What the wind did today!

The wind was so strong last night that when I looked at my screen door I saw that it was bent and warped right out of its slat - so I took a hammer and banged it back so it wouldn't protrude out so much. Time to get a new screendoor!

This is no time for the heater to be tempermental!

Sitting here at the keyboard typing away I notice that the radiator is cold which is odd because its been on all day. The temperatures have been in the 40's all day and right now its 38 degrees outside! So why is the radiator cold? So I went to check the thermostate to see what the house temperature is and its like 62 which means the heater should be on. So I flip the switch that designates the "cold/vs hot temperature" and slowly the radiators start to warm up. They are hot now. Besides my little panic attack I'm sure that if I had left it at its setting the radiators would have started. I sure hope there's nothing wrong with the furnace!

Hopefully the end of the 'beehive" story!

Well I finally was able to put the cushion in a trashbag and set it outside with the trash and I'm happy to say that the trashmen took it away!

Hooray!!!!

And even though I'm glad to be finally rid of it I know that I shouldn't get too happy about it because there is still the other cushions although I haven't seen any beehive signs - I'm hoping that I won't have to get rid of them but I may have to. And I am reminded that the beehive in the cushion isn't the only beehive that I have seen on the property.

The Beehive - the story continues

Today the temperature was in the 40's and windy. I finally managed to put the tied up trashbag at the curb for the trash pickup. Trash day is tomorrow!

The Beehive - the story continues

Back in August I had wrote about how I went to sweep off my front porch and found that the bees had built a nest in one of the cushions of the porch furniture. I didn't know it until I actually started to move the chair so that I could sweep off the area. Well out the bees came and there were a LOT of bees! I even tried covering myself up so that I could go back out and remove the cushion. Well even covered up I got stung! So I decided to do some research. From what I read I read that a suggestion that said to wait until the weather got colder. Either the bees are asleep or something but then would be a good time to get rid of the hive. Well this particular day it was very cold and rainy and windy and I noticed that there were no bees flying around the cushion so I managed to put the cushion in a trashbag and tie it up. Hooray! I finally got to tie up the cushion. Since trash day is a few days away the cushion is still on the front porch until I can put it out with the rest of the trash! But at least I got to the point where I could put it in a trashbag and tie it up.

This isn't the first time that there has been a beehive somewhere near the house. The last one was quite big and it was on the side of the house. A neighbor came and sprayed it during the night and then later a bad storm blew it from where it was. My neighbors are not immune either as my backyard neighbor had one on the side of his house as well.

I am so glad that I finally got rid of this beehive but I don't want to jinx it though because even though I have finally managed to get it in a trashbag and tie it up it still has to be put out with the rest of the trash.

The Telephone - A story....

So 2 days ago the phone stopped working. Well I can't call the phone company (Verizon) because the phone doesn't work. My neighbor called them for me. So the soonest they could come out was two days later and they informed me that an "in-house" service call would be $91! I still wanted to keep the appointment hoping that the problem would be on their end. Guess what? It was! It seems that a box of theirs had some damaged/cut wires.

Garden!

Oh I forgot to mention that I do have a garden. One of the benefits of living in a house. As much as I enjoy gardening I didn't get a chance to tend to it this year because of work but I definitely will next season. For right now I have to clear the ground because the weeds have grown so much. I don't mind doing this so much as long as I'm in the mood for it. I can even enjoy it at times and its great for relaxation - if you do it right. There are a lot of first time gardeners that get frustrated too soon because they try to do too much at one time and get frustrated.

If you can manage to have one gardening is a great thing to do. I had planted strawberries one time and I used to go out in the morning and pick them, wash them off, put sugar on top of them and let them sit in the refridgerator for a few hours and have them for dessert for lunch or dinner.

I also plant herbs as well. Garlic chives grow great in my area.

Of course there's a lot of weeding to do and there are bugs but I do like collecting/storing rainwater for when the weather is dry and I can use the rainwater to water the garden. Rainwater is the best to use for this.

So if you can manage it I would highly recommend having a garden!

Fireplace! I would love to have one or two.....

It's getting chillier now and one of the things that I would LOVE to have is a fireplace! One downstairs and one upstairs. The room where my computer is quite small so I don't know where I could put it but I would mind having one in my bedroom.

Anything is possible and I do sort of have a fireplace plan - so who knows - maybe I will be able to have one after all! Just have to plan for it which I already have done.

Basement-Freezer-Defrosting!

Well I have never had to defrost a freezer before! But when the little freezer in the basement became caked with ice - I thought "oh great...another thing to have to deal with!"

Good thing I still had the instruction book that came with it! So since the ice was caked I had to do more than just leave the door open (besides that's wasting electricity that I'm trying to save) so I un-plug the freezer (didn't have too much in it), remove the drain plug that's inside and put the drain pipe in a bucket to catch the water/melted ice. It took about a week for the ice to melt (so that means that yes there was a lot of ice) - but its gone now and its plugged back in and now I have something else to add to my maintenance schedule!

Cable TV!

So the cable goes out and someone makes the joke that maybe the bill wasn't paid - which made me worry. I paid the bill and even heard that the payment was received and applied to the account so that wasn't it. Turns out that the cable itself went out in the whole area!

Oh, well, nice surprise!

PECO! - A necessary evil?

Oh - having to deal with these people! It's enough to make you just want to hang up the phone so the click will make them angry!

But you know I get the feeling that if I belonged to one of the other utility companies my problems would be a lot more worse!

My average utility costs per month usually come out to around $150 per month average. My neighbor uses a lot more! So I guess that I could consider myself just a little bit more luckier. And it could be a lot worse -

While I'm waiting for the weather to cool....

there is still lots that has to be done!

The Basement - Here is where the most has to be done!

• mainly cleaning the water damage!

The Kitchen

• Well the ceiling needs to be re-plastered but first I have to take a look at the roof outside
  
• NEED A NEW REFRIDERATOR! - Probably have to budget around $900 for this unless I catch a sale or buy one that has a scratch on it
  

Oh yeah, there's a lot to keep me busy and I haven't even mentioned the other things that I have to do outside!

Rain, Rain, Go Away?

Since I live in the Philadelphia region, the recent rain and storms haven't affected my area as much as it has NJ and Florida. It's supposed to rain on and off for the next few days with some thunderstorms possible.

The weather is very humid right now even though its 79 degrees. I have the air conditioning on because it just feels so warm and so humid!

I'm still chicken!

Online I have found a number of possible solutions

- waiting until a cool night and then placing something (like a heavy carpet) over the hole to keep the bees inside

- maybe there's a local area beekeeper that will come get the bees for free

-plus an assortment of receipes from others that have used them successfully

But alas, my last "bee sting" incident has turned me "off" from going back out there again so I'm going to wait until the weather gets colder (REAL COLDER) and then discard of the cushion(s)!

How I Became A Homeowner......

Here is my little story of how I became a homeowner.

I was taking care of my mother when she got sick and when she died she left the house to me - and that is how I became a homeowner.

It didn't really sink in until I started getting all those bills that are associated with being a homeowner such as the property tax bills and the monthly mortgage bill. And then came the repairs! That is when it really started to sink in. Now all the mail that was associated with the house were coming with my name on it! Yikes!

Of course before this I had never been a homeowner before and really didn't know anything about it! I had no clue! Mind you now, I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world!

But after I became a homeowner I began to learn the meaning of foundations and township ordinances and property tax bills and mortgages and interest rates! I also started to become something of a beginner handyman as well! - LOL!


I have bled radiators, and broken branches from the outside trees when storm damage has happened. I'm learning about gutters and about how the leaves can clog them up thus causing the water to gather and possibly back up.

I'm also learning that if you don't take care of and get rid of weeds that they can grow and grow and grow and when it rains the weeds grow some more!

I have also learned how good it feels to have a home of one's own! I had lived in this house for many years before I came to own it. I want to pay off the mortgage because I really hate mortgage companies!

I also want a fireplace - maybe even more than one - because I just love the way that they look and feel! I don't want one of those fake fireplaces though - I want the real thing that burns wood (and I have a lot of wood that I'm saving from the tree branches that have fallen. I have even seen some nearby houses in my neighborhood that are selling firewood and I'm guess that it is from their tree damage as well).

I also have an attic that is not in use. There is still a lot of work to be done in it as it just has some paneling and some insulation - sometimes I'm even kinda of scared to go up there!

There is also a basement that has water in it when it rains and there is also foundation work that has to be done in the basement. However my washing machine and dryer (that doesn't work) is in the basement so I am down there to do laundry.

I have never been much of an "apartment" person so being a homeowner appeals to me very well.

So that is my little story of how I became a homeowner.......

Oh, the angst!

Well I'm not a complete homeowner - there is still a mortgage on the house - but...............

I decided to start this blog because of an incident that happened to me yesterday. I decided to sweep off the front porch and moved one of the chairs and was welcomed by a swarm of bees! Needless to say they didn't like being disturbed. Well I got away from the chair as quick as I could but now had to figure out what to do.

I'm kind of assuming that there is a hive someone there - it may even be in the cushion of the chair which is busted open. So I went online to find out some solutions - a lot of which said to wait until a cool night and cover the hole with like a heavy carpet so that they couldn't get out. Still another piece of advice was to just wait until it got cooler to get rid of the hive.

I thought if I covered myself real good all over I could take the cushion and put it out with the trash - well that was a bad mistake! The bees mostly attacked my legs but they were buzzing all around me too and since I was covered up it was hard to see them so I hightailed it into the house bringing in a few bees with me!

So now I was so scared and so fed up that I decided to wait until it turns COLD (and I do emphasize the word COLD!) before I get rid of the cushion.

Still I much rather prefer living in a house as opposed to living in an apartment!