Denied!

I know that good things come to those who wait, and it looks like I'll be waiting a little longer to get my 566 number. Technically, it is hooked up. It even rings when you dial it. But in reality, in doesn't work in our house at all. My husband poked around in our wiring box, and it looks like they flipped the switch at the phone company but neglected to do the hookup at Duloc Manor.

This doesn't surprise me, as we went through the same experience with our original phone line. It got so bad that I was firmly convinced we would be climbing a pole to make our phone calls like Eddie Albert in "Green Acres." But our first line eventually started working, so I'm sure that the second one will, too. At least I have dibs on the number.

It was a busy weekend maintenance-wise; besides adding a phone line, we had the rep. from Cambridge (our builder) come out to check the last few items on our punch list. Our one-year warranty expired in late August, so I sent the list back then. But with all the hurricane turmoil, it took a little while to coordinate the visit. We only have a few minor things on the list, like a cracked tile and a non-functioning outlet. Overall, I've been very pleased with the quality of our little triplex's construction. Considering that we got through three hurricanes with no water getting in and only minor soffit damage, I really can't complain.

We do have one very annoying problem that I've been complaining about since the first time I was home during a rainstorm. Our building is Craftsman style, and the roof is designed in such a way that the awning over the back doors of the end units creates a waterfall whenever we get a heavy downpour. It is so bad that you literally can't use the back door during a rainstorm unless you want to be drenched. Our middle neighbor had it even worse...her waterfall is outside her front door!

Cambridge has been telling me that we need to have gutters installed. The roof design seems piss poor to me, so I've been wondering what others in similar buildings think. It's something that stayed in the back of my mind until the hurricanes. The torrential rains made my back door, stoop, and sidewalk a prime breeding ground for mildew. The green ooze is taking over like that slime engulfed those poor people in the movie "Creepshow," although I've managed to beat it back with lots of bleach and scrubbing.

We are the lone triplex in an sea of single-family bungalows, but there is a large cluster of duplexes and triplexes in the Roseville Corner section of East Village. Recently I decided to mosey over and see if they have having the same problems. Lo and behold, every one of them has matching gutters! At first, I thought that they might have just had them installed on their own, but then I noticed that even the garages are guttered. I can't imagine that every single owner would pay for identical gutters on their garages. Even the model has them, which I think is a point in my favor. I know for sure that they were not listed as an optional item, so it seems to me that they should have been installed on our place just like the homes on Nash.

We'll see if Cambridge agrees, and meanwhile I know they'll take care of the minor items on the list. It will be nice to have that all done, although it amazes me that we've owned our home for over a year now. It seems like our closing was only a few months ago. But here we are, getting ready to celebrate our second Halloween, Founders Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas in Celebration.

If all goes well, we'll be back home in Celebration this weekend, ready to try out our new Disney Dining Experience card (more on that in an upcoming blog entry). And who knows, maybe my new phone line will actually work!

Visit my Celebration, FL website at www.celebrationinfo.com

My email address is celebration@mailblocks.com