Downsizing and not hating it

Well life has brought me to a point where I had some critical choices to make. I can’t go into detail until the dust settles but suffice it to say I feel very strongly that it is the only honorable choice I could make. That choice means I will need a large amount of money in the next few years and to get that I will need to significantly downsize. So I am moving from a 2200 square foot home to an 850 square foot apartment.

While many people would be saddened by such a drastic change, I am excited by the prospect of ridding myself of too many possessions, paring down my responsibilities, and simplifying my routine. In order to accomplish this I am having several garage sales over the next few Sundays to get rid of furniture, appliances, yard implements, tools, decor and much more. I hope to get a little cash but mostly wish to avoid having to cart all this stuff to a storage facility. If you are in the Phoenix area and are interested in stopping by to see what I have for sale, send me an email and I can give you the details.

Blogging will be light over the next few weeks as I will be very busy packing and such. I am here and lurking on your many blogs, reading your posts so never fear. I shall return, lighter and eager to continue blogging.

All your toes are belong to me

Stalking Kitty is Lying in Wait

Who ever said that renting was easier?

I have been without hot water for a week. Actually not completely without it….let me explain. About a week ago I couldn’t turn the spigot on the master bathroom shower off…the valve seemed frozen. I had had this problem since last September but gave up trying to get the landlord to fix it and resorted to using a pair of pliers (instead of the cheap plastic handle which simply turned round ad infinitum without affecting the temperature in any way). Clearly the valve stem was stripped and a new handle wasn’t going to do the job. In addition there had been the constant sound of running water for 3 days. I had originally assumed it was due to the pool guy leaving the backyard hose running a little to keep the pool filled. But the sound wasn’t just a trickle any more…it sounded like a torrent.

So I started to take a look at it with the help of a friend who has many years of experience with such things and we figured out that there were actually two separate problems. First the shower’s valve stem was stripped and the O ring was toast. The second thing was that when the hot water heater’s main valve was closed the torrent of water ceased. And since there was only cold water in the spigots, the hot water was going somewhere.

I explained all this to my landlord and he said he would send his maintenance man out (this is a house, not an apartment). That took about three days. I took cold showers but I could handle it….my baby was with his father so he didn’t have to suffer it. My daughter was likewise with her father. So the maintenance guy comes by and says…it’s leaking into the slab of the house but he wasn’t sure where. I waited another day and a half for plumber to identify where the leak was, supposedly under the spare tub.

By this time we had figured out that I could get hot water if I left water heater’s valve off until immediately before I needed to take a shower. Then I would turn on the valve in the garage, sprint through the house to the spare bathroom shower, turn it on and wash and shave as much of myself as was possible in 5 to 10 minutes before the hot water would run out. Afterward I would have to tuen the valve in the garage off again and let it sit for several hours before anyone else could bathe. I have been washing dishes in cold water by hand, which is not fun…grease just doesn’t want to go away in such conditions. My son has been showering with me, so I often have 2 minutes to clean him and 3 minutes for myself. This also means cold water shaving for my legs–fun!

Finally today was supposed to be the big day…I was supposed to come home and find my master shower with a new ring, valve and handle and the spare bath tore up so they could access the leak and install a new pipe from the heater to the tub. I found neither. Instead I found a large pile of mud in my driveway, the spare toilet completely removed (thats where the leak was, not the toilet itself but the hot water pipe running under the toilet, four feet down, hence the mud) and the wall of the master shower opened up. I was out of the house from 6 am until 5 pm and thought surely they could fix the master shower and begin the spare bathroom project during that time. Hell I once built a screened in porch in that amount of time! But no….

So I am sitting on the couch with my feverish son, trying to comfort him without have free movement around the house and no TV (they had to turn off that breaker). Thank goodness I still have access to the Internet so I can bitch and complain to you all. Lucky you!

Poem of the Month: Enough

Collapse not into the self
of which the main part has lain dormant
for so long.

Take not that wounding
from another from which all
flesh and blood be gone.

Linger not in fear
of the unknown
that threatens to engulf.

Shine, instead, as the summer sun
banishing the fog
until it is clear enough.

Note: Originally written in August 2008 and slightly modified today.

Copyright, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  You do NOT have permission to copy or use this poem just because you found it on the Internet without expressly asking me FIRST.

When is War not a War?

This, a thousand times, this!  Jon Stewart on The Daily Show last night  showing what the War on Women is really about.  Thank you, yet again, Mr. Stewart.  I am not worthy.

 

Battle for the War on Women