It's free

I am living without a personal credit card at the moment. We went out to eat Saturday evening. Sharon was going to leave her purse at home but I said "you are going to have to have a credit card with you because mine is locked." So Sharon is paying all the expenses till this week Friday when I will receive  a new card. Till then I am living free, cause I am sure Sharon will pay the bill when her card is due. 

It is a good thing that our cards on the same account have different numbers on them. Someone tried to buy over $600 of liquor on line Thursday morning with my card number. That means they also had the security code off the back of the card. CapitalOne was quick to contact me asking if I had made the purchase. It probably tripped their system as I try to keep my alcohol buys under $500 if it's before noon. 

We buy everything with credit cards so for the last couple of days I have been finding out how often I buy stuff. I had to ask Sharon to pick up a loaf of bread because I have no credit card. I was going to buy some socks, nope, no credit card.

The kids that shovel a path for me to the door of our storage building did a lot more shoveling on Friday. They made ramps and a curved run for sledding.

I asked if I could take their picture. I should have asked if I could borrow a sled for a few runs. A lot of kids who did not have school on Friday were inside with their computer games. It made my day to see these guys outside having free fun in the snow.

I stopped at the lumber yard to buy a 2x4 this week. I was replacing a bathroom vent fan and needed a couple of 14 inch pieces to make the new fan fit. As I was driving away, I was asked if I wanted some trim boards for our rentals. They were going to throw them in the dumpster.

Oh yes I did. I am not sure how many hundreds of dollars of trim wood I loaded up and took to storage. I was wondering how much it was going to cost to trim out the basement ceiling in the house we are working on now. When I built the budget on the house I did not include that trim work. (Yea, I know bad move.) Now I know how much the trim will cost $0.00. Hey, that puts me back in budget.

It was time to get the water turned on in the house. The water line came in behind sheet rock in the basement. I thought it might be prudent to tear off the sheet rock and look at the pipe as the heat had been turned off in the house for a couple of years. The pipe was split for about 4 feet. That would have made for an exciting few minutes as the water was turned on.

After I replaced that pipe there was only one other water line break. Usually it is worse than that. I did find they had removed the drain line under the vanity in the bathroom. I had all the parts I needed in our collection of odds and ends and was feeling pretty good about fixing it for free and using up some of the parts out of the box of stuff we have. I did wonder why there was a piece of tape on the copper line in the basement. Now I know. The copper line had a hole in it and the previous owner had "fixed" it at no cost with tape. Yea, that didn't hold water. Time for the saws-all and new schedule 40  pipe and elbow up to where I had put in new under the vanity. Wasn't a free fix after all.

I am not sure why anyone would paint the wood in a bathroom dark brown (house we remodeled last year had it painted black, also not a good choice.). I put on the first coat of white. That will take at minimum another 2 coats.

When it was time to wash out the paint brush, I thought "I could use some hot water". The fuse box needs to be replaced with breakers and at this point there are a lot of wires not hooked up. I checked earlier when we turned the current on that the water heater was shut off. You don't want a water heater running if there is no water in it. I was going to put the fuses back in to start up the water heater when I saw one fuse was wrapped in aluminum foil. That means they blew the fuse at some time and with the foil had a direct connection. As Tom told me, "that is an infinity fuse." you can run as many amps as you want through it. Course it will burn your house down too.

So I checked the Air Conditioner fuse. Yep, another infinity fuse. Makes one ask why this house is still standing. The owner thought he had found a way to have free fuses. 

I do have the ceilings that fell from the roof leaks fixed. I hate working over my head.

I loaded up partial paint cans. I think they multiply in our basement. 17 cans of paint. I mixed 4 of them together with a can of miss-mixed paint I bought at Walmart.

For starting with a gallon of pink, I think it turned out a lovely tan color. Painted 1 bedroom

and the kitchen. So now I only have 13 partial cans of paint left. Anyway, that is how many I had there Saturday afternoon, probably be 17 again tomorrow morning when I get there.

When I look back at the week, I had a lot of "free" fixes and I saw some kids having some free fun. They say the best things in life are free. 

I do know the very best thing in life is free. My sins are all paid for by grace, the free gift of God. It did not cost me anything. Jesus died for me and all I have to do is accept forgiveness and I get eternal life with God.

Now, once I accept that forgiveness, God wants me to live my life for Him and give up my own desires. I am still working on that, while I rejoice in having eternal life paid for by Jesus. 

Come join me in getting salvation for free!!

That wasn't my plan

It is small deeds of thoughtfulness that are appreciated.

We have a storage building beside a tenant's garage. Last year the kids that live in the house would shovel a path for me to the door of our building. This week they had shoveled the entire cement pad. Thanks a lot guys it made my day.

Finished up the house we were working on. The window in the shower is totally waterproof. The tile surround fit tight up against a vinyl window. The new tenants and I agreed we did not want to hang a waterproof curtain in front of it for privacy. Trying something we have not done before. There is an opaque film stuck onto the glass. It allows in light but can not be seen through. It is supposed to look like water running down the glass. Well, it fit best if I put it on sideways. Now it looks like water is running across the glass. Maybe, it sort, of gives the impression of a strong wind blowing the water?

Carried all the tools out of the kitchen.

Cleaned up the cupboards and carried out all the plumbing and electrical supplies.

Took all of the power tools out of the house and swept the floors. Tenants were carrying stuff in as I was carrying stuff out.

Did the required updates to the furnace and water heater to get them up to code.

Enclosed the stairs to within 29 inches from the floor.

Cleaned everything out of the storage cabinets and installed a couple of new shelves.

Reinstalled the washer and dryer the correct way.

Emptied the garage. About half went to our storage and the other half to the landfill.

Put an new spring and pulley on the garage door. I think this is the first time the door has been closed in a long time. A lot of dirt on that baby.

It is always a good feeling to move out of a house because it is finished. Exactly 31 days from purchase to fixed and Christmas and New Years day were in that time frame. I had told the tenants that I was going to try to have it finished by February 1st but could make no promises. They had contacted me if we had a house open while it was still a real mess. Walked through it anyway and rented it on the spot. That was not how I saw it playing out. It was definitely not the plan I had in place.

We have one house left to remodel this year. Last year at this time I was wondering if there were enough days to get everything done before the snow flew again. This year I am wondering what I am going to fill my time with after May 30. It is a lot less stress this year. Last year I kept telling myself whatever gets done, gets done. The rest will just have to wait till next year. Ok, so I was lying to myself and kept thinking we are not going to do this again. Too much work too little time. 

We not only finished all the siding and roofs we had on the list in January 2019 we did an extra house roof and siding in August, and put 3 roofs on houses and garages we purchased in the Fall after the middle of October.

I often find that my plans are not God's plans. I can build my calendar and figure out how my time will be used and it seldom turns out the way I had planned. I find it a great joy to see how God works. There are times when I have to stop and tell myself,"hey, don't stress out here, God is still in control and He's got this." 

Those who are Landlords or attorneys are surprised when they hear we have never had to evict a tenant. This week I started our first eviction process. As of yesterday it is beginning to look like we may not have to follow through with an eviction. Once again it looks like God is solving the problem for us.

Will God resolve the issue my way? Most likely not, but His way is always better. God's way builds His Kingdom, my way is usually an attempt to make my life easier or better.

I have to remind myself I am not in charge. It is my job to shovel the path so God can do the work. (see I did get back to those kids shoveling a path for me.) Take care of the details because God is coming to build his kingdom.

Count the cost

This week it was time to get motivated on the house we are working on. It is rented for the first of February and that is closer than one would think.

I finally finished cleaning up that awful floor. All the stuck down pad is gone. That took a lot longer than just putting in new laminate flooring, but that old oak will last forever.

I don't have a full picture of what the bathroom looked like when we started. Let's just agree that it was truly awful and leave it there.

Got the tile set around the tub for the shower.

Grouted, sealed, and the shower installed.

Vanity in place. It needs the vanity top yet. we have 4 in storage and none of them were the right size. The mirror came out of storage. It is actually an antique. It is old enough that it weighs about 40 pounds. The new ones weigh less than 10 pounds.  Putting it up, I started thinking about just throwing it away and buying a new one. It was heavy trying to get the cable to catch the screw in the wall while leaning over the vanity. Yes it actually has a 3/8 inch cable on the back to hang it on.

Hung a cabinet in the corner because there were no drawers in the vanity. It helps to have some storage in a bathroom. All that is left to do is the vanity top in the house. 

The garage needs to have an electrical outlet replaced and a light installed. The garage door springs are broken as well. Once those items are fixed all that is left to do is carry out the trash and move the tools to the next house.

With ice and snow on the ground and the wind blowing last night was a good night for a fire. I might have been dozing off sitting close to the fire instead of reading the book I had in my hands. there is something about the radiant heat from a fire on a winter evening that induces sleep.

Went from behind schedule to ahead of schedule in a week. That's a good feeling.

Sharon and I visited with a young couple on Friday night. They want to get into the rental business. We warned them that it was a lot of work and it took a disciplined financial approach. They seemed to be ready for the sacrifices that will be needed to be successful. You will get calls for repairs that are needed evenings and weekends. I got a call 2:30 Saturday morning that a tree limb had crashed onto the roof of a house because of the ice load. You will have deadlines to meet if a new tenant needs a house. You have to count the cost before you start a rental business because it can consume your life.

Jesus said the same thing about following him.  Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won't he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still along way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

The couple we talked to were counting the cost before becoming landlords. I wonder how many today want to say I am a Christian but are not willing to count the cost. Jesus says you have to give up everything. All those sins and bad habits have to go. Putting yourself first has to go. Loving anything more than God as to go. The cost is high but the rewards are great.

God's Time

We are making progress on the house we are working on. That is a good thing because it is rented for the first of February. 

The appliances are in and when the appliances are in we are usually wrapping up. Not this time. 

I did get an additional cupboard put up in the kitchen. We had one in storage that was a close match.

Cupboard space was adequate at best, but that extra space will be appreciated, I'm sure.

Remember this awful floor? This has been the real time consumer. I have spent days wetting and removing that stuck down pad.

The end is in sight. Final cleanup left on about 8 square feet.

 

Rich got the new breaker panel in this week. Running saws with the current going through an old fuse panel is not my favorite way to go. With breakers you can just flip the breaker back on if a saw starts to pull too many amps. (I think it is amps). Fuses blow and you have to have a new fuse, we don't keep those on hand. We have been running the saws through a surge protector so the protector would shut out before a fuse burns.

The bathroom is the major project left. I had thought we could save the vanity but the former owner had allowed the drain to leak, the drawer rails were rusty and the base wood was soft. It came out just by grabbing it and pulling. No tools needed. That means it was past needing to be replaced.

The electric outlets in the bathroom are updated with GFI. That is all that is done in the bathroom. This is the room that has me concerned with that Feb 1 end date. Shower faucet needs to be replaced and then the walls tiled. Time needed for set up and curing between each step.

There are always a few things in a house that really make you shake your head. The dryer vent was completely plugged with lint. It should have been cleaned a long time ago.

The vent had disconnected and the lint was blowing against the back wall. The 220 volt plugin completely covered in lint was a scary sight to see. That is flammable at its definition. I can almost hear it go WOOF.

Last night Sharon's family celebrated her mom's 80th birthday. It was a blessing that all the grandchildren could be there.

After the meal we lit the Christmas tree.

We started this tradition when the boys were small and we lived in the country. We had to stop when we moved to town because the city frowns on large open fires. Last year the tradition was rekindled out at Sharon's parents.

Micah and Linsey provided the tree. they admitted the had neglected to water the tree since it was purchased at the first of December. It took Joshua some effort to get it lit with the stiff breeze blowing.

There is nothing that says Christmas is over like the lighting of the tree.

Singing "Come on ring those bells, lets light the Christmas tree" as a tree is engulfed with flames bring a beautiful conclusion to the holiday season as ashes float down around you in the evening air.

As I write this the Sunday after the new year, it is time to get back to work. There have been family gatherings and a real good bout with a virus that have kept me from much progress the last 2 weeks. It's time for a new season of work. As Matthew and Meagan left for Michigan this morning we told them we wanted them to live and work where God wants them to be and where they are happy, even if that means hundreds of miles from us.

I want that for all who I know, be where God wants you to be, doing what God wants you to be doing. If God wants me scraping a wood floor and fixing a bathroom that is where I want to be. We had a couple want to rent a house from us. They told me if they could rent the house it would be an answer to prayer. I told them we pray that God will put the person he wants in our houses. I thought it was a done deal. They had prayed and we had prayed. Well it was not a done deal and we had to go our separate ways. Then 3 weeks later Eric called me to ask if we had anything open. "No, sorry, Eric we don't" 5 minutes later Amber let me know they were moving out on the 17th. I called Eric back and they rented that house for the 17th of January that night. This house is a much better fit for them than the one we both thought God wanted them in. We just had to wait 21 days for God to get it right for us.

As you enter this year make sure you are where God wants you and not just where you want to be. Be a servant of God and wait for Him to show the way. We need to be where God wants us to be and we need to be there on God's time not our time.