Imagination gets the best of me...

While cleaning the tops of my kitchen cabinets (not fun, but judging by the sheer amount/thickness of the dust that was up there, VERY necessary), I found a few curious items: a (faux) diamond ring in box (I looked up the brand, 'Diamonique', it is a QVC brand), a legal folder that said 'contents of deed enclosed' or something like that which was filled with lottery tickets and a printout of the winning numbers, tickets to box seats at a Badger football game in November 2005 with the game book, crumpled pieces of notepaper which, when uncrumpled, read the movie times for a day of movies, and a small paper airplane made out of a church donation slip.

We know very little of the people that owned the house before us. They were (are?) an older couple who through some turn of events (went to a nursing home?... passed away?...) were foreclosed upon. We were surpised to learn the couple was older, given the house has 3 levels and so lots of stairs... especially as the house is new (5 years old) and so assumably, was built to suit the previous owners. The walls are all white and have very few holes from nails etc. (leading me to think they were either boring, unable or unmotivated to decorate). They did leave one decoration in the basement basement (the room that holds all the basement-like items...water softener, furnace, etc.) It is a decorative plate that reads something in German and says 'God' at least once. They put in some strange type of stone-tile surround in a formal dining room. It looks like it was meant for an electric fireplace, plant area, or possibly even an altar? (it does face East...) The guestroom in the finished basement has marks in the carpet which appeared to hold weights and training equipment, again surprising for an older couple...

As you can see, I've already done a fair amount of extrapolating about the couple. After finding these items today, my mind couldn't help but wander into 'what if...' territory. Then it wandered even further into pure fiction...



The ring...
thrown in frustration and disgust by a young man after learning his love had left him for another.

thrown in frustration and disgust by a young woman...after her engagement ring turned her finger green...

purchased from QVC by little old lady who lived here and tossed above the fridge to hide from little old man.

purchased by little old man for little old lady, hidden on top of fridge and forgotten.



The lottery tickets...
purchased by young man to fund his engagement ring purchase, alas, no such luck, he was stuck with one from QVC.

purchased by little old man to avoid foreclosure on his house.


The football tickets/book...
purchased by the young man as the venue/event for his proposal.

purchased by little old man and little old lady to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Movie times...
another possible proposal venue... ??

written out by little old lady in an attempt to get out of the house...thrown up there in frustration and disgust when little old man refused to go to 'Finding Nemo'.


Paper airplane...
made by little boy while being punished and thrown up there to escape getting caught playing while in time out.

made by little boy and accidently tossed up there...too high to climb up to get and forgotten.

Oh what fun an imagination can have with a few random items :-)

LAZINESS revisited... again... (adventures in first-time home ownership)

I realize I have revisited the 'laziness' topic many times. I now see why I was so wrong. In an apartment, you can be lazy. I mean really lazy... as previously described...

In a HOUSE... not so lazy. We bought a 'new' house (5 years old). Which does not mean 'new' when you consider that the basement was leaking, which takes some explaining*, radon levels were considered high**, no sump pump***, deck is in ill repair****, lawn is full of weeds*****, and we moved from an apartment to a house which means we have endless things to BUY******!!!!

*Basement is not leaking in a way which is typically thought. We have drain tile (as I understand it a mini-level below the basement which collects water into a 'sump-crock' which can then be pumped outside). We have a faulty retaining wall which partially washed dirt into the siding, which created a pathway for water to run over the cement foundation and get into the house itself. It wasn't a huge leak... but it was water on a finished basement... probably creating mold and mildew... which will now need to be remedied...(perhaps I should create *******?) by more people that cost $$$. We have had some people over a few times working on the retaining wall and after a huge downpour last night, the basement stayed dry (and will hopefully stay that way!!).

**Radon is a carcinogen that leaks out of the soil in this area and gets into homes. We had a test done as part of our home inspection. We were found to be in the 'high' range. LUCKILY, because we have drain tile, the radon fix is cheaper than for many people. We just have to install a fancy fan that pumps the air around the drain tile out of the house... therefore most of the radon that comes from the soil down there.

***The sump pump itself is the machine that gets the water from the 'drain tile' area (sump crock) to the outside of the house. We don't have one and figure that we might as well add one since we're putting the fan on that will effectively make it more difficult to add one later if it ever turns out that we need it.... just another expense...

****We were lucky enough to find a house that has beautiful decks. One private deck off the master suite, a large deck off the kitchen, and a patio below that. Unfortunately, these decks were not well maintained and have warped to the point that we need to repair the railings, warped boards, and they were also not built to 'code'. There is no 'flasching' between the deck boards and where it is attached to the house...allowing moisture to touch the house instead of having the protective 'flasching' between them.

*****Our lawn is the LAWN... the one you notice when you walk/drive down the street because it is FULL of WEEEEEEEEEEEEEDS!!! When touring the yard in flip-flops, you must also beware of many, many, many thistles! My soon to be hubby and I are fortunate enough that his father generously gifted us a few lawn treatments so we will no longer stick out and have a pretty yard soon!

******Our shopping list is forever growing... so far we HAVE bought: LAWN-MOWER, step-ladder, caulk, caulk gun, large broom, new showerhead, burst-proof appliance hoses, REFRIDGERATOR, OVEN, WASHING MACHINE, DRYER, new detergent for the 'high-efficiency' washer, MATTRESS, comforter and sheets for said new mattress, among other things I've forgotten I'm sure. We still NEED: PATIO FURNITURE (to enjoy the aforementioned decks), GRILL (to enjoy the aforementioned furniture), shower curtain-plungers-garbage bins-etc for FOUR bathrooms, hanging flowers, other flowers, learn how to garden, garden tools (I planted the 1 plant we do have with a kitchen spoon...), hose, sprayer, WEED WACKER, paint, paint tools.... and the list goes on....

So anyway... I WAS lazy.... BEFORE I had a house... but now I no longer have that luxury :-) It's still wonderful though... as long as I get past the fact that I will be broke until further notice...