(Tabitha taking a nap in the towels)
When I was a little girl and the house was a complete disaster, my mother used to tell me a story that had been in the news. It seems a woman completely beaten down by her life, grabbed her children, walked out the door and set fire to her house.
I’ve thought of that woman many times over the years. Once when my sister and I were living together in an apartment in Northridge, and had 17 loads of laundry to do. Again as I faced endless moving boxes and couldn’t fathom why I had so much stuff and then just a few months ago I thought of her again.
It all started with a vacuum. Henry and I knowing Awesomez and Lindsey would be moving to Washington and staying with us indefinitely realized we needed a better vacuum to get up the pet hair. Awesomez is after all an asthmatic and a neatnic. So after looking at Dyson™’s, Hoover™’s, Kirby™’s, Eureka™’s and Miele™’s we decided on an Electralux™. Excitedly we took it home, unpacked it and Henry began to clean. It was then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I’d lived in this house going on three years and it was a dump.
(The Electrolux - with pet hair attachment)
Nothing really functioned. My laundry room looked like a before shot in one of those organization shows. My downstairs bathroom was a place off limits to everyone except to my close friends and family I’d never had time to finish virtually anything. I’d grown up in a staunchly middle class home where things were put away. Floors were mopped and carpets vacuumed. What was I teaching my son? I could just hear my mother from the grave – “Is this how you’re raising my grandson?” What good would this place be if I got it fixed up and he was already in college. I would have sat down and cried if I had the time, but the goats needed tending, the honey business would never go anywhere if I didn’t get serious and Henry had school as well as gymnastics.
(There wasn't a cabinet sufficient to hold anything- when I put the brooms away - they were in a clump)
I made a decision.
I would not live like this anymore. I would clean this place up as inexpensively as I could, I would do as much of the work as I could myself but I was not going to live like this anymore. I had denied my Virgo nature long enough. I had to focus. I would let nothing deter me from reaching my goal.
I cashed in my retirement money from teaching and my 401K from advertising. I know in many ways this could be considered foolhardy, but you can’t always do the ‘smart thing’. I’d found a suspicious mole on my breast. My mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer at 50. I am 46. If I learned anything from my mother it was to live.
I started in the laundry room. Henry and I knocked a hole in the wall with a sledgehammer and a baseball bat. My idea was to divide the room in half so that one part could be a laundry room accessible from the kitchen and the other half a mudroom accessible to the back door and downstairs bathroom.
(The first blow - that took out the wall creating the new door to the - soon-to-be-mudroom)
(Henry - finishing the beginning of our new doorway)
(More of the laundry room that had to go)
(my snazzy old cabinets - before I moved the washer dryer to their new location)
Knowing I couldn’t do it all myself and I couldn’t wait for Tom to come to town and do things in ten minute intervals I called Alexis. He still worked at the Everybody’s Store, but I thought he might be interested in doing a little work on the side. That was one of the smartest calls I ever made. Together we fixed this house. Working many, many, many nights until 1:00 AM and sometimes 3:00 AM. The kitchen would have been condemned by the health department so we ate pizza take-out as we did dry wall, sanded, painted, stained, hung pictures and applied polyurethane. We put together closet organizers and cabinets, put up crown molding, built walls, took out walls, installed doors did electrical and learned a thing or two about plumbing,
(Denise enjoys her work- really)
(the washer dryer used to be on the wall with the three white stripes of paint. - this new wall divides the room in approximately half)
(Alexis works and works and works)
Of course, we didn’t do it all by ourselves. Surprisingly, Mike turned out to be the idiot savant of floor sanding and Tom did the real woodwork putting in our whole new staircase and building a railing like in real houses. We even have a runner now.
(Mike supervises my sanding & painting of the porch- pictured here with his assistants Lloyd and Cleveland)
(getting there - one brush stroke at a time)
(Mike ready for work- with his sathe sander in the new mudroom - in his slacks and hard shoes)
(We found we could knock down the bumpy - yucky ceiling by sanding it then mudding with lite topping -it then sanding it again with a screen)
(the beginning of the downstairs sink counter)
)Luther keeping watch on the new ballusters)
(Gnatalie helps)
(Tom teaches Henry)
(Henry and Tom work on the new stairs)
(the stairs)
(Luther - on the new stairs - the runner is comfy I guess -the perfect size for a basset hound
(Attic - crunchy ceiling - weird little light and wallpaper)
(The wide cracks between the boards in the new "penthouse" had to be filled. We called a hardwood guy who told us to mix resin and sanded wood together)
(Denise likes demolition)
(taking out the junk)
(Alexis the friendly white gansta)
(Henry and the mosaic)
(We worked on the counter in the soon-to-be-mudroom)
(mosaic in progress- note built in sunflower soap dish)
(shelves and cabinets being ripped out - too cluttered looking - I hate it- rip it out!)
(Denise's drywall face)
Three months later, the house is just about finished. Of course, there were some screw-ups. Henry and I had worked diligently on a mosaic counter for the downstairs bathroom – formerly known as the chicken infirmary. We measured, designed, glued and grouted. We were happy and proud of our work of art when on my way to pick him up from school one day I started thinking. – Gosh, I thought this counter is going to be so much nicer than the narrow strange little counter that was there. Gee, I wonder why they put such a strange….Oh No! I thought and quickly called home.
(strange little sink and cabinet)
“Alexis!” I gasped. “I just had a terrible thought.”
“Uh oh, what?”
“Can you measure the depth of the bathroom wall? I measured the width, but with all that we’ve been doing it never occurred to me that the depth might be odd. I’m afraid the counter won’t fit”.
Prolonged silence.
“That was not paranoia. It won’t fit.”
“Really?”
“Really”.
“Drat!!! I knew it. Now what? You really can’t have a bathroom where the door doesn’t close. It’s just not done in polite society. Should I forget it and get a different counter?”
“Nooooo! No way not after all that work you’ve got to use it.”
“Well, can I get a smaller door?”
“And build out the wall? I guess I can do that, let me see.” Alexis said as I heard the tape measure snapping and stretching, “There’s room, thankfully this is a really big door it’s a 32incher. You could get a 28” and it would be ok.
“Whew! I’ll go to Home Depot™ after I drop Henry at gymnastics”.
My life became a treadmill of trips to Lowes and Home Depot. I would wake up in the morning at 5:45AM have my coffee and chat with Mike while I made Henry’s lunch and breakfast. I find he gets going faster if he’s had a hot meal in these grey Washington mornings. Then I’d open the barn, feed the dogs and wake up Henry, drive him to school and then head to Lowes and load up on supplies. I’d call Doug Flint – my friend in Agoura, California and contractor extraordinaire. I’d dial him from the parking lot and he’d walk me through anything I didn’t understand, like why it’s important to hang the drywall sideways and how to mud or which jigsaw blade was best for cutting acrylic. He was truly my home improvement hotline when I couldn’t get a hold of Tom.
Next I’d drive home, make myself some more coffee a whole-wheat-honey pancake and get to work. Alexis would arrive around 10:00 and we’d work together until I had to drive to town to pick up Henry from school and then take him to gymnastics. After I dropped him off at gymnastics I’d go to the Home Depot in Burlington and then the Lowes™ for the supplies I needed for that night’s work. Although similar, Home Depot and Lowes don’t carry the same things. Home Depot has the contractor friendly things while Lowes tends to carry more of the decorator type items like molding and staircase stuff at better prices with more choices.
One day a woman with rings on all her fingers who worked at the Lowes self-checkout came up to me. “You know this electronic lady is really quite snippy. I think she hates me.” I said trying to resolve an item not found in bagging area problem.
“Not as much as she hates me,” she laughed, “you know I was wondering do you have a twin sister?” She asked.
“Well, I have a sister, but we’re not twins”.
“Does she live in Burlington?
“No. She lives in Bellingham off Chuckanut. Why?”
“Oh it’s nothing it’s just that I work in Burlington too and there’s this woman who comes in there almost as much as you come in here. And she looks just like you! I thought she must be your sister,” she remarked.
“Uhhh, no. That’s me. I go there in the afternoons.”
“Oh my gosh! I’ll have to tell the other checkers.”
(my bedroom - before)
(Alexis - carries drywall)
(a scandalous dinner in my new magenta bedroom with Alexis on our drywall table-a 3A.M.-er)
In the midst of all of this, we’ve had some devastating blows. Miracle foundered – which I learned is sort of like developing diabetes. She ate too much rich grass in the pasture and her chemistry has changed. This is illustrated through problems in her extremities like her feet permanently being damaged. The result being she has to live the rest of her life in a stall or wearing a grazing muzzle to limit her intake.
(Miracle in her stylish new magenta halter)
(With eagles around I'm keeping a close watch on everyone from Bruno to Tabitha to the chickens)
Vivian was diagnosed with what is believed to be osteosarcoma – bone cancer (fairly common in Rottweiler’s) in her right front paw wrist. There is really no good treatment, so she is currently riding in the car, getting untold amount of treats and being loved as much as possible. To describe the pain at facing losing not only my little girl, but also my protector is currently beyond my ability.
(Vivian watches Silence take a dirt bath)
(Vivian copies - Silence)
Rugby killed our only two Red Dorking chickens – docile Mrs. Cluck-Cluck and Helen. Joe and Katie planted a lovely garden and then moved out, because Joe is fighting forest fires all over the country and Katie wants to be closer to town.
(Rugby and Irish)
Lucky our little cow has gone terribly lame. I am very worried she won’t make it and may have to be butchered. The vet has sedated her and cannot find any cause for the lameness so the only solution is rest. I spoke at length to Susie at Pixie forest farm and she thinks either one of the big boys or her mother mounted her in the deep mud and she tore some ligaments or damaged cartilage. We tried confining her many different ways, but she either was ready to die of loneliness or she broke out. Currently we are isolating her in the pasture.
(Lucky with her bad left hind leg-)
Irish blew out his knee playing with his new best friends, Norton and Midge – the pigs - and needs surgery in his already bad leg. He is currently walking on three legs again.
(Irish meets - Norton - that's snortin' Norton and Midge - Midget Marie Miller- his soon to be bffs)
Karl the rooster found a new home and became a hero. It seems a prowler was trying to break into the house and inadvertently woke Karl who promptly sounded the alarm waking up the old dog and scaring off the intruder. Karl’s new family although annoyed he attacks them is very happy to have him around.
On another note, we went to the Cirque du Soleil for Henry’s birthday and he was fascinated and driven to now trying his hand at the silks. He’s also officially given up the oboe after playing “Louie Louie” in the marching band. It seems his months of rebellion against Grandpa Horn and his cornet are over. Henry has signed up for his third year of band. Now if he’d only practice.
(Henry in the Sea to Ski Jr.parade)
Silence (the turkey) sat on three unsuccessful nests, and Mabel (the goose) has not been able to hatch out any more goslings since her little ones drown, Carol -the duck- hatched out 9 adorable ducklings. Seven remain. We’ve cloistered them in the barn to protect them from their father who seems determined to snuff out the boys.
(duckling on the left - and one on the right coming out of the shell - mama - Carol on top)
(the new fuzzy ducklings)
Quinn graduated from eighth grade, Dean came to visit for a couple of weeks, Toby and her friend drove Henry to California for camp. There have been two more sightings of Karen – the cougar- in broad daylight, so it is possible she has cubs and is more visible than usual.
(Dean and Henry tussle)
(Frank, Henry & Dean watch the burn pile)
(Quinn jumping - finally)
(Quinn, Kaitlin, Phoebe and Henry at a family memorial)
(Henry, Phoebe, Lisa, Dean, Quinn, Chris and Nana - at graduation)
(Denise looking a little tired from burning the candle at both ends - but so happy to see little Quinnderella move on to high school)
Awesomez and Lindsey have arrived with their two dogs (Angel and Tasia – as in Fantasia). Lisa’s room – the penthouse - formerly known as the attic is almost ready for her.
(Awesomez and Frank put the Uhaul in position)
(Quinn and Lindsey - make do - in all the mess)
(Emmett - is happy next to Alexis' tool belt)
The fourth of July was spectacular. Awesomez bought a whole slew of fireworks and Amy joined us lighting her first explosive. Thus commemorated another year out in the county on Mosquito Lake Road.
(fireworks-)
(fun, fun, fun in the County again)
My sister and I each bought part of cow her friend raised and so we are now only eating happy meat – per Maryruth.
Irish got off the porch and bit Beatrice the chicken’ head off. My screams could be heard in the next county. Thankfully, I found my favorite chicken – Louise hiding for life in the Kubota barn.
Awesomez found Beatrice’s disposed of body – and her screams quite possibly carried to the next state.
The house remains a disaster driving type-A Awesomez more than a little nuts, but the end is near, I have faith. - And did I mention the brand new sectional is microfiber so as not to get dog or cat haired?
Our newest renters Amber and Marcus will be moving in to the apartment with yet another two dogs and cat. I guess Henry doesn’t have to run away to join the circus.
