Here it is, Christmas morn and I’m Blogging. What else do you do at 5am? (most people sleep, I know)
I went to my Mom’s last night for Christmas Eve. My cat, Billy was out and as much as I called there was neither hide nor hair of him. I did have a lovely evening of munchies and chat…even though on the drive home I realized I had left my Mom’s main gift under my tree. When I arrived home two of my kids had arrived and were waiting for me. I asked if Billy had come in. My son Kevin informed me he hadn’t seen him. Instant panic, on my part! I looked out the back door to find bloody paw prints and drips of blood all over the patio (sorry for the gore). I was horrified. I frantically called for him but he did not come. Then Kevin spotted him. Billy was just laying on one of the outdoor pillows from my chair. I picked him up carefully and animal doctor that I am (I did actually, at one time, work for a vet), made my daughter Heather hold him down while I put peroxide on the bitten area. I could swear all I use peroxide for is my cats. After the howling and squirming, the poor guy was spent. He went on my daughter’s bed and that is where he still is. Why do animals decide to do stupid things when you can’t get them to an Animal Hospital? I’ll have to nurse him today, along with the festivities of present opening, entertaining guests and making breakfast and dinner.

I traipsed over to my neighbors last night to give them a bottle of wine and say Merry Christmas. The hubby put his arm around my shoulder and thanked me for taking the tree down between our houses. (I guess that counts them out them paying for the tree removal) I still haven’t got a bill for the tree falling.

I was supposed to have a new contractor come on Thursday to look at my house but he called twice to say he was stuck at a job he was finishing up and couldn’t make it. It will have to be next week sometime.
Both my “how to” books have been shipped so I am waiting on the edge of my seat for those. I’m hoping to see them before I have to go back to work so I have time to read them.

Well, it’s time for more coffee and to get more peroxide and rags….
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!....except me. For me it’s morning and has been since 4:45am.

Always go with your gut. I’m talking to myself here. I’m doing my best to lick my wounds because I was almost taken back to the den of wolves to be eaten alive. Oh yes, I had been bitten but I escaped less a few teeth marks and a C note. What the hell am I talking about, you ask?
Well, remember the guy who was going to give my boiler a tune up and clean my hot water tank? It was a scam. Luckily I was getting suspicious and phoned a reputable company here in my hometown. I’m getting one of their technicians to come and take a look at my boiler to see if it really does need replacing or a repair. Well if it does need a repair, hopefully not one that would have cost me a grand. The reputable heating company I called knew about the rip off technician that came to my house and informed me my boiler was working at 30% capacity. He actually guessed the scam company name. Let’s just say I talked to this so called company on the phone after and gave them a piece of my mind. I’m pretty sure I won’t be hearing from them again. I may just call Master Card and refuse to pay the bill. He was supposed to be here 1 ½ hours cleaning. He was here all of 20 minutes and didn’t clean my hot water tank because I had an insulator on it.
Buyers beware! Even BBB isn't reliable.

I received my quote back for my windows and doors to be replaced. The nice gentleman came last week to measure. The quote is for top of the line windows and was less than I thought it would be. That’s not to say it’s cheap, just less. I had a few questions but haven’t heard back from him yet. I also got talking to him about renovating my house and he forwarded my name onto yet another contractor. He will be coming next Wednesday. He couldn’t say enough good things about him.

My daughter is contacting a friend of hers who can draft house plans, hopefully for little money. I also have another draftsman coming tomorrow. Don’t fret, it’s a free consultation. I’m big on free. Learning for free is even better.

On another note, my Christmas shopping is now complete. I even made gingerbread men (and ladies) this morning. All that’s left to do is ice them and adorn them with Smarties. I should have made some house shaped gingerbread cookies too…or should I say Atomic Ranch shaped ones. Jim, can you make Atomic Ranch cookies cutters? You’re so capable! The same design as the Atomic Ranch birdhouse you made me (picture coming)…or if you can’t, I’m betting one of your best buds is a metal fabricator somewhere in Kitchener ☺ You’re such a sweetie and I might add a great net worker!

The remains of the dead tree have disappeared from my side yard. I know that doesn’t sound exciting but I thought I’d start with the only really great news I had yesterday. As you know I had a guy come to clean the boiler and hot water tank. Deep down, I knew what was coming. Apparently the unit is only working at about 30% capacity. Ouch! To repair it would be about a grand but would only be a band-aid solution. I asked how much a new boiler would be. $4,500.00. Hmmm, that’s a lot less than I thought it would be. I’m going to think about it for a few days and then probably bite the bullet.

The 5th contractor also came yesterday. He was a very nice, and I might add, humble individual who didn’t go around my house huffing and puffing and making a big deal out of things. I showed him some rot in the floor in the bathroom and his response was…that’s an easy fix. I asked about cutting around the beams in the ceiling for drywall since the last contractor made a big deal about that saying it was a lot more work. This guy again said naaa, no big deal. He told me drywall installation and taping is about $3.50 a square foot. This information helped me figure out what that would cost for my house. I worked it out to be around 10 grand. The one thing he couldn’t do was give me an exact amount at the moment for my house reno, although I do like the way he explained how they work, which is on a cost plus basis. He would show me the bills for items as they come in. They also break it down into rooms, which makes it easier to cut a room out to bring the cost down. He let me know I could buy fixtures where I wanted to. He sounded very easy to work with. He did tell me he thought the electrical would be approximately $10,000. That was bang on what I thought it would be. The one thing I didn’t like that he said but which made sense was, I should get my plans drawn up professionally. This does two things. It makes for a clearer picture of what the contractor has to do, which helps with costing and it is also is a requirement for permits. He told me I could draw it myself, which I’ve done. But the more accurate it is the better. The bad news is that it will cost me $3,000. to $5,000 to get it done. That doesn’t thrill me. Needless to say I was online last night looking for a computer program that I could use to do it myself. I did like this contractor, although I wish I could have gotten even more information from him. The great thing was his company is so busy they wouldn’t be able to fit me in until summer. This was another really good sign. Always pick a busy contractor! Even I know that!

Once again I was up at the crack of dawn drawing my house. I figured out all the costs a little more accurately. Now I think I have a better idea of the amount I should be looking for from a contractor.

I’m going to take a deep breath and let it go for the rest of the day. How do I do that? Why, I will do what any girl would do… go shopping.

Today is going to be a busy day. I have people coming to pick up the remains of the tree crowding the space beside my house. I also have people coming to clean my boiler and hot water tank. Yes, I know. I lead an exciting life. The most important thing that’s happening today and the thing that I’m most anxious about is I have contractor #5 coming over to take a look at my digs. I’m a sad case really because what should be on the forefront of my mind is getting my act together for Christmas. I’ve done minimal Christmas shopping and haven’t even planned the menu for dinner. Luckily I’m off of work now until January.
My Daughter Megan recommended the contractor who is going to be here today. She is a friend of his wife’s and he comes with good credentials. I’m trying to stay positive. That’s all I’ve got is my attitude.

It has been suggested by someone, and you know who you are, that I be my own contractor and hire sub-trades to do the work in my house. This is a very valid suggestion and I appreciate the advice and the encouragement I’ve been given to do this myself. I have taken steps to go in that direction if need be. In true form I’ve ordered a few books off Amazon on how to be your own contractor. I’ve always been one to learn things from non-fiction. My motto?...when in doubt…turn to Amazon. I believe I’ve got more “how to” books than any other human on the planet. I have to be honest here and tell you I am apprehensive about being my own contractor. Obviously my reasoning involves fear. Big life choices typically do.

Minuses of being my own contractor

1. I don’t know a lot about construction
2. I don’t know if I have the time that’s necessary to be my own contractor re: my job
3. I am impatient and I don’t know if I can live through a renovation for an extended period of time. (I’ve heard the horror stories and I’m just being honest)
4. I don’t think it’s as easy as it portrays itself to be (rarely anything this big is)

On the other hand there are big pluses to being my own contractor.

1. I would learn a lot
2. I would probably have more to write about on this Blog
3. I would hopefully save money which would let me do more with the house
4. I would gain lots of valuable experience
5. I would feel more in control of what was being done in my house
6. I would have the satisfaction of knowing I can do it!!

The books are on their way.

Ps…I still haven’t had a bill from the Tree Cutter!

Well, here it is a week before Christmas and I still haven’t picked a contractor to do my renovations. I have sketched my house plan I’m guessing maybe 50 times. I know where I want my new walls. How my new kitchen and bathrooms will be arranged. I know the color of the cabinets and counter tops. The flooring. The style of light fixtures I want and where they will be placed. I’ve window shopped for plumbing fixtures. The garage door has been chosen and quoted. Yes, you could say I am more organized and decisive in that area than most people who are starting a reno. To date I’ve had four sets of contractors in my home. Honestly, the last contractor I had here, I really thought I was going to go with. I liked him. He was confident and I got along with him well.

After all the experience with contractors I’ve had in my home I’ve broken it down like this….

I think choosing a contractor is a lot like picking a mate. The chemistry has to be there. The feeling has to be right. Trust and reliability play a major roll in the decision. They have to understand you and when they do understand you, they have to accept you. Although money plays definite role in any husband/wife relationship, the one thing that’s different with the contractor/client one is…. I’m the only one forking out the dough. There’s no equal part in this regard. No sharing of the household expenditures. No, I’ll pay the mortgage and you pay for the groceries and gas bill…. So with that one fact in mind, yes, I am indeed their proverbial Sugar Mama. The contractor/client relationship is likened to having a giant honey-do list where the contractor can never feed you this next line….
“Hun, I don’t feel like fixing the toilet and putting in a new tap set. I’m going golfing with the guys, I’ll do it next weekend.”
Let me just say that this above statement just doesn’t fly when your hard earned cash somehow makes it’s way into their pocket book. By now you know I don’t like freely dishing out my money. That’s not to say I won’t, but there has to be good reason. If I’m going to pay for something it better be a fair price and it better be exactly what I was expecting.

What’s happened so far…..

Contractor #1 – I had these guys in prior to purchasing my home. At this point I pretty well knew what I wanted. I’ve tweaked it a bit from then but not a lot. This quote was a less than I thought it would be. They were more into drywall and finishing than the complete package.

Contractor #2 – This was the jerk I told you about who walked around with his chest puffed out like he was the, be all, end all of contractors. I also suspected he went behind my back to put an offer on this house to steal it. His quote came in for the interior of the home at around 10% - 15% higher than the first contractor quote.

Contractor # 3 - I haven’t mentioned him in my Blog yet. Peter was the one who fixed my leaking chimney in my last house. A friend, specifically for my chimney job, referred him to me. While he was fixing my chimney we got talking about my post and beam and he let me know he and his partner also did renovations. When I moved into my Atomic Ranch he brought his partner over to go through the house to do a quote. His partner looked a little scared of the amount of work that needed to be done. The quote came back, very late I might add and was very lax in what the price included. The price was a little more than my very first quote but was fair. I asked Peter for a more detailed quote into what was included for the price. It was taking forever to get that back as well. In the end I received a call from Peter saying he was very disappointed in his partner and that he was going to refer me to another contractor who he knew. This is where

Contractor # 4 comes in - This is the contractor I thought would be my Knight in shining Armor. The one who could deliver what I wanted for my house for a fair price. The one I could trust. The one who would be honest to this fair Maiden. He was going to be my Mike Holmes and make everything right….

After I got his verbal quote back, which was double what my very first quote was on the house I’m questioning everything! I asked him to write me up a quote explaining where my money was going. His exact words were… “I’m not spending my time writing up a quote if I’m not going to get the job”.
What!!! Are you freaking kidding me? I thought. I basically told him I wasn’t accepting any quote until I knew exactly what I was getting…ON PAPER! I’m not going to go into the costs here but lets just say I was pretty sure I wasn’t getting a fair deal for what he was going to give me.

I was now at the point where I’m sure any single girl would be

Yes, I was upset
Yes, I was panicking
Yes, I needed advise
Yes, I questioned whether buying my beloved Post and Beam was a costly mistake

The dead tree

Before and during the time I was waiting for my gas fireplace to be installed I also had a few other things on the go. One of them, and the most pressing at the time, was getting the dead tree down beside my house. I called a few companies to find out about getting a quote. Most of the places I called forced me to leave a message and surprisingly, I never received a return call or when I did get a hold of someone they said they would come out to take a look at the tree and never showed up. This also included “Dan the Tree Man”. The name my neighbors gave me. Finally, after calling about five companies I hit the jackpot! I actually found someone to bless me with they’re presence and come out to quote hacking the tall dead pine tree to the ground. They tucked the quote into my mailbox while I was at work. The quote I got was $550.00 to take it down. The brush taken off and the trunk cut in chunks. If I wanted it all hauled away it was another $300.00. I thought the quote was pretty fair but decided I’d get a few more quotes for good measure. Again, I did my best to inconvenience someone to come and look at my tree. In the mean time we had some crazy windstorms. The first of four was the scariest for me. All I could think about was this dead tree crushing my daughter while she slept. It was beside her room. I knew I had to find a brawny lumberjack quick! Well, I tried a few more companies, but try as I may it was getting harder to find someone just to get their ass here. I finally ended up calling the guy back who quoted me. About two weeks had gone by but he remembered me. I told him I would like him to take the tree down and then suddenly the phone went dead. I had assumed our call was disconnected by accident so I called him right back. I got his message machine and asked him to return my call so we could set up a date.
I didn’t hear back!
Was I cursed?
I was back to square one. We had some more windstorms, my fireplace was installed and I still had no Paul Bunyan. Finally, one morning I saw an ad on my doorstep. It was actually a coupon for a tree cutter. $50.00 off $500.00 or more. I called. He answered. He came out the next day. Wow, I thought. My luck has finally turned.
When I arrived home from work he was already there. It looked as though he was talking to my neighbor to whom the tree sat next to. I went inside and waited for him to come over. Finally, there was a knock on my door. I asked him how much and was absolutely flabbergasted with his response. $850.00 just to get it to the ground. This did not include taking the tree away. I outright told him that was too much. He said it was a tough job because of the distance between the neighbor and my house, the tiny space he had to work in and the fact that the tree was dead. I quickly told him I was quoted $550.00 for the same job. His response was that the quote I received wasn’t from an insured tree cutter. I assured him it was. He stepped away from my door and I actually thought I had insulted him and he was leaving. He walked to the middle of my front yard to gaze at the tree again. He cocked his head from side to side hesitated and told me he would do it for $750.00. I told him I’d call him back if I decided to go with him.
I never intended to.

Next morning there was a message on my cell phone. I guess he had called me that evening but I didn’t hear it. Basically the message was that he doesn’t usually do this (ya, right) but he would match the price of the other tree cutter because he didn’t want me to be unsafe by having someone who wasn’t insured cutting the tree down. I listened to the message again, smiled to myself and called him back. He said he would be out the following Monday.
Monday came and Monday went. Typical, I thought. He probably changed his mind.
I ended up calling him on Tuesday and asked him what day he would be doing it. He informed me that now Friday would be the day he would come. I asked if I had to be there. He said no. I thought that was odd because I assumed he would want payment right away. That alone made me suspect he would not show and I quickly imagined myself flipping through the yellow pages and searching the internet once again.

Friday came and it just happened to be the day I was picking up my significant someone from the airport. Interestingly enough, his brother actually cuts trees for a living so I had been telling both of them the story of the fly-by-night tree cutters I had come into contact with. I had actually forgot about the tree trimmer coming that day and when we arrived to my post and beam from the airport I took him around the back of the house to take a look at my backyard. He asked me where this “dead tree” was.
I looked up as I started to say…
“It’s right”…but I was dumbfounded…"holy crap", I said. We walked around to the side of the house and low and behold there lie the chunks of trunk. I can't even begin to tell you how elated I was. Weird thing was though, there was no bill in my mailbox and Mr. Tree Cutter didn’t call me. Here it is now Thursday. Almost a week later and I still haven’t heard hide nor hair from this guy. I’m hoping it’s a Christmas present from him.

I must add here that the first guy who quoted me called me back yesterday. He apologized for not returning my call sooner and cheerfully wanted to know when he could come to take down my tree.
As he was talking I was thinking, really buddy. Are you &*@#*% kidding me?
I felt like vocalizing my mind but all I calmly said was, "It’s down".
I could hear the defeat in his voice as he said, “Oh, okay bye”.

Another note to self: Never completely count on a guy with an axe to grind.

Chimney Sweeping...Not magical like the movie Mary Poppins

I’ve never dealt with a Chimney Sweep before. I’ve never had reason to. I scoured online for my best option. There were a few but the one that had a website struck my eye. Even the name of the company was comforting. Father and Son Chimney Sweeping. It denotes a feeling of trustworthiness, doesn't it? I rang them up and made an appointment for a consultation. I didn’t get the Father or the Son at my door, but an employee. He was a really nice guy. Now, I must add, this wasn’t a sweeping it was only a pre-sweeping consultation. After he inspected everything he told me they couldn’t fit me in for a chimney sweep for at least a month (they were that busy). Damn, I wanted my insert to be in. Winter was coming and I couldn’t get a fireplace insert until I had that chimney swept. He kindly told me to call another company but warned me about the scams that some Chimney Sweeps lay on unsuspecting individuals.
He said, “Your chimney looks fine.” “Don’t let anyone tell you different.”
I was again grateful and felt like I had the Chimney Fairy watching over me. I called another company close to home. He came out that week.
Now, opposite to Father and Son Chimney Sweep, this guy was short a few bricks. (Sounds like a pun again, doesn't it?) He was messy, disorganized and too chatty. He said the chimney was really dirty and also informed me he wouldn’t be surprised if it had never been swept. That I believed! As he used his chimney brush, huge chunks of creosote fell from the chimney into the fireplace (a very flammable substance). After he left and unfortunately after I knew about all his marital issues (ugghh), I set aside an old piece of cut plywood to put over the gaping hole to keep the impending draft out until my fireplace insert would come. I also had a roaring wood fire in the fireplace that night. It was great, but as romantic as a wood burning fireplace is, it stinks the next day. I had pondered not getting an insert prior to purchasing the house and was just going to use the fireplace as it had been intended, with wood and matches. After that night I knew without a doubt, I had made the right decision to get a gas insert.

I had already picked out my new fireplace insert. I knew the style, make and model. Some people would call me a freak, but I had done my research before I had even purchased this house. I called up the company I had visited in the summer and made an appointment for the rep to come and measure and give me a “real price”. I had already put aside about five grand for my fireplace. This was partly a buffer in case it actually needed real brick work done to it prior to the gas insert being installed. Happily, my fireplace brick didn’t need work, so that was a savings right off the top. But to my chagrin, this company was busy too. Was everyone getting a fireplace at the same time as me? He had a really difficult time slotting me into his appointment book. I could hear him frantically flipping the pages of his daytimer as I hung on the other side of the line. He finally squeezed me in but couldn’t make it out to my place for almost another two weeks, and even at that, he would have to make my appointment time for 9 or 9:30 pm. Oh well, I wanted that fireplace and would have seen him at midnight if I’d had to.
He showed up on time. Measured. Quoted. I haggled. He shaved some money off. I ordered. It was done. The fireplace would be inserted in two more weeks, just into November. I was excited.
Unfortunately, the day before the installer and my fireplace were to show up, I received a call. The installer was ill and they would have to re-schedule. What??? I let my feelings be known and told them I was going on a business trip the next week and needed it in before then. Needless to say, it was installed in the next few days. Let me point out it’s beautiful. It’s warm and it doesn’t smell like I have been camping in my living room. I have been using it every day since it was installed and I love it! Who wouldn’t love it? I don’t have to be an avid Boy Scout, or in my case, Girl Scout to start it. All I do is press the remote button to turn it on and wah-la!, instant fire and warmth, not to mention the capability to adjust the flame.
It was official...I was now a pyromaniac.