Starr's To-Do's

Stuff I need to show Claire how to use:

• stereo / iPod dock
• rest of entertainment system & satellite
• trash/recycling bins (trash day is Wednesday morning, so it can go out Tuesday evening *if* you need to--only needs to go out if the garbage bin is completely full)
• how to use washer/dryer
• where spare TP/other bathroom stuff, batteries, lightbulbs, paper towels, general cleaners, etc. are
• where clean guest towels/sheets are
• coupons for Papa Murphy's pizza

Other things I need to prepare:

• lay out regulator out flat (do not coil hoses); put all scuba gear in safe place
• turn off sprinkler system completely
• get keys to Claire & Amy
• give Claire a garage door opener
• add the auto in-tank toilet cleaner upstairs

Info for Claire

Teh Interwebz

• beonetfbr
  • royals05

Trip Dates (detailed Itinerary Below...)

• October 16 - 18 (home briefly on the 18th to drop off our Abilene suitcase and pick up our UK luggage).

• October 18 - November 1

• home briefly on November 2 (Nov 1-3)

• November 3 - 8 

Flight Info

•  

• UK flights

  • American Airlines flight # 50     

    departs DALLAS FT WORTH on Oct 18, 2009, 4:45 PM

    arrives LONDON HEATHROW on Oct 19, 2009, 07:50 AM

  • Easy Jet flight #233     

    departs LONDON to EDINBURGH on October 24, 8:45 am

  • AER LINGUS flight # EI 255 

    departs EDINBURGH on WED 28 OCT 09,  12:30PM

    arrvies DUBLIN on WED 28 OCT 09, 1:30PM

  • BMI flight # BD128    

    departs DUBLIN to LONDON on Oct 31, 3:10 PM

  • American Airlines flight 51

    departs LONDON HEATHROW on Nov 01, 2009, 9:55 AM

    arrives DALLAS FT WORTH on Nov 01, 2009, 2:25 PM

     

• Vancouver flights

  • American Airlines flight # 1379     

    departs DALLAS FT WORTH on TUE 03 NOV, 10:45 AM

    arives VANCOUVER BC on TUE 03 NOV, 1:00 PM

  • American Airlines flight # 1828

    departs VANCOUVER BC on SUN 08 NOV, 2:00 PM

    arrives DALLAS FT WORTH on SUN 08 NOV,  8:00 PM

Itinerary / Where We'll Be Staying

• Sunday, October 18th:
  • drive back from Abilene
  • get Alex's haircut
  • leave our house at 1pm (for 4:45pm flight)
• London 
  • check in: oct 19  
  • check out: oct 24       
  • address: 70 Crouch Hall Road
  • phone: 0208 342 5407
• Edinburgh 

  • check in: oct 24 

  • check out: oct 28      

  • address: 39/2 pitt street edinburgh

  • phone: (of the property manager) 0785 999 7587
• Dublin

  • check in: oct 28 

  • check out: oct 31      

  • address: millenium tower apt 25 upper abbey street dublin 1

  • phone: (of the property manager) 3531 677 6600

• London
  • check in: oct 31  
  • check out: nov 1
  • address: Premier inn heatherow  Shepiston Lane London UB3 1RW
  • phone: 448709906612
• Starr's brief respite in Frisco...
  • home the evening of November 1st
  • at work in Denton on November 2nd
  • fly out eeeearly morning on November 3rd
• Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • check in: nov 3
  • check out: nov 8
  • staying at: Holiday Inn Vancouver Downtown
  • phone: (866) 747-5102;  Toll Free: (800) 663-9151
  • what: ASHE conference (Association of Studies in Higher Education)

Stuff that should be checked periodically:

• On weekday mornings that you're leaving (or if you're leaving for several days), please lock every door EXCEPT the deadbolt on the back kitchen/backyard door. You can leave the bottom one locked--that still is keyed to the old housekey--and that way the house will be secure, but the contractor (Dale States) can get in and out of the house.

• mail (there are two basket-things on the butler pantry counter where you can dump it)

• when checking the mail, take a quick look to see that the yard looks recently mown/edged

  • Walt with Envirolawncare should be coming weekly to mow/edge, and trim bushes as-needed

• 2 potted plants (onions are on kitchen counter; butterfly bush is on back porch outside the kitchen door); they only need a bit of water if the soil is no longer moist.

• check in master suite and exercise room periodically (just be sure nothing's flooding or on fire, or what have you)

• if the trash/recycling dumpsters in the garage fill up, you can take them out Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning for pick-up (but you don't need to do this unless one or more of them is completely full)

• if the power goes out, please check the freezer in the garage, to be sure it's running again and the meat is still frozen. if the power is out long enough that the meat is unfrozen (this would probably have to be close to an entire day!), then Town & Country Foods will need to replace the food. I can probably do that when I get back, but I'm leaving their number in the contacts section, just in case you need it. (I'm being paranoid. I just want you to have as much info as possible.)

Contact Info:

• Frisco Police non-emergency line: 972.292.6010

• Donna Hoffman:  214-478-3784

  • (my mom-in-law; she will be home after November 1st)

  • alternate numbers: 972-562-2543 or 972-569-6957

• Amy Arredondo: 469-233-7778

  • address: 13746 Badger Creek Dr, Frisco

  • (she's my pal that lives about 12 minutes north--you take Legacy north, then turn left at Panther Creek Parkway and her subdivision is just before road 423)

• Bill & Dawn Brockmeier (my parents):  830-438-2407

• •  
  • Dawn's cell phone: 210-355-8097
  • Bill's cell phone: 210-241-6132; work number: 210-536-6562

• Dale States (contractor): 214-636-9189

• • if you need him for any reason, try texting him first--he tends to respond mostly quickly that way--and end the message with something that indicates your name and that you're at my place (I usually end with "Thanks, Starr" so you might say something like "Hi Dale this is Claire at Starr's, could you please---blah blah.")  :)

  • alternate numbers: 214-493-8818; 817-902-2473

  • his son Daniel: 817-298-1115

  • his significant other, Sharon Hoppe: 214-732-3717

• Walt with Envirolawncare: 214-695-6269

  • (if the lawn needs mowing/edging, or bushes need trimming, and it's been more than a week since he's been there)

• Jurassic Lawncare: 972-569-6980

  • if shrubs or trees need attention, or if ant piles get large; they will re-treat the ant piles for free, but they will charge for shrub or tree work

• City of Frisco (water, general concerns): 972-292-5575 (M-F, 8-5)

  • after-hours water/sewer emergency line: 972-292-5800

• Co-Serv (electric company): (940) 321-7800 or (800) 274-4014

  • Customer service representatives: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

  • Dispatch team stays on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to answer outage reports and other emergencies.

• Town & Country Foods: the representative that we call is Gwen (if you call during lunch or after hours, her husband will likely answer the phone--he's also nice): 972-602-1900 or 972-602-4774

• the HOA (Home Owner's Association)'s return addy is "Select Management" something-or-other--if we get a letter from them, please open it, read the contents, and if it is something like a yard citation, etc., please call or email the person in the letter (usually it's Amy someone-or-other) and let them know that we are gone for X amount of weeks & you are housesitting.  (Wish I'd thought of contacting them sooner to let them know this--it slipped my mind and I probably won't have time to look up their contact info tomorrow.)

Cool Places Nearby:

• stuff within one block of the house: Sonic, Kroger, CVS, Brooklyn's Pizza, Papa Murphy's Pizza, Starbuck's, McDonald's, Bank of America
• Frisco Public Library (very pretty, and nice place to study--they have comfy chairs lined up facing big windows)
• the Frisco Half Price Books has been expanded and is actually a really good one now
• pretty much anything you care to eat or shop for will be on Preston...
  • Steak & Shake is south of Warren on Preston
  • Chick-Fil-A & Taco Hell (er, Bell) are just south of 121
  • Starbucks & Krispy Kreme are at Warren
  • Taco Cabana is just north of Lebanon
  • Sprouts (health food goodness) is also just north of Lebanon
• It's a Grind coffee house (may be a good place to study, even without coffee)
• Stonebriar Mall / IKEA / Ballpark (obviously)

The Cheat Sheet (AKA, Where Stuff Is)

• linen closet upstairs (across the catwalk, between the two bedroom doors):
  • extra towels, sheets, soap, shampoo, toilet paper, and other bathroom accoutremonts, possibly some blankets
  • more blankets are in my bedroom upstairs, on the bed
  • there are also a couple of throw blankets/afgans in the basket under the wetbar/desk area
• drawer in wetbar in gameroom: batteries that should fit in various remotes
• cabinet below that drawer: some CDs; extra keys... in case you randomly have to open something?  :)  probably most of them are for vehicles, homes, and padlocks that we no longer own. sigh.
• game closet upstairs:
  • paper shredder, board/card games, Wii games / accoutremonts, extra DVDs--mainly Disney, and action movies behind those
• theater room shelves: most of the movies/TV seasons on DVD (blu-ray and HD are in the TV unit)
• utility room downstairs:
  • cabinets above washer/dryer: detergent, dryer sheets, anti-static-sling, and other laundry stuff
  • drawers on the opposite side: batteries (far left drawer)
  • top cabinets on opposite side: dusting formula, extra cleaning solvents
  • bottom cabinets on opposite side: extra paper towels, cleaning stuff, paint pans (um, not that you need those!)
  • clear drawer units on top of the counter: spare lightbulbs
  • also in laundry room: lightbulb-extension-rod-changer, mop, broom
  • under the sink: potting soil, plant food, possibly weed-killer.... um... stuff.
• under kitchen sink:
  • garbage bags, majority of other cleaners, magic erasers, etc.
• drawers to the left of the sink:
  • top drawer: pens, spare scissors, post-its, twisty ties, razor blades, possibly a hammer
  • next drawer down: variety of microfiber cloths for dusting/cleaning/whatnot
  • next drawer down: paper napkins
  • bottom drawer: dishtowels
• the island:
  • drawers, L to R: pot holders / oven mitts, straws / chopsticks / oddities, foil / saran wrap / ziplocks, grilling tools / shish-ka-bob sticks
  • cabinets: mixing bowls, measuring pitcher, plastic plates, plastic bags, etc.
• drawer to the right of dishwasher: main silverware, steak knives
• drawer to the right of that (under microwave): serving utensils, food prep utensils, ice cream scoops, etc.
• cabinets under those drawers: glass Pyrex dishes for baking, cookie sheets, pizza pan, cutting boards
• top cabinets over dishwasher: mugs, cookbooks, disposable plates (there are more of these in the pantry, on the right, verrry top shelf)
• drawers to the left of the cooktop: measuring spoons / cups, knives, main spices / salt / pepper
  • (other spices like cinnamon and taco spice and other fun stuff are in the top cabinets to the right of the cooktop)
• top cabinets to the left of cooktop: plates, bowls, glasses
• bottom cabinets to the left of cooktop: pans, pots, other cooking schtuff
• garage: 
  • toolbox with various tools / gardening implements
  • electrical breaker box (to the left as you enter from the kitchen)
  • sprinkler system box (to the right of the breaker box; it will be unplugged)
  • freezer: this is where we've got our meat delivery; there are also some frozen veggies there
  •