As homeowners we fear the worst when it comes to our house.? I have a secret underlying fear that one day when I leave my house I will have left an iron plugged in and have no home to return to.? No joke.? I get within 1 mile of my house and smell something burning I freak the hell out.? It was a little worse when I had the boy’s one of a kind adoption and birth certificates sitting out hoping that one day I would get off my ass and apply for his passport.? I have recently wised up and figured out that I’m not getting to get the passport applied for any time soon and I put the documents back in the fire box.? So for yet another few months Canada stays out of my grasp.? As does any other foreign country.? Goodbye Fiji.
I will admit there are a few things in our house that could be fixed.? We badly need a new roof.? (I also fear heavy rain.? That isn’t so much good when you live in Washington.)? Our electrical box is on that could possibly short out at a moments notice (see above fear) and a tile recently fell off the wall in our shower.? My kitchen flooring is something to be desired for.? The parquet floors in the family room really could use a refinishing.? And did I mention that roof?
But with a significant lack of funds the projects that need to be done simply don’t get finished.? Although… I could glue that tile back on without spending a dime.? That there’s what you call good ol’ fashioned lazy.
Between all the little home projects creep up the little ones.? Like when you are in the middle of cooking dinner and the disposal decides it doesn’t want to work anymore.? Granted, the trusty husband really shouldn’t have put that onion peel down there, but whatever.
That is exactly what happened to us tonight.
We spent the majority of the afternoon reprimanding the child for various naughty behaviors.? This does not set us up for having a nice relaxing evening.? We invited the trusty in-laws for dinner because MIL left her purse in my car last night.? We were in the middle of fixing dinner, child screaming maniacally, me cooking tortillas and the trusty husband working on fajitas. When all of a sudden, disposal.? Not working.? This only happens to us on Thanksgiving.? Every fricken Thanksgiving.? Some sort of plumbing is involved.? So the trusty husband spent the better part of an hour removing all the pipes from under our sink, reinstalling our disposal and swearing a lot.? Meanwhile, I continued to cook dinner to the best of my ability an the boy… he spent most of the time on the naughty chair for throwing various objects at the cat.? And have you seen my kitchen?? It’s the size of a cracker box.? A four ton disposal in the middle of it did not help matters.
The good news is we got out of our own kitchen nightmare fo free.? Which really surprises me.? Usually most of our home improvement projects/upgrades require the purchase of some sort of cable.? We have enough extra cable in our garage to wire a small third world nation.? Anyone in Namibia need high speed internet?
At times like these, one must remember… others would give their left n-t for what you have. That is my saving grace when things go bad… just look at others, who only can dream.
But, were the tortillas good?
I would apply for that passport soon, it only takes 3-4 weeks now. Costco only charges $5 for pictures and the post office (downtown OLy) is really helpfull.
I have the same fear of house fires – maybe we were scarred together in high school? I have since had it relieved a little when we came home one night to smell smoke – on our street – and we saw neighbors walking towards our house. When we made it through the throngs, we discovered that the house behind the house across the street (remember the little blue on across from us? it was behind that one) was on fire. The irony of the situation? The homeowners had moved out, temporarily, while their insurance company did an assessment on a small amount of damage that occurred during a kitchen fire, and the generator that the insurance company was using for heat did something bad. The house was a total loss, and it was the insurance company’s fault. They have since built a beautiful house on the lot. The moral (for me) is that insurance will come through and help rebuild the house. Actually seeing it happen to a neighbor did a lot to relieve that fear. I still get a little freaked out, though, when I see a tower of smoke from our part of town when I’m out driving.
Good luck with the home improvement projects – any chance you can tackle them a bit at a time? Maybe make a list, with estimates, on how much it will cost, and priorities, and then do stuff when a windfall occurs? Best of luck!
sending you healing energy.