Category: home improvement

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Plans in hand and materials on the property

Well I have the plans for my new project in my hands and all the rough in materials are on the property.  I have all the proper permits, the electrician has been contracted, the plumber and carpenters too.  I’m on a roll.  I found the best web site that helped me to find everyone that I needed to get this project started.  It still amazes me at just what you can find on the Internet.  Seek and ye shall find I guess, huh?

Now comes the fun part, picking out all of the lighting, the bathroom and kitchen fixtures, the kitchen appliances and cabinets, counter tops and boy do I have a lot to do.  I bet I can find everything I need right here online too.  First of all I’ll go by our local building supply store and get the prices on what I want.  That way I can shop around online and see if I can get it or something comparable to what I want any cheaper.

This is the bath tubs I want installed.  I have one similar myself in my bathroom.  What do you think?  I just love those claw and foot bath tubs with the old English telephone faucets.  I found this one at vintagetub.com.  They have some beautiful bath tubs on there.

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Getting the plans all drawn up

I have a friend that’s an architect and he knows how to design what I want.  After all, that is what an architect does, you know.  Of course you know that.  That was sort of a dumb thing to say but anyway.  I told him what I want and he checked out the upstairs of my business and said it wouldn’t be a problem at all.  He asked what I had in mind and when I told him, he said that he would have the complete plans to me by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest.

He did tell me to check and make sure I could get the permits to do what I wanted.  Well I made some phone calls, went down to the tax office and paid for all the permits I’m going to need.  It was relatively painless too.  They have to come inspect everything once I get all of the blueprints and they have to check them out too.  If everything is as they think it should be, we could be building as early as this weekend.

My architect said that he would call around and find the best deal for me on the materials because he can probably get them cheaper than I ever could with his ‘clout’ around here.  Hey, saving money is my middle name.  He’ll call me tomorrow with the estimate on the materials too.  So now that I have the ball rolling, it’s just about time to start shopping for lighting, ceiling fans, appliances……….no I think he even said he could get those at a discount too.  Sounds good to me.  I’m getting excited about my new project.

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I’m thinking about building some apartments

I have a house behind my business and and there’s room above my place of business to build about 4 small apartments that my employees could live in.  I’ve hired a handy man to do the work for me.  He’ll start in the morning.  What I want is 2 one bedroom apartments, 1 two bedroom apartment and 1 three bedroom apartment.  I have one single lady working for me with a couple of kids.  She’s having trouble making ends meet trying to pay rent and drive 30 miles to work.  She has to live that far away because the rents cheaper there.  Well I’ll fix that.

Each room will have ceiling fans to make them more energy efficient.  I can’t wait to start picking out everything.  I’ll have to pick out bathroom fixtures, flooring and I don’t want any carpet either.  I like the laminate floors.  They can get an area rug if they want carpet.  This is going to be a lot of fun for me and my employees are even going to come in on their time off to help my handy man so it can get finished sooner.  I told them that if they do, I’ll give them the first months rent free.  It’s the least I can do.

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Well the new years starting off good

Thanks to my little Angel Tree and a lot of help from local business owners, there are several families with new jobs, and new hope.  I told you that someone donated $100 to each family, well one of the families used the money to buy paint to help get their house back to looking like a home.  They had been living with nothing but dry wall on the walls for about year now.  Now it’s beginning to feel like home to them again.

Another family used the money to buy a bigger used refrigerator.  They had been using one of those dorm type refrigerators.  They traded it in to a used appliance store and put the $100 with it and got a full size refrigerator.  That will help them save money by not having to go to the store as often.  They’ll save a lot of gas.

I am just overwhelmed by what these people have done with the help of my little Angel Tree.  I’m even thinking of putting up one for Easter.  There’s still a lot that need help and that’s one way to help without them feeling like they’re getting a hand out, just a hand up.

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Angel tree update

I told you about putting up an ‘Angel Tree’ in my establishment a few days ago.  Well I thought I would update you on it’s progress.  A local business has donated 10 Game Boys and 10 games for it for children on the tree.  Another local store has donated turkeys for every ‘Angel’ on the tree.  Then another business has donated $15 gift cards for every one on the tree so the children can get what ever they want.

Angel requests are still coming in as more families learn that it’s up already so as fast as an ‘Angel’ is taken, there’s almost another to replace it.  Luckily a lot of local churches have come to offer gifts for the children and families too.  There is a lot of need this year in our community unfortunately with so many still trying to rebuild their lives but that’s one of the things that makes New Orleans a great city, people really care about each other and my little ‘Angel tree’ is proof.

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Darn hot water heater went out

Why do they call them a ‘hot water heater’ when it should be a ‘cold water heater’?  Sorry, I just have those types of thoughts from time to time.  Anyway, mine when out.  I had to call my handy man to come repair it or replace it if that’s what it needs.  It shouldn’t need replacing since it’s only a couple years old.  He said he thinks it’s just the heating element has gone bad since it isn’t that old.

One things for sure, I hate to spend any money needlessly right now.  There are too many holidays just around the corner to have to buy myself a water heater for a Christmas present for myself.  Doesn’t sound like much of a present unless I want to take a nice hot bath and then it sounds like a pretty darn good present.  Don’t you think?  This makes 2 out of 3 so I wonder what’s next?  First my copier and now this.

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Britney Spears

Britney Spears is also from Louisiana as most of you probably know.  Bless her heart, she’s finally getting her life back together.  She is a prime example of a young girl that got too much too soon and fell from grace.  She is doing much better now thank God.

So much so that she’s working hard on a comeback and doing quite well with it from what I understand.  She also has gotten permission from the courts to bring her two young sons home to visit with her family.  This poor girl has fought back hard only to have one of her sons rushed to the hospital while here because of a severe allergic reaction to something he ate.  I bet that scared the living daylights out of her.  First of all just because it’s her son and second of all, because she lost custody and the first time she’s allowed to take them out of California, this happens.

Britney, honey, you are on the top of my prayer list along with your sons.  I wish you only good things and hope and pray your comeback is a total comeback and not just musically.  Hang in there hon!!!

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Angel Tree

Every year, we put up an ‘Angel Tree’ in my establishment.  Local families in need come to me with the names of their children to place on the tree with a short list of items they want for Christmas.  I have done this for many years and this year, I decided to put the tree up early to allow for more childrens names and also to give people that want to help, more time to buy the gifts for the children.

I accept names of children from newborn to 18.  The only thing that is one the Angel card is if the child is a boy or a girl, how old they are and three items they would like to have.  I have seen items from tennis shoes to PSP’s put on the list but usually there are affordable things and nothing elaborate.

One child asked for nothing for himself.  He only wanted three things for him to give to his parents and younger sister.  This was a 10 year old ‘Man’ and I took his card personally.  I guess I adopted the family that year for Christmas because I also invited them to my home for Christmas dinner.  It was one of the best Christmases I can remember having.  Yes the young man got plenty as did the whole family.

You see, they had lost everything in Hurricane Katrina and were trying to get their lives back together.  I felt honored to be able to help them.  Their mother still works for me and he even has a little part time job in the evenings taking out the trash and picking up around the outside of the place for me.  He does a great job too.  They are a very humble family and grateful for anything anyone does to help them.

So if you see an ‘Angel Tree’ somewhere, you should know that you are someones ‘Angel’ when you take that child, family or elderly persons name and buy them gifts.  We are all someones ‘Guardian Angel’ sometimes in our lives if we choose to be.  Please choose to be.

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Enough gloom and doom, let’s have a party

What is New Orleans known best for?  Their parties.  So enough of the gloom and doom of the economy.  LET’S PARTY!!!!  Halloween is tomorrow night and we’re all geared up to throw a ‘Monster Bash’ if you will.  Costumes are everywhere here so there’s no reason not to get all decked out in a costume and cast your cares to the wind, if only for one night.

Personally, I think we all need to just throw caution to the wind from time to time to keep our souls healthy. It’s good to let the problems of everyday life go if just for one night to sort of recharge your batteries so you can face whatever the next day or week shall bring so get out and enjoy yourself for Halloween but be safe too.  HAPPY HALLOWEEN YA’LL!!

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World recession

I can see every day how things are getting harder and harder for the average families to survive.  With the cost of just about everything going higher, the stock markets around the world going lower and lower, and jobs going away, it’s getting tough to simply survive financially.

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown, announced that the world is going into a recession.  It didn’t take someone like him to tell me that but maybe it did others.  “Having taken action on the banking system, we must now take action on the global financial recession,” he said, speaking to Members of Parliament. “There will be a recession in America, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and – because no country can insulate itself from it – Britain too,” he continued.

I just hope that whoever is elected to be our next President has a good plan to help us here in our country.  We are well known for helping others when they are in need, well WE are in need this time and once we get our country back on solid ground, the rest of the world will follow.  Well, that’s my opinion and you can take for what it is, just my opinion.