Today we went to the house to run the water so we could take a second sample to be tested. By the time we got done with the rest of our day, we were unable to make it to Cookeville by 3 pm, which is when they shut the lab down. And they don't test on Fridays... so I have to take it in on Monday.
So while we waited for the chlorine to be removed from the system, we went to the local Mexican restaurant. It was actually good! The lady who served us was so sweet, she saw that Mike liked spicy food so she brought him another sauce to try. And it's just down the road... 5 mins maybe, so that's handy when we're feeling like a trip to town.
Then we went to the post office to ask about a mailbox. We can put a mailbox on the road, we don't have to get a PO Box.
We also set up the DirecTv installation and got internet service scheduled as well. And we scheduled the plumber for the tankless water heater, and got the application for the electrical cooperative. Waiting on a couple of people to call us back, but accomplished quite a bit of our to-do list.
Went shopping so I can make a few dishes at the house and bought a leash and toy for Duchess.
In short, we're making progress. We should be able to close on the TX house on the 24th, and close on our TN home later that day maybe, or at least by my birthday. Happy birthday... to me!
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
152 - Today was a pretty low-key day
In the key of A# minor. :)
Went to Cookeville to drop the truck off. In the rain. Of course it had to rain today. Hopefully they'll figure out once and for all what the problem is. And I can't help but hope it is the other dealership's fault, because if it is, I think we will be reimbursed for the a/c work and won't have to pay for this issue, since both were supposedly fixed in Athens.
After that we ate at one of our favorite restaurants, Crawdaddy's. We're addicted to their pesto goat cheese dip. It's creamy and delicious. The rest of their food is good too. Haven't had anything there that I wouldn't order again.
Once lunch was over we headed to Verizon because Mike's phone doesn't want to hold a charge. He's tried different cables, he's tried different batteries, so it has to be the phone. As luck would have it, our warranty expires this month, so Mike will be getting a replacement phone.
Because of the rain, and my tummy... okay, exclusively because of my tummy... we came back after that. We need to let the water run at the house and take another sample to TTU since they shocked the well, but with the rain we didn't. We're getting a water purification system anyway, but they shocked it to get a new reading since it sat unused for a couple of years. I did talk to the plumber about the tankless system, installing the gas line and the purification system. As soon as Hannah gets the okay from the buyer for us to look around the basement, I'll schedule that appointment and we'll have a better idea of how much it will cost. If it's too much, we'll have the gas line run and the purification system put in, but hold off on the tankless water heater. Hannah and Tony have a water heater they will let us have, just needs an element replaced.
Now we're watching A Good Day to Die Hard and afterward we'll probably watch another movie. Usually DirecTv movies are more than I would otherwise want to pay, but if we rent two we basically get two free... so with the travel time around here, it's about the same price as Redbox without the hassle of having to return it. I am getting used to traveling a bit to get anywhere and in the country the drive doesn't seem like 45 mins because it's a nice drive... but it's still a hike.
Tomorrow I have a laundry list of people to call... trash, electric, cable, etc. Can't get cell service here at the park, it's the one downside, but at least we get internet. At the house I remember we had no issues getting a signal, so that's good. So I guess our day tomorrow is going to the house to run the water for a few hours until the chlorine is gone, get the sample and head to Cookeville again. And at some point during the day I take care of my phone calls.
Went to Cookeville to drop the truck off. In the rain. Of course it had to rain today. Hopefully they'll figure out once and for all what the problem is. And I can't help but hope it is the other dealership's fault, because if it is, I think we will be reimbursed for the a/c work and won't have to pay for this issue, since both were supposedly fixed in Athens.
After that we ate at one of our favorite restaurants, Crawdaddy's. We're addicted to their pesto goat cheese dip. It's creamy and delicious. The rest of their food is good too. Haven't had anything there that I wouldn't order again.
Once lunch was over we headed to Verizon because Mike's phone doesn't want to hold a charge. He's tried different cables, he's tried different batteries, so it has to be the phone. As luck would have it, our warranty expires this month, so Mike will be getting a replacement phone.
Because of the rain, and my tummy... okay, exclusively because of my tummy... we came back after that. We need to let the water run at the house and take another sample to TTU since they shocked the well, but with the rain we didn't. We're getting a water purification system anyway, but they shocked it to get a new reading since it sat unused for a couple of years. I did talk to the plumber about the tankless system, installing the gas line and the purification system. As soon as Hannah gets the okay from the buyer for us to look around the basement, I'll schedule that appointment and we'll have a better idea of how much it will cost. If it's too much, we'll have the gas line run and the purification system put in, but hold off on the tankless water heater. Hannah and Tony have a water heater they will let us have, just needs an element replaced.
Now we're watching A Good Day to Die Hard and afterward we'll probably watch another movie. Usually DirecTv movies are more than I would otherwise want to pay, but if we rent two we basically get two free... so with the travel time around here, it's about the same price as Redbox without the hassle of having to return it. I am getting used to traveling a bit to get anywhere and in the country the drive doesn't seem like 45 mins because it's a nice drive... but it's still a hike.
Tomorrow I have a laundry list of people to call... trash, electric, cable, etc. Can't get cell service here at the park, it's the one downside, but at least we get internet. At the house I remember we had no issues getting a signal, so that's good. So I guess our day tomorrow is going to the house to run the water for a few hours until the chlorine is gone, get the sample and head to Cookeville again. And at some point during the day I take care of my phone calls.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
151 - Wooooooo-hoo
Today was a pretty good day. Got our vehicles emptied out... even if everything didn't find a home in the RV it still feels like progress. Oh well, that gives me something to do when Mike goes for his physical. Then we went to lunch at the former Mexican place that used to be a Mexican place that before that was a Mexican place and is now a cafe/chotchke store. It was pretty good, homestyle cooking on a buffet. Definitely not Mexican.
Then we went to our friend's house to chat. We talked a little about my future job and Mike's future side job, and then we met Duchess. She's very cute, very sweet, very fluffy.
After that we went to Lebanon to the Home Depot to look at appliances. Found a fridge we liked, a gas range we liked, a microwave/vent hood we liked and... drum roll... a wine fridge... that... we liked. The appliances were 10% off, so that was awesome. The wine fridge was not a planned expenditure but let me explain... it was $399, and they marked it down to $99. I had been eyeing them for a while now, but they were low on the list of priorities because they weren't cheap... but at $99? It's sold.
We also put ourselves on the list for a plumber to call about the tankless water heater. By going through them, we won't have to pay sales tax, and Home Depot guarantees their work. We don't know any plumbers out here, so that's awesome, because we will need one to install our water purifier and to plumb the LP into the house. So it works out pretty well.
And then... then... we found a Mexican restaurant with good food! The salsa is different, but it's good. The margaritas are good. The taco authenticos were good. It's a hike, but most things are, and... so worth it. Remember, this is the first Mexican restaurant we've been to in TN that didn't suck - and we've been to several!
Tomorrow we will take the truck to Cookeville and drop it off at the dealership so they can look at another repair that was supposedly completed in Georgia that doesn't seem to be acting right. I think if it turns out that repair was bogus too... their dealership will feel the wrath of Dodge. Anyway, we'll probably go to Crawdaddy's for lunch, and then I'm cooking dinner. I need to go to the store and get what we need for me to start doing that on a regular basis. I just need side items. Of course, Friday we are determined to FINALLY eat at The Bull and Thistle, but other than that... it's lunch and dinner at home so we can eat more healthily (if that's a word) and cheaply.
I'm sooooooo excited about our stove... We found one that was a floor model and we hoped it would be discounted, but they were only taking the same 10% off that applied to all the appliances so screw that! If I can get it new for the same price what is my incentive??? Then, just around the corner there was what appeared to be the same stove, but for $500 less... only 0.4 cubic feet smaller, and after 10% off it was what I had planned to spend. It has an LP conversion kit, five burners with a griddle, and it can be a regular or convection oven. I can't wait to have a real kitchen again. The RV wasn't bad, but it's not the same...
Our saleswoman was a hoot. I love the people out here, they're so friendly. I learned that if the tag is green, it was a return, if it's yellow, it was a floor model. If there is a 03 on the tag, that's the lowest markdown before they destroy it. Our wine fridge was a yellow 03 tag. So now you know. :)
Then we went to our friend's house to chat. We talked a little about my future job and Mike's future side job, and then we met Duchess. She's very cute, very sweet, very fluffy.
After that we went to Lebanon to the Home Depot to look at appliances. Found a fridge we liked, a gas range we liked, a microwave/vent hood we liked and... drum roll... a wine fridge... that... we liked. The appliances were 10% off, so that was awesome. The wine fridge was not a planned expenditure but let me explain... it was $399, and they marked it down to $99. I had been eyeing them for a while now, but they were low on the list of priorities because they weren't cheap... but at $99? It's sold.
We also put ourselves on the list for a plumber to call about the tankless water heater. By going through them, we won't have to pay sales tax, and Home Depot guarantees their work. We don't know any plumbers out here, so that's awesome, because we will need one to install our water purifier and to plumb the LP into the house. So it works out pretty well.
And then... then... we found a Mexican restaurant with good food! The salsa is different, but it's good. The margaritas are good. The taco authenticos were good. It's a hike, but most things are, and... so worth it. Remember, this is the first Mexican restaurant we've been to in TN that didn't suck - and we've been to several!
Tomorrow we will take the truck to Cookeville and drop it off at the dealership so they can look at another repair that was supposedly completed in Georgia that doesn't seem to be acting right. I think if it turns out that repair was bogus too... their dealership will feel the wrath of Dodge. Anyway, we'll probably go to Crawdaddy's for lunch, and then I'm cooking dinner. I need to go to the store and get what we need for me to start doing that on a regular basis. I just need side items. Of course, Friday we are determined to FINALLY eat at The Bull and Thistle, but other than that... it's lunch and dinner at home so we can eat more healthily (if that's a word) and cheaply.
I'm sooooooo excited about our stove... We found one that was a floor model and we hoped it would be discounted, but they were only taking the same 10% off that applied to all the appliances so screw that! If I can get it new for the same price what is my incentive??? Then, just around the corner there was what appeared to be the same stove, but for $500 less... only 0.4 cubic feet smaller, and after 10% off it was what I had planned to spend. It has an LP conversion kit, five burners with a griddle, and it can be a regular or convection oven. I can't wait to have a real kitchen again. The RV wasn't bad, but it's not the same...
Our saleswoman was a hoot. I love the people out here, they're so friendly. I learned that if the tag is green, it was a return, if it's yellow, it was a floor model. If there is a 03 on the tag, that's the lowest markdown before they destroy it. Our wine fridge was a yellow 03 tag. So now you know. :)
Monday, June 3, 2013
140 - Home Sweet Home
Even though it's an RV, and even though it's messy at the moment (we haven't gotten around to putting everything away just yet), it's nice to be back in our own space again. Living out of suitcases is no way to live. To me anyway. Also nice to be back in TN. Home. We didn't even have any incidents this time. Well okay, one of the jacks didn't fully retract at first, but we caught it before we got too far down the road, and apparently we didn't damage it because we're level.
I am so excited about our house. I'm also a little nervous. Sometimes the enormity of what we're doing knocks the breath out of me and I wonder if we made the right decision. We're starting over. Not completely, but mostly. Most of our friends are back in Houston, but we're lucky to have made a few out here on previous trips. And then the fear recedes and I'm happy with our choice. The excitement comes back... the house, what we can do with the land, a life in the country - which is both simpler and far more difficult than where we come from. Anyway, we have a lot of work ahead of us, but it will be a labor of love.
Went outside a few minutes ago to grab something from the car and there were so many lightning bugs out there. I was lucky enough to have one in my backyard in Texas, but there have got to be about 20 out there. I tried to video it but the quality wasn't good and for some reason I can't figure out how to save the file. Trust me though, it's awesome, and if I can make it happen, we will have a yard full of ladybugs, lightning bugs, hummingbirds and butterflies... assuming, of course, that none of those prey on the others...
Well, it's been a long day and I'm exhausted. We finally found a spot where the satellite will work so I'm going to enjoy an episode of Longmire and probably hit the hay.
I am so excited about our house. I'm also a little nervous. Sometimes the enormity of what we're doing knocks the breath out of me and I wonder if we made the right decision. We're starting over. Not completely, but mostly. Most of our friends are back in Houston, but we're lucky to have made a few out here on previous trips. And then the fear recedes and I'm happy with our choice. The excitement comes back... the house, what we can do with the land, a life in the country - which is both simpler and far more difficult than where we come from. Anyway, we have a lot of work ahead of us, but it will be a labor of love.
Went outside a few minutes ago to grab something from the car and there were so many lightning bugs out there. I was lucky enough to have one in my backyard in Texas, but there have got to be about 20 out there. I tried to video it but the quality wasn't good and for some reason I can't figure out how to save the file. Trust me though, it's awesome, and if I can make it happen, we will have a yard full of ladybugs, lightning bugs, hummingbirds and butterflies... assuming, of course, that none of those prey on the others...
Well, it's been a long day and I'm exhausted. We finally found a spot where the satellite will work so I'm going to enjoy an episode of Longmire and probably hit the hay.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)