Making Hybrid Plans

Hello again.  Everything has changed and nothing has changed.  That's because most of the changes have been in my head, as in, my ever-changing plans for the future.  Since my last post, I was really struggling with wanting to quit my job immediately.  I felt like if I agreed to go visit our company headquarters at the end of June, I would be committing myself to stay with this job for many more years.  Well, I decided that it wasn't time to quit just yet.  With our office closing in a year and changes continuing to happen with the company, I could at least hang on until next August.  Summer in Arizona is just a really hard time with high electric bills and day after day of exhausting heat.  I get discouraged because it doesn't seem like I am making any progress.  But, I told myself that I only had to get through June, July, and August and then the rest of the year would fly by.  It always does.  Once temperatures start to go down I can get back to checking things off my own to-do list and the next thing I know it will be January again.  

So, I bought the ticket to Connecticut and went to visit our company headquarters.  It was quite interesting.  I've worked for the company 12 years and I had visited our old headquarters when I was first hired but it was nothing like this place.  We have a manufacturing plant there and it was fascinating to finally see how they make things and to meet people who's names I have only seen on emails.  I'm glad I went.

In the meantime, I got a terrible sore throat which turned into an earache and kidney pain through most of July.  It was one of those things where one day I felt better and then the next day I felt worse.  The antibiotics didn't seem to do much and then my intestines revolted.  The doctor switched the antibiotic but I am just now starting to feel normal again.  That's over 2 months of feeling cruddy.  When I feel sick I always get scared about retiring early.  What would I do if I was relying on a part time job and then couldn't work?  I need more safety nets.

And also, I made some decisions about my mother's house that I am living in.  I decided to ask one sister if she wanted to buy the house with me and the other 2 sisters if they wanted to be bought out.  They agreed and we are working on getting the title switched.  My original plan was to rent the house out full time but during Jan., Feb., and Mar., we can get almost triple the year-round rent.  Then I thought I would rent it out as a furnished rental for those months and then have an estate sale and rent it out unfurnished as a year-round rental.  But I still didn't like that idea.  So my current idea is that I will move out December-March or April depending on if it is rented, and then I will move back in.  I'm going to use the extra room off of the closet to store my things that I don't need and live in my unfinished barn-shed tiny house.  My main priority is getting the electricity done.  I contacted the electrician again and we are aiming for the end of September when it gets cooler.  I haven't been out there all summer because of the heat and also the paper wasps that have made nests on the barn-shed.  They die off when the weather gets cool.  When the electrical wiring is done, I only need some insulation and I can glamp for 4 months or so.  I'll use the shower and washing machine in the mobile home and have a camping toilet, mini-fridge, induction cooktop, and microwave (I'll have to buy one because I sold my extra one at the last garage sale, oops).  I'll probably hook up a sink with just gravity fed water and a drain that goes outside.

When the house is vacant again, I'll move back in and pay my sister half of the going rate for yearly rent which I estimated at $650.  I will pay my own utilities and she will pay half of the property tax, insurance, HOA fees, and maintenance.  I will move out every year Dec-Mar. until I decide that I can't afford it or want to live in my tiny house full time.  Then we will sell the furnishings and rent it out on a yearly basis.

So that's the current plan.  While we are waiting for the paperwork to get worked out, I have been getting some things fixed around the house starting with the main sewer backflow valve which stuck closed for the second time since we moved here.  It is quite inconvenient when the sewer backs up.  I was doing laundry and taking a shower and I heard the toilet making funny sounds.  That was the sewage coming up.  Ugh.  Then the laundry drained and the toilet over-flowed while I was outside trying to remember where the main sewer clean-out was.  And I didn't realize that the sewage backed up into the washing machine until I was wearing the clothes from that load and wondered why I could still smell sewage.  Icky.  Everything got bleached.  It cost $800 for the valve to be replaced and I went ahead with the other plumbing problems, cracked garbage disposal, filter for water spout in kitchen, tighten kitchen faucet, fix bathroom faucets handles so that they stop instead of going all the way around, replace bathtub spout because the diverter wouldn't close to make the water pressure go to the shower.  Whew, done.  Now I just need the leak at the skylight fixed and a gate added at the side yard.  And I bought flowers for the front yard and need to get them in the ground before they die, I've just been waiting for it to rain which they said it would do today but nothing yet.

Now you are caught up again. Here are some pictures of my other summer projects:

This cart was a Christmas present to myself.  I finally put it together.

The carpet in the storage room got peed on by the chihuahuas I was fostering last year.  I took it outside and hosed it off then poured lysol and soap on it and rinsed.  I let is stay in the sun for days.  The padding was disgusting and went in the trash.  I thought about buying new carpet but it doesn't smell anymore and is already cut to shape.  Since I am going to be using the room to store my own stuff, I decided to put the carpet back in without padding.  If we ever rent the house year-round, I'll buy new carpet.

I bleached and painted the floor of the storage room before I put the carpet back.  It doesn't smell now.

A very long gopher snake visited my yard for a week.  He always startled me but I was glad to have him visit.

I repurposed the fiddle-muff that I had bought for my mom when she was in the assisted living home.  My dog appreciates it.

In my search for the water leak, I made a hole in the ceiling.  I think I know where the leak is coming in now.  The repairman will be here in a couple of weeks.

I have been having fun buying southwestern decor from the thrift stores around here.  I need a few more things.

I decided on "Italian chicken" as my theme for the kitchen.  Haha.  I don't think that is a "thing". Maybe I will be a trend-setter.

Hello, Again

I took mom to the lake this weekend.  Not much happening there.

I don't know about you but to me these weeks are just flying by.  Now that I don't have a mortgage, I need to get serious about saving for my early-semi-retirement, or job change, or long vacation, or whatever you want to call it.  The sale of my house gave me $50k to start off the fund and it is invested in a mutual fund.  I figured out that I can realistically save $2K a month.  My goal is to save enough to give me $1,000 per month until I am old enough to start withdrawing money from my 401k.  I should reach that goal in three years.  Ugh, three more years.  It seems too far away. 

My original plan was to just eliminate my debt and live off of my rental income but that income is unreliable at times and this $1,000 a month will give me a cushion when the rentals are vacant.  Also, health insurance is still an unknown.  There used to be a lot of low cost major medical plans and plans with health savings accounts but they seem to have disappeared.  Now, when I put in my expected income, the calculators say that Medicaid is my only option.  I don't know whether that is good or bad.

Since I just had a birthday, three years from now will put me at 49.  Maybe I should just go for 50. Or maybe I should stop putting it off and just jump ship now.  I don't want to regret leaving a good job too soon but I don't want to regret missing out on other parts of life.  Will I ever find a balance?

On to the update:

Rental house 1- Rented with a good tenant who pays on time.  After putting some of the rent aside for taxes, insurance, and maintenance, I have $600 to go in my early retirement account.

Rental house 2- Rented.  After expenses, I should have $500 for my early retirement account.

Mobile home - My nephew is living here and I only charge him $50/m plus whatever the electric bill is.  There is a water tank there with 2500 gallons of water.  If he uses it up he will have to get it filled at $150 per 3000 gallons.  He doesn't have a job yet.  I told him that if he lines up an interview then he can use my truck and then when he lands a job he can buy it from me for minimal cost.  So far, he hasn't taken me up on that offer. 

Tiny shed-house - I hated to do it but it is stuffed with my extra belongings right now.  I didn't have time to downsize like I wanted too.  I wanted to leave it empty so that I could get the wiring and plumbing, walls and floors done with ease.  That plan has been put on the back burner but it is still my goal to live there in when I semi-retire.

The house I live in now is owned by my mother.  I don't pay rent but I pay all of the utilities.  My side of the house is full of boxes that I need to sort through.  It is always on my to-do list but I rarely have time for it on the weekends.

Pets- I still have my three dogs.  I'm not fostering right now but hope to get back in to it when I live in my tiny house although it will be crowded.  Perhaps the mobile home can be my kennel. Who knows what things will be like in three years.  One of my sisters is moving to Texas, the other is moving to Ohio.  Maybe I'll decide to move.  I can't say I haven't thought about it.

SOLD!

The house has sold! It took 5 months of work on weekends and holidays and days off, but it is finally over.  After paying back the money I borrowed from my mother for the installation of air conditioning, and the money I raided from my nephew's college fund, I net $50k. $30 will get invested and $20 will go somewhere, maybe some projects and a trip to Europe? 

I haven't decided yet because things around here haven't slowed down. My nephew informed me on Monday that he was leaving school. His grandfather, with whom he was living during the past summer, had a stroke and is not in a position to invite him back. Unfortunately, the kid hasn't ingraciated himself with his other Minnesota relatives, so he will be returning to AZ in two days. Since I have moved in with my mother, there isn't a place for him here, or, let me be more specific, I will not be buying food for, providing meals for, cleaning up after, providing transportation for or otherwise mothering my nephew. We will be exploring housing and job options next week which will include the old mobile home which we lived in during his junior year of high school and possibly a studio apartment. But anyway, that is a future project. Let's get back to my house.

 The view from across the street. Typical 70's slump block home in Tucson, AZ.

 The 70's rock wall in the entryway. The colored glass is an interesting touch. I wonder if it is original to the house.

 Rock fireplace in the sunken living room. I used this room for storage since there is no garage.

 Looks nice with all my junk in it. LoL.

 The dining area off of the living room. I used this as the computer area.

 The family room. This is where I had my TV since it is connected to the kitchen. Make food and watch Hawaii 5-0!

 Another angle.

 The new kitchen. It didn't turn out exactly as planned. I bought cabinets from RTA.com and I should have bought a sample door but I was in a hurry and when they arrived, I hated them. I had to change my plan a bit and add more lights to make them look less dreary and green.  They were supposed to be antique white. I have since learned that antique white is more like white that has sat for 100 years in a house with a wood cooking stove so that it now looks dingy and drab. I still don't like them but it doesn't matter because someone did like them and bought the house. At least they are good quality plywood cabinets instead of the particle board and plastic cabinets I had before. (except for the doors which are MDF medium density fiber board.)

 The bedroom was never this clean with all of my dogs in it. It cleaned up well though.

 This bathroom had already been remodeled by the previous owners so I didn't do anything.

 This bathroom got a new vanity cabinet, shelf, mirror, shower doors, toilet and towel bars.

The yard got cleaned up. It looks much nicer than this when the trees have leafed out. This was taken at the end of January.

So, that finishes that house. I finally don't have to go work on any urgent projects this weekend. I get to stay home and do my taxes. LoL.

Moving In, Maybe

Moving day tomorrow! The wall project got approved by the HOA architectural committee and my handyman has been working on raising the wall from 4' to 6' this week. The sliding glass door isn't installed in my bedroom yet but I am determined to get moved in this weekend. I've been taking bags and boxes to the new house every time I go there but tomorrow I'm taking the dogs and that marks the official move day because I will be sleeping there from now on. Home is where the dogs are. After that, I'll help my mom bring her stuff over.  

On Sunday, I will move the quail and another load of stuff. So far, I'm bringing a lot of stuff but hardly any furniture. I am leaving some furniture for staging the house for sale. My handyman decided that he can't afford to buy my house right now. That means I will have to go ahead with my remodeling plan to get my house ready to list. That's probably for the best. House prices in my neighborhood are going up and up. It almost makes me want to rent but I'd rather just get the money and invest it. Two rental houses is enough for me.

I got a dog adopted! The dog that came back after being adopted as a puppy 5 years ago, she got adopted to a nice young lady who likes to go for runs and hikes. That's exactly the kind of person she needed. I am so glad that I have one less dog to move to the new house.

There are still a lot of projects to do at the new house. On Monday, I'll get the sliding glass door for my bedroom so that I can use my sliding door dog door. Then I'll get a small patio cover over it for rainy days. Then my mother bought a bathroom vanity and sink top and also wants a new toilet, tub, and tile. By then, I should have all of my belonging out of my house and will want the handyman to start fixing up my house. So much to do! I only have $15k to work with so I had better use it wisely.I need new kitchen cabinets and to remodel the master bath just to name a few things. The list is long. Whew, I'm tired. Wish I could sleep in tomorrow but no, I can't put this off any longer! 

Update- I went by the house this evening and the wall is only about 20% complete. How disappointing.  I'm still going to move in tomorrow. If the dogs bark too much with the workmen there, we'll go back to my house during the week when I have to work. 

Slow Progress

Yes, I am still here and doing fine. Things are chaotic with the new house and renovations. We finally got the keys on the 14th and I brought a load of stuff down to put in the closet because I thought it didn't need any work but then Mom suggested that we get the popcorn ceiling texture removed while the house was empty. The living/dining room, master bedroom, and half of the closet had popcorn texture. Almost all of the house needed paint so I couldn't bring any more stuff there. So far, 80% is painted, the popcorn is gone, and there is white dust everywhere. The ceilings have been re-textured and I think they got painted today. Mom didn't like the brown light fixtures so last Friday we went shopping for brushed nickel fixtures with white shades. They got installed today. 

Next on the list is painting the inside of the garage and then most likely covering the countertops with something of a lighter color than black. I submitted the application and project plans for raising the wall in the backyard and adding a sliding door and patio cover. The HOA (homeowner's association) has to approve all outside changes. Hopefully, I will get their approval next week so that the handyman can get started. It will be a lot easier to bring the dogs if the wall is high. I don't want them barking at every person walking by.

Our monsoons are in full swing. It is hot and humid and my evaporative cooler only makes it sweatier inside my house. The rain usually dries up by August so I am hopeful that it won't be so humid when I have to move. 10 minutes of breaking down garden fencing left me a sweaty mess last weekend and the only comfortable spot was sitting in front of the fan. I continued to box up my nephew's stuff and the boxes were soggy. 3 more boxes got mailed to his grandfather's house, 3 more to go, and 3 more to be shipped later to college. I asked him where he wanted his stuffed animals to go and he said to college. Awww. That's cute.

My internet went out for 4 days last weekend. It was strange to be away from it for so long. I still had broadcast TV so I wasn't totally cut-off. I tried to get all of the utilities turned on at the new house last week. I accidentally sent in the request to the wrong water company and the water got turned off on Monday. Mom told the neighbor and they turned it on for her. I think that was illegal but the water company was going to turn it on that morning anyway. 

There are 2 internet providers in this neighborhood, CenturyLink and Cox Cable. I wanted to go with CenturyLink since that's who I have now so I have a wifi modem/router but, as the Cox commercial says "We're in a slow zone". They can only offer 5Mbps. Cox can do whatever we are willing to pay for. I signed up for 15Mbps plus TV and phone, took half day off last Friday to wait for the technician and then found out they had rescheduled me for Monday without telling me. I cancelled that bundle and tried CenturyLink. They wanted to give me 5Mbps for $45/month. That's ridiculous. So, I went back to Cox and signed up for internet-only 15Mbps for $35/month. I had to buy a new modem/router but I got a used one off Amazon. I still need to activate it but I haven't had the time to dedicate to that chore. Oh, and I had dismantled my computer and brought it to the new house in anticipation of the technician showing up last week so now it sits in the house alone and I have to rely on my phone and Kindle. 

I unplugged the tiny house people's life support today (2 large extension cords). They are headed up to Idaho in search of permanent parking. It's too bad they didn't want to live on my mobile home property. Tiny houses are legal out there. Having to haul water is a turn-off for many people. They were here for 8 months! It was only going to be one month until they found something better but it turned in to much longer. I wish them the best. Maybe they will come back if Idaho doesn't turn out well.

Whew, we are making slow but steady progress on this moving thing. Maybe I'll be living in the new house in two weeks? It could happen.

More of the Waiting Game

The rollercoaster ride continues. I don't like writing about things when they haven't been resolved so, forgive me for not writing about making an offer on the house. We did make an offer and then waited, and then the bank counter-offered, and then my mother counter-counter-offered, and we finally heard back on Saturday that they had accepted. Since this house is a foreclosure, there is extra paperwork and extra time for every step. The bank wanted to close on it this Friday, which was really fast, but our realtor told them we needed more time for the inspection so they were willing to stretch it out until July 7. Still really fast. The inspection will be on Friday and I will take the day off for the inspection and another half day for closing.

This is all so weird. I hate moving and change and this is going to take a lot of work at the hottest time of year. But at least the new house has air conditioning, unlike my current house with only evaporative cooling and the small A/C unit that I fit in the sliding door. 

It works great for getting to sleep before midnight but I have to dismantle it if my big dog needs to go out at 2am.

So, that's what's been going on. Just waiting on other people to make decisions. I still get a 4 day weekend for the fourth of July so I am looking forward to that. All of my weekends after that will involve moving or handymen or remodeling my house to put it up for sale. I just want to wave a magic wand and it will all be done.

House Hunting Again

Things have slowed down and sped up at the same time. The day to day things like high school stuff, grocery shopping, making dinner, doctors appointments, college prep, etc... have slowed drastically, which is a relief. My nephew has his class schedule for next semester but he needs to change one class because they signed him up for Survey of Math and he has already taken Calculus I in high school. He is waiting to find out his score on the AP Calculus test (not until July 9) so he will know which math class to add or if he doesn't need anymore math, maybe he can get a natural science core out of the way. 

The big goals have sped up. The porch cover was finished on my barn-shed. Gutters and water collection tank will be attached some time in the future. There isn't a desperate need for it since my water tanks are pretty much full right now and it is so hot that I don't want to go out there to do it. 

My mother and I went to look at houses for sale in the neighborhood close to where she lives. We weren't expecting to find any that would work for us but a couple of them did. We are going to put an offer in on one on Monday. The yard is not as large as I would like but there is a large Arizona room where I can make an "indoor dog park". It connects to the master bedroom and bathroom and then there is a walk-in closet and then the closet has another closet! I think I will have enough storage space. My mother will have the other half of the house including 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, dining room, and a big living room with a fireplace.  

 Big enough for my indoor dog park. Just needs a dog door.

The walk-in closet has it's own closet. I think that would be enough room.

The kitchen needs some style help but it is big enough.

I'm still looking for new listings though because one of those houses with the extra large lots is going to come up for sale one of these days! I just know it.

New Year, New Ideas

Christmas Eve was peaceful since all of my shopping was over.  My sister asked me to make gingerbread cookie dough and, amazingly, I had all of the ingredients on hand.  The plan was for me to bring the dough to my mother's house on Christmas and we would bake and decorate cookies.  I started thinking that it would be nice to be able to taste them now and I also was trying to think of something non-materialistic to give to my tiny house visitors.  Inspiration hit - a tiny gingerbread house!  And not just any house, but a tiny gingerbread house shaped like their house.  I didn't have many candy decorations since this was a spontaneous idea but I had a few sprinkles and the perfect round peppermint for the door.

I ate the scraps, which were tasty.  On my way to my mother's house on Christmas, I left the tiny gingerbread house outside and left them a text message.  They found it and were delighted.  Then they sent this picture back.

Hansel and Gretel have been nibbling!

I had a wonderful Christmas with my family and the cookies turned out great as well as the dinner that my sister made for us.

The next day we did some after-Christmas shopping and returns.  It wasn't very crowded because my mother lives in a small town.  On Tuesday, my sister and aunt left for their respective states and I had to go back to work.  I took Friday off and my mother and I drove around doing errands.  We were discussing options for her to move near me or in with me.  We visited my property and thought about replacing the single wide mobile home with a new one.  After visiting some new mobile homes, I wasn't sold on the idea because they all smelled like formaldehyde and were cheaply made.  Then we thought about building something small on the property but the cost to build plus a $30K well, plus a $6K septic system was adding up fast and it is still a relatively remote location, as in, dirt roads, 15 minutes to groceries, 30 minutes to a hospital, and most of her doctors are on the opposite side of town.  Then I looked at buying another house if my mother and I pooled the money from the sale of both of our houses but everything that I looked at needed modifications or was too expensive and I really don't want to tie all of my money up in another house.  

My latest idea is to make my house in town, which I am living in now, work for the both of us after my nephew leaves for college.  This might put off my move to my tiny house but it is all just ideas at the moment.  I could enclose the carport to make what they call an "Arizona room" for my mother.  She would be on the opposite side of the house, away from the dogs to give her more quiet and privacy.  I haven't gone out for quotes on all of these ideas yet but I will.  

So, what about that water leak?  Like I usually do, I put it off for now.  I bought a trash can and tried out the washer with it draining into the trash can.  No water leak.  

I do have to empty around 15 gallons of water after every load though.  I've actually thought about doing this and using the water on the plants outside to save water in the summer, and now I'm doing it by necessity.  When I get the contractor to come out, I'm going to get quotes for the AZ room, a kitchen remodel, and fixing the laundry area.  I think I need to take out the shower and put the stacked washer/dryer back in that space.  My mother likes to take baths anyway and there is a motorized bath seat which raises and lowers a person in to the tub which we could buy.  That might be perfect.  The other option was replacing the tub in the guest bathroom with a walk in tub which cost around $1700.  The biggest complaint, besides cost, is having to stay in the tub while it drains before you can open the door.  I'll let her decide.

Anyway, those are all of the crazy ideas going around in my head again.  My mortgage repayment plan might go on hold if I need to pay for this remodeling project.  I had planned for the laundry/kitchen remodel after I paid off the mortgage but it might need to come first.  Stay tuned... 

Tiny Neighbors

This post should be named "My Crazy Thanksgiving Day" or "How I Got A Tiny House in My Yard".  So, I'm a member of a Facebook group for Tiny House enthusiasts.  There is another group for people looking for places to park their Tiny Houses and people willing to let them park.  I've been lurking on that group and if someone mentions Arizona or Tucson, my ears perk up (or my eyes since I'm reading it?).  Some people were looking for parking on the west coast.  I didn't take much notice because I didn't think I could compete with what others could offer.  They came back a month later and posted their plea again.  Still, they were looking in multiple states and my property doesn't have water so I didn't offer.  Another month later, they came back with a more desperate plea for Arizona, Utah, New Mexico.  I sent them a message about my property but said they would have to haul water in.  We friended each other on Facebook so we could send instant messages but then weeks went by and I assumed they found a place. 

The day before Thanksgiving, I suddenly get an IM from them.  They were asking more questions about water and electric.  We went back and forth and it seemed like it wouldn't work because they need a place now and I would need to purchase and set up a water tank and pump.  Finally, I asked if they would like to come down from where they were in Phoenix and take a look for themselves.  They could park temporarily in my side yard at my house in town.  We started talking about parking space needed - the house is 13.5 ft tall so I would have to cut the lowest branch of the pine tree.  Water would be easy with my garden hose.  Electric was more complicated because my house only has one outside outlet and it was only 15amps, they needed 20amps and a double outlet not single.  Thanksgiving morning I was dragging an extension cord and lamp around and flipping circuit breakers to find an available 20amp outlet.  I did find one in the bathroom which used to be a laundry room but it only had a single outlet.  Finally, I asked it they could plug one of their giant extension cords in to the 15amp outlet and the other into the 20amp.  Yes, that would work.  By the way, I think having the tiny house powered by two cords is genius.  It gives them a lot more options for getting power.  They also can plug in to a 30amp RV outlet if that is available.

I asked them what was wrong with their current parking space and they said the property that they were on had a well and the pump kept breaking down.  They had to haul their water by bucket.  They were eager to get to a spot with reliable water and electric so they headed down and in 4 hours, they arrived.  After some back and forth, squeezing the tiny house in to the side yard, and some switching of the vehicles to make sure everyone could get out and in without hitting each other, they were settled for the night.

The door is on the other side next to the oleander hedge but they don't mind because it makes the entrance more private.

Meanwhile, I was running around, pruning shrubs, raking pine needles, chopping off a tree branch, while simultaneously trying to watch movies with my nephew and make Thanksgiving dinner.  Whew.  It was a long day.

If you want to see better pictures, go to this article.  The builders talk about building the house and there is a video tour. Yes, this is the actual house.

http://tinyhousetalk.com/tiny-house-with-round-door-and-curvy-roof/

What do I get out of this? $300 for one month rent plus utilities. They have the option to stay longer if the neighbors don't complain. I doubt they will want to move the day after Christmas but if something better comes along they can tow their tiny house away. That's one of the benefits of a tiny living.

Plan and Re-Plan

Saturday turned out to be not as productive as I had hoped.  The HVAC guy (who is also my handyman) came over early to shut down the furnace and start up the evaporative cooler.  While he was doing that I took my truck battery over to the auto parts store.  They couldn't test it because it was so depleted so they said they would charge it for 10 minutes and try again.  I was pretty sure it was very dead but I said ok and headed over to the library to pick up my free seeds.  Back at the auto parts store they said the battery had 17 minutes left to charge (hmm...first 10 and now 17?).  I browsed the store and found an inexpensive seat cushion and some cut-to-fit carpet so that I can make my own dash cover.  They let me take the seat cushion out to the car to try it out before I bought it and it was so much better than the plain seat.  As I was perusing the windshield wipers, they finally told me that my battery was truly dead.  At the checkout the manager rang up the battery and my other impulse purchases and the total only came to $100 because he said the battery still had a prorated warranty or something like that.  I was happily surprised and didn't ask for details.  Back at home, the battery went in the my truck started up, yay!  I was ready to head to Home Depot but my handyman didn't realize that I wanted him to do the cooler start up AND work on my mobile home.  He hadn't brought the right tools or his truck so I paid him and we made plans to meet at Home Depot on Tuesday.  

Not wanting to lose out on a Saturday, I called my friend who had offered to give me 50' of chain link and told her I could pick it up.  Since she lives near my mother, I stopped by to have lunch and visit.  On Sunday, I brought the chain link to the property and cleaned up some of the debris from the door installation.  I took down the curtains that haven't been washed in years and took some measurements.  Then it was back home to play with the dogs, plant a few seeds, and catch up on laundry.

Today I finished my site plan since I was able to locate the telephone pedestal on the edge of the property.  I was very apprehensive about submitting the paperwork for the permit but I went ahead and did it.  Now I will just wait for them to tell me if I did it correctly.  One good thing was that I read that simple permits should only take 5 days as opposed to the 20 that I thought they took.  I might have my permit by next week!  Then it will be full steam ahead to get the area level, add blocks or whatever I am going to do under the barn/workshop, and get it delivered!  Oh, and the neighbors fixed giant hole in the road for me so now I only need to cut back some of the branches so that they don't scratch my new building on the way in.  Things are coming together which is a good thing because I got another frustrated call from my nephew's grandfather today.  I told him he could send my nephew back at any time.  I can put him to work fixing up his own room.  I'm sure my nephew will be thrilled with my suggestion.

Busy Weekend Ahead

The week is over and I am ready for a nice relaxing weekend.  But, wait!  Tomorrow at 9 I scheduled my furnace to be shut down and my evaporative cooler to be started up.  It's been in the 80's which is abnormal for March so I just know as soon as the furnace gets shut off we will get a few more weeks of cold but I will have to survive with my space heaters.  Then I need to get a new battery for the truck, meet the handyman at Home Depot for more supplies, meet my mother out at my property to show her my "vision".  I hope she has a good imagination because there really isn't much to see other than my new door.

It kind of looks like a door to nowhere.  I love my new door and I will love it even more when it has steps.  The handyman will continue replacing the metal skirting with the grey Hardi-backer board.  It isn't a common skirting material but I think it will work well for my needs and I can paint it.  I will be working on prying off the old vinyl tiles so that the floor can be covered in plywood.  I plan to sand it and polyurethane it and that is all.  At least it will be better than the pressboard that swelled up when wet or the sheet vinyl that ripped.

I met with the excavator yesterday.  We discussed how to get my big shed on to the property since both access roads have issues.  The woman who owns the shed business happens to be a close neighbor so she is going to check out both roads and tell me which one has the least amount of problems.  I think flying it in by helicopter would work.  Do you suppose I could hire one of those military helicopters for a few hours?

I also met with 2 concrete guys today.  I'm not sure if they will give me quotes for a slab or not.  I think they correctly surmised that my budget is too small for what they would charge.  I expect them to be in the $5k range or more.

In the meantime, I am trying to get all my work done so that I don't get fired from my job.  People start to grumble when they can't reach me at my desk.  I'm trying to save my vacation days for important stuff like when the excavator is there and when the shed is delivered.  I am still working on the site plan so I can submit my paperwork for the permit.  I called Blue Stake today which tells the utilities to come out and mark where their lines are on my property.  I need to add those to my drawing.  That should be done by Tuesday and then I can submit my paperwork and it will be rejected of course because I'm still not sure what is needed for the grading plan but I am hoping they will help me with it.

To end with some good news, the city called today and said that they approved my claim for the tire damage.  Actually, they said they would pay for one tire and since the wheel was bent, they will pay for that too even though I didn't have it replaced.  They estimated that a wheel would cost as much as a tire so they will pay my whole bill of $159.  That is great but I wish I hadn't ran over that pothole in the first place!

Impulse Buy

After meeting my handyman at Home Depot on Monday and buying $500 worth of supplies, I headed to the office.  I passed the portable mini-barn lot as usual but this time I decided to stop.  I have always assumed that these buildings would be more expensive than the sheds from the shed company plus, they are only open 10-5 so I haven't stopped.  I pulled in and wandered around.  The salesperson wasn't on site so I grabbed a brochure.  The largest shed was 12' x 32' and I fell in love.

It is smaller than the 24' x 24' garage I was planning to build but it is already built, and it has 2 lofts, and it is cute!  

A blank slate, now if I only had the money and the time to work on it.  Anyway, I went to work and called my mother to invite her to lunch so I could show her what I wanted to buy.  She agreed that the buildings were cute and had potential.  Since she is helping me finance this project, I was thrilled to get her blessing and I wrote a check.  The only hitch is that I don't have a permit yet.  If for some reason I can't obtain a permit I can trade in my building for 2 - 10' x 20' sheds because I don't need permits for buildings 200 sq.ft. or under.

Next step is to finish the site plan so that I can apply for a permit.  My building will stay on the lot until I tell them to deliver it.  Hopefully that will be within the next 6 weeks.  I can't wait for it to be on my property so I can start imagining the interior.  Yay!  This is fun!

Flat Tires Are No Fun

Today was very relaxing, except for my headache.  The weather was beautiful and I spent a little time in the yard trimming the trees, pulling weeds, and detaching the old Queen's Wreath vine from the shed.  The dogs and I took naps and watched new episodes of Hawaii 5-0.

I hope this week goes better than last week.  Last week started out ok but then went downhill.  On Thursday, I dropped my foster dog at the vet to get neutered and then headed to work.  I hit a big pothole very hard and wondered if it bent my rim.  I made it to work in time so I was happy and forgot about my wheel.  At 4pm I jumped in my car to finally meet up with the excavator out at my property and I heard thump, thump, thump, before I got out of the parking lot.  The tire was completely flat so I rolled in to a nearby parking space and called AAA.  They said it would take an hour to send someone.  I looked for the spare tire but didn't see it.  I could have looked in the manual but decided to walk back to work and google it.  Google told me that there is a cover that is removed to reveal a bolt.  The jack has an adapter that fits on it and when turned the spare tire descends in a basket from under the car.  I went back to the car and wondered if it was worth getting dirty so I decided to wait.  The tow truck guy showed up early and he managed to lower the rusty tire in a basket after a couple of tries.  Having the spare on the outside of the car is a horrible design especially when the car lives in snow.  This particular car is from Connecticut.  He jacked up the car with his professional jack and removed the old wheel.  The spare was small and needing air and he had a lot of trouble getting his jack out from under the car.  Then the cap for the air valve was rusted on.  Luckily, I had a leatherman tool that he could use.  I am glad that I waited for him to change the tire.  I learned a lot by watching him and I think I could do it myself next time if I had too although I would have to use the mini-jack that comes with the car.

I was sad that I missed my appointment with the excavator.  Maybe he will be available later this week.  I still had to drive to pick up my dog and then go back home.  The car and the spare made it without any problems.  The next day I spent most of the morning at the tire shop.  The tire was cut and unrepairable so I bought 2 tires.  The rim was slightly bent but the tire still held air so I didn't replace it.  The clerk mentioned that people can submit a claim to the city for damages caused by potholes.  I looked it up and the pothole has to have been previously reported.  I drove back to take a photo of the pothole and I noticed that the edges had florescent paint so hopefully it was a previously reported pothole.  The city website said to call for a claim form so I did and they emailed it to me.  I sent off all of the requested information and I hope they will reimburse me for one or both of the tires.

The weekend was finally here and I was pretty tired of new experiences and people but I had signed up for a Co-Op water conservation project in order to earn more points for my own project.  Resisting the urge to go back to bed, I gathered my hat, gloves and water bottle and drove to the rainwater harvesting project.  I picked this project because it was only 5 minutes from my house.  I must admit that I had fun.  We worked from 8am-1pm and installed water collection tanks.  We learned how many people it takes to lift a 1,200 gallon capacity tank over a block wall, how to move a shed by rolling it on PVC pipe, how to install what is called a 'first flush' which sends the first water from the roof in to a separate pipe which can be emptied in order to keep the tank water cleaner.  And we put a leaf screen at the top which is removable for cleaning.

I definitely need this set up on my tanks to keep the lizards and tarantulas out but first I have to figure out how to attach gutters to my mobile home.  I am really glad that I went to work on the project.  So far I have earned 10 out of 16 credits that I need for my own project, whether it is building rock dams or setting up water tanks, I haven't decided.  The best part was how fast all the work got done with a dozen eager and enthusiastic helpers.  And it was fun to be able to talk to people about outdoor showers, composting toilets, etc...without them thinking I was strange.

Tomorrow I am supposed to meet my handyman at Home Depot in order to buy supplies for my mobile home renovation.  I can't wait to see some progress out there.  Photos coming soon, I hope!

  

Planning Stage

Four days in to March and and I haven't spent any money on extras yet.  Only 27 days to go.  Unfortunately, my truck battery is dead and I need to renew my passport soon.  Technically, I could put both of those things off for another month but I probably shouldn't.  I've been researching the permitting process for my county.  I don't know who makes up their website but I would only give it a 5 out of 10 for User Friendly.  I do know that I need:

-a permit application

-a site plan with utilities, elevations, and set-backs marked

-building plans

-possibly a grading plan

I hope that is it.  I got basic plans for a 24'x24' building with loft off of the internet.  The county assessor has a map of my property that I can print.  I still need to call Blue Stake to come out and mark my utilities.  I meet with the excavator tomorrow to get a quote on the earthworks.  This is all going so slowly.  Sometimes I think I should just buy a manufactured home and be done with it.  But do I want to pay $60k for the cheapest basic particle board and vinyl box?  Not really and I'm not willing to pay for the upgrades.  I guess I will just keep plugging along.  This is the planning stage anyway.  There isn't much to see yet but there will be.

Marching Forward

Marching...get it?  Because it is March?  Oh boy.  I met my handyman out at my property on Saturday morning.  He was very enthusiastic about my plan and had ideas to do things better and easier.  I've had people come out to give me bids and most of them either don't get back to me or make the bid so high that it was obvious that they didn't want the job.

  

My mother has offered to lend me the money to build a guest house.  She doesn't want me to put a lot of money in to the old mobile home.  My first thought was how much longer would I have to work to pay her back?  I figured it would add 1 year to my plan.  Building something has always been an option but I figured I would wait until after the house was paid off and then see how I felt about working longer in order to upgrade my living arrangements.  I was thinking along the lines of a 10'x20' shed that I would turn in to a tiny house but with my nephew returning (I'm 80% sure he will return in July) I need something a little bigger so now I am looking at a 24'x24' guest house.  It would be 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, with an open kitchen/living room.  I helped my dad build a garage/shop back in 1994.  My parents made an apartment out of the garage and lived there while they built the main house.

My first thought was to call the shed/garage builders since their website said they could build a 24'x24' garage for $23,000.  Unfortunately, they said they were booked for the next 6 months and weren't taking any garage orders.  I told this to my handyman and he said that if I got the permits, he could build it for me.  Getting permits has always been a scary and mysterious thing to me.  I guess if I really want this, I need to face my fears and figure out the process.  I mean, I'm a drafter, after all.  It shouldn't be too hard for me to make a site plan.  I already looked up the zoning, 20' from the property line and 30' from other structures.  I might buy the garage plans off the internet but we will see.  I need to do more research.  If I do this right, I think I will be able to finish the guest house cheaper than hiring the shed company to just build the shell.  Of course, I will make lots of mistakes.  I read that if you want to build a house, build a garage first so that you learn from your mistakes.  Well, I only need one guest house so I'll just have to try to learn from other people's mistakes.

While I am working on the permits, the handyman will be doing a few improvements to the mobile home like adding a door on the north side for easier access, covering the floor with plywood, and replacing the skirting (the first step for snake prevention).  The next project is to make a secure yard for the dogs.  I'm thinking about a 3' block wall with chain link on top of that.  Coincidentally, my co-worker just messaged me and asked if I knew anyone who needed 50' of chain link. I do, I do!  Although rattlesnakes can climb a 3 foot wall if motivated, I am hoping that blocking the pack rats with the new skirting will eliminate any motivation.  Diamondback rattlesnakes are quite lazy.  They tend to go under things rather than over in my experience.  I also need to keep out coyotes, javelina, and roaming neighbor dogs.  I hope to surround a large portion of my property in field fence some day.

And another thing, the excavator guy called me on Saturday and wants to meet at the property on Thursday afternoon to see what needs to be done.  I'm hoping he can level off a building site for me as well as fix my driveway.  I fear I will need some time off work for all of these projects which means I need to slow down the dog fostering because vet appointments interfere with work too.  My handyman can't get started until I meet him at Home Depot to buy the door, plywood and skirting material.  I just took 2 days off last week and I don't want to fall behind at work.  I'll make it all work though.  It's going to take some juggling but progress is being made, finally!

My Favorite Things: Dogs, Gardens, and Tiny Houses

Taxes are done, but not submitted.  I'll finish up next weekend and move on to filling out my nephew's financial aid paperwork.  It will be so nice to get both of those over with.  It was another lovely weekend.  Sunny on Saturday with a little rain on Sunday.


I have a new foster dog.  He was picked up by animal control with a gash across his eye.  The eye couldn't be saved so they sewed him up and he should be ready for adoption in a few weeks.  He's a friendly dog and housebroken, that's always a plus.  In a few days he will get the cone off his head and then he can meet my other dogs.  For now he stays in his puppy pen which is attached to each side of the door and I let him out in the side yard twice a day.

Besides taxes, I pulled more of the never-ending weeds and started cleaning up my garden.  It's going to be a little bit bigger this time so that I can move around in it without crushing plants.  I still need to buy top soil to cover the plant clippings, horse manure (from a friend) and pine kitty litter.  I would love to buy more bark mulch too to make things look pretty but that's not really a priority right now.  Then I will hook up a drip system and my garden will be so much easier to maintain than last year, at least, that's the idea.  If I end up moving to my property during the week so my nephew can ride the school bus then at least the garden will get watered.  My nephew has until April to decide where he is going to school next school year so I am still planning for either possibility.

I finally heard back from my handyman, the one who had an appendectomy, and he is back to work and going to call me to meet out at my mobile home sometime next week.  I was thinking about why I like my mobile home.  First of all, I like it because it is there.  It already exists and is taxed at a really low rate of around $100 a year as personal property.  I've heard that it would be taxes even less if it was legally 'attached' to the property.  Second, I can remodel it without worrying about bringing down the value or having to hire a professional to match the architecture.  I guess those are the 2 biggest reasons.

I found this blog last week about a tiny house on an island off of Washington.  Scott's Tiny House  I like his little house.  It would be too small for me with dogs but it is simple and reminds me of a really cool playhouse for big kids.  This is the kind of thing that would make my co-workers cringe but surprisingly, my boss would think it was cool too although he wouldn't want to live in it.  I already have an 8'x10' shed on the property, maybe I can turn it in to my guest house?

Ok, enough dreaming.  On Tuesday I am taking the afternoon off to go visit my dad for his birthday and have lunch with my mom.  I think that is the only interesting event of the week besides looking forward to another weekend.  Each day I work is another day closer to my semi-early retirement so I will happily get out of bed every morning and make the most out of every day.

Peer Pressure

Semi-retirement or build a house?  My co-worker loves to ask me when I am building a house on my property because, of course, I must build a house because it is the only sane thing to do.  Since I am not rich, I must decide whether I want to semi-retire in a few years or take out a $100k loan, build a house and work for another 10 years to pay it off.  I choose the first one.  $100k wouldn't even get me much of a house either because in order to get a bank loan, I have to drill a well which costs $30k.  That would leave $70k for a small 2 bedroom, 1 bath house.  That's a lot of money and years of work for such a small house.  Now, whenever she brings it up (like at lunch today) I try to change the subject.  She is never going to approve of my home, decor, clothes, hair, shoes, etc...   I don't know why some people feel the need to make other people conform to their ideas.  Maybe I have "needs improvement" stamped on my forehead.

No news yet from my handyman or excavator.  My February weekends are pretty much closed anyway.  I expect lots of progress in March.  I have resisted the urge to get more foster dogs.  I don't know how long that will last.  Maybe until tomorrow.  My foster dog, Sassy, got the staples removed from her knee today.  She isn't walking on the leg yet but she isn't supposed to be walking on it for another 4 weeks so I guess that is ok.  Work is very busy but I am hoping to take next Tuesday afternoon off to go visit my dad for his birthday.  I've only used one half day of vacation so far and I had planned to use one day a month so I have extra time to use up.  At least it is something to look forward to next week besides work, work and more work.

Money Goals for My Financial Freedom Day

I made some money goals for my houses and 401k while I am paying off my mortgage.  The house values are from Zillow.com so they aren't exactly real.  The house down the street sold for only $120,000 last December.  I doubt I could get $150,000 for my house right now but it is encouraging to see that Zillow thinks it is worth that much and it is nice to see home values rising.

My timeline to reach these goals is 3 years.  If I pay off my mortgage before 3 years I can add more to my 401k but unless the stock market drops again my 401k will probably reach its goal without extra help.  Maybe I should make my goal total $500,000 just so it is a nice even number.  Can I quit my job and pursue other interests with $500,000 in savings?  I think I can if I keep my housing costs low and don't get too crazy with my hobbies.  It would be ideal if one of those hobbies brought in some income but I want to have enough money so that I don't have to be dependent on bringing in more income.

In other news, I decided to invest part of my savings in a fairly aggressive Vanguard mutual fund.  I might use it to pay off my mortgage faster in a year or two or I might leave it in the mutual fund.  It was languishing in a savings account and I thought I would risk it and see if I could do better.  Now I will try not to check it everyday and worry about dips in the stock market (but it is up $95 already!).  Patience and perseverance.  I will reach my goals, preferably before I am too old or infirmed to enjoy life.