April 3 of 30

So Drea got me looking into bebePOD for Sean. I'm going to order one next week, and ship it to my friend's house in the USA (Amazon.com has it for 35$ plus free shipping with orders over 25$ so, I will be able to get free shipping, and my friend is coming into Montreal in about a month from now, so she'll bring it down with her when she comes. 35$ US works out to 40$ Canadian. Why should I spend almost 60$ plus taxes Canadian for one, when I can get it for 40$? I'm not in a super rush to get it, so it's perfect. If I ship it directly to Canada then I'll pay shipping and most probably duty, so it would be worth it at that point just to buy one here at Toys R Us.

So Sean starts out in the evening with his body in the red circle area. By morning, he's scooched his way over to where you see him lying in his crib above. This kid is going to be crawling any day now - I swear! Yes, there is a rolled up blanket under the Ocean Wonders so that he doesn't hit his head. ANd the blanket on the bed, the white and blue one above you see is supposed to be under him so that it catches any drool or spit up... yeah, not if he scooches himself half way across the crib!

This is Sean's new rug from Ikea. I bought it yesterday. He'll love it when he is old enough to drive cars all around it!


And here is the three of us tonight at my parents house for the 2nd night of Pesach. We had a lovely dinner, and a good time.

I just need to do some final phone calls, but it looks like we have tenants. It's the 4 McGill students, so I'm doing some extra background checks before renting to them, because they've never rented before, (only lived in Residence at McGill, and before that at home with their parents)... so I'm going to do proper background checks before signing a lease. One headache off my shoulder... phew!

My current tenant however, really pissed me off today. I hope I do not see her face until she hands me back her keys in June. She called me up this morning to ask me this: "Since you have work to do upstairs, I may have found an apartment for June 15th - is it okay if I only pay half a month's rent, move out on the 15th and you do work before your new tenants move in?"

I told her no. She has a lease signed that she is responsible for paying her rent in full until the end of her lease. I actually have possible tenants, and they wouldn't be moving in until August, so I will have the entire month of July to renovate. She started talking down to me and so Jamie grabbed the phone and started to give her an earful. She's afraid of Jamie for sure.

She also told me that she called some helpline (probably for women who think they are being taken advantage of) and they told her that the rent increase that I put was robbery. They told her I was only allowed to raise the rent by 5$. Where they pulled this 5$ out of their asses from, I don't know. I went to the Regie's site here, and plugged in all the information, and it told me what I was legally allowed to increase the rent to. Now, she originally told us that she was moving because her daughter was UNHAPPY at the school she was attending, and that she will be going to a school in the west island (we live in the center of the island), and that is why they are moving. Anyhow, in her registered letter that she sent me, she stated she was not staying because she couldn't afford the rent increase. Then, after not renewing her lease, today, she brings up the rent increase again on the phone this morning. Why does she even care if she was never even planning to re-sign a lease because her daughter needs to be in the west island to go to school? Like why does she have to bring up irrelevant shit?

Then after I declined her half payment for the month of June, she really tried her best, she tried to throw in my face, the money she spent installing a washer & dryer. Not my f-ing problem. She signed a lease with this clause in it:

10. No clothes washer and dryer facilities are available in dwelling. If Tenants wish to install a washer and dryer, they may do so at their own cost and expense including but not limited to all plumbing expenses and providing they have previously obtained landlords written consent which shall not be unreasonably withheld. Location of washer and dryer shall be as designated by landlord.

She said the job was 600$, and she told me months ago that she wasn't paying the guy in full, because he did a half-ass job - she said so herself. Now, she's stating that she did end up paying him in full, and that she wants a reimbursment. Uhm, NO! She signed a lease stating that it was AT THEIR OWN COST AND EXPENSE. And now, because of the half-ass job the guy she hired to do the work, I have to pay 750$ out of my own pocket to fix the damage, so that it doesn't damage my apartment further. Right now, it's ventilating into my attic. I need to get a guy in and cut a hole in the roof of my house, so that it'll vent outside. Humidity from her dryer or any future dryer will damage the building. So, now I have to pay to fix the half-ass job the guy she hired, while I was out of town in September and didn't even meet... And she wants money back? I don't think so. If she brings it up again, I'm going to photocopy the part of the lease that has that (number 10 in rules & regulations for her apartment), and highlight it, and show it to her. She even herself has a copy of it. So she can go cry wolf all she wants, she ain't getting a penny back. Especially since we have to dig out more out of our pockets than she was supposed to pay in the first place. 750$ in repairs over the 600$ she was originally quoted for a full job, which she originally claimed she never paid the guy in full, which she is now stating she did, probably to try to get money back from us. Back in September while Jamie and I were out of town, we were thinking about chipping in and giving her some money back for the install of the washer & dryer, because properly done it adds value to our house. BUT, because we now have to dish out money out of our own pockets, why should be reimburse her for any part of it?

Jamie spoke to her on the phone for a good 15-20 minutes after he grabbed the phone from my hand because of the way she was talking to me. In the end he made her realize that she has a lease until the end of June, and she has to pay each month in full. Thank goodness there is only May & June left after this month is done. I swear, I want a countdown until the last day I possibly have to see her face. Ok, I just added a ticker to my blog! I love tickers - soo much fun. If her move out date actually ends up being the 15th of June - if she should get the apartment she wants, (she can move out anytime up until June 30th or July 1st in the morning), but she will still be paying full rent regardless.... if it's the 15th (THE DAY BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY!) then I'll update the ticker. But right now, I have it set for June 30th, because technically that's the last day of her lease.

Jamie tried explaining to her that if we were millionaires and/or we owned our duplex outright and there was no mortgage, and we would gladly allow her to only pay half the month's rent since she may move out early. But because her rent doesn't even pay for HALF of our mortgage, we need the full amount, since money doesn't grow on trees, and we're not made of money. I don't know who she thinks she is that she could get out of half a month's rent, but you know what, if I were in her situation I would probably ask the same... but I wouldn't have fought it after my landlord said no... because I understand what a mortgage is - and you rely on the rent to pay it (or to pay part of it)... you know?

Jamie also told her that we've been good neighbors / tenant/landlord so far, and why does she have to cause trouble now, almost 3 months before she moves out. Jamie reassured her that we would give her a good recommendation if someone should call should she give us as a reference (I hope I'm not home the day they call - because even though I promised Jamie I would say nice things, I honestly do not have anything nice to say about her. She does give us a check on the first of the month, but it's ALWAYS dated for a few days later, she's a pain in the ass, she's insecure and asks a million questions, and blames you for everything that goes wrong, etc... and I just hope that I am not home when someone calls to inquire. If Jamie is home, and he wants to answer, that's his decision. But right now I'm too freaking angry to answer questions about my current tenants. She made it difficult for me to show the place - only when she was home I was allowed, and she was always complaining about the times, etc... and well, personally, I just don't want to see her face until she hands back the keys.

I also told Jamie that if I see her calling on the call display, she can leave her concerns on our answering machine, and Jamie can call her back when he gets home, or whatever. I'm not answering the phone for her either... I do not want to talk to her she made me so angry this morning. Does she think that because I'm almost half her age (easily), that she can talk down to me? I don't think so.

Okay, I think I'm done venting. Sorry, I really needed to get this off my chest. It put me in a very bad mood today, and upset my stomach.

I didn't get any knitting done today except for about 3 rows on my "married sock". I need to finish my married sock before I can cast on Jamie's 2nd married sock and do my 2nd married sock. (Link on my sidebar if you want to see what I'm talking about! - In my WIP's!).

I did also turn one of my Cascade Quatro's into a cake from my swift/ball winder, and will be using the yarn I got in New Jersey last weekend to knit a mini-clapotis.

I received the Yarn Harlot's new book today from my amazon.ca order. I can't wait to finish the book I'm currently reading to then read her books. (I still haven't finished all her books yet). So now, I need to figure out a way to get my 4th book of hers autographed. I have her first three signed!

That letter from Toronto - still not in my mailbox. Maybe tomorrow? I realized that it was sent either on the 15th or 16th of March, NOT the 22nd. I made a mistake. I was told that it would be shipped the 15th or 16th, and I emailed to double check. It's something for my Secret Pal's gift, and I need it in order to mail it finalized to her. Ugh... why the long wait, I don't know! I can't believe how long it's taking from Toronto to Montreal. It's unreal! Anyhow, hopefully I'll see it in the mail this week - if not, I hope it didn't get lost!

Today in the mail I also received 2 packages from 2 more members in my SP10 group for Sean's blankie. I should have time this weekend to do a test swatch for it. I'll post pictures as soon as there's progress! The two members to thank are L.S and C.V. Thank you very much. I've emailed you both a thank you - and I will post a proper thank you once SP10 is over, and I can officially say your names here. I don't want to give anyone away to their secret pals, so I'm being very discreet. It's only appropriate!

Tomorrow I'm running errands all day. I hope my stomach is feeling better by tomorrow. I've had an upset stomach since Sunday evening. I don't know why. Hopefully it will feel better soon. If I am not feeling well again tomorrow, I may have to double think going to the knitting meetup tomorrow. I want to go - but not with an upset stomach. Trust me, you don't want me to go into details!