Our tenants left day before yesterday. Durwood went to check it out. They didn't clean. We have to replace most of the flooring. There's crayon, marker, and pencil on the walls, candle wax on the carpeting, and what looks like oily footprints down the hall. Gah! We went last night to Menards to look at flooring and carpeting, and picked out some laminate that won't scratch or tear with heavy use and the portable dishwasher rolling over it, and some neutral colored carpeting that seems durable. It's embarrassing to take lookers in, so embarrassing that he'll take the flooring and carpet samples to say "this is what will be there." We're hoping to salvage the living room & bedroom 2's carpets. Fingers crossed. We need to contact our electrician friend to get all the outlets and fixtures checked, call a plumber, find a painter, schedule flooring installation, order another garage door opener online, replace shredded screens & missing window shades, schedule a thorough cleaning--all by April 1 when we'll hopefully have a tenant ready to move in. We're keeping the security deposit. Just when we thought we were getting a handle on things... We will survive!
On the positive side, the gutter guys did a bang-up job yesterday. They were friendly and polite, cleaned up after themselves, and finished ahead of schedule. Now we've replaced all the big stuff--siding, windows, roof, gutters, and added leaf guards so Mama isn't out on the ladder when there's lightning. All good.
March 14--French, Suit. Jeanne watched her granddaughter Lisette bend lower over the sewing in her hand until her nose nearly touched the linen. From the time she was very small, Lissy had been fascinated by her grandmother's bright embroidery silks. She sat by Jeanne's feet laying out the colors, untangling the hands, and lining up the silver and gold needles that were like an artist's brush in her hands. Today Jeanne had cut a square from an old sheet. She drew a snowman with a top hat on the cloth and gave Lissy her first lesson. Now she watched with pride as the six-year-old made her first hesitant stitches.
I want to go open up the house next door to air it out and replace burned out or missing bulbs. One thing I never wanted to grow up to be is a landlady. Still don't really want to be one.
--Barbara
1 comment:
I never understood why people are so careless with things. I wish I needed a place to stay. I've always left my rentals in better shape than when I moved in, and I'm usually a quiet renter... except when I need to sing.
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