Tag Archives: pack rat husband

Back at it.

February 21, 2023 Rivergirl 22 Comments

After an almost two week hiatus from working in the ~~crap cave~~ cellar… for reasons that will be discussed later….the husband was back on track.

The far right corner was complete so the ceiling work started moving outward.

I was called in to help numerous times because the price of plywood went up again and my spouse switched from the higher grade to the rougher stuff which was much harder to work with. Imagine if you will…. me, with my bad knee climbing on the step stool and trying to hold a sheet of wood in place over my head.

It was not a pretty sight. Nor a quiet one. I never realized there were so many colorful ways to say hurry up before I was roped in to helping.

In between curses, I checked out his treasure. An old Bell and Howell movie projector, those horrible figural whisky bottles people used to collect in the ‘70s, a rather nice Italian pepper grinder and another rooster.

Skeeter Skoot? I can only imagine the horrible chemicals they wanted us to spray ourselves with then back then.

And finally… it looks like my husband will be giving classes on junk collecting. Reserve your seat now, it’s sure to be a popular seminar.

🥴

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This will not be tolerated for long.

February 11, 2023 Rivergirl 49 Comments

Ever since my husband started his insulation and ceiling project down in the cellar, things have started to float upstairs…

The den couch is now covered in crap.

As is the den chair. These old uniforms (and ratty, full of holes, military issue socks because we can’t throw anything out, ever! ) were so stinky and full of mildew I made him take them to the laundromat in the next town. What does he plan on doing with them? Absolutely nothing.

My auxiliary side desk in the home office is now covered in coins.

And musty old boxes are being unpacked in the living room.

This particular box unearthed a treasure he was thrilled to see again.

See if you can figure out why…

Men.

They’re easily amused.

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Things you should never say to a Mainer.

February 8, 2023 Rivergirl 42 Comments

As you know, I live in Maine. Land of lobster, rugged rocky shores and sturdy, no nonsense, salt of the earth people. We’re generally laid back and slow to anger so when I saw this article the other day about things you should never say because they piss us off? I had to share a few…

They’re not.

Trust me on this.

This goes for all of you except rawgod. His snow storms and cold temps are epic.

Sumner in Maine is tourist season and believe me, the locals don’t enjoy much about that. We may need your money, but we can do without your attitude and desire to have a Starbucks on every corner thank you very much.

Warm winters? You can have them… I need snow.

I really had to laugh at this one. Though that doesn’t look like my husband physically, they’re definitely brothers in spirit. But I have to disagree with the last sentence … there’s not much room left in our cellar.

🤣

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It’s a (small but I take ‘em where I can get ‘em) miracle.

February 5, 2023 Rivergirl 14 Comments

Checking on the progress in the cluttered chaos my hating retirement husband calls a cellar, I was delighted to see these:

Looks like someone took my advice about using brackets on his shelves…. and if that’s not a genuine grade ‘A’ miracle? Ethel Kennedy didn’t own a black dress.

Shelves are making their way along the newly insulated front wall…

And might have a better chance at withstanding the onslaught of ~~useless junk~~ treasure that’s sure to follow.

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I don’t know how he stands it.

February 4, 2023 Rivergirl 34 Comments

Work continues in the ~~underground crap filled cave~~ basement, one small section at a time because my husband is still miserably bored by retirement.

He clears and cleans a few square feet..

Having moved all the cobwebbed clutter that resided there…

Behind him to the section he previously cleared, insulated and ceiling’d. (That’s the past tense of ‘put up a ceiling’ in case you were wondering.)

He’s shuffled more useless junk around in the past month than Fred Sanford did in his 6 year television series run.

To be honest it drives the OCD part of me a little nuts. Now would be the perfect time to sort, clean, and organize… but he won’t. No matter how many times I suggest it or offer to help. It will be so much more work to do it later, but the man cannot multi task to save his life. The last time I brought up the subject? He snapped at me and said “One thing at a time!”

So he’s down there now, alone. Having turned the corner on the front wall…

With all that still in front of him.

I don’t know how he stands it. I really don’t.

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Onward and upward.

January 31, 2023 Rivergirl 32 Comments

Props to my husband for not only sticking with his horrible basement project but becoming totally obsessed by it. Clearing, cleaning and organizing ( not really, but he’s trying ) 40 years worth of junk is not for the faint hearted. Or the asthmatic… the dust and cobwebs are epic.

When last I reported, shelves were being built on the back right wall and corners were being turned.

So now that ⬆️…

Looks like this ⬇️ …

Because every time he carves out a small area to work…

Thousands of pounds of ~~junk~~ stuff must be moved.

Anyone need a tv antenna or an old bottle of Clorox? It’s still half full.

Four vintage wooden crates were unearthed… but none of them were alcohol related for my vinyl collection damn it.

This is a serious amount of work. And while I try to go down and help, more often than not the husband gets aggravated with me and tells me to get lost.

If 39 years of marriage has taught us anything, it’s that we don’t work well together. I’m a very organized person ….. I plan, I make lists, I gather needed tools and supplies, I have everything I need within reach. He wings it… no plan, always searching for tools and has to run to the store every other day for more supplies. Basically, we drive each other crazy and end up doing our projects by ourselves. Harder, yes. But it keeps us out of divorce court.

It’s a good thing I don’t use that freezer or second refrigerator anymore.

🤣

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My fingers are crossed.

January 30, 2023 Rivergirl 30 Comments

A large pile ~~of junk~~ has appeared at the bottom of the stairs to the ~~cave of crap~~ cellar…..

And I can only hope its next step is out the door and to the dump.

Because I’m not sitting on that any time soon.

Another pile of refuse sits on the opposite side…

With an unidentified antique object I’m guessing is a device used to communicate with aliens on neighboring planets.

To be honest.. I’m surprised he’s willing to part with it.

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And we’re shifting….

January 25, 2023 Rivergirl 32 Comments

The husband completed his work on the far left corner of the ~~crap filled dungeon~~ cellar and has now shifted to the far right.

The ceiling was up…

And painted…

And insulation folded into place.

I had to laugh because it was at this point he said, “Looks a lot different without all the stuff here huh?” And yes, technically he’s right … it did look different. But I’d be a lot more thrilled if the stuff migrated out of the cellar and to the dump instead of just shifting over to the newly completed section.