Getting a house ready for sale is a nightmare

Getting a house ready for sale is a nightmare, and makes me really crazy.  So far I have replaced flooring.  Had painters do the deck, some minor facade repair, and interior painting.  Now I am looking at fixing the front porch, and it's a bit more money than I expected.  Ugh.  I don't want to sell a house with issues, but I also don't want to pay much more to sell the house... what to do, what to do? So far, I am just practicing being mean and difficult with the people who sell the services.

In the meanwhile, we are building another house, thankfully far enough away to not be obsessive about always being there.  They are kinda nickel-and-diming us too. I mean after you've paid a sizeable non-refundable deposit. Why does a couple of minor changes mean you have to pay an additional non-refundable deposit?  Are my changes so egregious that no one in their right mind would want them if the sale fell through? It's not that it is a lot of money, it is that it is getting insulting.

So anyway, my current house is starting to look dreamy and I am remembering what I love about it, though still ready to let it go. And the new house is coming along.  The garages are done and plumbing is stubbed.  I will put some photos below.

Front

Side

back

Shtuff they try when you purchase carpet.

So it was time to replace the carpet in my house since I moved in 15 years ago and it was in terrible shape.  It did not go smoothly.

First, I went to the local home improvement store warehouse and picked up samples, telling the carpet person that I would want it by the end of the month, they said: “no problem” and nothing else.  I brought the samples home and got opinions and made decisions.

I went back a few days later, and once again told the guy my decision and my timeline and we arranged a measurement appointment. Now, I was apparently there on the last day of the sale, so I paid my deposit to lock it in.  In included “free” installation, and no additional stair installation, and moving of heavy furniture, so I was happy.

The guy who measured was great and we had great conversations while he did it.  He measured 5 rooms and the upstairs hallway and the stairs. He saw what was in each room and what was not in each room.  His estimation for my square footage was the same that I had guesstimated, so that was cool.

Anger and Loathing 30 years post high school and...

This crap happens.  See the letter that I just sent to my high school who took weeks to be able to report that my husband (and I) graduated.

To Whom it may concern: I am writing to request high school transcripts for myself and my husband. We need these transcripts because we discovered that Yonkers Public Schools records department reported that (xxxxxx xxxxxxx 19xx) had never graduated high school.  Upon calling the schools to investigate we also discovered that the records department also did not have my (xxxxxx xxxxxxx 19xx) graduation information.  In fact, it turned out that both of our high school records had the same wrong information. This is incredibly disconcerting to me because it makes me wonder what opportunities I may have missed over the years due to such an error. Unfortunately, when I relayed my concerns to Miss. Dodie who runs the Yonkers records department, I was met with defensiveness and anger. I did not deserve that. I do deserve that my high school information and my husband’s high school information is reported properly when

That homeschool spirit

During my homeschooling years, I often found myself saying, "why would I bother homeschooling if I am going to follow someone else's rules?" I found that most homeschoolers were homeschoolers in deed, but not necessarily in action.  They would pronounce they were homeschooling, but then look for a full curriculum in a box or homeschool program online to follow.  They might get desks and even turn the dining room into a classroom and have the kids call them teacher(mom) and principal (dad).  Sure that's cute, and a good way to present homeschooling to previously schooled kids, but there comes a time when the transition ends and the actual homeschooling begins.

I often get requests on how to homeschool, and I have been struggling with finishing a book for a