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.

The Past Few Months

Maybe if I work on this synopsis of the last few months a few minutes a day, I will catch up.

1. The move: As you know, my mother bought a house and we both moved in mid-August. It has been non-stop activity since and it is still on-going. I am very tired of moving!
2. My mother's townhouse: We decided to tackle moving my mother's stuff out of her townhouse first because it was smaller than my house and close by. When we had removed most of the personal items, we asked our realtor how much stuff to leave for "staging"and what to take out. The realtor came over, gave some suggestions (less is more) and commented that another realtor in her office had some out of town clients looking in the area the next day. My mother gave her permission to show it even though it hadn't been cleaned and was still in disarray. Surprisingly, the people liked the townhouse and made a full price offer. We were thrilled and made plans to move the rest of the stuff out. It was hot and a lot of work but with a rented Uhaul truck and two rented guys, we got it done.
   
   Unfortunately, ALL of the stuff, including the trash, was now at the new house. We are still sorting through it.
3. My house in Tucson: It has been very hot and finding the time to drive to my house, 45 minutes away, has been difficult. I have made a few trips, car loads, pick-up truck loads.
   
   What remains is the miscellaneous, most of which can be given away or taken to my property. These things are most tools, gardening items, fencing, anything I won't be needing in the suburbs. The new backyard has very little garden space. I've been throwing old seeds out by the drip system emitters. That's the extent of my gardening, at the moment. The new house does have roses and citrus trees so keeping those alive is enough responsibility for now. This week, my handyman has begun the repairs I need to do before I list it for sale. I do want to replace the kitchen cabinets but haven't figured out exactly what to replace them with. Maybe IKEA cabinets if I can take a day off.
4. The dogs: I got Francis adopted the Saturday before I moved. That was very fortunate as she was the most energetic and the loudest barker. I brought 4 dogs to the new house and talked to all of my neighbors who were home to let them know to tell me if the dogs bothered them. Everyone was fine...until last week. The snowbirds who live on the corner came back and the dogs barked like crazy when they heard new voices. The neighbors complained to the homeowner's association and we got a visit from them. Turns out the neighbors like to eat breakfast in their backyard. So, out came the bark collars and I had a nice chat with the neighbors and gave them my number in case the dogs start barking again. BUT...I also got my last foster dog adopted last week and we finally got solid gates on the fence so the dogs can't see the people who walk down the alley. Big improvements.
   
5. Living with my mother: It's a work in progress. Between moving, selling my house, my job, and regular life stuff, I don't have a lot of time. My mother wants to watch movies and I just want to take a nap. She does the grocery shopping and the dishes, which is very nice. I make dinner on the weekends and try to have enough leftovers for the week.
6. Rental house #1: I got a notice that the tenants were moving out in August. Almost immediately, I got a notice that new people were moving in. There are always repairs and cleaning bills so I waited for the email. The second week in September, I got an email from the management company that said I needed to authorize $2500 in expenses so that the tenants could move in in 3 days. I was like, um, no, you're fired. They were apologetic and re-did the estimate.
   
   I looked at the property and decided to pay for carpet replacement, got my handyman to clean up the yard, and took a day off work to paint the walls with my handyman which only cost $350 rather than the $1,100 that was quoted to me. I also took down the old window shades and put up shear curtains.
   
   
   The tenants decided not to move in but I got to keep their $850 deposit and new tenants have since signed a lease. Hopefully, Rental house #1 will be stable for a while.
7. Rental house #2: My tenant, the one that was living out in my mobile home and then I bought this little house in town for him to rent, has decided to move to Brazil at the end of the month. He wants me to help him re-home his 2 dogs and 2 cats. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to foster so I can only help with advertising them. Soon, I will need to find a new tenant. I've had a few inquiries but the area of town that it is in isn't the greatest and I don't think either of the single women who inquired would want to live there. Someone will appreciate it though. Hopefully, a responsible person who always pays their rent on time.
8. My mobile home property: It's being totally neglected. I go out there to collect the mail once a month. The weeds are taking over. I hate seeing it like that but I don't have the time or money to work on it yet. Once my house sells, maintaining the property will be easier.
   
   Maybe I will even have some money for more improvements like bringing electricity to the barn-shed and building more fencing or walls to keep out the snakes.
9. My job: It is going crazy. They let one person go from our office and they have asked me to go to out plant in Mexico twice a week. So far, I've only been going once a week because I get so behind on my emails when I go down there. I want to take some time off to work on the house that I will be selling but I just seem to be getting more and more behind every day. I think I will take a half day every Friday anyway because I have some vacation time to use before December. Since I'm going to the Mexico plant, I've finally started trying to learn some Spanish. I downloaded the Duolingo app on my phone and I have practiced every night for 2 weeks. The beginning stuff was easy because I did have Spanish in high school but it is quickly getting harder. The most of the people at the plant speak English but I tell them all that I am trying to learn so they teach me new words. Todays word was carrots: zanahorias. 

There you go. The quick synopsis. My home computer is still dead and I don't have the new laptop they are supposed to be buying me yet. Maybe next month.

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.

Luxury of Time

Nephew update:  He has a job at Mc Donald's.  I shipped 3 boxes and his golf clubs for arrival on Friday (Note to self, never ship golf clubs again.  Too expensive.)  There are 6-8 more boxes but I am going to wait to ship them until he asks for them since some things should be shipped straight to college in August.  His grandfather is trying to convince him to buy a laptop instead of a gaming computer.  I'm staying out of it.  That's about all I know.  He doesn't communicate much so I'm going to assume that no news is good news.    

This was mid-sorting.

Now that I'm not worrying about my nephew's whereabouts, meals, homework, screen-time, etc... my brain has so much time to think about all of the things I've been putting off.  I threw out all of the trash in nephew's room and put 85% of the stuff in boxes on the bed which I have left open so that I can find things.  I cleaned out any food that I bought for nephew and that I don't want to eat like Kraft Mac and Cheese and Hamburger Helper.  I'm going to drop it off at my tenant's house along with a big bag of dog food donated from the dog rescue and a table top bbq with leftover charcoal.  I'm really not the bbq type.

Today I took a half day off to wait for the water delivery truck to deliver 3,500 gallons of water to my new tank at the mobile home/barn-shed property.  The guy filled my 3,000 gallon tank, then put around 300 gallons in another tank.  Then I thought we could empty the truck into the 300 gallon tank but when it was filling, suddenly water started pouring out.  There was a 2 foot crack starting halfway around the tank.  Dismayed, I tried to think of how to save my water and ended up stuffing a plastic grocery bag inside so that it poked through the crack and slowed the leak to a trickle.  I wasn't planning on having to transfer water today but it was clear that it would leak out if I left it so I set up the pump and hose.  I suspect it got cracked when the neighbors helped my tenant get water when he was living here.  They took the tank in the back of their pickup and it looks like it was shoved out too many times.  The tank was very old and brittle so I'm not surprised.  I'm going to try to repair it and still use it for rainwater collection like I had planned.

Crack in tank with temporary plastic bag fix.

 While I was waiting for the water to transfer to the other tank, I dropped off 3 bags of clothes and 1 box of toys with a friend.  She'll find a new home for everything.  I stopped at Dairy Queen for a hot dog and drink and drove back to finish up the water transfer.  As soon as I pulled up I realized there was something wrong with the car and, sure enough, the passenger side tire had a side-wall gash.  Not wanting to use the cheap car jack on gravel, I called AAA.  I figured they would arrive by the time I finished transferring the water.  Unfortunately, they got lost and I ran out of drinkable water (I wasn't expecting to be there that long).  Next time I go out to there I must remember to bring reserves.  It was 105F out there.  Too hot!  I miss not having a refrigerator there since I moved it to the rental house but I will bring the fridge from my house as soon as I find a nicer replacement.  At least I had a window A/C which I stood in front of whenever I wasn't moving stuff around outside.

AAA arrived and changed the tire and I drove slowly to the tire shop.  A coworker picked me up so that I could spend 2 hours going through my email.  I'm going to have a lot to do tomorrow to catch up.  My coworker dropped my off at the tire store on the way home and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the tire was under warranty and they only charged me $10 for labor. That was a relief. I'm glad I am safely at home now and I have crossed a few more chores off of my list.

Here's a layout of my property so that you know what I am talking about.  This is not where I am currently living, it's just used for storage at this point, but it is where I hope to retire someday soon.  I put the water tank on the hill to use gravity to my advantage and for ease of filling.  Eventually, I would like to have all rainwater catchment but I don't have enough roof area yet.

1- Shed. 2- Mobile home. 3- Barn-shed (someday tiny house) 4- New water tank.

This is the memorial tree for my father that my coworkers gave me almost two years ago.  It has more than doubled in size.

Just a reminder that the rattlesnakes are nearby in case I forget. This was under the water tank when we tipped it up along with a fat packrat.

Next Items on the List:

-Bring food and bbq to tenant.
-Dog adoption event.
-Pick a day to go look at houses with Mom.

It's nice to be making progress.

More Presents for Me

I like the idea of having a whole birthday month.  I have to work on my birthday anyway, so might as well spread out the fun throughout the whole month of May.  Last weekend, I arranged to have my barn-shed painted.  My handyman has a sprayer and it was just easier to pay him to do it than rent a sprayer from Home Depot 40 minutes away.  It took him and his helper around 6 hours to do it but it is finished and finally completely protected from the weather, even that top back panel I couldn't reach last year.

It still needs the trim painted white but I can do that later myself.

While they were painting, I was inside the mobile home cleaning up after the tenant who didn't exactly leave the place spotless.  Ok, so it wasn't exactly spotless when he moved in last July either.  There was dust on everything and I only got 2/3 of if clean.  I'll go out again next month after I get my water tank, get water delivered, and after my nephew leaves.  

Earlier that morning, at 3am to be exact, I had looked at Facebook after letting my dog out to pee.  I had been checking the garage sale sites daily for a washer and dryer but hadn't seen one.  Now, at 3am, I saw a set within my price range.  There was a phone number to call but, of course, I didn't call at that time.  I left a comment and then waited to call in the morning.  Then I got the cash out of the bank and brought my hand truck, just in case.  Around 10am, The seller replied to my comment that the washer/dryer set were pending sale.  Oh well, I assumed I had lost them.  About 45 minutes later, he posted again that they were still available.  I called immediately but he said another couple was coming to see them so I agreed to wait.  I was sure they were sold for the second time.  He called me back in an hour and said they didn't buy them.  I was thrilled and arranged to switch vehicles with my nephew because he had the truck and begged my handyman to take a break from painting to help me load them.  As you can see, happy birthday to me.  I got them!

I don't have a hook up for an electric dryer yet but my coworker said he would help me install an outlet when I am ready for it.

The washer is temporarily in the living room.  Later, I'll move it to the storage room in the back and hook up water and a grey-water drain that will go to my mesquite tree.

I was so excited to have a washing machine at the mobile home again.  I carried 15 gallons of water by jug and washed the curtains, then hauled the water to the mesquite tree.  I don't have much water out there now so I will wait until I have my new 3000 gallon water tank filled with water and then hook up an inlet hose.  The tank was delivered to the store on the other side of town and I am waiting for my handyman to be available to haul it to my property with his flat-bed trailer.

In other news, I got a new dog.  I know, mother, I'm trying to get less dogs, not more.  Hopefully, I will find a new home for her before I move.  If not, the rescue group will find her a new foster home.  She was one of a mom and pups that I fostered 5 years ago.  It was actually around the same time that my parents and nephew came to live with me.  She got adopted by a family but the people got divorced and remarried and now have small children and she is a very energetic dog.  I think the new wife just didn't like her.  She needs a family that will play with her and take her jogging.

As the only female in a house full of 4 male dogs, she tired of the unwanted attention.  She jumped on the chair with my nephew and booped Jimmy-dog on the head as if to say, "Leave me alone."

This was her when she was a puppy in my backyard.

And this was her mother.  I would call mom a chow chow-cattle dog mix.  Daddy was probably a lab-pit bull mix.

So, I will be trying hard to find her a family.  She doesn't have any medical issues, gets along with large and small dogs and cats, and knows sit, down, shake, and is house trained and kennel trained.  All I need is to find a jogger who wants a partner, bonus points if he/she works from home.

Equity Shuffle

It's been a very busy month and I haven't made the time to sit down and sort out my thoughts until now. 

Old Plan:

Nephew goes off to college in May.

Mother moves in to my Tucson house after I turn my carport in to an apartment for her.

But the more we thought about that, the more we decided that it wasn't ideal since my mother would be bored and dependent on me for things that she can do herself now like go to church, see her friends, go to doctor appointments, etc...  The only thing that made sense was for me to move to her retirement town which is 45 minutes away.  Safer streets, less traffic, familiar routines. 

New Plan:

Nephew goes off to college in May.

Fix up Tucson house to sell and mother sells her house.

Move to my property temporarily.

Buy a house with mother near mother's current location.

I wasn't sure if I was even allowed to move to her town because it is mostly 55 and older housing.  But, only one person in the household needs to be 55 and older so, yes, we can live there together.  Then, I needed to figure out if there were regulations for pets.  I have heard of homeowner's associations limiting pets to only 2 and I currently have 3 dogs and 2 foster dogs.  I narrowed down the area that would work for both of us and the HOA does not have a pet limit so I'm good there as long as their barking doesn't annoy the neighbors.  Now I am watching homes for sale.  I have identified around 40 that have a large yard, as in more than .2 of an acre lot.  They aren't for sale but maybe one of them will be by the time we are ready to buy.

And, to kick off this plan, I bought another house.  This one is an investment.  Since the house that I live in now would only get around $850/m for rent, I decided to buy a small house and rent it out to my tenant who is at my property in my mobile home for $600/m.  He wants running water and accessibility to public transportation, and I want my mobile home back because I plan to move there temporarily and store more of my stuff there after I make it pest-proof. 

Here's a little more explanation:  I am emotionally invested in my Tucson house.  I have toiled in the yard, fostered loads of dogs and puppies in it, housed my parents and nephew, visited with other family and friends.  I don't want to rent it out and see other people change it.  I want to sell it and never go back.  Plus, the house is worth around $160K and I don't want to keep a mortgage on it so having that much money tied up in it does not work for my plan.

So, I took out a home equity line of credit for $70K and looked around for something small.  Something that I would never live in and not get attached to it.  But I have to back up again because I didn't start with the HELOC idea.  I started just looking for some place for my tenant to move to.  It was hard to find a place because he has two dogs and it is difficult to find someone else a place to live.  Then I had the bright idea to look for something to buy.  It would be win-win.  I would keep a paying tenant and he would have a better place to live than my mobile home.  The houses that I found in the areas that weren't either crime-ridden or way far out from civilization were all fixer-uppers and not able to be financed traditionally.  Thus, the HELOC.

It took a month to apply for the HELOC and get the money.  I was watching two houses but on the day my funds were available, both houses had multiple offers.  I scoured the listings again, asked my tenant about areas that he wanted to avoid, and checked trulia.com for their crime rating.  I found this little two bedroom, one bath house close to downtown and a block from the bus stop.  I went out to look at it asap.  My realtor said that the house was probably still available because it had a tenant.  We couldn't see inside but I wanted to put in an offer anyway.  The realtor wrote the offer up contingent on seeing the inside and there being no major issues.  Then we waited for the tenant to leave, and waited, and waited.  Finally he moved out and the inside was dirty with a few water hose leaks, cockroaches and some termites.  My realtor made a list of things to be fixed and we waited some more.  The closing day was getting close so I offered to take the house as-is for $1,000 off the price.  The seller agreed and we proceeded with the sale for $64K.  It's been a week now and my handyman has been painting and repairing.  It's been treated for cockroaches and termites and all the junk is gone.  We are focusing on the inside first so that my tenant can move in the first of the month.   

Needs some stucco repair.

Dirty but functional.

Water leaks and clogged drains.

I don't want to know what was living in the couch.

Now you are caught up with my plans and rental house adventure.  When I sell my Tucson house I will pay off the rest of the mortgage and the HELOC and have some leftover to put down on the house with my mother.  I will also have 2 paid-off rentals giving me income.  That's pretty awesome.

Project update

Poor little Chester, he had 11 teeth pulled.  It's over now and he will feel much better.  He had a dental cleaning around 4 years ago when I adopted him but I don't think it was very thorough.  I went to a different discount vet this time and it cost $325 including pain meds and antibiotics.  I'm glad that's over.

I got the quotes back for the projects that I want to do. 

Move laundry space: $900

Update kitchen (install cabinets and countertops, move some switches and lights, build small pantry, install dishwasher and garbage disposal, build wall behind fridge): $1,000

Carport conversion to AZ room: $8,000  This is just for enclosing the space with insulation, drywall, and raising the concrete floor above driveway level.  Electrical, doors, windows, paint and flooring are extra.  

Fix roof edge: $200 

It's all very reasonable but I will need to use home equity depending on my timeframe.  I'm still emptying my laundry water by bucket because I haven't fixed the leak in the wall which is where the "Move laundry space" item comes from.  The trash can water collection system holds exactly two loads of dirty water.  I know this because I didn't empty the can after I ran a load and then my nephew did a load and I thought, uh-oh, was there a flood?  The water was up to the very tippy top. Whew.

Fixing the laundry drain is first on the list along with fixing the roof but... my sister and her kids are visiting this week so there won't be any construction happening for a while.  In the meantime, January's extra mortgage payment is still in my savings account waiting for me to decide.  And yesterday I noticed that the mesquite tree growing over the driveway is in desperate need of a trim.  I cut off one low branch but I need a professional.  That tree is a monster and needs to be thinned or I am afraid it will fall over and take my driveway with it.

So many projects for a home-owner.  It keeps me busy.  I would get so bored in an apartment with nothing to fix.  

The Planning Stage

Another week closer to my goals, or another week of my life gone, depending how one looks at it.  Where did I leave off, oh yes, Jimmy-dog had his test.  The vet called with his results and she was very surprised that he was negative for the 8 hour test.  So, yet again, he doesn't have Cushing's Syndrome.  She was convinced that the previous negative result with the 4 hour test was just an anomaly because of his symptoms.  That means more tests, but the vet is baffled at this point and asked that I bring him in again for a check-up and quick ultrasound to see if the size of his adrenal tumor has changed.  She said the magic words "bring him in at no cost" because she would have looked at him last week when he was there but was too busy.  She said she wants to consult with the endocrinologist at UC Davis to discuss his case.  I'm glad he's getting attention but I wish we had a treatment plan.

My brother-in-law came to visit last weekend.  He is my nephew's god-father as well as uncle so they spent some time together and then we went to visit his extended family who lives nearby.  We also took my mother to the airport so that she could fly out to California again to see her favorite dermatologist.  She will be back in a couple of weeks.  Not much else happened.  It rained most of the week but we managed to walk the dogs a little bit before getting hailed on.  I got the quote back for moving the washer/dryer hook up and installing cabinets and new appliances in the kitchen.  It was very affordable, only $1500 but now I need to find and purchase cabinets, countertops, etc....  I have decided to put my mortgage re-payment plan on hold to build up my cash reserves for this project.  I don't have a quote for the carport to AZ room conversion because he needs to come out again and take some measurements.  That's the one I'm really interested in because I need to figure out how to finance the project.  No rush though.  That's at least 5 months away.

For now, I am cruising craigslist for cabinets and weighing my options in my head.  This is what I want, although, on a much smaller scale since my kitchen is about 1/4th this size.

My ceilings are half as tall too. OK, so I just like the cabinets and maybe the countertop. I'll probably change my mind a few times.

Summer is Losing Its Grip

September.  The weather has cooled some.  Not cool enough to use the oven, but enough to be cool at night so that I can sleep well.  My dog who drinks a lot has been sleeping through the night too so I don't have to let him outside to pee at 1am.  His walking has improved somewhat on the Tramadol so I don't have to help him stand.  We had a vet appointment last night and his blood pressure has come down on the medication.  The vet is going to look in to other medications we can try.  For now, we will just wait and see.

Only 2 1/2 weeks left of the first quarter of my nephew's senior year.  He gets a 2 week fall break between quarters and will be going to visit my sister in California like he did last year.  She will help him write his paper for his video game designer career presentation which is due at the end of the year.  She also says she has work for him to do to earn money for his computer fund.  He has $250 so far but I think he will need at least $550 for an Alienware computer depending on if he wants to risk buying a used one.  We took a pile of books to sell to the used bookstore last weekend but they only paid 50 cents a book which came to a whopping $4 for the ones they wanted.  

He was disappointed and so was I.  I will be donating or selling the rest of them on Ebay/Amazon instead. 

The tenant in my mobile home does not complain which is good except when I start wondering if no news is bad news.  So far, it is all ok.  Home Depot had a rebate on paint, $40 off a 5 gallon bucket, so I bought 2 buckets.  Obviously, since I have already spend my surplus money for September on previous vet bills, I am borrowing money from my mortgage repayment plan but this deal was too good to pass up.  I got 10 gallons of paint for the same price (after rebate) as I paid for 5 gallons the first time.  5 gallons was not enough paint and I thought the original yellow color was too bright.  This time, I bought a much lighter yellow and 10 gallons should be plenty of paint for the second coat.  

My tenant will have plenty of painting to do for me.  It's a good job for him because I don't need to be there to supervise.  I hope to take a day off while my nephew is gone to continue cleaning out the storage room of the mobile home.  If I bring everything to my house and put it in the living room, I can sort and toss/give/sell more easily.  At least, that is the idea. 

I added up my debts and assets, like I do every month, and it is motivating to see how close I am getting to my goal.  I love dreaming about all the projects I can do after the mortgage is paid off.  I get ideas from blogs and vlogs and add things to my Amazon wish list like a gas-powered water pump and a Berkey water filter.  For now though, I should stay focused on de-cluttering.  On Saturday, I am taking my foster dog to an adoption event.  If he gets adopted, I think that would count as de-cluttering.  Aww, sorry foster-dog.  You know I'm probably going to keep you forever.

The Price of Compassion

A lot has been going on and I haven't written about it because when I finally get in to bed at night I just want to play Bejeweled and snuggle with the dogs until I go to sleep.

1)  I was so confident that my nephew would get his license (yes, he did) and be able to drive himself to school thus enabling us to stay at the house instead of traveling back and forth to the mobile home so that he could ride the school bus like the did last year, (run-on sentence alert) that I got a new foster dog. 

He is a 12 year old long-haired Chihuahua with Cushing's Syndrome (like my other dog has, or so I thought).  He is a bit of a brat when it comes to food and not wanting to go in the bedroom at night but otherwise, he is very soft and cute and his vet care is covered by the rescue.  Maybe he will get adopted even with his age and issues.  This does mean I will eventually have to take him to PetSmart adoption events.  He got neutered last Saturday so I don't have any more excuses except lack of time.

2)  Someone in the dog rescue group asked me if I could provide temporary housing for a handyman and his 2 dogs who were getting evicted at 1pm that day.  I have been burned before when believing sad stories but I decided to take a risk and help someone again.  He had references and I printed out a standard lease along with some extra rules for the mobile home.  He was thrilled to have a place for himself and his dogs and he has busied himself with the list of projects I gave him for fixing up the mobile home and property.  The biggest challenge has been organizing the projects and finding time (and money) to buy the materials.  After I dropped the foster dog off at his neuter appointment last Saturday, I went to Home Depot to buy gutters and attachments and wood boards for the steps.  Originally, I had planned to drive out to the property immediately but it was so hot I went home, took a nap, picked up the foster dog at 2pm and then my nephew and I went out to drop off materials.  This Saturday I plan to go out and help install the gutters.  We have had a lot of rain this week and none of that water is being collected.  It's a shame.  And also, he needs water to flush the toilet, so, gutters are the #1 project.  I had planned to start these projects in the late fall when it would be cooler but now the gutters can't wait.

3)  My black and tan dog (the one that I did the DNA test on and found out he is a bloodhound, Austr. shepherd, Austr. cattle dog, and chow chow) was diagnosed with Cushing's Syndrome last year.  

He has gotten worse in the last 2 months and can barely walk.  I took him to the vet again yesterday and the vet says he has a Pheochromocytoma tumor which has some of the same symptoms as Cushing's but the best course of action for this tumor is surgery.  I have a surgery consultation next Tuesday.  I have no idea how much that will cost or how much I am willing to spend.  I guess it depends on how long they think he will live if the surgery is a success.  Usually, dogs are diagnosed when they are around 12 years old but he is only 7.  If I could buy him another 5 years, that would be awesome, but I don't want him to be miserable.  One of the reasons I did the DNA test when I did was because I was worried that he wouldn't live long.

So, to sum up, I have no money and no time but I do have someone to work on projects for me.  That is a bit frustrating.  I'll get through it even if it means adding a few months on to my mortgage repayment plan.  That is why my plan is flexible after all.

My Enthusiasm for Painting has Dwindled

I had high hopes for last week but, sadly, it didn't cooperate.  Thursday was good.  After work I picked up my nephew and we met my sister for dinner.   Afterwards, we went to her hotel for some lovely night swimming, or I should say "floating" because that is mainly what we did.  I took a vacation day on Friday and my sister gamely met me at 8am out at my property for more painting fun.  I was excited to try out my new paint sprayer.  Unfortunately, I didn't read all of the reviews so I missed the part where it doesn't work well with latex paint.  The description said "thinned latex paint" but when I thinned it, it was so thin that it didn't cover and just dripped everywhere.  After 3 hours of messing with it, I switched to a brush to get the edges covered before I roasted in the sun. 

I still didn't get the upper panel done in the back.  My sister was a big help and painted the groves on the south side of the barn-shed.  That afternoon it rained.  Oh well, The back side is just going to have to wait until I have time to go out there again.  Later on I read all the reviews for the paint sprayer.  The one I bought cost $75 and the one that says it can spray latex costs $130.  I don't think I want to even try another sprayer.  I was just as messy with a sprayer as I was with a brush and I worked at about the same speed. 

I had also scheduled a permit inspection to close out the current permit which is just for the barn-shed to be legal on my property.  I waited until noon but no inspector showed up.  On Saturday, I remembered to check the inspection results online.  It said FAILED.  The reason was that the inspector couldn't find the address and said that I didn't answer my phone.  That is so frustrating!  I never got a call and this was the same inspector as last time so you would think he would know where it was or use google maps or something.  Next time I will have to leave explicit instructions on the recorded message and hope that he can find it.

Besides those two disappointing things, we have been trying to get my nephew's 10 hours of night driving practice done before he goes on his summer travels.  As of today we have 2 1/2 hours left and we plan to do an hour tonight.  He has come such a long way since those first terrifying trips back in February.  A friend wants me to drive around with her son who is learning to drive because she is too nervous.  I can't say I'm eager to do that.

Tomorrow I need to sneak out of work for an hour while I go pick up my Zaycon Fresh 40 pounds of chicken and stuff it in my freezer in my mobile home.  I'll sort it in to smaller bags when I return from my niece's wedding.  Good thing I have 2 freezers because the one at the house is already full of chicken thighs.  So much to do and organize!  I thought my life was going to slow down when school got out but so far it hasn't happened.  

Pizza and Progress

Another hard-working Saturday. But first, we filled up with a slice of pizza, a very, very big slice. Not a bad price either. Only $6 for a super-sized piece of pizza and a drink.  I've driven past this little pizza place hundreds of times and finally thought to look up the reviews, which were great, so we stopped in.

Before this, my nephew went to his ACT test prep class (the last of three Saturdays, yay!) and I continued painting the grooves in the barn-shed. A very slow and tedious process. 

After lunch, my nephew tried out the paint roller while I filled in the grooves. He is a did well for his first try but his clothes and shoes will have yellow splotches forever. Luckily, the paint came off his forehead.  He thought I should have painted the barn-shed red because of the green roof but I am trying to make it look more like a cottage and less like a barn.  It's more yellow than I wanted it because I expect the sun to fade it quite quickly.  We will see.  

After he finished paint rolling everything that could be rolled without a ladder, I introduced him to my reciprocating saw. He enjoyed lopping off tree branches much more than painting.  Every few minutes he was saying "what can I cut now?".

I have a lot more to paint and very little motivation at the moment. The upper loft walls, front and back, need to be painted, for sure, as well as the rest of the grooves. The porch area can be last because it is covered and shaded from the sun. I have very few weekends left before the weather gets unbearable. I was hoping to take next Saturday off from painting chores. If I want to do that I had better start painting after work instead.  I think I'm going to run out of paint too.  I haven't decided what to do with the porch itself.  The floor should be stained again, I think.  The beams and ceiling could be white.  I'm having trouble picturing how it will look.

Anyway, 6 more weeks of school and then a very short summer break.  I keep looking forward to a long summer break but school starts back up July 20-something.  Well, any break will be welcome.