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Welcome 2011

2011-01-13T17:58:00Z

For the past couple of years at New Years I find myself reflecting on the previous year and wishing for a much better New Year. Mostly this has been a reflection of the state of our economy. But part of it is as I get older (not old) I am more aware of the passing of time. I think of all of the things I would like to do, or do again. I guess some would say I am compiling my "Bucket List". So here it is.

I think I would like to spend more time at the ocean, especially true as I look out across the frozen lake watching the snow come down and down and down. Warm sand beneath my feet, a gentle ocean breeze, and early morning sun sounds terrific.

Next, I want to simplify our lifestyle with less clutter, less things, and less maintenance work and a lot more free time. More time to walk the dog, play with the cat, read, travel and explore.

My whole life I have wanted to ride a camel and an elephant. I don’t know why exactly, maybe I watched too many Tarzan and Errol Flynn movies with my grandmother as a kid. In spite of being told that it isn’t that much fun, I want to experience it myself.

Another goal is to swim with dolphins. I almost got to once, but my parents started screaming from shore because they thought one of the pod was a shark – it wasn’t. I seriously thought of ignoring them and continuing to swim out the extra 100 feet or so to join them, but I figured I would be putting both parents at risk of drowning as they most definitely would have attempted to save me. The swim with the dolphins encounter on one of the cruises we took to Belize was actually nothing more than getting to be in a pool with them ac they came by for a treat and you got to pet it.

I also would like to cruise the fjords of Scandinavia and South America, visit Spain, go back to Ireland and Scotland, and northern Germany, and travel to China, Japan, and Australia.

And finally, a real high for 2011 would be to have the girls I mentor get their GED certificates and start college. They are working very hard to undo the damage from family dysfunction and a school system in crisis.

So, if I am going to check off these items, I had better get busy making a lot of money, finding somewhere to rent a camel and an elephant, and start practicing my swimming.

What I Did This Summer

2010-09-30T19:51:00Z

Remember the dreaded grade school writing assignment “What I did this summer”?

You might wonder what brings up that old memory. It comes from my mentoring some of the kids from First Glance who are studying to take their GED tests through classes sponsored by Project Learn. (First Glance is a not for profit youth outreach program for at risk kids located in Akron, Ohio.)

Their struggles with writing the “What I did this summer” essays, reminded me of my own long ago struggle to try to make a typical summer sound interesting when condensed into a few short paragraphs. So in the spirit of practicing what you teach, here are the highlights of my summer past.

It has been a busy summer, between trying to keep up with the gardening (the weeds won), doing the marketing for my husband’s real estate endeavors, being involved in volunteer projects, and helping with family events.

The major family event was my nephew’s August wedding. I helped by designing three huge floral column displays for the reception and the live flower arrangements, bridal party bouquets, and the boutonnieres. It was nice to know that although dusty, the skills were still there from when I used to do décor for major corporate events.

Most of my time has been spent in putting on a marketing push for my husband’s real estate business. Things seem to be breaking loose with houses -- other than just foreclosures --now starting to sell.

Implementing his marketing campaign has meant refining old creative skills and developing new ones in online marketing. I have learned more about social media, website development, website maintenance, blogging, and on-line chatting than I ever thought I would need to know. Add in a new android “smart phone” with thousands of app choices, and I am becoming real techno pro – well sort of.

The photo below shows one of our few rare cruises on our pontoon boat. Hopefully next summer there will be more time for boating.

Reflections on Searching for a new Career

2010-05-19T16:25:00Z

This entry comes from my ongoing search for a new career, or to speak more plainly, a search for a steady paycheck to compensate for our present economic environment.

When you are over 50, well actually over 60, it really isn’t about a career any more, as in my case you most likely have already met your career mileposts and are ready to ease the throttle back a little.

This is not to say that anyone that hires me would be getting less than my full effort. I just don’t have the driving need to reach long range mileposts like I did when I was in my twenties and thirties. What an employer will get is someone that has a mature work ethic, has a vast amount of experience to draw from, and a desire to do a great job while someone else manages the business.

Keeping this in mind, you may appreciate if not relate to my dismay at the changes since the last time I worked for someone else over twenty years ago. One of the things I have found is that searching for a job is a whole new game filled with human resource and industry in-speak.

It appears the Human Resource person writing the job description is either making sure that a known candidate will get the job, or they are really successful at ensuring their own position by creating job descriptions that only another HR person might be able to decipher.

For example, take a look at the following quotes from a recent posting for a test project manager: “managing the test activities within multiple simultaneous projects…”; “advocating the appropriate level of testability focus…”; “advocating defects severity and priority”.

What is wrong with using a more clearly recognized term like “support” instead of “advocating.” And just how do you “advocate defects severity and priority”? Does this mean you “support” defects? Or did they really mean that you set the priority for testing defects and then ranking the severity?

While I understand that technological advances have brought about complex changes in many areas, sometimes a “simple” approach really will get the results just as well. What is wrong with using clear concise language instead of pretentious industry speak?

So, as I continue my job search, I am going to keep looking for the job description that says “Wanted, hard working individual with a mature work ethic, capable of handling multiple projects at the same time. Experience a factor in determining ability, along with an open and creative mind, good communication skills, and the ability to work well with others. “

Learning from someone else’s renovation mistakes

2010-05-10T15:49:00Z

The other night I was watching a renovation realities show where a homeowner with absolutely no skill level and no power tools decided to turn his garage into a “man cave.” He enlisted a soon to be former friend and borrowed power tools and limited expertise from his cousin.

The show turned out to be a comedy routine equal to any of the “oldie but goodie” Laurel & Hardy shows. The homeowner was entirely clueless, demanding of his friend, and totally inept. There was no plan and no research done on how to insulate walls, to install a window, and hang and finish drywall.

This person installed insulation batting using blue painters’ masking tape stretched from stud to stud to hold up the batting; they didn’t staple a single staple into any of the strips. They then started hanging drywall with the least number of screws I have ever seen; completely ignoring the top of each sheet because they couldn’t reach it from the ground. They even wiggled the panel with the top flapping slightly and decided that it was up there “pretty good.” When they got to a spot where they needed to cut the drywall to fit, they called the homeowner’s cousin to ask him if he had a saw, “one with one of the circular things that went around” to cut the drywall. Luckily for the homeowner, the cousin came with the saw but told him he didn’t need it to cut the drywall. He showed him how to score and snap the drywall instead.

Then the homeowner, the friend and the cousin marked the hole for the window by holding the window up on the exterior wall and having someone eyeball where it should go. There wasn’t a level or square on the premises. They started to install the window without framing it in, but luckily again, the cousin came back and told him it had to be framed.

All during the show there was a voice over that pointed out where they were going wrong and the fact that they could have gone to the show’s sponsoring home improvement center for instruction.

By the end of the show, the homeowner had a disgusted cousin, a friend who felt taken advantage of, and a remodeling job that would never pass a home inspection.

I laughed throughout the half hour show, but the sad fact is that I have sold several houses to people with owner financing, only to get the houses back after they had tried similar home renovation projects. None of these projects were authorized by me as required in our financing contract. Needless to say, it cost me a lot to redo their renovations.

So, the moral of this story is to learn from others’ mistakes. Get professional help if you do not have the knowledge or skill level to do a major renovation yourself. Develop your skill level by attending free seminars at your local home improvement stores and practice what you learn. Start with small projects, ask for advice from someone that is qualified, and do your research first before you make costly errors. I would even advise that you hire an experienced person to work with you.

I still stand by my premise that you can do it – just take the time to learn how to use tools properly and develop your skill level. Never tackle a project without becoming familiar with what the job entails and evaluating the feasibility of taking it on. As I have said, I am fearless when it comes to renovation, but I have developed my skills -- I have the tools and know how to use them, and I know how to evaluate the project, do the research, and prepare and stick to the budget.

Snow, beautiful snow?

2010-02-18T18:45:00Z

Snow, Beautiful Snow sscreeeeeeeech Let’s play that back. Snow, beautiful snow? Beautiful my Corgi’s patootie! We have had weeks of major snow; dog burying, sidewalk hiding, car sliding, roof destroying, tree breaking, record breaking SNOW!

Maybe I am just in the wrong place. If I were skiing out west I would be ecstatic, drifting down the slope in a soft white cloud of powder. If I were still a child I would be making snow angels and snowmen. And if I was independently wealthy, I could stay inside and enjoy the view from my living room in front of my fireplace.

But I am not doing any of those things and I don’t know how much more of this white splendor we can afford. It has gone way beyond pretty and is now in the damage zone.

Our gutters have 6 inches of ice above the rim, the downspouts are frozen solid, our shrubs are buried, our snow blower needs new rubber blades, and our backs are strained. We are sick of shoveling off the deck, beating the snow off the 10 foot high arborvitae hedge, clearing the sidewalks, and unburying our mailbox. My new car accessory is a snow shovel and my favorite outfit includes long johns and a heavy parka.

Our dogs have mixed feelings, Maxi is still having fun plowing through head high drifts like a jack rabbit, while Meiyah has evidently decided that this is a snow emergency and it is OK to substitute the upper deck as her restroom facilities.

So be forewarned, if the snow keeps up, you may encounter a white Kia Rio streaking south on Route 77 towards Florida. Do not get in its way, the women driving is considered desperate and snow crazed.

Basic Tools For Every Homeowner

2010-02-01T15:32:00Z

I have compiled a basic list of tools that every homeowner should have whether they intend to do their own home maintenance or not. There are many more tools that I consider basic, but I have limited this list to 17 items that would be needed for small repair projects. Remember in tools, you do not want to go with cheap quality, note I said quality because sometimes you can get quality for a bargain price. Cheaply made tools will not last, this especially true in screw drivers and pliers. You should be able to put this whole tool kit together for around $200 to 300 dollars. After that, if you find you like doing your own repair work, add the tools needed per project that you are doing, that way you will defray the cost out over a longer period of time and buy only what you will be using. Also, there are many specialty power tools that you may only use one time and these you can rent from a rental tool company.

Hammer -- good 16 oz. straight claw with either a rubber covered steel handle or fiberglass
Set of quality screwdrivers
Utility knife and blades
Needle nose pliers
Locking vice grip pliers
Torpedo level at least 9 inches long
Tape Measure, 25 feet long is best, but I also carry a small 10 foot one in my purse
Pry Bar, a flat bar with a straight and curved end is best if it is the only one you own
Reversible Drill and Drill Bit assortment (go with an electric one if you will only being using it occasionally)
Hand saw, at least a 12 inch one that will fit in your tool box
Safety equipment -- safety glasses or goggles, and dust and paint disposable masks
Electric tester -- get a inexpensive two prong one that plugs into the socket
Wood chisel -- either a set or if only one, get a 1/2 inch
Carpenters square -- you will need this to make straight cuts
Flashlight
Toolbox -- one large enough to hold all of your basic tools
Basic Home Repair Manual -- I prefer it in book form, although you can always look up a project on the Internet

Comments are appreciated and if you have a question you can email me at Mary@MaryMcCombs.com

We really have "Come A Long Way Baby"

2010-01-29T16:12:00Z

The other night my husband Tom made a comment about a noxious commercial that really impressed me with how far we women have come.

The commercial takes place in the kitchen of a stereotypical husband and wife. The husband talks about his to do list while he opens the upper cupboard, the door of which is broken and dangles from only one hinge. He pushes it back into place while he narrows his job list down to getting life insurance. The commercial ends with the wife being duly impressed with her clever husband although she does point out that since getting life insurance was so easy he now had the time to fix the cupboard.

Tom said “Why doesn’t she just fix it?” Yeah baby, we have come a long way!

This is something my father would never have said to my mother, me maybe, but Mom –NO, never! My grandfather wouldn’t even have considered the possibility of my grandmother making a household repair. Were they being chauvinistic? No, their mind set was the norm for their generations.

Things have changed with our generation. Tom’s comment stems from his respect of my ability and not from a desire to get out of doing the job himself. It wouldn’t occur to either of us that he was the only one that was responsible for or capable of doing that kind of work. Are we the exception, the answer is NO. Although I am probably in the upper range of capability, most of my women friends are capable of doing many if not all basic home repairs. Plus, we have an advantage in that we read the instructions first – Oh sorry, that’s a different blog subject.

Welcome

2010-01-26T03:56:47Z

Welcome to my blog. I will be sharing my DIY hints, projects, those that were a success and even somethat were failures.
Please check back soon for new entries.