Two More Hits!

I've had two more inquiries about my piano this week! I use an email account for stuff like this that is not my personal email account so I hadn't checked it for a few days. When I checked it yesterday there were two emails asking if the piano was still available. I replied that "Yes, it is still available, however sort of promised to some people who are supposed to get back to me on Sunday. If that deal does not go through I will be happy to let you know". Again I stressed the heaviness of the piano and the need for extra help or piano dollies to remove it (I'm so afraid that these strangers will come to my house and not be able to take it with them safely). One inquirer replied that he would be interested and to let him know how the deal went. And he lives in the same town as me. This is very encouraging!

Piano Update...

I didn't hear from "the piano people" all weekend. The last communication was Tuesday of last week so by Saturday I was a little concerned if they had changed their mind. I sent off a polite email, Haven't heard from you, are you still interested?, to which I received a reply within a few hours:

"Sorry mother had a stroke .
Had emergency trip to Korea .
Will be back sun next week . Will call
Thanks God Bless
Aaron & Diana"

Yikes! I will be patient. And pray for the mother. God Bless them, too.

The Suspense is Terrible...

I've heard from the piano restorers and they are still anxious to pick up my piano. They are organizing a truck. According to a recent email they have picked up 17 pianos, restored 4 and delivered all to good homes and there is a waiting list. It sounds like my piano is on it's way out very soon and will make someone very happy. I just hate the suspense of waiting for it to happen, keeping my calendar open in case they decide to call and need to pick it up right away, etc. I'm a very good waiter, but it doesn't mean I like it. I will be happy when it's off to it's new home and I can concentrate on the next project...sorting the garage.

New Mission - Piano Removal

So I have this wonderful old piano that was given to Ryan when he was about 14 and we knew he was serious about music. It's an upright, heavy and one foot is broken so it's supported by some wood. There are a few hammers that don't work very well and the sustain is minimal...however, not a bad sound and would be great for a beginner because the price is right....FREE! As long as you can remove it from my house.

I've been thinking about how to "unload" this piano because my son has been out of the house almost 2 years and nobody plays it except the "lovelies" when they come over. They don't play it exactly, there is no actual music involved. It takes up room, gathers dust and is generally just a useless piece of furniture since I don't play. Also, I'm hoping to move in the near future and a piano is not something I want to take with me.

Friday I finally decided to post it for FREE on Craig's list. I had a response within two hours, but that didn't pan out. Then I had another one and guess what? They are piano restorers who restore old pianos and give them to people who can't afford them. How great is that???? They promised to call and make arrangements to pick it up today or tomorrow. I hope this works out because that would be one more problem solved.

Keeping my fingers crossed!

Celebratory Dinner at the Lazy Dog

There are probably a million restaurants in the Orange County area, but one of our new favorites is the Lazy Dog Cafe. We were celebrating Sara getting a new job (again!) last night so we went to eat at the Stadium Promenade Lazy Dog Cafe in Orange. All I can say is YUM!

I have eaten there three times so far and have not been disappointed. The Bahama chicken in Jerk Sauce was awesome the last time I was there. The Salmon was delectable the time before and last night I opted for the Bleu burger, a great burger topped with Bleu Cheese Butter...scrumptious!

Ryan and Sara usually choose meals and then swap half way through. Sara loves the chicken pesto with hummus so if she doesn't choose it Ryan will order it so they can switch meals halfway through, because Sara always wishes she had ordered the chicken pesto with hummus. Either way, everyone's happy.

Most of all we were happy to be celebrating Sara having a job again. The mortgage business has been crazy and her job situation has too. Let's hope this turns out to be a good job and a permanent situation!

Oh, and by the way...the Lazy Dog has an outdoor seating area where patrons are allowed to have their pets with them.

The Garbage Bin Saga

As many of you know, some better than others, I have an on-going tug-of-war with the people who live in the other half of my duplex. Apparently they come from a land where courtesy has never been heard of and cleanliness is not next to Godliness. While there are many topics I could expound upon in this category, today I will just be referring to the garbage battles.

At the end of our driveway are the garages. On occasion the "neighbors" will clean out the garage and throw their trash in MY bin because it is close at hand. I have asked them not to do it and on one occasion literally dumped their trash back in front of their garage. They got the message for awhile.

Then, recently, the city furnished all new trash/recycle/yard trash bins to the residents. I followed instructions which included putting "remove this" stamps on my old bin and enjoyed the new bins with their nice wheels and roomy space for a few weeks. Until I noticed my neighbors were filling up my bin after I left for work! I came home at lunch one day and found it overflowing with gooey garbage! (I only have clean trash).

I went over and read her the riot act to which she kept saying "no problem, mr phil say no problem" English is non-existent in her case and Spanish is very limited in mine. Mr. Phil is the landlord and has no say in the trash wars so I told her in no uncertain terms that I would dump her trash the next time I saw it. And went back to work all worked up and mad, and mad at myself for getting worked up and mad, and mad at myself for yelling at her. And thought it over. And over. And over.

Then I called the disposal company and explained my problem. It seems they didn't even know that the address next door existed and assured me that the new trash bins would arrive for them in three days. Whew! I was hoping the nice man was right.

When I got home that afternoon I went over and found the one man on the premises that speaks English (thank goodness because he moved away this weekend) and explained to him that their new trash bins would be delivered. He was astounded to think they could have their own! And thanked me very much for solving their problem. I told him I figured she didn't know to call the city and to watch for the new bins on Friday. I was gone over the weekend and did not see the bins arrive, but yesterday morning there they were sitting out front of the neighbor's house. Finally.

I hauled my bin into my yard and hosed it out completely and set it up to dry....nice clean trash bin! Let's hope this is the end of the trash bin wars.