Taking A Break

After almost of month of "guys" traipsing in and out of our house, we have decided to take a break. They will finish painting the upstairs early next week and then we will reclaim our house, if only to find the things that seem to be missing. A random shirt, my camera battery charger and cord (this is why there have been no pictures), etc. These things and more seemed to have fallen into one of the many boxes that have been opened and shut again in the mad search for what we need.

We want to unpack, organize and otherwise feel like this is a home. Which means unpacking books, hanging artwork and maybe even putting down a rug. And you can't do that with guys with heavy, dirty boots walking around - even if they are very considerate and clean up nicely after themselves.

So, the work will go on outside (painting the outside of the house), while we stay in, trying to get any site of cardboard to disappear. We have about two months to deal with the stuff we have before more arrives from the last of our storage facilities. Then, we will start all over again....what joy.

Ouchy

"Don't touch me!!" Ariana screamed at the nurse as she received the third of four vaccinations. Afterwards, walking out with four band-aids and lots of stickers, she looked up at baba san and I and said "that was not fun".

No.

It was not.

Swag

I have welcome swag.
From the Welcome Lady.
Apparently everyone who moves to our lovely little town gets a visit from Dee, a very friendly, very talkative lady who arrives at your house carrying a large picnic basket which she proceeds to unload, covering your table with a seemingly never ending supply of pamphlets, papers, magazines, business cards and gifts from local businesses who want your patronage.

She arrived yesterday just after the electricity went out (a whole other story), so we sat in the dark and heat while she gave us our voter registration cards, told us about parking in town and divulged information on just about every service in town by way of business card or coupon, often accompanied by a recollection of a personal experience with the service.

And gave us lots of refrigerator magnets, which Ariana proceeded to grab.
And a yard stick.
And a cup filled with pens and pencils.
And several jar openers.
And a t-shirt made out of bamboo.
And a packet of seeds.
And a trowel.
And a ruler.
And an empty paint can filled with candy.
And maps.
And a screwdriver.
And a calendar.
And a nail file.
And plant food.
And an ice cream scoop.
And a ruler.
And picture hooks.
And facial cleanser.
And shampoo/conditioner.
And many little notepads.
And a reusable bag for shopping.
And yet another ruler.
And a insulated coffee mug for dog walking or driving into town to visit one of the lovely establishments that have provided us with the one of the aforementioned items.

After reviewing every single piece of information with us over the next hour and a half (during which time the lights came back on) organizing and filing as she went along, she conveniently put all of the coupons into a plastic bag ("to keep in the car so you have them right with you!") and left us to wonder at what we should take advantage of first.

We now have certificates for free dinners at a couple of restaurants, free chocolate (mine!!), free lawn fertilizer, free plants, discounts off of spa treatments (also mine), a big discount at a hardware store (which we may use to buy a generator so we no longer have to suffer when the electricity goes out) free passes to museums and more information than I will ever be able to read.

Our Guys

The roof guy.
The molding guy. Who just happens to be the roof guy and we like him so much that we wish he did everything so we would only need one guy.
But he doesn't.
So, we have the plumber guy.
The tree guy.
The septic tank guy.
The phone guy.
The electric company guy. Who we don't like at all because he turned our electricity off because "I got things to do". (See below)
The cable guy. Actually two cable guys. Because we needed two visits because the office guys are dumb. But the technician guys are not.

It seems when you buy a house, you start collecting guys. Guys who will come to your house, tell you what is wrong (alot) and then tell you how much it is going to cost to fix it (alot).

Or, guys who come to hook something up and then tell you they can't.

Or, the guys that tell you they will be there between 10 and 12 and don't show up until 7.

Or, the guys that tell you they will come and never show up.

Or, bad guy guys who come to the house to turn off your electricity for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON and when you get on the phone with the company, and are put on hold for 15 minutes of torturous phone "music", they tell you they don't have time to wait around and pull the plug on the power.

While you are standing right there.

And then they leave.

Which leads you to spend many, many, many minutes listening to more torturous phone music trying to get someone to come out and fix it. Since you have a well for water, which requires electricity to get it to faucet level, you no longer have running water and because the promised "there by 7 guy" never shows up, you therefore end up spending the night at the house of the only family in town you know. Since they have also just moved in and are still waiting for their stuff to arrive, you are asked to bring your own sheets and towels. Which you think you can do until you realize the ones you have been using are in the washing machine. Which means you have to find more sheets in the hundred or so boxes that are littered around the house. Which means you end up finding the sheets that have been in storage for three years and take them, trying to blot the idea that you will be sleeping on sheets that have not been washed in three years.

Which leads you to wish you were back in Tokyo where these things just don't happen.