Hello The Sisterhood! Glad your plane was able to land/take-off, Ayn. In case anyone has a bent for masochism, read on! Travel safely and power nap quickly, Goils! Love Dad/Patrizzio!
So are we bridging here tonight ? We can play a 3 handed way . It can be fun ! Only did it once before but I can teach you. Carol Hello One Table Bridgers! Thanks to Chooch for hosting and providing such tasty snacks, popcorn included! I found out why you three didn't receive my message! I composed it but didn't send it! See below!
Anyway, as discussed, we will gather at our place next Monday for pre-Christmas bidding and Xmas cheer. Any others who might be free, at this busy time of year, please let me know if you are able to join us and Lady Dar and I will plan accordingly. Cheers, Patrizzio!
PS: Thanks so much for two pictures, O Susannah. Chloë and Lady Dar were both delighted and send their thanks. Rowan James, on the other hand, didn't think you chose his best profile so he'd like to advise you on your technique, even though you are only the printer!!!Hello Kids: Are we four on for one table this evening? I already have my snowshoes ready so let me know and I'll plan accordingly. Thanks and Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: Aunt Ayn left, for sunny California, amid a flurry of snowflakes, around 1:30 pm this afternoon! One table with lights! Why is that popcorn so far away from me?
Hi Pat, Corinne, Chloe and Rowan, We wish you all the merriest of Christmas' with the new grandchild. May your holidays be filled with joy! Have a Happy New Year! Ruth Thanks and same to you! What are your plans for the holidays?
We will have a quiet time with Rowan. Just had Ayn here for a quick 4 day visit.
Love to you and your family! Corinne Hi Ruthless and The Grumpy Golfer! Thanks for the lovely Christmas wishes. We enjoyed a wonderful evening, this past Saturday, with Clan Sutherland. Ayn made her famous Tinsel Town Dynamite Tacos and everyone adored Rowan James! Fondestos to our Favourite Squamish Five and company! Love and Cheers, Patrizzio!
Patrizzio, mi amigo! Thanks for the e-card, hope you will all have a fun, festive season. Not sure where you are celebrating, assume eithe here in Canada or down the coast with family.
This year, my Xmas letter is far from cheerful so I am only sharing with a few. You are one of The Elect! I have tried to make the story amusing but have no doubt missed the mark. I am sensitive around the issues because I get the sense some people believe I brought this all on myself. Perhaps from a previous life? Hope you and Corinne are keeping well! All the best for 2020! Deborah
Hello! Once again, as we gallop towards the end of December, it’s time to get the Christmas letter out and bring everybody up-to-date on the year’s ups and downs. As you will read, for me, it’s probably more of the latter. In fact, December 29 is a significant anniversary in my calendar. Now, in case you are wondering if you’ve missed a saint’s day - after all, Christmas and St. Stephen’s Day are over by then and it’s not yet the Epiphany - December 29, 2018, was probably the last day I was truly happy. I know this sounds extreme but, as you read on, you’ll see why.
Now, I had originally written it all out in detail but when I hit five pages, I thought to myself, nope! The paragraph is just not the way to go with the Christmas letter this year. I’ll have to switch to point form. So here, is a rapid run down of all the catastrophes that have cascaded on to me in 2019.
December 29, 2018: On my way out for the evening, discover water dripping through the basement ceiling beneath the barbershop washroom. December 30, 2018: Water now gushing so call in the plumber. He simply cuts a hole in the ceiling and schedules his colleague for the next day.
December 31, 2018: Colleague comes in and discovers nail through a water pipe behind the barbershop toilet. Put there by Viper during his fixturing last August. Nail has finally rusted out. (Readers of last year’s letter will be more familiar with Mariachi Boy, which is the former name for Viper) (You will probably understand why as you read along…)
January 2, 2019: Viper gets a letter outlining situation and request for coverage under his insurance. This triggers a massive amount of delay by him, as he argues with his contractor. Contractor probably not guilty. February, 2019: Viper begins the unfortunate practice of leaving his windows open for 6 to 7 hours at a stretch. In Canada, we just don’t do this in the winter. Especially not in minus-30 weather. Interior temperature at my building drops dangerously close to the level at which it is an offence under the Provincial Offences Act. I also get bronchitis from breathing all the cold air 24/7.
March 2019: Finally call my own insurer who subrogates. Contractor comes up with the money to repair the ceiling. Contractor is no longer patronizing Viper’s establishment. My insurance rates go up. Still trying to collect from Viper for the plumber bill (since “cause of loss” is not covered under commercial insurance).
Drywalling company comes and does a fantastic job repairing the stucco
ceiling in the basement. I undertake repairs to the floor surface. March 26, 2019: Get a visit from the fire inspector. No, nothing really wrong. Detectors not going off, no signs of smoke billowing out the windows, nothing burning.
Visit has been triggered by Viper. I told Viper, in the letter about nail-through-pipe, to be careful moving his barber chairs because extra vibration might bring down more of the ceiling he has to pay to repair. Viper interprets this as “not
to use his chairs because the floor is about to collapse.” Correspondence back and forth with his law firm, which is the prestigious Norton Rose, offices in dozens of countries, where, as my lawyer says, “It costs $500 just to walk in the door!” Viper demands I undertake an inspection of the structural integrity of the building. I refuse. Out of options and in spite, he calls in the fire department. Fire inspectors are hard-pressed to find anything wrong but take
particular exception to my laundry/utility room ceiling. (Hold on to
this thought, it will return.)
April 2019: Notice there is still staining in the main basement ceiling. Lovely new ceiling has to be opened up again. We discover that the contractor, who did the reno back in 2016, jerry-rigged the toilet installation in the corner suite by putting a piece of 2 x 4 under the floor to keep the toilet level. For three years, only some effluent has been going in the right direction… Toilet situation is
repaired at cost of $1600 (which is being added to the lawsuit with
the contractor) (Yes, more on that soon…) April 17, 2019: Send letter to fire inspection people, questioning their rationale for redoing the laundry room ceiling, namely, that it is “connected to the barbershop and drycleaner above”. Laundry/utility room is in NW corner of basement, two shops are on the SE side of the building. No ‘aboveness’ discernible. They ignore the letter. It is
re-sent May 23 (once again, hold this thought, we will return to this
subject.)
April to May 2019: This time period might actually have been okay, but
I don’t remember...June 2019: Get an email from fire inspector advising he will be along on June 5 to re-inspect. Reply advising no work done yet, waiting for
formal reply to April letter, and I am not here June 5. June 5, 2019: Fire inspector shows up anyway - our tax dollars at work! June 6, 2019: Discover a pyramid-shaped pile of leaves and earth over the floor drain in the basement. Yep, sewer line has backed up. Mercifully, other than odour, little or no fecal matter. Call in the plumbers.
June 6, 2019: Answer email from fire inspector, advising that all requests under the Notice of Violation are on hold while I deal with the sewer backup problem. June 7, 2019: Plumbers begin work to fix the sewer line. What is supposed to be a $4000 job within 48 hours has become an $18,000 job. Whole sewer line and both water stacks have to be re-done. Not covered by insurance as this is all below grade. June 8, 2019: Plumbers finish around 11 PM at night. I am left with a sub-grade concrete “river” that snakes across my basement floor for
about 40 feet, varying in width from 2 feet to 4 feet, running from the main water stack in the NW corner all the way to the centre of the south wall, where it rises in what I call the “grotto” (they had to cut out part of the drywall and the brick wall to get at the secondary stack.) (Photos available for anyone who is curious…)
June 9-27, 2019: Devote my time to getting financing for my surprise purchase!
June 9-August 8, 2019: Commence my voyage of discovery into the world
of ceramic tiling. Have already earlier in the year taught myself drywall repair (see above about cut-outs in ceiling) and now find the technique comes in handy. Begin arduous process of re-tiling the basement floor which, in the summer, takes forever because the basement is cold with the air conditioning on and none of the levelers or concrete patch material dry quickly. July 2019: My cleaner discovers that Viper has a “cop cam” up in his premises. Now, it’s okay to video record provided you have a sign advising this (at the time, Viper doesn’t) but audio recording, if you don’t advise people you are doing it, is a criminal offence.(Viper never lets details like that get in his way). The cleaner refuses to go in and clean his space because she wants to know why he’s recordingher and, more importantly, what he is doing with the info? I consider
this valid. She goes on cleaning the other spaces.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, does this ever end? Eventually, yes, we just haven’t got there yet. And, no doubt you’re also thinking: But, Deborah, they are always telling us we need to keep learning new things! Yes, but I do not think drywall repair, ceramic tiling and using a paint gun (we’ll get to that) is what “they” had in mind. August 9 to date: Still working on the floor. Tiling of main area hasbeen completed but still have the laundry room to finish, laundry room area is complicated by lack of space to move the washer and dryer and
much more. Good news: now that the heating is on, levelers and
concrete patch are drying much more quickly!
August 15, 2019: Lawsuit initiated by the contractor, having been comatose since November 2017, revives. No surprise there, the same parties are involved with that one as with the windows lawsuit (see below, September 19) Start tallying up all the costs arising from the poorly done/incomplete work. $2000 on plumbing repairs alone in 2019. (And his firm apparently specializes in kitchens and bathrooms. Most of the problems that have arisen are in kitchens and bathrooms.)August 27, 2019: Finally hear back from the boss of fire inspector, in answer to my letter of April 17 and various emails and other complaints. Boss informs me that I have to do the ceiling because it’s “in the same building as the barbershop and drycleaner”. (Actually, not true, the fire code says “between major occupancies”.)
September 5, 2019: Write a letter to the fire chief complaining about harassment over the work in light of the fact I did tell the fire department that I had had the sewer line backup and all their work would have to go on hold. Hear nothing in response. (All departments at the City of Toronto have a complaint resolution process and are supposed to reply to complaints within a certain amount of time. Fire department has obviously never heard of this!)
September 19, 2019: First day of trial against Ridley Windows over the
defective and leaky windows in my corner commercial space. This caps 3
years of trying to get them to take responsibility. Had hoped last day
of trial would be September 19 too, but sadly, no, it was adjourned
till December 13.
October 5, 2019: Having received no reply to my complaint to the Fire Chief, I call the Ombudsman. I also go and see a criminal lawyer. Failure to comply with a Notice of Violation can lead to criminal charges. I decide I want to be prepared, if and when I’m allowed to make that one phone call!! Met some really, really nice folks in his waiting room…October 23, 2019: After a summer of perpetual headaches from the driving dance club beats being imposed on me by Viper and his crew, I issue a Zero Tolerance Policy notice. Advise our “maintenance team” will take action.
October 24, 2019: Viper comes into work, slams on the beats, and so I phone, start to say: “Could you please turn…” but never get to the point of saying “…it down, it’s too loud” because he hangs up on me. Put Zero Tolerance Policy into action. (I go down to the basement and I turn off his power.) Viper doesn’t like this. I do it three times over the course of that day. October 26, 2019: Speak to head of fire inspection department, who agrees I can have until at least the end of December to get the work done. This is a huge relief because the fire inspector has been showing up and harassing me. Point out to the head of fire inspection that their own notice of violation says we are “…advised to begin work immediately and notify them when it is done”. They never gave me a
moment to get it done but just kept showing up, like a bad penny, on my doorstep throughout the summer (June 5, June 19, at least once in August, October 1.) (He took holidays in July.)
Early November: Having had the drywall ceiling removed in the laundry/utility room (to humour the fire inspector), I decide to paint the joists and the underneath of the floorboards, having seen basement ceilings in other older buildings done this way. Due to the surfeit of heating conduit, water lines, PVC drain pipes, electric cabling, etc. crisscrossing the area, I do try painting with a brush but find it is going to take too long. So, I go out and buy a spray paint gun and teach myself to use it. It is certainly faster than using a brush or
roller, but cleanup takes three times as long. (Spending money on leveler, patch, paint, topcoats, primer, paint gun, tiles, etc. etc. is where all my money has gone this year, over and above the sewe line replacement.)
Now, again, you’re probably wondering: When does she get to the good stuff? Hasn’t anything interesting or nice happened? Actually, it probably has but it’s hard to notice. Having spent most of the summer on my hands and knees doing the tiling and trying to do the work the fire department wanted, I really did not get much time off and certainly don’t feel as if I benefited from the good weather. All this stuff is been really rough on my health. However, I did have a very nice two days in early September when one of my friends was here from the UK, and I had an opportunity to “play tourist” in my own city.
Thumbnail sketch: going forward…Viper: I’m afraid Pavlov’s dog and his puppies have proven slowlearners but things have improved on the noise front. Still working on the open-windows-in-winter issue (and, yes, it does rather jack up my heating bill Court case: Still to be decided. I just hope my witnesses will be
heard on Dec. 13 because it is hard to keep dragging people back to
court. (Late breaking news: Judge had an emergency so case has been
adjourned…) Contractor lawsuit: We go to summary judgment on March 2. They were supposed to serve me with their Affidavit by November 22 but they didn’t, no surprise there, they’re waiting to see what happens on December 13! (They probably don’t think I can figure out that’s what they are doing…)
Mortgage: Up for renewal at end of February. Am a bit worried abou this. Can’t face the thought of selling my building at “fire-sale prices” and rush-moving. Have already struck out with one broker, have to really double-down on getting a re-fi once court case is done. (And, for those who may be wondering, I had a lawyer for the Ridley lawsuit but the lawyer quit. I am actually much happier representing myself…)
Brother: Went to UK in October to scatter Dad’s ashes. This was not my father’s idea nor what he had requested. I did let Rod have the ashes but feel we should have respected Dad’s prior arrangements. (Was shocked when a lawyer-friend said it doesn’t matter, the person is dead. Thought the whole point was to show respect by honouring final requests.) Will not name my brother as my executor! He is back on my case again about The Money and the bank accounts, which we are about to switch to suit him, although, again, it is not what my parents had set up… He considers that all the stuff that has been happening and draining my time is just me fabricating “delay”. Not so. No-one invents a sewer-line replacement and the horror story of it all. (Am still cleaning up all the plaster/concrete/tile dust that has permeated everywhere.)
Impending re-inspection by fire dept.: Still have to finish installing a drywall panel over a cut-out in one hallway wall, cleaning up the fireplace, replacing some other wall panels where the previous owners had cut holes for coaxial cable - and then have to go running round the building to camouflage or hide anything and everything else that might draw their attention in the wrong way.
Acting: Haven’t done any since July 2. On that day, I shot an episode (Season 13) of “Untold Stories of the ER” and it took 14 hours from start to finish, which is why I really haven’t dared go back to any set. Not with all the stuff that’s been going on. I had been cast in a vampire series but had to bail on that. I am hoping in 2020 I might be able to line up more acting work.
Mother: Physically still robust and exhibiting a good appetite for her food but, sadly, still 100% dependent on people to do everything for her. Plan to have lunch with her on Christmas Day. Writing: Did manage to finally get my novel published. It’s available on Amazon and Kindle. The title is “To Be Somebody” but if you look it up, you will need my full name Deborah C Sawyer and it doesn’t hurt to have the ISBN 978–0–578–58579–6. The other day, an order was placed by a bookstore, so I was quite chuffed about that.
March trip to UK/Europe. I still hope this will happen as I haven’t had a holiday of any length now since 2017. Police visit: (As they say, truth is stranger than fiction…) On December 11, I went out to take photos of my barber shop windows, because those are newer and they don’t leak. Plan to use the photos
with one of my witnesses. Barber on duty complains about me taking his
picture. Explain the reflection on the glass means nothing inside is visible. The laws of physics be damned, Viper doesn’t believe this, and calls the police, who come out around 7 p.m. and berate me fortaking pictures of my own windows. Complaints already filed, by me, with the chief of police and the independent board which monitors the police. (Viper has a five-year lease… It will not be easy to get rid
of him…)
And, that folks, is about it. Have been out to movies and to dinners with friends but, somehow, although these pauses are enjoyable, they are overwhelmed by all the other stuff going on. Probably could have handled the sewer line issue, on its own, or the fire inspectio fallout on its own but, in combination, it has been quite harrowing. Seriously hope all my readers have had a better year than I have. Enjoy your holidays! Deborah
Hello Renaissance Tradeswoman!
My goodness, a tale of woe, indeed, one full of sound and fury, no less. Must say that we were all more than upset to learn how aweful this past year has been. Is this a new building or the one in Buffalo? I suspect one in Toronto. Perhaps you mentioned it in an earlier missive but may well have forgotten this piece of real estate Hell, so to speak.
For our part, we have been blessed with nothing but a miracle as on November 26th Chloë gave birth to a healthy, bouncing baby boy, 8 lbs, 6 1/2 oz, with red hair, Rowan James! ["Rowan" was Corinne's grandfather's name, "James" was my fathr's name and my middle name.] I mention "miracle" as after almost 18 months of IVF, Chloë was told that her eggs were not fertile. Quite devastating as she truly wished to have a child. Anyway, at some point, not thinking that she could conceive she became pregnant the "old fashioned way"!
Rowan James is doing extremely well, gaining weight, [almost 9 lbs now], and possesses a very easy going temperament, rarely complaining, thus far, except when hungry or needs his diaper changed. Lady Dar stayed with Chloë in the hospital for three night as she delivered via Caesarean, and then for the following week, to help with feeding, changing, etc.
Well, dear handy woman, I trust your tale of woe eventually has a happy, fairy-tale ending and that 2020 will be far more rewarding, psychologically, emotionally and financially than what can only be described, in Elizabeth's words, as an annus horribilis! Fondestos from Lady Dar to you, Deborah. Stay well. Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: An hour after delivering Rowan James; home on Winnipeg with Grandmother! I'm hungry! Baby Hippo after first bath in kitchen sink! Week old with Robo-Nanny! At Sushi Heaven, his first restaurant outing, to celebrate his Grandfather's 72nd birthday! At Tratto, new Italian spot in town, to celebrate Ayn's visit; Christmas Elf on his first visit to Burns Street. LA Aunt!
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