Prioritizing Home Improvements

[Sibling Chatty]

Dan and I have been trying to decide which of the 5,000 or so projects we need to accomplish to even begin to get this house in shape will be the first.

He'll be working 2 days a week, so there will be less time, but more funds...

Decision made. The second bath is a MUST. He had a virus. Now I have it. If one person is in the loo, the other person is left to regurgitate into--whatever. NOT a good idea, especially since it's always me with the whatever...

I'm thinking it would also save laundry costs in the long run.

[Bruder Cuzzen]

Excellent choice .That was my original intent here so I could upgrade the main bath , but funds are low and there are four others in the house now .
Renos would have been much simpler when it was just me and Fritz here .

It was lonely though , for me as well as Fritz , he loves company and I loathed to leave him alone everyday for so long .

My friends/tenants have been little help.
They have become 40 year old teenagers to me

Rent is always late (only C$300 per month),  i wish my expenses were so low and I'm picking up after them to boot.(Gonna raise the rent if they don't shape up)...looks like I'm gonna raise the rent .
One of the "kids" has been six months behind for the past year .

I know what is going on ,where their money is going ,  I just haven't the heart to ask them to leave since they all have a common decency and morals .Their addictions are to strong and they lie to me and themselves...oh well , i'm babbling on....bye for now .

[Sibling Chatty]

Start the discussion with "I am not your Mama, I didn't take you to raise. ANY of you. You either keep to your rental agreement or you find out how soon your Mama will take you back, because I am not morally obligated to support you in the style to which you'd like to become accustomed."

Voice of experience... You feel like but it beats being from dealing with supposed adults that have entitlement problems and want YOU to pay their way. It may be time to clean house, no matter how hard it is.  You are not responsible for someone else's bad choices.

[Bruder Cuzzen]

Thanks Chatty ( how I love smilies ). I'm going to show them the above post hehe.

[Griffin NoName]

Hey, we could start a smilie post service for dealing with all our problem people.

I need some for certain relatives !

[Sibling Chatty]

There's a list of X-rated smilies we'll need to get...

[Griffin NoName]

We'd have to make sure the squidlings didn't have access to them.

[Opsa]

Hey-o. Resurrecting this thread to say that we got a little money from Mr. Ops' Dad when he died last spring. We are trying to be careful with it, since we are still not rich, just a little less broke!

Anyway, one of the things we've wanted to do but couldn't was to put glass windows on our small back porch. It is only about 9x15, faces north and looks on the back yard. It has a knee-wall, topped by screened openings. We like it out there, but the rain comes straight in. During hurricane Sandy it poured in, and we changed the towels on the floor many times as they became sopped. In the winter we have always put up plastic sheeting to insulate, but of course these look tacky and by February the winds have loosened them and they flap loudly and keep us awake.

So, we decided it might be a priority to have glass windows put in, the kind that can be raised or lowered according to the weather.

We engaged a reputable company a couple of months ago, and today they are finally here to put the windows up. I am excited, but am staying away from them, so they can do their job. This was expensive, but I hope it will help.

[Darlica]

You know we want before, under and after photos, right?

[Sibling DavidH]

Excellent, Opsa, I'm sure they're going to make a difference.

[Griffin NoName]

It's great to be able to do such improvements. Enjoy!

[Aggie]

 

[Opsa]

Thanks! I do happen to have a "before" photo, which I took during the hurricane. I'll get an "after" when the workmen leave, if it's still light enough then.

[Opsa]

:UPDATE:

Below (hopefully) are the before and after shots.

The top is during Sandy, note the blowing shades, the towels on the floor and the rug up on the loveseat.

The bottom was just taken. Hopefully we will not have to rearrange the porch now every time it rains.

[Griffin NoName]

The AFTER looks great.

[Sibling DavidH]

It looks very posh now, Opsa, and should be a lot more rainproof.  The treetops seem level with the windows - are you on a steep slope?

EDIT:  I see on the first one you have a plaque saying 'tree fort'.

[Darlica]

Yes, the after pic looks absolutely lovely.  

Will you be using the porch during the winter months?
if not it seems like the perfect place for hibernating plants!  

[Lindorm]

Very nice improvement.

And I bet the porch can be a really good greenhouse to start plants off in early spring!

[Opsa]

Thank you!

Yes, Th'Opsalette made a plaque that says "Tree Fort" but we haven't put it back up yet. It is mildewy from the moisture. The porch is not on a slope, but up above land level by about six feet. With the trees I planted outside, it feels like a tree fort in there.

Yes, we will use it in winter, and I do intend to overwinter some plants in there. I'm guessing it might be a good place to watch a snowfall. The little electric fireplace (if you can see it) actually heats the room, even though it has a phony fire. I got it for a play for $15 at a yard sale, but it works like a charm.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

That's a very nice space you have there.

If you do put wintering-over plants in there in cold weather, the plants'll need more water than usual-- heated air is much drier than the cold air it used to be (before heat).  So you'll want to watch that closely until you get used to how much extra water they want.   Of course, the cooler temperatures slow them down somewhat too.

I was going to suggest a humidifier for winter, but plants work automatically and are much more enjoyable too. 

[pieces o nine]

Nice improvement, Opsa!   

[Aggie]

Very nice! Looks like useable space, year-round.

[Roland Deschain]

It looks so much better now, Opsa. Sometimes you need a little change to freshen things up. I find it always makes the place look like somewhere new.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

 

[Opsa]

Every day we get through with hope still intact is a triumph.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Oh, yes Opsa... mos' def'nit'ly and heartily a resounding yes.