News Letter for the Family

June 10, 2008 Still haven't sold the house, the last two open houses - no one came. Not ONE! Say a prayer for me, that at least the units in Arizona get some good renters, so I can at least pay my bills. --- The pix to the right is "Shakey" named because his hands and head shake all the time. He is still a hard worker though, and he has repaired a rooftop for me.

May 25, 2008 Wow! I can't believe I'm 60 years old today! Where did my life go? What happened to all the things I was going to do when I retired? --- Well, First Baptist couldn't find a working single Mom that would qualify for my house, and my investment "friends" aren't in the market for another rental. So, my house hasn't sold yet. And my two rentals in Arizona have become vacant. And now I'm out of money. ARG! I just hope I don't loose everything that's in storage.
Here is how it looks now!

April 30, 2008 Have the house completed and it's up for sale! Don't expect to sell it for several months though, the market has really bummed out. No one is buying, even the investors. It looks great! Check out HERE.

March 15 2008 Well, am almost done with the house. I'm going to see if I can get First Baptist to go through Hubbard House (battered woman's shelter) to find me a nice single young mother to sell this one to. I'll sell it for $60k. If they can't find me someone in a reasonable time, I'll throw it to my friends in the Jacksonville Real Estate Buying & Investing Meetup Group for $65k. It's a group of "newbees" who get together once a month to share ideas, help each other, and teach each other new tricks they've learned. - Let's see, prepped and painted the outside of the house, have two bedrooms/kitchen/bathroom/hall/living room painted. Just have to paint one more bedroom. Put all new locks and lifts on all the windows, installed 4 smoke alarms, installed 8 window blinds (have 3 more to go), replaced all the inside doorknobs throughout the house. Oh I forgot to mention, this house has 10' ceilings and has molding 2' down from the ceiling. Looks great now. The ceiling is off white down to the molding, the walls are gold. The 10" baseboards, molding, door frames and window casing are all dark brown. Looks real nice in there. You especially notice it in the living room. What a change! The outside is now a kinda old fashioned muted purple, with white trim. Painted the wood mailbox holder the same colors to match the house. Had the flu to the chimney cleaned so that a wood burning stove can be installed if they want one, and placed a fancy new living room clock over the hole.

SO FAR: We are still working on it.

Feb 25 2008 Found some really great help this time for the plumbing. A bunch of alcoholics from a local AA! Who'd a thunk! They completely removed and reinstalled everything all the way to the sewer line, took only two days, and did a great job. Charged me $2000 for the whole kit and kaboodle. I'll hire them again if I'm still here and have to get another house. Hired Thompson Electric to get permits, do the safety check, and rewire the house. At first, they were fine, but the third guy that came out, charged me $770 and hardly did anything. I ended up hiring another AA guy, John, to redo some of the other guy's work, seems he tied ALL the plugs in the entire house together under ONE switch in the main box and it shorts out if more than one thing is plugged in. Well, all the windows are working and the glass replaced, had all weeds pulled and leaves raked, had all the trash pulled out from under the house (see the "before" picture below), all the big tree limbs over the house removed, the roof repaired. Had a wall removed between the kitchen and service porch and the floor raised so it's all level. Put up the mail box, painted the ceiling, changed all the ceiling light fixtures, and scraped/patched/sanded all the walls prepping them for painting. Built two new sets of stairs front and back, and repaired the front porch. All 11 windows now have brand new screens. And a new door closer and handles for the screen door in front.

BEFORE: Here is the house I bought for $21k. Notice all the weeds/leaves are gone, and it's clean under the house? We just DID that.

Jan 5 2008 Well escrow closed smoothly and am starting on the house. Already had vandals! They broke in and stole the toilet and vanity from the bathroom. The sink and all the cabinets in the kitchen, the range and refrigerator, and the air handler and compressor for the central air and heat. Well guess what... they helped me out, none of it was any good and they saved me from having to yank it all out and drag it to the dump! Wish they could have unstuck all 11 windows and changed all the weight ropes for me! Changed the doorknobs in front and back, added bolt locks and peepholes. Had to replace the front door frame (that's where the vandals kicked it in). They'll have trouble kicking THIS frame in (they'll just have to climb in through a window but then they'll have to have a key to get out! My new bolt locks use a key on both sides!)

Dec 2007 Sheree helped me find another house to work on. She doesn't seem to be very professional. I'm going to use Brenda Liddell next time. She's with a Meetup group I joined, and seems very nice. What a mess this house is! But it was only $21k and most of it I can do myself. I'll get help with the plumbing though, I'm not supposed to go under the house any more according to my lung doctor. Or in the attic, or around sanding, or wrecking, or sawing... Humph! They sure have a way of making me feel older... just because I'm going to be 60 next year! - Claudia had me over for Christmas dinner. I love her house, it's so warm and cozy. And what a nice family.

Nov 2007 It was worth the $4k I spent on the Tanager House. The new renters are paying $995 per month! I'm actually MAKING a few dollars per month on it now. Praise the Lord - positive cash flow! Ended up in the hospital for a week. Seems that the Florida air has driven my lungs into overdrive. I now have asthma due to my body's reaction to mold spores. Can't wait to get back home to Arizona! Hope you guys had a nice Thanksgiving. Claudia, a friend from Bible class had me over for dinner. What a wonderful cook! Had a wonderful time!

Oct 2007 I sold the second house, and you guessed it, I didn't make a dime on it. Drats! One thing I learned is that I do a much better job of selling my houses than the Real Estate Agent, Sheree Mercado! It seems that once she got the listing, she just added it to the MLS and then sat on her laurels hoping someone ELSE will sell it. I'll give it ONE more try. I'm in the process of looking at houses again. - My lawyer has me running all over town taking names and numbers, and talking to our governor, mayor, financial services dept, consumer affairs, fraud division, banks, etc, etc, trying to get law sites that can be used against Countrywide in court. We went before the judge a month ago, and he sided with us. I thought it was all finally OVER, but then I was told that it was only a hearing and the court case is still pending. This has been SUCH a drain on me. It's on my mind all the time. I loose sleep nights, and sometimes don't have an appetite. - The renters at the Tanager address moved out, I spent $4k putting in new carpeting, replacing rotted wood siding, walls all patched and new paint inside/out, all new faucets (there are 2.5 bathrooms), all new blinds, roofers to check/patch roof, new sod for back yard. Was it worth it? My new property manager said I'd never get what I wanted for rent payments. I walked door to door in the area, and found that the renters are paying $1100 a month! I was getting $850, and loosing money each month. I want to try to get $995 which will put $50 a month in my pocket. I also spent $850 on the Cove Landing house for new linoleum in the kitchen and bathrooms. When the lease is up in Aug 2009, I'm going to up the rent from $950 to $1100 month, after I make a few more upgrades. Heck it's a gorgeous house in a wonderful neighborhood and only 6 minutes to the beach! Wish my own little 1 room apartment was nearly as nice. They just raised my rent to $380 month. - Been making some extra cash doing hauling, yard work, garage cleaning and odd jobs. I shoveled horse pucky for one lady for four hours, and boy was I glad I didn't have anything to do the next day! I need to do this for 2 reasons. I have less money now then what I started out with, and also to keep me in shape. I have a tendency to get lazy while I'm waiting for things, and that's when my weight starts going up. I'd rather stay at home and watch all those "Flip That House" shows they have out here! But that doesn't help my weight, and most of the stuff on those shows I've already done. - Miss you guys! But something strange, I DON'T miss that Arizona soil! I really LOVE the sandy loam here in Florida. It's easy to work and will grow anything! Wish I could ship about 6 truckloads home!

June 2007 A lot has happened since this was last updated. I completed my first house, sold it (made only $5k profit), then purchased another house, and am trying to sell it now. But if I keep lowering the price, I will be going backwards and will end up with what I started out with. Well, actually, I DID get a lot of new tools, a lot of hands on experience, a little more confidence, and a great truck out of the deal. Mom and Dad, I hope this uploads from this version of FrontPage. Love ya!

6/15/2006 Roger finished the electrical. Sam never showed up to finish the shed for the water heater, or the rest of the kitchen plumbing. Roger says he can do it, so he's coming back next Saturday. Boy, Roger sure has been handy. He knows a lot, and doesn't mind working for a woman. Sam never could quite get the hang of doing things "my way." - ACE says they have no idea why the Bermuda grass didn't come up. I was hoping they'd replace the bag, but no such luck, since they haven't had any other complaints. - Am trying for a re-finance on the Jacksonville rental house that does NOT have the foreclosure on it. If this goes through, I may end up with enough to finish my fixer. Dan DeJan, the loan agent, had me eMail Herbert Thomas, my lawyer, for a letter saying that the foreclosure is in litigation, on hold, and that the house will not foreclose in the near future. Dan says I MAY have a chance that the refi will go through. Say a prayer. If it Does NOT go through, I'll have to sell the rental house. It will be less monthly income for me, but when I get the cash profit, I can always replace the rental with another one. - I pulled all the tiles off the back porch overhang (the plywood underneath had all rotted away). Roger and Nastali came over to help pull off the old plywood, and put the 2 new sheets of plywood down for me. Then I rolled on the tar paper and placed the new tiles. I also replaced the old vent flange. Just in time too. A three-day storm rolled in just after I finished. Thank you Jesus! - The roof leak I patched over the third bedroom, still has a slight leak, am going to have to extend the patch to cover more roof. Humph! - I replaced the washers in the tub handles, vooalla, no more leaky tub faucet! Can't do the same in the other bathroom, 'cause some idiot strapped the parts down inside the wall, so no one came get to them. I hate to tear into the wall, but I may HAVE to. That faucet leaks pretty bad. - Am still helping out Wednesday afternoons at the 10th Street Baptist Church. I don't know where Pastor Danny gets the funds for all this food he gives out, it certainly isn't from his parish. They are too poor in this neighborhood. But the Lord keeps providing. Yesterday we gave two packages of fish, two heads of lettuce, and four big sprigs of broccoli to each person, plus the usual stuff (little packs of jelly, saltines, chips, popcorn, salad dressing, Chinese noodles, baby food, bags of coffee etc etc).

6/8/2006 The water heater is now outside next to the kitchen wall (Sam is working on a shed for it), the roof has been patched where the leak was, and the medicine chest and closet have been removed from the #2 bathroom. But, I'm still working on the enlargement of that #2 bedroom closet! I have it all sheet-rocked, and am plastering over it now, so it'll match the rest of the house. - Roger (the electrician) came over Monday night and installed two plugs over where the kitchen countertop will be, and a switch for the garbage disposal. He's coming back Saturday to run in a line for the disposal and put in an extra switch at the main box. He still has to put a GFI plug in the second bathroom, and raise the wall light so I can put a mirror over the sink. - The rye grass I put in the front looks great! I'm always getting compliments from the neighbors. I just tell them "I didn't do it, God did!" Only thing is, I still don't see any Bermuda coming up. The rye was only temporary, and will die after a while, and was only to stay until the Bermuda took over. Hmmm. Must have gotten a bad bag, or I did something wrong. I'll have to ask at the ACE Hardware store where I purchased it. - Am starting to worry about finances. The IRS just took $4500 out of my checking account. They usually do this in September. Besides, I didn't think I owed anything. When I called them (and waited an hour and a half on hold) they told me that this was for year 2003. I told them that I had zero income in 2003, and had been living off my savings. They said that if I had a complaint I would have to go to tax court to prove it. How do you prove you did NOT have income? And it probably would cost $4000+ to get a lawyer and go to court. Now I only have $3500 left to put in all the kitchen cabinets, countertop and sink, the appliances, paint for inside and out, linoleum the kitchen, and carpet 3 bedrooms/living room/dining room. There is just no way. I'll have to leave out the appliances, get some cheap carpeting/cabinets and put them in myself, and forget about painting the outside of the house. The IRS couldn't have had worse timing. What a bummer! Say prayers for me ok?

Sat 5/27 This last week Sam removed all those sheets of linoleum in the kitchen. Found that the flooring had been replaced with pressed board. Guess it'll be ok. He installed a sink/cabinet in the #1 bathroom, and fixed the hot water running to the toilet! Sam also installed a 52" ceiling fan in the kitchen. - The top flooring in the new bedroom closet only went part way, so it had to be leveled with Level-pro. Guess they figured no one would ever see it since it used to be boxed inside the wall. I measured the opening wrong too, because I had to shim a lot of my work. And I'm going to have to do an awful lot of wall patching before I'm through. Making that tiny closet into a large one has been quite a project. Hope it finally turns out ok. - Roger didn't make it this Saturday to do the other GFI plug, says he's been working so much overtime recently, he wanted the weekend off. - Hmm. Just realized I still haven't received a closing bill from Direct TV.

Sat 5/20 Roger came over to install a GFI plug and a light fixture over the #2 bathroom sink. Next Saturday he'll do the other bathroom if he doesn't have to work (can't believe they never put plugs into bathrooms back then). - Was just wondering how Little Irish Mary was doing. Think I'll say a little prayer for her tonight before bedtime. - Also miss Steve. Could sure use his help out here. Hey, I just remembered... Mom and Dad, if you are reading this, ask Steve if he ever replaced the back kitchen door. If he did, then find out how much money I owe him. In fact, eMail me his cell phone number. The one I had, changed to a fax machine so I couldn't call him back before.

Fri 5/19 Robert & Jessie finished digging both stumps out, scraped the loose paint off the rest of the window frames, and planted the rest of the side yard plants. - Pastor Danny, from 10th St Baptist Church recommended Sam Burkes to me, so I'm giving him a try. Says he can do plumbing, cabinetry, and roof repairs for $10 hour. Thursday he put the toilet in the #2 bathroom, and took the other one out so he could work on replacing the wax ring and linoleum, and fixed the air vent. Today he finished the linoleum and started it in the other bathroom. He also worked on moving the water pipes under the house so that the #1 bathroom sink can go in a more convenient place. - Had to replace the 6-year old battery in the truck. Was having trouble getting it started recently. Found out the 27-Series battery necessary costs $125. Ouch! - I tore out the wall to the small closet in the #2 bedroom, that I'm making into a master bedroom. Enlarging the closet, so I can put in 2 bi-fold doors. Also have to raise the ceiling in the closet, so that a shelf can be put in.

Late Wed 5/10 They didn't work on the stumps, but they got the back yard raked. Here's Nastali, Robert and Jessie:

The lot is 50'x150', so here is the results of the two day's work:

Wed 5/10 Kelly's Fencing didn't show up last Saturday, and didn't call. I called to find out what happened, and they said that the small job they were on the day before had turned into a large job. So they were supposed to come on Monday morning, but didn't show and didn't call. I'm going to find someone else. - Bedrock roofing never called or sent the estimates. Ditto for Bedrock. - A guy from Direct TV came out, but wouldn't do anything except write down that they needed to send me a closing bill. I ended up straightening out all those wires myself. - Roger came out and did some more electrical work for me. Took out the 2 extra boxes (for plugs) that were an eyesore in the living room, fixed Hallway #2's light so that it would come on, put in 6 new light fixtures and changed 2 so that they would match the rest. Took him 8 hours and he charged me $80. Wish I could find a plumber like him! - I put a cap on the kitchen plumbing under the house so that the water didn't just dump on the ground. Surprising what you find under there now that it's all been cleaned out! - Took two days, but I fixed the two worst rotted windows myself. Had no idea what I was doing, but just followed how the others looked. They are the old wood type that have the weights and ropes to help pull the window up. - Spent two days scraping old paint off windows. Need at least another two days to finish the rest. My arms ache just thinking about it. - Worked on the stumps Monday, in the back yard for about half a day, and then quit for the rest of the day, my legs were aching. - Yesterday, had two guys, Jessy and Robert, from a Group Home come out and rake leaves in the back yard all day. They each charged me $30 for 6 hours work each. They said it was their "smokes and cokes" money. Said they'd be back today to finish. Maybe I can get them to work on those two stumps.

Wed 5/3 My truck plates and tags finally arrived. - The inspector for the central air says everything passed. - Kelly's fencing says they can replace the bent rod in the front fence and the four sections of chain link in the back yard for $400. Decided to use them. They're coming Saturday to do the work. - Bedrock roofing repair came out. He's going to make up two estimates. One to just repair the 4 spots on the roof, and another to replace the whole roof, which would include rebuilding the front porch roof, which is not to code. - Found a beat up plastic pot and a half dead plant that I think I can nurse back to life. Paid $2.00 for both at a yard sale. I painted the pot gold so it'll match the front porch fixtures. Now it looks brand new. I put the plant in it. Looks good on the front porch. - Still removing layers of linoleum in the kitchen and hallways. And still digging around the 2 stumps in the back yard, eventually I'll have them deep enough to go under with a chain saw, so the stumps will be lower than the ground level. I hate stumps sticking out of the ground. There are several others too, from previous owners cutting down trees. I'll work on those later. - Removed all the grass, garbage and weeds from the garage slab in the back yard. Could hardly see it before. There is plumbing back there for a washer/dryer and an electrical wire coming out of the ground. Saturday, I'll get Roger to check it and see if he can "make it legal" for me.

Sat 4/29 Just realized that I received my insurance papers for the truck, but I never got the license plate or stickers. I'm going to have to go to the MVD Monday to see what's going on. - It rained here Thursday, pretty hard, and I seem to have a minor leak in the outside wall of bedroom #3. Made an appt with Bedrock Roofing repair for an estimate for that, plus three other spots that look weak over the back patio. Also, an inspector is coming out next week to check the a/c/heater that Trinity put in. - My computer crashed Wed eve, and it just now finished the Scan Disc that fixes errors. It seems to have worked. This is an old system, but I'm too chincy to buy a new one.

Wed 4/26 Trinity put in the new a/c/heater, cleaned the closet, replaced the all the ducts in the attic, replaced the thermostat, and replaced the switch in the electrical box. They did it in two days, which gave me time after removing the old unit, to replace the rotten floor, and paint the inside of the closet white. - Had a handyman named Roger wire bedroom #2's ceiling lamp to the hall lamp switch, so that both come on when the switch is turned on. This will be better once I knock out the hall wall to enlarge the bedroom. He charged me $50 - Had a guy named John clear all the debris out from under the house. It took him 5 hours and he charged me $30 - The locksmith charged $304 just to replace the back door knob, rekey it to match the new front door knob, and put in a bolt lock for the front door! What a gyp! - Made a new appt with Direct TV, but they didn't show up again. - I took out the old front porch lamp that was too far away from the front door, and installed my newly painted (gold) door lamp. It really finishes up the front porch nice. - Finally got all the mold scrubbed off the front porch pillars, and painted white. - I took all the cabinets out of the kitchen, and removed the molding around the center of the walls. Now I have a lot of plastering to do. Also found linoleum underneath the carpeting in one of the bedrooms, so I had to remove it. Am still working on removing the linoleum from the kitchen and hallways. Have to find a way to remove all that glue. If I don't, the new linoleum will be lumpy.

Wed 4/19 Painted the window trim and front porch rails tan. - Spent $300 just on front door and window hardware, a light fixture for the front porch, house numbers, and gold spray paint. Couldn't find gold numbers or gold porch light I liked, so bought black ones and am going to spray them gold. - Found a guy that'll cut down two large trees in the back yard, plus 10 huge, dangerous, limbs around the house for $1200. Would have cost at least $2k in Arizona. He's got a huge chipper that takes limbs up to 7inches around. He says he'll cut the rest up into 18" slabs and leave on the front curb. Says people will take it for firewood. - Got a guy coming out Friday to help put bolt locks in the front and back door. I've never done one from scratch before. Am going to watch him, so I can do the next one myself. - Didn't get to help at the 10th Street Baptist outreach today. Couldn't leave, because of waiting for the Direct TV guy. He was supposed to show up but he never came. There's a dish on the roof, which is OK, but the wires are all over the place and a huge mess. They said they'd clean everything up for free. Hmmmm.

Mon 4/17 Got an estimate from ACE, $2900, and Trinity wants $2800, but says THEY'LL clean the closet. Trinity's going to do the work this Thurs and Fri. - Painted the front of the house white, except the trim and pillars. - Going to do the front trim, tan, tomorrow. Am still working on cleaning the mold off the pillars. - Yesterday's Church Service was awesome! They put on an Easter play that depicted the Lord being scourged and crucified. It looked too real. Then the stone rolled away from the grave, and light and smoke made a neat Ascension scene. It was beautiful! I cried!

Fri 4/14 I just finished having a good laugh (and cry). Remember Pastor David's play The King, The Queen and the Princess? Well, I watched it again this evening, and enjoyed it just as much as before. That "Silly little Man" and his family on the couch was hilarious! - Cut down another big tree limb in the back yard. Then cut it up into 4' pieces so the "yard waste" people will pick it up next Thurs. Made 7 stacks! Whew! Tired all over again, just thinking about it! But, it's a good tired. - Tomorrow I've GOT to do laundry! I've muddied up every pair of pants I've got! - Made appointments with 2 more guys to come out for estimates on the air/heat unit. One's from ACE Hardware, the other's from Trinity Heat & Air.

Thurs 4/13 Home Depot wants $2800+ to replace the central air/heat unit in the house, repair/replace the ducts in the attic, replace the broken thermostat, and replace the electrical switch in the panel to match the new unit. That does not include the condenser in the back yard, NOR the cleaning that has to be done first before they'll even touch it (I have to clean it, for them just to remove it!). I'm going to check around to see if this is a reasonable price. - I dug the palm tree out and am replacing it with a yellow hibiscus. - Went to 10th Street Baptist Church yesterday to help give out groceries. That lady from last Wednesday was there, and had only nice words for me. Found out later that one (or more) of the other volunteers spoke to her some time during this last week, and they said prayers together. Don't we have an awesome God? He looks after all His children in such a gentle way.

Tues 4/11 Woke up this morning aching, and my knees hurt. Think I'll just work on the stump while I'm waiting for the Home Depot guy, then call it a day. What's neat about repairing houses, is you can take a day off if you need to, and the only "boss" you have, is the Big Guy Upstairs, and He knows I'm not just being lazy.

Mon 4/10 Spent most of the day seeding, mulching, and fertilizing the right side of the front yard, and most of the West side of the house. Got one tree dug up (rain, the other day, made this easier to do) and found a large stump I hadn't noticed before, because it had an old potted plant on it. Spent the evening digging all around it. I'll hatchet it tomorrow. - Found out the a/c/heater isn't functioning and the thermostat fell apart in my hand when I went to turn it off. I made an appointment with a Home Depot guy to come out and give me an estimate tomorrow. So far I've only spent about $400 on the place: grass seed, fertilizer, cleaning supplies, silver spray paint, leaf bags, twine, start-up fees for the water/electric/phone and Luis's $10. Praise the Lord, haven't had to buy any tools so far.

Sun 4/9 Friday I got a truck full of free compost from the Recycling Center over on Imerson, planted Bermuda and composted the left side of the front yard, and trimmed all the bushes on the West side of the house. I'll dig out 3 small trees next Monday, that are growing too close to the house. - Saturday, it rained on and off all day, praise the Lord for watering my new lawn! - What a nice sermon our new pastor had for us today! And several people put on skits about Jesus' life before he was condemned to death. I heard that they will be having a special play next Sunday for Easter! - Was passing by a yard sale this evening and decided to stop even tho they looked like they didn't have much left. One of them came over and asked if I wanted it all, they were tired and wanted to go home. I said "sure!" and they loaded everything into the back of the truck. Most of it I threw out, but there was a blanket and some men's clothing, that I brought over to the 10th St Baptist Church, and just laid them on their front porch. Doesn't the Lord work in wondrous ways?

Thurs 4/6 Called Sprint to see if I can turn back in my cell phone. They want $150 for not fulfilling my 2-year contract. I told them that THEY broke the contract first, by not giving me reasonable service. My new cell phone from BellSouth was activated today. See new number just below - Leveled the left half of the front yard, and soaked it to prepare it for seeding tomorrow. Also widened the front walkway. If I have any money left over, I'll cement it in. Also sprayed the rusted front chain link gate with silver paint. Looks better. - I noticed that the "yard waste" people took all those bags of leaves and the bundles of branches this morning!

Wed 4/5 Got cut off again while talking to the Chamber of Commerce about where to get free mulch. This cell phone is the PITS! It's never really worked right since I got it. Found out from BellSouth that THEIR cell phone was sent via UPS over a week ago, and that someone named Morton, over in the office, signed for it. When I got there to pick it up, they said that usually the UPS guy leaves a notice on the door. Anyway, now I have a new number: 904-314-1000 (not too hard to remember, just think: 2 less than John 3:16, one of my favorite verses), but I'll have to get a belt clip for it - A young neighbor boy, named Luis, asked if I had any jobs he could do. I had just started raking the leaf piles into bags, so he did it for me, which freed me up to put the rest of yesterdays branches into bundles. Ended up with 8 bundles of branches and 9 big bags of leaves, and that's only 1/2 the front yard! Took him about 1 1/2 hours so I gave him $10. Then he said he was going to the local church (10th Street Baptist) to help serve food to the poor, and asked if I could give him a ride. I ended up staying with him for about four hours, helping out. I got bawled out. When I first got there, a man was leaving with 6 cases of Dole Salads. I asked if that was ok, and one of the volunteers jumped on me, saying something about that she could because she cooks for the church. That man must have been her husband? Hmmmm. I'm hoping that what she meant was, that she was taking it home to make, then bring back to the church. I didn't ask, she was too upset. Sometimes, especially when they are excited, I can't understand what black people are saying. What with their accent, their broken English, and their bad English, I don't have the slightest clue. She didn't talk to me the whole 4 hours. I hope she doesn't mind me coming back next Wed to "help" out again. ;)

Tues 4/4 This last Sunday, I found a better bible class. The Sunday before, the teacher gave a topical lecture, and it was great, but it's just that I want someone to help with each book of the bible. This class is all ladies around my age, and everyone lives in my area, which I found out is called the "Arlington" area, and we are studying Isaiah. We went through Chapters 24:1 thru 31:9. They went a little too fast, but I'll make up for it by reading it again during the week, then asking questions next Sunday. I received a study manual called Adult Learner Guide, put out by a group called LifeWay, that has a website at www.lifeway.com I hope the manual helps. Was assigned a "Leader" named Linda Hartley, and the teacher's name is Barbara Benham. Both Barbara and Linda sent eMails welcoming me to the class. What nice people! But I kinda miss Anne, I hope we bump into each other, I'll invite her to dinner one night. This is a BIG church, it holds 9,000 people! - The house already looks better, on the outside. Monday, I got all that mold off of the mailbox and front door. "Shout" with bleach did it. Also finished getting all those weeds, leaves and overgrown grass off the front sidewalk, got the water and electric turned on, ordered the phone line, trimmed the lower branches off the front trees and trimmed the hedges, cut the carpeting in one bedroom into 5' strips and rolled them up, found out where the dump is (55 miles away! UGH!), received a recycle bin from the city, and rinsed off the house all the way around the building. I was pooped and it was late, so went to Famous Amos for dinner. Met one of the ladies, Nancy, from my bible class there! She was with her husband and we worked on a crossword puzzle together, HA! I found out that our church has a budget for City Rescue Mission and Trinity Rescue Mission. $12,000 yearly each, at $1000 a month each. I feel so much better, although I kinda wish we weren't just sending them money, but helping out too. That's ok, you know me, I'll find some little nook I can help at on Sundays or something. - Today I started on the mold growing on the 5 pillars on the porch, but it was such a chore I only did one side of one pillar! I don't know what those things are at the bottom of each pillar, but the mold just clings to it. I'll work on one side each day until all 20 sides are done. I put all the branches from yesterday into bundles, took out the carpet rolls for the garbage man, raked all the leaves from the front yard into piles, and then Robert (Lily-May's friend from next door) showed up with a long tree saw, so I sawed several more branches off the front trees. Also said some prayers for Mom and Dad that everything heals ok from their accident. - I wonder why my new BellSouth cell phone is taking so long to get here. Will have to call them tomorrow.

Sat 4/1 Spent the day changing bed sheets/kitchen & bath towels, doing laundry, recharging the camera batteries, vacuuming, dusting, changing the clocks/watches to Eastern DST, putting pix into this website, and trying to send the pix via eMail. I don't know why some eMails would go through and others wouldn't. Anyway, HERE are some of the "Before" pictures I took. Mom and Dad, I MISS YOU!!! Love, Annie

Fri 3/31 Already getting money's worth out of my new truck, got everything moved out of the free U-Haul storage, and over to a space not too far from home, except for all the tools, which went to the new house. Even had time to take some "before" pictures, and worked on the weeds at the curb, and overgrown grass on the sidewalk. Have to remember to bring water next time, and also toilet paper and something to go potty in, until the utilities get turned on.

Weds 3/29 A notary, named Jim, came over, and I just signed the 20+ closing papers, and turned over a bank check for $35,864.58. My bid was for $37k, so I asked how come it came out less. I knew I sent a check for a $1k deposit, but that didn't explain the rest of the difference. The only thing we could come up with, is that the property taxes and another item must have been included in the price, so when they pro-rated the items, I ended up with a small credit. - Want to get started on the house, but have to have everything out of the U-Haul storage by Friday evening. It'll take the next two days. - Met Anne for dinner. It usually costs $5, but was free this time, since I'm new. Then was taken on a tour of the church Library, Book Store, and a room where they sell CD's of all the sermons. They gave me one for free. It was the first sermon I went to, a couple weeks ago. I'll mail it to you.

Tues 3/28 Did you know they call it "The First Coast" over here? - I worked on a "Resources for Homeless" page most of the day today. It sure is hard to find things about Outreach Programs here. And I think a lot of what I did find is outdated. One day I'll phone each organization to verify everything. I'm surprised, in a city this big, that someone hasn't already come up with a page like this. I was hoping to go to whomever had a page and ask to help, but I'm started one from scratch instead. HERE is where you'll find it. It sure is fun working for the Lord!

Mon 3/27 Came home Saturday with a red Chevy Pick-up. The dealer took me to BofA for the bank check, then to Budget to turn in the rental car. On the way home, the engine sounds good, steers ok, brakes ok, and everything works except the tape deck. Doesn't look too shabby except for the passenger door, and has plenty of head room for my cowboy hat! With such a big engine, it used just under 1/2 tank on the 2 hr drive home, but I expected that. I don't see any leaks so far. - Made it to First Baptist Sunday. The trip wasn't so bad after all. Someone gave me directions that included an expressway I didn't know about, so it took less than 25 minutes to get there. Asked someone named Anne :>) about transferring my membership. She took me to a Counselor that asked lots of questions, then said they were going to send for a letter from Pastor Dennis. They gave me a copy of the newest issue of My Daily Bread, which I've missed since I left. Also gave me a license plate holder that says "First Baptist" on it, perfect for my new truck! And Anne invited me to a church dinner this Wednesday afternoon at 4pm. - Scott called, says that the real estate attorney is waiting for a lien clearance on the title. Says it should be ready by Wednesday, and will send a notary over for my signature and check. Hooray!

Sat 3/25 Was too burned out to look for a vehicle yesterday, so I left eMails to several large truck dealerships of what to keep an eye out for. Got a call this morning from Gibson Truck World in Sanford FL about a 1989 Chevy C-3500 1-ton automatic with a 450 engine. Says the door's busted in on the passenger side, but the rest is in decent shape, good engine & tranny. I'll go the 2 hour drive to see it. They want $3000. Sounds reasonable, but gotta drive it first.

Thurs 3/23 Woke up to a nice gentle rain this morning. Frogs everywhere! - I'm so bored waiting for escrow to close that I scraped all the excess paint off the tiles in my apartment bathroom! - Am running up quite a bill for this rental car! Tried eBay, and also looked in a magazine called Pick Up Trader. Nothing I could use. I feel like asking God to help me, and I know it's not a sin to ask for something for myself, but it always feels selfish. How about you guys asking FOR me?

Wed 3/22 Spent the day looking for a truck again. Found a 1992 Ford F250. The body is kind of big, not like the F250 I used to have. They wanted $6.8K. Asked if I could put 4K down and finance the rest, and they said yes if I could come up with 7 references! I don't HAVE 7 references. Went home and crashed!

Tues 3/21 Have been sleeping great since I got here. - It's striking how green everything is. The trees don't lose their leaves in Fall. Some are pine, but most are not. I don't know what they are, but they sure are TALL. Along the freeways, they make a tall green wall on both sides of the road. It's like going thru a tunnel. I thank Jesus for all this Beauty! There is water EVERYWHERE too, and it's not all salt water. Wish I could send some of it out there to Arizona! - Rearranged the apartment again, guess I'm bored waiting for escrow to close. - Found out everyone uses an organization called Comcast for their TVs, internet, and sometimes telephone. - BellSouth wants a copy of my new lease because the last person in this apartment stiffed them for a large phone bill. They want to make sure I'm a different person in here. Here's the number that comes to my apartment: 904-721-7658, although it'll go to voice mail every time the computer is plugged in, and I won't be home much. I also ordered a new cell phone from them, with Cingular, since my other one just doesn't seem to keep the satellite (or towers) in view, It keeps cutting people off. I'll let you know the number when I get it. - And JEA (electric company) wants a letter from APS in Prescott, so they won't stick me with a $75 deposit. - There's this Neat-o hardware store called Lowes here, that I just love walking around, looking at, and dreaming about all the tools (you can tell I'm a Tomboy, huh?). - Spent the evening re-designing the house I'm buying, on graph paper, and dreaming again, because I know I can't afford to do everything I'd like to (ie: move the water heater and air-conditioner/heater into the kitchen hallway, a new roof, attic access for storage, a beautiful new fireplace, a pantry for the kitchen etc.). Instead, I'll be mostly just patching, painting, putting in new appliances, kitchen cabinets, lighting fixtures, linoleum and carpet. I figure just that will cost around $25K. - Spent the day going though the yellow pages and calling/visiting used car lots. Got home tired, and still haven't found a truck. ARG! - For some reason Paul popped into my mind. He had said that he knew that I thought he was cute. I put on the most shocked look that I could and said "You've GOT to be kidding! You're the UGLIEST S.O.B. I've EVER seen!" The guys at Church on the Street said that that was the first time they'd ever seen Paul laugh. I miss him. Hmmm.... Mom, you got a nut case for a daughter!

Sun 3/19 Woke up late, little after 10am. Looked up First Baptist in the yellow pages, and the only one it shows is the one out on Ashley that starts at 11:20. Would never make it on time, so went to an Assembly of God about 4 blocks from here. The sermon was just ok; didn't like the loud band; didn't recognize any of the songs. OK, I'm a traditionalist at heart. Next Sunday, I'll set my alarm and make the trip to Ashley. I miss Prescott's First Baptist. - Spent the rest of the day watching "Earth 2" DVDs. Was a nice pleasant day of rest.

Thurs 3/16 Got the apartment! They charged me $375 to move in, a refundable $300 deposit, and an extra non-refundable $100 pet deposit. I spent the day moving from the Suburban and my storage unit. This was fun. It's cute and cozy, and my cat loves it. AND it has a large pond right across the street. They tell me if I go there real early in the morning, I'll find geese, wild ducks, cranes, herons, small alligators, and raccoons, all out there vying for the insects, wild plants and fish. There are catfish and large blue crabs that you can catch, and are supposedly good eating. - There's no gas here. Houses are all electric, or they use propane or oil heaters. - Also, no TV stations come in, and I don't see TV dishes on the roofs. Hmmmm.

Wed 3/15 Went to the BofA for the check, then met Scott at the Post Office. Went smoothly. He's over-nighting all the papers and my check to the Real Estate Attorney. Says it'll take a little over a week. - Found a place that takes cats at the Willow Lake Apartments. I applied for a $375 month unfurnished room with a kitchen (they charged a non-refundable $35 application fee). Was surprised at how nice the apartments are for the money, AND how cheap for this area. Apparently they cater to low income and section 8 subsidized housing. Say they'll call me tomorrow to let me know. - Still need a truck.

Tues 3/14 Scott called just before 5pm to say they accepted my offer. Hooray! We're meeting at the Post Office tomorrow to sign contracts and I need to give them a bank check for a $1000 deposit. Ric Goodman still never returned my 2 voice mails. I won't use him again. - Spent the day checking for apartments. - I miss Becky and Danny, and all my grandkids, was hoping to see them last Christmas before I left.

Mon 3/13 Scott called and said the owners countered my offer, they want $38.8K. I re-countered to stay at $37K. Scott says he'll let me know. - Called lots of apartments to find one that would take pets. No luck yet, except for the really cheezy ones in ugly neighborhoods. Will keep trying. - Went out to the military section of town to look at used car lots for trucks. No luck. They are either too beat up, or priced too high. I don't want to spend more than $4K. I already miss my truck, had to sell it because U-Haul wouldn't allow one that size to be towed behind their moving van, and couldn't find a driver to take it.

Sun 3/12 Found the First Baptist Church downtown that Willie Lee told me about. Boy is it B I G! Makes it look too commercial. Too bad it looks that way, because when you see the list of all the ministries they have... wow! I noticed they did not have a jail ministry. It was a very nice Service. The choir and orchestra were extraordinary; the sermon excellent. They own about 6 blocks of buildings here. But when I asked someone about outreach programs, his eyes glazed over. He said he didn't know. I asked someone else, and their eyes glazed over too. Could it be, that in a huge city like Jacksonville, and obviously some VERY rich people go to this church, that NO outreach programs are available for the poor? I'll check on this further next Sunday.

Sat 3/11 Tried calling Ric's number at least a dozen times. Gave up and went out there to his office. Locked up tighter then a drum! Never heard of Real Estate Agents that close on Saturdays. That's their busiest day! That's when everyone wants to go look at homes to buy! Well forget them, they just lost their commission. Called the number on the sign in front of the house. A Scott Lehmbeck answered, and took my information. The house was listed at $44K, but I bid $37K because of the amount of work that needs to be done ($37K purchase, $25K fix-up, $15K profit=$77K selling price, a good price for this neighborhood according to the comps). I went to BofA for a statement for proof of funds and had BofA fax it to Scott.

Fri 3/10 Went to the Courthouse and watched the Auction. Didn't really understand what was happening. I kept seeing people that looked like Lawyers come up with loads of paperwork, bid and win at $100. No one bid against them (?). I asked a guy why that happened, and the guy just laughed at me. I wonder what would have happened if I bid $200? or $2000? or $20,000? Have to find someone who'll teach me what's going on. - Looked at the rest of the houses on Ric Goodman's list. Found a good one. Spent all afternoon trying to get a hold of Ric to let him know I wanted to make an offer. Left two voice mails. Never called me back. - Miss you two. Hope Dad's ok. Sure miss having him around for his advice.

Thurs 3/9 Went to the Jax [Jacksonville] Chamber of Commerce and got white and yellow page phone books, a Jax street map, and a list of CofC Real Estate Agents. - Then went to the Courthouse and applied for a Florida Fictitious Name Certificate, which will allow me to start a Business Bank Account (want to keep all the Business stuff separated from my personal stuff). It'll take about 10 days. - Also found out that the County Tax sales will be in May and can get a list in April. Also found out that the City has Foreclosure Auctions every week day at 11am (am going to watch one tomorrow morning). - Then I went to Mark Busher & Assoc, and talked to a Ric Goodman. Had to talk him into pulling up a list of all houses in the MLS from $0 to $40K. Took down info on about 20 houses. Looked at the first 6 houses. Boy, what dumps! And so where the neighborhoods!

Wed 3/8 Got an address to use, from a UPS Store: Gaddis Properties, 3832-10 Baymeadows, Ste 104, Jacksonville, Florida 32217. - The address allowed me to get a Florida ID at the MVD, and also to get a bank account at BofA. - Also got a Nextel/Sprint cell phone with a Jacksonville phone number: ~~904-566-1026~~ UPDATE: New cell phone number is 904-314-1000, but can also use my other cell with the Prescott number: 928-273-1457. I don't mind the roaming charges.

Tues 3/7 Praise to the Lord, arrived in Florida safe and sound. - The FL U-Haul is giving me a month storage for free! That solves what to do with my stuff for right now. - Already found a rental car at Budget: an economy car called a Cobalt. - Also already found a place to stay: The Suburban. Nice room with a kitchen, but quite expensive with a cat: $285 a week! Will look for a new place soon, but this will do for 2 weeks while I look at houses and hunt for a truck.

3/2/06 Left for Florida at 8am after Paul (from Church on the Street) helped load the last few items on the moving van. He sure is a nice guy. - Had to sell my Van and Pick Up. I'm going to miss my 1973 Ford F250 with the 360 engine. Hope I can find another good one in Florida.