Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Tuesday, June 10, 2025 -- Mattie died 798 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2008. Mattie received this remote controlled boat and that day we took him to Roosevelt Island so he could maneuver the boat on the water. Mattie was fascinated with boats, boats of all kinds! If you asked him what he was saving his money for, he'd tell you..... for a boat. Not a toy boat, but a real one! Mattie's dream was to be a captain of a ship! I am so glad that Roosevelt Island was close to our home and that we had this wonderful escape on the weekends! So much was learned together on the Island. 

Quote of the day: Betrayal is never easy to handle and there is no right way to accept it. ~ Christine Feehan

This morning did not go any way to plan. But then again, it never does in my house! One of the positives was I received an email from Nate, the power washer professional who was been working with me since March. It is hard to make ALL the decisions in this house on my own. I am responsible for so many things, and have no one to bounce thoughts and ideas off of. So when Nate wrote today, I showed him a BEFORE photo of the flagstone! This was what I have been seeing for years! This greyish/black stone! I snapped this photo in March 2025. To me this was a depressing sight! 

I then sent Nate this after photo! I am still amazed at the difference. Nate told me that most people do not even bother to clean their stones unless they are selling their house. He told me that when owners see the transformation, they usually say..... why didn't I do this sooner? 

What I know is this house is important to me, and anything that is important to me, gets taken care of very well! My goal is to tackle projects one at a time, to restore parts of the house back to their original glory. When I wonder.... did I make the right decision about power washing, the answer was YES!

At around 9am, I got an alert on my phone about the house's alarm system. The message was that the battery was running low! TRULY I had NO IDEA what that even meant. I stopped what I was doing and ran to my computer and then called the company. The woman was lovely and explained the issue, she is sending me a replacement battery, and then I elected to install it myself. I will either watch the installation video, or call the company and have them walk me through how to do this over the phone. There is no way I am paying for someone to come to the house to install a battery! I figure if I can learn to flush a sump pump, manage a septic system, handle basic electricity and plumbing, I should be able to figure out a battery replacement! 

Once I dealt with that crisis, I moved onto the next problem. My garage door has been having issues! Significant enough that I was worried that I wouldn't be able to open it! The garage is crucial, because this is the easiest way for me to safely get my parents in and out of the house. So my garage door has to function. I decided to call the Overhead Door Company! On an aside, I think I could make a HOW TO guide for all women at this point, on how to manage a house! 

This garage door company, I feel, is the best in our area! They give you same day appointments, their service providers are always excellent, efficient, they listen, and explain things in an understandable manner! Any case, multiple issues needed to be addressed (tighten a drive belt, secure loose boom bracket, adjusted tension on springs, secured loose safety sensors, lubricated door, etc) and what I learned was I was smart to address this issue now before the many issues got worse. If I waited more damage would have been done and the repair would have been more costly. I appreciated hearing this, it just helped me to know that my instincts regarding house maintenance are correct! As it is, I lubricate all the hinges on the garage door biannually and today I learned this was correct, and then getting a professional to tune up the door every two to three years is perfect. They even gave me a reminder sticker, which I have posted up in the garage, so I know when I should get it serviced next! VERY HELPFUL! I am very grateful to have a wonderful network of men to turn to, because house maintenance is daunting on a good day. 

What I do know is I could never leave my spouse managing the impossible alone. I would be riddled with guilt every minute of the day. Some days the feelings from this abandonment are overwhelming and I am ready to give up and then there are days like today, when I say to myself...... YOU AREN'T going to bring me down. You have done enough damage. I am resourceful, I can advocate for myself and my parents, and I can make intelligent decisions. However, these positive reflections never last long!