General News Update
Since the last time I had a moment to vent here there was a new addition to the family. Yes, folks, we're the proud parents of a brand new (40 year old) house. Well.... it's new to us anyway. Two homes to maintain for another six weeks while we devote every spare minute and more than every spare dime to getting the new place ready to inhabit. One rent check and one mortgage check to write each month..... two sets of utility bills and the joy keeps on coming.
We'd hoped to finance enough to have remodeling done by contractors but that didn't work out so we have to do it all ourselves. At least we're handy people so that's not really anything overwhelming for us. But with both of us working our normal jobs and doing all those home type things in the rent house (laundry, yard, cooking, cleaning, etc) then finding time to make a 16 mile one way drive to the new place and put in four to six more hours before making that 16 mile drive back the other way to clean up and get a bit of sleep before doing it all over again is really a chore. (how's that for a run on sentence?) (If not run on at least long and complicated)
The previous owners (and I think everyone they knew) smoked like industrial plants from the 1930's. All the white walls were an aged ivory color..... very aged. To "upgrade" the house they installed (what else) industrial grade carpet in a lovely blue, gray and black combination. Perfect fit for your local mechanics office or the lobby of the local garbage collection company but not exactly home faire. And I'm not sure what, exactly, was wrong with the poor man's brain (God rest his soul) but if a light stopped working he installed another right beside the old one. I'm still wondering why it never dawned on him to just replace the burnt out bulbs as I patch the holes from where the (up to 5) additional fixtures were removed. And he also decided to "panel" his garage conversion with a bunch of scrap lumber. (not sure when this was ever a trend or stylish) Some of the lumber still had shipping stencil marking on it! We know because he never bothered to paint it. Also.... if three finishing nails would hold up a board you can bet he used nine 6 penny nails and 12, two inch staples to make damn sure they stayed up there!
Speaking of garage conversions.... it eventually dawned on the man that, after he converted the garage to part of the living room, he didn't have a garage anymore! I can't even imagine how shocked and suprised he must have been when that occured to him. (although I do wonder just how long it took for the actual thought to form) So to solve the missing garage problem he built another garage out behind the house. Good so far. Then he built on a little office/shop addition onto the side of that. (here's where it gets messed up again) Then what does he do? Yep.... he converts the garage again. Only this time into something like a motel suite. There is a bedroom, living room combination and a kitchenette and a full bath complete with shower! My only guess is that he was in the doghouse so much that he figured he might as well have a first class doghouse. He wasn't done yet, though. Since he didn't seem to be spending all that much time with mamma back in the main house anymore he had LOTS of spare time on his hands and not much to do. So he built a storage room onto the back of the workshop/offfice that he'd built onto the side of the second garage that he later converted. (follow that?) Mamma is still not speaking to him I guess so he builds another workshop onto the side of the storage room he just finished. As this rambling structure proceeds down the back property line towards the rising sun I guess mamma finally pissed him off good. So to get even (or whatever) he builds a two stall stable and yet another storage room off to the side if the workshop he'd built off the side of the storage room he'd constructed off the back of the office/workshop connected to the second converted garage. (this is starting to confuse me!) Not content to have just any old stable in his back yard he makes this out of metal!!! (and considering his skills with electricity that is truly frightening!) Eight inch steel pipe for the supports and I-beams for the ceiling joists with corrugated metal panels over that. Hell you could park the Nimitz on top of this sucker with a full crew and complement of aircraft and not bring it down.
As screwed up as it all sounds it actually looks quite charming.... in a rustic hills of Arkansas cabin sort of way. Sitting in the back yard at the end of a day.... looking at that building and smelling the honeysuckle that grows down the length of the fence..... your mind is transported about as far from the city limits of Dallas as it can get. Since sweetie and I both detest Dallas that's nothing but a good thing.
We're in the process of re-converting his converted garage into an actual intergrated part of the living room now. Three days of work with pry bars, superbars, crowbars, hammers and pliers have almost gotten almost all that damn scrap lumber and multitude of fasteners off the wall studs. Sheetrock is at hand and waiting to go up in it's place. The three (yes THREE) ceiling fans bit the dust and dumpster and a set of miniature pot lights will be going up. The industrial carpet is history and 60 boxes of laminate flooring await installation. Main bathroom has been gutted and all new stuff is going in.... and that means from new tile floor to new lights and exhaust fan in the overhead.... and everything inbetween. It's a challenge but at least all the work is on OUR home for a change and it's something we can enjoy for years to come.
We'd hoped to finance enough to have remodeling done by contractors but that didn't work out so we have to do it all ourselves. At least we're handy people so that's not really anything overwhelming for us. But with both of us working our normal jobs and doing all those home type things in the rent house (laundry, yard, cooking, cleaning, etc) then finding time to make a 16 mile one way drive to the new place and put in four to six more hours before making that 16 mile drive back the other way to clean up and get a bit of sleep before doing it all over again is really a chore. (how's that for a run on sentence?) (If not run on at least long and complicated)
The previous owners (and I think everyone they knew) smoked like industrial plants from the 1930's. All the white walls were an aged ivory color..... very aged. To "upgrade" the house they installed (what else) industrial grade carpet in a lovely blue, gray and black combination. Perfect fit for your local mechanics office or the lobby of the local garbage collection company but not exactly home faire. And I'm not sure what, exactly, was wrong with the poor man's brain (God rest his soul) but if a light stopped working he installed another right beside the old one. I'm still wondering why it never dawned on him to just replace the burnt out bulbs as I patch the holes from where the (up to 5) additional fixtures were removed. And he also decided to "panel" his garage conversion with a bunch of scrap lumber. (not sure when this was ever a trend or stylish) Some of the lumber still had shipping stencil marking on it! We know because he never bothered to paint it. Also.... if three finishing nails would hold up a board you can bet he used nine 6 penny nails and 12, two inch staples to make damn sure they stayed up there!
Speaking of garage conversions.... it eventually dawned on the man that, after he converted the garage to part of the living room, he didn't have a garage anymore! I can't even imagine how shocked and suprised he must have been when that occured to him. (although I do wonder just how long it took for the actual thought to form) So to solve the missing garage problem he built another garage out behind the house. Good so far. Then he built on a little office/shop addition onto the side of that. (here's where it gets messed up again) Then what does he do? Yep.... he converts the garage again. Only this time into something like a motel suite. There is a bedroom, living room combination and a kitchenette and a full bath complete with shower! My only guess is that he was in the doghouse so much that he figured he might as well have a first class doghouse. He wasn't done yet, though. Since he didn't seem to be spending all that much time with mamma back in the main house anymore he had LOTS of spare time on his hands and not much to do. So he built a storage room onto the back of the workshop/offfice that he'd built onto the side of the second garage that he later converted. (follow that?) Mamma is still not speaking to him I guess so he builds another workshop onto the side of the storage room he just finished. As this rambling structure proceeds down the back property line towards the rising sun I guess mamma finally pissed him off good. So to get even (or whatever) he builds a two stall stable and yet another storage room off to the side if the workshop he'd built off the side of the storage room he'd constructed off the back of the office/workshop connected to the second converted garage. (this is starting to confuse me!) Not content to have just any old stable in his back yard he makes this out of metal!!! (and considering his skills with electricity that is truly frightening!) Eight inch steel pipe for the supports and I-beams for the ceiling joists with corrugated metal panels over that. Hell you could park the Nimitz on top of this sucker with a full crew and complement of aircraft and not bring it down.
As screwed up as it all sounds it actually looks quite charming.... in a rustic hills of Arkansas cabin sort of way. Sitting in the back yard at the end of a day.... looking at that building and smelling the honeysuckle that grows down the length of the fence..... your mind is transported about as far from the city limits of Dallas as it can get. Since sweetie and I both detest Dallas that's nothing but a good thing.
We're in the process of re-converting his converted garage into an actual intergrated part of the living room now. Three days of work with pry bars, superbars, crowbars, hammers and pliers have almost gotten almost all that damn scrap lumber and multitude of fasteners off the wall studs. Sheetrock is at hand and waiting to go up in it's place. The three (yes THREE) ceiling fans bit the dust and dumpster and a set of miniature pot lights will be going up. The industrial carpet is history and 60 boxes of laminate flooring await installation. Main bathroom has been gutted and all new stuff is going in.... and that means from new tile floor to new lights and exhaust fan in the overhead.... and everything inbetween. It's a challenge but at least all the work is on OUR home for a change and it's something we can enjoy for years to come.
posted by Rev. Joe Ruyle | 7:47 PM
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