22 August 2024

And Now We Start Over

 
Well. Welcome to the sh**show. Since we last "talked," things have gone downhill fast. Long story short (and it is a VERY long story!), Floor Guy turned out to be a) unreliable, b) unskilled, and c) a disaster. The last time he showed up, he said hi to Alfie, and Alfie growled at him and ran upstairs! As The Tim says, when Alfie turns on you, you're done.

So we are not only back to square one as far as finding another person for the floors project, the kitchen floor will have to be completely re-done. Which means something that we originally thought was not going to cost a huge chunk of money probably will. Sigh. But live and learn. And as The Tim says, this is the first time we've been left in the lurch, and we know a lot of people who have faced nothing but the lurch with their home projects. So we're moving on and hoping for the best. I already have another person coming on Monday to give us estimates, and another one on Wednesday. Please keep your fingers crossed we have success this time around. 

Needless to say, I've been in a tizzy lately, with anxiety ramping up, and I haven't really done much knitting at all. I've done a lot of reading, so all is not completely lost. And after much emotional eventage (not a word, but I'm using it), The Tim has convinced me that this is a part of life, and none of it means that our lives are ruined, or even that our house is ruined. So I'm talked down off the ledge and ready to see what's next.

*****

In other news, the plants that I have had in large pots in our garden since last year have done really well this year, even with the terrible heat. But since I have been conscientious about watering them, they have thrived. It makes me so happy, especially since in order to water them, I have go put on long pants, long sleeves, socks and shoes to go out into the garden, since there are so many mosquitoes I would otherwise seriously be covered in bites. It's been a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts though, since dressing in such hot clothes to water the plants has helped them thrive, so I dress in hot clothes to water the plants, etc. I'm looking forward to weather where I would be wearing long pants anyway, and won't have to change just to go into the garden!

I have been watching parts for the Democratic Convention and really enjoying it. I'm sure you can imagine how happy I was to hear the Obamas the other night, and you can also imagine that once again, it made me wish we were friends with them. 😂 After feeling so despondent for so long, I'm actually feeling hopeful that the Evil Orange One may be conquered. 

This past week we have had lovely weather, so my morning walks have been the best! I love coming back home and not being covered in sweat. And having the windows open with a breeze blowing through the house. Oh summer, why can't you be like this? We could be *such* friends!

I've been reading your blogs, but admittedly not been in the frame of mind to comment much. But it has helped me stay sane, so thank you for posting. 

Yesterday was my dad's, my father-in-law's, and our late kitty Tess' birthdays. Today is my sister Mary Ellen and brother-in-law Pat's 54th wedding anniversary. So there are things to celebrate during this time that has been otherwise stressful, and that is always a good thing. Though I realized the other day that the weekend after this one is already Labor Day weekend! That's always a reset for me, so I'm thinking of what I want to include in that, and since I enjoy making lists and then lists of the lists I make, that's pleasing me too. 

This is the first day in a long time that I haven't had a feeling of dread first thing on waking up. Getting rid of Floor Guy was one of the best decisions we have ever made. 

Onward!

7 comments:

Cynthia said...

The floor will work out and it will be better than you have ever imagined I am sure of it! I hope your anxiety starts to wane. I can understand that feeling quite well and it isn't fun at all.....Anxiety is real people....unless you have ever had a wave of it, you just don't know. Sending you good thoughts and hugs.

Kim in Oregon said...

OH NO.There are so many horror stories of workmen who ---should not be workmen. I'm so sorry this happened to you, and hope you find someone great next week!

Wanderingcatstudio said...

Oh - that's just the worst when projects don't go to plan. Especially when you're paying a "professional" for it

We had a somewhat similar issue when we had the convertible top done on the Bonneville. It was put into process before we moved, and finished a few months after we moved, which made it a bit of a logistical nightmare, because the shop was an hour east of where we used to live, meaning it was over three hours away from the new place. And then logistics aside, the guy totally rushed it and it was a super crappy job. He told us it would "tighten up" over time and to come back to him if it didn't. Of course it didn't... but Dave didn't want to deal with getting it back to him to fix it - plus he didn't trust him to fix it. Thankfully, we found a great guy here, just 10 minutes away and he did a fabulous "fix" job on it. It's not perfect, but it's as close as it can be without completely redoing the top again (which would be at least another $3000).
I hope you can find a good, reliable floor guy, second time around. Maybe let Alfie sniff him out first?

Karen in PA said...

I think you should have Alfie interview these guys too! Clearly his opinion is worth having. And yes, having anyone do work on your house seems like a crapshoot. In our case, finding anyone willing to work on our (old) house is just as fraught, and then we still have to hope they will do good work! In fact, if Alfie is a successful interviewer, perhaps you could hire him out! Will work for scritches and cookies…

Araignee said...

That's exactly why The Mister is such a DIY or Die type of guy. Whenever we have anyone do anything for us it's never up to our standards. We hired two guys to refinish our living room floors three years ago and I kid you not-they varnished bits of their lunch in it. I'm still sanding parts of it up. Never again.

Nance said...

Sigh. I'm so sorry for your experience. Unfortunately, it's a common one. The problem is that the tradesmen who are true craftsmen are all older and retiring, and there are simply not people replacing them who have the same passion and real interest in the craft.

Rick does the hiring at the remodeling/building company he works for, and he speaks to this all the time. It's so difficult to find good people with quality skills.

I wish I could send you the gentleman who does our hardwood floors. He is a true craftsman, and he likes cats! Why do so many of my friends live so far away?☹️

KSD said...

It IS life, but it is a sh**show.