The Cat Pee House Is Ours!

What a busy week! And it's only Wednesday! I have been cheerfully eating my weight in crap and that has got to stop. Aside from the weight gain which is sure to happen I feel vaguely nauseous, tired and short tempered all the time and I'm pretty sure it's because I've been eating nothing but fat and sugar for a week. Liz ended up leaving a little early on Sunday - we had some lookers which screwed up the day a bit, not too bad though. David and I spent the afternoon doing the weekly shopping and then I left a little early Monday morning because I knew it would be a busy day. It was a very long day - the day you close on a house is nerve wracking whether you're there or not - David told me yesterday that actually there had been a huge screw up with the deed and there was a flurry of phone calls and running about so we did have the usual Eleventh Hour - but thankfully I didn't know about it until after it happened. The closing after that went smoothly and we became home owners right on schedule. I left work at 4 pm and drove to Pittston, then got in Laurie's car and we drove to State College. We had signed up for a coding seminar months ago and of course it fell on the same day we were closing - there is nothing like working 12 hours and driving for 2 mores when you're stressed out and sleep deprived The trip was fun, Laurie and I get along very well so we had a good time and actually learned stuff! We got stuck in traffic on the way there which was miserable but made good time on the way back which was not. David is busy, Harry is working on his house too and they are both going green. The good thing about the green is you can save a lot of money - David has been shopping at Green Demolition - they recover kitchens and stuff from demolitions and foreclosures and refurbish it, and then resell at a low price. David and Harry are going half on some other stuff so we should be able to rehab this house under budget. David already has the kitchen gutted and has taken down the wall that's saturated with cat pee - it was a total loss and he said there was no way to save it. We will most likely rent this place for the winter which is ok, if it works out it could be another source of income - and who would say no to that?

BushKill Falls

Liz arrived yesterday morning - she got jammed up in NYC around the Throgs Neck. I could sympathize because I too have spent a bit of Jamming Time in front of the Throgs Neck. That would be where David threatened to put me out of the truck if I didn't stop kicking his dashboard and sighing. Anyhoo after bolstering her up with a little coffee off we went to the falls. We had some Good Humor Ice Cream for breakfast and and quite enjoyed the no vitamins and minerals of it all. Now, when we went with Ray I did the short tour of only one or two falls - this time Liz and I did the full tour which includes I think all 7 of the falls. It's also about two or three hours of hiking some pretty rough terrain, a lot of the paths are actually washouts filled with rocks and tree roots, it's constant up and down. Needless to say we got our ten dollars worth. After that we did a few little stores and stuff, we did stop at the outlets but it was so late in the afternoon it just wasn't fun because it gets so crowded. I also gave her the Grand Tour of the Cat Pee House, she didn't like the kitchen at all but could see what we see - the potential of that house is amazing. We also stopped at the Country Kettle and got some Licorice All Sorts and ate that on the way home. The 3 of us went out to the Chinese buffet (after a bottle of wine) and then home to watch TV. I broke out a loaf of sourdough bread this morning and we sat around eating french toast, drinking coffee and yakking up a storm. The RE called and we had a couple of unexpected lookie-loos so David went Driving with Miss Pants and Liz and I hit the local farm stands. We bought bags and bags of apples (the apples around here are stellar and I can eat bushels of them) - the place we frequent has these huge apple bins and you just take your basket and get what ever you want. We also got cider doughnuts too. Did you notice I'm eating like I'm in a contest? It's stress eating of course and I'm wallowing in it as I have a lot of excuses this week. We close on the Cat Pee house tomorrow, I have work and then it's straight from one office to the next and then up to State College for an all day conference then back to Pittson to pick up my car, back home and then back to work the next day. We have other things running in the background, jockeying for position on the current Hit Parade of Issues, I just keep eating and knitting - like bad tuna, it will pass.

Holding Our Breath - Quite Literally

One of the first things David will do when we officially own the Cat Pee House is rip down the half wall between the kitchen and the dining room as that seems to a major source of the Cat Pee Ambiance that permeates the house. David seems to think when he pulls that wall the floor underneath that will have to go too. A lot of the carpeting went with the dumpster - the remaining will also be going into the next dumpster as that is saturated with a surprising melody of cat pee, mold and mildew and who knows what else. I've had new nurses go into similar homes and ask me - how can people live like that - and the answer is, after a while you just don't see it anymore. You really don't, the smell fades and you just learn to step around the piles of old clothes and magazines, it becomes a part of your day. David and sometimes worry since our house is up for sale and we ask each other "Can you smell that?" "Does the couch smell like the dog?" but I don't think it does. We clean the litter pans everyday and vacuum like elves plus the invention of the Glade De-Stinkers have made great leaps in the housekeeping departments. We have had some more lookers but we've decided 3 more weeks and then it gets rented at least for the winter - not only would it be a financial drain but I don't want the house sitting empty and us having to drive back here constantly checking on it. I'm waiting for Liz, she's coming to visit and we're heading out to Bushkill Falls for the day. We might even stop by the yarn store if she behaves! David is not going, I think he and Harry have some sort of expedition plotted today, I don't ask and they don't tell. Do you see my pictures of the shawl? It's coming along even better than I thought it would and I love that yarn. I bought 3 skeins of it as it was the last of that lot and I didn't want to run out. I hope I have enough left over to start another project. But I also will be busy - hopefully!!- starting to pack after Monday!

Work And Knitting

Yesterday I finally rounded up (most) of the staff for my bi-monthly meeting - it's harder to do than you think it is, even when you tell them repeatedly when and where and they mark it on their calendars AND they are getting paid for it. But I was a little taken aback by the fact there were only two empty seats in the conference room and that's only because two couldn't make it. We stuttered and started for awhile but this afternoon Mike and I finally got ALL the charts in the drawer and before he left he mentioned the top drawer is almost full - and it is! AND I got another present last week - I got a Vera Bradley Miller bag which is uber-expensive and very pretty. It will of course be housing the next knitting project, well, the one after that because I think I'll be doing another pair of socks. Socks are fun to knit because they're fast, easy and everyone likes them. I actually have a tiny sock bag so I don't have to haul around the bigger ones. At the moment I'm quite stuck on my Lantern Moon black straw bag - it's the perfect size for totting it about and it's actually hosted the last couple of projects. I have bags in every shape and size, One that's big enough to hold an afghan in progress and then of course the suede Options ones I LOVE - they have a place for everything! I have one that's solely devoted to keeping all my sock needles straight and all the stuff that goes with it. One of the addictive things about knitting isn't just the yarn, it's all the fofaru that goes along with it. The stitch markers, yarn cutters, size gauge, row counters, measuring tapes - all in a host of mind boggling shapes and sizes. I have tape measures in the shape of flowers, sheep, leaves, round square, cloth, knitted. I feel like ordering something if you'll excuse me.............

Six More Days For Everything To Wrong

Six days - doesn't sound like a lot of time, does it? But it is, it is plenty of hours and minutes left for the whole thing to either implode or explode, for Oops And Sorry About That - the last time around we were at the zero hour when we found the deal would not go through. It's not huge of course, it's not like we have no where to live or this place is sold - the way things are looking this place will most likely end up being rented which isn't a bad thing. We've never done a rental so we'll get a chance to see how that works out. David is meeting the carpet guy over there for measurements and estimates today, he also has to figure out how to get the rest of the orange shag rug out - they GLUED it to the floor so it's been slow going. The dumpster is gone and after next week we'll need another one delivered. In the midst of all this David has started doing contracting again and has a project that needs to be squeezed in between all of this goings on. Our weekend with Ray was fun, we did a little exploring and of course eating out. The only thing I don't like about that is the scale on Monday - why does it come off so slowly and return so quickly?? Work is a slippery slope most days, we're still getting the place re-organized and getting everyone doing the same thing, never ends. The weather is horribly rainy looking today but warmer - I have to get my winter clothes down. I've been putting it off, I cannot believe summer was over so quickly! and I need to see what I have and what I don't.

Saturday. It Happens.

Well, I made it to the bank again this morning, this time to get the Power Of Attorney signed over to David so he can be me for the closing. I was myself for the last closing, but I think the one before that the attorney was me and Harry our friend the RE agent has also gotten the chance to be me a couple of times I believe. I also did my weekly weigh in this morning, I'm still 143 and will take that for now - at least I'm not gaining it. Pearl went to Dog Jail today at 9, Ray arrived at 9:30 and I took off around 10 to do errands and get my temporary crown. The manager was off at the dentist and they have a new girl who did the numbers and took a check for $71 - I asked her if she was sure about that and she was. The dentist came out and was not sure about that and since my insurance has not pre-authed yet needed the full amount and I get most of it back later so the next check was for over $700. THEN they started some other nonsense and I told them both there would be only ONE more check if any so they'd better be careful. I've had crowns done before so I know how much they cost but this was just getting silly and I was not planning on standing there all day while they made phone calls and calculations - I mean I have to come back for the crown itself so there's little danger of my not ponying up. We finally got down to business and I have my temporary. After I got back and David had sprung Pearl from the Big House we headed out to the Mexican restaurant for cerveza and fajitas. After the bookstore and then grocery shopping and quite naturally we forgot at least 3 things. But Ray enjoyed it as he likes the traditional outing to Wegmans where he can find his hard to find items. Not sure what we're doing tomorrow, something fun I should think.

How It's Going.

Well, my co-worker remains at the home office,today they couldn't send me anyone so I was running the show solo. It's actually not that bad except for the phone as there are Four Lines, One Human and I do occasionally make a quick jaunt to the Powder Room. I've discovered any attempt at visiting the Ladies Room causes some secret sensor to be tripped and all four lines will start ringing at once. I will have my rotation of co-workers again next week and it is a pleasant thing - they enjoy the change of scenery (people volunteer to come out east) and I of course get company. Speaking of company Ray is coming out tomorrow which is getting a bit complicated They can amuse themselves while I go to my dental appointment BUT the RE called and there are 2 appointments to show the house. This is a problem as I am NOT tarting around with Miss Pants in a truck for 3 hours . So we called Dog Prison and she will be there for most of the day rattling her tin cup on the bars and sharpening her shiv that she made out of dental floss and a plastic spork (it's a spoon! It's a Fork! Its a Spork!). That way we can have time to do stuff. I got off of work an hour early because I went in an hour early so I could get to the bank to sign my life away. David had accidentally sent in a very old pay stub and when he sent a current one the bank no longer had any issues and ponied up the full amount. So we have one more week to go and we will be floating around on a little Cat Pee Cloud, gloating over all the Free Frogs we will be getting! The shawl continues well, I was a bit put out having to frog the whole business but I'm glad I did as the do over looks 100% better. I hope the Cat Pee House works out because I'll be able to join the knitting group up there, the lady at the shop invites me every time she sees me and it makes me a bit sad that I can't go - well, I guess I could but I travel so much at this point every activity is just another hour out of my life. My diet is my diet, I've lost and gained the same pounds for the past two weeks, but I'm OK with that. I DO prefer to have my cake - and eat it too!

Stops And Starts

We've pretty much come to the conclusions we will end up as landlords if the Cat Pee House goes through - due to the economy we were not approved for enough money - which I thought was super stupid - why would you approve someone for not enough to buy the house, what's the point? But we resubmitted a recent pay stub from my job(David had accidentally sent in the old one from my first job here) and we'll see what they say on Monday. The thing is if we rent the house here it will be considered income which will help with the loan and given the fact things are simply not selling we cannot afford to have it sit empty for months while we make payments. I am currently a bit miserable, Ray didn't come out due to the fact we've had rain all weekend, I'm getting over my Annual End Of The Year Poison Ivy and when I went to the dentist on Friday for a filling I ended up with a root canal instead after he looked at the X ray more closely and then did another one. I refused the Tylenol #3, I'm not good with medications as I seem to get any side effect mentioned so if I can do without, I do. I also refused the antibiotic as it's silly to take one for an infection you might get - if I get an infection I'll deal with it then. The weekend was not a total loss, I went to Mountain Knit and Pearls as they were having a great sale and got some boffo yarn for 60% off, I had a bunch of coupons for Borders and got the latest Sister Hazel CD. I watched 300 last night while I restarted the shawl. Somewhere, somehow my count was WAY off - instead of a Feather and Fan pattern it was a Free For All - interesting but as each round increased it just became worse. I resisted frogging it as I was at round 57 and 360 stitches, but if it's not working, it's not working. Not to mention at $14 a skein I would prefer it to look like something other than a hot mess. My work phone rang and rang for awhile last night, I was trying to be nice even though I had been up half the night with the aforementioned root canal - the extra strength Tylenol does work but only til 2 or 3 am, then I'm sent darting to the medicine cabinet. I'm having a crown done on the 19th, then it's just 2 small cavities and I'm done for now. The rain continues today but we have to do the weekly grocery shopping and then Monday we should know what's going on with the Cat Pee House. I think if this doesn't work out I will go straight to Missouri, to the side of the lake, little cabin, big yard, small boat.

The Tale Of The Lost Coat

Well, anyone that knows me knows about The Coat. The coat is a full length leather coat with a fox fur collar and cuffs that you can take off. It cost a lot of money and it's not that old. When we arrived on the sunny shores of Pennsylvania Where All Your Dreams Come True - it was missing. Gone. We proceeded to take the house apart, searched all the boxes, called poor Stephanie in WV and made HER look. David called Goodwill, went on the Internet - nothing. I determined that he had accidentally given it away and would have to live with that the rest of his life. David redoubled his efforts, nothing. I have occasionally revisited that moment throughout the year which David doesn't enjoy one bit. And then last night I was wondering where a certain CD was - so up to the attic I went. I dug and dug through boxes and the one with my stereo in it I noticed a black cloth bag. Hmm. I pulled - and there was the coat. Still in it's storage bag, a bit wrinkled but none the worse for wear. Of course now I have to live with the Gloating from The Wrongly Accused. I even found that silly mink stole Grandma gave eons ago that just sort of hangs around the house from closet to closet. I keep that in a bag because I know if I accidentally touched it I would maybe scream a little. It's in rather hilariously good condition but no one will wear it again I suppose. So I have my coat back which I'm happy about despite having to hear repeatedly about how I was Wrong. In other news we set another billing record at work, I sure we'll eventually level off but for now Whoo Hoo on that subject. My shawl continues to come along nicely and we are still waiting to hear from the bank about the loan we applied for. The people that looked at our house just looked, so if we have to be landlords I guess we can give that a go until the market picks up. All in all a successful week so far.

One Step Closer

The real estate called yesterday to let us know our bid had been accepted for the Cat Pee House so we are currently overwhelmed with the delightful glow of Home Ownership - in overdrive. We actually have someone to come look at this house today but in the event it doesn't sell by the end of the month it is very rentable. Now David is scrambling to get the inspections done, the paperwork pushed through and of course there is the monumental task of shifting us from Here to There. The house there will be done in the bare livable - carpets will be removed (and the floor), anything residing there will have to pack it's tiny bags and go. Although the nice thing is I didn't see any activity of insects or rodents so that will be a step up from our usual. When we moved back to WV the last time I clearly remember turning out the lights and the entire household of animals and I huddled in the bed - I think even the cats were afraid the mice would cart us off and there were a few incidents with roaches and other such vermin that would have sent most people screaming for the hills. But we are brave, aren't we? So hopefully everything will go full steam ahead and we will off on yet another adventure

Happy Labor Day!

It is Labor Day, isn't it? I get that one and Memorial Day mixed up since they both give you a Monday off. Of course in my world if I get a day off I pay for it later on. I scheduled a staff meeting tomorrow but am questioning the wisdom of that as we will all be running hard for the rest of the week playing catch up. None of the patients that were supposed to come home did this weekend which means we'll have to squeeze them in too. I finished the socks as you can see and started on my next project which is a shawl. I have another shawl pattern waiting in the wings but is it VERY complicated and even a bit frightening - I need to be a little bit braver to attempt it. David has been breaking up the front walkway for the past week, it's one of the last things he'll be doing to the house and then we stop. Cement walkways have a tendency to shift and buckle over the years and this one is just dangerous. It also has 3 little steps which are rather awkward so they have been removed too and will be replaced with larger steps made out of gravel and railroad ties. David did that on one of our other houses and the good thing is if it shifts a bit you can shift it back. Pearl finds this all Very Exciting and has been supervising the entire operation. I'm not sure what we're doing today, the skies seem rather overcast this morning so I think we might be in for a bit of rain. We spoke to Ray last night and he's planning on coming out next weekend - he didn't want to get stuck in traffic this weekend.

It's Been A Year.

A full year has passed since Jackson joined the navy and we moved. . David and I went to Milford yesterday an we got on that subject - it feels likes it been 3 or 4 though. What a huge lot of changes we've been through! Our last child graduated - and left. We sold our West Virginia house in the bustling metropolis of Maidsville (population 10 if you included the cows next door!)and moved back to Where The New Yorkers Are. Our house shrank to half it's size, our yard to a sixth and Pearl The Wonderdog and I became landlocked. I gave up my job as a visit nurse due to circumstances beyond my control (and no, I didn't see that one coming, thank you for asking) and accidentally, became the boss. David still struggles with career changes, it's been a hard year for him also - we have a field dog and no fields anymore. Things have cheerfully careened out of control all year and we are finally at the point of taking a deep breath and looking around. It's not all bad of course - Jackson is planning on marrying his Becky, out of all the things good about WV she is one of the best. The job I didn't think I would get and surprisingly did has been a struggle and a challenge at times, but is something I am proud of doing . Not to mention the bigger paycheck. The house is comfortable and we are actively looking for one in Stroudsburg, I think if we can swing that things would be a bit easier on me. As it is now I drive about 2 hours a day to and from work, the bad weather in the winter will make that longer. And of course there is the LYS to consider. I went to Jill Deal's in Milford yesterday and got hand dyed lace weight cotton yarn in a beautiful bronze color, it's already skeined and ready to go. It was on sale for 20% off - David asked if that meant it was cheap, but as we all know, cheap is a relative thing. Jill Deal's is to AC Moores as a Honda is to a Hummer. So it was Cheaper. I had actually wanted to go to the restaurant there but we had to put that off to another weekend as I had forgotten about Memorial Day traffic - it's as bad as LI if not worse at times. It was only 11 am and town was packed already so we skedaddled and had a late breakfast at a little place on Lake Wallenpaupack. And that leads us to the next thing - do you realize this is the first summer EVER in my entire life, I didn't swim once? Not once. My bathing suit has spent the summer in the corner of my sock drawer collecting dust and will soon be on it's way to the attic for the winter. As far as what I want - I honestly don't know. I'm truely on the fence about this one. After a year I still don't like it here, there's really no one I want to be friends with and even if I did, I certainly don't have the time. The area just makes me sad - downtown Stroudsburg is broken and dirty. But I made a commitment to this job and quite honestly we can't keep moving back and forth. I told David I have two more moves left - after that I stay where I land and I most likely will land just past Springfield , Missouri on the side of Tablerock Lake. Pack a lunch.

La Weekend.

Well, the Fannie Mae house returned fire with a counter bid of Higher Than I Want To Pay. They're also hinting there is someone lurking in the background with their beady little eyes focused on The Cat Pee House. But David and I have gone over the numbers and for it to be financially a plus, we cannot go much higher. The amount of work to rehab it is mind boggling and even with David doing the bulk of it, it will still be a near thing. But as I keep saying (mostly to myself) there are more houses out there. Work today was a bum's rush, with the shortened work week next week trying to get all the patients scheduled and then we found a problem which I will not go into but it will be rolling into next week big time. But I'm glad Monday is a holiday, aren't you? We're going to Milford tomorrow to doodle around a bit - that should be fun. Pearl is not going, she will be guarding the house in her usual style which is safely, from under the bed.

Holding Our Breath For The Cat Pee House

We put an official bid in on the cat pee house. We are truly certifiable. It reeks to the point of unbelievable and tucked beneath the pervasive and ever present ambiance of feline urine, there is the delectable note of must and mildew. The front steps were so covered in a thin layer muck they were slicker than a sheet of ice. And this all overlooked the inground/frog pond/ Holder Of Great Amounts Of Scum pool - not to mention the large and rather full dumpster. The mice are even afraid. In other words our kind of place. We offered a very low bid - we haven't sold this place yet and there is a lot of work to be done, we most likely don't even have a shot. But as they say, you don't know if you don't ask and I'm trying hard to not start envisioning myself eating dinner in the glassed in porch or sitting by the pool reading. Or walking around on the upper balcony waving and wearing my Special Tiara, Queen Of The Cat Pee Palace. Anyhoo, work continues to spiral out of control, the carefully planned out days are now just holding back the tide, but it's all good. Everyday is a learning experience and we have fun. I have a 3 day weekend coming up which I'm very much looking towards, I am plotting a trip to Milford on Saturday so I can sit on the porch of the restarant and eat while the hoi- poli hustle by