As I may have mentioned, one must be very careful how one approaches and speaks to the Landlady. I had written but not sent a cogent, succinct letter to her about things that had not been repaired in my absence (three months!), as well as general building issues. But I didn't even have time to get feedback on it, and she showed up to ask how things were going. I told her I was glad to be back, and that I needed her to address several issues.

The Issues:
- the leak under the kitchen sink persists.

- the downstairs toilet tank does not refill after a flush.

- the stove has one burner knob that doesn't turn (this has been going on for the last 3 tenants).

- there is still no insulation in the ceiling of the apartments below me, therefore I have an incredibly cold apartment during fall and winter.

- yard maintenance is non-existent.

And one I didn't mention:

- construction noise is profound on days the carpenter is here. As in, the building shudders as he frames. He's nice, the work is necessary, but the noise is disruptive.

Her responses:

- the leak: she went to her truck, got a wrench and tightened something. It seems fixed.

- the toilet tank: "I've been trying to get my plumber out here, we're shooting for next week. I'll let him replace the float."

- the stove: "I'm waiting for the county to buy my house (in an area where they are buying houses affected by runway noise from the nearby airport), and then I'll bring that stove over here." No indication of when that would be.

- the insulation: "Well, it can't go in until the framing, plumbing and electrical are approved by the county" (the plumber comes about once or twice a month, the contractor about 5 hours a week). She also said that I had the choice of electric heat or propane, though she has agreed with me in the past that Suburban Propane is out of control with their pricing. She reminded me that the propane stove is here should there be a power outage, and that I can be sure I'm paying a meter reading fee for electricity, it's just rolled into my bill. I said I didn't care what method I used, I was not happy to pay extra for either if it was because the cold air whistles up from below. She said she didn't know what more anyone would expect her to do. Does it help in understanding my frustration if I tell you that this is the third year I will have lived with a gutted, cold apartment under me, and the third year that she said the insulation would be coming "soon"?

- yard maintenance: "It was mowed just a little while ago." Yes, maybe it was, but there are weeds everywhere, and shrubs growing out of their beds and blocking the walkway. I'm not talking about making this Garden Central, but you do have to trim shrubs every once in a while. She won't even hire the extremely cheap and reliable Mexican guys to do it. $15 an hour each for two guys, cash, and she'd have this place looking great in about 3 hours.

I'm calling the tenant's union. Most of this is probably not anything they can enforce, but I would like their take on the heat/insulation problem. I'll also call the county permitting office and see what their story is.

I have my story, and damned if someone isn't going to listen.