Monday, February 26, 2007

Beam Me Up OB

I'm going to cheat a tad this week (and I know it's been two weeks since the last entry) but I thought it might be good to give more insight into my thoughts than just a hitlist of what happened this past weekend. SO, this will be a long entry, but hopefully worth the read.

First the hitlist. Crazy Matt S (as I've come to refer to him) is usally the person who writes/sends out the weekly email asking for volumteers once he and I speak and get a sense of what we're planning to do for the wekend. Once in a whle he writes a recap and that's what I'm pasting in today because 1) he writes better than I do 2) I'd like to share some of my thoughts afterward of where this is taking me personally. So grab a cup o' Joe and settle in because it might take a few minutes to read it all - both Matt and I are fond of words ;-)

Matt wrote:
"This last Saturday was a big day and much was accomplished.

Rick, Tammy, Dalton and Creighton Stifel came in and with the dogged assistance of Doug Meyer and Ron Vander Kamp managed to place the big beam across the remodeled master bedroom. This was no easy feat as the ceiling had to be braced with a temporary wall while three separate beams were sistered together to make a 6"x12"x14' beam that now spans the new master (see the attached pdf for the crew’s beam dedication). When it was all said and done, their beam was in, the wall was built and it looked great. Big ups to the beam crew.


In contrast, the kitchen crew of Matt, Ben, Steve, and Ryan were slightly less productive. Hey, we got it done but we did move a bit slower. The beam crew had actual tool belts and stuff while the kitchen crew had a sharpie, a pie in the sky attitude, and a healthy dose of ignorance about the likelihood that the brick veneer could come crashing down on their heads.

In our defense, we had to slip a 4"x10"x11' beam into a tight spot between the framing and the brick and that wasn’t easy. There were nails everywhere, a fair amount of demo, and a changing game plan as we removed old construction that presented hidden issues. Before it was all done, I had the beam sitting on my head while we tried to get the last inch and half of the beam back into the gap.

Did I mention that what I built had to be removed because I jumped the gun, not once, but twice? We had to put the beam up three times. Why people ask me construction questions is beyond me.

At the end of the day, with help from (many) others, the kitchen crew prevailed and managed to get their assignment completed. Now to get a header under the brick so we can open up the whole kitchen.... Yeeesh, that’s not gonna be easy.

Big ups to Eddie Friend as he installed electrical boxes in much of the house. Erin Burns, Elisha and Mary took out old wiring and kept that ball rolling. Sean O kept right on knocking down and building up wherever he was needed.

The third floor crew got a very big start on the new bedroom. They pulled up wood flooring and started wall construction and the attic is slowly being transformed into an entirely new space. (Phil, Dan, Jim, Amy...uh, who am I leaving out?) I apologize if I didn’t mention everybody. Either way, you rocked.

Once again, Cheryl Eckert managed to put together a killer spread. Thanks to all the chefs as the food was tasty and fit the bill perfectly.

Keep an eye out for updates. We’ll be running wires, plumbing and HVAC soon enough. Thanks again to everybody.

M@"
__________________________________________________________

Nice huh? Very witty, now I get to share some of the 'mushy' stuff. Maybe not so much mushy as just things that are weighing on my brain and keep floating around in my head (which is why I usually get about s hours of sleep a night).

First, I was breifly resting this past Saturday and watching the Beam Crew work their magic and was talking with another person who said something that stopped me in my tracks. he said "That's the cool thing about all of this, is seeing in the mind's eye how this all is going to be used in real life. There's Ellie's little room over there (through the bare studs) and that we can already hear the Disney music playing or dance music blaring. And this huge space for the master bedroom is going to be a great space to retreat to. This is going to be a great house John."

Now it wasn't so much what he said but that he was talking like had thought when I first decided to move forward with this house. It made me realize that some folks are dreaming this house into reality as much as I am. It's a great thing. Sometimes I get lost in the details and forget to keep that dream in focus, the dream of my family living here. It's more than a project, it's my home. God works in amazing ways n that I think I was getting a bit too caught up in the project of the home and needed a reminder. Heard it loud and clear.

Later in the weekend I went back to the house to look at what had been accomplished because I wasn't able to see everything before leaving on Saturday. It's then that I was able to start dreaming again about the laughter, yelling, wispering, crying and celebrating that will go on in this house in the years to come. I'm still unsure about a lot of things regarding this house (which room will be Ellie's and what design the walls will have or what sinks will be in the bathrooms or how I'm going to get all the walls to be the same depth as the original plaster and lathe so the woodwork fits) but I do know I made the right decision. I also know that Leslie is there with me every step of the way. I may not be able to hear her words, but I feel her love. It is going to be different than we planned, but I hope the same love and happiness fills the rooms.

I will hold a number of events/parties in the future and I hope you are able to attend at least one of them. It will mean the world to me that you do. Leslie and I always looked forward to opening our home to our friends and family, and if you're reading this I consider you one of those. Thank you for taking the time to read about my family and my dreams and I hope someday you will tell me about yours.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

More Work Done, More Media Coverage

It's been quite the week! We had a good crew of about 12 that worked extremely hard doing the crappy work of clean up and nit picking details. We pulled up the floors in the kitchen which involved removing 4" of concrete under the tile area and taking up FIVE layers of linoleum in the old eat-in space. I guess once you go lino you never go back! There was a massive effort undertaken to clean the second floor so clean we could eat on the floors. Truly amazing how it took 8 people numerous hours and trips to unclog the vacuum filters! It wasn't as dusty as the first weekend, but it was almost as bad.

We also took out any remaining piping from heating and gas lines that were original to the house. Don't worry, the gas lines hadn't been in use (or even connected) for over 20 years. Regardless, the guys doing that DEFINITELY signed the waiver for the week. We took out and remaining plaster pieces as well. I know I've said that about 10 times, but if there's a section of plaster left I'm going to go nuts. I think we've come to the end of demolition and will begin the reconstruction stages. Man I'm stoked about that statement, more than you can realize and for more reasons than I could probably articulate in this space.

The other big news is that I also had a f-r-o-n-t page article on the status of all of the families affected by the tragedy in the Des Moines Register. This house was the lead and the picture was of Ellie and me in the framework of this house. Feel free to check out the story for yourself!

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070212/OPINION01/702120343/1001

I feel so humble by the interest, the help and the prayers given to me in this endeavor. It's amazing to see how many people care about my dream and future. I am truly blessed.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

KCCI TV-8 Helps Out


Today was a very exciting day! Emily Givens from KCCI TV-8 here in Des Moines interviewed me as well as a couple of others involved with this house this afternoon. If you were tuned in to the 5:00 news you may have seen the piece. If you're wanting more information about the project to date, read on. If you would like to find out more information about the items I'm needing help with, feel free to contact Amy Nichols or me at the below email addresses.

amy.nichols@meredith.com
john.obannon@meredith.com

If you missed the segment, feel free to copy the links below into your browser to watch the I Saw It On KCCI: John O'Bannon's Fixer-Upper Home story and video.


Video - http://www.kcci.com/video/10957327/index.html
List of items needed - http://www.kcci.com/station/10956847/detail.html

-

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

The Angel Maker


I was recently sent this image from a friend at work. I work at a great place where one day during the middle of a very ordinary week, I got a call to go out and make snow angels in the freshly fallen snow. Why, well because it's fun and what better way to get the creative juices flowing?

Now this has really nothing to do with this house that's being rebuilt except that this person sees me everyday, has helped with the house and wrote a great caption in the email that resonated and seemed appropriate that I share it on this blog. I guess it's a small insight to how I'm trying to deal with the loss of Leslie and it's a point of view other than my own. I'll end with the email caption and leave you to connect the dots as you will.

"I was so moved by this photo, knowing Leslie was watching you, suspended in flight, with your heart in the heavens and feet firmly making their way on this earth..."

Thank you for blessing me with your kind thoughts and prayers. I feel as though I've been made stronger because of them.

Monday, February 5, 2007

Negative Four

Yeah, I'm not talking about the lack of volunteers, I'm talking about the temperature before windchill when the first person showed up to the house! Needless to say we had two propane heaters blasting and it didn't seem to make a difference until about noon. By then we had added another heater and were just getting to 'comfortable' levels. It was nice that the three season porch was toasty warm, but it was cold everywhere else for the first half of the day.

Making it through another day of working hard at someone else's house were: Keven F., Teresa N., Crazy Matt S., Sean O., Elisha O., Ryan V., Doug G., Matt G., Barry B., Brad B., Cheryl E., Tricia L., Eddie F., Ben A., and Jane M. (late - she waited until it 'warmed' up). These crazy people are my new bestest friends as they proved to be as much very caring people as much as they are now proven to be as crazy as I am. Honestly, a special shout out because the weather truly made this weekend brutal.

Early bird gets FROST BITE in this house - thanks Matt and Doug!

Kevin removes the heaters... / Matt and Ben take out pipes

Teresa scoops more dust / Ryan takes a different angle

Reeeaach for it Brittany / Again, Brad oversees Barry working

Ctazy Matt takes out walls / Jane takes a break for the camera



We made great progress in getting the small details dealt with and put us back on track to start another major stage, the installation of the mechanicals. I have a feeling there are quite a few people out there just as excited about burrowing holes in walls and pulling wires through walls as much as there were droves of people wanting to tear down plaster and lathe. I never said I surrounded myself with sane friends, just ones that really care. But a note of what was done is pulling walls out of the master bedroom, removal of most of the kitchen floor, walls in the first floor solarium, wall above the fireplace, numerous baseboard heaters, remaining baseboards, and a whole lot of bits and pieces of plaster and lathe around door jams and baseboards on the second floor. It's getting to the nitty gritty and I'm excited that it's almost time to talk rebuilding. The neighbors have got to be wondering if there's anything at all left in the house.

I'll cut this one short so that I can enter more photos of past dates and some to this entry. Check past posts for week one and two as those were just given to me recently. Enjoy all and we'll see you at the house!