One step forward, two steps back

These days I'm often reminded of Robert Burns' "The best laid schemes of o'mice an' men/Gang aft a-gley".  Or in more current lingo, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.  The plans I've made over the past number of years are tantalizingly close but oh so far away.  

Obviously the house hasn't sold yet.  All of my plans are predicate on that happening.  On Thursday my hopes were high.  Actually, let me back up a bit.  On Monday there was a showing, and while that was happening, I had a call from my agent with two more requests for showings on Tuesday; one at 3 p.m. and one at 3:45 p.m.  Of course, I agreed to both.

So on Tuesday the cats and I went for a drive, and about the time I thought the second showing would be done, I drove past the house.  The agent and his clients were still there so I parked down the block until they left.  Later my agent contacted me to say that group hadn't been able to get into the house.  The prior agent had locked both the deadbolts and the door knobs/handles.  They still wanted to see the house and asked for a showing on Thursdays.

I've never used anything but the deadbolt and wasn't even provided with the keys by the previous owner.  So, now there is tape covering those locks to ensure it never happens again.

In any event, the showing on Thursday seemed to go well.  This time, I only parked down the block and read a book.  They arrived shortly before 3 p.m. and were in the house/yard for at least 35 minutes.  I even drove by at one point because I thought I'd missed them leaving.  I sent an e-mail to my agent to let him know that I'd like feedback and to confirm that I'm prepared to look at any offers that come in.

Then today happened.  Today was the day that the gas line move was scheduled.  The workers from Sask Energy started arriving about 8 or 8:30 this morning and continued to do so throughout the morning.  At one point I think there eight guys out there, each for a different purpose.  One guy was the paper work dude or at least he wandered around with a clipboard and kept checking a list of some sort and making notes.  There was one guy breaking up the sidewalk and couple with wheelbarrows moving out the concrete, and one handling the water hose.  There was a Hydrovac truck out front blocking the driveway, and later another truck showed up with some other piece of equipment.  It was full house, that's for sure. 


(I didn't feel I could take many photos as the process unfolded, because I'm sure the guys wouldn't have appreciated being in the shots.  So I waited until they all were standing around having coffee to grab a couple shots.) 

This is the hole they dug to get to the original gas line.  It's the yellow line to the bottom left.  The other line is the one Sask Tel dug in a week or so ago for the InfiNet.  What Sask Energy was doing was diverting the line to the right and then running it about a foot out from the sun room, which puts the new line where the side walk runs.  I was told that it isn't a problem to re-pour the sidewalk.  

When they finished up just after noon, I went outside to take a look and talk to the guy who seemed to be in charge.  I asked when they would be repairing the side walk and replacing the sod they'd removed in the back.  I was told they would not, he said they'd put down crusher dust and it wouldn't settle (really?) and that was all they obligated to do.  Not happy with that I went out and took some additional photos and called into their head office.

It turns out their office is closed between noon and 1 p.m. so I left a message.  The individual who called me back was the same guy I spoke with this morning so after a few minutes of listening to his nonsense (a safety issue, not required to do anything more, blah, blah, blah), I asked to be called back by someone higher up on the food chain.  

A
About 3 p.m. I had a call from another person who gave me basically the same spiel.  I explained to him that the lawn was trashed, the sod that was removed where the hole was dug was not replaced (as SaskTel did last week), and the cut line was poorly done and had I know they weren't going to replace the pavement I would have insisted it all be removed.  He asked me to send photos, which I did.  He later replied saying:
- yes the grass is trampled, I would expect with a little time and some water it will bounce back.
- please understand, Sasktel needs a lot less space to do their work then we do. Yes, maybe they could have put the sod back on top.
- they certainly could have cut the cement straighter. I've sent the picture to our Construction Dept and asked them to comment back to me.




I'm so angry....perhaps the lawn that was merely disturbed will but how on earth is grass that isn't there is going to come back AND there was no offer to replace the sod that was removed.  I'm waiting to see what the response will be regarding the cut line.  Depending on that response I will likely contact the provincial ministry in charge of Sask Energy by e-mail and post something to their Facebook page.  Sometimes a bit of noise, squeaky wheel and all that, might get some attention.  In the meantime I've contacted the landscaper that did the work out front for me to get a quote regarding the costs associated with replacing the sidewalk and the sod.  It's a small job so he may not be interested in doing it but I'll deal with that later.




Around dinner time my agent got back to me with feedback from the Thursday showing.  It was mixed, they've seen 5 houses so far and liked mine the best, but wanted to see more before making a decision.  On the negative side, they could smell the cats and noted the carpet in the basement and bedroom needs replacing.  I agree with them, the carpet needs replacing, and is likely the source of some of the cat odor, so I'm not replacing it since the cats will be living here until we sell.  I responded to my agent advising that I am prepared to get a quote as to the cost of replacing the carpet with a similar quality product but I won't cover the cost of installation.  It is an offer I'd make to any potential buyer, to provide a check for that amount upon completion of the sale so that they can decide whether to put in carpet or some other flooring.  I won't cover the cost of installation because I won't get the benefit and it may be they can find someone to do the work for less.  I think that's a fair offer.

In the meantime I've decided to get the rugs professionally cleaned as I suspect my carpet cleaner isn't up the task.  Plus I'll buy some Kilz paint that blocks and seals odors and paint the drywall in the area where the cat litter boxes live.  More work for me but if it means getting a sale or not, I'm more than willing to do it.  

And so the saga continues!  Tomorrow I'm taking a break from all of this and going to see Rocketman at the theater with friends.  Now that's a plan I can go along with.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Moving backward, looking forward

Well, that's over and done.  Another offer accepted and then terminated as a result of information not made available to me before I made the offer.  I'm disappointed, D is disappointed, and as a result life has taken another turn.

She and I had a discussion that got heated.  From my perspective she's done nothing, since getting pregnant with Eli, to do anything to secure his or her own future.  There was no plan B, hell I don't think there was even a plan A.  According to her she was relying on J and when that didn't work out, she figured I'd take care of things.  Well, I tried and that didn't work.

As a result of our disagreement she has moved back into J's house.  I suspect it won't last long as he is no more responsible than she is.  At this point, I can nothing more and at her age (35+), it is time for her to step up and take care of herself.  I worry about little Eli, but as I keep telling myself, kids are pretty resilient.  By nature he is a happy little guy, very easy-going, and I hope those tendencies will stand him in good stead.

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It appears she's decided to leave Sheldon behind (as she did with Saku 8 years ago).  We'd been slowly introducing Sheldon to Saku - unlike Sami and Sasha he's never seen a kitten before and was quite upset.  On Thursday evening, my son and I decided it was now or never so we fed the cats in the same room.  Sheldon was probably 4 feet from Saku and while the two of them kept an eye on each other while they ate, there was no hissing or howling.  

After the meal, things were a little more tense but they managed.  Yesterday, I kept Sheldon out all day, there were a few moments of whappy paw, hissing and growling from Saku, especially when Sheldon runs up to him or surprises him.  Most often, Sheldon knows enough to back off but I think he gets confused because sometimes Saku will play with him.

At one point, they were in the midst of the chase game, Saku chased Sheldon, then they turned and Sheldon chased Saku.  But then Saku had had enough and turned on the kitten, hissing and growling.  

So the tolerance level is increasing, not without a scratch or two (on Sheldon's ear and nose). 

Night time is a different story, I tried allowing Sheldon to stay last night but I had to put him in a separate bedroom as he doesn't settle down and ends up annoying the other cats (and me).  So for the weekend, he'll be out during the day and tucked away at night so we can all get some sleep.  I left them alone for an hour yesterday while I went grocery shopping and they were fine, so may try leaving them on their own on Monday when I return to work. I don't think Saku would ever seriously hurt him, and now that Sheldon is bigger he can run away or climb out of Saku's way.

I really didn't/don't want another cat, but I suspect he'll be staying here.  My son C says he'll take him and Sasha when he leaves, likely in the next year.  I'll keep the other two with me.

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On a much happier note, I'm counting down the days to my cruise....29!  I starting making a packing list yesterday.  Since it's Canada/New England and it's fall, it's quite a different list than i would take for my winter Caribbean cruise.  I'm assuming reasonably warm temps during the day with cooler temps at night so that means layers, a rain jacket just in case, and even a few pairs of socks.   

As a side note I hate socks (and pantyhose)...as soon as the weather warms enough in spring, I never wear them until it gets too cold in the fall to do without.  Growing up on the farm, I went barefoot all summer but now I wear sandals or flipflops.  

Anyway, back to the cruise.  I got an up-sell offer e-mail the other day.  For an additional $150C I could upgrade to an obstructed exterior cabin on deck 8.  I have sailed in one of these before, one of my first cruises, and they're okay.  There is a window, but the view is obstructed by the lifeboats that are stored on outside the rooms.  Our view was partially obstructed, as our window looked out between two lifeboats.  This time there was no guarantee, and I quite like the location of my current interior room.  I'm booked on deck 10 at the aft of the ship, a short distance from the adult only pool, and midway between the dining room on Deck 5 and the Horizon Court buffet on Deck 15.  One of my "rules" to cruising is no using the elevator except when I'm carrying luggage.  I know myself well, I'm more likely to stick to that rule if I don't have to climb more than 5 or 6 sets of stairs.  So I passed on the offer....now if they were to offer me a balcony room at the same rate..... :)

Enough babble from me today. I've got vacuuming, floors to wash, and outside chores to keep me busy.  

Have a good weekend everyone!  

Ch...ch...ch...changes

Life can be unpredictable; but sometimes it is not.  Such are the recent changes in my world.

John had asked why my manager would change my workload when I'm nearing retirement.  Well, in fact, it was my choice to make a change....though I didn't quite get what I wanted.

I have been saying for the past year that I wanted someone else to take over my group at least a year before I retire.  My rationale is the work we do is somewhat unique and it takes a little while to get one's head wrapped around the concept.  I know I really started to feel comfortable a year in, so my thoughts were I'd still be around to help the new supervisor.

So when we were asked by our manager and her boss, how we envisioned the office reorganization, I made several recommendations, and at the same time requested a change.  We're in the midst of hiring, the first we've done in nearly 5 years and I was hoping to be given a group of new hires to train.  That's not what I got though.  Instead I have a group with three different workloads AND a project.  

I have lots to learn as one of my staff will be retiring in December.  I'm hopeful we'll be able to train someone to take her place before then, but if not I'd better know how to do her job.  As well, I have some new systems to learn so I can work with the other people in the group.  I'm certain I won't be bored!

And then there is the project.  I've been challenged to create a program to assist the new hires in their learning.  I won't go into the details but over the last couple of weeks I've created a plan that requires the approval of my manager and her boss, discussed with my peers what the program might look like and discussed it with several existing staff who I think may be part of the program.  

In the meantime I've been kept busy with my current group and have been helping with the process to bring in the new hires.  I like being busy and the time has been flying by.  

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The other big change, that was not entirely a surprise, is that my daughter has left her boyfriend and moved back in with me.  Now, she did this at 2 a.m. on Friday a.m. so the timing could have been better.  I woke up to the front door opening - my first thought was why was my son coming home so late as I knew he had to work that day, when I called out to him, I was surprised when she answered.

She showed up with the baby and most of his stuff.  Yep, she'd packed the car with his swing, his clothing, diapers, and toys.  She left Eli with me, went back to the house to get another load, as well as her bank card and other set of car keys.  I got the little one settled and back in bed, before I crawled back into my bed.  I was certainly glad I didn't have to work that day!

Later that day, she went back and brought back Sheldon.  As you can see he's a wee kitten, and just a little cutie.  J had threatened to put him outside and let him fend for himself.  While I've never been J's biggest fan, this even further reduced his status in my mind.  

So far the other cats want nothing to to with him.  They will tolerate his presence in the same room, so long as they can watch from afar.  Heaven forbid, should he come within a paw whap away.  I was playing with him on my bed yesterday, when Sami jumped up.  Sheldon did the sideways hop with his best floof on - Sami hissed and let him have a paw.  Then she ran away.  We've been keeping them separated most of the time, Sheldon has D's room, but whenever the other cats are all out in the sun room, we let him out to run and play.  The cat tree, kickaroo, and several of the other neglected toys have been getting quite the workout.

And of course, this means I get to spend more time with Eli.  

He's now four months old and his little personality is really developing.  He's a happy little boy (though he often appears serious in his photos).  He wakes up happy and greets his mom (and grandma) with smiles.

He loves to play on his mat, either on his back or his tummy, and is trying very hard to get himself to a sitting position.  He likes to spend time in his jolly jumper, bouncing and squealing checking out the baby in the mirror we have leaned against the wall opposite.  

He's a lot of fun!  But lots of work.  Between feeding, diaper changes, baths, playing and cuddles he keeps her busy.  He does have three naps a day and sleeps well at night.  Last night he went down at 8:30 p.m. and didn't wake until 3 a.m.  It helps that he has his own room and she doesn't hear his every move.

I'm finding (just 2.5 days in) that I'm missing my "alone" time.  I do retreat to my bedroom or outdoors when the chatter gets too much and, of course, I'll be at work for the next few days.  I know we can't live like this forever though, so have agreed to help my daughter find a place of her own in the next few months.  However, while she's here I've set some ground rules - she is responsible for all the baby's needs (care, food diapers, etc.), must keep their spaces tidy, and pay a small amount of rent to cover the costs of extra groceries and utilities.  

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So life has gotten a whole lot more interested/complicated, both at work and at home.  The next few months will be a time of learning, patience, and likely compromise.  

In any event, I have my September cruise to look forward to - today marks 9 weeks to sail-away.  I'm definitely going to be ready for a vacation!

I'll end with a couple of photos from this morning's walk.

Momma duck watching over her babies as they nap by the side of the pond.

And a lone baby duck - his momma was quite the distance a way from him with several other little ones.
He was peeping like mad to get her attention.

Have a great week everyone!