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.

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.

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.

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.

Apartment Shopping

Little Kat is looking to relocate into the county of his college. He needs to do this for a chance to get into the program of his choosing at school. At first, I thought we would just have him rent a room from some friends of the family. That is proving harder than I thought. So now we are looking at renting him an apartment.

Luckily there are some apartment shopping aggregators out there. Trying to find a place with a washer/dryer inside the rental unit. Would be easier if the apartment provided high speed Internet. Just found out today that Little Kat would like a lot of counter space in the kitchen.

I am worried that we might choose a dud. So I am looking for an initial short term lease. That way Little Kat can bolt if need be. It would be nice if he did not live too far away as well. For now, me and Momoko scouted out a few apartment neighborhoods. Just today, Little Kat and I took a drive around those neighborhoods too.

Dryer Mix Up

Our dryer started having troubles recently. It makes a funny noise when you start it up. Sometimes it does not dry clothes in a single cycle. The lint catcher broke, so I ordered a replacement part from the manufacturer. It did not fit correctly, causing the door not to close easily. For all these problems and more, we decided to get a new dryer.

We had a gas line run to behind the dryer. So we went shopping for a gas dryer. Lowes only seemed to have electric ones. So we ordered an electric dryer. The thing turned out to be back ordered, causing them to miss two delivery dates. Third time was the charm. The dryer got delivered.

The delivery guys said they could not unhook the old dryer. It was gas. Lo and behold, they were right. I guess I forgot that we previously upgraded from electric to gas. That's okay. I got my handyman to come and switch out the dryer. Turns out the new electric dryer does not have power any more. We reclaimed the big dryer line to power our window A/C units upstairs.

My handyman recommended I just go buy a gas dryer. That is what we wanted anyway. So now I got to return this electric dryer, and find a new gas one that I like. The only consolation is that my handyman can hook the new one up as soon as I acquire it.

Niece Returns Home For Summer

 

Momoko's niece came out to live with us this summer. She stayed in Momoko's study. We previously purchased a guest bed for her to sleep on. It fit nicely in the room. There was an Amazon fire stick in the room. However the niece came down to the family room to watch shows on the big TV.

 

This week was the last one for the summer visit. Momoko and Kit Kat woke up before the crack of dawn, and drove the niece to the airport. They stayed with her until she checked in her bags and got to security. Luckily there were a lot of food choices for breakfast just on the other side of the security checkpoint.

 

Yesterday we packed the mattress and box springs into their original plastic bags for protection. Then we stored then in the utility room in the basement. Momoko got her study back. Her desk was moved back in there today. There was a slight disturbance as Little Kat built his new over-the-toilet shelf in the kids bathroom. All the supplies were temporarily placed in Momoko's study.