Wow, it’s been quite some time since I’ve updated this blog — over a month, in fact, ever since we got back to Saint Joseph. Do I need to say that we’ve been pretty busy?
The majority of that busy-ness has been, and continues to be, getting the house ready to put on the market. We’re nearly ready to call in a Realtor, as soon as a few more chores are accomplished. Phil, with help from Nick, has been getting lots of stuff done, inside and out. The front porch was one of the first things they tackled, and it looks great! They rebuilt the steps and wrought-iron railings, and painted the deck and stairs and railing, then cleaned up accumulated cobwebs under the overhang, and Nick installed a new light fixture to replace the old, rusted out original. Yesterday they got started on replacing the quarter-round trim around the baseboards in the living room and dining room that were inexplicably missing when we bought the house. Those baseboards will have to be painted, since it looks like whoever worked on it before just ripped the molding off, taking chunks of paint with it. I suspect that happened when they refinished the hardwood floors. Why they did such a beautiful job on the wood floors, yet left the trim in such horrible shape, is beyond me. But there are a lot of contradictory things in this house. No matter. We’re taking care of them, and more. Whoever gets this place next will have quite a prize.
In spite of the gruesomely hot, muggy weather, Phil and Nick got the yard into reasonably good shape, too, including trimming some trees in the back that were taking over the place. The only thing left to do out there now is some work on the front concrete walkway, which has deteriorated over the years.
Inside, Phil finally finished restructuring the shelf and hanging rod in his office closet, and only needs to finish spackling and painting in there. Then they are going to tackle the outside doors that need repair and painting. He got a storm door for the side entrance that leads to the basement, and will take the existing door off and rebuild it, to make it more secure as well as looking better. The front door looks like it has never been painted since the house was built, about a hundred years ago, and it needs a new lock and such as well as some of that battleship grey paint. Maybe it ought to be a different color, but grey is pretty safe, and he already has the paint left over from the porch. If the new owners want something brighter, they can pick the color.
Aside from those structural repairs/upgrades, the main tasks remaining are cleaning and straightening. The carpets need shampooing, the tile floors need polishing, and the rest of the stuff needs normal housekeeping attention. I’ve been slacking off on that end, still nursing my broken ankle, but it’s getting done little by little.
Speaking of that ankle, today I started another round of physical therapy, this time for the ankle (of course). I went to a different therapist this time, after a couple of medical people recommended Spine & Sport, and I must say I was impressed by the initial workup. Fred, the owner and senior therapist, did the evaluation. His explanation of what he thought was at the root of my muscular-skeletal woes made a lot of sense, and even better, he has ideas about how to get started on correcting the issues at hand (or foot, as the case may be). Tomorrow I’ll start aquatic therapy, and after that starts to create some improvement, he’ll move me to exercises on dry land. I’m hoping we’ll get a lot accomplished before we leave here to go back to Texas this Fall.
So, I’d better get back to work if we’re going to get out of here! Till next time…







