Hell Week
Posted on 2005-04-29 at 08:01
It's been quite a tumultuous couple of days around here. The Lawn Nazi is a fruitcake and wants to escalate his little spat. Denise and I considered moving to avoid dealing with the prick. In the end, we changed our minds and plan on seeing how this all pans out.
The Lawn Nazi Strikes
Posted on 2005-04-26 at 08:01
Apparently, some weed killer got onto the neighbor's lawn from the work being done on mine. He had a screaming and ranting fit. I offered both an apology and a remedy. He wanted neither. There are way too many jackasses in my life right now. For a minute I thought it was going to come to blows. For the record, I stayed remarkably calm while he screamed at me. I'm quite proud of that. The event has cemented my relationship with him as one of strife. That's a shame, since I tried to remedy that as well. He wanted none of it. He just wanted me to sit there and take his abuse. He's in for a sad life if he approaches everyone with the same callous disregard for human worth.
Planting Ideas
Posted on 2005-04-15 at 08:04
Pictures of flowers, bushes, and trees that I want in my own yard.
Garden Ideas
Posted on 2005-04-15 at 08:03
Pictures of gardens I want to imitate in my own yard.
The yard
Posted on 2005-02-02 at 08:01
The lansdscape designer, Kathleen, met with us to show us the draft plan for our yard. It is precisely what I'd wanted. I couldn't be happier with the draft.
Home wiring
Posted on 2005-01-31 at 08:01
So, I wasted a day trying to wiring my home for networking. Lame. Lame and useless. I got nowhere. I ended up calling the people that began the job (under the previous owner) and asked them for a quote to finish it. Life is too short to be doing these frustrating weekend projects!
Denise's new system
Posted on 2005-01-26 at 08:01
It's arrived. It's screaming fast. It's sitting unused. :( I need to get the network wired into that room (can you guess how my foray into wireless networking went?) and I need to get a small Windows partition on it, too. I have a valid Windows disk, but Microsoft, in their greed, has forbade me from installing that specific disk on that specific system. God, I hate them. The problem should be solved in a few days, I hope.
My neighborhood
Posted on 2004-11-01 at 08:02
I love my neighborhood. It's small, but not too small. 25 or so homes seems just right. I can leave my house wide open all night while I walk around the neighborhood talking to everyone. There was a small block party at one house and many of the adults were going there to hang out and chat. Such a friendly place. I am so pleased with my new place.
The Future
Posted on 2004-10-19 at 08:01
Looking forward to getting the second mortgage paid off. That will lighten the finances enough that I can retire on a whim. I can't stress enough just how important that is! I'm getting tired of dealing with jackasses spewing Orwellian Corporate-Speak. 'Nuff said.
A Rooster? Really?
Posted on 2004-10-13 at 08:01
Apparently there is a rooster near my house that crows every morning. Far enough away that I can't hear him inside, but close enough to hear him when you are outside. Denise has known about it. I just recently learned this. A rooster? wtf?
Damages
Posted on 2004-10-03 at 08:05
...With silver bells and cockle shells
Posted on 2004-09-26 at 08:04
Finished doing some research for the future yard/garden. You can see some other gardens I like alot here. You can also see some of the plants I want in my garden.
As with anything I do, my own brand of crazy kicked in. I felt the need to really understand what I wanted out of a garden before I could start a garden. My overzealous notes follow:
Structure
I don't really want the lawns of the English garden nor the precise lines of the French garden. Rather than a regular, geometric layout, I'd prefer an ecology-friendly, liberal layout.
Pathways
Rather than straight, axis-like, tree-lined pathways, I'd prefer windings, zigzagging, leading to places of repose.
Trees
Rather than having them planted in symmetrical forms or in lines, I'd like them isolated, scattered, and in natural forms. Trees that interest me are trees like the Japanese Red Maple, Manchurian Apricot, Fragrant Olive, Tartarian Maple, Chinese Pear Tree, Dogwood Tree, and the Crape Myrtle. I would prefer trees that are smaller, to make the house look larger in comparison and to keep the scale of the garden smaller in general. A tree that grows no larger than 15 feet or so is plenty large for me. Some trees that are too big, but I like the look include the Maidenhair Tree, Manchurian Walnut, and the Scotch Pine. I don't want them, per se, but if there were a smaller tree that were similar in look/blooming times/etc, then that'd be good.
Flowers
Rather than flower beds in well-conceived patterns and coloration, I'd prefer beds for potted flowers, with due attention paid to the form of plants. Plants that interest me are the Magnolia, Azalea, Chinese Lilac, Fragrant Plantain Lily, Tree Peony, and Chrysanthemum. I don't want plants that may cause my neighbors problems, like bamboo or ivy , that spreads too quickly and too relentlessly.
Water Scenes
I doubt I have space enough, but rather than dynamic water scenes, such as fountains and waterfalls, I prefer the look of stationery water scenes, such as streams, ponds and dripping springs
Space
To fill the open spaces, I don't much like extensive lawns, but rather natural rock formations that are interesting and isolating.
Layout
Rather than the traditional extensive, open landscape, I'd prefer smaller scenes hidden in quiet places. The garden should be broken up into smaller spaces that each have a separate view and art unto themselves. I don't want to be able to see the whole yard at a single glance. Also, I'd like the borders of the yard to provide some barrier.
Architecture
Rather than the traditional gazeebo, which is designed to command a more extensive view of the area while providing shade, I prefer the Chinese moon gates (circular doorway/arches), which are designed to limit the view to the scene at hand (see "layout" above.) Occasional bench seating is good as well, especially if it is designed to accent a particularly nice view of the scene in which it is found.
The New Home
Posted on 2004-08-26 at 08:02
The network
Posted on 2004-07-16 at 08:04
...Except for the network. Geez! Apparently, the builders built the room I plan on using as my home office to be all but unwirable! Ahhh! Work, dammit! I've set up a temporary office in what will be the guest bedroom while I try to get a jack wired in the office.
The New House
Posted on 2004-07-16 at 08:03
The new house is great. I love it! Denise and I are settling in quite nicely. I honestly could not be happier with the house. We'd started filling it with our stuff. Still waiting on the two tables (dining room and kitchen) to finish being built. It'll be cool when it all comes together.
The wait is over
Posted on 2004-07-16 at 08:01
I've been moving to the new home since June 21st, so I haven't had a chance to blog. Below I will try to hit the highlights.
Walk through
Posted on 2004-06-18 at 08:01
Last night, I got a chance to get into the house I'm moving into next week. Very cool. Can't wait to get moved. I took Dave with me, since he's gonna be doing a lot of carpentry work for the Caudroplex. I plan to have a raised rear floor (for the back row) and the speakers will be inset in columns that will hide their raw ugliness. Now I just need to get the current occupant outta my damn house!
Casa De Caudron
Posted on 2004-06-02 at 08:02
The pics of our new home are up for your perusing pleasure. The furnishings are the old owner's. We have not yet moved in. Soon though, soon!
The perfect house
Posted on 2004-04-30 at 08:01
So last night was full of exciting and disappointment. We liked the last house we saw (pictured in yesterday's blog) and we even submitted a bid for it. We gave the guy everything he asked for and still he came back asking for more. No dice. It is the perfect house, but the dude selling it is being a prick. I have no interest in adding another prick into my life for the moment. If he comes back to us ready to deal realistically, then I'll talk, otherwise, it looks like the search is back on. That sucks, though, because I mean it when I say that THIS IS THE PERFECT HOUSE! :(
The Business
Posted on 2004-04-29 at 08:05
The business is going strong. That's why we can afford to up the house price. I spent this week interviewing new candidates. I've picked four potentials and have scheduled follow-up interviews with them for Monday. I also signed Sally up as well. That's two new hires this week. Oh, and Will finally got to try out for a client this week also, so in the next week or so, I'll probably be adding him to the payroll as well. That'll be 3 new people in the field. I am so damn apathetic, I have no idea why people keep giving me more work.
The New House
Posted on 2004-04-29 at 08:04
We've been looking at a few houses. Just last night we saw another one.
We were looking for a home below $400,000.00 (God, that is too much money!) but yesterday after some talking, Denise and I decided to up the limit to $450,000.00. The homes we were looking at were so close to right, we figured that just a little bit more would make all the difference. I suspect it has, given the homes we are now looking at.
The Old House
Posted on 2004-04-29 at 08:03
We've put the old house under contract. The buyer agreed to $100,500.00. Assuming the appraiser agrees, we have sold the house! w00t! Closing is tentatively scheduled for June 20th.
My House
Posted on 2004-04-08 at 08:02
Meeting the real estate agent today to go over some paperwork. Looks like the condo is going on the market for $98,800.00 as of Saturday. W00t! Since we only owe about $42,000.00, that means we'll see about $56,800.00 in profit (less agent fees and such). That would be very nice!
The house
Posted on 2004-04-05 at 08:02
Denise and I have been cleaning the house to prepare it for sale next week. We got one of those PODS, and we filled it with our excess stuff. We tossed a bunch and stored a bunch and now our house is mostly empty. I kinda like it! :-)
More on the house
Posted on 2004-03-29 at 08:02
Denise and I met with the real estate agent yesterday. She seems nicers and more competent than the one's we've dealt with in the past. We have some hope that we can get the house we want.
Selling our house
Posted on 2004-03-11 at 08:02
Denise and I didn't plan on putting it on the market for a few months, but already we have two families looking into buying it. One of them is coming by this afternoon. Cool. Our plan is to be able to pull at least $30k in equity out of the sale for the next home. If we get more, then that just means our next home will be even nicer.
Searching for a house
Posted on 2004-03-09 at 08:03
Denise and I spend some time on this past Sunday looking at houses. Our original goal was to find a house around $240k in a nice neighborhood. Those hopes were dashed against the rocks like a baby's head in the Old Testament. I knew house prices had jumped, but I severely underestimated how much so. The absolute cheapest house we looked at and liked was going for a truly insane gob of cash ($406k). Last night we opened up the ol' spreadsheet to see just what sort of house we could afford. Thankfully it gives us a current leeway up to $300k. If the business scales any higher, that number will increase pretty quickly, so there is some hope, but damn!
A New House
Posted on 2004-02-25 at 08:03
Denise and I are looking to move soon. We need a bigger house in a nicer neighborhood now that we plan on adopting from China. The big question for us now is whether to build or buy. A lot will likely depend on how much money I make over the next year or so. We'll see. I hate change, and this year is looking to be the year of change!