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| BEFORE |
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| AFTER |
“It gets to me; some days, it feels never-ending.”
Gary says this at least once a week, referring to all the
“to-dos”, and the repairs needed on the house. This rant is always followed by
a discussion with me (or with himself) about the merits of selling over owning
our home.
That’s a hard decision. And, is one with which we struggle. But, no matter if we stay or if we go, home
maintenance must be done. And this summer, it seems like more and more needs to
be done.
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| THE OFFENDING TREE |
Gary has accomplished many repairs himself; he is a capable, efficient man. He needs to focus
on what he has completed, instead of cursing and listing all the chores which
remain.
Some of the maintenance has been too overwhelming for us to manage.
We
had our roof re-shingled in late June. Last week, we had an arborist come to remove an
enormous maple which had grown too close to the house, and was overhanging the
roof and the northwest corner of our home.
For a few hours, we were entertained by men in the tree with
chain saws and limbers and tree saws. What an efficient group they were! The
men took down the tree with patience and care, and no cussing.
But the work doesn’t end. We have frequent-flyer points at the
waste management site from weeks of shrub trimming, damage repair on
our hedges and smaller trees, and the subsequent trips to the dump.
There are still more small repair and paint duties waiting for us, outside and inside ... the work that needs to done
whether we stay or sell.
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| THE HOLE WHERE THE TREE ISN'T |
Even selling and moving are challenges. The real estate
market is tricky, (a buyer’s market, we’re told) and we would need to sell our
house before offering on another or renting. So, in the meantime, we work at keeping
our house in the best shape possible.
The discussions continue.
