Can You Dig It?

Just call me A Mess. After a near- recovery, I've slipped into relapse town. I don't know if this is allergies, viruses, infections, or just generalized internal chaos (great band name by the way) but I'm sick and tired of it. So sick and tired that I've resumed all normal activity - whether I feel like poo or feel like sunshine, I do whatever I normally do. I just have to. That's the bottom line. I can't stay stagnant for weeks on end.

Since the garage doors are in and working and since the remainder of my railings are still on back order, Mike and I have moved forward on other projects. Just last Friday I came home early and painted a lot of the farmer's porch trim and puttied some more nail holes. I still have the front facing, exterior farmer's porch trim to putty and paint - but that will have to wait until Mike sets up the ladder for me. Because I'm petrified of heights. (As my good friend Ryan put it, "I'm not afraid of heights - it's just that 'Woe!' feeling you get when you're on top of the ladder.")

Mike, meanwhile, continues to clean up his mechanical hoarding. Last weekend he gave away a set of rims and a giant tire.

And just this week, we're gearing up for warm sunny weekend weather with a couple projects in mind. Just last night, for example, I tidied the camper in preparation for its departure on Friday. Tonight, Mike will install his brake controller so he can safely tow the thing to our friends' house. (Yes, we share the camper.)

This move will free up the gravel driveway so that Mike can use his skid steere to remove all the rocks and fix the grade. (Out and away from the garage this time!) Once this has been accomplished, we'll order a dump load of loam and have it dumped right in the once-gravel driveway area. And this is because....

Next Sunday the 8th, Mike is borrowing a bigger machine from some friends of his to grade the backyard and spread the loam. (Nothing says Happy Mom's Day more then big machinery....) And I know we previously decided NOT to re-grade... but Mike has the opportunity to borrow the machine for free and we're eager to dig below and cover up any broken glass and debris leftover from last year's vehicle headaches and trash burying of years past. SO, there ya go.

Additionally, Friday or Saturday night, Mike is going to pick up stain and the porch staining machine. (Three non-rainy days in a row? Yup, I'll stain for that.) Tonight and/or tomorrow night, my task will be to clean off the porch in preparation. And hopefully with the machine, it won't take too much time once we get started either.


Stay tuned - this renovation freight train is coming through....

Breakfast Discussion = Nooooo

First thing Sunday morning, Dodge Dude showed up - truck and trailer at the ready. But with the 60 or so total inches of snow we've had this winter, plus the less then 48hrs dig-out notice, Mike hadn't yet had the opportunity to dig his way to the backyard.

Remember, Dodge #2 has no brakes. It can't just be driven outta there... well, it shouldn't anyway. So we have to move 1 giant snow bank and 1 camper to even gain access to the dang thing. Lucky us, we've got a skid steere.

The DD decided to go to breakfast with his GF while Mike worked feverishly on the snow bank. Or, I should say, the ice bank, because that thing had a solid, impenetrable core. Meanwhile, I dug out the title confidently. I shouldn't have been so bold.

DD returned as Mike was still desperately trying to clear snow from the front of the camper. And all of a sudden he was having second thoughts. He wanted a Dodge. He knew this was a good deal. He had his trailer and, undoubtedly, a pocket-fulla cash. No one shows up at a place with all this and goes home empty handed. (Although this is the second time it's happened with this particular truck... strange.) Not only that, he knew Mike was working his butt off to get the thing out for him.

I imagine that the breakfast discussion with the GF just didn't go so well. I bet she told him it looked like a piece and it wasn't worth that kind of money and she didn't like it and so on and so forth.

He's going to think about it.

I suppose it would be worse. Mike could have completely dug out the camper, moved it, dragged the truck into the driveway.... I don't want to even think about it.

Bottom line - Dodge still for sale and it's going back on Craigslist. Like tonight or tomorrow.

But I do have good news! The new garage door arrived today! So exciting! As to when and how we're going to get it installed... your guess is as good as mine.

Hey Outsiders

WARNING!

The photos you are about to see look ghetto. But when compared to the "before" photos, you'll agree that our current exterior condition is much improved.

The camper has arrived! Yes, it's huge... but that's a good thing. (We're actually only part-owners, having split the cost with some friends of ours last summer. And it's been at our friends' house for going on six months, so now it's our turn to house the beast for a bit.) Note the trash hut is now in front of the garage door. Mike was going to move it to its proper location - behind the house where no one can see the trashiness of it - but the skid steer wouldn't start last night. With no energy to spare on fixing the durn thing, Mike just heaved the hut there for now.

Garage Side Before

Note the massive junk pile on the left side, leaning up on the garage. Notice the boat in the background and of course, the old Dodge cab in the foreground, on the trailer.

Garage Side After

Note the lack of junk on the side of the garage - just a wheelbarrow and a spare tire near the back. Note the trailer - empty except for our new snoomoobile. And note lack of boat... but new boat trailer. (The new boat won't be coming until late spring/summer since obviously to change trailers, the boat will need to go into the water.)

Back Yard Before

Yeah. This one's obvious. Scaffolding... truck cab... boat... lawn tractor... leaves.

Back Yard After

Scaffolding has been down for a while now and the cab is on the truck. Note the raked lawn and again, lack of boat.

And here's the other side of the backyard - generally clean and tidy, save for the Dodge hood in the background and the unkempt appearance of the log pile, with a hint of skid steer in the back. (Yes skid steer, we see you hiding behind that tree.)

So, ghetto, but not as much as previously. We're making progress!

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