75 degrees Fahrenheit, low dew-point/humidity, light breeze to blow away mosquitoes, partly-cloudy sky, half an inch of rain overnight so it smells of fresh ionized air. Mmm, the perfect summer day. I love to putter in the yard, take a shower and then sit on the porch with the cats. I sip a beverage and read a book while they dream or look out the window.
Owning a home can be a real pain in the buttocks. I hate shoveling, painting, and repairing broken items. I love gardening and sitting on the porch. My century-old+ home has character. It needs constant attention, such as painting but it isn’t bland. I can do what I choose, within budget and reason. Sadly, my budget has evaporated so I can only do repairs with the supplies on hand. So much is delayed by lack of income.
My friend Allie asked if I wanted to sell and I told her no. I still owe about $100 thousand dollars to the bank and the value of the house keeps being dropped by the County. Good for taxes but bad for resale value. $100K is a huge amount of money and I despite being in debt but I hate living in an apartment. I love having a garden and porch. It’s fun to entertain and sit in the backyard with friends. I like being able to play music loudly and knowing my neighbors. They are all friendly and we help each other.
I rarely knew my apartment neighbors. Some were loud and frightful. One lady who lived in the apartment above mine purposefully stomped around at night after I asked her to please observe the building’s quiet hours from 10pm-7am. I was in grad school and needed some quiet time. Another occasion someone brought in huge cockroaches when they moved into the building. Enormous, as in three inches long. I had to get my apartment fumigated. In a different building a dude who lived above me beat up his girlfriend so I called the cops. I had to meet the cops at the front door because I didn’t want him to hear me buzz them into the building. They arrested him and he gave notice. The caretaker complained to me since the man was a “good tenant.”
A bunch of teenagers decided that they didn’t like someone who lived in my building so they lit “McGiver Bombs” in the entryway. It caused a lot of smoke and damaged the tile floor but thankfully they did not include shrapnel or start a fire. After the third bomb I noticed a pattern and called the police. They stupidly sent a marked squad car to sit across the street. There was no bomb that night but the caretaker figured out who it was and spoke with the parents. I started a petition in the building and we lobbied the owner to install security buzzer system. The owners actually installed the buzzers and then used it as an excuse to increase the rent. Buggers!
No one has control over my cost of housing. I’d love to refinance at a rate below 5.875% but can’t afford it right now. My monthly payments increase due to insurance and tax rates. However, it is worth the money. Per square foot, it is cheaper than renting. Less stress in some ways and more in others but I find bliss on the porch. I do read inside during the winter, but its much more fun on the porch. I want to stay in my home until I am physically or mentally incapable.
Sweet is Home.
Copyright © 2013 by Ima B. Musing; All rights reserved.
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Thursday, September 15, 2011
BOOKWORM REVIEW: VOLUME I, ISSUE EIGHT
Spiral by Paul McEuen Four and a half worms
Complicated thriller focused on biological weapons of mass destruction. Bio-technology WMDs pose a frighteningly possible scenario. Intelligently written with multifarious plot twists. Cornell University is glorified but the romance elements were not nauseating.
Sheepish by Catherine Friend Three worms
Funny in a healthy, platonic, non-gross sort of way. Farming is a soulful experience. Sheep and wool product promotion usurp the story. She never states if Muffin’s operation was a success or not, I hope it was and that everyone is healthy now.
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens by Jack Weatherford Three worms
Interesting tale about the leadership of the females while the males get all the credit (no surprise). The first half of the book was fascinating but then it became mottled in histology. He stitched together as much fact as possible.
Private Patient by P.D. James Three worms
Foretelling of the upcoming story spoiled the first few chapters. Stiff upper lip is more like a stone upper lip featuring characters without much emotion. Exquisite examination of the internal mind of the characters but lacked heart, why care about unsympathetic people? A bit heavy with literary references and philosophical inquiry. Romances were tidy and with little emotion, like the rest of the book.
Cat in a Topaz Tango by Carole Nelson Douglas Two worms
Better than most serial mystery writers. Well developed writing skills though it can be difficult to follow whom is speaking during dialogue. The cat provides a unique narrative with human-like thoughts. Saboteur was easy to determine early in the book. Overweight people are never portrayed in a positive manner. The secondary story was distracting. What happened to Gloria’s injured wrist? Editor should have caught these errors because it could have earned another worm.
Five worms is top of the bookshelf! Most recent review was posted on August 15th.
Curl up with a book (paper or e-version), and a cat on your lap.
© 2011
Complicated thriller focused on biological weapons of mass destruction. Bio-technology WMDs pose a frighteningly possible scenario. Intelligently written with multifarious plot twists. Cornell University is glorified but the romance elements were not nauseating.
Sheepish by Catherine Friend Three worms
Funny in a healthy, platonic, non-gross sort of way. Farming is a soulful experience. Sheep and wool product promotion usurp the story. She never states if Muffin’s operation was a success or not, I hope it was and that everyone is healthy now.
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens by Jack Weatherford Three worms
Interesting tale about the leadership of the females while the males get all the credit (no surprise). The first half of the book was fascinating but then it became mottled in histology. He stitched together as much fact as possible.
Private Patient by P.D. James Three worms
Foretelling of the upcoming story spoiled the first few chapters. Stiff upper lip is more like a stone upper lip featuring characters without much emotion. Exquisite examination of the internal mind of the characters but lacked heart, why care about unsympathetic people? A bit heavy with literary references and philosophical inquiry. Romances were tidy and with little emotion, like the rest of the book.
Cat in a Topaz Tango by Carole Nelson Douglas Two worms
Better than most serial mystery writers. Well developed writing skills though it can be difficult to follow whom is speaking during dialogue. The cat provides a unique narrative with human-like thoughts. Saboteur was easy to determine early in the book. Overweight people are never portrayed in a positive manner. The secondary story was distracting. What happened to Gloria’s injured wrist? Editor should have caught these errors because it could have earned another worm.
Five worms is top of the bookshelf! Most recent review was posted on August 15th.
Curl up with a book (paper or e-version), and a cat on your lap.
© 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
BOOKWORM REVIEW TWO
Four worms is top rating. Five is perfection but that is rarely attained.
“Oyster: History on the Half Shell” four worms, written by Mark Kurlansky; gets a bit histrionic in the middle (aka bland) otherwise quite interesting
“Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” three and a half worms, authored by Lisa See; a few logic issues but well written
“The Eight” three worms, authored by Katherine Neville; the last third of the book should have been expanded into a second novel. Understanding the game of chess helps the reader.
“Shutter Island” three worms, by Dennis Lehane; not quite accurate regarding mental illness. Learn the facts at www.nami.org
“Nemesis” three worms, by Philip Roth; Cantor character starts well and then stalls
“Absent a Miracle” two and a half worms, by Christine Lehrer; too many tangents that did not intersect
“Venetia Kelly’s Traveling Show” two and a half worms; by Frank Delaney; too many digressions and the main character would have hired a private detective regardless of cost
“Hero of Our Time” two worms, by Mikhail Lermontov; the scenery descriptions are excellent. Maybe something was lost in translation to English
NOTE: Four Worms is the highest rating for this group.
One of my peeves is when an author hurries an ending of the book. I am sure it is at the request of the editor but it ruins the tempo of the novel. The descriptions are cut short and the character development ends. I’d rather have a book divided into two or three volumes rather than rush the end. “The Eight” which was published in 1988 is a perfect example; either edit out the extraneous stuff in the first part of the book or else expand the final chapters.
Read another review of books from the posting Bookworm Review on September 14, 2010. Please leave suggestions of books that I should reveiw, plus, join as an official "follower" of this blog.
Happy Reading!
© 2011
“Oyster: History on the Half Shell” four worms, written by Mark Kurlansky; gets a bit histrionic in the middle (aka bland) otherwise quite interesting
“Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” three and a half worms, authored by Lisa See; a few logic issues but well written
“The Eight” three worms, authored by Katherine Neville; the last third of the book should have been expanded into a second novel. Understanding the game of chess helps the reader.
“Shutter Island” three worms, by Dennis Lehane; not quite accurate regarding mental illness. Learn the facts at www.nami.org
“Nemesis” three worms, by Philip Roth; Cantor character starts well and then stalls
“Absent a Miracle” two and a half worms, by Christine Lehrer; too many tangents that did not intersect
“Venetia Kelly’s Traveling Show” two and a half worms; by Frank Delaney; too many digressions and the main character would have hired a private detective regardless of cost
“Hero of Our Time” two worms, by Mikhail Lermontov; the scenery descriptions are excellent. Maybe something was lost in translation to English
NOTE: Four Worms is the highest rating for this group.
One of my peeves is when an author hurries an ending of the book. I am sure it is at the request of the editor but it ruins the tempo of the novel. The descriptions are cut short and the character development ends. I’d rather have a book divided into two or three volumes rather than rush the end. “The Eight” which was published in 1988 is a perfect example; either edit out the extraneous stuff in the first part of the book or else expand the final chapters.
Read another review of books from the posting Bookworm Review on September 14, 2010. Please leave suggestions of books that I should reveiw, plus, join as an official "follower" of this blog.
Happy Reading!
© 2011
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