Week 2 - The 'Tin Man' arrives along with the dogs

Within a few days Irv and I take what will be many high speed competitive drives from NJ to CT at the crack of dawn to begin to tackle the house and get it ready for winter.  My father hires The Tin Man who looks and talks like Joe Pesce except with biceps like Popeye to haul away the broken stove, frig, two microwaves and one wood stove.   We get the low down on some neighbors as an added treat.  My stepmother Marion hires 2 'navy ladies' (husbands are deployed in submarines) who are very nice, look a bit haggard, charge way too much and only get to the kitchen and some bathrooms (and not well done-I spent the weekend recleaning).  Oh well. Support the troops.  

Irv and my Dad assess the electrical system and the furnace.  Good news.  The wiring works as does the plumbing.  Bad news.  No fuel oil and the furnace might have been cobbled together.  Oy vey.  Irv calls his brother Richard, a heating and fuel guy, who will try and come up in Oct to assess the situation before we and the pipes freeze. Its only $$$$.

The dogs are a bit freaked out...

Norman's face says it all - what is going on?

The yard is a mess which Marion bravely and expertly begins to tackle....she then informs me she has procured a 'team' aka gang of ex/cons and the homeless to clean up the yard.  Whattttt??????  They arrive this weekend, along with our 'POD'  of cast off furniture.  Again, oy vey.

We have eaten so much junk that the gym/weight loss/walking regimen establised pre-closing has gone out the window.   But a new fridge arrived and was quickly filled ( in this order) with a) beer, b) vodka, gin and ice and c) hot dogs.  We find out the previous owner left lots of sausages in a freezer we found in the basement.  When I asked him about it he said 'take some, I believe you met the piggies last fall'.    Oink.