A new kitty - a different world

My new kitty is Woody.  He's named after the Harrison Ford character (Woodrow) in Cowboys and Aliens.  This is because he looks very much like a pair of cats we used to have that were named Chewy and Solo.

Woody is a very bad cat - but a pretty good dog.  He and Hargis (our Golden Retriever) chase each other and seem to have formed a pack.  The cat is even starting to respond to commands given to the dog.  Nothing is safe from Woody - he opens the kitchen cabinets and rearranges whatever he finds. He gets on top of anything and everything. But he's also very loving.  He sits in my lap and stares up at me and puts his paw on my cheek.

I know he's just manipulating me, but he's so good at it.

Penny Lane

My beautiful kitty, Penny Lane, is dead.

She was born in April 2000 and came to live with me in 2004 after she contracted a virus and had to be retired from a breeding program.  At first I could never catch her, but eventually she became my baby.  She slept on or by my bed and woke me in the mornings, whether I wanted her to or not.  She had an immune disorder which caused her to lose all her teeth, and developed kidney and heart problems.  It was her kidneys that got her.  She'd been feeling bad for the past week and changed her habits.  But I didn't know it was as bad as it was.  I couldn't let her suffer, I had her put down on August 24, 2012.  She had a happy life with me - tho she would have been happier if we had not gotten a golden retriever to pester her.  I miss her.  My beautiful Penny.

Before and After

Here are before and after pictures of the
(former) living room/(current) guest bedroom and the (former) diningroom/(current) living room.

The A-List

The A-List changes to my new/old house are finished. The foundation was good, but unfortunately, the original roof could not be saved. So I got a pretty, shiny green roof. The jungle of a yard has been cut back to a manageable level (still needs a LOT of work). Livingroom have been replaced and other walls repaired. All walls and woodwork are painted. Kitchen, bathroom, and laundryroom floors are replaced. Carpets removed and old wood floors repaired and refinished. And the furniture is in place.

Now I move on to the B-List. I need to start working on closets (repainting, cleaning up the floors, adding shelves where possible), the yard (I have an over-abundance of yucca in the front yard), fence (some places are falling down, others are too low to contain an enthusiastic golden retriever, curtains for bedrooms, and refinishing furniture. Plenty to keep me busy.

Last week we had the old wiring removed. While they were in the attic, we asked the electricians if there were any animal nests. They reported that there were a couple of birds' nests and offered to remove them. It took 9 construction trash bags to get the 2 nests out. They were waist high! Our vents now have hardware cloth over them.

The House is Mine!

The bank finally countered my offer on the old house and we closed last week.

There is so much to do. My first day working on it all I managed to do was clean the refrigerator (took almost 3 hours! It was filthy!) and the bathrooms. My second day was used up cleaning 3 cupboards and the top (just the top) of the range (it had caked on carbonized grease that had to be chipped off a tiny piece at a time). I'm hoping to get back tomorrow and finish the kitchen. Mike is going to fix the leaky sink while we're there.

Not sure what to do about the dishwasher. The handle is broken so it doesn't lock, but it still works. Maybe Mike can figure out what to do about it.

We've hired a local contractor who has already started working. He hauled out the old, yucky furniture, cleaned out the attic, and ripped out the carpeting in the back bedroom (there was a beautiful oak floor under it).

Today I'm going to an auction with my brother and sister-in-law. There are a few pieces I'm interested in for the new house. I tend to fizzle out at auctions when the bidding gets a little high. I'm looking for bargains. I really do better at estate sales.

AhHaa!

After all this time, the bank has finally agreed to the short sale and countered my offer (I offered listing minus 20%, the bank countered listing minus 10%). Before I sign anything I'll have it inspected (tomorrow) and see if the roof and foundation are OK. If they are, I'll agree. If not, I have a Plan B - a house built in the 40's on a very nice lot (not exactly what I'm looking for but a good Plan B).

Last week I looked at a house that just popped up on the MLS. It looks to have been built around 1890 or so. Very Victorian. The poor thing has been allowed to run down to the point that I could not afford to bring it back. In one bedroom it actually had mushrooms growing on the wall. I don't mean mildew, I mean real mushrooms with stems and caps! The scariest things were the exterior problems - rotted wood, peeling lead paint, unknown roof.

Anyway, it looks like I'll be getting my Playhouse soon. Good thing, too. I'm afraid I've already bought some furniture and stuff for it and I'm getting tired of storing it in my diningroom. I've been to Estate Sales and bought a very nice love seat, wing chair, 2 small chairs, footstool, gateleg kitchen table, oak kitchen chairs, bed, large mirror, china, flatware, glasses, lamps, pictures, and assorted kitchenware.

Tomorrow I'll know about any major problems. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Kitty Hawk

We have a pair of broadwing hawks that have built a nest in a tree in our back yard. I have not seen both of them at the same time, but I've heard them both and seen one leaving the nest. One of them likes to sit in the tree by our deck. Don't know if it's the male or female (tho I suspect it's the male) but I've named it Kitty.

Both of the birds are BIG talkers. They squeeee back and forth at each other constantly. This doesn't bother Mike because he can't hear that frequency - but it's always in my head. The sound pierces right through the walls of the house and find me. It never ends.

But it's worth it to have the honor of hosting a hawk family.

Still waiting to hear on the house. I don't wait well. This is agony.