Chatting on a Thursday

It's funny Deb, I got his name from a friend who used him for a recent addition that was larger than ours and they finished a month ahead of schedule.  I got two other bids as well, one being a person I know well who did my boss' remodel a few years ago, and she has a MUCH nicer and bigger home than mine and one I ruled one out before I ever even met with him and my gutt was totally right because he never sent me his bid either.  The other concerned me because of his payment terms and the fact that I have helped him with his books some and I know he has had some financial trouble.  My parent's have had contractors do most of the work and never finish because they ran out of money or didn't spend it how they should and I knew I didn't want to be dealing with this.  My contractor didn't even take his first payment until last week, 3 weeks into the job!  That alone tells me a lot about the success of his business as well as word of mouth, what I have seen that he has done, and just overall first impressions.  He has been great to work with and I am so glad we found him because we will be doing more work over the next few years! 

With me being due in 5 weeks and us finishing so shortly before then, I didn't want someone who was going to drag this out for months and months.  He has been wonderful to work with and I will recommend him to anyone looking for a contractor!  I think we will finish RIGHT on schedule, but possibly about a week before depending on when the electrician can come and finish up since we still need to replace our entire panel.  We started the first Monday in May and he thought it would be 6 weeks and even with all of the crazy rain and weather that haulted work for days at a time, we seem to be right on track to finish at 5-6 weeks total which would be Mid June.

Glenda, I was trying to skip over that ... the cellulitis is not leaving fast (despite the shot *and* highpowered antibiotics).  I suspect the infection has a pretty darned good hold in there so I'm going to have to go back to the dr. this weekend again to get more antibiotics.

 QUESTION -- has anyone heard from Gina since the tornado there?  I know Janet Rose posted last night and she's in Ft. Worth but I hadn't seen anything from Gina. 

GIGGLE -- last night as David came in he came upon Sucky Pony in the hall.  He pointed to him and asked Tinkerbell what SP was doing there.  She gave him a "DUH - he's waiting for ME" look.  Then on his way by he gracefully nearly fell over SP (who is actually bigger than Tink is) and neatly back-kicked SP behind him.

David muttered something about not getting "greeted" and I swear the pug's lips moved when she looked at him and said "You expect to be GREETED after you back-kick my best toy into oblivion??  NO WAY JOSE!!"

Stink eye?  you betcha.  Tinkerbell style! (sorry, I am STILL giggling over how neatly she put him in his place LOL)

Gina's all over FB, so I think she's fine.  Plus she posted here today, too.

Deb W.

Callie, Gina just posted a happy birthday thread, so hopefully that means she's okay.

Sarah, you think your contractor wants to travel to Michigan?  LOL

Is it just the media or is it actually a really bad year for storms?  I haven't really been following any news lately so don't really know what's up.  I sure hope everyone's safe and sound whereever these storms are.

Sarah, I'd say do it yourself to save money but I guess that's not possible being preggo!    If I lived closer I'd lend a hand....I'm a sucker for renos.

Gina has been posting on FB.  Based on where I think she lives, I think they just got hail and bad rain and some tornado sirens.  Most of the tornadoes were further north and northeast of us.  I know Ron posted last night, but he is in the line of where a lot of them were.  We have had some crazy Texas storms this year and they were saying on the radio this morning that we are still due for more.  They are usually earlier in the season, starting in March and almost coming to an end by now. 

Tina, I wish!  It seems he keeps himself pretty darn busy though around here!  I just talked to him and he confirmed, assuming the floor guys finish up next Friday, we can start moving back into our bedroom and new room by next weekend!  Yippeeee!!!!  There is a thick film of dust to clean off of everything but I can't wait to be back in my own king size bed and have a bathroom in my room at night! 

Johnny&Tessy

Sarah, I'd say do it yourself to save money but I guess that's not possible being preggo!    If I lived closer I'd lend a hand....I'm a sucker for renos.

Johnny, you're much closer to me.....

jes saying

Sarah, glad your reno is going so well and so quick.  You sure don't need anything messing up the timeline and your contractor sounds like a gem.  It's kind of interesting that you decided against the contractor who you knew had financial problems.  I always call my insurance agent and ask for referrals because I figure her clients have the proper insurance.  lol   We found a really good roofer that way.  I think I'll add my CPA to my list of people I ask for referrals. :) It just amazes me how many people pay shady contractors up front and then are suprised when they never see them again.  If someone says they need the money to buy the materials for the job, run far, far away.  They can't be very successful if they can't cover the cost of materials.  Johnny would of course be the exception to that rule if he wants to come down here and build us a deck. :)

 Zowie! No relief in sight, everytime I seem to clear a list or pile another one emerges.

DH has been grumpy for a while, he needs to get over it because its irritating me LOL

Well all the green grass is pretty much brown now, was nice while it lasted.  I bought two hibiscus for the patio, they are bushes not standards, can I trim them a bit to shape them up a little?  Where is Barb when I need her :)

Slightly funny story of the day:  been walking Bugsy on a longer leash, we both love it, however once in a while he stops quickly and I wind up stepping on it - which is what happened today - so I picked up my foot quickly so as not to trip and knee'd him under the chin.  YEEOUCH!  Sorry Bud.  He just wiggled with his ears low like sorry mom.  Poor dog it was a pretty hard crack, but he was completely unaffected.

Oh and we saw the fox again, this time it was carrying breakfast, looked to be a cat or a duck.  Breakfast was of decent size and pure white.  Not sure what else would fit in that category.  Beastie wanted a piece of the action but once settled he peed where it crossed the road and then on our way back he pooped near where it came out of the woods and did a million kickbacks.  He cracks me up.

That's about all I have and I should dive back into some work

Oh and just as a tip: Don't leave a huge load of boneless chicken breasts out of the garage freezer in 90*+ weather   Apparently when I cleared out the freezer on Tuesday I left out the big pack I buy at Costco.  Bugsy showed it to me today and it stunk even while sealed up.  To me an indication of how scattered my brain is at the moment - bet that was $20-30 worth of chicken

Yeah Jackie, I am the same.  I am willing to pay some up front, especially depending on the cost of the job and the type of job, because obviously a company is taking a risk on the customer not paying as well.  But in a job like this where there is a loan involved and all the checks are made out to the contractor and he even had to sign on the loan to put his lien on it etc etc, he knows the funds are available up front so I was a little more leary of the other guy who I know has financial trouble when he didn't seem happy about the fact that we were doing a lot of it with a loan.  Huge red flag in my opinion!

Johnny, if you were closer I would take you up on that offer.  We have never hired a contractor before on our home projects, and I HATE paying the extra money, but when permits and inspections are involved and it is something I don't know the ins and outs of and requires SO MANY players to come together to get it done, it was worth it to know that he has already hand picked each of those people and I can go to one job to see the quality of all of their work before I started.

I have been feeling like my feet are trying to swell for the last 2 days.  They aren't yet, but I was horrible swollen when I was preggers with Devin, much earlier on albeit, but it eventually led to high blood pressure which I am trying SO SO hard to avoid because I do not want to end up on bedrest.  I am off to drink a few gallons of water now to try to combat it!  lol! 

Sarah - That's awesome about your renovation! We do everything ourselves (since we can't afford to hire anyone) and man does it take a long time! By the time we get home from work and get thinking about dinner, renovations are the last thing we want to work at. Currently, we have just installed hardwood and are finishing painting and installing the trim everywhere. We also have a new granite counter waiting to be cut at DH's work then we will have to install it.

kpwlee

Poor dog it was a pretty hard crack, but he was completely unaffected.

I really didn't expect it to rain as hard as it did yesterday - by 1:00 p.m. it was pouring buckets.

So I heard on the news yesterday that Arnold is being investigated by the state AG for using taxpayers money to bring scantily clad women into his Sacramento apartment and for extra security, which may or may not involve the CHP - who IMO should have known better, but I guess when the Governor calls, you come. Now I don't have a problem with paying taxes for essential services, but hookers for the governator??  Really??? I wonder how long it will be before someone turns this into a mini-series *movie of the week*?

Joyce

DH is in the middle of our basement reno so totally understand how that goes!  Sarah, glad it's working out well for you.  I always wonder how to get recommendations for various projects if I don't know anyone who has needed that type of work, now I have some ideas. 

I'm almost done with my first knit adult sock :)

boneyjean

I have been feeling like my feet are trying to swell for the last 2 days.  They aren't yet, but I was horrible swollen when I was preggers with Devin, much earlier on albeit, but it eventually led to high blood pressure which I am trying SO SO hard to avoid because I do not want to end up on bedrest.  I am off to drink a few gallons of water now to try to combat it!  lol!

Sorry - -this caught my eye.  Back when I had the Cellulitis in Feb/Mar, they put me in knee-high compression hose.  They are a p.i.t.a. to put on BUT I'll tell ya -- they DO reduce that swelling and make you feel better by keepng the swelling down.  I would think your OB could prescribe such a thing for you to head that off at the pass.  Just make sure they measure you right for it

NicoleS

I'm almost done with my first knit adult sock :)

My mom used to knit us slippers, mittens, and hats.  They might have looked a bit dorky, but man, I'd kill for those warm knitted slippers now.

Arnold gags me.  Even in his hey day, I was not impressed.   Was Maria really that blind or in tremendous denial?