My New Very Old Property

Warp Speed to Catch Up!

2010-01-04T22:05:00.000-08:00

Ah, Let's see....

Water pipe busted at the house. Hot water at that, cold worked fine. 3 hour later and $150 and wallah...water again. If only I could deter myself from the urge to turn the dripping faucets off. Hopefully it won't lead to insanity, or sanity - depends on how you are looking at it.

I have had several inquiries from potential renters to the store. The current renter terminated his leases at the end of December. Now I just have to figure out what to do with it. Several interesting ideas have come into play. Not ready to divulge them just yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Door bell occasionally rings on its own.

I am in complete apartment living mood. Funny how easy it was to slip back into it, but the want of a home has not subsided. Gettin there.

Raleigh and I have been missing Gracie like crazy. She is spending time in Charlotte with Chris since things have been so crazy here. Looking forward to the end of the month when she comes home.

I am so totally a Godmother and it rocks!!!!

It snowed, its cold and there have been rainbows around the moon. A blue moon happened this past month as well, on my 30th birthday no less.

Till next time.....

Floors!!!!

2010-01-04T21:45:00.001-08:00

Well, the floors are going down. Dad, Colt, Sherman, Stephen & Aubrey replaced or sistered all the floor joist that needed to be - and there were a lot!

John Bazemore ran new duct work and replaced the floor vents. He also added two new large air intakes in the walls located in the hallway. This eliminated the need for the previous intakes located in the floors in every room.

Dad and Sherman completed the insulation and sub-flooring installation and Sherman has already started the hardwood. It looks great so far and I am excited to see its completion, as you might be able to tell from my illustration above. ;)

To all of you who have helped get to this point, manual labor or emotional support, I thank you. A million times over, I thank you. I consider you all to be blessings in my life.

Vegas Baby!

2010-01-04T19:14:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't even know where to begin to start explaining to you how the past week of my life has been.

To start things out...I became a Godmother to an AWESOME baby boy named Aiden Charles Collins. He is Muy Bonitos! I could gobble him up in an instant, but I won't cause then I wouldn't be able to stare at him for hours! Jennifer was a star. I was so proud of her. She showed strength through pain. She said it was all for the outcome. And man, what an outcome. Congrats to Sherman and Jennifer. You have created the most beautiful child. May he be blessed with laughter, endless love, determination, clarity and the gift of creativity. I am so excited and grateful to have the opportunity to watch him grow and experience his life along side you guys. I will never fully be able to express to you my love, but I'll never stop trying!

I also turned 30. Stared it in the face with no fear, a new sense of freedom and listening to God whisper the joys of life. Colt and I jetted to Vegas and packed as much fun as we possibly could into 2 days. Little sleep and much jetlag later I am still in awe of the immensity of fun and opportunities that presented themselves. A few things, a quick overview of the trip would go like this:

Plane ride: Colt's first (He did AWESOME)

New friend Mike. Mike lives in Vegas and was returning there from Florida where he spent the holidays with his family. Mike is a professional gambler and his family owns a restaurant in Vegas. Nice guy. He suggested the Beauty Bar in Vegas. Apparently it's a beauty shop that was converted to a bar. We didn't make it there. Oh yeah, one more tip from Vegas Mike. "What happens in Vegas, ends up on Youtube. *Gulp*

On the way back I had the absolute pleasure of meeting a newlywed couple, the Bindras from New Delhi. The beginning of the ride was miserable, for everyone aboard. I spent the first 30 minutes of the flight in the bathroom. Ugh. I have never seen so many passed out people with gaped open mouths before. The last hour 1/2 of the flight Raja told me all about meeting his soul mate even though there was a previous arranged marriage for them, about how much he loves his country and why, and about his belief that people and animals just need to be allowed to their space and never forced into things, how his father is a source of liberating thoughts and feelings for him and this definitely shined through in his character. We ended our conversation with the beginnings of plans for me to visit India and explore it's culture and beauty. I can't wait!

Colt and I also had the pleasure of meeting Jeff from the band Hank Sinatra. He was returning from Nashville where he lost his pants on New Year's Eve. Ha! Jeff is a Cary, NC residence and one cool dude. Can't wait to check him out in Raleigh at the Pourhouse later this month.

Hotel: Dilemma. Nice area, but far out. Hard to get a taxi. No rental cars to be found. Really good BBQ place called Famous Daves. If you ever eat there, I recommend the Feast for Two. I'd pass on the brisket though.

Old Vegas: Lights and Old folks. Neat to see. No food to be had on a Thursday night except for horrible humongous hotdogs. Black Jack was kind. Broke even. I hate slot machines. Ha!

Taxi drivers: Went like this = Crook, Crook, nice guy but totally wack (told us all about how the cab drivers make money on the cab fares by taking them to places that offer a cut to the drivers[ ie. strip joints & massage parlors. Learned what a "hand job" off the menu @ an Asian massage parlor means. huh. not what you think] The last cab guy, Marty, totally AWESOME. Saved our tookus getting us to the airport Friday morning. Awesome guy, man of his word.

The Palms: Every type of person you could imagine, in one place at the same time. You name it, it was there!

Jim the bartender was a hoot and turned me on to leinenkugel beer. Yum.

Brandon Spino works at the Huntington Tattoo shop. Really nice guy and further confirmed my idea for a tattoo. I made a total fool of myself by flirting with him and whipping around only to smash my shin into the corner of the couch. Yowza. I then suggested he round off the corner of the thing and hoped he didn't notice the ten shades of red my face turned.

Stephen I meet at the bar. Funny guy. We made up commentary for the pimp and prostitute across the bar. A riot. Stephen was there for the concert as well with, get this - his Mom, Step dad & step brother. I thought the fact that it was a family affair was AWESOME.

Colt and I met Joey from San Diego in line for the Playboy club after the concert. He was so sweet and a cutie pie. He gave me a VIP access wristband that ended up leading me to score a pic with Adam Levine. *Swoon* Joey showed us Moon where we meet several other nice New Year's Eve-ers and I got some AWESOME pics of the Vegas skyline. A whiskey birthday shot from the unbelievably hot barista lead to more dancing and laughing. People were randomly coming up and exuberating "Happy New Year". I partook in this spontaneous gesture to ever other stranger I meet and had the overwhelming feeling that we all parted as friends. AWESOME!

The security guys, that were everywhere, reminded me of the secret service and I let em know it. I asked what they say/hear on the earpiece and one guard told me he had just ordered a pizza and it would be here in 20 minutes. Riots!

Maroon5: OMG! OMG! OMG! There is nothing more to say. Spectacular. My groove thang got a workout and I loved every second of it.

God: Present in my life every day, and I am thankful for this.

Happy New Year everyone. Life is short, so get out there and live it!!!!

A Good Foundation

2010-01-04T17:53:00.001-08:00

Well, I had the pleasure of meeting John Jameson and Russ Hess. John came highly recommended from Gable. The job was not easy, but it didn't kill 'em - so I'll consider it a success. And not too bad on the pocketbook.

John and Russ replaced a major support beam in the center of the house that had been compromised by poor workmanship and termites. It was basically crumbling and causing the sinking that made the hall and back rooms resemble Yogi Bear's cave in Kings Dominion. Hey, hey, Boo, Boo!

They also replaced all the floor joist in the center of house running the length of the hallway. They did a great job and I really appreciate the work they did. John Jameson is an everything under the sun home restoration professional and Russ Huss is one heck of a mason. I sent them away the same as they came, highly recommended!

John Jameson & Russ Hess

P.S. They really like homemade chili.

Insert 3 months worth of blogs here...

2010-01-04T17:52:00.001-08:00

working on it right now ;)

Halloween Night

2009-11-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

Trick or treating was interesting here. I had just as many adults as I did kids...and many were not even in costume.....now where's the fun in that? Trick or treaters started about 5:30 and by 7:00 I was out of candy. I think next year I am going to try and scare the bejezzes out of them before they ever get to the door. Maybe the candy will last a little longer that way!

My doorbell rang, on its own several times last night. Interesting. There were 5 of us here, we investigated. No one was at any of the doors. It has not done that before, since I've been here. I guess that was a trick but to me it turned out to be a Halloween treat!

The Halloween party I went to was fun. My besties had the best costume of the bunch. I will post a picture once I download from my camera. Ms Ann decks her historic home out...It was quite beautiful. I had my cards read. It will be quite interesting to see how things play out.

Spiders and Crickets, Oh My!

2009-11-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

Well, while Gracie may enjoy the playmates, I on the other hand am having a harder time accepting our new roommates. Jumping crickets (huge ones and little ones alike) have claimed our residence. Truth be told they were likely here first and we're the intruders. Every morning I am greeted by the colony of Granddaddy longlegs that inhabit the kitchen. Gracie will walk up and sniff the half dozen or so hanging out on the wall near her food bowl. I will gaze at the one in the curtain above the sink as I wash the dishes from the day before. I think about grabbing one of their long legs and about making the hurried trek to the back door, but I don't. They are not really hurting anyone. The ones that enjoy the tub and shower are different though. I will gather up the two spiders with their crab like legs and the two jumping crickets (after I am able to catch them) and remove them from the tub. While I may be able to tolerate them, I definitely don't want to shower with them. Every day there are two spiders and two jumping crickets in the tub. Every day I remove them. The next day, new ones take their place. I contemplated leaving them alone, but if they just keep returning then I would have a farm of them in the bathroom. *Sigh*

I've told them that once the floors are fixed and I am actually getting ready to live in the house full time, that I will be having an exterminator coming. I guess they can consider that their 30 day eviction notice.

Ahhhh, Hot water!!!!

2009-10-21T18:53:00.000-07:00

I was able to take a hot shower today after 48 hours of being without. Thank you propane man Nicky Ellis!

Things will pick up around here Friday. Gable is coming with a foundation pro John Jameson (sp). Supposedly the best in Richmond. Thanks to Gable for getting him here. HVAC guy is coming by to give an estimate. I have been gathering estimates from house painters to masons and hopefully will be able to settle on someone to get the first major project on the way.

It's interesting learning about the people who do some form of construction for a living. I find it quite fascinating myself! I'm learning that the time schedule for this type of project is sporadic, and what the professionals who do the work have to deal with. It's amazing that 2 professionals of the same trade will approach a single job in completely different ways. Deciding what the best approach is a head scratcher, especially when dealing with a 200 year old home.

My friends and family continue to be invaluable. Their giving warms my heart and motivates me. Jennifer and Sherman....I love you. Dad and Mom, what can I say, but Thank you - every day for the rest of our lives. For all of you that have volunteered and stopped by to just say hello - it is always refreshing and I'm thankful (next time bring a hammer....lol). Mark, the tuneage melted me and was the best drift off I've had in a while. I've added it to my play list.

Love Ya'll

Window Scraping!

2009-10-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

Most of my days have been spent taking down the windows, chiseling out the crusty glaze and removing the old-school window panes, then scraping the old paint away (which is like cement - ugg). Dad will be a pro at this by the time we are done. It is hard to keep up with him, especially after making an overnight trip to Virgina Beach to enjoy Unknown Hinson and shaking my groove thing for 6 hours! Woo, Hell yeah! (Look it up.)

The foundation contractor and Gable will be making a trip this coming week. Hopefully we can move forward with jacking the house up (6-10 inches). I understand that this process is risky and quite frankly an adrenaline rush. Can you imagine, being under a house in less than a 2 foot clearing, jacking the house above you all the while being silent so that you hear the cracking and popping above you? I think I'll stick to motorcycles and roller coasters for my kicks!

More to come. Stay tuned!

Gable Painter is a cool dude! Many Thanks!

2009-10-07T16:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I just spent the past two days with Gable Painter of GP Restoration out of Richmond Virgina. He knows his stuff. I could not be more appreciative of his help. Next project on the list is to rip out the foyer flooring next to the stair case and a section in the living room "parlor" and start hauling dirt out from underneath the house. Any volunteers?....Yea, I didn't think so.

I am also undertaking the project of removing all the windows, taking the glass out of the sashes and then replacing them with new glaze. There are 26 some odd windows in the house and each one has approximately 12 panes of glass. *Sigh* - tedious, I know but it will save quite a bit of money, especially considering it would cost $250 per window for a professional to do. [Thanks again to Gable for the lesson on how this is done...and to Ross Cohen for his pep talk and help with gathering supplies.]

I also want to thank Sherman Collins for all his help the past two days.....Thanks Sherman for cutting a hole in the hall closet today...didn't know you'd be working on your lunch break, huh?

Dad, I can never thank you enough for all you do...I'll just keep telling you every day now for the rest of our lives :)

Lisa Bobbitt....Thank you for giving me a place to lay my head during these two weeks. I can only strive to reach your level of generosity!

I should have some more pictures soon. Keep praying!

Ahhh, Patience dear grasshopper!

2009-09-24T22:37:00.000-07:00

Well, my restoration guy has been pushed back two weeks. Something tells me that I should get used to this. A lesson in delay ;)

Well, It Belongs to Me.

2009-09-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

Closing went off without a hitch. Well, unless you count yukking the night before. Apparently repressed stress can rear it's ugly head in many forms. On this night it decided that I needed to stare into the toilet for a bit. Besides that it was great and the new very old properties belong to me. Now begins the real work.

On the morning of closing, I was awoken by my restoration guy giving me the good news of when his visit will be. That was a great way to start the day. I'll know in two weeks whether we will be able to work together and more about the timeline of projects.

Current projects include gathering a list of local contractors skilled in the areas of roofing, flooring, treeing, insulation, painting, foundation, plumbing and electrical. I am also trying to figure out the logistics of the move. So far the goal (not plan because those are to often broken) is to put everything in Charlotte, except for necessities, into storage. Locate a place to rent for several months while the restoration takes place, I'm scoping and hoping for something on one of the lakes. Last day in Charlotte is scheduled for the 24th of this month.

Wish me luck!

September 14th

2009-09-11T09:43:00.000-07:00

Well, the closing date is fast approaching. I am headed to Warrenton this weekend and a few extra days to finalize the closing and get the utilities set up.

I should have news soon from my restoration dude...then the real fun can begin!

Wish me luck.

Closing Date!

2009-08-31T16:53:00.000-07:00

I have an official closing date!

September 14th @ 11am.

Home ownership (second time around) here I come.

Thanks for all your encouragement....keep it coming ;)

Allowance Request

2009-08-28T23:57:00.001-07:00

Well, here goes.

I have counter offered on the property and asked for a credit towards the cost of redoing the entire electrical in the house on Wilcox Street. The estimated cost to redo the electrical is around $15,500. *Gulp*

My realtor, who has been great by the way, is 100% sure that they will not agree to the full cost of electrical repair but when presented with the entire inspection report for the house and the store listing all the multitude of items that need to be repaired, we are hoping that they will agree to half of the electrical cost.

Crossing my fingers and saying my prayers!

Under Contract

2009-08-28T23:38:00.001-07:00

I am currently undercontract!

Residential: Built 1850
312 Wilcox Street
Warrenton, NC 27589

Commercial: Built 1901
123 Main Street
Warrenton, NC 27589