Thursday was the General's birthday. We had planned to celebrate the day by moving into our new home. From my last blog, you know that did not happen.
On Thursday, we drove over to the house in the afternoon for one more look at what I'd describe as anything other than a house ready for closing. I'm not going to call in a house of horrors, but there was a lot of unfinished business. Fortunately, on Thursday workers were present. This week certainly didn't unfold the way we planned.
I busied myself with work most of Thursday, and the General worked on needlepoint. Toward late afternoon, I telephoned Andrea and Kevin to ask if they'd like to go with us to dinner.
I should have had the presence of mind to do that earlier, but impromptu is the way I live. The General was pleasantly surprised when they arrived at the house to ride with us to the restaurant. How could we not celebrate her birthday?
We went to a Vietnamese restaurant in Belterra that was fairly close. When we returned home, the four of us chose to sit on the front porch. The weather was perfect.
In fact, we enjoyed the evening and the sense of being outdoors until about 11:00 p.m. It was a low-key respite from the rush rush rush that has filled our world. Hopefully, enjoying the outdoors will become the status quo going forward.
When we get moved to Blanco, I plan to start cooking on the grill again. I haven't grilled anything in the past nineteen months. I use a charcoal grill and I didn't want to risk setting the neighborhood on fire. Townhomes are set 10 feet apart. That is too close for comfort.
We didn't go to the house yesterday. I learned from the builder that the folks who installed the cabinets were there yesterday to adjust doors and replace the crown molding that needed to be replaced. That fell into the category of good news.
The only downside is that they need to order more trim. Reportedly, it will be in two or three days. It sounds like Murphy's Law.
Under the concept of good news, the stairs have now been replaced with ones that meet the code. Reportedly, the inspector was back and gave a favorable nod. It appears that things are finally coming together. The stairs will be wrapped in oak at the beginning of the week.
In the new house, we will be using propane. After decades of living totally electric, having a gas stove will be an adjustment. For the record, the General wanted a gas stove. I voted for an electric induction range.
Of course, some kind of conversion kit is needed to convert a gas stove to propane. I telephoned the propane provider yesterday to ask that he do the work. He mentioned in passing that the propane was currently turned off because we have a gas leak.
I'm still shaking my head in disbelief. I immediately telephoned the builder again to ask for details. He said the plumber didn't find a gas leak. The fact that he was looking was news to me.
Obviously, at this point, a second opinion is in order. I never cease to be amazed.
In contrast to Thursday, last night was anything other than pleasant for being outdoors. Hail was in the forecast, but it missed us. It was certainly too wet and windy outside to walk in the rain and stay dry even with an umbrella.
Out of curiosity, this morning I checked to see if Mercury is retrograde. Years ago, a friend avoided projects or anything outside the norm when Mercury is retrograde. According to my friend, during that period you can expect an increase in delays, frustrations, miscommunications and even technological mishaps.
And when Mercury is retrograde, plans are rarely ever set in stone, so it's not the most ideal time to sign contracts or make life-altering decisions. I suspect that moving probably falls into that same category.
For inquiring minds that want to know, Mercury has been in retrograde since April 21 and will be so until May 14. Mercury will go into a "retrograde" motion, meaning the rotation of the planet appears to spin backward. It's important to note that the planet does not physically move backward in orbit.
Regardless, hopefully today will bring blue skies and sunshine.
All My Best!
Don
No comments:
Post a Comment