Friday

I used to be able to plan my day. I would make a to do list and then
plough my way through the items. Now I seem to do whatever catches my
attention with no specific plan. Yesterday morning I decided I could
not stand the sight of the stuff that was piled on the master bathroom
counter. I organized the drawers in the cabinet and managed to clear
the counter top. There were still two boxes sitting in the middle of
the bathroom. One contained items that came from the cabinets in the
utility room. Since the new house only has two small shelves and no
cabinet in the utility room, I had to make decisions where to put the
items. I distributed them in various places and was finally able to
flatten the box and carry it out to the construction bin. The other
box in the bathroom contains mostly purses from the master bedroom
closet. I did not touch that box. It will have to wait until I trip
over it and get a burst of energy and decide it has to go.

I then decided I had to tackle the programming of the sprinkler system
so I would be in compliance with the water regulations. Trash day is
Wednesday and that is the only day I will be allowed to use the
sprinkler system. I went to the City of Frisco website and checked the
allowable watering times. No watering can be done between 5 and 8 AM
and between 10 AM and 6 PM. I read the manual and tried to make sure
that the sprinklers were set to off for all days except Wednesday.
Three separate programs are possible. I am not sure how to
differentiate between the 3 programs. I set it up so program A is the
only one with watering on Wednesday. I set up four separate watering
periods in the allowable times. I saw the truck of the irrigation
system people parked across the street. I found a man from the company
and asked him how long I should water. He said none of the watering
periods should be longer than ten minutes. I told him that I had set
four to six minutes. He said that would be fine. Those times seem
short to me, but I am hoping for the best. I think some of the
neighbors are over watering. I have stepped onto some very soggy
ground.

I am way behind in my filing. I have received so many papers
associated with various aspects of the house. Normally I scan every
piece of paper that is mailed to me such as bills, insurance policies,
etc., the morning after I receive it and then file the paper in my
file cabinet. I have just been stacking paper since I moved. Now it is
just one more thing that is out of control.

My furniture is looking dusty. I just cannot keep up with the normal
chores and contend with all the work that has to be done to settle the
new house.

My left arm remained very sore and painful from the pneumonia shot.
Every time I tried to raise the arm I got a reminder of the shot. It
is better this morning but still painful. I am glad I do not have to
have one of those shots every year.

My neighbor had given me a bottle of wine as a house warming gift a day or two after I had moved in. Yesterday I saw it sitting on the table and decided to learn how to use the Express Chill feature of the new refrigerator. There is a special drawer in the bottom of the refrigerator that can be used to rapidly cool items, thaw things like a turkey or just be used for normal produce or meat storage. I got out the manual and read how to cool a bottle of wine. It has to be put on a tray in the drawer and chilled for 30 minutes. There is a control panel in the top of the refrigerator where you select the proper function and then select the time. The special drawer locks and a timer counts down the minutes. I could hear an additional fan blowing while the wine bottle was being chilled. At the end of 30 minutes the drawer unlocked. I removed the cork and poured a glass of the wine. I decided it was at the proper temperature.

My friend, Mary, called after lunch and said she would be in the area
and asked if I would be home. She dropped by, and we had a nice visit.
She and her husband are buying the largest house model in Frisco
Lakes. I am sure she is going to have more closet and cabinet space
than I have. I started thinking back on how little I knew about my
house before I bought it. In January I went to the sales seminar that
was held at the hotel and given preliminary floor plans with
incomplete dimensions. The model homes were in the framing stage. We
got a bus tour but did not get off the bus. In March I came back for
the one-on-one meeting with the sales associate which lasted one hour.
I had decided that the Walden was the model for me from the floor
plans. That was the only model I looked at. I probably had less than a
half an hour to look at it. Then I came back in March. I did not see
the model until after I had signed the sales contract. The next
morning I went to the Walden model and took 70 pictures. It was not
until I got back to Beaumont that I realized how limited the closets
and cabinets are in this house from looking at the pictures. The floor
plan of the Walden is very attractive and my furniture fits well. As
time goes by, I will figure out ways to increase the storage space;
but I am not going to rush into anything.

I told Mary how I carry each box out to the construction trash bin
after I flatten it. She said she wished she had asked me to save my
boxes for her move. I really felt bad. I have thrown out so many
boxes. Those boxes cost a lot of money; but after they have served
their purpose, they have to go.

After lunch, the men from the HAC company came and installed the
addition to the fresh air vent. I do not understand the purpose of
that pipe. They did not have the filter with them. I called Meagan and
told her the vent had been installed and needed a filter. She returned
my call and said the filter is a reusable plastic filter than will
need to be washed periodically. She has to order more of them and will
bring one to me when they come in. I asked her if she had heard
anything on my replacement kitchen drawer. She said it should be here
next week. I want to get a service contract on the HAC where the
systems will be checked every spring and fall like I had in Beaumont.
I am really worried about changing and cleaning the filters since I
have to carry my 6 ft. ladder into the house in order to reach the
filters. That is not a good activity for an old woman with brittle
bones.

Yesterday evening I did another load of laundry in the new machines.
The washing machine does not add enough water to completely submerge
the clothes, but the clothes do look and smell clean when it has
finished. I just have to put the fate of my clothes in the hands of
the computer and hope for the best. I dried my clothes on the casual
setting rather than using the ultra delicate setting that I had been
using. They dried in a very short time. The casual setting uses low
heat and the ultra delicate cycle uses extra low heat. I am not going
to use the ultra delicate cycle except for very special items

The mailman brought my first bill from the CoServ the utility co-op
that provides gas and electricity. The billing period was from August
31 to September 22. It was only $169 and included several one-time
charges for new service. The air conditioning was running at 76
degrees from the time I closed until I moved in. I only lived in the
house for 13 days of the billing period, but I thought the bill was
very low. I hope that continues. After I saw all the insulation in the
attic, I began to think that this house is really going to be energy
efficient.

I managed to get a new payee set up on my online banking so I can pay
CoServ every month. Apparently the bank has CoServ in their database
because it was not necessary for me to enter the mailing address. The
CoServ bill had a three numbers on it: an account number, a customer
number and a bill number. I called them to confirm that the account
number was the proper one to use for the online banking.

The lawn service company also sent their first bill. I called and paid
them over phone with my credit card. That will mean more frequent
flier miles for me. Some day my life will settle down and I can begin
to think about how to spend all those miles. The City of Frisco
accepts online credit card payments for the water and trash service. I
registered with them but have to have my account number from the first
bill to complete the process. I will now be able to pay all the
utilities except CoServ with a credit card. CoServ accepts online
credit card payment, but they charge $3.95 each for the service.

This morning I have to go out and buy a salad for tonight's block
party. I do not not know what I am going to get. I hope I see
something that appeals to me right away and do not have to go to more
than one store. I have to unpack the boxes that contain shoes. I am
not going to wear the same old sandals tonight. What a way to live!