a moron broke into the Homestead and stole our garbage.
well, not exactly, but close enough.
after inventory: one 1G athlon emachine, with 17" crt, 3 keyboards, 2 mice, usb hub, router; one kodak digicam with photoprinter dock in travel bag, one keychain digicam, one ancient 35mm cam, one 6" bench grinder, 2 qvc special sets of fake pearls, 4 particle board shelves, 1 weed trimmer (not ours), 1 plastic garbage can.
things that were skipped?
19" (heavily used) TiBook, 17" flat panel, $300 cash, ryobi 10" miter saw (between the emachine and the shelves....), ryobi 14v drill and flashlight set, an 8 gal air compressor and assted tools, table saw, airport express, 5 disc cd shelf system, 2 dvd players, oh, and the high-end luxury car sitting next to the window they crawled through to get in.
even better, they apparently carried their booty out the front door, then locked the door from the inside and left via the back door, without locking *that* door. 'better' because i only had the key to the deadbolt on the front door, so when they locked the doorknob, they locked *me* out; alerting me to the fact that someone had been in the house, rather than camofluaging it. they also put the screen back on the window they crawled in - *upside-down*. GENIUS! happily, the deadbolt key unlocks the back door...oh except when i went around back, the door was already unlocked for me! yay no calling a locksmith to let me into my own burgled house!
unfortunately, the Homestead is so rural that petty theft is a very self-help sort of crime...either you catch the culprits and retrieve your belongings yourself, or you're apparently screwed. we tried the two local pawn shops and found none of our gear...not that we particularly *wanted* it back - did you know there are still places that charge disposal fees for crts? why didn't they take the 15" and 30" crts? - and even if it hadnt been stolen it would have been sold or given away to locals, anyway.
mostly what has been achieved is: J is no longer comfortable kissing me goodbye for a few days while i go down to the Homestead to clean and sort, and he stays at home to coddle our beasts and work all that overtime. as i don't own a firearm or a dog (either of the loud or large varieties), he now worries that the aforementioned brain trust may enter the home while i am there, alone and defenseless. with our only car.
*flail*
in the 'things that are going well' column: the house is still filled with dog-stank, but it no longer hits you with a sledgehammer when you walk in. the house no longer swarms with the smell of death. i've managed to get it clean enough it seems less like the place where J's parents died and more like an empty house, full of things that need to be sold or given to charity, interspersed with keepsakes (his and theirs). we can cook there without poisoning ourselves. we were able to sell off a number of clutter-y or theft-bait items this week. we've severely curtailed the number of places where those opportunistic little mice can hide, and thrown out several of their fluffy little nests. we dropped off a half dozen plus-size ladies sweaters at the senior center in town, which were snapped up post-haste. the fat kitty is looking more cat-shaped and less pear-shaped. the day of the dead approaches. we got rid of all 3 of the excess vehicles. the credit card balance is down to a less frightening number. i've slept in the homestead 3 of the last 6 nights, and come home with neither a sinus infection nor an outer ear infection (i've been strongly allergic to the Homestead since the first day i set foot in it). there's interest in buying the Homestead, enough that we aren't concerned about trying to sell in this market.
looming spectre aside, we are doing relatively well.....but that looming spectre...well it does.....*loom*, doesn't it?
after inventory: one 1G athlon emachine, with 17" crt, 3 keyboards, 2 mice, usb hub, router; one kodak digicam with photoprinter dock in travel bag, one keychain digicam, one ancient 35mm cam, one 6" bench grinder, 2 qvc special sets of fake pearls, 4 particle board shelves, 1 weed trimmer (not ours), 1 plastic garbage can.
things that were skipped?
19" (heavily used) TiBook, 17" flat panel, $300 cash, ryobi 10" miter saw (between the emachine and the shelves....), ryobi 14v drill and flashlight set, an 8 gal air compressor and assted tools, table saw, airport express, 5 disc cd shelf system, 2 dvd players, oh, and the high-end luxury car sitting next to the window they crawled through to get in.
even better, they apparently carried their booty out the front door, then locked the door from the inside and left via the back door, without locking *that* door. 'better' because i only had the key to the deadbolt on the front door, so when they locked the doorknob, they locked *me* out; alerting me to the fact that someone had been in the house, rather than camofluaging it. they also put the screen back on the window they crawled in - *upside-down*. GENIUS! happily, the deadbolt key unlocks the back door...oh except when i went around back, the door was already unlocked for me! yay no calling a locksmith to let me into my own burgled house!
unfortunately, the Homestead is so rural that petty theft is a very self-help sort of crime...either you catch the culprits and retrieve your belongings yourself, or you're apparently screwed. we tried the two local pawn shops and found none of our gear...not that we particularly *wanted* it back - did you know there are still places that charge disposal fees for crts? why didn't they take the 15" and 30" crts? - and even if it hadnt been stolen it would have been sold or given away to locals, anyway.
mostly what has been achieved is: J is no longer comfortable kissing me goodbye for a few days while i go down to the Homestead to clean and sort, and he stays at home to coddle our beasts and work all that overtime. as i don't own a firearm or a dog (either of the loud or large varieties), he now worries that the aforementioned brain trust may enter the home while i am there, alone and defenseless. with our only car.
*flail*
in the 'things that are going well' column: the house is still filled with dog-stank, but it no longer hits you with a sledgehammer when you walk in. the house no longer swarms with the smell of death. i've managed to get it clean enough it seems less like the place where J's parents died and more like an empty house, full of things that need to be sold or given to charity, interspersed with keepsakes (his and theirs). we can cook there without poisoning ourselves. we were able to sell off a number of clutter-y or theft-bait items this week. we've severely curtailed the number of places where those opportunistic little mice can hide, and thrown out several of their fluffy little nests. we dropped off a half dozen plus-size ladies sweaters at the senior center in town, which were snapped up post-haste. the fat kitty is looking more cat-shaped and less pear-shaped. the day of the dead approaches. we got rid of all 3 of the excess vehicles. the credit card balance is down to a less frightening number. i've slept in the homestead 3 of the last 6 nights, and come home with neither a sinus infection nor an outer ear infection (i've been strongly allergic to the Homestead since the first day i set foot in it). there's interest in buying the Homestead, enough that we aren't concerned about trying to sell in this market.
looming spectre aside, we are doing relatively well.....but that looming spectre...well it does.....*loom*, doesn't it?