Smelling the flowers

After many years, I'm finally changing the banking account my parents' bank transfers money out of every two weeks. When this was first set up I used the joint account that Twitch and I used, because it was our main account and I rarely used my own account for anything. Following our separation I moved everything over to my checking account, other than our mortgage and this automated transfer. Once we sell the house we will close that joint account, so it's time to get things in order.

I'll be glad to have our finances separated, although it feels kind of sad to have the final thread connecting us severed. I think Twitch will feel it more keenly than I will, although he does seem to have finally moved on. :) After twenty years it will be a relief with a touch of sadness.
 
Super fun date night last night, mainly because B was in a wonderful mood. We made scallops with a white wine sauce, that was mostly butter :D accompanied by a salad that was 50% kale from the garden and had a host of things in it, including cucumbers from B's garden. It was all so yummy! Then we hopped in the car and went to Pope Farm Conservancy to watch the sunset. It was a muted sunset due to clouds, but eventually they broke up in spots for orangey-pink bursts, which made for some cool pictures. Back home again for some "Drunk History", sex, and a sleepover.

Today Bond and B are having their Wednesday day. They're planning on sanding down the swing bench seat that hangs from the underside of the upper deck to the lower patio. Bond has an interview to do at 11:00am, but he can do that via his work phone. The boys will arrive home around noon or a bit later, and he has to be back before 2:00pm to run S3 to a pool party at his friend's. We've been allowing spaced out friend get-togethers and they're supposed to social distance, but that's not really happening to the letter of the law. Kids have no concept of 6', imo. Then Bond has to run S1 to the dentist. It would be really nice if S1 or S2 had their fucking drivers licenses and could take themselves, and even run their younger brother to things. Oh well, Bond doesn't mind, and he and Naya will continue to baby their children.

Bond asked B if she'd like a co-pilot for her CO trip. She was shocked and needs to think about it. She is taking her kids, so it's not a solo trip. I think she'll turn him down. If she needs a second driver her oldest has his learning permit and could drive. I'm kind of sad that I won't have that week of solitude.

B reached out to her therapist to see if she'd take on the triad, and she's agreeable as long as all of us are on board. She emailed Bond and me to touch base and we have to complete a consent form, seeing as we've never been clients of hers before. I believe our first session, via Zoom, will be on the 28th.
 
My youngest son and his entire household (three friends and his girlfriend) are all COVID-19 positive. It seems that they are all doing remarkably well so far, and no one is terribly ill. I'm sure it's their ages (24-28 or so). Tay said that a friend of theirs tested positive, so they all went for testing and they are all positive.

This means they were being careless by hanging out with friends. Grr.

Yesterday he lost his sense of smell/taste... I hope, hope, hope that they'll be more cautious going forward, and that they'll stay away from those that may not fare as well, if they catch it.

The boys will arrive home around noon or a bit later, and he has to be back before 2:00 pm to run S3 to a pool party at his friend's. We've been allowing spaced out friend get-togethers, and they're supposed to social distance, but that's not happening. Kids have no concept of 6 feet distance.

Then Bond has to run S1 to the dentist. It would be really nice if S1 or S2 had their fucking drivers licenses and could take themselves, and even run their younger brother to things. Oh well, Bond doesn't mind, and he and Naya will continue to baby their children.

Bond asked B if she'd like a co-pilot for her CO trip. She was shocked and needs to think about it. She is taking her kids, so it's not a solo trip. I think she'll turn him down. If she needs a second driver her oldest has his learning permit and could drive.

I can't keep track of all the kids/young adults in your extended blended families....

But several of them have Covid, and others aren't being careful? You don't seem too concerned. Aren't you afraid of catching it, and Bond and/or B catching it, from the "kids"?

Are all those definitely positive ones quarantined?
 
I can't keep track of all the kids/young adults in your extended blended families....

But several of them have Covid, and others aren't being careful? You don't seem too concerned. Aren't you afraid of catching it, and Bond and/or B catching it, from the "kids"?

Are all those definitely positive ones quarantined?


It's terribly confusing, I know. I have three kids that are adults. My oldest, Megan, is 34, and I haven't seen her in over a year. She lives in northern Wisconsin. My middle kid is Josh, he's 33, and I haven't seen him since Xmas. He lives in KY. My youngest son, Taylor, is 27. He is the one that has Covid and I haven't seen him since late February when Bond and I went to see the duplex he bought. He lives in a Milwaukee suburb.

Bond's kids are being allowed to do friend get-togethers sporadically and spaced out, but yes, it frightens me. The friend hangouts have been 3-4 kids. It's definitely more vectors of exposure and it's concerning. I'm not sure what all of the parents of these kids do for employment, but I do know that most of them are middle to upper middle-class which may mean they can work from home, but I don't know if they are. B's kids haven't hung out with their friends, other than Bond's kids. I have a lot of anxiety.
 
Taylor's household is quarantined until the 29th.

I forgot to list Bond and B's kids:

Bond has three boys and I refer to them as S1, S2, S3 assigning them oldest to youngest. S1 is 19, S2 is nearly 17, and S3 is 14. We have them 50% of the time.

B has one son, age 16, and one daughter, age 12.

I'm super concerned with catching covid, to the point of being willing to retire rather than go back into the office to work. Personally, I would like Bond and his ex to reconsider the boys have get-togethers while our county and state is surging in cases and I will probably voice this to them. At a minimum we should inquire of each kids' parents what their protocol is and how much risk they are taking.
 
I'm super concerned about catching Covid, to the point of being willing to retire rather than go back into the office to work.

I would like Bond and his ex to reconsider the boys having get-togethers while our county and state is surging in cases, and I will probably voice this to them.

At a minimum, we should inquire of each kids' parents what their protocol is and how much risk they are taking.

Yes! There seem to be far too many moving parts here, with risks of exposure everywhere. You're afraid of your office, but you seem to have dozens of possible contaminators in your germ pod.
 
Today is a big day for me at work, with a kickoff meeting on a project that I'll be heading, and today is the day the construction company we hired is starting work on replacing our roof, wrapping the fascia with metal, fixing the soffit as needed, installing a solar tube in the stairwell, and replacing three skylights. Lots of noise happening here this morning. :eek: No idea what stage they'll be at during my meeting. Fingers crossed it'll all be okay. To be clear, I'm terribly excited to have this roofing project start, it's just a worry about how it'll affect the meeting I'm having later today.

The sconces we ordered for our entryway arrived on Thursday and we got them installed. I love them. Very MCM. Now I'm hunting for the perfect entry table.

I have been wrapped up in searching for a vacation home that I can also have as a short-term vacation rental. I thought the sale of my house would be happening in August, but yesterday when I contacted my renters that are buying the house, I learned that they're recovering from COVID, so it may be pushed into mid-fall now. Sigh. I was really hoping things would happen on the timeline we had set up, because I found a house that I'm really interested in. It has 8 bedrooms! Oh, well. If it's still on the market when I'm ready to buy, then I'll probably be able to get them to take less. If not, well, there are other properties to look at.
 
Oh, wow, so if yesterday seemed loud with the work going on overhead, today is totally topping it. Additionally, it was cleaning day, so there was intermittent vacuum noise, too. And the interior part of the solar tube install was completed this morning.

Towards the end of last week our friend Ruby had a health issue and had to be hospitalized. My pod volunteered to clean her apartment. Holy moly! It took hours. I brought her laundry to our house to do as we have a large capacity washing machine and it still took the entirety of Sunday and the part of Monday morning to complete it. She was released yesterday and she came over today to pick it up. I didn't think it was all going to fit in her car, but Bond got it all in there somehow.

Tonight is triad date night. We have scallops and steak ready to cook. Yummy!

My middle son started a welding job, his first since completing schooling for it. :D I'm pretty excited for him to be starting this phase of his life.

My youngest son is recovered from COVID. Now I need to decide if I want to see him while I can assume he has antibodies and cannot catch and pass on covid to others.
 
It's so quiet here today. It's just Bond and me, and now that we're both done with our meetings it's incredibly quiet. The tradesmen finished the tasks that they could, so there are no workers here today. On Friday they installed the shade for the master bathroom skylight. It's great! I really like that it's solar powered and that there is a remote for it. They also hooked up the solar tube, so now we have this amazing light streaming in above the stairwell to the lower level. It also lights the floor to the side of the stairs and throws amazing shadows from the banister onto the floor. I'm glad that we have a fireplace that blocks most of the direct light from the living room side or it might interfere with watching TV.

The chimney cap is being fabricated, so the work is stopped on that until they get the piece. The skylight for the sunroom was the wrong size, so that has been reordered. The gutters will get installed in 2-3 weeks, and the paint guy hasn't gotten back to the contractor, so who knows when that will happen.

I had a d'oh moment on Saturday. I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier, like 5 years ago! My brilliant idea was to paint the off-white handrails that are on each side of our sidewalk that leads to the front door. It's round pipe and man, it's dated and they really made the place look like a nursing home. We found satin spray paint in dark walnut which looks close to the bronze color of the windows. We're so happy with it! It looks right.

B left for a week in CO visiting her bestie. She took her kids. I hope they have a lot of fun.

Bond and I went to a place called Paradise Springs Nature Area by Eagle, WI yesterday. The color of the water was amazing and it was absolutely clear. There was an old spring house that was so phenomenal. My pictures look like they were color adjusted, but they weren't.

My son heard back from his attorney, from his baby momma's attorney that she'll agree with every other visitation if he gets a mold report done on the place he lives and if he starts paying child support. The mold report is her just being petty. The place is fine. It's going to cost him $300-$400 for the inspection. Sigh.

My daughter quit the calf feeding job and has now taken a job as a mobile groomer. I hope it goes well for her and that she keeps the job. She is a talented groomer.

I ordered a console for our entry and I'm so stupid excited for it to arrive. It's a true statement piece of furniture. I'm about to pull the trigger on a large mirror to go on the wall above it, a vase, and a few other decorative pieces to complete it.
 
I'm stuck on decor for the console. I have two design ideas which are nearly opposites from one another. The one is a Holden vase from Crate and Barrel. If you look at the images for the vase, the inspiration photo is the second from the bottom.

The other idea is three matching black vases in three sizes from West Elm.

Both ideas would include faux eucalyptus or craspedia bunch

This is the console

The mirror: 37" Marquis Framed Round Mirror - Matte Black

I wish I could find the light sconces to link here so you could see the whole thing.

Gotta run for a meeting.
 
My vote is the black vases (I like the metal texture) with craspedia. :)
 
My vote is the black vases (I like the metal texture) with craspedia. :)

Thank you, Evie! I was really hoping someone(s) would voice an opinion. Super helpful. :)
 
I ordered the black vases, and now I wait for all the things. It's so hard to wait! LOL

Yesterday the gutter people showed up and voilà we have gutters. The paint guy stopped by late last week and he'll be here before it freezes, so um, October? He's the busiest he's ever been this year and he's been doing this for decades. We've heard that from the tradespeople, too. With everyone home there has been a huge increase in home projects, especially outside ones. The whole house is not getting painted; he's doing the sofits, which are deep, like 2' or maybe deeper. The house is post-modern, which is close to Frank Lloyd Wright style. And he'll do sections of the siding that need touch-ups. I believe the entire north side of the house will get painted, as that's the side that got hail damage 5 years ago, plus it's the woodpeckers favorite side, so we have multiple patch marks that should be covered. The house has cedar siding that has been stained a very dark brown-black. First he'll power wash and then two days later he'll start painting. It's him and one employee brush and roller painting. We talked to him about painting the garage door, but he pointed out that one corner of the door is starting to rust. With the amount of time he'd need to put into it and the fact that it's compromised already, he thought we'd need to replace it in six years at the most. So now we're planning on replacing it next year with the cedar-looking style. I think that will really pull together the MCM aesthetic and I'm kind of happy that the door is rusting. :rolleyes: We spoke to him about refreshing the wood at the front entry, it's stained natural-colored wood that has been severely weathered. He said he'd charge us a bundle if we make him do that. He wants us to have our contractor replace the wood and he'll seal that. If we use cedar (my first choice) he'll only need to put marine varnish on the outside, but if we go with pine, then he'll want to seal both sides and that'll need to happen before it's installed. He said the price difference between a large sheet of pine at the quality level we'd need and the price of cedar isn't that great of a difference and that the cedar would be superior. Naturally, Bond wants to compare prices and he's so tempted to go with the pine. I am hoping it's within $600 or less and I can sway him to go with the cedar.

Another bonus of having all of these different trades people around is that multiple people have mentioned that our shrubs need to go. I love how they are all backing up my desire to remove them and update the landscape. There is a class about gravel gardening at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in September that I want to attend. They have a beautiful gravel garden in the front of their main building. Deep gravel and native plants that thrive and are beautiful. Very limited weeding, if at all, so bonus!

Between new furniture and an updated exterior, I'm starting to feel really good about this place, even if some of the updates have not been accomplished yet. :D After these things are done, that just leaves the bathroom remodels left to do.

Wil is here for the week. Last night B came over for dinner. She has a new construction house that she started cleaning yesterday, so she was wiped out. It worked for her to come eat, hang a while, then go home and crash. Today is cleaning day here and she has started coming earlier (7:30 am), so she can clean the "office" before we start work and have meetings that make vacuuming and mopping in the office difficult. Tonight we're ordering Mexican food and hanging at her house. With Wil here there won't be any sexy times tonight. :( :p

On Sunday we may go back to Paradise Springs so Wil and B can see it. B is going to love it! She's the one who found it on Abandoned Wisconsin.

Here's the lake house that I'd love to buy. N3878 Primrose Ln
 
The mirror for over the console arrived yesterday, and today the metal vases will arrive. The console should arrive between Wed, Aug 19th and Tue, Aug 25th. Everything else is from Crate and Barrel and they sent an email saying they were behind, but things would be coming, so who knows when those things will arrive. I'm hoping before September.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that my friend, Ruby, had a medical issue and had to be hospitalized. More detail is that she is bipolar, was terribly sick, and nearly died. She's trying to get her life in order again and has asked three people to do check-ins with her daily. I have the 2 pm slot. I have so much to learn about bipolar and mental illness. This isn't something you bounce right back from. It takes time to adjust medications and to heal. In addition to having the mental aspect, there is also the UTI infection she had and some other issues she's dealing with. I've always been proud of how hard she works at all of this, and I continue to be awed and humbled by her.

Tonight Naya and her BF are coming for dinner. We're ordering pizza and wings.
 
Exciting news! I have been pre-approved for a mortgage for a second home/vacation home.

This is the place that I'm hoping to buy.
https://www.zillow.com/homes/N3878-Primrose-Ln-Wautoma,-WI-54982_rb/228714438_zpid/?

WickeProfessor (B's ex) is a realtor and has offered to do all of my real estate purchases free of charge. I'm so lucky! Saturday morning we are meeting at the property to see it. I plan on writing an offer the same day.

My brain is full of design ideas. I would like to change the LL bunk room to a sophisticated bunk room with queen-sized beds with stairs to the upper bunks. Something like this. Not knowing the exact measurements of the room, I believe I won't be able to make the stairs as wide as pictured, but most examples that I've found aren't as wide as that anyhow.

I like the looks and added privacy that curtains like this add.

I plan on replacing the flooring on the main level with LVP. We put LVP in our kitchen when we remodeled and it's so nice to live with. Landlords love the stuff, because it's almost indestructible.

I'll update the kitchen; take out light box and install new light fixtures, install new counter tops, remove the wall paper, install tile backsplash, change the sink to a single basin, update the faucet, and replace the appliances.

All of the ceiling fans will either be replaced or get makeovers to bring them into the current era. Wallpaper borders will need to go, along with vertical blinds. And of course, all new beds. That will be 6 queen-sized beds in the LL and 5 on the main level, plus one king-sized bed in the master bedroom. Holy moly, that's room for 24 people!

At first I was considering buying new sofas, couches, etc., but I did a search on Facebook Marketplace and found many stylish options, so instead I'm going to stalk secondhand options before committing to new furniture. I need to keep things somewhat in budget as the mattresses and bedding alone will cost a fair chunk of change. Airbnb hosts recommend having 3 sets of sheets for each bed. That's 33 queen sets and 3 king sets. Crazy pants! There are so many things that I'll need to buy to furnish this place it makes my head swim.

So damn excited! I really hope I get this place.
 
Omg, wow, it's gorgeous.
And I think that the dining room/downstairs lounge is the size of my entire house lol
 
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That is a gigantic house! Room for 24 people to sleep? It seems that will be a party house.

3 sets of sheets for each bed seems excessive. lol
 
Thanks!

I think the pictures make the main floor living area look larger than it is. the house is 40' long, and the bedrooms on the end are only 9' wide, so that room is approximately 30' long. It doesn't seem that big to me. The kitchen in the house I live in is 27' long and one side of our house is 72' long.

That is a gigantic house! Room for 24 people to sleep? It seems that will be a party house.

3 sets of sheets for each bed seems excessive. lol

I'm going to have to have some stringent rules to keep it from being a party house. The price point is probably going to be fairly high, so that may filter out most partiers, especially if I don't allow single night bookings and put in a minimum age requirement. I'm hoping it'll be a house that siblings will rent and bring their families.

Sheet sets: I have been considering that piece of advice might be targeted for houses that have fewer beds, but at a minimum it would need two sets for each bed, plus a number of extras beyond that so that there are spares on hand, because the two sets/bed is the bare minimum and would not allow for any issues that come up.

We saw the property with WP yesterday. The deck is in a poorer state than I imagined, but WP came up with a solution that should save some money and improved access to the house from the driveway.

It's kind of funny that Bond and I were only framing WP's involvement in a real estate agent way, and didn't consider that he's a builder and has tradesmen that he works with and crews. He was all like, "my guys could do this and this for this rate - if you offer them some nights to stay while they work and let them use the house." Certainly! The thing with WP is that he talks big, but then doesn't deliver. B cautioned me about that. It will be a balancing act for sure, because while cheap/talented labor is attractive, there is a matter of how long things will stretch out for the work to get done. They're busy people after all.

We're going to convert the fireplaces from wood to gas, and now both the main floor and the LL will get LVP. The kitchen will get new granite counter tops, and an actual vent for the over the range microwave.

This morning we submitted the offer to purchase. I expect there will be a counter offer and we'll go back and forth to come to an agreement. They have until tomorrow to respond on the offer.

Yesterday was S2's 17th birthday. We had a feast of Indian food. His mother and her BF, B and her kids, and our therapist friend were here to celebrate. B bought all kinds of toppings for ice cream and a bucket of ice cream for dessert. It was a lot of fun.
 
Today is the day that the sellers need to respond by on my offer to purchase. I'm emotionally set for things to ping pong back and forth. Bond is totally on board and he's been researching internet providers and other smart home devices that we'll want to use for monitoring things. I'm very grateful that he is taking this on. He is the type to research the crap out of something to find the best solution.

I got stung by a wasp when we went to see the property on Saturday and man, my skin is red and rough and swollen, mainly internally. I can grab a big lump. It's also itchy. I don't think I've ever had such a long or dramatic reaction to a sting, plus it's been ages since I've been stung.

My sister is so sweet; she just checked in to see if I had heard anything on the house. I am expecting to hear something by 4:00 pm, 5:30 at the latest.
 
Yesterday's developments included learning what is in the garage at the property; an old truck and a big boat, bicycles, a lawn mower, skis, a step ladder, life vests, and a big inner tube - the kind you pull behind a boat. We asked if they would include that in the purchase and they agreed, and I have accepted the counter offer. Closing date is September 30th.

My granddaughter turned 3 yesterday. I haven't seen her in a year. I miss her so much. Maybe the next time I see her will be at the lake house.

I've told my boys about the house and they are really excited. Tay is mostly excited about the business side of it, and Josh is excited about vacations there, although Tay is also excited about that.

Last night in texts back and forth with Tay I said that I could hardly believe it was happening after wanting to do it for so long, and he replied, "Totally. This feels surreal."

I said, "It sure does. I wish you guys were still kids, because I always wanted this for you."

And then he said, "I wanted to say that!"

"Just didn't want to come off in a way that would be hurtful. I totally agree but it's happening now."

And that's really the heart of this. The house is in a way for them, even now. It's also for B and Bond's kids - sneaking it in towards the end of their childhoods.

I got married so damn young (18), quit college, had children, divorced, returned to college for an Associates degree and was finally able to make a decent living. When you order your life in such a way it takes years and years to overcome the financial disadvantage you set yourself up for at the beginning. Kids and life are expensive, and not having decent earning potential before having kids really feels like you just can't catch up.

I feel like I was awake for wide swaths last night. My head is buzzing with house stuff. I wanted to take a sick day today, but I have four meetings, and I'm the lead in one of them. Ugh. I need sleep and I want to indulge myself in everything lake house.
 
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