New York Renovator

I must be one of the most tolerant homeowners on earth, or perhaps the stupidest, lol. You know how you get so used to something that you tend to not notice it after a while?

I went into the kitchen this afternoon, to fill the tea kettle with water for tea. I noticed a new leak spurting out of our 1970s faucet. sigh. It made me look at the sink area with new perspective. This backsplash behind the faucet is absolutely terrible. Disgusting.

Other areas of the countertop are peeling or warped. I don’t know how I can tolerate it. It’s been this way for about a decade, slowly rotting and getting worse every year. I guess I’ve blocked it out of my consciousness — probably for the retaining of my sanity– because the decay just struck me again as very repulsive. And for a fleeting moment, I wondered why I haven’t fixed it yet. What, am I crazy, letting this go on and on for years??

Then I remembered. Oh yeah.

We do want the countertop replaced, but I won’t do it. Know why? Because this crappy slab of 1972 orange laminate sits on top of crappy 1972 plywood cabinets. Almost all of the cabinets have either fallen apart or are warped. Now, why don’t I just get new cabinets, then? Well, the cabinets sit on top of a severely cracked and broken up 1972 tile floor. OK so replace the flooring, the cabinets, and the backsplash. Nope, because behind the cabinets are 1855 plaster walls, with most of their plaster behind the cabinets missing. In winter, when we open a cabinet door or drawer, the wintery outside air blasts into the room. Wild, huh? I won’t even mention the mouse problem we have here, lol…

OK that’s pretty bad, but maybe I could just replace the walls, the flooring, the cabinets, and then get the new countertops!

Um, nope. Because within the walls is 1920s knob and tube wiring, 1940s plumbing that is not properly vented, and there’s no insulation between the studs. Not to mention that the only kitchen window is broken. I’d have to entirely GUT the room before I could get new countertops. Otherwise, I’d be spending $800 on new countertops for nothing– a shaky foundation. I refuse to set a brand-new countertop on top of disgustingly broken, unlevel cabinets that rest on disgustingly broken, unlevel flooring and against disgustingly holey and broken up walls with disgusting and inadequate plumbing and electric.

So that’s why I tolerate it. Most people would have their moving boxes out already; but I do like the house and I’ve put my heart into my gardens. I just need to gut this ol’ house! Ugh!

So, how are my gardens doing this fine, sunny day!

HAHA! I found these online: Republican playing cards. LOL! They are playing cards, and have John McCain on them. They are cards that support McCain, so you probably wouldn’t buy them for Obama supporters, unless you like gag gifts (like me, LOL).The cards have McCain pundits (like Rush LImbaugh) on the other side, as wild animals. They are REAL playing cards that you really can play with, if you can stomach the faces of the candidates and their pundits. :-p

The site has a bunch of other cards, including ones for Obama. I thought it would be cool to mention the cards here, since I’ve been posting so often on politics and corrupt government lately. Heh heh.

Surprised? It’s happening again. A Milwaukee man is facing foreclosure on his $245,000 home because he wouldn’t pay a $50 parking ticket in 2004.

In what city officials believe is the first case of its kind, the city foreclosed on Tubic’s house on W. Verona Court after repeated attempts to collect the fine - which over the years had escalated to $2,600 - had failed.

“Our goal isn’t to acquire parcels,” said Jim Klajbor, special deputy city treasurer. “Our goal is to just collect taxes. . . . It is only as a last resort that we would pursue . . . foreclosure.”

I’m sorry Mr. Special Deputy City Treasurer. That might not be your INTENTION, but it certainly was your GOAL, because you DID IT.

OK, so the homeowner, a Mr. Tubic, has not paid his parking ticket. How did he get that parking ticket, anyway?

Tubic first got the fine for parking his Ford E150 with no license plates in the driveway of the home, which belonged to his parents at the time . The radiator had broken and Tubic couldn’t get his plates renewed unless the van passed an emissions test. He didn’t have the money to make the repair and had more pressing worries, he said.

His father was suffering from dementia. His mother was battling cancer, and he was their live-in caretaker. He needed to shop, cook, clean, maintain the house and tend to his parents’ needs.

The van repair could wait, he thought.

Then a man from the city showed up and told him otherwise. It was February 2004. Tubic would have to move the van or get license plates for it within 30 days, per city zoning codes, the man said. Somebody had complained.

His van was without license plates and was parked in his driveway?! That’s it?! Where else is he going to park his own van until he fixes it? The city park? So now it’s illegal to park your own vehicle on your own property unless your vehicle meets government “emissions” guidelines and is registered by the government?? Argh!

Tubic is a 62-year old disabled man, on Social Security and “has been diagnosed with psychological disorders that limit his ‘ability to understand, remember and carry out detailed instructions,’ according to documents from the administration.” He has degenerative diseases of the knees and spine, and other ailments. The guy is in poor shape and is an emotional disaster. The poor guy! I really have compassion in him.

HOWEVER– even if the guy was a 250-pound, muscular and wealthy socialite with a Hitler-like moustache, NO ONE’S HOME SHOULD EVER BE CONFISCATED LIKE THIS! It makes me so angry! I don’t want to rehash all the other posts I’ve written about this subject– you can read more about it on my post, How To Create a Serfdom, which is exactly what the government and their fascist corporations are doing to us. These tyrants are just DROOLING, waiting for the moment when they can seize our properties, aren’t they?? Couldn’t they have taken the guy’s CAR, since it was a parking ticket? Couldn’t they have revoked his license, or something? P.S. Tubic did continue to pay his property taxes.

Just remember what Thomas Jefferson said would happen to us if we continue to allow these bullies to keep this up:

“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.” Thomas Jefferson

I didn’t say that! Gordon Brown from the UK said that, for all intents and purposes!

As supermarket prices spiral Brown tells families: ‘Stop wasting food’

Gordon Brown called for prudence in the kitchen last night, telling us not to throw away so much food.

With prices soaring, he suggested we could save up to £8 a week by making our shopping go further.

Waste could be reduced by simple steps such as storing fruit and vegetables in the fridge to make them last longer.

What jerks, as if WE are to blame for the global recession! It’s the fault of you greedy politicians! And they talk to us like we are stupid children. Don’t waste that precious £8 a week! Not while governments are squandering 10,000,000 times more than that! Sheesh!

I saw this photo at GadgetTastic, and it made me do a double-take.

It’s a real table. Ingenious! But knowing me, I’d probably knock off the drips whenever I pull my chair in. I’m clumsy and my furniture has to be very durable.

Hat tip Enfotainer.

Lots of folks are going on vacation this month. July is a favorite camping month for Upstate New Yorkers, since nighttime temperatures rarely dip below 60F. I actually prefer evening temperatures a little cooler, around 50F, so I prefer camping in the autumn season. I’d even be willing to participate in winter camping, which is popular up here, but my husband gets too cold. And camping is no fun alone. So while everyone around us usually goies camping in July, we do other things, like visit the more urban areas of the state.

One of the best vacations we ever had as a family was when we stayed in Massachusetts for a week. It was GREAT! I love the ocean, and seeing the Atlantic– feeling the sea breezes, smelling the salty air, getting clobbered by the vicious waves– was quite an experience. We got to drive around Boston (OH MY GOSH THESE PEOPLE ARE CRAZY), and visited the famous Boston aquarium in the city. Boston is one of my favorite cities to visit (except for the driving)– there are always a billion things to do in Boston, and it’s filled with the historic sites we love. (I’d much rather see Fanueil Hall than Madame Tussauds any day!).

How about you, you going on a vacation this summer? If you’re visiting one of the United States’ major cities, you must take a look at Trusted Tours & Attractions first. I love this site. It’s loaded with the best online travel guides — information on the attractions and sites, plus they have great discounts. I went to the newsletter signup page to be entered to win a $150 iTunes gift card! The offer ends July 31, so check it out.