Rest

We finished the inside of the last house on our list this week.

Bedrooms are all finished with new flooring, windows, painted doors and all updates to code.

Living room painted and floored. All the holes in the sheetrock filled and retextured. New trim and windows.

New bathroom floor, exhaust fan fixed, new vanity made by Matthew, new toilet and towel racks.

Kitchen has new lights, window, range, fridge, floor and cupboards painted with new pulls. This was the easiest fix we have had this year. The house was inspected and passed yesterday.

The new central Air went in this week. When they removed the furnace (down draft furnace so furnace had to be raised 2 feet) the tin under the furnace was rusted totally out. We wondered why it was so hot in the crawl space when we looked at the house before we bought it. That was where all the heat was going. We checked all the duct work and patched a couple of other holes and replaced the sump pump. Now all we have to do is finish the siding on one side of the house and paint it. Then new shingles and we are done. I am starting to feel like I am on vacation. Pressure is starting to get less.

 Last week I shared about the fishing camp Sharon and I stayed in one night.

That was only 1 night out of seven. We spent some time in some beautiful places. One resort is especially memorable.

I think they smoothed out the beaches every morning. There were never any tracks. and never a scrap of wastepaper or debris. It was a lovely place to watch the sun set over Florida Bay.

 

Sharon and I sat out on the fishing pier into the night as a gentle warm rain fell.

Ahead of us was the bay and behind us the lights of the resort.

We could have spent more time there just chilling out.

We ate breakfast a couple of mornings in this gazebo. It was a great way to start the day. Totally surrounded by greenery.

One evening I saw this little lizard and took its picture. No lizards in Iowa. 

Later in the day we ran into a couple of larger lizards. Not quite so friendly. This one was a three feet long and it was not the longest one that crossed our path.

Jesus told his disciples to come apart and rest awhile. I am not so good at resting when I think I have a lot to get done. 

I do think I have been pushing it a little to hard so far this year. It was great to have a week when I had nothing to do but enjoy time off. The entire week I had no contact from anyone that there was a problem or repair that needed done. I have never had that before, usually I am having to find a repairman to fix an emergency if I am out of the area. I think maybe God was telling me "you need some time off." 

As I look toward this fall I know I have about 2 weeks of work left and then life will slow down drastically unless we find a house to purchase.

I am not sure which I am wishing for. 

Gone fishing

Sharon and I were in south Florida for a week

We stayed at some lovely resorts.

And got away from the hectic life we lead here in Iowa.

We did spend one night at what I would call a fishing camp.

The boat docks were beautiful and well maintained.

You could tell they were very careful about maintenance and upkeep on the docks and piers. 

Was a little concerned though when we saw the check in office. Yep, metal trailer and that is the restrooms on wheels, to the left of the office.

 

Now lets talk about the rooms. I do wonder why there are no metal inserts to hold the door latches. I guess you don't need those if you are out on the bay fishing.

Kinda have to wonder about that trim board over the door. Where did they get that thing. And a shelf above the entrance door to the room? Why?? Just, why?

 

I know fishermen need a place to keep their catch cold, but really, blocking part of the doorway with an old fridge. 

You know they are serious about fishing when the cooler is provided with the room.

And what a room. I think those curtains were hung in 1974 and they still look just as amazing as they did last year. Lets just not talk about the carpet. Oh my! I think it was put in with the curtains and this is a fishing place! Have you heard of hard surface??

Window sills were pink tile. Mostly cracked. I am thinking maybe 1965 vintage??

3 walls and the ceiling were white washed car siding. See where they ran out of white wash? or maybe just tired of the whole project and quit.

On 2 walls they evidently thought 6 foot boards would work better than 8 foots. Well they didn't and the miter cut on the corner of the board hiding the joint was off about 5 degrees.

And then there was the wiring. I am not sure why that extension cord had to run up past the TV and then back down, but of course extension cords are not allowed under any code I know of, to start with.

A few too many plugs in this outlet. If you wanted to make coffee just unplug the microwave. If you wanted the lamp in just unplug the coffee maker. I couldn't figure out why nothing would turn on until I ran the cords back and found out about the switch the plugs system.

 

Ceiling light and fan was also plugged into an outlet.

Whoops, that is brown zip wire running behind the molding to the ceiling fan. Not exactly the type of wiring I like to see.

There evidently is a connecting door between the rooms. Bungee cord, some 4 inch foam over the door, and you have a nifty noise barrier. At least that is my best guess of what they were doing.

  

Yea. I guess who needs a stopper in the bathroom sink. What are you going to do wash something like your hands in there when you could be fishing?

Hey if the wood starts to rot at the corner of the shower get a piece of plastic and 2 screws and fixed in no time at all.

 

AC breaks and you can buy one of those in room units and vent it out the window.

And that broken AC drain pipe, put a bucket under it, that's the best way to fix it.

We had a great time down in Florida. Sharon asked if Captain Pip's was terrible. Oh I wouldn't have missed it for the world. It was an experience. The place does not cater to men like me. You are expected to be out on your boat all day and not care at all about the room. I get that. Don't get too comfortable unless you are out fishing.

Do you see where I am going here? We have a tendency to get comfortable in our lives. We don't want to be uncomfortable and some of us don't want to be out fishing. There is a problem with that. Jesus told us to be fishers of men. He wants us out fishing not building a nice plush place to stay.

When was the last time your priority was setting a hook for an unsaved soul, or are you more concerned about no one messing up your good life? 

We all have to make a choice of what is important to us. Having everything comfortable and a nice place to live, or being fishers of men and the things of this world take second place.

Make everything beautiful

I spent the first 4 days this week painting a house.

You know you spend too much time painting when you are in Walmart and ask an associate if there is someone who can mix paint for you and they reply " I will call someone as soon as you answer a question." I am thinking what is this a test? If you answer incorrectly you get no help. Her question was, "I am painting the trim on my house, should I use primer first if the paint says it is one coat with primer in it?" 

"Is there a lot of bare wood?" I asked"because if there is use primer first." 

She then called for an associate to mix paint for me. Sad part is I didn't like the color that was mixed up so I remixed it to the color I wanted later. 

I wanted an ivory white for the trim and it was still too white. Added a cup of Chocolate brown to their ivory and got the color I wanted.

The neighbors stopped by to tell me the house and garage looked a lot better.

I asked if they wanted to help pay for the paint.

They declined to do so. 

Thursday afternoon we were down to only 1 house we are working on. There are a couple of small jobs we have hanging out there to be done, but this is the first time since last November that I feel we are getting caught up.

 

On Friday Micah laid the kitchen floor in that last house. 

We went to Modern Floor Covering and bought vinyl for the bathroom. I put it in while Micah was working on the kitchen.

Then I started on the Laundry room floor. It was also purchased at Modern Floor covering. We bought a pallet of flooring on Friday morning and have no house purchased to put it in yet. I think Micah and I were thinking we will find a house for sale that works with our ROI requirements yet this year. Maybe we are a bit too optimistic.

Friday afternoon we started putting up trim. 

I think Micah was surprised how long and what a pain it is to put in the trim. Yes. Micah, you actually need to cut a 1/4 inch by 1 inch piece fill the gap and make the trim lay flat.

I must have counted wrong.

\

We were short a 14 foot board to finish the trim.

With the trim up, it makes you feel like you are getting close to finished. I think Micah is thinking we can get this house rented by September first. I don't think so. I want the siding on the house before we rent it. I want the saws to cut the siding set up in the garage. He had me call Brown's heating today to get the Ac installation scheduled during August. I am still thinking October, Micah is pushing for September rent. We will see who wins, but I bet I do.

I had a conversation today with a young woman who was moving out on a violent young man. From the outside her life looked good. The happy couple with a baby just over a month old.

She was telling me about the young man, and I asked her "Why were you living with him?" 

She said we have been together on and off for a year now." 

I am thinking "on and off for a year?", but you have a child over a month old, that means you have been involved a little too close for at least 10 months. 

I said to her "You chose poorly." 

Tears ran down her cheeks. 

Someone has to tell the truth to our world. Instant gratification does not lead to a happy life. It leads to pain, sorrow, and sadness. 

I told her "I am not your daddy, I am not going to fix your problems, I am not going to make it so there are no repercussions here. Next time choose wisely."

We take houses that have been neglected and fix them up. We put in new windows, doors, floors, roofs, siding and take something of little value and add value.

There are a lot of people out there who need to have their lives fixed up. Many bad decisions have been made and now their lives are crashing around them.

Even if your life is like a house that needs everything updated and changed, God can make that happen. When all looks hopeless Jesus can wipe away all our sins and mistakes and make our lives brand new in Him.

If you know someone whose life is a mess, go talk to them with love, not judgement. (You may think I was judgmental with that young woman, but I would not have been there if I didn't care and want to help). Tell them they can do better, not by themselves, but by turning their life over to God.

Jesus can make everything beautiful.

Take time

Last Saturday after a tenant moved out, I saw the carpet in the bedrooms of the house had too many spots to leave. I pulled the carpet back around a furnace register and could see hard wood underneath 

I pulled up the carpet, rolled it up and had Micah help me carry it out to the garage. 

On Monday I pried up the tack strips. I hate pulling up tack strips when they are nailed into oak flooring. Then I pulled the staples that were holding down the pad. 463 staples. Yes I counted them as I pulled them 1 at a time. I was tired of staples by the time was finished, but the floors still had the original varnish on them and did not even need a new coat.

Then I painted the "blue" house

It is now up to our standards. Personally I think there is a grand improvement.

The color was chosen by the neighbors across the street.

I think it was a good choice. I was going to go with tan, but they wanted some color on the block.

We put new siding on the lawn shed and painted it,

Budget did not allow for residing or roofing the garage at this point. I know it will have to be done in the next couple of years but we needed this thing to start generating some cash flow first..

Thursday evening Tony moved out of our basement.

He rented an apartment in Pella. The timing of his move was perfect because Sharon' family was around and those teenage boys could help load and unload. We are going to miss Tony. It has been great to have him living with us since he graduated college in May.

Friday was spent by the family in Sharon's dad's shop.



The boys did some metal working.

And of course driving some antique machines. I think top speed is 2 mile an hour. See how grandpa stays close at those break neck speeds?

Card games were played

and games outside. 

I started the week tearing out carpet and painting a house. Ended the week at a several day family reunion.

Sometimes I get confused about what is important in life. It is not always work that is important. God places us in relationships. We need relationships. It is built into us. We need relationships and to spend time with each other. God is Triune. He is in relationship with Himself and with us. 

We are called to be in relationship with those around us. perhaps I need to intentionally take more time for people.