Thursday, December 27, 2007
An outing on X-mas Day
While some rested on x-mas day, Bob, Uncle Mike, Celie and I decided to go to Brandywine Falls. Bob wanted to take us there. So, we hopped in the van and went. It was about 5 miles from our house. Here are some of the pics from our little jaunt.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Tangent
I have to take a moment and rant a little bit, please forgive me.
It has been difficult moving to a new area where we do not know a lot of people. In the past, if we needed to have work done on the house, we knew who to call - my brother - or he would point us in the right direction. We are pretty handy and we can do some home renovations ourself, but some things we can't and are better left to those who know how.
We have been trying to find a contractor that we could work with to replace our windows and gut and replace the kitchen. We thought that we had found one until we got the proposal back for the kitchen. We had already signed the contract for the windows, but were now negotiating the kitchen portion. Their prices seemed out of whack. I became frustrated and slightly aggravated. We scaled back portions of the proposal but it still yielded a higher price than I was willing to pay. I scaled back again - still didn't really put a dent in the budget. The money guy of the contracting company seemed to be pushing us to sign the contract, but we didn't. I just didn't feel comfortable until we got some other numbers.
Meanwhile, the work for the windows had begun. When we moved in, the house had 13 sliding glass doors and 1 window - all pretty much original to our 1975 home. With cold weather approaching, we felt that the windows were the most important thing that needed to be done to keep our house warm. We took this opportunity to get rid of some of the sliders on the first floor and replace them with windows. We now have 6 sliders instead of 13. We like the new windows, but as the renovations are coming to close - we are not happy with the craftsmanship. I could list the many things that I do not feel have been done up to par, but it really isn't the clincher - this is.
I went out to our freezer to get the Lithuanian Sausage that Aunt Sue & Uncle Tom had brought from Chicago. I was going to defrost it for our Holiday Meal because Uncle Mike loves it. Well, the freezer smelled funny. I thought it was the garbage. I went to reach for the sausage packages - they were mushy. Everything in the freezer had thawed. I thought that maybe the freezer was going. Then, I looked at the plug. The workers had unplugged my freezer to use both plugs and forgot to plug it back in. I was LIVID. I came into house and told Bob that as soon they were out of the house, the better. I am still VERY angry about the whole situation. That was supposed to be our x-mas meal. (Thank goodness for Heinen's - we will have to have ham instead).
So, I have made a list of all of the items that we are not happy with. We have received our final invoice for the remainder of the work. I will have to call the $$ guy next week and discuss. I refuse to pay the entire amount until all of the work is completed. There are some items they have not fulfilled on the contract and I plan on requiring a credit for those items. I hate to nit pick contracts, but that is what contracts are for - to hold accountability to all parties involved.
I just want them out of my house - NOW!! But I will try to remain calm and professional when I speak with them. But I will be holding out money to fix the items - ourselves!
What I do not understand is people's lack of respect for other people's property. What happened to integrity? What happened to being proud of the work that you do? I have always given 110% when working for other people and myself. I expect that from others as well. However, I am not seeing it. If what they have given us is their 110% then I would really hate to see what their 75% is.
It has been difficult moving to a new area where we do not know a lot of people. In the past, if we needed to have work done on the house, we knew who to call - my brother - or he would point us in the right direction. We are pretty handy and we can do some home renovations ourself, but some things we can't and are better left to those who know how.
We have been trying to find a contractor that we could work with to replace our windows and gut and replace the kitchen. We thought that we had found one until we got the proposal back for the kitchen. We had already signed the contract for the windows, but were now negotiating the kitchen portion. Their prices seemed out of whack. I became frustrated and slightly aggravated. We scaled back portions of the proposal but it still yielded a higher price than I was willing to pay. I scaled back again - still didn't really put a dent in the budget. The money guy of the contracting company seemed to be pushing us to sign the contract, but we didn't. I just didn't feel comfortable until we got some other numbers.
Meanwhile, the work for the windows had begun. When we moved in, the house had 13 sliding glass doors and 1 window - all pretty much original to our 1975 home. With cold weather approaching, we felt that the windows were the most important thing that needed to be done to keep our house warm. We took this opportunity to get rid of some of the sliders on the first floor and replace them with windows. We now have 6 sliders instead of 13. We like the new windows, but as the renovations are coming to close - we are not happy with the craftsmanship. I could list the many things that I do not feel have been done up to par, but it really isn't the clincher - this is.
I went out to our freezer to get the Lithuanian Sausage that Aunt Sue & Uncle Tom had brought from Chicago. I was going to defrost it for our Holiday Meal because Uncle Mike loves it. Well, the freezer smelled funny. I thought it was the garbage. I went to reach for the sausage packages - they were mushy. Everything in the freezer had thawed. I thought that maybe the freezer was going. Then, I looked at the plug. The workers had unplugged my freezer to use both plugs and forgot to plug it back in. I was LIVID. I came into house and told Bob that as soon they were out of the house, the better. I am still VERY angry about the whole situation. That was supposed to be our x-mas meal. (Thank goodness for Heinen's - we will have to have ham instead).
So, I have made a list of all of the items that we are not happy with. We have received our final invoice for the remainder of the work. I will have to call the $$ guy next week and discuss. I refuse to pay the entire amount until all of the work is completed. There are some items they have not fulfilled on the contract and I plan on requiring a credit for those items. I hate to nit pick contracts, but that is what contracts are for - to hold accountability to all parties involved.
I just want them out of my house - NOW!! But I will try to remain calm and professional when I speak with them. But I will be holding out money to fix the items - ourselves!
What I do not understand is people's lack of respect for other people's property. What happened to integrity? What happened to being proud of the work that you do? I have always given 110% when working for other people and myself. I expect that from others as well. However, I am not seeing it. If what they have given us is their 110% then I would really hate to see what their 75% is.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Celie's B-day
We celebrated Celie's 3rd birthday with a small trial cake (in anticipation for a bigger cake on her "party" day) with Bob, Anna, Celie & I. We gave her one present and she opened it quickly and began playing with her Princess figurines. Here is a picture of the trial cake. It was suppose to be an all edible princess castle. It was to my delight when I asked Celie, "What does that look like?" Her response, "C-rella castle mommy." I was very proud. It might not be beautiful, but if she loves it, than that is all the praise I need.
On Saturday, we celebrated Celie's B-day again with Grandma & Grandpa Stump and Grandma & Grandpa Ostroski. We had lunch. Celie opened up presents, and we had the bigger cake that I made for her party. I had wanted to add windows and doors around the castle, but I became sick and couldn't finish it. So, Celie ended up with a blank castle with a little bit of grass.
Celie had a good B-day. However, she really hasn't grasped the idea of her b-day. Every time we said, "Happy Birthday Celie!" She would respond, "Happy Birtday Mommy!" Oh well. She is now 3 and full of energy.
On Saturday, we celebrated Celie's B-day again with Grandma & Grandpa Stump and Grandma & Grandpa Ostroski. We had lunch. Celie opened up presents, and we had the bigger cake that I made for her party. I had wanted to add windows and doors around the castle, but I became sick and couldn't finish it. So, Celie ended up with a blank castle with a little bit of grass.
Celie had a good B-day. However, she really hasn't grasped the idea of her b-day. Every time we said, "Happy Birthday Celie!" She would respond, "Happy Birtday Mommy!" Oh well. She is now 3 and full of energy.
Anna in a Pan
Mrs O had borrowed my roasting pan and we had it sitting by the entry way. Anna thought it was great fun to crawl in it and sit. We couldn't get her out of it. Every time we took her out, she would crawl right back in. Finally, we had to put it away - after getting pictures of course. No Hansel or Gretel here.
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