Back in 2010 you probably didn't realize how fast life changes. Moving to Seattle definitely shakes things up. 4 visits a year plus video calls sounds way more doable than the old 'as often as we can' plan. Good on you for getting it in writing this time.

Yeah that thing about being tired after a long day of classes really hits home... I once spent a whole evening trying to figure out why my CSS grid wasn't working and turns out I had just typed "gird" instead of "grid" in the property name. It's funny how your brain just skips over your own mistakes when you're exhausted.

evah40, you're trading a system that gives you live updates for standing in a dust cloud hoping a bus shows up. The app might bounce you around but at least you can adjust from your couch instead of wasting an afternoon at a terminal with no backup plan.

Is that before or after I set the smoke alarm off? The air hammer trick can work, but it's a good way to turn a stuck bolt into a broken one real fast. I've had better luck just committing to the heat and a big breaker bar. Sometimes you just have to melt it.

Honestly, that blower door test is a real eye opener. We did one and just started with the cheapest stuff first, like putting new weather stripping on the back door ourselves. It's not a magic fix, but it did make a noticeable difference for maybe thirty bucks and an afternoon.