Siding

We had an interesting weekend. We started our latest project that I had previosly mentioned in a post below... re-siding our house. We are in the process of removing the 70's era aluminum siding and replacing it with Hardiplank. I'm hoping it looks updated when we're through. It was a family affair. The inlaws came into town and were a tremendous help. My mother-in-law watched the boy and cooked while the father-in-law brought a lot of tools and helped with the project. By Sunday afternoon we were all exhausted. We did have more able bodies on Sunday - two of the wife's cousins came and helped out. Everyone was extremely helpful. Just to summarize, we are removing the aluminum siding, sheeting the whole house in 1/2" 4 ply plywood, installing a vapor barrier and installing the Hardiplank siding and trim. We haven't decided on paint colors but, obviously painting will come after that. At some point after all that is done we are going to replace the gutters - if we are still alive! We got one side and part of the front to a point where we can start with trim and siding. I think we've got at the very least 2 more weekends to be at a point where I can finish up the loose ends. Then the painting will begin. This house was very cheaply built. When we removed the aluminum siding there were large gaps in the sheeting letting air in all over the place. We're hoping the addition of the plywood will close up the gaps and also create some more sound barrier to block traffic noise that we hear from the expressway which is about a 1/2 mile away.
I'm sore today from all the lifting and ladder climbing - as I'm sure everyone else is. I'll post some pictures of the process a little bit later.

Ho Hum...

The wife is in Milwaukee tonight. She left early this morning to catch her flight at 8:30. She's been traveling regularly as of late. Her travels have really never been an issue, in part because they are usually only a few days at a time. Her friend who has a little girl the same age as our boy called me this morning to see if we wanted to go to a kid's place called Jeronimo's. Yes, that's how they spell it. I had never been before. We met around 10:30 and we had the place to ourselves. It's basically those huge air castles and slides that you see at a carnie. They had about six huge structures and a small one for younger tykes. The boy loved it and he really burnt off a lot of energy. We stayed for about an hour and a half and then headed home for some lunch. He was very tired, so he really didn't eat much. I put him down for a nap and I decided to take one myself. It was kind of cold today - low 40's, so laying on the couch with a blanket on made it nice and toasty. It was a pretty normal day other than that.

Burt's Place

This is Burt's Pumpkin Farm. We took the boy there yesterday. He had a ball running all over the place. We left Roswell around noon and first went to Amicalola Falls State Park. It's about an hour drive from our house. We had a little picnic lunch near the stream and then walked part way up towards the falls. We weren't sure we were even going to go as it had rained the previous night and threatened to do so again. It turned out to be a beautiful day. The sun came out and there was just a tinge of crispness in the air. We drove to the top of the falls, let the boy run around and then proceeded to Burt's, which is half a mile down the road. The place wasn't as mad as it had been last year but, the downfall was the previous night's rain. There was mud all over the place. This year they also had some redneck yelling over the loudspeakers to not sit, stand or jump on the pumpkins. Obviously, this was a problem but, I didn't need to hear it every five minutes.
I took numerous photos of the boy and we had some taken of all of us. The wife said she's going to use them for Christmas cards? Okay. We bought a carving pumpkin and a pie making pumpkin and the boy got a small pumpkin the size of his hands. That's about it. I will say this, Burt's Farm smells wonderful... not your typical farm. The smell of pumpkin bread and kettle corn was everywhere. Mmmm good. I would have bought some treats if we had thought to bring more cash. We only had twelve dollars between us because I had forgotten to stop at the ATM and I absolutely refused to put a pumpkin on our credit card.
We headed back home and enjoyed the fall colors. It was a good day.

Give a Hoot, don't Pollute!

I was laying in bed this morning thinking about my late Grandfather. I certainly have many great memories of him. I was thinking about the many hours I spent with him and it led me to the time that my sister and I helped him with the church fair that was held at the local fairgrounds. Grandpa K. had been a cook in the CCC camps when he was a young lad. So with that experience he was naturally a shoe-in for any kind of food related activities that there may be. He was a great cook and he knew how to handle cooking for the masses. Our church held a yearly fair, usually in the fall, at the local fairgrounds. It was a one day affair that consisted of bingo, raffles, flea market, games of chance and more importantly food. Grandpa was the head cook for the food. My sister and I always looked forward to helping him, we did everything from serving and collecting money to doing the dishes. Somehow, working with him, it never seemed like work - it was always fun.
My grandfather loved his beer. He could be seen taking a slug from a bottle all day long but, I never saw him drunk. He would drink beer like some would drink a coke or coffee. Anyway, the fair was no different with the exception that he hid his bottle because he knew that some may object... after all it was a church affair.
It was late in the day, my sister had gone home with my parents and I stayed to help clean the kitchen. At that point all the old folks were indulging in some brew that my grandfather provided them. We loaded the truck up and set off to deliver some dishes and pots/pans to a church member who had donated them for use. As we were driving down a country road my grandfather decides to teach me some important life lessons. He tells me that we have to save our environment. We must protect old mother earth. He's going on and on about litter on the sides of the roads and how plastics don't degrade for years and years. It was dusk and the headlights were on, shining down picking up every white piece of trash along the road. At this point in the day his lips were pretty loose as the effects from the last few beers and his exhaustion from the day shown through. He wasn't intoxicated but, he was drinking and driving. As a kid, I never thought to much of it. Whenever we'd be driving down a country road he would have a bottle between his legs, taking a slug every now and then. So, after his "life lesson" we sat in silence while we continued towards town. As we approached the city limits I watched in astonishment as he downed the last quarter bottle of beer, rolled down his window and threw the bottle out the window into the weeds. I was always taught to respect my elders but, at that moment I wanted to scream - "What the fuck are you doing?". Now, I would never address my Grandfather that way, I mean shit, he was my idol. I loved him. But, how could he say one thing and a few minutes later do the exact opposite? I was truly perplexed. He took me home and I remember keeping it to myself for a while. I did, later on, ask my dad about it and he basically shrugged it off saying "yeah, he probably shouldn't have done that". Today I remember it and laugh my ass off. I've told a lot of people that story and they just don't find the humor in it like I do. I think I have a strange sense of humor or maybe it's in my delivery, because things that are silly and I think are hiliarious, others look at me in bewilderment.

Money Issues

My quality of life has sucked shit lately. There is really no one to blame but me. It's up to me to be positive and value each day as if it would be your last , but I seldom remember to do that.
I know you're sick of hearing it but, I'm still sick. The boy is too. Seriously though, I pray it will be gone by the weekend. I do feel a lot better.
My son has been acting like a hellion since we picked him up from his grandparents on Sunday. He stayed with them for 3 1/2 days. Of course he receives minimal discipline and gets anything he wants... that's what grandparents are for - so they tell me. He has begun hitting us when he doesn't get his way. He argues over EVERYTHING and is being a royal pain in the ass. I took him to the park yesterday and all he wanted to do was eat pretzels. I finally got him on the swings and then he wouldn't get off. He started falling asleep in the swing and everytime I tried to get him off he started screaming - NO NO NO! Obviously he was tired. We came home and I tried to feed him - no he didn't want to eat. I then put him into bed - now he was wide awake. Yesterday was one of those days where he needed attention at all times. It wore me out. On top of all this he scares the shit out of me by telling me that he "ate money". He was really irritable when I tried to put him down for his nap. He kept balling up his fists and lying in a fetal posistion. I asked him if his tummy hurt and he just looked at me. I said "does your tummy have a booboo?" He said "yes, I ate money". The problem with this is that I've found coins in his mouth before and he happened to be playing with coins earlier. I took them away but, really didn't think anything more of it. Of course I freaked out and called the doctor. All the doctors were at lunch. I talked to a nurse and she basically said that if it was anything but a quarter that it would more than likely pass and to just keep an eye on him. So, all day yesterday I was going to look after him as soon as he was crying, trying to ascertain if he had in fact swallowed coins. When he told me that he "ate money", it was so matter of fact that I had no other choice than to believe him. As the day wore on it became more evident that he was just irritable for the sake of being irritable and I gained more confidence that he probably hadn't swallowed coins.
By the time the wife got home last night I needed a serious break. I went out in the garage and consumed a few beers and just mellowed. The wife was very good to me and let me be. She took the boy on a walk and I had about an hour and a half of peace and quiet.
The boy slept well through the night and he had his morning constitution. So far there is no obstructions and he seems to be doing all right. I did have to check his doody though, for coins. None found. Yet.

Real World Estate

I find that during the day I try to think of interesting topics to write about. It seems to help take my mind away from the daily stresses of life. Now, with that said, just because I think of them doesn't mean that my topics are of any interest but to myself. No one reads this blog at this time so my only audience is myself.
For the last year my wife and I have been working on our house to make it more marketable for sale. It's been filled with weekends of pressure washing, painting, deck sealing, landscaping, etc. I thought we were actually coming to the end of our list of chores. My wife scheduled a couple of real estate agents to come and look at the house and give us an idea of what it's listing price may be. Both agents sell heavily in our neighborhood. One (A) has been selling here for about 15 years while the other (B) may have been here for 5-6 years. It was interesting how my wife and I dissected the agents spiel. Agent (A) has a wonderful marketing plan and her listing price was substantially higher than agent (B). For various reasons, we were looking for a fairly quick sale with the largest monetary amount realized. After each session with the agents my wife and I talked about the different approaches the agents made. Agent (B) complimented us on the way the house looked as far as presentation but, pointed out many flaws that she thought were especially detrimental and pricing our house accordingly. Agent (A) also complimented us on the presentation and told us repeatedly that the house was "move in condition". When we pressed agent (A) on the faults that we could see, she dismissed them. She told us point blank that all the houses in this area had the same faults, being that they were all built in the 70's. She said "Let's get it on the market and have an open house immediately". The feed back received from the open house would determine our next moves. Agent (B) told us that it needs to be "priced right" in the beginning or we would sit on it for months.
My wife and I have mulled over this for a few days and then she shocks me by saying "let's stay for a little while longer and re-side/paint the outside of the house". Just when I thought that our (my) projects were done! The rear of the house already has new Hardiplank. The two sides and the front will need to be completed. Of course she wants this done ASAP. So here we go. The siding was one of the faults that agent (B) pointed out. In my wife's mind and mine, I must confess, we would like to be "on top". By saying that we mean that we want to be in a position that we can get the maximum amount of money and have it sell quick. By the time the bargaining and agents commission is all said and done, it doesn't leave us with the money we need for a different house that is both larger and possibly newer. Considering that the labor will be ours, we will get back our investment easily. Everything here in the Atlanta area is all about looks. No one cares about things they can't see, but are neccesary. We feel that by improving the appearance of the outside of the house that it will have the curb appeal that will lure potential buyers to make offers immediately.
Well, I guess I need to go make some plans for my next project... siding. Oh boy. I'm excited. (9)


For future reference, the number represented in parenthesis is what I call the "sarcaso-meter" The numbers range from 0-10, with 10 being the highest level of sarcasm. Good Day!

Sick of being sick.

What the Hell is going on here? I've been sick for two weeks or more. It's really getting old. You may ask - "Did you go to the doctor?" No, no I didn't. It started out as just a common cold, so I thought and it's lingered forever! Actually, from my research, I think it was the flu. It hit me hard with fever, chills, sweats and then congestion in my lungs with this annoying cough that never stops. It's a ticklish, dry hack that hurts my head when I cough. When I woke up this morning I felt pretty good and thought that today was the day it was going to end... now I don't think so. They say this crap can last for weeks. All the doctor is going to do is give me something to soothe my cough. The bad part about it is that the wife and son have it also and I'm wondering if we are just passing it back and forth to each other? I don't even know if that can be done. I blame it on one of them. Either the wife got it from work or the boy got it from them damn kids in preschool. Damn, he only goes there two days a week but it seems he catches something every other week. We usually keep him out if he's sick but, I took him anyway this week. The only sign that he was sick was the awful cough he has. I said screw it! Let him get those other damn little bastards sick. Serves them right for passing it on to my kid. Honestly though, he's on the downhill slide. His snot is clear and the cough is really not that bad.
My Grandfather would have had some home remedy that he would suggest and it probably would have worked. Something like, eat leek soup for three days straight and wash it down with some cold beer. He was rarely sick. Let that be a lesson to all... LISTEN to your elders!

Fall

Tonight my wife, son and I went to Jim's for a birthday dinner. It was a simple get together with all the cousins, Jim's parents and grandparents. We had a hearty meal of chili and cornbread. Perfect food for this time of the year. I am very much into "Fall foods". I have already made a crockpot full of chili and one evening we had keilbasa and cabbage. Whenever Fall comes around I immediately think of my childhood and home. Every Fall I tell my wife that this is my favorite time of the year. And every year she tells me to quit telling her that. There's just something about the cool crisp evenings, football season, MLB playoffs and the leaves changing colors. Living in Georgia, I do miss the spectacular color changes. The North Georgia mountains have some nice colors but, nothing beats the hardwoods of northcentral Pennsylvania. Last year we took the boy to Burts Pumpkin Patch in Dahlonega and we'll probably go back again this year. Yeah, it's so touristy that they actually ship in pumpkins to keep up with the demand - but it's still fun and the boy enjoys it. I'm having trouble tonight keeping my thoughts together. I have been trying to tame a cold that I've had for over a week. So, between the two Amstel Lights and the cough medicine with codiene (sp), I'm kind of hazy. I think this is a good place to stop and hit the hay.

Crazy thoughts.

I told my wife last night that I wanted a guitar. I prefaced it by saying, "I've got a nutty idea I want to run by you." I proceeded to tell her that I wanted to learn how to play the guitar. Most of the time she is supportive of my ideas and this was no different. I really didn't have to sell her on it, but I gave her the whole spiel anyway. I've always had this idea in my head that it would be great fun to know how to play. I'm not talking about electric Stevie Ray Vaughn playing. Just a simple acoustic guitar. I envision sitting around a campfire with friends and family singing fun songs. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? I have no idea how hard it is to play. The only music in my blood is 8 years of piano lessons from a woman who never pushed my sister and I. We would be on the same lesson for weeks. My sister, Janie, liked playing more than I did. She actually sang when she played and it wasn't bad. Let's see... my lessons ended in the eighth or ninth grade and I'm about to turn 38. What does that tell you? Honestly, one of the reasons I want to learn is to expose my son to music. I'm not going to force anything on him but, I am definately going to expose him to many different things and let him make up his mind what he might like to pursue. He loves singing. He begs us to sing along with him all the time. He goes to bed with music and begs to listen to it in the car. His first choice obviously is nursery rhymes but, today when we were driving down the road he wanted to listen to songs on my Ipod. He likes Stevie Ray, Jack Johnson and John Mayer. His little head was bouncing up and down to the beat like a metalhead would at a Metallica concert. Since he was a baby he has been exposed to all kinds of music and I personally think it's great for his mind. I'm going to start looking around for a good quality used piece, take some lessons and learn some chords. Should be great fun.

Kumbaya my Lord, Kumbaya
Kumbaya my Lord, Kumbaya
Kumbaya my Lord, Kumbaya
Oh Lord, Kumbaya!

What do I want to do?

Well, the boy is asleep and that gives me a few minutes to think. My son is a handful right now - he was 2 in July. I am a part-time stay at home dad, since last January. Here it is the first of October and I'm still having a hard time adjusting to this role that my wife and I have decided would be mine. I still work a couple days a week. I have operated my own electrical contracting company since early 2002. I now take on small electrical jobs to help with our income and to get me out of the house. Back when the business was running full bore, I had no time to think about if what I was doing was making me happy. It seemed, at the time, like the next logical step (operating my own business). Now, without the hustle and bustle of activity, I'm wondering... do I want to continue on in this line of work? At this point, my job as a stay at home dad will come to an end, eventually. My wife and I don't really forsee any future offspring beyond what we already have. What will I do when the boy starts into all day school? There are many reasons why I don't think I want to continue on in my own business. To me, I've been there - done that, and I don't care to do it again. I have always been like that. With the exception of working with my father, I usually don't stay in the same job for longer than 2-3 years. I get bored easily when I have accomplished something. When I ran my own business though, I never really came to realize my full potential. I am a great electrician but, when it came to the business end, I lacked the knowledge and ruthlessness that it took to become a shrewd business man. So, I can say, I didn't get close to reaching my goals and you know what? I really don't care to try again. Sounds a little like a defeatist attitude. Probably is. I came from a long line of entrepreneurs with relative success stories and I thought I wanted to be like them... but, maybe I don't. It's possible that maybe I do, but in a different profession.

One of my wife's cousins gave me the inspiration to create a blog. He has recently begun documenting some of his family history on video. His mother's parents are still alive and full of stories dating back to their youth in Cuba. This last summer my grandmother passed away and it really got me thinking about all the good times I had with my grandparents. What a wealth of knowledge. They taught me things that they never intended to. Jim (my wifes cousin) worked with me for a period of time last year. I would tell him crazy stories about my family and he would laugh and say "you need to write this stuff down". So now, I think I'll take his advice.

Well?

Why do people feel the need to annouce their first post? Isn't it quite obvious? Who are they specifically targeting?

Anywho, I've finally decided to do this blog thing. We'll see what transpires...