Renovations - funding - part 2

So the talk with the bank went quite well. They have to have someone look at the house again and the proposed plans, but it sounds like we will be doing something renovation-wise.

I had forgotten the deck off the kitchen Shan had wanted to add, so the second-floor upgrade (with deck) was about $100K not $60K. Payments on that should be about what we're paying now for our mortgage and child care.
Payments on the upgrade plus wing will be significantly more, but still within the realm of possible.

This is good news for both. There are still some hoops we have to jump through and we have to have that guy take a look at it. The biggest concerns will be that this will reset the mortgage to 25 years left again plus if the economy surges back and interest rates jump significantly, we're screwed.

So much for an retiring early. Unless we hit the Lotto Max - then, no worries.

Renovations - funding

When we had gotten the Windstar back in late 2007, we had mentioned to the bank that we were thinking of doing upgrades to the house in a few years. At the time they mentioned that we could do them sooner. Then the whole recession happened.
We had moved along and talked to Renovation Masters but had issues with the person who does their designs (she was adamant on having a big window on our game room – which would end up being behind the game bookshelves). We then talked to the nice people at Character Homes who seem to be able to work better with us and our plans.

Tomorrow we talk to the bank and see what we will be able to afford. Upgrading just the upstairs, to add a bedroom and a second bathroom as well as a new roof, would cost about $60,000. Doing that, plus adding the wing with a basement, game room, and extra bedroom would cost a total of $200,000.

Both amounts are a bit scary. If they approve the entire amount, we will have a huge house that we will spend a lot of time in as we won’t have a lot of money for much else. If they only approve the second floor expansion we will have less space but also less of an increase in our mortgage payments. If they don’t approve anything then we are in trouble – well, I am, anyways as I would have to divest a large amount of stuff in order to reclaim the workshop downstairs as a third bedroom.

Interesting times.

Away go troubles - down the drain.

I don't know what my son does in the toilet, but he's clogged the drain enough that he knows where the cut-off valve is. Usually we can punch it through with simple plunging.

This weekend, Shan's folks were in and her dad clogged the toilet. Simple plunging and it was working again. Then, at 10:30 everyone gets ready for bed and goes to the bathroom. After they finish, it clogs again for my wife.

Clogs solid - an hour of plunging has no effect on it. It does allow water to drain out very slowly though, so we try pouring warm water to see if it will loosen anything but to no avail.

I call my folks after 11pm. Luckily, dad was still awake and I went over to borrow a toilet snake (and use their facilities). We snaked the toilet as best we could but still no good.

Luckily, the Internet came to the rescue. A few google searches brought us to this site. It seemed odd but at this time we figured - why not?

Like most of the others on the site, we found that it worked as simple as adding the dish soap, hot water, and a quick plunging and eveything was flowing properly again. Hopefully, you don't even need to know this but, if you do, now you know.

Books read 2010 Oct - Dec

Oct
The Great Anti-War Cartoons by Craig Yoe
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel by Nat Gertler and Steve Lieber
All New Bathroom Idea Book by Sandra S. Soria
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
The Mosaic Village: an illustrated History of Winnipeg’s North End by Russ Gourluck
Codex Space Wolves (3rd Edition) by Jervis Johnson with Andy Chamber & Gavin Thorpe

Nov
Codex Witch Hunters by Andy Hoare & Graham McNeill
Barbie All Dolled Up by Jennie D’Amato
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer
Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip by Nevin Martell
How to Make Wargames Terrain by Nigel Stillman
Spider-Man: The Icon by Steve Saffel

Dec
Codex Blood Angels (3rd Edition) by Gavin Thorpe
Kids’ Room Decorating Ideas Under $50 by Better Homes and Gardens
The High Crusade by Poul Anderson
The Werewolf Handbook by Dr. Robert Curran
Blogging for Dummies by Susannah Gardner & Shane Birley
Calligraphy 101 by Jeaneen Gauthier
Bobby Flay’s Throwdown by Bobby Flay with Stephanie Banyas and Miriam Garron
Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer
Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life by Terry Brooks
Hot X: Algebra Exposed! By Danica McKellar
Codex Sisters of Battle (2nd Edition) by Gavin Thorpe
Harry Potter Film Wizardry by Brian Sibley
Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer
Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall
101 Quick and Easy Ideas Taken from the Master Photographers of the Twentieth Century by Matthew Bamberg
Joshua Jay’s Amazing Book of Cards by Joshua Jay
Michael Jackson: The Making of Thriller: 4 days/1983 by Douglas Kirkland

Figure buying total - 2010

While a steady stream of bits came my way, the only model that had enough bits come in to complete it was the Trygon. I have most of the bits for a Carnifex, Battlewagon, and Tyranid Warriors, as well as a lot of rippers (that I won't count until I put them together in swarms), but the Trygon was the only one completed. Now I can clean the bits and assemble before tossing on the to-be-painted pile.

I managed to finish another year with nothing painted to completion. On the positive side, this adds to the figures I could potentially paint in the new year. I did start some Space Wolves including a Razorback, assembled a Drop Pod and an Ork Truck, and almost finished some western figures.

40K Trygon/Mawloc (in bits) – 1

Dec figures bought – 1, figures painted – 0

Running total 2010 – figures bought 98, figures painted 0

- - -
(added)
In looking back at last year's total of 331/0 compared to 98/0 for this year I am certainly trending in the right direction. Even if I correct this year to be 99/0 - as I did pick up a USS Enterprise model in Oct that I didn't count to this total but should have as I counted the Klingon D-7 towards the 2009 total.
My bigest purchase was the 72 52mm cowboys and indians I had bought early in the year. Without them I would have only been a slim 27 purchased - but then I might not have been inspired to at least start the painting of them (even though I didn't finish - yet).

Tyranid conversions

The Tyranids have been my army of choice since Rogue Trader. With the 5th edition out they have a few units that aren’t represented by models yet. Notably the Tyrannofex, Tervigon, Harpy, Doom of Malan’tai and Mycetic Spore.

I’ve come across a few sites that offer modeling suggestions for these (Tyrannofex and Tervigon) – most built around a Carnifex frame. With the bits I’ve been getting online, I’m looking forward to giving a few of these a try.

The first one will probably be a Mycetic Spore. I’ve picked up some of the large Kinder eggs to use. Back in Second edition, I had made a bunch of Ork adobe buildings and a few craters with the large Kinder eggs in them – sort of an alien drop pod. They will work nicely to start with.

William – destiny fulfilled

On December 23, 2010, our pet cavy, William passed away. He has been sick for the last week and finally gave in. He leaves behind his cagemate Peter, who currently seems to be in fine health. I expect he is enjoying the extra space but is probably missing the companionship.

It was a bit of a trauma for the kids – being the first pet they have lost in recent years. On the plus side, it was while we were home to deal with it and before Christmas eve or Christmas.


Arguably, pets provide companionship and help teach responsibility. However, their greatest contribution is often exposing kids to mortality. In giving their all, they help to explain the finiteness of life. William has fulfilled all these destinies.