since it’s the middle of the hurricane season, here’s a handy do it yourself home safety checklist from the ‘federal alliance for safe homes’.  i ~fail~.

back when i was having foundation repair being done in the house, i went to take a pic of the work and after one picture, the camera went dead.  so i recharged the batteries, took one picture, the camera went dead. etc etc etc :| i finally bought a new battery charger and the camera works again!! :D i was able to grab the couple of pictures i did manage to take of the damage done to my floors, even if they did come out incredibly poor.  there were about 9 other holes inside the house which i didn’t get to photograph and the picture looking down into one of the holes didn’t come out ~at all~.

read on...

my house is finally beginning to return somewhat to normal after the MESS made when they installed piers in the ground inside the house :| they’ve filled in the holes, replaced the tile (and excellent match, i must say) and i’m slowly but surely getting things cleaned and put back where they belong.  the upstairs is still full of boxes, because i refuse to put anything back until it’s been cleaned, sorted through, etc.  the latest fun was trying to put the antique keys back up on the wall.  they never ever go back up the way they came down.

the keys were left to me by my dad.  he’d collected them for years.  when i was a kid, we’d go to old antique stores and flea markets and it was my job to try to spot any old keys for sale.  they’d been mounted and framed, but the mounts needed to be redone and, while pondering what to do with them exactly, it struck me that hanging them between my windows might work… i like the look now :D i just don’t like having to take them down :o i did have one set remounted and framed professionally, so that i could hang them above the “mantel”.  there’s some pretty interesting keys among the bunch.  one is almost a foot long, several are “folding keys”.  what they all went to, i have no idea, but they look neat :D

no current photos, because something is up with my camera (i either need new batteries or a new battery charger), but the living room looks the same as in this photo:

read on...

so the work to level my condo has been going on since may 8th.  i now have 9 holes in the floor downstairs.  3 feet x 3 feet x 6 feet deep.  :| they’re covered with the loveliest pieces of plywood labeled “hole” in neon orange… as if i might forget :| there’s 3 in my computer room, 1 in my storage room, 1 in my craft area, 1 in the hallway, 1 under the refrigerator, 1 in front of the pantry door, and 1 under my washer and dryer.  they came friday to adjust the piers and now my doors upstairs don’t close.  but on the bright side, the back door wouldn’t shut either, so they fixed it!  by tearing up the indoor/outdoor carpeting that was on my patio and drilling 3 more holes!

in the meantime, all my ~furniture~ downstairs has been shoved into my living room and covered in plastic.  everything breakable downstairs has been boxed up and stored in the upstairs bedroom.  it’s full.  the catbox had to be moved up here.  i’ve set up a “desk” in the middle of girlie’s room which has my computer on it.  the microwave is up here, so at least i can ~cook~.  haha :| i’ve just a minimum of walk space in either room up here.  and everything both downstairs and upstairs is covered in a fine dust from the jackhammering they’ve done.  the tile floor downstairs is absolutely disgusting.  covered in a layer of… grime :s no sense cleaning it, because they still have to come back to do more work :| hopefully, tomorrow, they’ll finish adjustments to the piers and backfill the holes.  then i just have to get all the tiles replaced.  whee.

i put alot of time and effort into making my home into my “little oasis” of peace in an otherwise chaotic world… and now it looks as though i live in a war zone.  i’ve websites i need to work on, which is becoming increasingly difficult as i feel like i’m confined/caged/trapped.  it’d be the perfect time for a daytrip, but i really need to get some work done :(

i want my house back :(

update 05/21/08:  workmen were at my neighbour’s all day yesterday and apparently won’t be back to ~my~ unit now until friday :| the woman who was to give me an estimate on replacing my tiles DID show up, tho.  forgetting that i’d given her a copy of the receipt from when i had my flooring installed, so that she could check on the availability of the tile.  she made a list of where and how many holes are in the house, though, and promises to have me an estimate by the end of the week.  hopefully, my tiles are still available.  otherwise, i’m going to have to go hunting for something that’s a close match, as i don’t intend to completely redo my floor.  i’m beginning to believe that this will never ever ever be finished.  ever.

because if not?  i surely meant to.

the foundation in my building is being leveled by placing piers inside the units.  so the tile floors that i put delayed putting in 3 years ago when we first had foundation repair done, are now going to have to be torn up so they can place NINE… yes, NINE piers in my unit.  lucky, lucky me.  the company doing the foundation work did come out and at least let me know where the work would be done, so i only need to clear my craft room, kitchen, and computer area… and anything breakable needs to be taken upstairs, as the jackhammering through the floors could cause things to break.  lucky, lucky me.  i can also expect to need to replace 9 tiles for every pier.  plus any tiles that happen to pop up once they actually raise the foundation level.  oddly, i have absolutely no signs of foundation problems.  no cracks in teh walls or ceilings, no sticking doors.  yet, they say there is a 4 inch difference between the front of my unit and the back.  what i can’t help but think… leave the foundation, install me a drain, i’ll only ever need to hose down the inside of the house to clean it :O

they’ve already started on the unit next to me.  the lovely sound of jackhammering allllll day long.  yay :( i’ve until may 8th to get all my stuff moved, if i can make it without my head asploding :|

and btw, obama, you’ve lost my vote.  you made a mistake when you first tried to distance yourself from reverend wright.  rather than trying to paint him as some “crazy uncle”, you should have gone into black liberation theology and what it means.  rather than leaving ME to answer why wright is different from falwell/robertson/right wing lunatic preachers, you should have done so.  and what is the difference?  wright wants all men to be equal.  the right wing lunatic preachers want to suppress the rights of others.  you should have explained the difference in rallying people against oppression and rallying them to oppress.  instead, you let wright hang, because we know white people are scared of uppity black men who speak with passion and fire, so you tried to pander to those “typical white people”.  and now?  hillary has used wright against you by setting up this national press club engagement… and you have once again denied reverend wright.  vehemently.  and i have no respect for that.  you are once again pandering to those “typical white people” rather than leading them, as a president should.  and just who is it you are actually pandering to, obama?

THAT “typical white person” says things like:

[Obama] He’s done. Hillary will represent the Dems and America has gotten a taste of what they always knew in the back of their minds: Obama and most any Black leader will be nothing more than the new Al & Jessie Dog & Pony show. 

and now we know why reverend wright speaks the way he does, trying to draw attention to the oppression and suppression of minorities in this country.  shame on you, obama.  shame.

and now to try to grab a bit more sleep before they start up with teh damn jackhammers again :|