The Evolution of Atlas: A Breeding (and Chat) Thread

[speckledhen]

My son was saying he had to refinance to get his soon-to-be ex off the mortgage, but I told him all it takes is a quit-claim deed. She'd still have her name on the deed unless he refinanced or sold it, but would be giving up any claim to her interest in the property. So, he could sell it and move to some place that is smaller (he has a 4 bd 2 1/2 ba, 1980 sf 2-story house in a swim-tennis n'hood) with lower taxes and no swim-tennis nonsense that he doesn't even use, but gets charged for every single month. His taxes are almost $2400/yr. which is insane for him to be paying for that way-too-large house. I was scared he'd taken out a 2nd mortgage on it, but he says he owes about $127K (he paid $145K in 2002) and it is valued around $200K now. He has the quit-claim deed ready for her to sign. Hopefully, she was serious about giving him the house, which, IMO, is huge, and, due to the circumstances, only right. Crossing fingers she signs that thing.

I am about to have to buy a new mattress. The one we got after the fire to replace the almost new one we had is a piece of crap. My back is screaming every morning. Today, I can barely walk--I spent a lot of time in bed yesterday due to a lingering headache from the evening before, not a good thing with this awful mattress. My husband's back, as you can imagine is worse when he sleeps there so he's taken to sleeping in a chair or on our couch, which he says is far more comfortable. It's Park Place brand, one you can flip, but that doesn't help for more than a night on the "new" side. It's now 5 years old and I am so DONE! Going back to a Serta or Simmons like we used to have. No foam mattresses-too pricey, smelly and too darn hot.

 

[h2oratt]

My son was saying he had to refinance to get his soon-to-be ex off the mortgage, but I told him all it takes is a quit-claim deed. She'd still have her name on the deed unless he refinanced or sold it, but would be giving up any claim to her interest in the property. So, he could sell it and move to some place that is smaller (he has a 4 bd 2 1/2 ba, 1980 sf 2-story house in a swim-tennis n'hood) with lower taxes and no swim-tennis nonsense that he doesn't even use, but gets charged for every single month. His taxes are almost $2400/yr. which is insane for him to be paying for that way-too-large house. I was scared he'd taken out a 2nd mortgage on it, but he says he owes about $127K (he paid $145K in 2002) and it is valued around $200K now. He has the quit-claim deed ready for her to sign. Hopefully, she was serious about giving him the house, which, IMO, is huge, and, due to the circumstances, only right. Crossing fingers she signs that thing.

I am about to have to buy a new mattress. The one we got after the fire to replace the almost new one we had is a piece of crap. My back is screaming every morning. Today, I can barely walk--I spent a lot of time in bed yesterday due to a lingering headache from the evening before, not a good thing with this awful mattress. My husband's back, as you can imagine is worse when he sleeps there so he's taken to sleeping in a chair or on our couch, which he says is far more comfortable. It's Park Place brand, one you can flip, but that doesn't help for more than a night on the "new" side. It's now 5 years old and I am so DONE! Going back to a Serta or Simmons like we used to have. No foam mattresses-too pricey, smelly and too darn hot.

I know, if I am stick in bed my old mattress would have my back screaming also. We went to Costco because I could return it if it didn’t work out.

 

[1muttsfan]

Leahsmom I love a good short story

 

[getaclue]

When Dh, and I moved in together, before we got married, his mattress was 14 years old. We fought about getting a new mattress. He didn't want one. I did. This went on for almost a year. A couple times he had to use a wire cutter to cut back a spring that had poked through, on his side. One morning, it happened on my side. A spring, plainly visible, sticking through the bed. I told him we were at least going to look at a new mattresses. We went to Macy's, and I tried out several. He refused to try them. Stood there like a mule. I picked 3 that I liked, and they all cost over $3,500.00 there.

We left, and I told him where I wanted to go, so he took me. There is a discount broker that sells Macy's, and other pricey store's "demo" beds for a fraction of the cost. Macy's, and several of the high end stores put paper on their demo beds, to protect them, like the doctor's offices do. They had one of the beds I wanted. It was $1,500.00 there. Same bed, in perfect condition, but for a lot less. I bought it, arranged delivery, and removal of the old mattress, then we left. The next day, they came, and put in my new bed. That night, Dh had all sorts of things to say about it. It was too firm, he wanted a thicker pillow top on it, etc. I told him the time for his input had passed. He should have tried them out at the store with me, and helped select one that better suited him then. Now, it was too late, and I got what suited me. He complained about that bed for a long time, but admitted he got a good nights sleep on it.

 

[speckledhen]

Men, sheesh. DH thought that because it is fairly new, it couldn't be the cause of my hip and back pain. I know it is. It looks new, but has terrible body depressions in it. I have to go back to sleep now on the same mattress that caused my pain in the first place.

I want to buy a new chest of drawers to replace the triple dresser that is taking up so much room in my quilt room and I also want to look for night stands to match so maybe I can look for a mattress at the same time. Debating if I should also get a box spring for it at the same time or just the mattress. The dresser and nightstand that I'm selling was bought in 1992, but is solid wood, unlike most of them today, but it's so huge. If I could get a 5-6 drawer chest, it would be at least a foot less wide, I think. Eventually, I'll probably move the master bedroom back into the actual master bedroom and move my quilt stuff into the small one, but that's up in the air.

Off to the torture rack, er, um, bed.

 

[speckledhen]

I want to get someone to roof over my front steps like on this cabin:


And I want to put in a parking pad/carport here where these trees are. I'd have to take down four trees to get the proper width and depth for two small SUVs to park side by side with room to open the doors, of course. One is diseased anyway and one is right close to the house and we can't do that one ourselves without too much risk:

The lift would go where the bench comes out and forms a 90* angle with the deck railing. That short section of railing next to the bench could be made into a hinged gate that would open to go onto the lift.

The scale here is way off, of course, but you get the idea. It would bring the vehicles for unloading closer to the roofed over steps, plus the lift that I also want to build or have built. DH wants to do that himself, but I'm so sick of him wanting to do it all when the reason we're doing that is because he can't do what he used to do.

 

[getaclue]

I get the gist of what you're saying. I think it will work out nicely there.

 

[robhuncor]

Regarding the lift - are you thinking like an actual elevator or the kind that you sit on that goes up the side of the steps . The step version might work on your inside stairs. My daughter once rented an apartment with the stair version and it was great. She didn't use it for herself but she did send her grocery bags upstairs on it. I tried it out and it was wonderful.

 

[speckledhen]

Not an elevator, per se, and definitely not a chair lift. Tom has zero patience for that. he even hates the recliners that lift you up, says he'd go to sleep before it got to the "UP" position.

It's a cargo lift we had in mind, a platform that rises, more for groceries at this stage than people, but should be rated for at least 500 lb.
My inside stairs are too narrow for a chair lift. Better to go around the house and into the basement door. I loathe those things, personally.

This is sort of what we want:

 

[Leahs Mom]

I have the same issue with small bedrooms and too large of furniture in it. Inherited from my parents with the furniture. The dresser is a high end beautiful piece, but just too large for the room. Kills me to just get rid of it, but I know I have too sometime.

Hoping someone in my family will want it since it's such an expensive piece.