Pet and house sitting

Work meetings

Last night the Board met to discuss our annual meeting which is coming up next month. I did not make it known to the owners since we had to discuss some owners that are behind and how we will be handling that from now on.

That meeting was 1.5 hours so I am taking off the rest of the afternoon since they don’t want me to have overtime. To be honest, with our finances, I don’t want it either!

Today has been busy though since it’s the first of the month. CPA stuff, monthly dues being paid, etc. At the moment I am at home and just finished lunch but I need to go to the bank and get other stuff done as well. Are we having fun yet?

The blinds are up and look so amazing!

Using this photo so you can see the difference between the old on the left and the new on the right.

My wonderful contractor even moved the house that Georgie gifted Lucky into his Harry Potter room under the stairs.

I’m going to try to finish the project I’m working on this weekend. It’s really pixelated and I’m probably going to just store it when it’s done.

You can’t even tell who they are or where they’re at. So sad

Well okay then y’all. I’m out, have a great weekend!!!

Rain

Well, I’ve been wanting it to rain. I got my wish! It’s raining so bad that it’s flooding streets (not in the neighborhood).

Even Lucky said nope, not going out there!

A new owner has a roof leak. Well, it was messed with before you moved in. See what happens when you start messing with stuff? I feel for them though, I don’t want my roof to leak and I would want it fixed immediately as well!

My shoes and socks are soaked. I had to come home and take them off. I’m letting my feet dry and then putting on new socks and boots to go back to the office.

How’s your day?

Interesting morning for sure

2 people have stopped by the office with their dogs. They all got treats, including Lucky.

I saw a police car outside so went to ask him if I could help. He was looking for a house in the neighborhood. I directed him where to go and then walked over while calling and texting the owner. The owner didn’t answer either and the cops left pretty quickly so I have no idea what’s going on!

An elderly owner called me because of a humming noise between the walls. I googled it and of course it could be electrical, plumbing, a/c, etc. I have the owner phone numbers for my handyman and contractor and both went to voicemail. So now the owner is freaking out. But it’s not an hoa issue, it’s a house issue. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about that.

Last night I got a call from our landscaper that they would be here this morning. Umm, I’m not at the office and I need to give the owners a heads up! Sure enough, I was walking Lucky this morning and they were already working. Ugh! I called and apologized to the owner and let the other owner know they were coming. I told the landscape manager I need to know before I leave work so I can give owners a heads up next time. He said okay. We shall see if that works.

I got another call from an owner saying they were coming to check on their renter and look for rodent entry points. They also want to come to the office for some reason.

I just got a text from someone that’s selling their house that I need to give a company a key to check his a/c today. Okay.

What a day already!!! Have a good day 😊

Busy Tuesday

For someone not having any contractors on site this week, I am pretty busy!

Complaints about trash by contractors shed that I had to message him about, picking up dead wood from a tree that never got taken care of, and people stopping by to ask this or that.

2 of our elderly neighbors have fallen recently and have had to have surgery. One got to go home since it was her shoulder and the other had to get a new hip and will be at rehab for a bit.

The one that fell at the beginning of the year came home yesterday and freaked out. She called the office stating someone had stolen trinkets off her patio. I tried to ask her if it was her family when they had come to pack things up for her. She said no they did not and would not. She’s in the middle of the building of 6 homes. Well, if someone was going to break in and take stuff, don’t you think it would be at the end house where it’s easy to get in and out? Yeah, she’s not happy but nothing I can do.

Lucky has been on a few walks today already since I keep having to run out to do stuff. He got a treat which was my leftovers from a croissant with egg, bacon, and cheese. I am not eating much meat but definitely want to not waste food I already have in the house! Plus it’s bacon, yum!

I ordered a motion detector kit for my front door light. I want it to be on for us but I suck at remembering to turn the switch off or on. I hope this works well! I will know next week when it arrives.

Hope y’all are having a good day!

Monday helping

My friend Dallas wants her brows done. I hooked her up with a friend here to try and help her out. My friend here runs her own brow business so I thought maybe she could tell Dallas where to go. Come to find out, my friend here will be in Dallas in June! I text her asking how much so maybe I could help Dallas do something for herself since she never does. Why is it that my friend here didn’t give me a price but said Dallas could apply for financing and it’s as low as $50 a month? How much do brows cost??? That’s crazy to me! So, I still don’t know how much it costs and not sure Dallas wants to do a credit thing. Ugh!

Cris and her aunt locked themselves out of their house over the weekend. They did not have their phones on them and like most people, don’t have friends phone numbers memorized anymore. I can recite friends old home phone numbers and my family’s but new ones? Nope! Cris said they are going to get a lockbox for an extra key which is a good idea. Cris works really hard and has a TON of stress at work, so I said I would go get a key made for her. I went to our local hardware store and got that done at lunch today. Now Cris has to come pick it up on her way home. I also got my favorite cheese crackers and a piece of chocolate while I was there. A white chocolate pretzel for Cris and a milk chocolate toffee for me.

I spoke with my contractor today about the blinds and he said he would call and let me know when he’s coming. I let my other contractor know that the solar panels for the cameras arrived so he can install those next week. I have been working this morning doing what I have to, not too bad.

We had a storm come through last night but nothing like what other parts of the country are dealing with, my thoughts go out to everyone who has had issues lately. We really needed the rain. Here’s what my camera caught.

Have a good Monday!

Home improvements

Each year, I try to do some home improvements. It’s good for the house and helps my taxes. It’s almost May and I am just now starting this year. I bought new blinds for downstairs. Here are the original photos.

Street side of my house – you can see me in the reflection 😆

The blinds were delivered today so I will let you know how they look when they get installed later this week. My contractor said he will come by but didn’t give me a specific day.

Lucky still won’t use his stairs but to be fair, I have only tried once so far putting treats on them. Now the top stair he can’t reach the treats from the ground but somehow they are missing. Maybe he tried while I was sleeping? Silly boy!

I went grocery shopping and put those away. I haven’t done anything else all day. Do I really have to work tomorrow? I need some lazy days.

Yesterday I drove out to my friend’s house in my mom’s van. The husband, also known as godfather to my son, changed the radiator fan, the cabin air filter, checked the tires, made a plan to fix the windshield wiper sprayer next time, and put freon in it. All for $350.00. If my mom had taken it to the dealership where she wanted to, I bet it would have been over $1,000.00 easily. My son drove out there as well in my old car and got his cabin air filter changed. In Houston, we need our a/c so it’s a must to have it working well!

He has my dream car at his house but he’s fixing it for his daughter since she will be 16 in January. I’m in love! He told me he can get one for around $4,000.00 and fix it and add a/c to it so my total cost would be $5,000.00. Yes please! Check out this adorable car!!!

1975 Volkswagen Beetle – convertible, no a/c, manual shift, no power steering, but so cute!

Hope you had a good weekend. Chat later!

Happy Friday

I am looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend AT HOME.

I walked Lucky to get a bath and nail trim this morning, then walked to the bank for work, then walked back. I got a ride to pick Lucky up after and then we walked home. I have 6400 steps and 49 minutes of exercise without even turning on an exercise option on my watch. Yep, I have definitely been running around!

This is a crepe myrtle. My friend from New York calls it a naked tree. Here’s what he told me today. “it’s so hot in Texas that even the trees need to undress?” 😂😂😂 Crepe Myrtle’s don’t have bark like other trees so I guess they are!

Looks like my mother hit something else. How in the world is this kind of tape holding it together???

Anyway, I’m off to watch Netflix! Have a good night!!!

Home

I am so glad to be home! After 2 weeks, a vacation, and house/dog sitting, I just want to relax!

I already put everything away and cleaned up. I am watching Netflix and having a beer.

Lucky seems to like his new toy. He hasn’t tried his new stairs yet but I have to train him on it so it will take some time.

Cris’s dog Pluto passed away last night. He was 16. I feel for her, it’s so hard to lose a pet.

Have a good night and be happy!

Umm…

I came by at lunch and all was well here. There was a HUGE box outside so I had my son bring it in. It was really heavy so we left it in the hallway when we left. I get here after work and here’s this:

Lucky has never opened a box before so I sent this photo to the owners. The wife replied that her chocolate lab rips boxes. Well, guess I shouldn’t have left that there! The dogs got one treat container and even opened that up and those are nowhere to be found (most likely in bellies). The other treats were under the 35 pound bag of dog food. The dog food was untouched. I half dragged, half carried the dog food bag and other treats into the laundry room and locked that door. Silly dogs!

The owners also sent me their itinerary for their flight home. I looked at the date and said I will see you tomorrow. The wife replied “No, we will be home Friday”. Well, considering I was a travel agent for 24 years, know the time differences, and can read an itinerary, you’re coming home tomorrow. It took her about an hour and finally text back saying oh, yes, we will see you tomorrow. 🫢

I cleaned my room, my bathroom, I vacuumed and swept the whole house, and washed the towels and sheets that my son used the first night they left. I am washing my clothes now and will wash my sheets in the morning. Whew!

I’m ready to go home, but that’s $50 less than I was expecting. Oh well! It’s $15 less for renting my friend’s vehicle the past 11 days too.

Last night I finished the sky on my new project.

Y’all have a good night. I still have things to do around this house so it is perfect when they come home.

Tired Tuesday

I’m so ready to be home with just Lucky! I love these dogs, don’t get me wrong. I’m just tired and ready to go home.

Did my best on a photo to send their mommy!

I’m standing outside talking to my contractor when this branch just decided it had enough and fell. It’s not dead. The best we can tell due to the squirrels chittering after it happened is that they were playing up there and the branch couldn’t bear the weight and fell. My contractor said it best – Y’all have to stop feeding these squirrels if they can bring down a branch! 😂😂😂

We had 2 homes sell this week and I am excited for both of the new owners. One a single male around 60 (maybe younger – I’m not good at telling age) and a couple with a daughter. They are being very picky in order to buy it but that’s fine. At least I will know that home is in great shape!

I went to the other house for lunch and locked the dogs in the house after taking them outside for 15 minutes. The lawn people come on Tuesday afternoons so I can’t let the dogs out. Another hour and a half and I will be there anyway. They can wait a few hours.

I made Lucky a grooming appointment for Friday morning. After 2 weeks with 5 dogs, he needs a bath! Then he can come home with me all clean! Yay!

I already started bringing stuff home, stuff I don’t need in the evenings over there. I have been stuffing my suitcase with dirty clothes. I’m still debating on doing a load of laundry on Thursday so I won’t have to when I come home on Friday. I also need to wash their towels and sheets that were used before I leave Friday. I found a vacuum so I can do that too. I still haven’t found a dust pan to pick up what I swept and I am going to take my cleaning supplies to clean on Thursday. Yes, they have a cleaning woman but I wouldn’t want her to complain to the owners. I always clean up after myself.

But that’s a Thursday problem. I am going to try and stay awake until 3! Have a good day. ☀️