Monday, September 28, 2020

Little Kat Moves Out

The family packed Little Kat's belongings in a small cargo truck I rented from U-Haul. The next morning we went to his future apartment. It is the basement of a single family home. Met the landlord, who stayed up all night fixing and cleaning the apartment. We found a number of pre-existing issues with the apartment. Did not want to get blamed for them upon move out.

Little Kat worked with the landlord to set up his TV with the FIOS. We got connected to the WiFi there. Then we signed the lease. It is month to month rent. There is a private washer and driver. The kitchen is big and has a dishwasher. We called the rest of the family to join us for the move in.

I made use of my wheel barrel that I packed in my brother's truck. It served as a mega dolly for really large items. After everything got moved into the apartment, I called a local Italian mom and pops place to order lunch. We ate in Little Kat's kitchen, sitting on folding chairs we gave Little Kat.

We could not stay for long. Little Kat had to work that afternoon. Momoko wanted his bed made, and the kitchen unpacked before we left. My brother helped me return the U-Haul moving truck. For now Little Kat is away from home for this and part of the next school semester.

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Apartment Tenant

Little Kat is planning to move out of the house. This is so he can go do a program (major) in his college. I have been looking around at apartments. They either want long leases, are far away, and/or cost a lot of money. We did find a basement for rent in a city to the North of us. Rent was reasonable. Commute is short. We might have a deal.

We had planned to meet the landlord this week. The current tenant was supposed to vacate last week. The landlord informed us that the tenant had not left the apartment. So we rescheduled. Hopefully the tenant will move out and we can sign a lease.

I already have a rental truck reserved for this weekend. Got a lot of bankers boxes from Amazon, which Little Kat has been filling up. He does not have that much furniture in his bedroom. We might also send him off with a recliner or two. Kit Kat's boyfriend has offered to help with the move.

I asked my brother if we could use his truck to supplement the small cargo truck I am renting. He agreed. The only trouble is that Little Kat is scheduled to work on moving day. He was not able to get the day off.

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Testing Gutter Solutions

Our rain gutters get clogged seasonally due to lot of leaves falling into them. This results in water pouring over the side of the gutter towards the house. It also makes the gutters heavy, and prone to falling off the house.

I have deliberated over hiring somebody to install some sort of gutter solution. But reviews are always harsh. Often times the "fixes" make the problem worse. There are many reports of people installing such solutions with a guarantee, but when it comes time to come back to resolve problems, there is no help.

I saw an ad for a cheap solution. So I bought a plastic mesh product for around $10 from a mail order catalog. There were no instructions on how to install the thing. It was just a long mesh. Today I got up on the roof. I placed the mesh over one section of gutters in the back yard. I tied the mesh down to the nails that connect the gutter to the house.

Let's see if this helps any. If so, I can do the treacherous job of climbing to the second level to install this same fix.

Thursday, September 10, 2020

New Air Compressor

Kit Kat always seems to have issues with tire pressure on her car. She recently was low on air. Her boyfriend let her borrow his air compressor. She filled up the car tires right in our driveway. It was a lot easier and cheaper than going to the gas station.

I ordered a new air compressor for Kit Kat. We got the same model as her boyfriend has. It came quickly in the mail. It sat on our coffee table. The package had not even been opened when my own car alerted me to low air on all 4 tires.

So I broke out the compressor. It plugs into the car's lighter socket. You program the compressor to the desired air pressure and let it go. It stops automatically when the tire is full. The only tricky part is that it lets some air out of the tire when you disconnect the air hose from the tire.

I think this gadget will come in handy for the family in the future. Sorry gas station. You can keep your air.