We did go over to check out our house last night. There wasn’t anything new to see from Friday, but the backhoe disappeared and coils of rebar and thick metal cables appeared in its place. I took a few more pictures of the plumbing layout, since the guys in my office assured me that it would be helpful in the future to know where the pipes run. But the more exciting part is that we met Paige and Mike, our future across-the-street neighbors! They saw us walking around and came over to say hello. He works for Boeing and she’s a stay-at-home mom who does some work for their church. They have two daughters (who we didn’t meet) and were super nice. They also said both of our next-door neighbors are nice people as well. Meeting them only made us feel even better about choosing to build where we did. We feel very comfortable with the neighborhood.
Afterwards, we stopped by Fry’s to buy a new printer. See, Jose bought a new printer maybe a year ago. When he did, I started using his for my projects because it had better print quality for all my class projects. (My HP still worked fine, but it was 5 or 6 years old and didn’t print quite as crisply as the new ones.) After a few months of not using my printer at all anymore, I gave it away on Freecycle.
Turns out that Jose’s printer is an ink HOG. After a year of use, we’ve spent five times as much on ink cartridges, which seem to last about 50 pages, as Jose spent on the printer itself. It runs through ink like a man dying of thirst in the Sahara. And the worst part is that once it runs of ink in any color, you can’t print anything — so even though it’s only out of, say, blue ink, it won’t let me print in black and white! I finally had enough when it ran out after about 30 pages of me printing drafts of the Miss Houston program last week.
We checked out the options at Fry’s. I would really like a printer that can handle 11×17 or larger, but the large format printers are 1) more expensive and 2) don’t have the scanning and copying features included. As much as I’d like to be able to print class projects and larger photos at home, I can’t justify the cost, at least not yet. (Maybe if I ever get around to seriously pursuing a home-based freelance business.) So we eliminated the large format printers and looked at the all-in-ones, since Jose wants to keep the scanning and copying features that his Epson had.
I’ve always heard great things about Epson, but the experience with Jose’s made me extremely hesitant to buy another one. In the end, we left with the Canon MP980. It had all the features we want, the sample prints looked great, it was priced under MSRP to start with, and Fry’s was offering a $100 rebate. Sold! As a bonus, it’s also wireless so I can stick it wherever I want without worrying about it being within cord’s reach of the computer.
I didn’t get a chance to set it up last night because I was busy watching the Tarheels absolutely KILL Michigan State, but I’m hopeful that it will be a great printer!
Becca says
The coil is for the foundation. they run tension cables across the foundation before they poor the concrete, it is some sort of tension setting that makes the concrete stronger and less likely to crack. you will be able to see where your cables are all connected as you walk around the house after its built. i dont know where i learned this random piece of info.
Sarah says
Yep, I know. Hopefully they’ll have it laid out the next time we go over.
Jennifer says
I’ve heard Canons are the best – and I used to work for a printer company. (HP)
Katie says
That is so awesome that you like your neighbors! We love our neighbors too and they are definitely a big part of why we love our house…
txrunnergirl says
Glad you have great neighbors, it can make all the difference! Oh, and I can relate to the ink hog printer…the one we bought last summer is the same way. I hate it!
Becca says
Nice neighbors are awesome.. but more importantly, did you get a peak in their garages and see what kind of tools they have? Neighbors that lend you tools are even more awesome.. we have a guy across the street that could build a house out of his garage. we frequently gush in thanks at the random tools he lends us.