Let's go surfin now, everybody's learnin how..... OK so here's where I'm at. All those need to be appliqued on, might do one more tip for the back side of the fence and maybe a littpe boogie board for in front... A couple flip flops on the sand... Then I think I'm going to do a plain border strip of undetermined fabric... and a 4 inch wide row of patched squares in all those fabrics, plus scraps from my giant wad o' quilt scraps. Layering and quilting Thursday/Friday.... Binding Friday/Saturday morning. Et voila. Cool quilt in 5 days. The baby's a girl. This isn't very girlie. And not very "baby" either. But I'm going with Quin and CJ's child will be "cool". And it'll grow fast.

Surf City so far....

Welllll.  The sputtering engine that might actually get me to the South Pole has led as far as the guy who knows the guy who hires the cryo-tech getting my CV to said guy and this crazy mountain man physics dude is supposed to call me later to talk.  As I understand it, the cryotech position has already been offered to someone, but crazy physics guy would rather have me.  Based on I don't know what.  Well, my CV makes me look like a paragon of mechanical aptitude.  Which is partially true...  In terms of  "we don't hire Canadians" - my explanation of NaftaTN technical VISA's has helped [and today's research about getting my new one as subversive research associate has turned up a May 6 bill to extend the duration of them to 3 years instead of 1 [YEAH]...  Hopefully THAT will come into effect, because it would make things a whole lot simpler were I to be trapped at the South Pole when one expires]...

ANYWAY...  So I'll be talking to Al Baker this evening.  Good thing I'm all internetty.  Here is what I'll be working with. [looks scary]  It's a PDF file of a powerpoint....  Won't I look just like Kaylee in Carhartt coveralls working on this thing?

POLARTECH Liquid Helium cooling systems for GIANT telescopes

Anyway, so I found the engineering manual for the system and a couple of papers about neutrino telescopes and liquid He cooling systems...  It's possible I can appear NOT AN IDIOT....  However.  Being responsible for maintaining the cooling system on a gazillion dollar super telescope is a petrifying responsibility.  I am not, however well I pretend, a mechanical engineer.  Can I fix this thing if it breaks????  Do I know even how to turn it on at this moment???  I've worked with liquid nitrogen traps and ethanol-CO2 slurry coolers. [note: I don't even turn my AC ON].  SMALL POTATOES.  Liquid He is 4 degrees KELVIN.  Which is like -270 celcius.  Liquid nitrogen is only like -180 C....  Frozen CO2 (dry ice) is only like -80 C....  I try to think "well, if anybody can do any job, then I can pretty much do any job"  However....  Not a mechanical engineering superhero.  Or a physics wonderkund....

I am afraid to talk to this dude.

Today sucks for a number of reasons. I was frustrated, sore, and overwhelmed.

Then I found $20.00 on the sidewalk.

I know money can't buy happiness, but I feel a lot better.

Money can buy chocolate milk.

It's true.

Yesterday was not all sweetness and light. The biggest issue I had was car-related: I was humming along down Highway 15, when a semi was coming the other direction. Turned out it was a gravel truck. Turned out, it didn't have it's bed-tarp unrolled. Turned out, I took an effective bullet shot straight in the windshield. And I knew the second it hit that there was damage.

The upside is, it hit the windshield, rather than my hand, which I had hung comfortably out the window. I've been hit in the hand by bugs at highway speeds, and THAT hurts. This was a piece of quarter inch gravel, generally pretty sharp, and moving at what was probably a 150km/h closing speed. If I'd been lucky, it would have just gouged a hole in my hand.

What this means though, is that I have to call around some of the glass replacement shops to see how much a fix will cost me. It's about the size of a quarter, which should be fine for that suction-cup-polymer fix they do on windows, rather than replacement. Has anyone ever had that done? I'm assuming it'll be around Fifty bucks, but I dunno for sure. I know a new windshield will be expensive. And the bad news is, it's directly in my line of sight for my seating position. (Of course it is). So, it has to be done, one way or the other.

The other thing is, for the drivers out there, it may be $124.9/L in Ottawa right now for gas, but in Smiths Falls, it was $118.7. Needless to say, I tanked up. And I mean tanked. Squeezed every drop in that I could. Because I decided several years ago, I wasn't going to drive across the city for a cent a litre difference, but if I can put thirty five litres in at six cents a litre difference, that saves me a coupla bucks a fill. At the same time, I'm back on my bike this morning, and boy, am I stiff. I actually don't know why. I didn't think I did anything strenuous yesterday, but my legs have that exhaused, drained feeling in the muscles today. It was a bit the same on Friday. I'm not convinced there's any issue there, but it's something I'm keeping an eye on, because I saw the same thing about six months ago and we all know waht that led to.

And speaking of, I'll be going in for my bloodtest this week. Should be interesting to see the numbers. And I've decided that I do want to see the numbers, good or bad. The deal was, the Doctor said he'd just call me if there was a problem, but for my own piece of mind, I think I want to see them myself either way. So, I'll go in for the blood test late this week, then get the results middle of next week. I must admit, I'm intrigued. idioglossia seems to think I'm ok. I've biked just shy of 400km in the last three weeks, which, while it's not the volume I want to be hitting, I'm not having any problems beyond the usual "OMG I've not exercised in months" kind of thing. Until the leg thing this last few days.

6 viles o blood sucked outa me
now jus waitin.....

It was 96 degrees yesterday.  BUT.  While it's annoying to have the crazy dudes above me killing each other on a repeating basis, having them between me and the sun beating on the roof = FABULOUS.  My upstairs apartment was an OVEN.  Seriously.  A thermal anomaly actually.  20 degrees hotter than outside if it was hot, 10 degrees colder if it was cold....  ROOF = EVIL THERMAL CONDUCTOR.  And I would only use the AC if I was sewing.  Because sweating and sewing are not fun to do together.   SO yesterday was 96 degrees.  And I went to bed with my ceiling fan and a fan on the window sill, and was perfectly comfortable.  Bring it on FL.

Been living a wholly uneventful existence.  finally reading Harry Potters...  On 3 now.  Started a baby quilt I need by next Saturday...  the inspiration is:

So far I have sand/fence/water/sky for the background, and I made a longboard that looks like my buddy Quin's - it's for his baby...  The boards will just be appliqued on...   And rather than making it really big this time, it's just going to be 3 by 4 with a couple borders...  Not patching at all.  Of course, I have like 5 days to make it sooooo.  Pics after I do some more boards....

idioglossia has the allergies, and is, therefore, a suck. What this means is, we played Carcasonne and Bejeweled all night Saturday.

Sunday was, for me, the day for the weekend.

See, I've been keeping my eyes peeled in the papers for the listings of local car shows. The first one of the year was.... Smiths Falls!

Specifically, The Rideau Lakes Region of The Antique and Classic Car Club of Canada's annual Flea Market and Car Show. However, due to idioglossia's allergies, I didn't get her home from my place until nearly 1pm, and then hit hte road. SO, it was just about 2pm when I got out to Smiths Falls, asked directions of the first person I saw driving a classic car (yes, that's right. I'm a guy. And I asked directions), and found the place, about 10km past Smiths Falls, towards Kingston, on Hwy 15.

As as soon as I pulled in, I hit sensory overload. Seriously, it was great! It's going to take a few days to edit all the pics. I took shots of about forty cars, I think, talked to a dozen owners, and handed out half a dozen business cards. One of the owners told me I should head out to Almonte for BusFusion. I gota say, this looks like it could be a TON of fun, so I think I'll be taking a run out there. It's the weekend after AitP, so I should be starting to relax by then. Apparently, there's a huge volume of serious characters that show up for the weekend.

What? Strange personalities own VW Microbi? NOOOOO?!

Anyways. I had a pretty cool time this afternoon. I stopped twice on the way to and from the show, as well, and on the way home, I got this:





I highly recommend going to the page, and clicking on "View On Black".

As for the cars, I've not done much yet. The first one was a 1960 Pontiac Laurentian, which, unsurprisingly, was owned by the guy who's running BusFusion. Fantastic car:







There's a lot more to come though.

A lot.

And I think the Hotrods will be my favorites. But, we'll see.

Oh, and I called my Mom.

yep i feel like a pile of barf ew..
this myserious illness of mine is escilating
thank goodness i see a doctor tomorrow
i was doing some research online about miscarriages n anemia n all that fun stuff
sounds like my misscarriage went on a tad long..4 weeks too long..and your symptoms of being pregnant are supose to dissapear like only a WEEK after your miscarriage? it's been a few months for me...and i'm SICK!
i wouldn't be surprised if i needed a blood transfusion or somethin
n i'm most likely anemic
holy i feel like i'm gonna barf constantly now
i can't eat NOTHIN anymore
i try n try only to run to the gravol at light speed after only a few bites

so my diagnosis, since i'm a great doctor lol, is i'm horribly anemic, my miscarriage was incomplete and i'll need a D&C, and possibly a blood transfusion
although i can do pregnancy tests now and get a negative result, i wonder if there's still something in there making me sick

anyways i'm so worn out, i can't even lift my arms without feeling exhausted

yup my fault tho
i shoulda continued my follow up appointments
oh yes i did have some...
i didn't go at the time because i was so sick of being in hospitals..

well i hope i can get an answer soon and to be able to fix this
if it's anemia iron pills fix that pretty fast
but how long will it take to get all my tests and then the results

I HATE WAITING

life is grand
lol

i had so many plans this weekend n had to cancel all of them
like seriously, how much more can my poor body take
i want it to be healthy n get healthy, that's my only main goal right now
and i just can't seem to get there

ohwell i'm gonna go have a nap

oh everything at the new apartment is going to be good i think
still not able to enjoy it though
lol

cya

The cutest thing happened today and I must tell you about it.
Liam intently observed Caleb presenting his homemade Mother's Day gifts to me. I opened them and exclaimed over thier uniqueness and beauty, and Caleb got a huge hug and kiss afterwards. The whole time, I was aware of Liam hovering quietly. Once the gift opening was done, Liam disappeared around the corner for a while.
Soon, he reappeared, a joyful look on his face. He came over to where I was sitting and presented me with a tin box, and saying, "there you go!" He looked positively overjoyed. I took the little box, and saw that he had placed some things inside carefully...a ball, a small woden box, and a piece of a game. He took each out and presented them to me, "look!", holding it up proudly and then handing it to me.
He had created a gift for me.
I couldn't do anything but say thank you, hug him, and try not to cry.
This little gift, so carefully recycled from bits of toys that he loves, and put together to make something for me, might just be the best thing anyone's ever given to me on Mother's Day.

Hope you have a happy one, too.

Hey, I'm a CarGuy(tm), if you don't know that by now, you're not paying attention. But, cars are getting more and more expensive to run. Like it or not, gas is going up. And like it or not, I'll never own a convertible. Not unless something spectacular happens.

But as I flip through the automotive section of the Citizen, I come across a review of the new Suzuki GSX-650F, my mind turns to how I've never learned to ride. There's a lot of reasons for doing it, and a lot of reasons for not. Bikes are more dangerous than cars, there's no doubt about that. But, they tend to be better on gas, easier to get around on, and without a doubt more visceral an experience than driving anything other than the most amazing sports cars. There's the whole open-road thing with a bike too.

I always thought about picking up a Honda Magnum 400. They were, reputedly, fantastic bikes to learn to ride on. However, when I looked for 'em around this time last year on trader.ca, they were running around $2000, for a 1980-84, with upwards of 60,000km on the clock. As they didn't sell for an awful lot more than that new, that seems a little ridiculous for a twenty-five year old bike, that has, in no way, become a 'collectors item'. I definitely favor a more upright riding position: I know I've got back issues, and bikes are notorious for aggravating that, so it's all about good riding position, and, honestly, a soft-ish ride. I've always LIKED the crotch-rockets like the Ninja, but rarely had any real interest in buying one.

The reality is, I had my interest in bikes rekindled by The Long Way Round. If you've not seen this stunning BBC series, staring Ewan McGregor and Charlie BOorman, I highly recommend it. It's a ten episode series surrounding their attempt to ride 20,000 miles around the world, through places that really don't have much in the way of roads to speak of. It's truly fantastic. And it's not something that you could do in the same way in any four-wheeled vehicle, even though they had support crew along in 4x4's. Their bikes of choice (and if I had Twenty grand to throw at a bike, would also be mine) BMW 1150GS's. Big, heavy, touring/off-road bikes. Ok, so not good 'beginners' bikes, but still. Very cool.

But it was the show that brought it back again, same as it does every time I rewatch it.

So, there I am, reading the review of what is effectively a refined Suzuki Bandit, for $8500. And wondering to myself what a used Bandit from a couple of years ago would go for now. And wondering what it would cost to insure, and learn to ride.

It'd be interesting to get my full license, and see if a bike can realistically be taken up to the cottage, if you can actually get the basics (the very, very cut-down basics) on a bike for a weekend of camping.

At the end of the day, though, this is just so much looking up at the clouds and dreaming. At least until I get the car paid off, it probably won't happen, I've got more important things to acquire. But, on a morning like this, with a forecast of 16oC and sunny, I could seriously see a bike in my driveway. Alongside the car, of course.

Because I have no pride and even less vanity, I will share this gem with you!

Some background:
It was my birthday, and I had purchased a Little Mermaid cake. The kids asked about the movie and I was telling them the story, and for some reason, my brother started talking about my childhood alter-ego, Pencilhead, who had a doozy of a lisp. Somehow the two became one in my head, and I began to sing a song from the Little Mermaid movie (which Caleb used to beg me to sing him every night before bed) with my Pencilhead lisp.

The result? Is FANTASTIC.

The first time I saw it, I was shocked and dismayed at the ridiculousness of it. The second time, I nearly peed laughing. The third, I decided I am a talented entertainer. Whatever your reaction may be, enjoy, because I don't believe I'll leave this up for very long.
LOL!

(I love how I have to wipe the spit off my mouth near the end)

1. Cursing gmail for its inability to load.
2. Cursing my internet connection in general, as it seems to be craptastic today.
3. Wondering how many times idioglossia is going to post today.
4. Looking for suitable wrapping paper for my mom's Mother's Day gift.
5. Making a mental list of people I need to email once I have access to my email.
6. Loving my new cell phone - work replaced my old one because it wouldn't hold a charge. I have a Motorolla Razr. It's blue, and comes with a belt clip that makes me feel way more important than I really am.
7. Hoping that n8an has a wonderful time in New Orleans.
8. Planning the menu for the picnic I'm planning for Reg on Sunday morning.
9. Digesting the PC Szechwan chips I just enjoyed - great flavour and not too spicy.
10. Considering how I'm going to purge the hutch and living room bookcase, go to Costco, Produce Depot, to Fabricland and to the Scone Witch tomorrow before 2 pm.

Via Jalopnik.

So, anyone who reads both idioglossia or my's journals knows that we've been looking at houses. Well, perusing them on MLS.ca and OREB. The other day, idioglossia sends me one and says, (and I paraphrase here) "Look! It's cheap! We could fix it up and live in it, and when we're done, sell it for a profit! It's cheaper than renting!"

There's no pictures in the ad. There's no dimensions on the rooms. There's no location listed other than Hintonburg", which could be either really really nice, or really really shitty. It's a bargain basement price for a rowhouse. And, the two in the same row? Also for sale.

I sense badness.

Tuesday night, she called her dad's friend, who it appears will be our agent as we ease into this thing. He looked at his notes on the property. Still not impressed. But, we decided to go see it, because we've GOT to go see something eventually and we might as well start here. We're still very likely going to rent a place for a year first, then buy, so this is really just window shopping.

But we got the location.

45 Stirling Ave. Anyone who knows Ottawa is already cringing. This is not a good neighbourhood. It is, in fact, a bad neighbourhood.

idioglossia found us a house on the intersection of Cracktown and Whoresville.

So. That's up until Wednesday morning. Wednesday afternoon, we went to see it. We met the SuperAgent at 4:30, to see the place at 5pm.

It's actually three units in a set of row houses that are up for sale. They're up individually or a single purchase. They're currently all tenanted. They look rough on the outside. The deckwork hasn't been kept up. Neither has the brickwork or mortar. Not the roof either, or though it doesn't look awful. Half of the available space in each unit is an extension, and there's multiple steps up and down on each floor. I think there's about six different floor levels throughout the place(s).

That said, what surprised me was that the neighbourhood wasn't as bad as I expected. The Gentrification is happening. There were a couple of ultra-modern new places on the street, and a good number of Volvos and VW's in the driveways of even places that were beat-up looking. The work is in progress, and it's not as bad a neighbourhood as I expected it to be. ardently it's actually about five blocks from your old place.

End Unit. The one I thought had the most potential, definitely the worst. It didn't help that NONE of them had really straightened up to show the place: Two of the units, you couldn't move for dirty laundry, bags of crap, boxes, and just stuff piled everywhere.

I believe that it was what's known as "squallor". 45 and 49 were both like this. 47 was significantly better: There were two girls living in there, obviously renting, but also obviously taking care of the place: they'd done textured paints on the walls, and there was a distinct theme to everything they'd done. I actually quite liked it.

I really like SuperAgent. He seems like a straight shooter, and doesn't offer advice unless it's something he would do himself, and that it's appropriate to the people who're recieving it. He specifically suggested that as a group, the three units could be an excellent investment, but singularly, they'd be all kinds of trouble (because you're dependent on what the other purchaser's do with their units). This makes a lot of sense to me. He was digging around and pointing things out a lot more than the other agents who were showing at the same time. I don't know if idioglossia noticed, but I'd get distracted occasionally. It's because I was comparing what other agents were telling or showing their clients versus what SuperAgent was telling us. And there was a marked difference. One of the agents even waited on the main floor while the prospective buyers ventured into the [frightening] half-basement. That, IMO, is not the mark of a good agent. We, in contrast, stopped in various rooms to chat about the property at more length. He pointed things out that I know for certain other agents weren't pointing out to their clients. He was even offering ideas on how entire floors could be re-structured to make better use of the space that there is. I have a really hard time envisioning that kind of thing: I have a tendency to assume that the position of the walls is, if you'll excuse the pun, set in stone.

Electrical was a big deal. SuperAgent told us flat out, at least one of the houses was on 60amp. Admittedly, to code, but as Mike Holmes says, if you're making it to code, why make it JUST to code? Realistically, to plug in the big TV, stereo, computers for us both, etc, we'd have to upgrade to at least 100amp, and if we're doing that, we might as well go to 200 amp. We have no idea if the wiring is up to par: the sockets appear to be grounded, but there's no guarentee that they actually are: it's easy enough to put a three-prong outlet in the way for grounded appliances, and have the outlet itself ungrounded behind.

The plumbing in all the units looked to have had some work done at some point. All copper and brass, good stuff, and well done, from what we could see. THe bathrooms in each of the units would need gutting immediately. Also, I'd want to see the plumbing in the walls, not just under the counters. I know some contractors will replace the visible stuff, and save money by not fixing the stuff you can't see without opening a wall, and that doesn't help anyone. Specifically, that doesn't help me and idioglossia.

Several of the floors, the ones that encompass the most space, and can be considered primary 'levels' or 'floors', are uneven. Slanted, even. In every case the flooring itself is shot, be it carpet, hardwood, or vinyl. And the cigarette stink embedded in the upstairs of the third unit, carpet and walls, is undescribeable. Think Zaphods in its smoking heyday. At 2am. After a smokers convention. With a smoke machine for effect. And a fire upstairs. Seriously, it was that bad.

Credit where credit was due: after all the melt and rain, NO wetspots evident anywhere, and no evidence of mold. There's no evidence of recent foundation movement or settling either, and it was blatently obvious that no effort had been made hide any cracks in the paint and finish, because the paint was at least ten years old, and likely hadn't been cleaned/dusted since it was slathered on. There were dustbunnies coating the walls. Not hanging in the corners (well, they were there too) but literally coating several of the walls. Cleanliness around those places, not a priority.

Of the three units, the one I'd most want for myself is the middle one. That could, I admit, simply be because the girls in it have actually looked after it, it didn't look decidedly post-apocalyptic. The third unit (another 'centre' unit, with two neighbours) would be my second choice: It may have had the same feeling of squallor that the end unit had, but it felt bigger, and the space that there was was more useable. The end unit was a three bedroom (and I use the term loosely. I've had some small rooms while renting, but the third room qualified as a closet), whereas the other two were two-bedrooms. THe two-bedroom approach is the way to go, for sure. That way, at least you'd end up with two useable rooms rather than two closets and a bedroom.

That said, I don't want any of them.

I can totally see the appeal of buying a place, cheap, and gutting it, and making it into something new. I know it may not seem that way to idioglossia sometimes, but I really, really can. But, I'd rather be in a position to do that when I already have a home, rather than trying to live in the place while we do that. I'd want to be able to walk away from it at night. I'd want to be able to let the contractors do their work without trying to live around not having a bathroom, or kitchen. One of the big reasons for buying, for me, is stability. I've (and I have discussed this with idioglossia) lived in rentals for fifteen years. Some have been better than others. Much as I complain occasionally, where I am now is definitely one of the better ones. But none of them have been mine. They're a place to stay, admittedly, full of my own stuff, but they're not mine. What I'd like from a first home is something that is about 75% of what I want, already. I could live with a kitchen reno for two weeks, for sure, but a house gutting? not so much.

SuperAgent put it into perspective for me. I could totally see myself (with idioglossia) buying something like those three units, as a group, as an investment property... as long as I had somewhere else to live, and could afford both. And that could happen. But not right now.

Specifically, what he said was “If you’re going to buy one, buy all three. One by itself will cause you no end of problems, because you don’t know what’s going to happen to the other ones. All three, you can pick and choose, after the renovations, from renting to the people you want to rent to, to selling them” (and obviously, I’m paraphrasing here) He personally, wouldn’t buy just one, and he agreed with me (at least, I think he did) that buying all three, for us, is probably a bad plan right now.

For now, what I'd like is something where I don't have to worry if idioglossia is safe walking home from the bus at night, especially in the winter. What I want is something that we could just move straight into, and enjoy living in it, and making it our own. That might include finishing a basement, or renovating a kitchen or bathroom, but that could happen say, eighteen months after we move in, or three years, rather than something that has to be done immediately, just to make the place liveable. If I was doing something like that, I'd want to be able to do it right, and I don't believe you can do it right if you're living where you're working. But Gods, is there profit to be made there? Holy shit. No word of a lie: had we the money, I think it wouldn't be difficult to buy all three, combined, for $335,000, spend another $100,000 renovating them, rent them for $1000 a month, each, and then sell 'em for a coupla hundred grand more then we paid, including renovations, in three to five years time. But that takes capital, both financial and temporal, that we simply don't have. It's not a part-time project. It's an occupation.

If you have access (ie. if you're on her flist), idioglossia's take on the places is surprisingly similar to mine. She's more positive than me, that's for sure, but I'm definitely the Voice Of Reason in this relationship.

And she’s not lying when she said SuperAgent told me he could show me how to hang a window.

SuperAgent: Are you reasonably handy?
boozysmurf somewhat, I manage.
idioglossia sure you are!
SuperAgent: Window that size, get a replacement for $500, and I can show you how to hang it. Not that hard.

And this is true: I’m capable of doing this kind of stuff. Hell, I enjoy it. But it takes me time, because I second guess my abilities A LOT. I don’t have the confidence in my own work that maybe I should have. And I don’t like half-assing it either. Which is another good reason not to take on a project of this magnitude until we have somewhere else to live in the meantime.

If it sounds like I’m considering this kind of thing, it’s because I am. The first courses I took that I really enjoyed in high school were shop courses. I never took mechanics, but I took a lot of woodworking. And with the right tools, I’m pretty good. I’m a lousy designer, that’s for sure, but as labour and thinking around the problems, I’m not bad at all. And I really enjoy it. It’s one of the reasons landscape work appealed to me for so long.

OK, back to the properties themselves, rather than the blue-skying.

Once you get past the squallor and the dank (Oh, no, Moe! Not the Dank! Not the Dank!), what do they boil down to?

What they boil down to is, in a phrase, too small.

Even with some walls removed, and space optimized, there's probably not more than 800-1000 sq.ft in each of the units. The biggest of the bedrooms wasn't more than 12x10. In comparison, my bedroom right now is 19'3"x14'8". A place like that simply wouldn't have room for all idioglossia and my's stuff. It's that simple. Especially while doing a renovation at the same time. At a guestimate, the livingroom in the biggest one was somewhere around 12x14. We'd be tripping over each other constantly. As far as ourselves living in them, it ain't gonna happen. In all honesty, if I was buying a place for me alone, I wouldn't want that little space. Add on to that there's no garage, no storage space (there's one closet in each of the units), and even the space that there is is cramped? Not my style.

Now, we knew this. Much as I know idioglossia would jump at the chance to do this, we're not prepared, financed, ready (and in my case, willing!). If I won Super Seven on Friday, that'd be different. I'd probably buy 'em as a project for her to play with. Sheer entertainment value there, tell you what! But as a first home? Not a chance. I've already conceded that I don't necessarily have to have perfection right out the door: but there's a difference between needing al ittle work to bring it up to what we want, and taking it down to the bare frame and starting again.

I think, at the end of the day, she knows all this. These are an amazing investment for someone with resources and know how. We, unfortunately, have neither. The shows make it look, if not easy, at least reasonably simple and linear. That's not the case. Units like this really demand having somewhere else to live, which means carrying a mortgage on the three units, and a mortgage on another house to live in, or a mortgage on the three units, plus rent while you live somewhere else. That's why they're brilliant investments, really. If youc an afford to suck up the two months to do serious work, quickly, they could generate a ton of money, there's no doubt about that. But as a DIY project, while you live in them? It's a losing proposition. A contractor or real estate pro will get these, no doubt. And they'll become one of two things. Gorgeous flips, or continue their life as slum rentals. We, as a couple, can't suck up that kind of cost though. Not yet. And probably not for ten years yet, five at least.

For me, the big problem is, they're absolutely everything I didn't want in a home. They need fifty grand worth of work, thousands of man-hours of time, and even when they're done, they don't give me what I want. They don't give me space, they don't give me room to have friends round, or stay, there's no room for my folks to come visit, or my brother and his wife. There's no seperation space, and there's no room for expansion, they're shared walls and entries. Really, they're two-storey apartments. As an investment, given the funds to take the short term hit, fantastic. To live in for five years while we do the work and wait for the market bump, living in a constant construction zone, they're a disaster.

However, SuperAgent is everything I want in an advisor and go-between. Seriously. His words "I won't let you buy anything that's out of your range or ability". He's an ex-FEMA consultant, and did work in New Orleans after Katrina, where he was in [obviously] high demand. He's the kind of guy who I get the impression from that he'd talk us out of bad choices. He's also a hands on guy when it comes to the houses themselves. He's a trained inspector, and he is brutally honest about the condition of houses, top to bottom. His suggestion to us is ignore this one now, and he'll keep us on his list of updates. If we see anything we like, we call him, and then we go see it. So, by the time we really want to buy something, we've seen a dozen or more places, and really know what it is that we're looking for, so that we recognize it when we see it.

And, I anticipate many, many heated discussions with idioglossia. It's never DULL though.

K so I'm posting this to a locked group I even felt like a jerk MAKING, but it's for a good cause.  Nobody tell jenni what you are about to see.  I'll take off the anti-Jenni filter after she gets her package, but I wanted to post pics, because I LOVE these things...  I made another bag...  AND I made the most innovative sewing machine presser foot EVAR.  Why buy a vinyl roller foot when you can MAKE ONE?  I used one of the random assortment of feet that came with my machine (I don't even know what it's FOR - some of the decorative stitches) - I hotglued strips of felt to the underside - et voila.  SLIDEY FOOT.  I can just tear the felt and glue off ig I need "R" for anything ever....  WORKED LIKE A CHARM. No pulling, sticking, SWEARING....


SO yeah.  That's what I've been finishing....

We're driving to work this morning, and Bundy stops mid-sentence and stares at something out the car windshield.

I see it, too. A truck for Aenos Foods.

Hee hee. Just because I am in Looooooove with my head.... And I even washed it.

After a warsh It does itself. And doesn't get my butt all wet. Yes Guy.

This week, I'm not making any plans to do anything with anyone after work.

I have a plan for drinks on Friday after work - that's been in place for a month now.

But other than that, it's all about resting this week. Resting and decluttering.