Fire and Burglary Update
A lot has happened since my last post. We've got color on about half of the walls now. The living room color is a wee bit brighter than I would have liked and my bedroom color is a lot paler than the paint chip. Maybe it will be better once I get the second coat up. I can only hope. Even if it's not, the color isn't awful, just a little more washed out than I wanted. It's amazing how much difference the paint makes.
The Salvation Army gave us a $150 voucher to buy furniture in the thrift shop. The only problem with that is, the only furniture in the thrift shop is stuff we don't need. We're in real need of office chairs, bookcases, dressers, and maybe some dining chairs and a table (what we've got survived, but isn't in very good shape). What they have is entertainment centers, coffee tables, desks, and sofas. On the plus side, apparently Slumberland Furniture has a program where they pick up old mattresses when they deliver the new ones (if people were going to get rid of them anyway of course). If they're in decent shape, they clean them thoroughly and then give them away to people who have had some kind of disaster, or who just can't afford a mattress. So, Mom & Dad got a very nice mattress for their bed. This is an especially good thing, because while the SA does have some mattresses, I would rather sleep on the floor than have to use any of them. There was an extra mattress that will fit my bed in the garage so I don't need one. While the woman from the Salvation Army was on the phone with Slumberland they said that they had a couple of the glider rockers that we could have if we wanted them, so we now have some living room seating that isn't the ugly sofa sleeper. I think we're going to get rid of that and try to get another chair or smallish love seat. The only problem with that idea is that it leaves no place for my sis to sleep when she visits. Realistically, though, that's not a big deal. My brother has plenty of room, and it's probably more restful anyway.
In other news, more than a week ago now, our burglar was caught. Mom & Dad put a baby monitor out in the garage after it was broken into the last time and started sleeping at the house. They'd heard someone out there a couple of times, but he always got away before the police showed up. This time, the police were smart. They came without lights on or sirens blaring, and they caught him. Had to chase him, but there were 5 cars including the K-9 unit, so it wasn't terribly tough.
He lives just three doors down from us, and is kind of known as a trouble-maker in the neighborhood. We're reasonably certain he's who broke into a friend's home a few years ago, and just recently learned that another neighbor had an almost identical break-in last year. A detective told us, that he had admitted to being in the garage and to stealing a jar of screws. We've been advised that the DA may not charge him, because there is essentially no physical evidence, and he'll probably claim he either never made the confession or that it was coerced. They requested that a search warrant be executed at his home to look for the things stolen from our previous burglary, but so far, the DA either hasn't asked for it, or a judge hasn't granted it. By now, I'm sure they've gotten rid of anything they had left. So, he's probably not going to even get into trouble over it.
He's nineteen or twenty and has a six month old baby. It's past time that he grows up. I doubt we'll have any more trouble once we get the dogs moved back home, but I'm still really annoyed right now.
The Salvation Army gave us a $150 voucher to buy furniture in the thrift shop. The only problem with that is, the only furniture in the thrift shop is stuff we don't need. We're in real need of office chairs, bookcases, dressers, and maybe some dining chairs and a table (what we've got survived, but isn't in very good shape). What they have is entertainment centers, coffee tables, desks, and sofas. On the plus side, apparently Slumberland Furniture has a program where they pick up old mattresses when they deliver the new ones (if people were going to get rid of them anyway of course). If they're in decent shape, they clean them thoroughly and then give them away to people who have had some kind of disaster, or who just can't afford a mattress. So, Mom & Dad got a very nice mattress for their bed. This is an especially good thing, because while the SA does have some mattresses, I would rather sleep on the floor than have to use any of them. There was an extra mattress that will fit my bed in the garage so I don't need one. While the woman from the Salvation Army was on the phone with Slumberland they said that they had a couple of the glider rockers that we could have if we wanted them, so we now have some living room seating that isn't the ugly sofa sleeper. I think we're going to get rid of that and try to get another chair or smallish love seat. The only problem with that idea is that it leaves no place for my sis to sleep when she visits. Realistically, though, that's not a big deal. My brother has plenty of room, and it's probably more restful anyway.
In other news, more than a week ago now, our burglar was caught. Mom & Dad put a baby monitor out in the garage after it was broken into the last time and started sleeping at the house. They'd heard someone out there a couple of times, but he always got away before the police showed up. This time, the police were smart. They came without lights on or sirens blaring, and they caught him. Had to chase him, but there were 5 cars including the K-9 unit, so it wasn't terribly tough.
He lives just three doors down from us, and is kind of known as a trouble-maker in the neighborhood. We're reasonably certain he's who broke into a friend's home a few years ago, and just recently learned that another neighbor had an almost identical break-in last year. A detective told us, that he had admitted to being in the garage and to stealing a jar of screws. We've been advised that the DA may not charge him, because there is essentially no physical evidence, and he'll probably claim he either never made the confession or that it was coerced. They requested that a search warrant be executed at his home to look for the things stolen from our previous burglary, but so far, the DA either hasn't asked for it, or a judge hasn't granted it. By now, I'm sure they've gotten rid of anything they had left. So, he's probably not going to even get into trouble over it.
He's nineteen or twenty and has a six month old baby. It's past time that he grows up. I doubt we'll have any more trouble once we get the dogs moved back home, but I'm still really annoyed right now.