Reflections on a Neglected House

When we moved to China almost 3 years years ago we decided to sell all our vehicles but keep our house. We did not rent it out but kept it unoccupied and full of our stuff. We hired someone to clean for an hour once a month. Others were hired to clean the gutters and cut the grass, and 2 sets of terrific neighbors periodically checked on things.

The house is 25 years old and beginning to show its age. Some of the appliances and systems are also 25 years old. Since we came back to the USA, the work on it has been almost constant.

It's been quite an adjustment for me. In China, I hardly did anything that could be called house work or yard work or home maintenance. We lived in apartments in a city with very cheap labor. I guess I did hang a picture or two but nothing else.

Now Sun-Ling and I are tackling a 5-year - we lived in Florida for two years before going to China - backlog of home maintenance projects on an aging house. I won't bore you with the list, but the amount of work is significant both in time and in money. I began to thing that it was a bad decision to leave the house unattended for so long.

However, after a few days of stewing on this thought, I've moved on. Lots of work means lots of accomplishments; lots of items crossed off the to-do list; and the physical nature of many of the jobs is good for the body and mind.

After a few more months the house will be ready for another 5 years of minimal maintenance. :-)

Borax.

Trishaw Ride - Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma)

Trishaw Ride - Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma), originally uploaded by meckleychina.

Sun-Ling and I hired a couple of trishaws to take us from our hotel to Mandalay Hill. Take a look.

It Pays to Travel?

Yes it can! Culture+Travel magazine paid me $100 for a one time use of this photo I took in Tenganan, Bali.



Which issue? I have no idea.

Here's the happy traveler with his check.

Sounds Of Mandalay

Sounds Of Mandalay, originally uploaded by meckleychina.

Some video from our 2nd or 3rd day in Mandalay as seen and heard from the rooftop of the Royal City Hotel. Sit back, put on the headphones, and enjoy.

Updates and Observations

Update:

Jet Lag has been conquered!

The new car is bought. A 2008 Subaru Forester. Our old car was a 2003 Forester so this one seems familiar. Getting along with just one car has been fine so far.

Spent a week at the beach with my parents. Have started the rounds of visits with friends and family.

The old microwave started making a loud noise so we bought a new one.

The refrigerator won't freeze and can barely keep food cool so we are buying a new one. It comes next Tuesday.

The upstairs AC was not keeping up on hot days so ... it needed 4 LBs of freon which is quite expensive these days. Ouch!

The old TV died and we decided not to replace it. No TV. No cable bill. No problem.

The new lawn mower is nice even though it took me 90 minutes to assemble it.

Yesterday I wore out our old 18" hedge trimmer so today we bought a new 22" model. Woohoo! It's nice.

The new printer and disk drive are set up. The new cell phone is operational. And we are about to purchase a new camera. If you remember, our old Canon bit the dust in Laos, and we had to buy a low end Panasonic Lumix for a not so low price.

We have made several trips to the dump to unload dead appliances and throw away old things we don't need. Sun-Ling is driving the effort to reduce.

We still have a to-do list that's a mile long but we are making progress.

The termite inspector came this morning and found evidence of termite activity under the front porch. It's a good thing we have termite insurance.

We have subscribed to the Sunday Paper. Observation: I never once thought about Parade Magazine when we were in China.

Observation: I still like mowing the lawn and trimming the hedges.

Observation: It's still hot and muggy in Raleigh during the summer. Whew!

Here's a photo of Sun-Ling and my parents at the beach.


Here's one of me with my new 22" hedge trimmer.