Stuff Happening
by Steve West on August 7, 2011
Brenda and I have placed a bid on a little house in Bowie about a mile from where we currently reside. It keeps the children in the same school district and keeps us in the little town we've grown to love. Closing is set for a month from now on Friday of Labor day weekend so it gives us three days to move furniture and settle in. There are a few things outstanding yet in order to settle even though that date is in place. There are a few things that came to light during the home inspection that we would like addressed. The house was advertised as being sold "As Is" which we took at face value but you have the right as a buyer to make requests for repairs if they involve hazards related to the structure and safety of the home. Although there were several things the home inspector cited in his report, the ones we requested addressed were a missing flue cap to the furnace which should be on the roof, a large squirrel's nest in the attic we would like removed, and to have the water heater and furnace serviced under the existing maintenance contract to repair a poor flame output in the water heater and the water damage existing in the furnace because of the missing flue cap. The sellers are balking a bit because of their "As Is" qualification even though their listing agent has advised them that our requests are more than reasonable. They are still under no obligation to fix anything except we retain our recourse to withdraw our bid. We should have an answer to all this in the next few days.
I've started therapy for my MS. Initially with a home visit from a nurse who hooked me up with a catheter in a vein in my arm in which I inject steroids followed by heparin. This is a three day course of medicine as a preview to the other medicines I will self-inject once a week three months from now. This appears to be a course that I will have to follow for the rest of my life similar to what diabetics and other similar folks do. Enough about that, though. Geezers talking about their medical conditions has always been a pet peeve of mine so I'll stop here.
Olivia is losing another tooth and she can't understand or express her feelings about the pain except through tears. So Brenda cries with her. Ora-jel can only do so much. I try to comfort Brenda by reminding her of the normalcy of losing baby teeth but secretly I'm complaining to the manufacturer.
I want to thank those who have sent me private messages of hope and love, especially you JM (You. Are. Awesome.). And lastly, this poster of Smokey the Bear. I suspect he is talking directly to me.
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Five Replies to Stuff Happening
Steve West | August 9, 2011
Anyway, like I was sayin', squirrels is the fruit of the attic. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, squirrel-kabobs, squirrel creole, squirrel gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple squirrel, lemon squirrel, coconut squirrel, pepper squirrel, squirrel soup, squirrel stew, squirrel salad, squirrel and potatoes, squirrel burger, squirrel sandwich. That- that's about it.
Steve West | August 9, 2011
Update on house: The sellers agreed to all of our requests including ridding the attic of any varmints (sorry Scott). Closing is closing in!
Scott Hardie | August 9, 2011
Bah. Once in a while, I'm still going to say "Steve has a few squirrels in his attic, if you know what I mean."
Lori Lancaster | August 9, 2011
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Steve West scours the Web searching for interest or absurdity and then shakes his head ruefully when he finds it. Read more »
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Scott Hardie | August 8, 2011
Before you get too hasty, a squirrel nest in the attic does have certain upsides: They make ready pets, if everyone is fully vaccinated. "I have a few squirrels in my attic" is a convenient shorthand answer when you misremember or miscalculate something. And think of all the money you'll save on buying nuts when you have an in-home delivery service.