oceandreamer56's Profile

I knew the saying originated during WWII, but didn't know about the bookstore. What a bookstore!! It's now on my list of places I want to visit. Or possibly live. Yeah, I could live in that bookstore.

I've got to agree with every comment above - that little bit of work and money was well worth it.
Questions: Did you remove the old flooring or stick the tiles right on top? And how careful do you have to be with spills and mopping? I've thought about doing this, but worry about the tiles coming unstuck.

I have to agree with a lot of what has been said. I actually worked for a storage unit company for a few months.

Rules and policies vary by company. Be sure you actually READ your rental agreement, and any other rules/policies/papers they give you/have you sign. Insist on copies of everything you've read and signed, and get a receipt for each payment - don't just rely on your check. Everyone makes mistakes occasionally, which is more often the case than dishonesty.

You can purchase an insurance policy from the storage company, or extend your homeowners insurance to cover the items. I don't know if you can extend your renters insurance. The storage company should tell you right up front that they are not responsible for loss or damage of your items, if you're using a "you store it and lock it" facility. I don't know the policies for places that move and store for you (example: PODS)

A number of people lived out of the area, and we had notes on some who wished to have a receipt mailed to them after we processed their payment. I even had people who were local that mailed their payment and wanted a receipt mailed back.

Each contract had the name, mailing address and phone number(s) of the person renting, and we requested an alternate name and phone number. At the place I worked, if we had not received payment by the end of day on the 1st of the month, that person was locked out of the facility until they came in and paid. A very large part of my day was spent calling people - sometimes the same person day after day - to "remind" them that their payment was due. A note was made on their account of who I spoke to, and what I was told, or whether I left a message, or the phone just rang, or I had gotten a disconnect message. After a week or so of not speaking to the renter, I started calling the alternate, asking them to have the renter call. Notices were mailed to the address on file; the third and all subsequent notices were "return receipt requested". We did make every effort possible to contact the renter before putting the notice of auction in the newspaper.

They had one auction while I was there, and it was heartbreaking to see some of the things that got auctioned off; when we opened some of the units, I could see baby items, boxes labeled "photo albums", etc - stuff that someone had cherished at some point.

There are a lot of reasons someone might need to store their things - just be sure you have a good reason, and take some common sense precautions.

It can't be said enough - get the snorer to see a doctor.

My husband snored loudly - I could still hear him in the guest room on the other side of the house. He also had sleep apnea, and would sometimes go so long between breaths that I'd nudge him to partially wake him up.

If he'd listened to me, I might still be a wife instead of a widow.

I can understand wanting something new and sleek, but I have to throw in with the ones that are begging for simple updates instead of a total gut job. I'm so hoping that my next place has a bathroom like this one, but at the rate people are ripping them out, I rather doubt that will happen. Oh, if you do decide to get rid of that gorgeous crystal doorknob, would you please send it to me?? :-)

You can also see the reflection of the turquoise curtains on the wood floor at the bottom of the picture.

Look at the sofa cushions - looks like someone's sitting on them. Also - looks to me like the 'reflection' on the TV could be a picture - I've used my TV to run slide shows of my favorite pictures from a flash drive.

And finally, the room itself; I've been liking turquoise lately so I like the changes - perhaps the space is rented and changing the wall color isn't allowed - because, yeah - I'd have painted at least one wall. But overall, very nice.

I guess I got very spoiled living in a small apartment complex in a small CA. town for 10 years. The manager lived onsite and was very quick to address the few problems that occurred.

Moving from there to a central valley redneck (and proud of it!) city was an eye opener. Dogs that barked all night. Usually because people were walking up and down the street. All night. Everybody drove either a pickup (with a loud muffler) or a "rice burner" (import car with a loud muffler). Family across the street with 2 houses (one no bigger than an average garden shed) behind the front house - they had at least 20 people living there, and were running a daycare for all their friends - one of the kids climbed over my fence into my yard - with two black labs barking at him. Extremely nosy neighbor next door - she actually asked me if my husband and I had a sex life! (We were both 50 and it was a second marriage for both of us).

He had a heart attack 2 years later and passed - after that someone started leaving me cryptic notes taped to the fence (still have no clue what they were supposed to mean), and one night I got up because the dog started barking (Yes, I go see why my dogs are barking) and saw someone running back out of the gate.

That was the last straw, and I moved a couple of months later. Ended up with two neighbors who were wonderful. I miss that place. Had to move to AZ to take care of my mom. The neighbors here are pretty nice, I just don't have time to socialize. Guess I would have if I hadn't spend the last hour reading all these posts.

What a cheerful and homey feeling place! I, too, love the breakfast nook.

Congratulations on your home and your son - I hope you create many happy memories there.

@BrianneA - I didn't read ALL the posts below yours, so forgive me if your problem has already been addressed; I had a very similar problem with a utility line draping thru a tree and along my fence before trailing up to a neighbor's house. I started calling the utility companies - both the electric company and the cable company sent workmen out - turns out it was cable being accessed illegally. He unhooked it from the pole and asked me to call if I saw another go up.

The next house I lived in had the house built to the very back of the lot, and only the back half of the lot fenced. I was forever cleaning up other people's dogs poop in the unfenced portion of the yard. I started watching for which dogs, followed them home, then used a shovel to scoop up the poop and walked it down to that house. Knocked on the door, and told them that I'd be dumping the poop from my yard into theirs, and making a formal complaint to animal control about the dog running loose day and night. Seemed to work. No more dog poop - just glares from the owners each time they drove by.

A beautiful, well thought out job.

Did you also knock out part of the wall where the outside door is and build in a step? It looks like you had a box, or something, there in the the before pic.

I used to think I wanted a big kitchen, until I lived in a tiny cottage with a little galley kitchen. I ended up loving it! Everything was a step or two away, and it took next to no time to clean it. I've recently moved in with my mom to take care of her, and she has a big kitchen. It seems like the messes are bigger, too! I'll definitely be looking for a very small kitchen when the time comes to move on.