Get it together

I came home yesterday from my conference, and, as usual, spent most of the rest of the day watching t.v. or taking a nap. I also went to bed early and slept late. Yep, mental exhaustion hijacked my body.

This morning, I snapped out of it. Rather than go into work to catch up on the depression-raising antics I missed (and unfortunately, I have been kept abreast of them via the internet), I decided to work on my house. Yes, things I have put off since I bought it were subject to my fury today.

1. I called a few more roofers to look at my leak from last winter. I couldn't find the cards or quotes from the guys I spoke with last year, so began again. I also decided to make sure I called roofers, rather than contractors. One showed up later and we climbed onto the roof. I think if I had climbed on the roof myself, I might not have bought this house. But there it was. He seems to think there is wind damage, and the insurance company could replace the whole thing. I am skeptical, but hopeful. I also told him I was on a timeline, and he seemed like he could accommodate. Unfortunately, he agreed with the insurance assessment from last year, that they wouldn't cover the part of the roof with the leak. "But it will only be like $2K or so," he assured. "That and the deductible, shouldn't be much. What is your deductible?" $1k. "Oh," he said. "That is a lot."

He left to write up his numbers. He said he would call me and then I should call the insurance then he would meet with them on my roof.

But I have a couple other guys coming tomorrow too. Hopefully, someone can offer less than the $2K on the flat roof. Or prove that is a good deal.

2. I started working on the hedge last weekend, but then it snowed and then I left for a conference. So I only had half done, and half of those were still sitting on the front lawn. Today, I cut down the other half. There is one really big, old bush (featured in the pic from the previous Hedge post) that I couldn't get down, so I was working on branches to at least make it a height the other plants could overgrow. It started to rain, so there are still 2 branches on that one plant I probably need the chainsaw for. But other than that, I am really happy with the height of the hedge. Over the weekend a lot more leaves blossomed on the plants. More are rising from the bases, so I am hopeful they will take over soon.

I still have to cut up the 30 or so12 foot limbs I took down. I can't decide if it is worth trying to burn the green wood in my bbq pit or if I should just shove them in my trashcan. Thoughts?

3. I bought a wet vacuum to start working on my rugs. This evening, I started with the basement den rug, which had some horrifying stains left by my tenant. (Sigh, I guess that's what deposits are for.) From my reading, wet vacs are hard working beasts, but need careful maintenance in order to last. The stains were so bad, I had it on its highest settings, which meant constant running back and forth to empty the water tank (oh, the color! ick!).Three hours later (and 2 refills of the cleaner, with 6 refills of the water tank), I think I made it look much better than it has looked in years. Huzzah!

I really want a new vacuum. Mine just doesn't seem to be made for the amount of hair the cats and I shed. You are supposed to vacuum before the wet vac, but there was so much hair in the water afterwards, it was like I hadn't vacuumed at all (or even the tenant, when he left!). I can run it over a string 10 times, and that string is still there. But two appliances in one month is rough. Especially the month of a new roof (maybe).

4. I wish there were more hours in the day... I'm feeling on a roll. Since I was on the roof, I realized how crappy my crab apple tree looks and how much shaping I can do from that angle. Maybe I'll try that on Wednesday. And maybe Thursday morning, I will take a stab at wet vacuuming my bedroom carpet. It's a much bigger room, so hopefully it doesn't wear me out before work (it needs time to dry, so I thought before work was better).

Good night!