If you don't keep a journal, you should. There's nothing like your history to help generations that follow you to know who you really are. I so wish my parents kept journals. There are so many questions I'd like to ask them. My mom died unexpectedly when she was 54. So many times over the years I wish I could ask her questions about her, her family, and to get advice. My dad was always busy, then he moved 125 miles away. I gave him (and my brother-in-law) small tape recorders so they could record their stories. But neither ever did. When my dad was in the hospital, I took a clip board with questions about his childhood friends.
Anyway, after working in Word a while, I realized I had to be at a certain computer to add to my journal. I started 3 blogs over the years, and I chose this one to continue my personal development journal.
I was going to build a casita attached to my daughter's new house near New Braunfels. After I did a cash-out refi to pay for the build, I decided not to do the build after all. Instead, I decided to do the things to this house that I really have been wanting to do since I moved in.
Several years ago, I had Olshan lift the back of my house to make it level again. I've been noticing many, many cracks all over the house, so I called them to fix it. The guy came out and blamed it on a leak under my foundation. The plumber he recommended came out and pressure tested and said there was no leak. So, I called Olshan again to have them reconsider lifting the house again. I got a text from the guy saying they wouldn't. That made me mad, so I called the general manager, Rich Bond. Rich came out a couple weeks ago and said they'd adjust 11 of the piers. I finally had to call a week later to make the appointment for them to come do the adjustments.
I started the updates to this house by adding a flowerbed along the front of the house. then hiring a guy to powerwash my deck and sidewalks. He stripped the paint off the deck, which gouged the wood in a few places. Then I hired a carpenter to reconfigure my deck to remove the 8x8 raised square that accommodated a hot tub before I moved in. He was the guy who replaced my neighbor's fence. If I had actually looked at his quality of work, I would not have chosen him. It took him a while to get started. H e started on Monday, didn't feel well on Tuesday, was off Wednesday and Thursday, and on Friday, he called to say he tested positive for COVID! Because he had a light case, he told me he'd be back the following Tuesday. I told him he wouldn't be back until the next week. I quarantined from my family for 2 weeks, missing my youngest grandson's 3rd birthday party, and there was no way I was going to have him at my house before a decent quarantine period. Not only that, he did not do a good job on the deck.
David, finish the deck. He sanded down the floor that the other guy left uneven, he sanded the railings and deck, painted the whole thing, floor and railings. We picked out plastic lattice to put along the skirt of the deck and he painted all that to match the railings. Of course, the white siding of the sunroom didn't look good anymore with the brown/tan of the deck, so that had to be painted. The deck is now complete and it's awesome!
David also replaced the fascia along the sidewalk to the front door. I had gutters put on about a year ago, and the first time it rained, the ONLY place that allowed rain to pour down on unsuspecting walkers was there. I called the gutter guy and he sent the installer. The installer showed me that the fascia was rotted. DANG! When I had the trim of the house painted 3 or 4 years ago, no one told me that board was rotten. They just painted it. Now it looks really good. I can't wait for it to rain.
While he was working on the front porch, I asked David to remove the railing because it was pretty rotten, thinking we'd replace it. After he removed the railing, I realized how nice the front porch looks without it. I'll live with it without the railing for a while. But I think I'll like it better without.
My fence has been in bad shape for most of the time I've been here (almost 7 years). It's time to replace it. As I mentioned before, one of my neighbors replaced his fence. My other neighbor has been patiently waiting for me to do mine and our common fence. I got 3 bids, and I actually went with the highest of the three because they mentioned the slope of my yard and asked how I wanted that to be handled and he offered to remove the 3 buried supports from the part of the deck that was removed at no cost. Once the fence has been replaced, I'll have some landscaping bricks posted along the fenceline with some landscaping.in the back yard.
Last week a window company came by to measure to give me a estimate to replace my windows. I haven't heard from them since. Today, Eric from Renewal by Anderson came by and spent almost 3 hours with me measuring and chatting, and he gave me an estimate before he left. It is very pricey, but after seeing what their windows are like, I decided to go with them. I'm worth it after all. It'll be 12-16 weeks before they can start.
While the outside is being worked on, David and I will paint the entire house inside. I've picked out a white leaning to warm pink call Seaside Villa. Then we will replace the carpet, tile, and linoleum in the house with laminate. We looked at luxury vinyl plank yesterday at Floor and Decor. I found something I really liked. Kaycie and Jeff went to pick out the decor for their house and they chose laminate. I did some research and laminate is easier on our feet than LVP. I mentioned replacing my floors to Eric today, and he said they have LVP, but it's hard on their feet. He said his heels hurt after walking on it for a while. That cinched it for me. I'm going with laminate. Now to find one I like.
While Eric was here today, the crew from The Maids came and gave my house a deep clean. It feels so much better. Now to find out how much that will cost!
I think that wraps up all I've been up to lately. Burning through that refi money pretty quickly. The fence money has already been pulled. The floor will probably cost $10K, and the widows will cost $27K.
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