100 years later

I feel like I am not making any progress right now. Intellectually I know that is not true. We have shingled 4 of the 6 roofs we had on the schedule for this year and it is not the first of May yet.

So there are 2 roofs left to do including this one. 

The garage that goes with the house has the roof done but both the house and the garage need siding. I enjoy putting up siding but it is a time consuming job. I hope to order the siding this week. The city has changed the code and we have to have houses inspected within 30 days of renting them. That means we can't register them as a rental with the city and figure we have 6 months before we will have an inspection. Harrison can be easy to work with at times and this was one of those times. He asked how soon we would have it shingled and resided. I thought about it for a bit as he tried to pin me down on a date we would be finished. I finally told him it would be done before the snow flew next winter. Surprisingly he said Ok. 

The city wanted the roof replaced on this house before we rented it. Different code enforcement. Mike asked me a couple of times during the winter if we were started on it yet. Each time I told him "It is too cold." I had a call from Dustin (city code enforcement) this week because we had a tenant with a couch by the curb. Dustin called me as a courtesy before he sent an official letter. I appreciate that Dustin! Dustin said "I saw you have the tarp off the blue house and it is roofed." Means he is keeping track doesn't it.

This house also needs to be sided this summer. It also needs new windows, kitchen cupboards, mud and tape on walls, painted inside and new floors. Oh, yea, it needs new interior doors and the bathroom redone as well. Just a few updates right?

 That is about enough to keep me busy for a while just inside this house. I need to chill out and relax. It will all get done eventually. I should consider it a good thing that I have productive labor to do.

 This is my Great Grandparents, Cornelius and Sjoukje Spoeltsra. They immigrated to America from the Netherlands in 1918. My Grandfather was 18 at the time. Later in life Cornelius said he immigrated because there was no room for economic advancement in Holland at the time. I am a 4th generation citizen of the USA. My family has now been here for 100 years. 
Instead of being worried that there is no room for economic advancement I am worried if I will get all the work I have to do done. 

A robin laid a couple of eggs in a window sill of the blue house this week. The robin did not bother to build a nest, she just laid the eggs and then seems to have abandoned them. Her labor was not productive and there will be no next generation to carry on.

Here's my point. My family has been here 100 years. We are here because the USA saw immigrants as a positive. They helped to build the economy. It was not always easy. My Great Grandfather's native language of Dutch was banned in public meetings and church services during WWI. The Dutch were hated by the earlier Americans because it was thought they were German sympathizers. My Great Grandparents were still allowed to come and they came. I wonder how many reading this know the story of when their family came to America and how many of you want to refuse entry to even legal immigrants today. This country allowed my ancestors to come even though at the time "their kind" was not wanted. Today even though I have the city officials carefully watching what I do, they continually tell me they are glad we are in Oskaloosa buying house renovating them and making the town look better. Harrison told me last Saturday "I like to inspect your houses, I never have to yell at you." Mike told me after we bought the blue house,"I am glad you bought that house." 

We can be like the robin who thoughtlessly laid her eggs in an open window sill with no protection. She had no thought for the future. If we do not accept immigrants the best and brightest from other countries will go elsewhere and we will lose all that they might bring to our country and economy in the future. My family was the hated foreigner when they came. Now we are part of the fabric of this country. Maybe too busy at times, but busy making this a better land and place.