h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

the problem is...... you have to come home

Yeah, there is always that. Last year, it was a fight to go through Mannchester airport to come back to the real world ...

all this weekend its been.

this time last weekend we were.....

It was a common week-end here ... Yard work, domestic chores, shopping for necessities, all the usual stuffs.

our weekend was non stop too.
along with the normal weekend chores, we had a pleasant friday afternoon in some local wooded parkland that is within the 'city' boundary that we hadnt seen before. it used to have an old mansion, but its now gone.
it was a copse with a small lake and loads of ducks and we took some bread for to feed them with.
we took loads of photos of some reeally wierd shaped trees. i dont know if they were naturally formed or if some old victorian gardener helped them.

and saturday was just as bad. we were out in the morning with and mommy and then went to see my brother, where the rest of the family had gathered to see the results of the wedding photos and video of my niece.

by the time that Sunday arrived, we were glad of a rest

That's the sort of week-end when I almost find returning to work to be a respite. It all sounds just wonderful.

Sunday was ok. a slow quiet start and finishing off with church in the evening.

today was busier than usual. i will be glad when we get back into a routine

My normal routine is boredom, interspersed with bouts of panic and mayhem. Such is this week ...

i have a leyllandi tree that i want cutting down. its going to cost £175 if the man takes it away after cutting and £100 if he leaves it.
either way, its megabucks

i also want some repairs doing which he could do and that is more money. when will i ever be rich ?

We have met the painting of the exterior of our home, I have a bricked flower bed to rebuild, a new chimney liner that will be installed ... I kknow costs, my dear Lady.

if i were to list the MAJOR repairs, i wouldnt have enough paper

to meet them, i need to win the lottery several times over

i often think, would it be cheaper to move or to repair everything?

We learned over the week-end that the house and land (included) that we bought 9 years ago for $86,400 is now worth easily $155 to $170K You don't need conversions to know that that is a good growth in value.

The thing being that we either face little numbers like 1,000 or 2,200 at a time, or sell and hope to find something atleast equal in comfort and price.

a new bathroom would cost about £6000.
new central heating.... ???
new kitchen...???
major landscaping of front and back gardens. ???

we dont have the odd £1000 to do each job as they come along. so some jobs never get done.
we only have the one wage coming in. comment was passed that if i were to make the effort, we could have 2. which is ok till i try and get a job. thats when the selfishness kicks in even more.

I replaced the wall-surround of our tub and the full plumbing. I replaced the toilet. I replaced the TWO basins in the bathroom, and the faucet arrangement. So an up-do would be about 150-quid for a new bath-tub liner. ... We have oil-fired furnace for central heat, and central air conditioning embedded. The water heater is also fuel-oil fired, off of te same 200 gallon tank in the basement, and is less than 6 years old. We did pay to have the kitchen floor done over with ceramic tile, but painted the walls, and fully re-treated all the cupboards by hand and replaced the hardware. And the gardens are our own design and maintenance.

In fact, we did a quick tally, and found that we have invested about 4,500 pounds in our house, gardens and such over the past nearly 10 years. Adapting it to our taste and needs. The fact that I do carpentry, plumbing, electrical and pretty much everything else, probably helped that cost a bit.

the fact that you could do all of the labouring would amount to about 2/3 (or more)of the real costs.

i dont have that luxury of having a partner who does things around the house. in fact he tends to discourage any improvements as it interferes with his lifestyle. he hates disruption of any kind.
i really must stop breathing

which is why my house has fallen into great neglect.
im limited as to what i can do, if anything at all.

which is all my own fault for letting him move in and take over my life. i only have myself to blame.

i shoulda gone for a rich hunk who is good at D.I.Y

If he was rich enough, you could just hire cute-yet-talented lads to do the repairs and renovations.

dont be silly. he would make sure that all the workmen were old and past it

You could hire work men to wrap him well, and accidentally ship himm somewhere far, FAR away ...

there have been many many thoughts just like that, over the years.

but ive watched too many episodes of c.s.i and worry about the repercussions