Looking For A Lull

We've determined we are leaving for AZ earlier next year.  I think we delayed a little too long and now we have freezing cold and some snow to contend with.  Hopefully we'll be able to park the trailer at Karen's moms next week without risking getting stuck otherwise we may have to leave from Ohio instead of Michigan.

A bit long between updates but there has been a TON going on.  The workers still work to clear out all of the water damage and the kitchen is pretty much off limits and unusable at this point.  Karen's sisters are down visiting and camping out in the back.  Good thing we always bring in a porta potty for this get-together or it would be really difficult getting people to the bathroom with all of the work going on. Everyone is having fun and enjoying themselves though.  Great times! I've been talking to campgrounds in AZ and trying to finalize our decision on where we will be staying during out time down there.  We are leaning toward Benson at the moment, but I will have to call and ask more questions before I can say for sure. Here are some pictures of the Girls visiting Jen's Birthday watermelon! The tents, and activity area The typical reaction to me and my camera...

So the house is a true mess.  The fix-it guys have been in and out tearing out floors, ceilings, walls, carpets etc, putting up plastic containment barriers and moving in big noisy machines.  It's nice to know that we could just take off to the camper and live there if we needed.  I would probably do that if I didn't need to be here to let people in/out while this process takes place. We've been assured all of this mess is covered, but strangely we have yet to see our insurance adjuster.  This mystery person that holds all of the answers as to where we go and how we get back to normal is nowhere to be seen. Oh, well,  It will all work out in the end.  Here are a few pictures of our fun so far. Workers in droves descended upon us. Parts of the house are sectioned off in plastic, like in E.T.! Our kitchen is out of commission, all of the floors have been removed and there are big dryers in there too. There are not plastic "Doors". ...

So we made it home and the water damage was pretty bad.  The kitchen flooring is bubbled, the ceilings in the basement have fallen and the carpet in the basement is a total loss.  I called the insurance company and it sounds like they are going to be pretty good to work with.  I'm a little apprehensive since this is the first claim I've ever had to file for homeowners insurance.  I'm hoping the process is smooth and we can get it all repaired.  What fun. That's the most action the elliptical has seen in a bit. What a mess!

Aside from work things have been slow around here for a change, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been filling my time with projects.  It seems like we've been in GO mode for three straight months and its nice to have a little break in the action to recharge.  That said, I've gotten some things done around the house and still have more on my list. I've replaced the kitchen faucet, we've put in the air conditioners, and done some weeding but it doesn't feel like I've yet scratched the surface of my to do list yet.  My to do list is long and contains some pretty ambitious items along with some smaller ones as well; Things like Fix/replace the roof over the deck Repair the water damage in the ceiling from my mouse friends that ate through a water line. Replace the tub faucet and hardware upstairs. Trim the trees that I can reach Finish cleaning the gutters. Repair some of the cracked/settling on the ceilings Build a planter box for the front ...

This has been the rainiest it's been here in Ohio since we arrived from New Jersey in 2007.  The ground is soaked, many roads are closed, and people all over have complained about flooded basements and worse!  Aside from a very muddy yard, we've been pretty fortunate to avoid all of the problems with the water, but I feel for those who haven't. TW even got a bit of water in his kitchen at his new place.  I don't think this will be a normal occurrence for him so after it dries up a bit around here he should be fine.  In the meantime our Grand Kitten is visiting for a few days while he opens the windows and doors and blows the water out (I'll have to take some pictures while she's here). I hate to think about what the Mosquitoes are going to be like when all that water finally stagnates and they start hatching. *Shudder*.  I may have to invest in some plate armour and ankle weights. We will probably spend part of the weekend out at the campground this weeken...

Luckily the weather yesterday was a little warmer albeit wet and I've been able to do a few things around the house, but I'm anxiously waiting for that phone call from the dealership.  Chappy is still there, the campground is now open and I'm missing it! Hopefully we'll have him out there by the weekend and in the meantime I've been able to work on some projects around the house besides Lego.  I put a new battery in the mower and cut the grass, worked on a new bedside table I'm building, got further refinishing an old radio, and put together most of what I need to fix the under mount for the kitchen sink. I find it is hard to sustain work on any one particular project because, despite my planning, I always seem to run into a situation where I don't have everything I require and need to pick up something from the store.  Take the bedside table for example; I had all of the pieces cut, planed, initially sanded and I was ready to glue up the top when I foun...

OMG, Ohio hates me.

We moved to Ohio in 2007 from New Jersey after I accepted a position working for a company in Cleveland.  A few years later we purchased our house just NW of Akron and that has been where we have lived for the past 9 years. We have lived in Ohio for 12 years.  That is the longest period of time I have ever lived anywhere in my life. Karen and the kids where all born in Michigan and that is where we got our start together.  We have family and friends there and visit periodically though I don't think I could find myself living there again. The southwest has always had a pull on me that I can't describe.  I love the desert, the mountains, the vast open spaces and the weather. Too often in the east and Midwest everything is so cramped.  If your neighbor isn't within handshake distance from your house you are likely separated by corn.  I can see the appeal to some but it just isn't for me.  Then there is the cold months.  The snow, the ice, the...

Years ago we found a need to get out of the house for a change of scenery.  Our kids were younger, we'd spent months housebound with nothing much more than an inflatable backyard pool for entertainment and we were looking for something new to help us get away without a lot of work.  We purchased a used trailer off of Craigslist and put it on a permanent spot in a campground about 45 minutes from the house and spent many weekends enjoying times out there. For a few years we kept going out to the trailer, but found that as the kids were getting older that we spent less and less time there enjoying ourselves and more and more time at home doing the same things in our back yard that we'd do at the campground.  That coupled with the age of the old girl and her desperate need for more work that we were willing to put into her got us thinking about purchasing a 'Real Trailer'.  I bought my truck at the end of that summer with the intention of looking for a 5th wheel we wo...