Hey guys . been in and out sporadically from this place the last few months . Long story kinda short , my Dad passed away 3 years ago , my mother , being a very stubborn , very self reliant , very stubborn lady never asked for help , nor wanted any when my family and I or my brother volunteered. Now , she’s 81 still in pretty good health . But again , being Italian she’s dying every 15 minutes from something !! She’s asked if we can move into her home and help her out with the house and cottage . Financially it would be fantastic as me , the wife and my brother all get along fantastic and we could all save some dough living together. issue is 6 cars with a 3 car driveway 2 car garage and no overnight street parking . my wife does not want me selling the 56’ I don’t really want to either , but I don’t see myself having the time or space anytime soon to do anything with it !!! I can park it up in the garage at the cottage , it’s safe there , but if you’re not careful the mice get into everything . I dunno I’m bummed , got my dream car and haven’t touched it , dads gone , now moms … well I dunno . If this is o/t then delete it , just need some ideas and inspiration Some pics for clicks Here’s mom at my daughter grad a couple weeks ago
I'm sneaking up on 81 - I am also facing the "What next?" questions. I live just north of the Mexican border, so my perspective is a little different Any chance that the garage at the cottage could be sealed up? Down here, Killer Bees are a big problem. All my outbuildings were resealed to prevent Killer Bee access. Russ
Bags of moth balls . In the trunk , under the seats , under the hood . That’s how I keep nice out of stuff . I’ve tried the mouse repellent bags in the farm trucks and the combine but they just smell nice . I think the nice all caught Covid and their sense of smell changed. I am using electronic rodent devices also . They only seem to work when turned up on the highest setting .
Ajax or comet crystals around all 4 tires, the mice don’t like to cross it, and if they do they lick their paws clean with detrimental effects. Also bait stations with a saucer of water. Any chance your tri five could become a daily driver for a while?
Is there room at your mother's place to build a shed for the cars? All that money you would be saving could go towards it.
would be perfect , I’m in a bungalow , and like goldielocks and the three bears “ It’s just right for my family “ no room for mom. I have a company vehicle , so no way to have the Chevy a daily right now . I guess it’s moth balls and those sound things for the mice , also heard peppermint oil and dryer sheets work well .
I've had good results putting about 1/2 cup or more of granular mouse poison into Tupperware type containers, use a hole saw to cut a mouse hole in one side of them, then put them under an upside-down egg crate box and put heavy weights holding them down to keep it safe from unwanted animals. I keep one in each corner of my storage building and maintain their food supply, haven't had any mouse problem since. Note. granular seems to work better than the blocks
How long is it going to sit between visits? I'd consider one of those car bubbles, but worry about mice just chewing that. You could up the game with a video monitor so you could check on it whenever. This is money spent and a pain to get set up if the car is used once a month, so it depends. I see them from 500-2500 bucks. All the usual deterrents could be outside the bubble, of course. BTW, sorry life is tossing you around. Gotta say family comes first.
A cat is the simplest answer. Mine just walked up one day looking for a little attention and some food. I haven't seen a mouse or a mole in a long time. For a while she'd have several hat tricks a week when it was still a target rich environment. The only issue now is I have to yell at her not to go after the rabbits and chipmunks.
Thanks for the support and tips for the rodent issue. moms 81 and a mentally strong lady , but she was Dads queen, he did EVERYTHING around the house and cottage , everything ! She can cook a mean meal , and keep a clean house and finances. Other then that , not so much, and these last 3 years she’s been to proud to ask us for help, my brother does live at home but travels a lot for work , last year he was out of the country for 8 months in total on different trips. mom has a huge house, done up like a proper Italian living in the suburbs of Toronto anyways living with her will be a big change for the family but it will work . the car while drivable , is not fun right now , the 235 is tired , very tired. And the 3 speed makes hwy driving a chore . My brother came up with an idea last night , I have a 383 and T5 ready to run Black bench seats to replace the salmon and white ones in the car now. He said why don’t I buy the mount kit , cross member , disc brake kit . Him and myself take a week off and just GIVE’ER like a job 12 hour days for 7 days and just get it done and drive it ! family is good for more then arguing about politics and religion sometimes
Good, cheap, fast. Pick two. Just take it to a shop that's good and cheap but SLOW! No storage issues for a while!
I have 2 sisters, 1 is married, one is not, and of course I'm married. All of us kids are retired. we all get along great, but none of us kids want to live in the same house. When Mom was still living, she purposed that one of us could come and live with her. We all loved mom, and we all got along with her too, but no one was willing to move back in with her. We each remembered why we moved out years ago. I know of 5 or 6 families that moved back home when their parents aged. None of them worked out well. Most of the families quit speaking to each other after the parent(as) had passed. Saving a bit of money is a really poor excuse of putting your family through this trial (and it will be a trial that may be short in duration, or could be very long in duration). Be sure your own personal family is REALLY on board before you make a commitment you may regret. The vehicle issue is just the tip of the iceberg. That is my opinion.
@gene-koning not moving in to save money , but it would be a bonus in these inflationary times . reason to move home is mom is not doing well , not bad enough to put her in a care home , but not exactly well enough to be on her own. my older daughter is off to university and will be living there , home on the week ends only . My younger one has 1 year of high school left and off to university herself after that . im busy with work, my wife is busy with work , my daughter does horseback riding , so she’s busy also , my brother travels alot with his work so he’s here and gone at the drop of a hat. so we’re home for dinner and week ends, like I said , big house in the city, with more then enough room . I know why I moved out , to be a man and raise a family. My mom needs some help in her golden years . So we help .hopefully for longer then I think, but might not be that long either. she’s healthy for her age , but like Hymen Roth in the god father , she’s been dying from that same heart attack for the last 30 years. so time will tell what happens . I just re-read this , if it comes off as crass and rude , not my intentions in the least , but it hard to inflect tone in writing and text at times. A picture of my printer st work to remind you all of who you are dealing with !
Something to think about. The GTA (Greater Toronto Area) housing market is nuts and may not get better any time soon. Yes, it will fluctuate as it always has but that doesn't mean it won't continue to climb. If you own your own home now and sell it to move in with Mom, you may not be able to afford to buy back into the market when Mom passes. If you are relying on your half (assuming you only have one sibling) of the sale of Mom's house when the time comes, remember that her next move might be to an expensive nursing home and she may need the proceeds from the sale of her house to support her. If you are thinking of renting out your present house (again, assuming you aren't presently renting), you are taking a HUGE risk based on the rights that renters have and the possibility that you'll get some real pieces of garbage renting from you. Edit: I don't know where your Moms cottage is but my uncle had a cottage on Rosseau and he lost a few snowmobiles to thieves. My wife's family cottage is out by Perth and we've lost an aluminum boat, a canoe, a mint mo-ped (moped) and ... get this ... a couch from inside the cottage. All were taken during different "events" so I'd be cautious claiming anything is "safe" at a cottage that is rarely occupied. Just sayin' Edit: If your Mom's garage can accept one, you could buy a 4-post car lift (or two) and park something else under the '56.
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