Word of the Day - Juno

Ju·no  [joo-noh]
noun, plural Ju·nos for 3.

1. The ancient Roman queen of heaven, a daughter of Saturn and the wife and sister of Jupiter: the protector of women and marriage. Compare Hera.
2. Astronomy . the fourth largest and one of the four brightest asteroids.
3. A woman of regal appearance or bearing.

Those are the official definitions at dictionary.com, but I'm not using them here. Why? Because I am having my bathroom remodeled by an exceptionally talented man and I've decided to make my own definition for this word and dedicate it to Javier. He's Hispanic, so this will only make sense if you use it in context.


Juno

1. An afterthought.
2. When something goes wrong or something changes in path or vision.

So, he's tiling my bathroom and he decides to go and buy extra bullnose tile pieces to edge the corners. When I step in to have a look, I'm surprised that he hadn't consulted me with the switch up in design.

He sees me and instantly goes into his explanation, "Juno, ease better like deez. She looking good."

"Thanks, Javier. It does look great, and I trust your judgement, but that's going to put a dent in my budget man, juno?"

Check out the photos of Javier's work. I will never use anyone else for my tiling. I still have a lot of work to do on this project!

Got rid of the vanity and added two pedestal sinks! I
think it adds depth. I can't wait to decorate. 

The bullnose tile pieces you can see on the wrapped
corners. Um, $8.00 per piece. lol

Tile is done. Waiting for the glass guy to
come and install the shower walls.

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Must Not Kill Dog!

What is the one thing you love to do just before sitting down to write? I love making myself a cup of Vanilla Hazelnut coffee with the Keurig I got for Christmas a couple years ago.

However, my kitchen is now a prison for my dogs, where I put up a gate to keep them from wandering about the house when we're not home, and even when we are home. The kitchen soon became a permanent station for Maggie and Biscuit (both are picture links. Go ahead, have a look). Thus, this post.

It is now time to upgrade the kitchen and fix a few things. We must banish the inmates to another part of the house in order to make repairs. We've decided to replace the counter tops, so now is a good time to replace this particular cabinet.

Must. Contain. Anger!

Yes, Maggie's attempt at a prison break was unsuccessful, but I'm sure she felt some form of redemption over the destruction of my property. I imagine, equally, she felt great joy in her attempts to eat my house.

Must. Not. Kill. Dog!

Evidence of yet another attempted break from the confines of their permanent residence.

Now that you have an idea of the much needed repairs to my dear kitchen, let me share with you the joys of making coffee again.

Alas! My newly installed kitchen counter tops and stone back splash. Merry Christmas!

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The Unwieldy Realtor - Character of the Day

The unwieldy Realtor is my character of the day. Why? Because I'm picking my jaw up from off the floor as I'm writing this. I'm dumbfounded. Flabbergasted. I'm literally at a loss for words, so maybe I should just start from the beginning?

My son sends me a listing on Trulia.com. It's a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath condominium located in the same complex as the 2 bedroom, 1 bath unit we purchased a couple of years ago. I'm pretty familiar with the complex and go there often to collect rent from our tenant or to check on the property.

With a $37,000 list price, I'm guessing we can knock off a couple thousand from that. It would need some work, a few upgrades maybe, and I'm in business. I send my email to the listing agent and receive a rather quick response:

From: mariela

Sent: Monday, December 9, 2013 4:59:51 PM

Subject: 2731 Blairstone

Good afternoon,

I received your email that you are looking for help with this property mentioned above.

I will be very glad to assist you with your questions.

Looking forward to hear from you soon,

Mariela

Nice enough, right? So I send my response:

From: Diane Carlisle
Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2013 3:26 PM
To: mariela

Subject: Re: 2731 Blairstone

Yes, I would like to view the property.

Thanks

So far, this exchange is quite pleasant and I'm really anxious to get started on my new venture in acquiring investment property, you know, to secure my future income a bit. I get a response back, also quick:

On Dec 11, 2013, at 3:30 PM, "mariela" <mariela> wrote:

Diane,

Are you going to finance this property or pay cash? More likely the property has to be purchase cash for the condition of the place.

Are you working with any Realtor to help you write an offer?

Looking forward helping you with your home,

Mariela

Now I'm a little irritated, but we'll see how she responds. I'm clearly looking for a date and time.

From: Diane Carlisle
Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2013 4:10 PM
To: mariela

Subject: Re: 2731 Blairstone

I'm not working with a realtor. If the price is right for the property I would be paying cash.

Thanks.

She responds with this:

RE: 2731 Blairstone
Sent By mariela  On:Dec 12/11/13 4:52 PM

Diane,

what do you mean if the price is right? The price of the property is $35,000 and this is a bank owned where you will need to be having the proof of cash or loan.

Before I show you the property there is a form that needs to be sign, and you will be required to wear a mask to go inside for the condition of the place.

I can show you the property tomorrow at 2:15 pm.

Sincerely,

Mariela

GOBSMACKED! I'm telling you. Why is this property even on the market? And why did you call it a home??

"Looking forward helping you with your HOME" 

It's not a home! It's a cesspool of filthy, disgusting mold, and you shouldn't be able to advertise this piece of crap!

Wow...

</rant>




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From Hell to Heaven in 7 Days

So, the labor guys finally made it to my house. It's 5:00 p.m. and they have informed me they will need 3 to 4 hours to install my granite counter tops. Nice, right? I kind of wanted to step out tonight and maybe grab a beer or two. Instead, I get to listen to my Uncle Si bobble head call out, "I'm down like a rodeo clown" or "Hey, that's a fact, Jack!" every time one of these guys pounds away at the old counter top.

Easy! Jeez. Yeah, my son gifted it to me for my birthday last month. I love Duck Dynasty, but this thing going off every 2 seconds is driving me nuts. I had originally moved it off the washing machine when I caught it blasting away during the spin cycle. I never heard Si talk so much, saying the same thing over and over again. Oh wait, yes I have.

Anyway, so they're putting in the new counters this evening, and that means tomorrow, a day for which I took annual leave to enjoy my new kitchen, I get to spend the day putting away all these items I had to remove from my cabinets and drawers.

I know this looks messy now, but I will have a brand new kitchen ready to give a home to these items soon enough. It'll get squared away. The least I can do is have a positive attitude. This is the best Christmas present ever. We're doing the floor ourselves. Here's a photo of the old counter tops. I snapped it Sunday night after all day of cussing, stomping, and throwing scrap laminate. Sorry Tim! He apologized too, so now we're friends again. This is progress!

The tile guy comes on Friday, so I'll be sure to update you with new photos of this project I call From Hell to Heaven in 7 Days.



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