and signed up, again giving the required one-half down payment.  Of course, I again used the credit card – just in case.  Hopefully, the fence will be done by March, or as soon as the ground thaws.

That’s a white construction tarp, not the carpet!

It’s warmer today (up almost to freezing), for which I’m grateful as both the front and side doors are wide open for easy access by the construction crew.  Puppy Cody has barricaded herself upstairs (such a great watchdog!), and I’ve put gates across the bottom of the steps to keep her up there.  She’ll get extra hugs tonight once construction has been completed for the day, and the demolition noise has ceased.

As for me:  During the wild weather last week, I felt a sharp pain in my eye, and that pain not only did not go away but became accompanied by significant redness and swelling.  I tried using over-the-counter saline solution, with no effect.  Fortunately, on Friday I finally realized I needed medical intervention, and my eye doctor was able to fit me in.  Turns out it’s a viral infection, like a cold sore, on the white of the eye.  Also fortunately, the doctor was able to give me samples of the three different eyedrops I need to take, and the prescription antiviral pills carried only a $10 copay.  It will take awhile to heal as I can’t take certain antibiotics due to my ulcerative colitis, but as of yesterday, I could at least read the eye chart properly.  When I first went to the doctor last week, I could not read even the top line of the chart – with my glasses on!

Enough rambling for today.  I hate blog sites that are basically just personal diaries, don’t you?  But mine is so much more entertaining than the rest, right?

Enjoy the remainder of your day, folks.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com

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Images by Cordelia’s Mom

 

Posted in Household Items, That's Life | Tagged , , | 26 Comments

It’s a Good Day to Stay In

Posted on January 2, 2018 by cordeliasmom2012

Here in Western New York, we’re pretty tough when it comes to winter weather.  One of our favorite sayings is, “It’s not the cold, it’s the wind.”

Today it’s a balmy 14° F, but we’re under a blizzard warning and expecting winds up to 45 mph.  With nearly a foot of snow on the ground, that’s going to blow around pretty good, and the blizzard will add more.   Already, it’s impossible to see the thermometer out the back window.

There’s a world out there beyond that snow-blown window!

Maybe that’s a good thing.  Somehow it doesn’t feel as cold if you don’t know what the temperature really is.

However, anyone who’s a dog owner knows that come snow, hail, sleet, dark of night, etc. – that dog has to go out!

Cody is ready:

Mom ??? What are you doing to me ???

Cody wasn’t too sure about that outfit at first, but once a Milkbone came into the picture, she forgot all about those boots:

Sorry about the blurriness of the photos.  The silly dog just wouldn’t stay still, and I moved my arm to try to keep up with her.  Bad photographer!

Stay warm, everyone.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com

__________

Images by Cordelia’s Mom

 

Posted in Pets, Photography, That's Life | Tagged , , , , | 31 Comments

The Door Dog

Posted on December 29, 2017 by cordeliasmom2012

I am very happy to present this guest post by Di, of the blog pensitivity101.  Enjoy!

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The Door Dog

by Di of pensitivity101

 

I’ve been asked to do a guest post for Cordelia’s Mom, so here goes.

We have dogs in common, so I thought that a good subject, especially as Famous Last Words was her post that triggered the invitation.

As a kid, we always had a dog, and the pup in my response was a collie cross terrier.   He got his name (“Favour”) for the reason he was acquired, and that was as a favour for an old boy on the site where Dad was working who needed a back door. Dad just happened to have a door that was suitable, so he was a forerunner for recycling really. The old man had no money though, so gave Dad the pick of the litter instead.

I would’ve been about 5 or 6 at the time, and remember that day.

My cousin was staying with us, and Mum had taken the three of us to the pictures. When we got home, she saw this dog under the table and refused to take her coat off as it hadn’t been that long since Mum had walked our previous dog to the vet for the last time.

“Either it goes or I do!” she said.

Mum and Dad didn’t argue, but as Dad made Mum a cup of tea, he explained about the door, the old man having no money, and not wishing to offend him by refusing his offer of a puppy in payment.  Mum was adamant and wanted no part of it. The dog wisely stayed under the table and us kids were told to leave it alone.

As Mum supped her tea, she got a little warm and undid her coat, but didn’t take it off. She was saying that she couldn’t cope with another dog and Dad was being unfair to expect her to so soon.  The pup moved closer, Mum continued to drink her tea, Dad passed the biscuits, the dog was suddenly on her lap, and Mum was still saying no when she realised she was stroking it.  She knew she’d lost the argument, and the dog stayed.

Favour was amazing. He let my sister practice her first aid on him, let me dress him up (though unlike the cat, he refused to be pushed in the pram), and he was a randy little canine. He could sense a potential girlfriend for miles, and went after her. Dad said he must have fathered about thirty pups if markings were anything to go by.

Favour had the postmaster and postmistress eating out of his paw, they insisted he was ‘starving’ and fed him treats whenever they saw him until they realised who he belonged to.  He loved being vacuumed, and would guard the cupboard under the stairs to stop it being put away until he was ‘done’. On family picnics, he liked to be tossed in the blanket, or go up on the slide.  He’d pinch sausage rolls from fingers that never felt them taken, would leave toffees on the table but walnuts were fair game, and a slice of melon gave him the smile of the century.

If we went to the ice cream parlour on a Saturday, Favour would have his own dish with a scoop of vanilla.

Favour protected us from strangers, and it was hysterical that he’d let people into the house — they could fuss him, feed him biscuits, treats, probably even best steak, but he wouldn’t let them out again!

The lady opposite liked garden gnomes, and came strutting over with one to have a go at my Dad.  Our dog had destroyed her gnome, she said. It was her favourite, the most expensive and best of her display, she ranted. Dad was trying hard to keep a straight face, and promised to have a replacement for her the following day. He bought one on a swing, but asked to keep the damaged one.   This chewed and distorted lump of plastic (probably an improvement on the original design) was put in the centre of the curtain pelmet over the french doors in the lounge, and if ever Favour did anything he shouldn’t, it was pointed at. The dog would hang his head, put his tail between his legs and take himself to bed as punishment.

Favour lived to be over 17, probably the oldest of my parents’ dogs. He was deaf, almost blind and had few teeth when his time came, and it was several years before Mum and Dad got another. We had all left home by then, and for a while, Mum expected Dad to come home with a puppy to surprise her. He never did, and she got more and more disappointed.

The day Dad did bring a new dog home (a tri-colour rough collie/lassie dog), Mum was so excited, she clapped her hands in glee like a little girl. That dog lived to be 15.

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Di and I love to hear from our readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com

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Top and bottom images by Cordelia’s Mom; gnome image by Di of pensitivity101

Posted in Guest Posters, Relationships, That's Life | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments