*sigh*
Every now and again I start to get cocky and seriously consider not moving into an apartment further into the city when my time in this house has to end. I start to thinking about staying in the Passage, in my little community by the sea, because it's beautiful and friendly here. With the right help to manage the big jobs (mowing, ploughing, repairs), I could buy myself a little house and be happy.
Then I try to get a contractor out to help with those big jobs and I realise the futility of this plan.
Right now I'm waiting for a guy to give me a quote for lawn care. He said "later this afternoon". If he shows up at all, he could turn up any time before around 9pm when it will be too dark to see my lawn for the quote. I'd been sort of hoping that later this afternoon would be before 6pm.
Um.
I'd had plans to have a bath and then cook supper, which will be chicken wings and salad. But he's not here yet. I definitely can't do the bath thing until he's been. I'm starving now (skipped lunch without noticing) and I'm contemplating supper, except he'll probably turn up around 5mins before the wings are cooked and I'll either get cold, partially cooked chicken or totally burnt chicken. Yet if I don't start cooking, he'll turn up around 8.50pm and it will be too late to do anything about supper or baths by the time he turns up.
This, of course, all depends on him turning up. So far, the company that originally promised to do this hasn't turned up or returned any of the phone calls and email messages that I've left. It's starting to feel a lot like winter with the multiple plough guys who flaked out on me and the dozens of contractors who wouldn't even contemplate coming out because I live so far (ten minutes' drive) from the city centre.
If I don't have anything sorted out in the next day or two, I'll get the mower out and do it myself. Except there have been two knee dislocations in the last month and I'm reluctant to risk another one when I'm supposed to be doing a gruelling journey following by a huge wedding at the end of the week.
Why is it so hard to find reliable contractors?
ETA: He turned up ten minutes after I started cooking the chicken but he turned up! He quoted a fair price, warned me that the first cut will be more due to the state of the lawn, and wants to bill me at the end of each month. This all gives me a good feeling about his potential reliability. Er, I might have vented unnecessarily above :-) But my track record with contractors turning up and doing the work isn't good so...
And now I can have supper, bath and some time with the Primeval DVDs that I've borrowed from the library. Shut up, I know everyone said I should watch it ages ago. I'm slow on the uptake. Loving Abby already.
Then I try to get a contractor out to help with those big jobs and I realise the futility of this plan.
Right now I'm waiting for a guy to give me a quote for lawn care. He said "later this afternoon". If he shows up at all, he could turn up any time before around 9pm when it will be too dark to see my lawn for the quote. I'd been sort of hoping that later this afternoon would be before 6pm.
Um.
I'd had plans to have a bath and then cook supper, which will be chicken wings and salad. But he's not here yet. I definitely can't do the bath thing until he's been. I'm starving now (skipped lunch without noticing) and I'm contemplating supper, except he'll probably turn up around 5mins before the wings are cooked and I'll either get cold, partially cooked chicken or totally burnt chicken. Yet if I don't start cooking, he'll turn up around 8.50pm and it will be too late to do anything about supper or baths by the time he turns up.
This, of course, all depends on him turning up. So far, the company that originally promised to do this hasn't turned up or returned any of the phone calls and email messages that I've left. It's starting to feel a lot like winter with the multiple plough guys who flaked out on me and the dozens of contractors who wouldn't even contemplate coming out because I live so far (ten minutes' drive) from the city centre.
If I don't have anything sorted out in the next day or two, I'll get the mower out and do it myself. Except there have been two knee dislocations in the last month and I'm reluctant to risk another one when I'm supposed to be doing a gruelling journey following by a huge wedding at the end of the week.
Why is it so hard to find reliable contractors?
ETA: He turned up ten minutes after I started cooking the chicken but he turned up! He quoted a fair price, warned me that the first cut will be more due to the state of the lawn, and wants to bill me at the end of each month. This all gives me a good feeling about his potential reliability. Er, I might have vented unnecessarily above :-) But my track record with contractors turning up and doing the work isn't good so...
And now I can have supper, bath and some time with the Primeval DVDs that I've borrowed from the library. Shut up, I know everyone said I should watch it ages ago. I'm slow on the uptake. Loving Abby already.