The No News is No News Purgatory Thread, Volume 9

It also seemed to me that since we are giving serious consideration to moving in about 18 months, a sectional to fit this house was not the best choice. I was pushing for a sofa and chair, much easier to make work no matter what shape a room might be.

In other news, eek! We just got a notice from our daily newspaper, without which I would not know how to conduct my morning, that their rate is going up a whopping 30%. I know they've hemorrhaged advertising revenue, but this is going to drive away subscribers. There doesn't seem to be a reduced rate to get the paper only in e-version, which we do when we travel.

I second that--happy birthday! Got big plans? Is there cake?

Today we got an email from the paper with a link to their online rates, which were not included in the letter. We'll probably go with that, even if it means I can't do the good sudoku every morning, much less the NYT crossword when I feel like it--except on Friday or Saturday. (It starts easy on Monday and each day is more difficult. Wednesday is good, Thursday my absolute limit for completion.)

Yeah, the new price for the paper is way too high for what we're now getting--three sections, no "Living section" human interest on a daily basis, incomplete sports scores because they put the paper to bed before games end, and most of the actual news I see online in as much detail as I want to read.

Maryn, marking the end of an era

My BIL used to work for the LOC. He'd go to the various Smithsonian museums at lunch or after work, waiting for the traffic to thin. I always envied him that. But I sure didn't envy the commute or the price of housing! Even though they've now moved about an hour out of metro DC, the price of housing is still insane. If this house--nothing special by a long shot, and shoddily built to boot--were plopped down there on the same size lot, it would be at least a million dollars.

We figure we'll let the physical paper go and subscribe online. I found a place I can print out the sudoku (which I just have to do!) but not the NYT crossword, darn it.

Mr. Maryn and I are on the last day of ripping up carpets. We've started wearing thick leather gloves, even though it's clumsy, and we're going hours and hours between pokes and scraped that draw blood. Much better. My poor old-lady knees are not doing so well, but I remain grateful that I can do physical stuff like this for myself. That same BIL and SIL insist they're too old and aching to do such things. Hell, they don't even do their own interior painting.

Like so many house projects, this one is blossoming into a huge, expensive flower. The time to paint is now--but can we paint before new rugs arrive? Of course not. And can we choose the right paint color to go with the new rugs if we have not also replaced the godawful wallpaper in the entryway? And hey, before we re-carpet the stairs and hall upstairs (both with damage that must be covered up), shouldn't we replace the banister and newel post with something that doesn't look like cheap-ass crap meant to be used outdoors? And you know, the wallpaper in the entryway really needs to coordinate with the paper in the kitchen that needs replacing, and what about those floors...

I'm telling myself that we will enjoy the improvements and they'll help us get a higher price when we sell. My knees are less certain.

Maryn, grow old along with me

There will. Alas, I didn't take before pictures. Just imagine a very weary slate-blue rug with fading near the windows and spots the cleaning guys could reduce but not remove. (The worst was from a red feather I allowed to sit under a chair for weeks and weeks, because who cares?)

Our room arrangement now is most eclectic. The dining room table is covered with the contents of the china cabinet, pressed tight against it so we could get at the carpet under it. We do not want to move that monster more than one more time, so paint's got to happen soon. The dining room chairs are in the living room. It looks like we're going to host a meeting, or put on a show.

So, is there a time limit on holding a child's catapult that really works? (Want to see? It'll throw an egg like 75 feet!) We realized we've stored it for her for more than a decade. We are debating whether we will piss her off--very easily done--if we deliver her possessions to her when we visit this summer. The other kid has winnowed her possessions down to almost nothing, mostly "keeper" toys she hopes we will always keep for the day she's a mom, so the grandchild will play with her mommy's old toys.

Maryn, watching pages flying off the calendar like in old movies

But what color donkey balls, I wonder?

I'm kind of glad not to know exactly what color that is. I hate puking. I mean really hate it.

We started to order the rug we have agreed on but came to realize it was not certain to arrive when we were here to bring it inside. Plus there was some chicanery at the two websites with the lowest prices, one that showed a sale two hours earlier but not now, the other with different prices in the cart than on Add to Cart. Did they think we would not notice? Any-hoo, we're doing some traveling in May, and the memorial service added to it, so we'll be away from home nearly half the month in three trips. Sheesh! So we have agreed that there is no rush and we will just order rugs later, and now we have moved on to paint colors. Mr. Maryn seems uncommonly open to bending to my will. Is this a trap?

It's silly, I suppose, but we aren't telling our kids of the changes. It'll be a surprise when they next visit. If they thought a $40 lamp from Home Depot was a big deal, wait until they see this!

Maryn, envisioning it as better than it's likely to be

Oh, I feel for you.

If you're seeing mold get a foothold, see if you can rent more dehumidifiers. We were lucky to be insured for flooding and the ServPro people ran these heavy-duty machines for two or three days, I can't remember which.

(We've got snow forecast for tomorrow. Western New York, the fun never stops!)

Luckily when we bought this place, the home inspector noted the hard clay soil was slow to absorb water and suggested we add flood insurance to our homeowner's policy. Since our previous house had flooded at least a foot deep before we owned it, we took his advice on the insurance. It covers rain and failed sump pumps, but not Acts of God. Isn't that the very definition of rain and failed sump pumps? That God, huh?

I'm just about done with packing, at that anal-retentive stage where you start throwing in extra tops and panties and books because what-if what-it what-if? Even though I know for sure that every other day it'll just be us and the highway, so what's it matter how I'm dressed?

Maryn, who knows what her shampoo schedule will be

Aw, poor Lily cannot vacuum. (Snort.) Be more like me and try only rarely. It's liberating!

I'm in Indiana tonight, heading to a funeral tomorrow. The deceased was close to Mr. Maryn when they were boys, cordially distant as adults who didn't see one another often. But I really like the widow and my heart breaks for her. At least the nature of her husband's death gave them a lot of time to make peace with the inevitable.

Mr. Maryn has promised to live forever. He'd better.

Maryn, who would rarely travel if he were gone