My parents have moved. Actually, they've been in the new house for 2 weeks now, but life is just beginning to settle back down to the point where I can think about getting caught up. I haven't read the newspaper since August 16th, so I have a big stack to get to. By the time I have a chance to get outraged about something, it'll all be over.
The moving truck didn't show up on the day of the move until 9 PM, and it was well after midnight before they got everything unloaded. (The poor movers had a 4-hour drive back ahead of them and had to be at work again at 8 AM.) I spent the first four days or so at their house, unpacking. There are still boxes against the walls up there, but they fall into a few distinct categories: things that were stored in a closet or shed for years at the old house, pictures and things to hang on the wall (I hate to start putting the first nails into a smooth, freshly-painted wall), stuff that should be thrown away because no one's ever going to use it (far too much of this), and stuff that's mine that I have to get around to eBaying, trashing, or otherwise disposing of.
So while life is not "back to normal," it's at least heading in that direction. The kids love having Mawmaw & Poppy so near. Faith's been at their house every day since they've been here; they might be getting sick of her! I hope to blog more regularly with The Big Move behind me.
Oh, and I did end up getting the new vent covers up. I returned the ones I had to Lowe's and bought Home Depot's brand. I'm not a big Home Depot fan and shop Lowe's instead when I can ( long story involving a Christmas tree), but the old air registers must have come from there: The screw holes lined up exactly!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
And it came to pass that the previous owner moved out, and, lo, the walls needed paint....
The saga of my parents' new house forges on. In the original plan, they should have already been in their new home for a month now, but they're still waiting on repairs to be done to their old house. So in the meantime, I'm still responsible for the new house and keep finding things that need to be done.
When the previous owner (a smoker) moved out, it became clear that the interior needed painting, as you could see the outlines of everything he had had hanging on the wall. After a week or two, I managed to find some people to do that for me for a not-too-exorbitant price. And he had lost the key to the garage and side doors, so I replaced the locks on those. I also wanted to replace the vent covers on the ceilings, as they were badly stained by cigarette smoke. Doesn't sound too hard, right? Replacements, a ladder & a screwdriver, and you're done, right?
Yeah, not so much. Turns out the new vents' screw holes aren't positioned the same as the old vents' screw holes. Putting a new hole through the drywall isn't that hard, but on top of the drywall is some kind of impervious something. So most of the vents I've tried to install have a screw on one side that I've angled to avoid the whatever-it-is around the vent and one on the other side that is only in halfway. I'm going to take Tommy's power drill up there and give it one more try to get them done before I collapse in a weeping heap.
I still have to get the carpet cleaned, but I thought I ought to wait until I'm done dropping vent dirt and ceiling dust all over the floor. Or maybe I should just get new carpet. I've entered that state where every improvement I make leads to another improvement. The only end in sight is if my parents actually move in one of these days.
When the previous owner (a smoker) moved out, it became clear that the interior needed painting, as you could see the outlines of everything he had had hanging on the wall. After a week or two, I managed to find some people to do that for me for a not-too-exorbitant price. And he had lost the key to the garage and side doors, so I replaced the locks on those. I also wanted to replace the vent covers on the ceilings, as they were badly stained by cigarette smoke. Doesn't sound too hard, right? Replacements, a ladder & a screwdriver, and you're done, right?
Yeah, not so much. Turns out the new vents' screw holes aren't positioned the same as the old vents' screw holes. Putting a new hole through the drywall isn't that hard, but on top of the drywall is some kind of impervious something. So most of the vents I've tried to install have a screw on one side that I've angled to avoid the whatever-it-is around the vent and one on the other side that is only in halfway. I'm going to take Tommy's power drill up there and give it one more try to get them done before I collapse in a weeping heap.
I still have to get the carpet cleaned, but I thought I ought to wait until I'm done dropping vent dirt and ceiling dust all over the floor. Or maybe I should just get new carpet. I've entered that state where every improvement I make leads to another improvement. The only end in sight is if my parents actually move in one of these days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
