Deconstructed Dock
Our house came with a derelict dock.
Two significant storms last fall further damaged the structure, and the end facing our yard began to slump. When the tide was low, we could see that the pilings looked like hourglasses below the waterline, meaning that repair was off the table. It was replacement or nothing. We chose nothing. We don’t have a boat and don’t intend to get one, at least not any time soon. So in late March, the demolition crew rolled up in their party barge and got to work.
As soon as they removed the roof covering, the boathouse began to collapse in earnest.
It took a couple of weeks for the team to completely remove the dock – they had to spend a lot of time locating and removing pilings below the waterline. But it’s gone now, and our vista is even less obstructed.
We did not get to keep the barge. Alas.
Cars Are Not Investments
We currently own three cars. We do not want or need to own three cars, but we were waiting for one of the kids to purchase one of the cars. During this waiting period, Jason’s Beloved Subaru started to make a little squealing noise as it accelerated. We took it to our trusty local mechanic, who diagnosed a transmission problem. Cost to repair? $9800. Jason took the car to the dealership, looking for a second opinion, and was given an estimate for $15,000. According to Kelley Blue Book, that make and model is worth between $10,000 and $12,000.
Back when I was teaching personal finance, many students thought of their car as an asset that held some kind of value, like the equity in your home. But our car’s “value” essentially evaporated overnight. We are left with two options – repair the transmission and sell it, hoping to break even, or sell it at an eye-wateringly steep discount, given the condition. We are lucky that we don’t need the car and don’t have a loan on it.
So, This is Gross.
Despite being very cautious, I managed to get poison ivy. After a particularly bad bout in 2017, I require steroids every time I am afflicted with it. The rash oozed for eight straight days. Ew.
The rash has been extremely annoying during the day, but has also prevented me from sleeping well. Pray for my family.
Pour One Out
In the last week, my very favorite Chinese restaurant (Panda House), as well as my very favorite tiki bar (Secret Tiki Temple), closed their doors forever. Combined with the poison ivy, it’s been a rather dispiriting couple of weeks.
But to End on a Positive Note….
I am finally on pace for my Goodreads Challenge (IYKYK), after being consistently one book behind for a couple of months.