Another Deck Down!

With only one more porch/deck to power-wash before finishing all six, we're feelin pretty cocky. Finished the main porch yesterday without a hitch. I used Romans favorite hose nozzle instead of the powerwasher and it was fine. I don't like dragging that thing out. So we'll start painting this weekend! It'll be great to have a few things finished before Mitz comes in July.

Majors and Minors

I know my focus has been on the rough exterior, problem areas, and things that need fixing.

At some point very soon you'll check in and find posts that describe the nicer side of life here. But for now, I'm compelled to keep with the major and minor challenges we face every day.

Like the driveway/garage area. Big beautiful 3 car garage, complete with 2 windows and a doorway leading into the gigantic shop that would be a dream for any guy who likes to putter, fix, build stuff, etc. (I'll tell you about the shop in a future post).

Only problem with the driveway/garage is that when it rains, it floods a little. A simple matter that (we think) could be fixed with a proper drain. However, we don't know how to do that, so for now, we shovel the mud that collects where it should drain, and sweep out the water when it gets too deep and messy! As the photos show, it's not as pitiful as it sounds. We consider it a simi-major challenge and only have to deal with it when it rains, so for now, it's on the long to-do-list.

Here's One For the Books!

These photos are of the original front door to the main house. At least this was the front door back in the 1800's when the house was built. Back then, you walked in that front door, into a small entryway. To your right you'd find the living room and kitchen, to your left the bedroom. You would find no bathroom at all. Today when you walk in that door, you're standing in the second bedroom/office.

Closets, a bathroom, laundry room, and screened porch have been added since the 1800s, but as you can see, the layout is a little quirky at best. Over a glass of wine we've tossed around ideas to remedy this feature. To date, we have more wine than good ideas!

Take note the mighty oak that sits directly in front of the old front door. We guess it's as old or older than the structure, and beautiful.

OMG! What the...........................?

This one has me a little creeped out, but curious. You can't tell from the photo, but this guy is the color of copper. And it shines like copper too. Okay, it's kind of pretty, but I wish it weren't crawling all over the picnic table on my deck. Does ANYONE know what the heck this is, what it does, or why it's creeping into my world? YIKES !!

Unfinished Business!

Don't get the wrong impression. We're living in a clean, dry and comfortable environment at Spit & Glue. The roof isn't falling in on us, we're not living with dry-rot or mildew or termite damage. On the contrary, the structure is sound. After all, it's been standing for 125 years, so we figure we're out of the woods when it comes to the overall integrity of the buildings.

Our issues have to do with keeping up with the basics while bringing the place up to par with the rest of the homes on the market in rural Georgia.

Aside from every day maintenance, we have a boat-load of little things that never got finished, such as unpainted door frames and baseboards and............... ohhhh don't make me spell them all out. Just look at a few of the photos to get an idea.

And So We Mow!

Mowing the lawn is traditionally "A Mans Job" right? however, I know many women who don't think twice about dragging out the mower and edger to do the job themselves. But on this property, they'd be thinking more than twice about "taking on the lawn".

The difference here is that we're talking about 2 hairy acres that need mowing at least twice a month in spring & summer. We don't put on a cute gardening hat with matching gardening gloves and clogs to push a shiney-red mower up and down the yard until it's perfect.

No, we pretty much gear up with machine washable head covering, goggles, long sleeved shirt/pants, and nasty canvus shoes so as not to lose a toe or an eye to flying debris. It's all about getting the job done without the company of fleas, ticks, and mosquitos.

We ride an old, noisey rickety lawn tractor, nursing it along as it spits, groans, hickups, and sometimes stops all together, leaving us in the learch, and at the mercy of a handiman who knows a little about mechanics. We then convince him to fix it, but at the least possible expense. If he can do it with Spit & Glue, even better!