We're Official!

It’s been a while, and you’ll all be comforted to know that we still haven’t blown ourselves up, despite our past efforts. It’s been a very calm bunch of weeks – so calm, in fact, that I’m racking my brain to find something interesting to relay to you all.

We were thrilled recently to see our name included on the neighborhood sign that greets folks as they near our little burb. See the "Titus" on the lower left? Woo Hoo – we are official!

Spring has sprung in a big way, which means that the grass, weeds, trees – everything – are growing/leafing/spreading. We currently own 1.5 acres, and the lawn must be mowed at least every other week. This task has fallen to me, because it requires absolutely zero skill AND has the added bonus for Greg of getting me out of his hair for well over an hour.

Our lawn tractor was yet another “treasure” bundled into the round house purchase, and was in the sort of condition that by now you all would expect. Filthy, dusty, covered in grass clippings and weeds from years gone by, and blessed with a clogged carburetor. Its best feature: a handy string tied to the grass chute that allows me to raise the chute slightly when going around tight corners. This was an “after-market feature,” to be sure. I have to be mindful when using the device, because raising the chute also re-points the clipped grass, rocks and errant snakes up into the air to possibly fall straight down on me as I mow along. Everything has to include a certain level of danger, right?

The mower also had a very irksome safety feature that rendered it nearly useless for me because, as most of your know, I am vertically challenged. Short. 5’0”, to be exact. And this became a factor the first time I had to mow the grass. You see, to run the mower you simply sit on the seat, turn the key to start it up, lower the blade and off you go. But lowering the blade was nearly impossible because it required me to lean forward over the steering wheel and swing the horizontal blade bar 180 degrees from left to right. Each time I leaned forward to do this, my rear end would rise off the seat and kill the motor. Safety feature. Riiiiight. Greg disconnected that feature, so now the blade can keep whirling away whether I’m on the seat or not. Like I said, everything has to include a certain level of danger, right?!

Our next-door neighbors recently approached us to ask if they could purchase a portion of our lot adjacent to theirs to grow a garden. We thought that was a wonderful win-win. I won’t have as much lawn to mow, and they can grow waaay too many tomatoes and zucchinis and will feel obligated to share the bounty with their new neighbors. The sale is in process and should be finalized within the coming weeks. Tomatoes, I’m waiting for you!

Meanwhile, inside the house we are almost finished hanging sheetrock on the interior walls, closets, utility room and bathrooms. All that’s left is the hallway bathroom, and that will be done the next time we are down there. We have mudded and sanded one or two coats on a few walls, but the vast majority remains and we are dreading that work. It is such a drag – especially in the heat of summer. But once finished, we can have our mini-split A/C units installed and have heating and cooling, like the rest of the modern world. Toilets - you're next!

The biggest drywall bug-a-boo we tackled was that circular wall in the center of the house. The framed circle allowed us to secure ceiling rafters that radiate from the center to outer walls all around the house, and raised the ceilings to a higher level. That’s all good stuff, but the flip side to all of that was that we had to clad the cylinder somehow. Greg was confident that this could be easily done using ¼” sheetrock rather than the standard ½”, so we were on to our first experiment.

Greg had studied up and learned that ¼” sheetrock, if soaked with water, would be malleable enough to bend around a circular shape. We had no access to water, given that our plumbing was still in flux, but we were blessed with a rainy day so we tossed the first sheet out the door to suck up the moisture.

After it had a good soak we confidently strode in and attempted to fit it into place. After weaving it between the studs and around the center pole, we positioned the large piece in place and gently pushed it to form into shape. CRACK! SPLIT! X%#*&!!!! Deep breaths. Despite the extreme damage, we pressed on, trying to make the best of it. But soon – MORE splits. Suddenly Greg’s frustrated fist bashed through the cracked mess, and again and again until the entire sheet was rendered to bits.

Alrighty then - back to the drawing board.

We had a few weeks’ hiatus before returning to try again, and Greg used the time to study up on other options. He learned of a flexible sheetrock material that was created for this very purpose, so we went to a specialty building supply store and stocked up on eight sheets of the stuff. It worked like a charm! The first piece was the most difficult because A) we were gun-shy, given our past experience, and B) we started on the inside radius, which is tight! But look at the results:

And we quickly went on from there, finishing the interior of the circle (which will be used for storage), and the outer bands as well.

Now, on to mudding and sanding. And mudding and sanding, and mudding and sanding. UGH!!

On another note, I was excited to be able to snag this outdoor patio set from a local estate sale. Yes it needs a little TLC, but made of wrought iron, it’s sturdy and cute – all at the same time. Can you imagine how nice it will be to enjoy a refreshing repast out here on a nice summer evening?

And as you know, we ARE at the lake. All work and no play makes Greg a dull boy, and Katie a flaming, tyrannical no-fun person. After our long day of drywall-in-the-round we were able to hit the lake for a "sunset cruise." Of course, as soon as we backed the boat out of the slip we discovered that the gas tank was nearly empty. So a short cruise to the end of the cove, anchor down, a sip of wine, and a hook in the water made for a relaxing end to our day. Aaaaahhhhhh!

We'll be plugging away in the weeks to come, so look for another update from the Flipping Idiots soon!