Owning your own home is great; it gives you the flexibility to make any changes you want — as long as you can afford them, of course.
But once in a while something you want gets bumped down on the to-do list by something you need. Case in point: instead of my 60-plus-year-old home getting siding this year, a more important — and very timely — issue has come up: the furnace.
After hiring a highly rated heating and A/C company that I found on Angie’s List, I learned that my nearly 20-year-old furnace was, according to the serviceman, “on its last legs.” I’m typically not a gambling man, and the thought of my furnace going caput as the harsh Indiana winter approaches sends chills down my spine.
So, I guess I have little choice but to buy myself a nice new furnace — and just in time for the holidays. That is, unless I wait to see if Santa puts enough coal in my stocking on Christmas morning to help heat my house.
Author Archive for John
Despite being a dog owner for the past 20 years, I’ll never claim to be the Dog Whisperer. Just when I think I’ve trained my dogs to be well-behaved, I come home from work to find one of my shoes chewed beyond recognition by my 5-month-old puppy, Ernie, or trash from last night’s dinner scattered throughout the living room while my 4-year-old golden retriever, Dixie, looks up at me with her big, brown, guilt-ridden eyes.
Then there’s Bear. I adopted this German shepherd mix in 2006. Although he was only about 6 months old at the time, two different owners previously gave up on him and brought him back to the shelter. But the moment I saw him seemingly smiling at me as he wiggled his entire rear end while wagging his tail, I knew I had to have him.
To this day, I still sometimes stop and try to think of what reasons there possibly could’ve been for someone to get rid of Bear. Although he may not be as smart as Dixie and Ernie, when we had family visiting a few days ago, Bear was the only one of the three not to incessantly bark, lick, jump or otherwise annoy our guests. Of course, there are times when Bear is just as mischievous as the others. So for one day at least, I was proud of his exemplary behavior.
Now, if I get home tonight and find him eating something he’s not supposed to, maybe I’ll finally give up my futile dog training efforts and turn to the List for a professional.
October. Is there any better month of the year? Not only is it baseball playoffs season – Go Cubs! – and football season – Go Bears! – but it’s fall, the season when trees shed their leaves in preparation for a long, cold Indiana winter.
As a youngster I never minded raking leaves. In fact, it always gave me a legitimate excuse to be outside, releasing my pent-up energy by striking the dried-up leaves with a rake instead of striking my little sister with my fist. But now that I’m an adult – and, I might add, one who showers his younger sibling with nothing but love – the annual rite of leaf raking tempts me to check the List and pass the experience on to one of our fine local service providers. Continue reading ‘Falling for fall: baseball, football and raking leaves’
I’m typically not a vengeful person. Go ahead, laugh all you want at my collection of baseball cards, old video games and “He-Man” DVDs. I promise I won’t get angry or concoct an exacting scheme to make you rue the day you were born.
But I have to admit, even at the risk of becoming the target of my Angie’s List co-workers’ wrath, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Indianapolis Colts lose their first-ever regular-season game at Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday night. Continue reading ‘Grudge Match: Bears win over Colts is reason to gloat’
