The $6,688.00 Disney World Trip - It's a wrap 6/30, Has it really been a year? 3/2 Link to new TR 4/18

[franandaj]

What a fancy evening!

I miss those fancy evenings so much!

I agree with you about not being ready to go back to the parks.

If Disneyland could meet the standards of reopening set by the Governor of California, I would feel comfortable going there wearing a mask, because it would mean that the virus is very low. Also our weather is much nicer out here than humid Florida.

The main reason I'm going to be renting out the points is that I'm not comfortable with flying, and the idea of being at crowded parks in a mask at the end of September, beginning of October does not sound appealing to me. We'll see if someone can rent my points.

 

[franandaj]

Not really, no. Just not my cup of tea. I'll watch them and when I do I enjoy it, but definitely not my go-to when queueing up something to watch. But as with all the "lands" and rides in Disney, I can enjoy them for the detailing and artistry without being enamored with the source material.

I get that. I've always been a fan, not a super fan who knows everything, but I've always wanted to see the new movies as they came out and "study" by rewatching the old ones.

Makes sense, but we sure do miss you, Alison. It's nice to be able to catch up on the phone now and then.

I've started reading your TR. At least I pulled up the first page on my computer, but every time I try to read it, something takes me away from it. Fran is napping right now, so maybe after I finish replying to comments I will head over and at least try to get through one or two updates.

I could cry. I really miss fine dining and got a small taste at my trip a couple of weeks ago, but that's the first I've gotten to have/do in over a year.

The closest I've come is when I cook something fancy myself.

OH Gosh! Me TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe if we are both vaccinated by my birthday, I can convince her to take me somewhere that we can eat outside and have a nice meal.

OH how fun!! What a happy coincidence! Bummer about not getting an inside pipeline though. I'm sure Fran is disappointed. You? Not so much! LOL!

Well actually, we have so many boxes with paintings in them sitting around. We do need someone to hang the ones in our living room cause we need a really tall ladder, but until we get rid of some of our clutter, that's not happening. One of the bedrooms is full of just boxes of artwork that we don't have room on the walls for.

 

[franandaj]

I'd be hungry all the time!!

Not everything I make comes out good. I've had a few losers over the last year.

I'm not expecting to go to Disney this year. Maybe... if we're all really lucky, by the end of the year, but... I have my doubts.

I'm not expecting to go to Disney this year.

Oh! That'd be fun... but I've not seen any of those.

Maybe when I run out of cat puzzles I post one!

But nowhere near as good as some. I don't know how they can move the pieces that fast!

And this morning I found that you had done one of my cat puzzles, well, not mine, per se, but you were hanging out in my neck of the puzzle woods and you were on the Leaderboard! I had to solve it three or four times just to get within 7 seconds of your time, and I stopped doing the puzzle on the tablet and switched over to the computer for greater speed.

Busy is maybe good in these times?

No, I want more time to DIS and puzzle. Plus eBay went and sent at 1099 (tax form for your Canadian information), so now we have to report our eBay income to the government! We are frantically trying to prove that most of the stuff we are selling is sold at a loss.....

"Fran! Look over there!!!"
<quickly posts on the DIS>

Well, I can only do it when she is fast asleep. Like now.

I was aware of it in January, I think. But I don't think I was expecting this.

When we were on vacation in February one of my friends we met up with asked me, "What do you think about this flu going on in China?"

And I was like, "well it's over in China, I'm not really sure it's going to affect us over here."

Someplace I'd love to go. You've mentioned it several times.

We used to go there a lot. In fact, I believe that my first bonus feature that I did after the lockdown was when I went there in November 2019 with my parents. That was the day that we signed up for the dinner I just covered. The waiter told us that they were starting a new winemaker dinner series, and we said, "We know! We already registered this morning!"

Everything sounds so good! (except the walnuts. Not a fan.)

Me neither but I didn't even really notice them. Funny about these fancy dinners, they can use all kinds of stuff that I'm not a fan of, but I don't notice it when I'm eating it.

You had me at "nice chunk of lobster."

I could use one of those about now! Maybe when we get the apartment rented.

You know... I'm not sure if I've ever had Porchetta.
I know I've had none of the rest that was on that plate!

I've had so many odd things served to me by Marcel, I can't even keep track, I don't know if I'd had it before then or not.

Sure looked it!

And boy do I miss that kind of stuff!

It would be lost on me.

Actually I don't think so. You would be amazed at how lovely these 20 year old Cabernets taste. They are so mellowed that they are almost like grape juice, but more sophisticated. It's hard to describe, but when you come to visit again, and I mean when, we will go for another "off Disney campus" dinner and I'll bring one. They go with lots more than big hunks of meat. Then again we could go to Steakhouse 55, I always bring my own wine for steak portion there! Well, except for a winemaker dinner!

I need Mark's Drooling Homer...

Hang on... gonna find one.

Nice! But he awards those for unpretentious food!

I know where to find... neither!
Blue cheese is not high on my list, though, so I haven't really looked.

Really??? Blue cheese I can get anywhere. There are two grocery stores close by with excellent cheese selections. Honeycomb is a bit more elusive. There is only one store I know of that I can get honeycomb, and there it is "swimming" in a jar of honey. I did luck out one time, I found a box with just the honeycomb on the shelf next to the one in the honey. I think it was in the wrong place, but I grabbed it and even at the price of $16, I was thrilled. I haven't eaten any yet, but next time I put Charcuterie on the menu or cheese plate, part of it will be coming out....

Or... are you disappointed?

Well at the prices for these paintings, I'm not disappointed. Also I didn't necessarily care for all of them. I love my Aristocats series and the Haunted Mansions ones. The Mickey and Minnie Series is cute, but I'm not real thrilled with the Mary Poppins based ones, just kind of strange characters.

Nice you finally got to meet!

Yes! It was pretty cool!

 

[pkondz]

Not everything I make comes out good. I've had a few losers over the last year.

If you didn't, it would mean you're not experimenting enough. I've had meals where I've asked the fam "So... keep this one or..." and gotten a unanimous "Toss it!"

I'm not expecting to go to Disney this year.

Nor I.

Maybe when I run out of cat puzzles I post one!

Ah! I haven't looked at posting anything. I may in the future. Who knows!

And this morning I found that you had done one of my cat puzzles, well, not mine, per se, but you were hanging out in my neck of the puzzle woods and you were on the Leaderboard! I had to solve it three or four times just to get within 7 seconds of your time, and I stopped doing the puzzle on the tablet and switched over to the computer for greater speed.

I've done a few cat puzzles recently. Mostly just kind of a way for me to "wave" hi to you.

No, I want more time to DIS and puzzle. Plus eBay went and sent at 1099 (tax form for your Canadian information), so now we have to report our eBay income to the government! We are frantically trying to prove that most of the stuff we are selling is sold at a loss.....

Yikes! Hope you can get that done.

Well, I can only do it when she is fast asleep. Like now.

When we were on vacation in February one of my friends we met up with asked me, "What do you think about this flu going on in China?"

And I was like, "well it's over in China, I'm not really sure it's going to affect us over here."

Oh boy... maybe a slight understatement??

Me neither but I didn't even really notice them. Funny about these fancy dinners, they can use all kinds of stuff that I'm not a fan of, but I don't notice it when I'm eating it.

I've experienced that as well.
Me: "I don't like ____, but I'll try it. ... Hey! That was good!"

Actually I don't think so. You would be amazed at how lovely these 20 year old Cabernets taste. They are so mellowed that they are almost like grape juice, but more sophisticated. It's hard to describe, but when you come to visit again, and I mean when, we will go for another "off Disney campus" dinner and I'll bring one. They go with lots more than big hunks of meat. Then again we could go to Steakhouse 55, I always bring my own wine for steak portion there! Well, except for a winemaker dinner!

Hmmm... I'd hate for you to waste a 20 year old wine on me. I couldn't appreciate it like someone who actually enjoys red wine.
But if you're bringing it for you and Fran... I'd be very happy to taste it.

Nice! But he awards those for unpretentious food!

True.

Really??? Blue cheese I can get anywhere.

Oh, me too. But I never look for it. I'm sure I can get some at the local grocery store.

Honeycomb is a bit more elusive. There is only one store I know of that I can get honeycomb, and there it is "swimming" in a jar of honey. I did luck out one time, I found a box with just the honeycomb on the shelf next to the one in the honey. I think it was in the wrong place, but I grabbed it and even at the price of $16, I was thrilled. I haven't eaten any yet, but next time I put Charcuterie on the menu or cheese plate, part of it will be coming out....

Ah! I may have seen some in honey as well. But again... I'm not looking. Maybe I should. I was thinking of doing a "shark cootchie" board soon.

Well at the prices for these paintings, I'm not disappointed.

Also I didn't necessarily care for all of them. I love my Aristocats series and the Haunted Mansions ones. The Mickey and Minnie Series is cute, but I'm not real thrilled with the Mary Poppins based ones, just kind of strange characters.

Interesting. I hadn't thought the characters would affect it that much.

 

[franandaj]

I had to get a few things for this, as I mainly just drink gin at home as far as spirits go

I really don't do spirits at home. I must pour them pretty heavy because they normally knock me out!

That Looks SO DELISH!

I miss pretty food.

This one does too! Pickled plum croquette sounds interesting

I miss eating "interesting" food.

Drooling...I need a big ol' glass of red

I had a nice one with our prime rib last night.

As mentioned, I'm going to give this a try sometime..well the blue and honeycomb...who knows about adding other stuff

The honeycomb goes nicely with all kinds of cheese. I'd say make a cheese platter and try all kinds of complimentary flavors. I like figs too, you can't always find them, so I get fig jam from the cheese shop. We have a fancy cheese place in our grocery store.

Awww man, I really want a fun dessert like this now too...love dark chocolate and orange together

I do know of a couple fancy bakeries where I can get neat pastries. I think I need some.

I do remember stories about her pusher

Funny thing is that he was just about the money. We haven't heard a word from him now that he doesn't have stuff to sell us.

At least he has good taste, working for Disney

I'm not sure it's a matter of taste!

What are the chances hey!

 

[franandaj]

Troll Alison, ignore and we'll be here having fun being friends online and reading about your yummy meals and Disney interactions.

Thanks Liesa! I'm running out of experiences to write about, but I have some ideas on what I can do until the parks open back up, hopefully before 2022.

 

[Steppesister]

Thanks Liesa! I'm running out of experiences to write about, but I have some ideas on what I can do until the parks open back up, hopefully before 2022.

And I will savor every one. I really have enjoyed our phone talks the last bit. I was losing touch with so many of my friends with how Covid affected me and my work schedule and life. I feel like I"m climbing out of a dark cave and I am loving spending some time re-connecting with people I most love to spend time with.

I'm sure you'll find stuff to post about. I for one would kinda love to see you bust out some of that art.

 

[franandaj]

If you didn't, it would mean you're not experimenting enough. I've had meals where I've asked the fam "So... keep this one or..." and gotten a unanimous "Toss it!"

True. Then again I'm a pretty good judge of recipes. Most turn out to be, "That wasn't bad...but no need to try it again." I have added at least three recipes to the constant rotation, and some of the "old standards" are not coming up as often.

Ah! I haven't looked at posting anything. I may in the future. Who knows!

I may post less. Now that I've discovered bookmarks, I have more puzzles than I can do in my daily routine. And if I keep up on the DIS, that takes time from my puzzles.

I've done a few cat puzzles recently. Mostly just kind of a way for me to "wave" hi to you.

And here I thought you were taunting me with, "I do these faster than you!"

Yikes! Hope you can get that done.

Fortunately they only started keeping track in July. We have two stores, one for Disney stuff and one for sheet music and instruments. I've done through October on Disney and almost done with October on the music stuff. Unfortunately November and December are our busiest months.

Oh boy... maybe a slight understatement??

Don't vote for me for the Office of Health Director.

I've experienced that as well.
Me: "I don't like ____, but I'll try it. ... Hey! That was good!"

Either that or, "I didn't even taste it!"

Hmmm... I'd hate for you to waste a 20 year old wine on me. I couldn't appreciate it like someone who actually enjoys red wine.
But if you're bringing it for you and Fran... I'd be very happy to taste it.

We would bring it for ourselves, especially if we went to S55. But I'd let you taste it and if you liked it, have a glass.

Oh, me too. But I never look for it. I'm sure I can get some at the local grocery store.

It's pretty common. My fancy cheese place has about give different kinds.

Ah! I may have seen some in honey as well. But again... I'm not looking. Maybe I should. I was thinking of doing a "shark cootchie" board soon

I've done a couple of those in the past few months.



Oh and unlike the young hipsters today, I can pronounce "Charcuterie".

Interesting. I hadn't thought the characters would affect it that much.

Well, the Pearly Band wasn't a highlight of the film for me. I don't remember what the other pictures in the Mary Poppins series were, but they're sitting wrapped in paper in the "grotto room" along with probably 20-30 more pictures.

 

[pkondz]

True. Then again I'm a pretty good judge of recipes. Most turn out to be, "That wasn't bad...but no need to try it again." I have added at least three recipes to the constant rotation, and some of the "old standards" are not coming up as often.

I rarely get (if ever?) "That wasn't good at all."
But some are worth the effort and others... aren't.

I may post less. Now that I've discovered bookmarks, I have more puzzles than I can do in my daily routine. And if I keep up on the DIS, that takes time from my puzzles.

#priorities

And here I thought you were taunting me with, "I do these faster than you!"

Nope! Just saying Hi!

Don't vote for me for the Office of Health Director.

Either that or, "I didn't even taste it!"

We would bring it for ourselves, especially if we went to S55. But I'd let you taste it and if you liked it, have a glass.

Then I just might do that.

I've done a couple of those in the past few months.

Oh wow. That looks amazing!

Oh and unlike the young hipsters today, I can pronounce "Charcuterie".

 

[Steppesister]

 

[franandaj]

I rarely get (if ever?) "That wasn't good at all."
But some are worth the effort and others... aren't.

We had one that "wasn't" last night. It was a packaged soup mix, just meh.

Nope! Just saying Hi!

Oh wow. That looks amazing!

Thank you !

Thanks!

 

[pkondz]

We had one that "wasn't" last night. It was a packaged soup mix, just meh.

I find that packaged soups are often... really pretty to look at. Not so great on taste.

I'm still doing it.

 

[SeptemberGirl]

After almost a year, I came back on the boards and found this TR! I am making my way through it! But I have to tell you, my husband and I were in WDW the same time last year!

 

[franandaj]

I find that packaged soups are often... really pretty to look at. Not so great on taste.

There are a few I have found that are good. One of them we purchased while visiting my Mom a few years ago. I found it online and asked Fran to get up more of that particular soup. Well she did, and about 50+ other flavors, so I'm working my way through them just to get rid of them.

I'm still doing it.

I noticed you were at the top on one that I solved yesterday or the day before.

 

[franandaj]

After almost a year, I came back on the boards and found this TR! I am making my way through it! But I have to tell you, my husband and I were in WDW the same time last year!

Well not a lot new to post from me, as we have too many risk factors to consider traveling, and our own park is still closed. I still have a couple memories left to post from before the shut down. After that I will have to get creative!

 

[pkondz]

There are a few I have found that are good. One of them we purchased while visiting my Mom a few years ago. I found it online and asked Fran to get up more of that particular soup. Well she did, and about 50+ other flavors, so I'm working my way through them just to get rid of them.

So there really is such a thing as too much of a good thing!

I noticed you were at the top on one that I solved yesterday or the day before.

Just my way of saying

 

[franandaj]

So I did a post a couple months ago about how much I'm not doing and how a day generally goes, but not every day can be a day spent in the house shipping eBays and solving online jigsaw puzzles. So before I do my next Disney installment, I thought I would post about some of the more memorable events in the past year. It will be one year since LA County announced the shut down in 12 days. Life has changed a lot in that year, here's a screenshot of what a month looked like back in January of 2020.



And this what February this year looked like.



Even with all the lockdowns, the stay at home orders, and such we still had to run our businesses, take care of our health, and find some means of amusement to get us out of the house, but safely.

I warn you, this is kind of a long one, with lots of food porn, since there isn't much else that I have pictures to report about, that and vacant apartments, and kitties.

On the subject of business:

Like other people who are still gainfully employed we still have jobs too, our job just doesn't involve a daily commute, even if it is just from the kitchen to the living room. Many of you may know that our living is made managing apartment buildings that we own. We have 11 units and at the time of the lock down 10 were filled, however for one of those units, a tenant had given notice. We lose the best tenants to house/condo purchases! But I digress. Come April 1st both the lower units in our De Soto building (the two we used to live in) would be vacant.



This is the living area of the 3 bedroom unit which was mostly where we lived. It didn’t look like this then!





After we had moved out in 2014, we had a few different tenants in Apartment #2, each batch only lasted a year. Most of our other tenants are much longer term. The tenant before the one who gave notice March 1st, was a total slob and a whackadoodle, and we asked her to move the previous October. This is how she kept the back patio of the unit.



The tenant in Apt 2 giving notice last March was the last straw. She lived in the building all of two months. Before she moved in, we had meant to find a psychic or someone to do a cleansing on the place, and then I realized what to do! I called up my friendly Primary Care Physician and VooDoo Witch Doctor and asked about the unit. She told me that a previous tenant in the unit above (whom we had also asked to move several years before) had put a curse on the building. We made an appointment for the doc to meet us there and she used an alternative to sage, and burned it in the different apartments while chanting things under her breath. I don't know if it helped, but the building is currently full and I think they are all happy there.

It was interesting showing apartments in the early days of the pandemic. Lots of larger apartment complexes were not even showing units. I guess they didn't need the rental income. We did! So I still set up appointments. This was right around the time when the great mask debate was starting. If a potential tenant showed up without a mask, they were instantly declined (in my mind) based on the fact that if they can't see fit to wear a mask to protect me, how can I trust them to treat my apartment building well? These were some shots from the other vacant apartment, Unit #2.





Around mid April some tenants came along for unit #1, they were relocating from elsewhere in California and a 3 bedroom fit their family perfectly. One down, one to go!

On the subject of health:

Back in December, both Fran and I had been referred to Periodontists by our regular dentist. Frans doc was widely open and she had her initial consultation before all of this went down, I don't remember why I didn't go to the consultation, but I think we were busy, and it was definitely before we'd even heard the word covid.

She had set up an appointment in April for her procedure, and since I wasn't with her for the consult, I really didn't know what it entailed. I had a consult appointment in March with my periodontist. But with the lock down, both of us had our appointments postponed indefinitely. By the time May rolled around, businesses were starting to reopen. Folks were realizing that we're in this for the long haul and they better figure out how to live through it. Well it was around this time that they got around to rescheduling us. Fran went first. Since she went to her consultation alone I didn't even know what procedure she was having, but she didn't seem alarmed, so I wasn't either.

After the procedure I get a call from the doc, and she says that Fran will be on a liquid diet for the next week.

What?????

This is what happens when Fran sees doctors without me! She doesn't ask all the questions and we come home with surprises. I plan our meals weeks in advance and now I've got to rethink everything for the next week!

I got real creative. While cleaning out the garages at De Soto, I found this brand new cooking blender. I guess a tenant had left it and we just tucked it away without looking at it, so I decided to give it a try.

Turns out it was a faulty product. The motor burnt out and after some online searching I learned it had been discontinued because the motor burnt out easily. But I got to use it a couple times to try some new tasty soup recipes.



Since I wasn't on a liquid diet, I could have and sandwich with my soup.



I mentioned that both of us had been referred to Periodontists. Two days after her gum graft (what I found out the procedure was later), I had an appointment with my doc. I have an old "injury" in my back left molar where an over zealous gum surgeon hacked at my mouth barbarically.

Its always been an area that got special attention at the dentist, and now it had come to the point it needed to be addressed. Since we had no idea how Fran's recovery would go, I thought it best to hold off on my own surgery so that both of us weren't down for the count. Also, her surgery set us back $1K, and mine was gonna be $2K plus, so we had to get crackin' on eBay! And we still hadn't rented apartment #2.

Affording our health:

So we did what anyone short on cash would do, we grabbed some turquoise jewelry and a contrabass clarinet and sold them on eBay!



That one is called a "paper clip" model. We also sold one like this a couple years ago.



I only have one picture of turquoise, Fran deleted the others after they sold, but they were way more spectacular.



The turquoise was easy, just wrap it in bubble wrap and found a sturdy box. The contrabass clarinet, not so much.

The first box was a breeze, we had been answering ads for free moving boxes on Craigslist so we had this wardrobe box sitting around.



The problem was once we got it all packed up with peanuts and the horn, it weighed in at $250 for shipping. It was because the sides were 24" on each one. So we recalculated and with 18" sides the ship cost went down to about $65, well within the price we charged the buyer. So the next day we "built" a box using our handy dandy Lowe's Heavy Duty Medium boxes. We transferred the peanuts and the horn and were done with that one.





The woman who bought the instrument gave it to her son as a graduation present. He was one of those seniors who missed out on his final year and was going to music school in the Fall (or so he hoped.) She said we packed it very nicely and it was going to a good home.

Back to the subject of health:

So the day of my gum surgery arrived. I took my loopy pill an hour before the surgery and Fran drove me to the office. One was enough and I was plenty out of it! When it was all over, he didn't give me any dietary restrictions, but cautioned me to chew only on the right side of my mouth for a few weeks, and told me I might want to avoid really warm or really cold foods as that area would be sensitive.

We stopped at my favorite Jewish Deli/bakery (which just happened to be down the street from his office) and got me some Motza ball and noodle soup. Everything there comes with pickles and fresh made bread.



And I promptly passed out.



For dinner we ordered from our favorite Japanese/Thai restaurant.



The recovery period on my mouth was rather long. I think it was a month or so that I was still experiencing pain, but it's fine now.

Back to business:

It wasn't until July 10th that we finally got the last apartment rented.

And there was much rejoicing!

We were fully rented.

For less than 20 days.


It turns out that due to the pandemic, LA area traffic became a lot less congested. One of my tenants had rented the place several years ago and was being reimbursed by his employer because of his long commute home. Back when he rented the unit it would take him two hours each way, now he was back home in 45 minutes after leaving work, so it didn’t make sense to keep paying for a place he didn’t need.

Luckily, since the guy only used it as a “crash pad” there wasn’t a lot that needed to be done before it could be listed. So I went ahead and put it up on the apartment listing website a couple days after he turned in the keys, without even having looked inside. He did tell me there was a “spill” on the kitchen floor that needed to be mopped up but otherwise it was in good condition. I listed it around 1 in the afternoon, and the website gave me a message that the listing would go live once it had been verified.

The next morning my phone rang at 7AM. I'm sometimes halfway conscious at that hour, but this wasn't one of those days. It was someone asking about the apartment!

Seriously?

At this time of day?

I wasn't coherent enough to speak with him and assured him that I would not rent the place before he called me back at 9AM. We set up an appointment for that day, and even with the mess on the floor, and the place hadn’t been cleaned at all, they were like, "we'll take it!"

Here’s a couple shots of that unit.





I've had some bad experiences so I was really wary. It turns out they actually own a house down the street from that building and had been looking for a place for the wife's mom to relocate from the midwest after she sold her house. Normally we don't take co-signers because it's plausible that a college kid could tick off their parents and get cut off. In this case they were trying to get mom closer to help her out, and get a built in babysitter. It was nearly six weeks before Mom would be moving in so we made a deal on the rent, and boom! We were fully rented again!


A new and interesting hobby:

Living in LA County for the last 30+ years, traffic is something to which we have become accustomed. One of the ways we pass the time on congested Freeways is by listening to audio books. In fact we have been doing it since the books were on CD and cassette tapes. We have listened to dozens of book series in the car. When the lockdown hit, we were in the middle of a riveting Tom Clancy book and needed to come up with time in the car to finish it. But now with nowhere to go, that was difficult.

Fran signed up on a FB group for transporting cats. Sounds weird, but there are a lot of folks out there in the kitty rescue field who need to get cats from one place to another, and either don’t have transportation or due to work schedules it’s just not feasible. On one particular day we spent a morning/afternoon driving about 10 miles north of our house to pick up two kitties going to Hemet (which is out in the desert). It was several hours and hot, but we made a thing of it stopping to grab lunch and some dessert (which we ate in the car) after the kitties reached their destination. These aren’t the two kitties we transported, they’re Bagel and Tesla, our kitties.



This "job" was a new one for us.

We got our first (and only, so far) experience with the free spay and neuter truck in early September. There was a woman in South LA with three little foster kittens that needed to be spayed/neutered. She had a day job and the truck was only in her area one day every few weeks. We had to be there at 7AM, and I couldn't believe that I was up at 5:30AM for someone else's kitties! We picked up the little ones and headed off to the location she told us about, only to find this sign posted in the window.



She had provided us with paperwork and a phone number which we called only to find out that the truck would be there Friday, not Wednesday. So we brought the kitties back to her house and did the whole thing over again two days later.

It was quite the operation! We got there at 6:45AM and shortly thereafter some people set up a table in the large parking lot. They gave me some forms and directed me to stand against the adjacent building. Luckily I was the first one in line! Pretty soon a long line of people (socially distanced, of course) formed behind me. Once the people in charge checked the paperwork, they had me get the cats out of the car (still in their carriers) and stand on the opposite side of the parking lot near the fence. The people after me had obviously done this before because they had brought masking tape and a sharpie and began labeling their carriers with all the kitten's names. Within another few minutes a big motorhome like rig pulled into the parking lot and evidently this was a veterinary hospital on wheels.

By quarter to 8AM they had taken the cats and were shooing us out of the parking lot to make room for other folks who were still arriving. They told us to come back around 10:15 to pick up the cats. It wasn't far from Long Beach so we headed back to town, picked up some breakfast that we ate in the car, we had some curbside pick up orders from Lowe’s and Target, so we took care of those. By the time we picked up our orders, it was time to head back and get the kittens. These are our kittens when they were babies, not the ones we took that day.



Happy Anniversary!

As the year ticked along like most of you events that may have warranted a party, a night out or something just rolled by without fanfare. Our 12th wedding anniversary came and went without a bang. I got a great deal on a Tomohawk Rib Eye, I think it was $8.99lb or something like that, Fran requested sauteed onions with it, and we accompanied it with Lyonnaise potatoes, spinach, and a BV Georges de Latour Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 20 years.



For dessert, I found these molten center caramel cakes in the freezer section, we happened to have some leftover butter cake, and I added some whipped cream and berries for my best attempt at a fancy dessert. It did the trick, we drank ice wine from @DnA2010 with this.




Fran Loves Free (or almost):

Back in October Fran found a kitty condo on Craigslist for $10 up in the San Fernando Valley. That’s about an hour from here and I used to live there when we met. We took the 50 mile drive as another opportunity to listen to our book (we had finished the initial one and had moved on to another completely different series). We also use any trip to the Valley as an excuse to pick up some goodies from restaurants I used to love when I lived there.

One of my favorite restaurants is one that I have been eating at since 1986. It’s called the Mandarin Deli. They have moved since that original location, but the food is still just as good. One of my most favorite items are the boiled meat dumplings.



We also get something like Fried Rice, or Chow Mein, and maybe a soup. We just ordered take out, and then pulled into a shady spot on a side street and had lunch.

Prior to visiting the Chinese Restaurant we went to another one of my favorites, LA Lasagne. They too have moved from their original location when I started eating there also in the 80’s. They have some lovely unusual items like a Florentine Lasagne, Cannelloni (tubular pasta stuffed with meat and covered in red sauce), and Arancini (deep fried balls of rice filled with ground meat and cheese). I have them pack the items for reheating. They are normally served in foil pans, but they put the cheese and extra sauce on the side. We bring a cooler along, and then that night when we get home, that’s our dinner. Yum!



Oh yeah, and here are the kitties enjoying said $10 cat tree. It’s almost always occupied by someone.



The arrival of Mortimer and other critters:

Around the beginning of November Fran got a pet mouse in her bathroom. I know you’re probably scratching your head, but evidently one night when she was going to her bathroom (it’s a small room with just the toilet within the Master bathroom) she opened the toilet lid to see a mouse climb out of the bowl and scurry into the clutter.

Because she is a softy when it comes to animals, she won’t trap it in the sort that would kill it. In fact she put out food and water for it.



She bought a trap for rodents, and we’ve tried to get it to take the bait, but no luck so far. She says that she knows it’s alive because she can hear it scurrying during the night when she is in there. Plus the cats hang out by the door with great interest.



And four months later, Mortimer is still there.


By this time of the year, eBays were coming fast and furious. Here's a typical day from December.



It’s slowed back down to between 3-10 packages a day, but as Christmas was approaching, I kinda thought I was going to lose my mind trying to keep up!


Oh yeah, and then there was the situation at the La Pasada building! So Thanksgiving day, I was just getting ready to put my turkey in the oven when I got a call from a tenant that her kitchen ceiling fan was leaking water….she’s the only tenant who lives underneath another apartment, so I immediately called the tenant above her and asked if she was running water. She was just about to leave for her daughter’s place (remember the one who moved in a few months back because her daughter lived around the corner?) She told me that she had just started her dishwasher and she would go turn it off.

As is my usual, I dropped everything that I was doing and headed over there. I couldn’t see any leak upstairs, but there was a definite puddle in the middle of the lower apartment’s kitchen.

While Fran called a plumber, I came back home to get some extra towels and a bin to catch the water, before heading back to wait with the plumber, since the upstairs tenant was leaving for her Thanksgiving celebration. I also used the time to put my Turkey in the oven while leaving Fran strict instructions on when to baste it.

As it turned out, the guy who used the place as a crash pad never used the dishwasher, so he didn’t realize that a rodent had chewed through the supply line. Since the floor under the cupboards was not tiled, the leak went directly into the wood flooring and seeped out through the ceiling fan below. The plumber had to order the part special, so we agreed to not run the dishwasher and that was that. Or so we thought.

A few days later I got a call from the upstairs tenant that there was definitely some sort of critter living in her cabinets. He had taken her Pirate Booty from the cupboard below, and took it up to the drawer above and as she put it, “had a little party.” Fran had heard an ad on the radio about a rodent pest company that had a lifetime guarantee on their services, so we set up an appointment with them. They came out on a Friday and had us scheduled for the following Monday to “rodent proof” the building. While we “walked” the property the guy showed me that they were alive and frolicking not only in the attic, but in the garage too.



There is a reason that they have a lifetime guarantee. Their service wasn’t cheap. Luckily they offer a four month payment plan, so it was “more” affordable. And Monday morning they were out at the place with a full team. I wish I’d taken pictures! But they had quite the production going on. The entire lawn on the left side of the walkway was filled with ladders, tool boxes, materials, and all sorts of other stuff.



Some of these guys who were going up in the attics were wearing full-on hazmat suits. The company’s promise was that they would remove all rodent residue, spray everything with their proprietary rodent repellent and seal up every access point the size of a dime or greater. They started around 7:30AM and it wasn’t until after 6PM that they finally packed everything up and left. They had set traps in key areas, and promised to come back twice to check them.

They came back about four days later and removed at least two dead rats. The tenants in the front two units with a shared attic noted that they heard scratching up above, yet nothing was caught in the traps.

A little less than two weeks after their first recheck, the rat people came back to check the traps again. There were no rats that had been caught, but the tenants in the front unit were reporting seeing a critter through the vents in their heating system, he said he thought it was a possum. Of the five units, only one has a heating system with ducts and vents, the other units have just a wall heater in the living room/hallway. The guy in that unit said he actually saw it looking out, but he couldn’t get a decent picture so when the rat trap guy came to check the traps and such, he acted like the tenant was crazy. Upon further inquiry with the company, they only deal with rodents, larger animals like possums are actually classified as wildlife and we would need another company to deal with those. They suggested we give them a call back when we had "dealt with the wildlife."

We did call someone and he did come out, but after he heard about everything that we had already done, he thought that the possum was going in and out of the attic because they could only go five days without water. He opened up one of the passages that the other company had sealed up just in case so the critter could escape. My tenants did tell me that the scratching had stopped, so we asked the rodent folks to come back and seal up the hole. It was on this visit that they found the racoon who had died in the duct work.

Thankfully they removed it, as well as a bunch of the damaged duct work. The technicians advised the tenant not to use the heating system, and promised we would receive a quote for the repair or rather replacement for the duct system. Evidently it was really old. I got a second quote from the company I use for most of our repairs which came out to double the price of the rodent company. I chose the rodent company’s bid because in addition to replacing the duct work, they would also treat the area again with their proprietary rodent deterrent. I’m hoping that chapter is now fully closed!

On the matter of law enforcement:

So you never really know who your tenants will end up turning out. You have to trust that their history on paper tells enough of a story that you have chosen wisely. Let's just say that on some particular tenants there was some hearsay I got through the other tenants in the building. A few years back I heard that one younger individual was taken away on felony assault charges against an elder individual in the same unit. I expected them to move out, but it didn’t happen and I didn’t hear about any other incidents, for a while.

Then in a casual discussion with that same tenant, she informed me that shortly after the new tenant had moved in upstairs, the police had come responding to a 911 call. It seems the there was some questionable behavior going on in their unit. I explained that if that ever happens again, CALL ME. We need to witness this!

Well, a few days after Christmas while on our way to the grocery store, I get a call. I knew it was bad news because this tenant never calls, always texts. And yes, the police were approaching the building, guns drawn.

After that incident the individuals decided to vacate the apartment and they were gone within five days.

And we are vacant again. This time it was 110 days being fully rented.

And here we are again two months later, still with an apartment for rent.

Plumbing issues never stop:

A couple weeks later, as if we had not had enough property related expenses, I opened the water bill for the other building. Normally it runs between $275-325, but this one was over $500! We quickly drafted letters to the tenants in the building that we would be coming over tomorrow to take a look at all of their plumbing fixtures to see if their unit was causing the leak. When I got to the third unit, he had been proactive and took a look under the kitchen sink. This is what he found.



I had Fran call the plumber immediately and luckily they weren't too busy. It was a leaky garbage disposal so they replaced it. They also fixed a loose chain on one of the toilets, so hopefully that takes care of it. I had a guy come out yesterday and he did a beautiful job of replacing it, with waterproof sealer and everything!

Other than that nothing much has been going on. Most days are still filled with staying in bed too long, watching the news, solving online jigsaw puzzles, and doing eBays in the after, although not nearly as many as the Fall.

Still trying to rent the apartment left vacant in January, and just slogging along with the daily grind and trying to get back into the DIS!

I'll be back in a while with another Disney update, back when Disneyland was open, and we could still play around trying to get a spot on Rise of the Resistance!

 

[franandaj]

So there really is such a thing as too much of a good thing!

I'd say more like too much of a mediocre thing. Of the many soups that I have tried, only 3-4 have received a "we should reorder this" rating.

Just my way of saying

 

[tiggrbaby]

Wow, never a dull moment!

Your kitties are so adorable!

 

[pkondz]

not every day can be a day spent in the house shipping eBays and solving online jigsaw puzzles.

Correct. Some days should be just the puzzles.

It will be one year since LA County announced the shut down in 12 days.

Time flies when you're having fun!!!!


Yeah... Longest year ever?

here's a screenshot of what a month looked like back in January of 2020.

And this what February this year looked like.

I think I see the difference. It's very subtle. Very.

Many of you may know that our living is made managing apartment buildings that we own.

We lose the best tenants to house/condo purchases!

Makes sense. If they're a good tenant, they're probably responsible enough or disciplined enough to save for a condo/house.

This is how she kept the back patio of the unit.

Well, if the shoe fits... and fits... and fits... and...

We made an appointment for the doc to meet us there and she used an alternative to sage, and burned it in the different apartments while chanting things under her breath. I don't know if it helped, but the building is currently full and I think they are all happy there.

I can't say if it helped either. But it obviously didn't hurt!

If a potential tenant showed up without a mask, they were instantly declined (in my mind) based on the fact that if they can't see fit to wear a mask to protect me, how can I trust them to treat my apartment building well?

Huh! Clever.

After the procedure I get a call from the doc, and she says that Fran will be on a liquid diet for the next week.

I found this brand new cooking blender. I guess a tenant had left it and we just tucked it away without looking at it, so I decided to give it a try.

Score!

Turns out it was a faulty product. The motor burnt out

I retract my "score" comment.

Since I wasn't on a liquid diet, I could have and sandwich with my soup.

mmmm... grilled cheese. The ultimate in comfort food?

and a contrabass clarinet

I don't think I've seen one of those before.

That one is called a "paper clip" model. We also sold one like this a couple years ago.

Whoa!

I only have one picture of turquoise, Fran deleted the others after they sold, but they were way more spectacular.

Interesting piece. I like turquoise, but don't have anything. Then again, I don't wear any jewelery.

The problem was once we got it all packed up with peanuts and the horn, it weighed in at $250 for shipping. It was because the sides were 24" on each one. So we recalculated and with 18" sides the ship cost went down to about $65,

Huh!! That's a pretty huge savings!

got me some Motza ball and noodle soup.

Yum!

And I promptly passed out.

Awww... poor l'il Alison.

The recovery period on my mouth was rather long. I think it was a month or so that I was still experiencing pain, but it's fine now.

I am almost positive we talked about this. Unless you had other dental work.

It wasn't until July 10th that we finally got the last apartment rented.

And there was much rejoicing!

We were fully rented.

For less than 20 days.

I wasn't coherent enough to speak with him and assured him that I would not rent the place before he called me back at 9AM.

Sorry. That just strikes me as hilarious.

Living in LA County for the last 30+ years, traffic is something to which we have become accustomed.

It certainly took this northern boy by surprise!
I mean... I'd heard of LA traffic. But experiencing it was a whole other thing.

One of the ways we pass the time on congested Freeways is by listening to audio books. In fact we have been doing it since the books were on CD and cassette tapes.

I do that too, on road trips. In town the drives never last long enough to really get into the story. You can pretty much get from anywhere to anywhere else in our city in 30-45 minutes.

Fran signed up on a FB group for transporting cats. Sounds weird, but there are a lot of folks out there in the kitty rescue field who need to get cats from one place to another, and either don’t have transportation or due to work schedules it’s just not feasible.

Oh!
There was a show I used to watch called Shipping Wars. There were 4-5 people who'd bid on items to be shipped. Sometimes they were huge pieces, other times small. On occasion there was an animal. I've often thought that I should look for cats and dogs needing shipping along my route of travel.

We picked up the little ones and headed off to the location she told us about, only to find this sign posted in the window.

She had provided us with paperwork and a phone number which we called only to find out that the truck would be there Friday, not Wednesday. So we brought the kitties back to her house and did the whole thing over again two days later.

It was quite the operation!

Pun intended????

Our 12th wedding anniversary came and went without a bang.

Ours too. (not 12th, but... )

Wow that looks good. Did you do it on your outdoor BBQ?

Fran Loves Free (or almost):

Fran almost loves free?

one night when she was going to her bathroom (it’s a small room with just the toilet within the Master bathroom) she opened the toilet lid to see a mouse climb out of the bowl and scurry into the clutter.

Because she is a softy when it comes to animals, she won’t trap it in the sort that would kill it.

<sigh> Next time we're together, ask me about the squirrel at my parents'.

She bought a trap for rodents, and we’ve tried to get it to take the bait, but no luck so far. She says that she knows it’s alive because she can hear it scurrying during the night when she is in there. Plus the cats hang out by the door with great interest.

Must be eating something, then?

By this time of the year, eBays were coming fast and furious.

Heh. Looks like my place sometimes when all three ladies start ordering.

I got a call from a tenant that her kitchen ceiling fan was leaking water….

Ah yes, I remember this.

As it turned out, the guy who used the place as a crash pad never used the dishwasher, so he didn’t realize that a rodent had chewed through the supply line.

Yup. Remember that.

He had taken her Pirate Booty from the cupboard below, and took it up to the drawer above and as she put it, “had a little party.”

There is a reason that they have a lifetime guarantee. Their service wasn’t cheap.

And yet... it could pay for itself in the long run.

Some of these guys who were going up in the attics were wearing full-on hazmat suits.

Not surprised. Hanta virus.

They came back about four days later and removed at least two dead rats.

Upon further inquiry with the company, they only deal with rodents, larger animals like possums are actually classified as wildlife and we would need another company to deal with those.

Huh. Well... I guess that's a specialty.

It was on this visit that they found the racoon who had died in the duct work.

Oh, my.

I’m hoping that chapter is now fully closed!

I bet!

And yes, the police were approaching the building, guns drawn.

After that incident the individuals decided to vacate the apartment and they were gone within five days.

I'm sure you weren't overly upset to see them go.

Wait. Which individuals? The ones that called the cops or the ones the cops came for???

Other than that nothing much has been going on.

Yup. Nothing much.

I'd say more like too much of a mediocre thing. Of the many soups that I have tried, only 3-4 have received a "we should reorder this" rating.

Not overly surprising. Ah well. You don't know unless you try.