Nine Months Into It

Master Lumberjack Sean atop his conquered victim

Going into the Labor Day Weekend I wanted to catch everyone up on what we've been doing in the last 20 or so days (since the last entry really only covered the last part of July). We've been hard at the plumbing and have finished completely the drain lines except the pan for the master shower and punching through the roof with the 2nd system vent pipe. So that's about 30 minutes for me to do as I have a professional creating the pan for the shower. Then last week we started in earnest installing the supply lines for water (wet lines) after putting the new water heater in the utility room in the basement. My uncle Tim and cousin Teryn spent all day Saturday last week pulling main lines on the main floor and started a good number of the off shoots to the fixtures. I hope to complete the rest this Saturday as a crew of eight has been lined up. The idea is to be done by Tuesday so I can have the whole house inspected late next week and we can start the insulation install next Saturday. It's ambitious, but what of this project wasn't?
Red/Blue supply lines to master bath/Lines to existing bat


I also have had a professional install the heating and AC as I don't have that knowledge nor could I find an 'advisor". Which after seeing the effort in the oppressive heat of Iowa in the last three weeks and amount of skill needed, paying to have that done is looking like money well spent. That should also wrap up this weekend as part of the eight-man crew will be pouring concrete into the small pad next to the flagstone patio so the AC units can be installed early next week. With that wrapping up, I won't have to worry about hanging drywall or painting in subzero weather like we did when we started nine months ago!
More plumbing and the heating ducts/Pad for AC units


While all of the great work was being done inside, we of course had folks that wanted to work outdoors and I happily put them to work too! Along with continuing to plant things and kill the yard - that's right I no longer need to mow - we cut down )hopefully) the last mature tree last night. My brother and I took the chainsaw to the old ash tree that we REALLY hoped would live but it just didn't pull through like we wanted and it needed to go before... We finished grading and prepping the yard for irrigation! This was a major decision to make and has other implications, but if I ever want to be able to actually play with Ellie in this huge yard and want plants to live, I needed to install irrigation. This also will be worked on this weekend (most likely by Sean in a skid loader) so we can start to install water lines and sprinkler heads next week. (Notice a trend yet?) Which brings us back to our little fun story of my brother and I cutting down the tree last night.

I left to go get sandwiches and as life always has it, it took me much longer to get back than expected. When I drove up the driveway almost 40 minutes later, I see my brother leaning on 40' of rope that is tied to the arm of the tree, looking as though he's praying the wind doesn't pick up much. I calmly walk out and see that he's cut a sizable notch in the base and he's explaining how the tree is weighted too much to one side - unfortunately the same same that leads to the house. So he stopped and started praying... I said I'm sure I can get it to fall right by enlarging the wedge cutout and get it to fall away from the house. Soon after cutting another 10" from the trunk, the wood begins to snap, crackle and pop. Thing is Sean is screaming that I need to get on the rope and help pull. I get there just in time to take a good hold and then proceed to have a fantastic view of the possible carnage as we were both dragged roughly 15' as the tree GRAZES the edge of the porch. This was one of those times that you're so scared at the end and realize the heap of mess that could have been, the only option is to laugh. At least I did, Sean quickly informed that if he'd done that while I was away I'd have ripped him up and down for weeks after. Man, that sounds like he's bitter (or knows me too well). We laughed at our good fortune and ended the tense moments with a great quote by Sean as we looked to bring in the stump cutter "Well, I guess the O'Bannon Brothers shouldn't be left alone too long or they'll mess up the whole back yard."
Sean atop the tree / See how close it was to being a mess!

It never hurts to be LUCKY/The 'skid marks' of John and Sean

It's not a Vermeer, but it did the job


It was a great evening of working and getting things to a good point for this weekend. There's a lot planned for this Saturday and I have a feeling that a great majority will be done and that will be in no small part due to the huge effort of my brother. I have told him before, but I feel compelled to tell everyone here that I am extremely proud of my brother and would not have been able to get anywhere near where I am today without his knowledge, talent and strong back (nothing to say of his tolerance of my sometimes grumpy attitude eh Sean?). Sean is soon moving to the great wide north of Minnesota in the next week and I will miss him dearly. We have become so close in the last 9 months that I feel extremely fortunate to call him my brother and will miss him greatly.

We have one more weekend before the move and I hope it is not only productive but also full of more great memories like last night. I love you bro, take care and don't forget to call and if you ever get a hankering for breaking/fixing stuff, you know where I live.

I hope everyone else gets to enjoy the Labor Day Holiday and take some time to enjoy your family. A year ago tomorrow, this whole dream began when Leslie called me to say she had found 'it' online and we needed to drive over to take a look - I hope you find your inspiration start a dream of your own.

First Glimse of Normal

Front of the newly landscaped house!

Hey y'all. Sorry for the delay since the last post. I know that I mentioned putting up photos of the finished work from the 'planting day' after everyone had gone home. I have had an extremely busy couple of weeks at work and have not been able to keep up on the blog. So I hope to change that and keep you all informed in a more timely manner. A quick synopsis, we're still moving forward and albeit slower than anticipated to date, we're making progress and today's efforts with plumbing has gotten us pretty close to inspection day, but that's for later discussion. Let's see the great work that a huge crew completed two weeks ago (or was it three already?!).

The completed flagstone patio/Front right with plantings

Left side with plantings/Front up close with plantings

A great view of 'My Park'/Back right bed of back yard

Back left bed of back yard - 2 shots, it's that large
Bed along side of garage/Filled out front bed along the street


Now I'm sure there are a few of you wondering what the heck I mean by the title of this blog entry, well I'll let you in on a few things. First, and I'm not sure you care, but I usually think about these entries long before I put finger to keyboard. I stew on the events and most times feel a certain 'message' comes out of my thoughts that I base the entry on. Therefore, I usually have the title of the entry done long before I type the first letter. I know that's somewhat backwards from what we all were taught in Freshman English class, but that's how I roll - I got the plan before I even start usually.

This time was no different, it just so happened that it took forever for my schedule to open up enough to take the time to post. So on to the second point of defining the title. As I was walking around the house that evening after everyone had left, I was taking photos and the image at the top was the third photo I took. I remember vividly seeing that image through the lens. It was so striking that I had to take a double take.

I took a second look because for the first time I saw a finished house. I couldn't believe it and had to look without the lens in front of me to make sure my mind had actually seen what I thought it had. From the point of reference I was at I saw the finished plantings, the edge of the house, the trimmed back and newly planted trees perfectly framing the brand-new play set in the back yard. The grass had recently been mowed so it was a clean field of green in front of what seemed to be a finished back yard. It was amazing and I can remember it as clearly today as if I had seen it this afternoon and not three weeks ago.

I was honestly caught off guard by the moment. In my head I see unfinished walls, an ever-growing list of to dos, a huge yellow construction dumpster to name only a few. In my mind the process is so far from complete it is sometimes overwhelming, but here in this unexpected and brief moment, I saw a home that a family could live in. For the briefest of seconds I heard children giggling and having a great time on the swings. I could smell the steaks cooking on the grill. It was a moment that I have held on to for myself until now. It has given me a glimmer of what could be and a reminder of why I took this project on. It may not be exactly as I envisioned as I signed the papers of ownership on January 6th, and it still may evolve into something different still, but it was a good vision that I was given. It was one that warmed me and made me appreciate all of the things I've been given.

I don't know if I have expressed clearly or completely what this event and that day's completed work means to me, but I've tried to give you a glimpse of the moment of joy that I had. It was one of the very few that I've had since November 13th and it would never have been possible without your thoughts, prayers, help, time, expertise, generosity or love.

Thank you.

Small But Mighty!

Oh man has it been a crazy couple of weeks! One weekend my sister Mary got married which took me away from working and the other three were great work days that got a ton done!So let's jump right in!

The crew on the 14th was small in numbers, but really pushed along the progress. We cut a lot of furring strips, installed some boxes around heating and cooling ducts, installed some furring strips and Uncle Tim put in some more roof vents. I think I have rented that stinkin' table saw so many times I'm paying for it soe The Home Depot is actually seeing a return on their investment for that one tool.

Angela H & Teryn O cut furring strips/Ron and Kirby build box-ins

Mary installs furring strips/Ron admires the good work

Kirby brings up 2x4s for Ron/More Furring strips - there's a LOT of studs !

Dan gets into the Furring strip installation business too


Then the big planting day and I mean BIG planting day. It was crazy. One hundred and eighty nine plants, bushes and trees went into the ground on the 21st. A crew of very tapersistant and sweaty volunteers dug, scratched and pounded at the ground to make the holes for full-size plants. It was another huge effort on everyone's part and the flower beds have been filled in. Now it's up to me to keep everything alive through the hottest month of the year.

I realize it may not have been the most ideal (read smart) time to order and plant these, but that's when things were avaialable - both materials and people. It just worked out that way so I'm rolling with it. I say that if I make it to September with 95% of the plants - I bring back the rest and we'll be sitting pretty. So I spend my evenings splitting my time between working on projects inside the house and running out to move the one sprinkler head every 30-45 minutes b/c the yard is so deep I don't have enough pressure to run two at the same time. Which means I'l probably be making a call soon to a friend from grade school that has worked at a sprinkler business for the past 15 years to see what it would cost to have a system installed.
Brian J and Ryan plant trees/Brent W, Kevin K and Debbie plant treess near play area

The 'corner crew' of Ben and Jen D plant perennials/Skid loaders can only MOVE the plants

Across the way, Grandma & Grandpa, Britter, and Mary plant the other corner

Jane, Kevin C and son plant the side bed/Leader Justin sets out the garage bed

The 'little helpers' pitch in - Go Ethan W. and Andrew C!

Don Jeckle & Hyde anyone??

More dissention in the ranks...

Grandpa, Lola and even Brit take a break from the heat - good idea


On top of all of the planting, the patio installer volunteers showed up agaia and knocked out 95% ofthe remaining patio work. It turned out beautifully and something that I know will get plenty of use in the fall evenings as the sun sets and a cold beer cools down a parched throat.

Ron, Kirby and friend Jasper place stones and sift sand into place


The final work turned out beatutifully and I wil enter another entry to go over those as I took them later. An amazing transformation that I will go over in the next one. Thank you all for your sweat, sore backs and huge smiles!