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!