Swat Teams Redo Mom's House!

We have had an exciting week. Ty Pennington would not believe all the happenings in Sidney at my mom's house. My mom has been on a house maintenance spree and look out, because once she gets started, she is like a whirling, twirling dervish.

First, she had her roof redone, only to find out that the rotting plywood underneath needed to be torn off and replaced. We were in Chicago then, trying to determine whether I would be a good candidate for a stem cell transplant using my own cells. So, phone calls were made back and forth. A new roof was installed.

Secondly, Mom discovered that her eave troughs/ gutters were malfunctioning and figured she would need new ones. So, she called a local fellow to get his opinion. He soon discovered that the roofers had allowed all sorts of rubbish to fall in the gutters, causing them to clog and overflow. Oh, what joy in cleaning them out. The smell was enough to knock them off their ladders. Luckily, I avoided that smell and so did mom. Those poor fellows were probably thinking what a way to end their day. The mystery of the overflowing gutters was soon solved. No need for new ones, just clean ones.

Thirdly, Mom wanted the house painted from top to bottom and some inside painting done, too. The swat team of 10 painters made their way around the house 3 times in a speedy manner. They primed, painted the first coat and then the second coat after the house received a power washing that had her gleaming. She looks real fine in her new array of colors. Her dark green shutters sparkle and shine and the white on her front, sides and back stands out like a beacon.

Mom made sure the equipe of painters were well cared for as the day was beastly hot and I was not allowed outside to see the masterpiece until the sun went down a bit. She had all sorts of cookie snacks and cold water available for the morning break. The afternoon break consisted of a variety of ice cream bars. By late afternoon, the painters had completed their makeover and were packing up to head out for the day. We were amazed at their ability to complete the new look in one day's time. My new look will take quite a bit of time, but in the end, it will be worth more than I can ever say.

Last night, the paving man appeared and said they were ready to begin ripping up my mom's driveway, which was in need of repair. So, this morning and afternoon, we heard the sounds of jackhammers, cutting machines, loaders, etc. ripping up the driveway. Oh, what sounds they were. At one point, I thought they were going to do a drive thru through the house, since it sounded like the machine was headed our way. We can't drive or park on the new driveway for 7 days, so our vehicles are sitting happily behind the house along with our new grill and the John Deere green lawnmower. Our storage area is now the back lawn. So, this project will take a few days.

Is there anything else that we need done? Never ask a question if you don't want to know the answer. While I was plugging in my computer, sparks flew out of my mom's outlet. It was a "shocking" experience as I told my mom that we now needed to call an electrician. Luckily, there is an electrician in our family, who is a super fellow with the best sense of humor. He is "electrifyingly" witty and just so nice and sweet. Poor fellow, wait till he hears from us about our sockets going haywire and sparking like the 4th of July.

When the electric charge hit my computer, the computer went belly up and I could not resuscitate it by any means, so I had to call a computer expert, who lead me through the process to revive it. I simply had to pop out the battery and reinstall it, sort of like what they will do with my lungs- a new installation. I hope that it is that easy.

So, more maintenance at my mother's abode. As you have probably heard, you don't own your home because your home owns you. This seems to be the case with my mom. But, I have a feeling we will be in shipshape in no time flat. What else could possibly wrong? Stay tuned because you never know with Marge 1 and Marge 2-the dynamic duo.

May all your house repairs not befall you all at once, otherwise you may have to call in Bob Vila to do a complete overhaul. Yikes!!