Monday, March 14, 2011

I've not posted a lot lately, mostly because of working my tail off at the new house.
It's been a little crazy, trying to run this house and work at the other house.
Bobby's got the old front porch torn off, and we're supposed to get the new one poured either today or tomorrow, if it doesn't rain us out.
It's supposed to start raining today and rain for the next few days.  It's a wet spring, and I hope it means that we'll have lots of grass, as my cows need to eat a lot, so they'll get good and fat.  I'm planning to sell a few of them, and I want lots of money.  Steve said that I could use all the money I make selling stuff on the new house.  I'm going to sell anything I don't have to use.
And I have some good news, too.  Jaime Combs and Carla (her friend) came by yesterday.
I was standing out in the yard talking to the neighbor lady, and they just drove up in the driveway.  It was so good to see them both.  Carla was dressed so nicely (and she's so pretty), and Jaime looked like the glow of the morning star to me.  I love her so much, and she's always been my favorite person.  She LOVES the house, and we talked all about the improvements I'm hopeing to make.  They both gave me a LOT of encouragement.  I gave her some old windows out of the shed in the back yard.  She's planning to make picture frames out of them.  She's so creative.
Steve and Cherokee Richards came by yesterday, too.  Steve wants me to give him some work.  He's really good at stone, plaster, and concrete work, but Bobby is, too, and I'd rather work Bobby than almost anyone else.
I got a whole set of kitchen cabinets yesterday, too.  Chris Watson went with his trailer to pick them up for me.  This man had them on Craig's List for $500.00, and they're oak, in great condition.  I'll wrestle them around and find a way to use all of them that I can.  I must say that I'm pretty good at using what I have, and I'll find a way to use these lovely cabinets to the best advantage.
Bobby and his men tore down the old chimney that run up through the kitchen and the upstairs bath, and I've been trying to clean up all the mess.  There's 150 years of soot, dust, and concrete to sweep and vacuum up all over the house.  There was just no way to contain it by closing doors or putting up drapes in doorways, as it was in three floors of the house.
I'm using my rainbow vacuum cleaner to suck up the filth, and it's doing a great job.
It's also my job to clean the brick they salvaged.  They're good, hard bricks, and they will be good for the patio I've planned for the front walk to the house.  Cleaning brick is really hard work, and it's REALLY hard on your hands.  The cement is in pretty good shape, which makes it really hard to chip off the bricks, and it's an odious chore.
Carla informed me yesterday that the large sunroom windows upstairs are plexiglass.  I hadn't known that, but it's good news for me.  It means that the windows are more temperature resistant.  I'm going to put another layer of plexiglass over them to make them even more resistant to outdoor temps.
I spent some more time talking to Carol, the lady who lives next door to the house, and she's turning out to be such a nice neighbor.  She's really quiet, and works all the time, so I haven't seen much of her.
Clarence Singleton came by yesterday evening on his way home, walking, as usual.  He visited with Jaime and Carla for a few minutes, and then they left.  He helped me burn a pile of refuse, and I drove him home.  He lives way over on Lakeshore Road, and it's quite a walk for him.  He never complains, but I know he must be tired sometimes to have to walk home after a day in Rutledge.  I try to keep a helpful eye on him.
I was driving home the other night, and Beth had her front porch light on, and her house looked so homey with a light on the porch.  She said the boys must have turned it on, and she didn't like that.  I think I'll take her an energy-efficient bulb to put in that fixture, so she will leave it on more.  I like a nice porch light on a house.
Joan is sick with either exhaustion or the flu, and she's off for a few days.  I call her, but she says she's OK with the help David and Mamaw is doing for her.  Mamaw is David's mother, and lives with them.
I should go by and see her.  She's such a good friend.
I got an e-mail Friday night from Greg Matthews at Farm Credit telling me that they couldn't finance the house unless we put Clairemont up as collateral.  I do not like that idea.  I don't want to threaten Clairemont, as it is an extension of my own self.  We already had a contract from them saying they would finance the house for us, and now THIS!  I'm really upset.
Steve is trying to be reassuring about all this, but I'm not easily mollified when I'm this angry, and threatening my security makes me REALLY angry.  Then he said that he would be out of the office all this week!  That man just might wind up under the floor of my cellar.  I'm going to call him today to see if he's willing to compromise and be sensible.
Barbara can't see how they can be so unreasonable, either.  I had discussed all this with her.  I know she loves to hear from me when I'm all rilled up and ready to kill someone.
She always loves the sweet sound of my melodious voice.
I'm working on a nice wooden birdhouse for Joan to put in her yard.  I want to show her my love and appreciation for all she's done for me, and for what she means to me.
I often make birdhouses for Lynn, and she's got them all lined up in her back yard, and they're so sweet.  She has such a nice knack for decorating.
Bobby called a few minutes ago to say he couldn't work for me today, so I guess I'll do all kinds of other things.  I need to go get my nails done.  My hands look like a lumberjack's. I had a tiny splinter in one of my thumbs this morning, and it had festered during the night.  It was really painful, but I got it out.  My hands look terrible under a good light and magnifying glass.  They're the hands of someone who works hard at manual labor.
There's nothing undignified about hard work.