Simone's House

Status Update In Photos

Police visited me about 8:30 pm Friday Jan. 10 because someone called that I fit a description with a white beard.

I explained I've been housesitting since Oct. 3. In December renovation and dust expanded to the entire house. Originally the basement was to be renovated while I & my cat stayed upstairs. Homeowner would return to live in basement while upstairs is renovated and I would leave. In May new tenant is to move into basement. But the construction made the house unlivable.

Police ran my driver's license, took my picture and phone number. They let me stay so I'm cleared by Charlottesville police. I have permission from homeowner to park in front & take showers.

Mail is put in the spare bedroom that is not being modified. Utility bills need to be paid remotely by homeowner without receiving a paper bill. On Feb. 7 I start housesitting elsewhere & won't be visiting Simone's house unless on request or after life returns to normal.

Friday Jan. 3, 2020

Officially I stopped house-sitting Christmas Eve. Hero the cat & I had already moved into the van couple weeks earlier. We woke up somewhere else on Christmas Day.

The house became uninhabitable with demolition dust. I lost faith in the company & didn't go back. My van life has hardships. But I chose it over asbestos demolition work at UVA for 7 years. So I'm an expert on OSHA regulations. And I'm very permissive. It's common sense for a conscientious worker.

I saw Simone in person at a holiday party. She understands my description was an understatement. She says I'm welcome to urban stealth camp in my van on the street in front of her house so someone can vouch for me if hassled by police.

Return to Blair's Résumé.

Thursday Dec. 12

New Shopvac Makes Helper/Housesitter Happy. The company gets a B+. An A if it had the attachments. But I found 3 from a Kenmore Vacuum in the basement...crevice tool and handbrushes. They don't fit so you duct tape them end to end.

Vacuum is ready to go. No further charge. Thank you. The kitchen floor, basement floor, stairs, some walls and shelves are vacuumed.

CLEANTECH CT 36 E HEPA

• For dry particles. Must reconfigure for water.
• HEPA filter is called the MAIN Filter rarely changed.
• Disposal bag is changed routinely.
• If dusty, set the hose or machine near the cloud of dust and watch it be sucked into the filter. The idea is to use technology so you don't have to suit up with a respirator. It also reduces the spread of dust.
• Recommend the cleaning attachments.

Tuesday Dec. 10

1 day unskilled @100$ + 1 day SKILLED @200$.
Please pay $300.

The skilled work was demolition of the pink bathroom tile using power equipment, hearing protection, dust mask at request of contractor Rick. Unskilled labor is basically contruction cleanup. I'm so ashamed of this place.

Hero & I can no longer stay here. The construction company poisoned your whole house with not the slightest effort to observe OSHA regulations that protect workers & occupants. They don't have a shopvac either.

I discussed the minimum standards with the homeowner, with City Inspector Elizabeth, and with worker David. Under the legal code, there's no regulation for the homeowner to disturb asbestos. But if the homeowner PAYS someone to do the work, then the regulations apply. I won't call OSHA but you should.

Blair's asbestos work journal 2010–2017.

Monday Dec. 9

One day of construction, renovation work.
Please make a payment.

The construction company has no procedure to mitigate dust.

• No commercial air scrubber to clean the dust out of the air.
• Door not closed to adjacent rooms to minimize the spread of dust.
• No plastic to protect the asbestos floor tile old & brittle. Debris scuffs the tile and releases fibers. The plastic makes clean up easy, and encapsulates dust while being carried through the house.
• Likely sources of dust
  • Asbestos floor
  • Fiberglass ceiling tiles
  • Dust from old sheetrock likely to have asbestos
  • Dessicated excrement of rodents. Rat Turds!
  • An air scrubber would have quickly pulled these contaminants into the filter just like home air purifier, only much faster.
• So nobody listens to me. I had the natural gas forced air funace turned off all day because the fresh air intake is inside the basement, in the room with the old broken asbestos floor tiles.
• Glad I didn't pull the rat poop dust through the HVAC system. I had to clean up everything in order to turn the heat back on safely.

Thursday Dec. 5

MAIL ADVERTS
(a) IWA Wine Lover's Catalog
(b) Trader Joe's Flyer
(c) "Johnny Was" Catalog

Tried to clean up days-old gasoline spill at entry to breezeway with soap & water. No effect.

Tuesday Dec. 3

5 am Homeowner leaves for Georgia.

8:15 am City Inspector Elizabeth meets contractor Rick.

• Housesitter tells inspector that construction grade exhaust fan for dust is required. Furnace fresh air intake draws from the room with the Asbestos green & white brittle 9" vynil tile, some already broken.
• Housesitter installs new filter for the furnace.
• Housesitter begins construction, renovation duties. Pack away kitchen cabinet contents into boxes.
• Homeowner agrees to pay $100/day to housesitter for construction, renovation duties.

www.paypal.me/BlairsMagazine

You do not need a PayPal account. You need a credit card or bank account. Thank you.

City Leaf Collection today. Final collection is week of Jan. 6. City Leaf Collection Webpage

Monday Dec. 2

Housesitter

• Moves large pile of leaves against house & groundfloor windows to the street.
• Chases German shepherd Angel, who is deaf, around the block.
• Picks up about 40 1-inch diameter rocks scattered on the 40-ft paved driveway.

Thursday Nov. 28

Happy Thanksgiving.

Tuesday Nov. 26

Move contents of basement bedroom into adjacent reorganized storeroom.

Monday Nov.25

Homeowner Simone returns.

Sunday Nov. 24

Blair blows leaves, cleans area.

For Tuesday Nov. 19

Mail to Simone
5 items – Nov. 8 (a) & Nov. 13 (a)(b)(c) & Nov. 15 (c)

3 items – Return to Sender
Nov. 15 (a)(b) & Nov. 18 (a)

Monday Nov. 18

MAIL
(a) OneMain Financial this address but different name.
(b) Greenbrier Neighbor. Online network. Nextdoor Greenbrier.
Login: blair@blairhawkins.net
Password: homesweethome
Once online, you can change the settings.

Robert & Blair blow leaves.

Friday Nov. 15

MAIL
(a) PayPal this address but different name.
(b) Proxy Tabulator this address but different name.

ADVERTS
(c) Xfinity promotional.
(d) IWA Wine Lover Holiday 2019.

Lawn Care services the lawn.

Wednesday Nov. 13

MAIL BILLS
(a) Electric bill
(b) Electric company promotion
(c) Xfinity

ADVERTS
(d) "Johnny Was" catalog Nov. 2019
(e) Michael's coupon
(f) "Fill A Bag For A Vet"

Tuesday Nov. 12

Blair disconnects & drains the outdoor water hoses. Hard freeze expected, low of 20°F.

Monday Nov. 11

Robert blows leaves.

Friday Nov. 8

MAIL BILL –
(a) City Utility Bill

ADVERTS
(b) Pet Supplies Plus
(c) Meineke Car Care
(d) Wayfair

Monday Nov. 4

Blair blows leaves from roof, patio, driveway, front to street.

Sunday Nov. 3

Robert blows leaves to street.

Friday Nov. 1

10 a.m. Neighbors Sonya & Mike with Arborist Stewart look at a tree. Tree Specialist Habitat Services.

Blair rakes main areas, driveway, sidewalk & street, patio, foyer, front porch, walkway.

Thursday Oct. 31 Halloween

Power outage for 3 hours. Second day of rain. Raked for water runoff. Windy afternoon, more rain, thunderstorm. Windy overnight but no more leaves fell. Wind blew some leaves from roof.

MAIL ADVERTS –
(a) Xfinity Home Security
(b) Wounded Warrior Project coupons
(c) L'Occitane Shop at Stonefield
(d) ACAC Fitness
(e) RetailMeNot Everyday mostly fast food

Tuesday Oct. 29

MAIL ADVERT – "Be A Census Taker"

(a) Robert blew more leaves, indoor plants to living room.
(b) City Leaf Collection in the afternoon.
(c) Blair rakes backyard to street. Realigns 13 stepping stones. Brick border is cleared in puddle area.

Sunday Oct. 27

2 inches of rain.

Saturday Oct. 26

MAIL ADVERTS
(a) AmeriGas
(b) Albemarle Heating & Air
(c) National Geographic Expedition Photography

FLYER – Andrew Moriarty Services. Renovations & Custom Finish Work.

WORK
(a) Clean & realign brick border eroded in a puddle. The higher level, intact section is untouched.
(b) Blow Leaves.

Friday Oct. 25

Robert blew leaves to street for city collection starting Monday in this neighborhood.
Leaf Collection Webpage
(a) Oct. 28 – Nov. 1
(b) Dec. 2 – Dec. 6
(c) Jan. 6 – Jan. 10

Wednesday Oct. 23

MAIL – Adverts
(a) Bank credit card offer
(b) Dominion Energy insurance latest offer for water line replacement for $4.99 per month. (Opened to see if it's a bill.)

Sunday Oct. 20

MAIL TO SIMONE
Electric Bill. Postage $1.15. Forever stamp = $0.55. Used 3 Forever stamps.

Thursday Oct. 17

MAIL ADVERTS –
(a) Shops at Stonefield
(b) Hometown Magazine Coupon Book

Tuesday Oct. 15

Robert installs new toilet seats & other duties.

Discovers INVOICE on front door from Lawn Care Oct. 8 for $57 billed to credit card for fertilizing the lawn.

Blair adds an overlapping shower curtain in guest bath because of the open space at foot of tub. To prevent splash.

Monday Oct. 14

MAIL – Electric Bill.

Sunday Oct. 13

5 bags mulch on southside of house to accentuate the cleanup.

Saturday Oct. 12

MAIL BILL – UVA Health System TO Noah

MAIL TO SIMONE
BILLS 4 items: Tuesday (a)(b)(c) & Today.

3.8 ounces. $1.45 postage. Used 3 Forever stamps $1.65 postage.

Thursday Oct. 10

MAIL ADVERT "Please Fill A Bag For A Vet."

Wednesday Oct. 9

Pruning, raking the other 2 sides of the house. Still to lift & place, 40 stepping stones. 18 inch diameter by 2 inch thick. Dollar is 6 inch by 2 & 1/2 inches. The large gravel, 1 inch to 4 inch diameter, is ornamental & not intended to be walked on. The stepping stones sink over time from foot traffic. The riverbed gravel rolls in & becomes a trip hazard like marbles.

Tuesday Oct. 8

MAIL – BILLS
(a) City of Cville Untility Billing
(b) Xfinity
(c) UVA Health System TO Noah
ADVERTS
(d) "Johnny Was" fashion catalog
(e) IWA wine lover's magazine.

Saturday Oct. 5

YARDWORK – Rake & lift border stones on 2 sides of the house.

Friday Oct. 4

Trish's tent (3 pieces) taken to Jimmie's for her to pick up. Card table is gone from front gate, possibly picked up by someone from beach trip.

Day 1 – Thu 3 Oct. 2019

Arrive 4 pm.
MAIL – 3 items AD for Pet Supplies Plus, Barracks Road, Chronic Care.
LANDSCAPING –
(a) Realign round stepping stones at brick patio.
(b) Investigate the brick border.
(c) The solar lights go out 1 to 2 hours after sunset.

Caretaker. Housesitter. This log does not include routine activities like washing dishes or taking out the trash or emptying dehumidifier. Not every day is listed. It documents things out of the ordinary, the mail & visits by service or contractors.

One day of formal work per week (yardwork, landscaping, raking, mulching, pruning, snow shoveling) at my judgment & in cooperation with Robert out of town until Oct. 16.

Daily: Empty dehumidifier twice a day. Collect the mail & send bills to Simone. Trash collection streetside every Wednesday. Recycle every other Wednesday.

Contact me voice or text (434)305-4295.

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