long week

Three day week and feels like it's been a month... ugggghhhh

Merry Christmas! Daughter Mackenzie gave me an adjustable furniture clamd and an interntional cook book... will put both to use immediately!

Made two trips to Palmyra (#505) (no photos this week). Lots of detail work that takes time but needs to get done. Measured remaining windows, interior doors, scrubbed kitchen countertop, caulked all the corners and crevices around the front room, packed junk and lumber in Suburban to transport home. I'm guessing one day in every room of the house finding stuff that got missed or needs to be touched up.

Let me give you a 'for instance': Basement: not pretty, but no particular problems. Just tidy up, right? Keep in mind, I'm guessing that the original house is pushing 200 years old. Hard to see from the photos, but the original house is now the kitchen and the back upstairs bedroom. About 16' square. The door going into the living room is probably the original front door. The door to the laundry room was the back door. That makes the wall behind the kitchen cabinets the original front wall of the house and the wall behind the kitchen sink the original side wall. (I did enough surgery to find siding on the outside of that wall.)

Comming down the stairs from the bedroom, the original layout turned LEFT into the kitchen, where the cabinets are now. Under the room I call the office is the original outside basement stairway. That was eventually covered by a porch area when the front section of the house was added, and then eventually enclosed to become the laundry and a beauty salon.

OK, back to the basement... In the rafters (logs) I found an old harness rack with 8" hand hewen 'shaker pegs' to hold tack and equipment. part of the basement was cemented when the furnace was installed but hte rest (original) is dirt. There's a bunch of stones and dirt down there that needs to be hauled out... why don't I have teenage kids this week??

Friday was McAdoo day. got the vinyl cut for the kitchen and dining area. scraps fit the mudroom. Will have to head back with edging and transition pieces to connect all the joints between rooms anc carpet/vinyl. Hauled a few boards out of the garage that tenant left behind... did fine a NICE garden trowel!

Had expected tenant would have been there for a couple days but doesn't look like she made it. I'm sure I'll hear her plans eventually.

Talked to tenant William at #37. I thought I'd need a couple days there to finish carpet and painting but he sounds like he has it undercontrol and isn't looking for help... That works!

Robert is going to move to #22... Did I write about him already? He split with Diane and needs a home. He's been trading for hire for several years but I told him this time it has to be cash and NO DOGS!!!.. His son Tony wants to rent #22 and sounds like he'll have money on 1/2/08. Money talks, and I don't need to spend time fixing.

Will end the year with about $375 int he bank, $250 left on credit cards and line of credit, and no bills due till the 15th... how's THAT for break even year? ( let's not quibble over semantics...)

Jeff