Going MIA

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Well, I will be off the computer tomorrow. Tomorrow is the last day I can turn off my computer before I get an early termination fee. I'll be moving (finally!) at the end of October after a long, contentious year of trying to get water on my lot.

Just to recap for everyone, I bought a lot about a year and a half ago and wanted to get water on it and move out on it in my car. Then I stupidly bought a broken down and useless trailer that turned into way more than I could possible fix up on my own. Lesson? Next time save up $4000 to buy a good trailer instead of paying someone who was never available $4000 to fix up the crappy trailer.

Anyway, in the midst of trying to sell and ship some dollhouses on eBay, fighting with the housing authority, getting my food stamps recertified (all $15 of them - why do I do this?), and selling the trailer, I was also trying to get the contractor to put the &%$ water on the lot that he had been promising for a year to do.

I finally got rid of the trailer after being contacted by umpteen people who asked if it was still available (and then ghosting me) or making plans to see it (and then ghosting me) or some other silly thing. Like the guy who wanted to take a bus from Seatac airport and see the trailer. Like, um, sure, you got all day? It's only about 80 miles. One way.

Then of course, I had to ask what he planned to do with the trailer after he bought it? He asked it it was drivable. I said no, it's a 5th wheel. Like literally, the first four words in the ad were "5th wheel for sale".

And at least five homeless people wanted me to give them the trailer to live in before it got cold and the rainy season started (this was during the wettest September we've experienced here), but none of them seemed to have seen the pictures or understood the 'not habitable as is, will need a LOT of work" line I put in the ad. One guy wanted to live in it where it was and pay me rent (I was very tempted), but as I'm going to be living under the radar myself, I didn't want an additional problem of two of us up there, besides the liability problems.

So the trailer's finally gone. After two trips to the Social Security office, the papers for the housing authority are all turned in. They wanted proof that I didn't have a MM account any longer, which put me in the position of walking into my credit union and asking them if I could get proof of an account I didn't have. It would be funny if it weren't so maddening.

One dollhouse was sold and shipped out after TWO trips to UPS and one to FedEx. Surprise! I show up cash in hand and they only take debit card now! And they've modified their hours a bit. Ask me how I found that out.

Then there was the contractor. I had arranged to meet him at my lot a couple times during the summer and he always "forgot". So when he finally did show up, it was a pleasant surprise.

Now I was originally only going to put water on the lot, but he talked me into having the lot leveled and terraced (something I had mentioned wanting to do) and he wanted to lay down a driveway so I wouldn't get stuck in the mud in winter (I had been worried about that, too).

So he proposed doing that as long as he had his machinery up there doing the water. I could pay him for the water and owe him for the rest. I'd had a few people up there to price this stuff out before and knew he was offering a good deal, so I accepted. One caveat. I told him I had to be out by the end of October, so I needed to give notice at the end of September. "No problem, we'll be done by Sept 23!"

The 23rd comes and goes - nada. I call him again and he says for sure on the 30th. I go up to my lot late on Monday evening and he hasn't even been there. So I make plans to keep my computer on, watch all the great shows that are out this fall, and settle in for another winter here.

This morning he calls me and says he has half the lot leveled and is waiting for the gravel to be delivered for the driveway. He should be finished by tomorrow. I trot up there this afternoon and it was actually true. Although the water still isn't on the lot, although I do expect that to be done tomorrow. I won't turn off my computer until I see the faucets running real water out of them.

Anyway, I want everyone to know how much I enjoyed being here and even when I didn't post, I read a lot of the threads and I learned so much from all of you. I will be getting to the library every now and then to use their computers, so I will still pop in from time to time. I miss Addie.

You guys take care and I may be back in a year or so when I've finally got a transformer and electric on the lot, maybe the end of 2020.

Oh, sharing some exciting dirt pictures with you all (the driveway and the cleared area). LOL
 

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RR, good luck to you! I've enjoyed "knowing you" through DC. I hope everything from here on out goes as smoothly for you as that lot is looking. ;) I'm sure we'll be seeing you around here again soon. Take care.
 
RR, as CG said, it's been a pleasure knowing you here. I hope you drop in frequently from the library and that you get everything set up soon. I'm sending some positive vibes in your direction.
 
Thanks, you guys! Although now I'm considering leaving my computer connection on through the end of October and just eating the early termination fee.

I've been following the equestrian show jumping on FEI and YouTube for a year now and after weeks of no shows, there are EIGHT shows in the next three days. I'd be watching those on YouTube because my FEI subscription has run out. If that hadn't happened, I'd be watching two more shows on Sunday.

I really can't afford the extra money for the fee, but I'd willingly cut my grocery bill in half and go without to pay it (and my doctor would be jumping in joy if I did that) just to see those extra shows. Believe me, I could stand to lose the weight. So maybe I'll be here bugging you guys for another month. I'll see how I feel after watching three shows tomorrow, one starting in an hour (in Barcelona), one at 1pm in Ohio and one at 6pm in Sacramento. They'll be live as they air, so that makes it more fun.

Sleep - who needs it?
 
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Lydia, it sounds like if it wasn't for bad luck, you wouldn't have any luck at all. :( It's good to see you, though, and I hope things improve for you.
I was about to say that to RR! Whew, after a year like that, I really wouldn't be up to living in my car, hoping the contractor did a decent job with the water system and it doesn't conk out suddenly.

Lydia, it's good to see you back. Best wishes to you both.
 
Well, the faucets have yet to run water, but that's not why I left my computer on.

Last week the contractor finished all that he was going to. The lot is terraced and cleared, the driveway is in, I have my water (TWO spigots!) and the contractor even dug some holes and dropped two large tree stumps in on either side of the driveway so I can hang a chain there to keep people from driving in. Plus, he dug me a fire pit, too.

The water faucets are pretty neat. They have a handle that you pull up to get the water flowing and then you bring the handle down again to stop. The handle has a ring in it and so does the water post, so when you bring the handle down, the rings align. Which means I can snap a lock on them if I ever have to leave the lot and I don't have to worry about someone else messing with the water.

Right now I'm waiting for a meter to be installed and once that's done, the water will be running!

So I'm giving my notice tomorrow and will be out by the end of October.

The contractor has also said he has a small trailer that he is willing to rent or sell to me. This one doesn't leak and he says it's in good condition. We'll see what happens with that.

But the reason I haven't turned my computer off is I need to look for storage options now for my stuff. Plus, of course those horse shows this past Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Eleven shows all together in Barcelona, Ohio, and Sacramento. So for three days my schedule was: go to bed at 2am, get up at 5am and watch a horse show, go back to bed at 8am and get up at 10 to watch another horse show, go back to bed at 2pm and get up at 5pm to watch another horse show. Go to bed at 2am...32 hours of show jumping and I watched every minute and enjoyed it. Gonna miss it.

Right now I'm in the middle of room inspections again. They wanted to spray all the rooms for bedbugs and that includes mine. That's OK, if there's anything here, best my furniture not go into storage with it. But I had to be out of my room for four hours and that gave me time to close a checking account at one bank, make a deposit at another bank, get the tires on my car rotated, and make a visit to the lot again.

So I have a few more pics to share. This time you can see the upper lot and the driveway.

Thank you for all the good wishes everyone and I'll pop in whenever I can to let you know what's going on. Half the time I'm really looking forward to moving out and the other half of the time I'm scared to death of what I'm doing. Needless to say, cooking is sort of the last thing I'm thinking of doing right now. I just finally got to the store last night and all I had to eat in the house was pancake mix. I've just been too busy!
 

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Good luck with this adventure, rr. I hope everything works out just fine. Will be looking for your update posts with interest.

BTW, that horse show schedule sounds a lot like having a new baby in the house. Since we had two, we got about two hours of sleep at a time. Catch up on your sleep once you get a trailer on your lot. ;)
 
Does anyone have any info on Kaneohegirlinaz (K-girl)? She's been missing in action for several weeks, and I've tried two IM's without a response. It's just not like her to be gone so long. Please let me know if you have any ideas.
 
I've seen a very few posts by K-Girl on Facebook, so I know she's still alive. The last time she was AWOL she had told me she was taking a break from the whole social media thing for a while. That's probably what she's up to now. Real life, ya know? ;)


Now what in blazes has happened to tenspeed? He told us that he and Mrs. T were going on that European cruise back in, what, August? Either he's/they've been kidnapped, or he used it as a gracious exit to getting away from us all. (tapping foot with arms crossed...)
 
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RR, I always enjoy your adventurous posts and hoping you'll have the time to check back in occasionally.

I've also been wondering about kgirl and tenspeed, also wondering how Caslon is doing. Life does get in the way of social media sometimes.

Hope all is well with everyone. :)
 
Thank you, Cheryl. Things are moving along. I have garbage pick up scheduled and the water meter will be in and the water connected tomorrow. I found a storage unit for my things until I can afford a decent shed. Monday I plan to make a decision about the toilet I want to get. Yesterday I got a mailbox and I'm putting that in this Saturday. Thing is, I want to install it in a large plastic planting tub (gonna put the stakes right through the bottom) and fill the tub with dirt so I can plant flowers around the mailbox next year. Now the trick is finding a gardening center that's open so I can buy the soil. They're closed this time of year. The nerve of them!
 
Water meter is in and I have running water at my lot. Today some friends helped me move the heavy stuff into my storage locker. I still have a lot of boxes and things that need to be moved, but I can move those with my car.

So I came home and slapped my forehead - I am such a dummy. I meant to keep the couch cushions to sleep on and they are now in storage with the couch. So after a long, hot bath (it was raining non-stop the entire time we moved), I trucked on down to Walmart and got 3 foam mattresses plus a mattress cover to put them in. Naturally, it quit raining as soon as I brought back the moving truck and it started raining again as soon as I started for Walmart.

Anyway, I am now sitting on my floor with my monitor, keyboard, and mouse on top of a tote. It's a freaking mess in here, but tonight I'm going to ignore it and just watch a movie on the computer then go to bed. I still might get a small trailer, so I'm waiting to see what's going to happen on that.
 
Very sorry to log on and read this. Addie was my “friend” here. I lost my only sibling to cancer in September. He was 49. May they Rest In Peace.

I'm so sorry to read about your sibling. Sincere condolences.

It's good to see you here again.
 
I'm so sorry to read about your sibling. Sincere condolences.

It's good to see you here again.

Thank you. It’s been so darn hard. Stupid cancer. :( I can understand how full of grief Addie must have been with the loss of her son. Watching my parents grieving is heartbreaking. I’m glad to see you here taxlady, I have seen nice familiar names on here active :)
 
Lydia, it sounds like if it wasn't for bad luck, you wouldn't have any luck at all. :( It's good to see you, though, and I hope things improve for you.

CG. I finally got that dose of good luck! Because of all the asthma attacks, pneumonia, and bronchitis I have been having, I was sent to a new respirologist out here. She started from scratch and ordered every blood test and scan there is. On our second visit, she told me that I tested low for immunoglobulins and apparently it has been that way from birth. So it took 61 years but I finally have a diagnosis for all my infections, fatigue and shortness of breath. I do an infusion once a week. I was trained by a nurse who specializes in this kind of treatment. She showed me how to do it myself and I am getting better at it. I will be doing it for life but hopefully, I will have the energy to do the things I want.
 
That's good great news, Lydia! I hope your get-up-and-go comes back to full speed.

Isn't it interesting how science has evolved to detecting medical issues differently than in the past? After thinking that she was a Type 2 diabetic for the last quarter century, recent tests determined that she really is a Type 1.
 
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