Back to work

We took possession of a house on Monday. It was originally sold by an estate to a couple who were going to fix it up. They gave up and sold it to us.

It has several fixtures that give the house character. I am not sure what we are going to do about the piece of missing leaded glass in that cabinet door.

This is an electric fireplace. I am glad we do not have it in our home. It would be too much of a temptation to turn it on in the winter and enjoy the heat it kicks out with no ashes to deal with.

All of the walls except the living room needed to be fixed. This was the main floor bedroom.

Matthew removed the door that went to the backside of the shower (the shower is in what used to be the closet of the bedroom but is now part of the bathroom) and sheet rocked it in. He shot the walls with texture today. Maybe Monday it can get painted.

Upstairs half bath was awful.

Sink and storage cabinet are torn out. Toilet will be removed next week.

We have the vanity and a set of drawers to put in as soon as the walls are fixed, painted and the new floor is in. Chris and Julie gave us the vanity and drawers when they remodeled. Thanks guys.

It's tough to see in this picture , but there was a half wall between the living room and the library. 

That's gone. It was the first thing that went out to the pile to go to the landfill.

This is what the kitchen walls looked like when we purchased the house.

Now they have been given a coat of mud, textured and painted.

Upstairs bedrooms have had the walls improved. I wish I could say fixed but that might be a bit of an exaggeration 

They look a lot better. Today Matthew was finishing painting in this room and said "the corners are pretty rough." 

I said "Ok here is a quick, cheat fix" I ran a heavy bead of caulk down the corner and then ran my finger down it. "Now get a lot of paint on the brush and smooth the caulk out"

Mathew painted the corners and said "so that's how you do it!" 

Yep, 1 minute fix of a bad corner.

Someone smoked heavily in this bedroom. See the mini blinds that used to be white? See the walls that used to be gray?

They are now a light blue color and the overpowering smoke smell is gone.

We have a lot of work in the main bath. Matthew has started repairing walls. Yes, my daughter-in-laws can all relax. The claw foot tub will stay. There is a new shower just to the left of the door. The vanity top has been replaced already. Matthew cut it out of a solid surface top we had in storage.

Yesterday I was thinking we had not made a lot of progress on this house yet. Today I realized we have not had it for a week and many of the walls are already fixed and painted. It seemed yesterday we had been working in this house for a long time and it just wasn't so. 

A friend of mine told me today he felt the call to be a minister 40 years ago and he could not understand why he felt the call when there was no way he could make that work. The last 2 months he has been leading church services. He is 86 years old and is living out his call to ministry from 40 years ago. God's timing is not our timing. God is infinitely patient.

I want everything yesterday. I have little patience. To God a thousand years are as a day. 

We already have people asking us when this house will be ready to rent. I don't know. 3 weeks? 45 days? I don't know. Only God knows and it will be ready in His time and that is true of everything in our lives.

 

 

Put a lid on it.

We have spent the last week putting shingles on. We are finished for the year unless we buy a property that needs shingles.

We started on a garage.

 Its always good to look down the ridge and see the caps all on. Means the job is finished. This roof was leaking bad enough that the water got in the light switch box and turned the light on by making a connection with water between the poles. Not a good situation.

Moved on to a house. We almost always use burnt sienna color shingles. When we were finished and I took a picture here, I saw the paint on the foundation does not match the shingles at all does it? May have to repaint the foundation this year.

Moved on to the next house where almost every nail head holding on the old shingles was visible. Matthew took a picture of the roof before we started. I don't think he had seen one this bad before. 

The garage on this one was leaking also. When we had it inspected so we could rent it a couple of weeks ago, I thought for a bit Harrison was going to say, "fix the roof first." After making a couple of comments he walked on, but he did write a directive to get it roofed by June. Well, we made that dead line.

Last house on the list. This roof was so bad it made the last one look good. You could see the wood showing through in places. When we took possession last winter I climbed up on the roof and patched leaks with 'Through the roof" and tar. When we finished this roof we had 1 and 1/2 shingles left. That did make us a bit nervous when we were getting toward the finish as they were special ordered in and there were no more available. Next project with this house is to paint it. I am thinking gray with white trim. Ok, since Joe gave us exterior gray paint I know we will paint it gray.

I found out I was approved for Unemployment in Kentucky. 

Seems they have a little fraud going on down there. I have tried to contact them several times and in several ways. I am on a return call list, and I keep getting robo calls I am still on the list for call back. I finally went to their on-line site to report fraud and reported myself. I do hope I don't get arrested for fraud now since I HAVE BEEN REPORTED. Someone has my SS number and is using it. I found out I have also moved to 25 prince haven road, apt 3 Plymouth NH Feb 12. So if anyone visits Plymouth NH stop on in and say hello. Send me a picture of me if you do so I will know what I look like. 

I have spent time placing a Identity theft and fraud alert with the Federal Trade commission and with the credit bureaus. One helpful lady told me ,"don't worry, its probably just a mistake. Happens quite often." Yea, not sure I am buying that right now.

So we have more or less put a lid on the houses and garage we bought since late last fall. they should all be rain tight now. I do hope I have put a lid on who ever is using or selling my identity, but I doubt that is finished yet.

Putting a lid on it can be a good thing and it can be a bad thing. "Put a lid on it" is a rude way to tell someone you don't want to hear what they have to say. In our country we have become a people who don't want to listen to anyone except those who agree with us anymore. You say something I don't like "put a lid on it!' We don't seem to want to hear both sides and realize everything is not black and white. It's much easier to choose our own "truth" and tell everyone else "Put a lid on it". 

The other day I was in conversation with a woman about all the Amazon packages left on door steps and I said "almost everyone is honest" and I meant it. If you have a point of view I disagree with I promise to listen. I may quote facts and statistics back at you and all I ask is for you to listen and consider what I say. Let's stop telling each other to "Put a lid on it"

 

Caleb

A child arrived just the other day, came into the world in the usual way.

Micah and Linsey have a son. Our first grandchild. 

Born in a cold spell. bundle up tight little one.

Caleb William Spoelstra was born on Monday Feb 8

I know he has 2 very proud grandparents. I am pretty sure he has 4 proud grandparents, but he is the Pezley's 3rd grandchild and he is our first.

Caleb looks a lot like Micah did as a baby. Here Joshua is holding his little brother.

It didn't take Micah long to be totally cool after he was born. Joshua might have helped him a bit with that. I am sure Caleb will be whatever the word used for "cool" is today.

It seems Caleb is following very closely in his father's (Micah with us in this picture) footsteps and he is not even a week old.

I think Micah and Linsey need warning that Micah used to rock this crib back and forth to move it across the room. He would get it in front of the door and try to turn the knob and open the door. Of course he had the crib in front of the door blocking it so he couldn't open it.

I am sure Micah will have as much joy from his new son as Micah gave me.

Take the time to enjoy that boy while he is little because he will soon grow up and you will wonder where the time went.

Welcome to the world Caleb

Even though you spend a lot of time sleeping now

soon you will be living large.

If blogs are still a thing and you can find a remnant of this on the internet 15 years from now

Know that you were loved from the moment you were born.

Floored

Matthew and I have finished the last house we purchased. We are now out of houses to fix up until we can buy something and the market is just too hot now for us to get involved. When we purchased this house, I had done the "peel the carpet back by a furnace register" check of the floors. Sometimes hidden under that lovely carpet is an oak floor.

Yes there was an oak floor under the carpet and pad, but...

someone in the past, to have that "modern up to date" look, had glued down one of those lovely kitchen type carpets with the fuzzy grey backing. When they replaced the carpet and put in new, a few decades ago, they left the fuzzy grey and glue on the floor. I had a crazy thought and tried to scrape it clean. Decided it would be too much work. Matthew said "we can clean that floor". I think he may be rethinking that now. Between me and him we have about $1040.00 in labor time invested in that floor. A new floor on sale at Menards this week: $118.97 and $160.00 in our labor cost to lay it. 

I sure hope this oak floor is worth the extra $761.03 we have invested in it. You can see the ink stain to the right of the door that we could not get out. It is soaked into the oak. We are going to call that character.

Still an old oak floor is always better than a new laminate, any day in my book. Question remains how much better. $250? $500? $750? At $760 I think we were pushing the envelope a bit.

I had wanted to save the carpet in the enclosed front porch. It was an expensive carpet when laid and it looked pristine. That is until I moved a box of books and saw the square foot of roofing tar that was spilled on it.

Yep, that carpet went to the landfill and a new floor went in. Matt's goal was to lay this floor in an hour. He failed. Had the last piece to cut and put in when the hour was up.

I had peeled back the carpet to take a look at this floor and was impressed by the fir floor underneath.

Nooooo! Only good wood was around the edges. Could have maybe used it for a game floor of some type, I suppose.

Covered up the fir floor. We also put the cold air return back in (when I say we, I mean Matt did). Some previous owner saw no reason to have a cold air register. How crazy is it that they put COLD air registers in when you are trying to HEAT the house. I have a feeling the house was kind of expensive to heat. Trying to push heated air up and the furnace gasping for air.

So we wrapped up our last house and I have free time ahead of me. How will I use my "free" time? Fact is, I don't have any "free" time. My time all belongs to God. Every minute of every day. Over the last years it has been great to see how God has been in control of our lives and all our activities. There have been times when I thought I had it all figured out and God had a different direction for us. It's kind of like me peaking under a carpet and thinking there is a good floor there only to find out I am wrong and have to make a new plan, except God is the one who has the "new plan". His plans always turn out better than mine. I am too much like the idiot closing up the cold air registers because I am trying to heat the house not realizing I can't heat the house with out those cold air returns.

I am sure God is going to fill my days with some of the volunteer organizations I am a part of in the next few weeks.

I can not encourage you enough to turn everything in your life over to God. He has a great plan for you. It floors me every time I see where he takes my life.

 

Which door?

Doors matter. They are a high use item in houses. A good door can withstand a lot of use. A poor door falls apart easily.

The price of doors has risen a lot over the last 2 years. We started putting in what I call the cardboard doors, to cut some expense. They now are priced the same as the solid wood doors were 2 years ago.

We are back to solid wood doors. The cheaper cost when purchased is not cheaper in the long run.

This folding door is what we removed to put in the door above.

Plus I think a wooden door looks better than a painted one. You may disagree, but white doors in tenant house are never clean. Ok, I take that back, we have some tenants who keep their houses immaculate. They seldom move so I don't get the pleasure of clean doors between tenants very often.

To put in one of the 2 wooden doors above I had to cut 1/2 inch off the stud on one side of the opening. The studs were old full 2 inch lumber so I still had a nominal 2x4 left. I had measured the upper door frame when I purchased the new door. When I tried to install it I found out the frame was not even close to square. That is where a saws-all is a saving tool. No need to rebuild the entire frame just remove that 1/2 inch and square it up.

Daylight could be seen around this exterior door. It also would need a new "antique" lock, which are hard to find and expensive. It was not a good door. Replaced it with a new exterior door that seals.

A tenant called and asked if they could put plastic around their front porch so they would have a wind break to smoke behind. "No" the city does not allow plastic around porches of rental houses. I thought about it and called them back, "I have an old door I just pulled out. If you decorate it, you can use it for a windbreak." They did and it looks pretty good. We found a use for the door but it doesn't let you into anywhere.

Doors matter. Jesus said "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you many will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, "Sir, open the door for us." But he will answer, "I don't know you." Luke 13:24

The door to Heaven is a narrow door. The door to Hell is a wide door. If you know you have sinned and Jesus paid for those sins the narrow door is open for you, but there are then expectations for how you live and how you treat others.

To be completely honest, I have been disappointed in the attitude I have seen last year of many who proclaim themselves to be followers of Jesus. They seem to be more concerned about their rights and freedoms than they are about showing love to those who need to hear the gospel. I have news for you. The citizens of the kingdom of God have no "rights". 

"But now you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness and the result is eternal life." Romans 6:22

Serving God is always the opposite of how we would do it on our own. You want to be free? become a slave of God! You want to enter the door to heaven? Let Jesus do it for you. You want to live a good life? Turn everything over to God. If we try to do it ourselves we will end up with a door that doesn't work with a frame that is not square.

That door at the end of your life matters a lot. The right door will cost you everything cheap grace doesn't work. You have to give up your "rights" and your "freedoms". You have to give up your favorite sins and self reliance. Are you headed for the wide door as many are, or are your on the narrow path to the narrow door?