With this past weekend, and the purchase of a new minivan, my little family has put nearly all of our recent car accident behind us. Everyone’s (mostly) healed up, and after some searching around, we were able to get a loan for a nifty new dark red Dodge Grand Caravan. Well, new to us, anyway; it’s a 2002 with 89,000 miles, but oddly enough that’s exactly what our last car was when we bought it.
We don’t know what this car’s name will be yet. Usually they just seem to name themselves. Our late, lamented night-blue Kia Sportage was named “Shadow,” and the old Saturn we’ve been tooling around in picked up the nickname “Shifty” since it’s a stick-shift and Kat is only just now learning how to run one. (I never claimed the names were clever.) We’ll see what develops with our new steed.
Funny how vehicles reflect what you’re doing. When Kat and I were jet-setting newlyweds, the Kia was an ideal sporty little car to get us around. But once you add a car seat and baby bags, it sure gets crowded in a hurry. The minivan is what one of my old friends would have derisively turned up his nose as a “suburban grocery-getter,” but hey, even though I’m very much an urban child, you’ve gotta get the groceries somehow. (Now I would tell my old friend “YOU try fitting two weeks of food for three into a sedan trunk right next to the stroller.”)
Now that we’re squared away, it’s off to the List again — my mechanic to do an overall checkup, a report on the car sales place we bought it from, and now that life has calmed down enough to think more than five minutes ahead, making plans for next spring, fixes to the house and the long-term future.
Paul is senior staff writer at
Angie's List magazine.
His favorite album is Blondie's "Parallel Lines," he's more obsessed with
Doctor Who than any American has a right to be, and his desk at Angie's List is guarded by (toy) robots.
I’m new to town and I adore my new apartment, even though I am often awakened by creepy noises in the middle of night. Whether it’s my icemaker releasing a load of ice from its dispenser or the heat kicking in like Freddy Krueger in the boiler room, my charming apartment seems to have a mind of its own.
I have convinced myself the reason I am disturbed by such noises is because my place needs furniture. I truly believe, like kids want candy and adults want careers, homes want to feel like home.
As I prepared myself for another furniture shopping adventure, I discovered a hideous stain embedded on my gray carpet near the fireplace. I suspect when my brother and his wife came to visit two weeks ago (and refused to remove their tennis shoes) he must’ve had some mud or oily concoction on his shoe. Or maybe it was his wife? Who am I kidding? Regardless of who created the stain doesn’t mean I’m going to start acting like some pretentious person, monitoring every visitor’s move or putting plastic protectors on my carpet.
Instead, I’ll put the Resolve carpet stain remover to rest and look for a credible carpet cleaner on Angie’s List. Besides, I could always buy a sofa that would cover the stain. Nah, I’d feel too guilty.
Valerie is an Associate Editor at Angie's List. She enjoys traveling, movies and writing.
I’m new here at Angie’s List as the new podcast producer. I’ve got lots of things to sort out, and getting used to a drastic weather change is one. I’m from the Deep South and the balmy winters of Mississippi have not prepared me for big city cold weather. My jackets are wimpy; my amount of sweaters equals almost zero and gloves? Pshaw! This is not apparel for sitting on the veranda sipping ice tea! I scoff at such apparel — well I did until now.
This brings me to the point where, as a 30s-something adult, I had to turn on a furnace for the first time. I rented an older home in a historic district of Indy and I love it, but this heating system is enormous, and dealing with natural gas has always freaked me out. It should be easy right? WHATEVER! With years of Southern fear and guilt bred into me, the dramatic “Lighting of the Pilot Light” was a big deal. A ritual, if you will, leaning over a prehistoric space heater, letting the gas run through the line and waiting to spontaneously combust. I can hear my mammaw saying right now, “ You’re gonna burn yoursef’.” or “Oh, lawsee, you’re all gonna die of carbon monoxide poisoning!”
The thing is, I was terrified of this monstrous furnace and lighting the pilot until a little research working on one of the November Angie’s List podcasts featuring heating and cooling service providers. We interviewed a local HVAC guy about furnace maintenance and his info on yearly check-up tips eased my mind about fiddling with the flame on my furnace. After a cold night, I got over that fear quick, successfully getting my new found giant warm fuzzy friend lit with a little help from the List.
Twinkle VanWinkle is a Southern punk-rock belle transplanted to Indianapolis, and is
List-en up! producer for
Angie's List. She enjoys thrift store treasure hunting, dusty old records and is a connoisseur of hot sauces.
Earlier this summer, I wrote about preparing to move from one great, beautiful home to a house that’s, well, soon to be great. Last week my wife and I took possession of our new house. We have our work cut out for us with the long list of to-do’s (or rather “never-gonna-do’s”) the previous owners left. Continue reading ‘Welcome to the jungle: Cleaning up our new house’
Tristan Schmid is host and producer of
List-en up!, the Angie's List podcast. When he's not sitting in front of a computer, working on websites, audio or video production, he stays occupied by taking his dogs for walks, helping
homeless animals find families, and skiing.
Despite the title, I’m not sick while I write this. I’ve recovered. It seems I have a sensitive immune system, and recently got sick while cleaning my garage. It was a freaking mess. A disaster. Continue reading ‘Cough sneeze sniffle sniffle’
Conor is an associate editor for
Angie's List magazine. He has a cat named Kanye and a puppy named Sherman, his favorite movie is
Back to the Future, he loves playing basketball and his favorite place is his couch.
Maybe you know the story of the Tower of Babel. These old-timey peoples began building a tower to reach the heavens, but God deemed it an homage to man’s glory, not his. So he smote their society — which was united by a common language — by creating multiple languages and distancing the people.
I think those forces are still somewhat at work. Ever notice the members-only speak of certain professions? I’ve worked in the journalism field for more than 10 years and I know we’ve got some unique lingo and notations of our own.
“The paper’s been put to bed.” = “The paper’s gone to print.” “Adjust the kerning.” = “Take in the spacing between letters.” “SIC” = “Spelling is correct.”
And so it goes with other professions, as well. To me, a budding handyman(dy), it happens most frequently with construction specialists and home improvement gurus. Continue reading ‘Home improvement Babylon’
Mandy Miller is senior online editor for Angie's List publication department. When she's not focusing on the
magazine's website and other online offerings, she's tackling a mounting list of home improvements she thinks she can do herself. Plus, she really likes to ride her bike, play with her puppy, Boo Radley, and take naps.
Fire is on my mind lately: visions of me waking up wreathed in smoke and flames or more likely, me going to bed and not waking up — ever.
Happy thoughts inspired by the bare wires dangling in my apartment and throughout the building, by the natural gas lines and the dripping water next to the Edison-era breaker boxes.
Water. Electricity. Water. Electricity. I’m not a licensed technician, but something tells me those two shouldn’t go together. Continue reading ‘Smoke signals’
Matthew is the senior editor for local affairs at
Angie’s List magazine. When he’s not at the Blue House, he enjoys reading and writing fiction, playing guitar and riding his bicycle.
I’ve crossed off several more items from my to-do list. After two weekends and multiple nights after work, my household is finally coming to order. I sanded and stained my outdoor wooden patio table (pictured right); stained the wood behind my outdoor lights connected to my house; finished spray painting two outdoor chairs; downloaded pictures I took in May onto my computer and sent them to friends; bought patio chairs for around the table and an outdoor umbrella; and started my wedding website. Pure satisfaction! Who needs a handyman or a personal assistant? Not me. Who needs a break and a masseuse? Me. ☺ Continue reading ‘Check!’
Kristy is deputy managing editor at
Angie's List magazine. She has two rottweilers, Bud and Moto, and enjoys playing mom to her rott-en, lovable pups. Taking the plunge into homeownership last year was a huge wake up call for Kristy. Thankfully, she says, she not only has a handy fiancé, but a handy tool called Angie’s List as well.
Most Angie’s List members, when checking the List, look for a company to hire based on their prices, punctuality, and quality of work, and most reports reflect on these same factors. But there’s more to a service company than what’s in its report.
Members may not realize it without visiting the company’s website or hearing it from its employees, but many companies, when they aren’t painting, installing windows, or remodeling kitchens, are involved in their communities. Continue reading ‘Good companies and good neighbors’
Liz is an associate editor at
Angie's List magazine. She enjoys eating chocolate chip ice cream on the beach after swimming. She also likes colder, drearier places like London.
Like fitness and puppies, certain themes run through the Angie’s List Blue House at any given time. And like Eric and Conor, I’ve caught the moving bug.
My wife and I have only been in our house for about two years (see pictures below), but thanks to the current housing market, we’ve found an affordable place right next to Broad Ripple Park, and we can’t pass it up. Continue reading ‘One door closes, another opens’
Tristan Schmid is host and producer of
List-en up!, the Angie's List podcast. When he's not sitting in front of a computer, working on websites, audio or video production, he stays occupied by taking his dogs for walks, helping
homeless animals find families, and skiing.
