This morning when I went to Dad's I found him sitting at the kitchen desk with a knife in his hand, bloody fingers and a cut on his toe. He was using a penknife to slice his toenails off. After some discussion I was informed that he's been doing this all his life. That's how these things always go. Dad does something dangerous and stupid and when we try to tell him he shouldn't do those things he says he's been doing it his whole life, which is another way of saying "buzz off".
I reminded him that he's diabetic and any foot injuries, no matter how small, are cause for concern. I told him that he's had foot infections before that had started off as small and in less than a day flared up into something serious. We went into the bathroom and poured hydrogen peroxide on the cut. When he lifted his pant leg I could see his ankle was discolored with many dark blue veins just under the skin. He said, "A few days ago this was all black, all the way up my leg." Then he said that his left armpit has been hurting him. So, I don't know. I just called Dede and told her all this so she can ask David about it. When I go over to do evening meds I'll have another look at his foot.
On a happier note...
This morning Lindsay saw Spiral in the back yard. He escaped Friday night and we hadn't seen him since. So, hooray, we know he's still kickin'. We're going to keep Lindsay's window open and we've set up a table in front of it so he can get up there when he's ready. Lindsay put a bowl of food on the windowsill.
Yesterday afternoon Sherri and I went house hunting. I saw one that I really liked in their neighborhood. The only problem is the lot. It's an odd shape, kind of a pie wedge, and it's almost all front yard. A huge expanse of grass. Seriously, I'd have to buy a rider mower to maintain it and the water bill would be ridiculous. The back yard is a nice size. I could make it work if I took out most of the front lawn and replaced it with some kind of non-thirsty ground cover.
We looked at another house that's in the same price range and is in a nice neighborhood. As soon as we opened the front door we were almost knocked out by the smell of generations of spraying cats. This house was majorly effed up. The garage had been weirdly converted in to a bedroom with a full bathroom. We'll call that one a "no".
Yippee yahoo!!! Lindsay just caught Spiral! He'll go to Kyle's tonight and when Ink gets her stitches out she'll go live with them. I'm back down to three cats!!! So, now when we move we'll have 3 cats (one of them is almost feral), 2 rabbits and 2 dogs. Probably 3 dogs since it looks like I'll be taking Lady. But since she's pretty old she won't be with us for too long. Ok, good, my animal situation is getting better.
Sherri and I are going out again this afternoon. We saw some good-looking houses on the MLS last night. She's having an office meeting this morning so she'll ask about how to work the deal so I can move in a couple months early and pay rent until the purchase money becomes available. Things are looking up.
Now I'm just waiting for that call from Michael's...
5 comments:
Oh man, I found a house I want. The price is right, it's in a great neighborhood and it's in really good condition. It's 1950's awesome.
And here's the kicker. It's the EXACT same floor plan as Ken and Sherri's house. It's totally their house! It doesn't have the add-on in the back and some of the features are slightly different but it's the same damn house. Sherri and I just laughed and laughed about it. Even the yards are the same size. This back yard has no pool and lots of concrete. Patio city.
It's on Fargo, which is in Jeff's mom's old neighborhood. The street looks really good. There's really nothing that needs to be done to it except for building a gate across the driveway to enclose the back yard. And written in the cement in the back yard is a heart that says I Love Kenny. I mean, come ON!
I'm not sure what my next step should be. We've looked at everything that was decent and in my price range. Prices are still coming down but this place was really the best that we saw so it might not last long. We could wait and see what else will come on the market. I do think I could be happy in this house. AARGH!!!
We also looked at the house on Ramona that looked so adorable in the photos. EEK! The photos lied! That house had a lot of problems. Too bad because it was on a nice street, it was near downtown and the view out the back yard was Mt. Rubidoux. But the back yard was about the size of my living room! The upstairs bedrooms were converted attic space so you couldn't stand up straight unless you standing in the middle of the room. The floors sloped. Overall it was just way too shabby.
The other houses we looked at were just so-so. Some felt just yucky to be in. But that Fargo house...
Plus, Fargo--cool street name.
Take my advice: do not buy two stories. You will be so sorry. You think it'll be ok, you can deal with it, but then you start to keep all your shoes downstairs under the coffee table, and you never bother to haul your laundry upstairs, you just get dressed in the utility room every morning. And when your pets get old, they knock themselves out trying to climb the stairs to be with you. I'll never never never buy another two-story house.
What do the sellers think of your rental proposal?
--dean
We haven't offered anything yet. When I left Ken and Sherri last night we had decided to wait and look at some more houses. But the more I thought about it the more I really liked the Fargo house. I want to bounce it off the sibs before I decide anything.
It's a juggling act. Dede said that when David was driving Dad around the other day he was complaing that the sale wasn't happening faast enough. The whole reason for staying until January was so that Dad could stay in his house for as long as possible. But if he's itching to leave then we could close escrow earlier than planned. That would work out better for me but it would be a crunch to get the farm cleaned up enough to satisfy the buyer.
I talked to the buyer the other day. He wants to work a deal with us to have the grader do the clean up. We didn't discuss the details but I think he wants us to share to cost. On Saturday we filled that huge dumpster in about 3 hours. But I think we may have 5 or 6 more dumpster loads. So I don't know, it might be worth it.
I don't know!!!!! Is it too early to set things in motion? If I'm going to rent for 2 months why not rent for 3 or 4? The money won't be available until the land sale is a done deal. What if it falls through? It probably won't but what if it does? The more time that goes by the more sure it looks so waiting might be the wisest thing to do. But that house is really good for that price. It could get snatched up. Or not.
The laundry hook ups are in the kitchen. That might scare people off. I would do what Ken and Sherri did. They moved the hook ups to the outside, right on the other side of the wall and built a nice cover over the driveway. That creates a nice patio area and shelters the washer and dryer. I don't think it looks bad at all. Anyway, I think if people are put off by having the laundry in the kitchen the house might not sell right away.
So, I think I'll wait a little.
One bath or two? Great neighborhood. The Shamel ashes are a pain in the ass tho. You really, really need to find out whether there is regular plumbing problems because of the Shamels. The MIL had to call the plumber out every 6 months because the roots got into the pipes on a regular basis. W/ only one bath that is a huge problem.
The washer hook ups were in the kitchen at the MIL's house too. It was pretty noisy to they got moved to an outside patio. If I remember the dryer was in the garage (not attached). Eventually they both got moved to the patio but I know they are not permitted for that area. The trouble with that is if it's not permitted and later you want to sell the house you may have to make a choice of getting it permitted (and inspected) or tearing it down...not a big deal if you decide never to move but is a big deal if you ever decide to sell.
Those are the only 2 issues I have with homes in that neighborhood.
2 pesos worth of history in that neighborhood.
Thanks for the info! What are the Shamel ashes? I never heard of that. Maybe we can get the price reduced because of it. Good negotiating point.
It's 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and an office. We might be able to move the hook ups out and leave what's in the house intact. then if I ever need to change it back it won't be a big deal. I'll ask Sherri if she can find out what's permitted. I would put cabinets in that spot so they'd be hidden.
I'm going to see Sherri tomorrow so I'll talk to her about all this. I'm thinking maybe I can make an offer (Sherri can advise me on the price), put down maybe 2% in earnest money and see if they'll rent it to me for 3 months until the money becomes available. That sounds reasonable to me.
Shamel ashes, eh? That's worth $10,000 right there. Really, I have no idea. The Shamel Ashes! Sounds so sinister.
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