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The Concert / The Leaves

November 19th, 2016 at 04:19 am

So ... the TSO concert.

I wish we'd left before the end of the intermission. Then I'd only have positive things to say.

DH had told me TSO was a metal band with a penchant for Christmas music. I'd watched a youtube video of one of their shows - which actually was exactly what they did for the first part of the concert. I had liked it well enough to put up with the guitar riffs, etc.

What neither DH nor I were expecting was the second part of the concert. No Christmas related music at all. In fact, most of the songs sounded a lot alike..

Then there was this one song where the lead male was singing very weirdly. Another song where the female backups were doing some weird chant like thing in another language.

The piece de la resistance though came towards the end (good thing it was the end) when on the video screen they had these scenes of multiple women in white slip dresses doing weird dances ... and then the tarot cards showed up.

That was it for me. (I realize that a number of people on SA use tarot cards. For me personally, they are something that makes me completely turned off from any musician, movie, book, etc containing them.)

Definitely was a two-time visit. (first and last)

DH wasn't too thrilled with it either.

Oh well, overall it was a nice evening out.

----
I was at Planet fitness walking on the treadmill when DH called me. He told me to not be surprised when I came home to find the leaves in front of and on the side of our house (and our neighbors house) cleaned up.

Great. I had tried to casually suggest to DH a few weeks ago that we needed to do something about the leaves. That our neighbors were going to complain.

DH's response was that the leaves were great fertilizer, and besides our yard wasn't the worst one in the area....

We never got any kind of notice or warning, but the only logical thought is that the city came by and cleaned it up. And will be sending us the bill.

I suppose I should have just pulled up my big girl panties and cleaned up the leaves myself .. but DH does so little as it is ... maybe it was a little passive aggressive on my part - to just say, fine, we'll do it your way. I was expecting a warning or notice or something so I had something concrete to show DH - yes! something has to be done or else we'll be paying an outrageous amount for somebody else to do it!

Now all that's left is to wait for the bill to arrive ...

Ugh.

---
In other news ... we had our first snow flurries of the 2016-17 winter season this morning. None stuck of course. Smile (More urgently need to get a snowblower! Something we were going to get once we had a vehicle in which to carry it ... which of course has not been bought yet. We also need a ladder so the gutters can be cleaned out - and possibly so that I can get up on the roof and clean out the chimney. Of course we have no way of getting a ladder home ...)

Posted in General, Financial | 14 Comments »

14 Responses to “The Concert / The Leaves”

  1. alice4now Says:
    November 19th, 2016 at 11:26 am 1479554782
    1479554782

    Ugh on the leaf cleanup. I'm sure you have sat down with DH and discussed "who" is responsible for "what" in the household. If you both are in agreement, put it in writing on a chart. If he doesn't want to do the chores then he should use his own spending money to pay for someone else to do it. He's a grown up now, and needs to take the responsibility to do his part. Hopefully he will learn from this experience. Maybe in the future if it looks like it is happening again, you can start funneling money from the household budget (from parts of the budget that will impact him as well) to pay for the service from now on.

  2. creditcardfree Says:
    November 19th, 2016 at 01:11 pm 1479561076
    1479561076

    I'd be very surprised if it was the city. I think my sister and her husband are pretty laid back in that area. Any chance that you have a neighbor that was doing a good deed? Although, I suppose a neighbor could have reported it, too.

    You might find that mulching the leaves with your lawn mower helps get them collected faster than raking. Just put the bag on your mower and and go across the lawn as usual. This is how my husband and I handled a yard we had with lots of trees. It's better to do it several times while the leaves are falling, rather than waiting for them all to be on the ground.

  3. Carol Says:
    November 19th, 2016 at 02:28 pm 1479565683
    1479565683

    My husband now's the leaves with the mower without the bag--as ccf says do it several times spaced apart. Cut up that way they will fertilize and won't wreck your lawn the way leaving them whole will.
    Big box stores will rent something to carry big things home. Small local stores sometimes deliver.
    I think you need to hire someone for the chimney.

  4. Carol Says:
    November 19th, 2016 at 02:29 pm 1479565757
    1479565757

    Edit:My husband mows the leaves with the mower without the bag--as ccf says do it several times spaced apart. Cut up that way they will fertilize and won't wreck your lawn the way leaving them whole will.
    Big box stores will rent something to carry big things home. Small local stores sometimes deliver.
    I think you need to hire someone for the chimney.

  5. NJDebbie Says:
    November 19th, 2016 at 05:11 pm 1479575467
    1479575467

    We refuse to outsource anything except construction projects, but it's not worth fighting for your hubby about leaf removal. He definitely does not share the same mindset regarding money as you do but he may be a work in progress. Smile

  6. creditcardfree Says:
    November 19th, 2016 at 07:12 pm 1479582744
    1479582744

    Oh, I agree just call a chimney sweep to have the fireplace cleaned. It's not that expensive...less than $100 in most cases.

  7. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    November 19th, 2016 at 09:38 pm 1479591480
    1479591480

    Alice - Oh yeah, we've had discussion. DH is in charge of the outside, the cars, the garage and the weekly trash. He also feeds the cats 2x a week and cleans out the 3 litterboxes in the basement whenever he feels like it .... He does his own laundry too. I do everything else. It would be equitable if he actually DID anything outside or in the garage ... mowing the yard 4x does not equal what I do inside the house.

    Carol - Unfortunately the last tme DH mowed the yard, the powerdrive? broke. It was a used $100 mower. We're planning on getting a different mower in the spring (and probably fixing this one as a backup.)

    I've suggested renting a truck ... It's up to him now.

    NJDebbie - If I get this job I applied for, I'm planning on siphoning some of the money towards a housekeeper (1x/month) and possibly someone to do some of the stuff in the yard that's not getting done.

    CCF - I saw an estimate of $150? Someone told me you could get a chimney sweep broom for $50. I have no problem getting up on the roof (DH has height issues) - just would have to figure out how to remove the thing on top of the chimney. (youtube probably) We do have someone scheduled to come out on Dec 1 though in the likely event that nothing gets done beforehand.

  8. Kiki Says:
    November 19th, 2016 at 10:58 pm 1479596321
    1479596321

    I ordered my ladder online from home depot and they delivered it i think via ups. Wasnt very expansive to do that. It would not fit in my prius.

  9. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    November 20th, 2016 at 02:09 am 1479607790
    1479607790

    Kiki - we're trying Craigslist first. but will keep your idea in mind!

  10. Debt-free by Thir-ty Says:
    November 20th, 2016 at 01:26 pm 1479648393
    1479648393

    FT, we just had someone come clean and inspect our fireplace for $89. And I live in a crazy high COLA.

    DH and I split up chores similarly. My husband will do things, but he needs me to make him a list.  I get frustrated because if i can see that it needs to be done, why can't he just look around and make the same determination. For leaves, some friends of mine just burned them  in their backyard fire pit. Not sure if that's legal where you are, but it does make yard work a little more fun to have a makeshift campfire.

    One other thought regarding chores  (coming from another new homeowner). Over the next several years, birthday and Christmas gifts will be dedicated to tools that will make his things easier. For instance a leaf blower with bagging attachment may make him more motivated to actually do it. My big goal is to get my DH a riding lawnmower for his 30th birthday/Christmas gift. The sellers were generous and left us a push lawnmower, but given the size of the yard, it'd be a 2-3 hour job. If I can cut that down for him and give him that weekend time back, I know he'd really appreciate that.

  11. rob62521 Says:
    November 20th, 2016 at 10:01 pm 1479679263
    1479679263

    DH usually mows the leaves with his mower and bags them. He hasn't done that this year since he hasn't fully recovered from his surgery. We've hired a neighborhood kid and he's been here a few times. We are hoping for one more visit, but something tells me I'll be out in the yard doing some of this because he is getting busy. I don't usually do outside work due to allergies. But DH learned a lesson a number of years ago, do the leaves multiple times so it isn't as bad a job than trying to tackle them all at once.

  12. PatientSaver Says:
    November 21st, 2016 at 12:20 am 1479687628
    1479687628

    I also mow my leaves with a mulching blade but i don't use a bag so it just stays on the lawn, which is healthier for it anyway.

    I'm also about ready to buy a snowblower. I'm going to get a electric Snow Joe Ultra for $170. All my lawn appliances now are battery or electric, including my lawnmower, edger/trimmer, hedge trimmer, blower and now this. Smile

  13. VS_ozgirl Says:
    November 21st, 2016 at 10:15 am 1479723336
    1479723336

    I'm hoping that the cleanup isn't too pricey for you guys! Like Debtfree my husband likes tools to make the jobs a bit easier, he has a leaf blower so it is done in no time.

  14. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    November 22nd, 2016 at 01:58 am 1479779891
    1479779891

    Thanks all. After talking to locals, we think it was the wind on Friday that did it!

    We have made a list of what needs to be done/bought on the chalkboard in the kitchen. Now to start hammering away at it!

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