Generous Benefactor

Hey gang!  I just wanted to give everyone a quick update on what's been going on around here.

As usual, I'm spending my free time working on the house.  No surprise there, right?  In other news, due to some government idiocy, along with other union hate, the trust that handles teachers' health benefits will sunset.  Teachers will be forced back into the EUTF, which handles the benefits for state workers.  The EUTF is insolvent.  They have come on record in the past saying that they cannot handle taking in all the teachers.  Even Gov. Lingle, who hates teachers, have said the EUTF is insolvent.  So what's going on?  The high ranking idiots based their decisions on incomplete reports (but take it as gospel), and believe by adding the premiums from teachers to the EUTF, it will magically become solvent.

It gets better.  Teacher have until Nov. 24 to make any changes in their health coverage.  The EUTF provided a memo with some old premiums listed, along with a note saying it will change in January.  But if you ask them what the new premiums will be, they will tell you they won't know until January... but you have to make your decision in November.  Oh, and good luck getting in touch with the EUTF.  They have a memo that says don't email or call since they don't have the staff to answer questions.

On the bright side, we finished our path.

Still have to add more plants.

Jess sent us a big gift card for Home Depot.  We tried to refuse her money since she moved to the insanely expensive MN where it's so cold you have to have a furnace fired by the flames of Hell.  However, she persisted, and to keep refusing would be rude.  So we went ahead with some more home improvements.  (We also had a 10% off coupon for 1 receipt for up to $2000)

We bought the $10 ceiling fan electrical box to mount the craigslist fan in the Elspeth Suite.  I had to get a cordless drill to do the work too.

I figured out what the previous owners had done in the room.  There used to be a fluorescent light fixture on the ceiling.  There was a box in the ceiling for fixtures, and it was mounted really well to the joist.  I'm sure it could support the weight of a ceiling fan if... if the threaded holes for mounting stuff weren't broken off.  Looked like they broke the box when they changed the fixture, and instead of replacing the box, they shoved some drywall anchors into the broken holes and used drywall screws to mount the fan.  Yikes!

Now we have a prettier and better quality fan in the Elspeth Suite.  The only problem is that it is a 2 bulb light rather than the 3 bulb of the old fan. 

Next thing we tackled was the dining room door.  It was big and sturdy, being a solid wood slab, but it looked dirty and the old threshold broke off so I had a temporary one that stuck up real high.  Plus, the little lady wanted a white door.  We decided on w steel 9 lite door.

The old door didn't come out easily.  Instead of shimming the door evenly, it was flush to one side of the framing.  I couldn't get my reciprocating saw into the gap, so I had to pull the nails.  Glad the previous teacher that had my classroom left a nail puller in the closet.  Oh, and the slab was heavy, thanks for asking.

Here's Wendy cleaning the rough opening.  The tile grout used to be flush to the old, non-existent threshold.  It didn't match up flush with the new door.  We had to chisel it out.

After dealing with crappy screws that stripped faster than a horny teenager on prom night, we got the door in.  I finally got to use the brad nailer I got with my air compressor.  Notice how my choice of orange for the vestibule works well with the red of the dining room.

Much more inviting than a big, brown slab.  Now we realize we'll need a curtain hahahaha.  K-Mart had some magnetic mount curtains... guess we'll go there.  Also notice that the vestibule has carpet... sort of.  We installed carpet tile to soften things out.  We used it to help connect the Elspeth Suite to the main house.  Like a carpeted mini-hallway outside.

Now for the main attraction.  When Jess came over to see the house, one of the first things she pointed out was the ugly, faux-marble ceiling fan.  She actually said that her house warming gift to us would be a new fan.

It's not that ugly, right?

Well Jess, you'll be glad to know that you got us a new fan.

And you know what the best part of this story is?  Right after we got the new fan and door, we got another Home Depot gift card.  This time it's from Wendy's mom and dad.  Wonder what we'll do next?  Floor moulding?  Fix all the screens on the house?  New window treatment to replace the miniblinds in the living room?  Hmmmmm.