draconis: (Dragon at keyboard)
Sunday, September 5th, 2010 04:49 pm
Ye gods, I haven't posted since April? Ummmm... I took the summer off, maybe?

Let's see, what's been going on since then?

Karate Stuff: )


Work Stuff: )


Personal Stuff: )


Computer stuff: )
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Sunday, April 27th, 2008 04:03 pm
Just a list of stuff we've done on the house so far, and what we still need/want to do. Mostly putting it here to have it where I can refer back to it easily.

Stuff to do ourselves: )

Stuff to hire professionals for: )

Items under consideration: )
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Sunday, February 10th, 2008 06:42 pm
We've actually gotten a good bit done on the house this weekend.

We finished sorting the paperback books (I haven't counted them, but even a conservative estimate places them well over 1000 titles). I also replaced the light fixture outside the front door, and we've measured and mapped out the back yard, which will allow us to start planning for gardens, statuary, etc.

Rhi got a coupon for a discount on two entrees at Steak & Ale, and it expires today, so now we're off to a lovely dinner!
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draconis: (success)
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 11:51 pm
We got the second coat of paint on the guest room walls tonight. Now we just need to let it dry, take off the painter's tape, put down more painter's tape, and paint the trim.

The walls are "Yacht Club Blue" (the one in the lower left), and the trim will be "Luster White."

There may eventually be pictures, I don't know yet.
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draconis: (success)
Tuesday, October 16th, 2007 04:48 pm
On the house )


On my dojo )


On other matters )
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Thursday, October 4th, 2007 10:53 pm
Well, I had originally intended to spend most (or even all) of the month of October working on the new house and getting everything unpacked and into place, then starting back at my old dojo sometime late October or early November.

Monday night, I decided to walk the 2+ miles up to the dojo after work. I figured it would let me say hi to everyone, tell them I was back in town and would be back in the dojo soon, find out how long the walk would take (for future reference), etc. Then I got there and found out that the head instructor had a heart attack about a month ago -- one of those where the doctors looked at him and said, "We have no idea why you're still alive!" He's doing better now, and currently able to teach 1-2 classes a week, with the senior students covering the rest of the load. Since my first-degree black belt is from his school, and since I'm 2 ranks above his current senior student... it looks like I'll be starting back at the dojo -- on Mondays until the house is in order, then I'll add in Wednesdays.

I was very glad to see that Ralph (current senior student) has come a long way in the time I've been gone. He has become much more proficient and comfortable as an instructor -- something he used to really hate doing. I was also very pleased by, and proud of, the students I observed. Their techniques and their attention to details is all that I could have asked.

Now if we can just get Sensei healthy again!
draconis: (success)
Thursday, January 6th, 2005 05:01 pm
The house finally closed!

The buyer closed their part of it on Tuesday, and our closing attorney finally got his crap together and got our portion of it closed today!

Yay!

::does celebratory aerobatics around the room::
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Tuesday, April 27th, 2004 01:49 pm
We are finally nearing the end of our planned labors on the house back in Memphis. I say "planned labors" because we know only too well how plans can change and get added to. At this point, we're pretty much down to the "spit-and-polish" level -- a bit of paint touch-up, some sweeping/dusting/mopping, making sure the last of the excess paint has been razored from the windows....

Aside from that, the things that need to be done are all things that we'll have to get professional help for. Unfortunately, as with most things requiring professional aid, they tend to come with larger price tags.

The roof has a sag in it that is perfectly sound structurally, but tends to draw dubious looks from prospective buyers. We've gotten one estimate, and are working on getting a second.

Then there are the bees. Carpenter bees, to be exact. For the curious, go here: http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/struct/ef611.htm. On the other hand, there are no termites -- thank heavens!

I'd also like to take take out one portion of the fence, and replace the gate. It would still leave the yard fully fenced in, but would open things up considerably.

So there's still plenty to be done, but there's definitely light at the end of the tunnel.

Don't get me wrong -- I am very fond of that old house... but I'll be very glad to have it sell, so that Rhi, Alyss and I can quit busting our butts working on it, and I can quit paying an extra mortgage payment each month, plus get the proceeds from the sale of the house.
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Tuesday, April 13th, 2004 04:55 pm
Well, we just finished our second weekend trying to see how much of ourselves we could pour into fixing up our house back in Memphis. That, and trying not to kill my mother...

I've gotten all of the old electrical outlets replaced with modern ones, put a new fan in the front bedroom, and discovered in the process that the contractors who painted the room had taken the old fan down, painted under it, and put it back. I strongly suspect there's nothing wrong with the fan that wouldn't be fixed by properly re-connecting it. However, it was a housewarming gift from Rhi's mom, so we decided to take it with us.

I also had a Terminix inspector come by to make sure the house was "clean" -- which it is, thank heavens -- but Mother got really ticked off at me for doing it. Apparently she feels that there are other companies in town that are better/cheaper/etc. For some reason, it didn't sink in when I told her this was a *free* inspection...

At one point, she even sent Rhi out to tell me, to act like Rhi needed me to come inside for a second, and to tell me not to sign anything with this guy, with the implication that I was about to do so, and Rhi was supposed to stop me.

First, this is definitely *not* the best and brightest approach to take with me and Rhi, and it raised both our hackles a little bit.

Second, all my life I've been surrounded by a family of lawyers and salesmen, including my mother. I've learned a thing or two about what to watch out for, out of sheer self-defense!

Third, neither Rhi nor I could exactly be considered stupid, nor are we prone to rush into things.

I know that dealing with houses is Mother's field of expertise (she's one of the most successful realtors in the city), but the "Mother knows best and you shouldn't do/decide anything without checking with me first because you'll screw it up" attitude ticks me off.

This is the same woman who said we needed to replace the linoleum in the bathroom -- something Rhi and I have never done. Her comments about that have prompted us to decide that the next time she has a problem with her computer, we're going to tell her to just re-install her OS.

Anyway... end of gripe-session.

For now, anyway.

Fortunately, next weekend is our anniversary, and we're planning on vanishing off the face of the earth, to a nice spa facility, and getting properly pampered. 8-)
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