Back to Reality

Well, it's back to reality.  We arrived at my house late Saturday night after a month's hiatus from home repair.  At first it felt strange to be back; I suppose it's like people going to their vacation home or lake house except this house is now a work in progress.  We ate dinner at our favorite pub and got involved in a killer Scrabble game on my iPad.  I recognized that we might be getting a reputation when the waitress remembered us as the "Scrabble players".  Ok, my Scrabble game is improving with retirement...

One of the first things I noticed at my house was a weird noise coming from downstairs.  Mike immediately recognized the sound from the downstairs furnace.  He diagnosed a motor problem and spent a good portion of yesterday replacing the motor in the furnace.  It is pretty amazing that he can do all of this work himself.  He called around and found a motor, and I got to make my first trip to  Grainger, which had all kinds of interesting tools, pumps and other stuff I don't know what you do with.  I always find it interesting to be in a store where I couldn't find a single thing I could buy and use.  Of course that "estimating calculator" was pretty interesting!

As expected, at breakfast on Sunday, I prepared my "to do list" of things to tackle on this trip.  I was pleased to check a few things off the list.  We already had the drywall company in to give us an estimate on replacing drywall.  Today the garage door company comes to replace a spring in the door.  And the list goes on...

I tackled a stack of mail that was at least one foot high.  We originally planned to be at Mike's for 2 weeks over the holidays, but due to other circumstances (a birthday party, Mike getting the flu and a snow storm), we ended up staying 4 weeks.  Thank goodness for on line bill pay where I could check the timing and amount of each bill.  That allowed me to stay current without the actual paper bill in my hand.  Anyway, yesterday was sorting through all of that stuff and getting things filed.  It's all caught up now which is always a great feeling.  With each bill in front of my I also used this as an opportunity to turn off some services that aren't necessary since we are traveling so much.

Like everyone else in the Midwest, we are enjoying a very strange but mild winter.  The last 2 days it was 45 degrees, and today it's cold and snowy.  Later today I am having lunch with a friend, and then we plan for a walk in the park.  But don't worry, I'll also be tackling my to do list.  Let's see, do I tackle another closet, or is it time for replacing ceiling tiles in the laundry room?  Decisions, decisions...

Diane