Category Archives: Property

Posts related to our various properties go in this category.

40 Months

Philosophical Meanderings, Too Posted on by

Last month was surprisingly productive.

The 1950 Jeep and as many Jeep parts as I could find moved to a new home west of here.

The gate, chain link, and posts moved to a new home. It will be much easier for my yard guys to trim at the shop now.

Where Hemmings’ Motor News let me down, Facebook Marketplace has been delivering.

After more than a year of seeing this board lay on my uncompleted ramp and being annoyed, I finally took five minutes and screwed it on this month. I have more boards that have been cut in the garage waiting to be installed. It shouldn’t take too long to get them screwed in once I’m ready to mess with it. It’s one of several tasks my contractor didn’t complete last year.

I have a plan for the 46s. It wasn’t what either of us had in mind, but selling them as a group doesn’t appear to be working out. I’m going to pull the convertible forward in the long bay. It will be the next vehicle I plan to rehome. I’ll lay two pallets behind it — one for the convertible and one for the four-door. I’ll pull the four-door forward and lay a pallet behind it. That will be for the woodie wagon. I’ll begin going through the parts he has, compare them to his parts book, and place them on their appropriate pallets. I plan to have a clipboard on each pallet, and I’ll log the parts in when I place them there. Whoever purchases the vehicle will have an itemized list of accompanying parts. It will take a bit of time, but I think it will work.

I ordered and installed a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) on the Spyder. The rear tire is notoriously difficult to reach, and the front tires don’t seem to retain pressure as they should, so the monitoring system should help me manage that task.

The RotoTiller found a new home.

39 Months

Philosophical Meanderings, Too Posted on by

The cabinet and sink replacement project is complete at Crockett. We have a full-size double-bowl sink and a usable cabinet space in the kitchen. The hall bathroom sink has a vanity. The waiting area bathroom has an upscale utility sink. The only piece remaining on that project is adding hot water to both bathrooms.

The ’46 Coupe went to its new home this month. This is it loading onto the trailer.

The Spyder stranded me in Hearne this month. It appears the original problem was loose battery connections, but now it seems to be royally messed up electrically. I trailered it down to Georgetown, and they replaced the battery. It brought me home okay, so I hope this issue is resolved.

I completed my first mineral rights royalty deal this month.

We had a heavy rainstorm this month and found the areas on the auction barn gutters where things leak. I think that has been resolved, but it will take another rainstorm to see.

The El Camino tailgate and a few pieces of trim went to their new home this month. The Jeep components are scheduled to go to their new home on the 30th.To help facilitate removal of the 1950 Jeep from the shop, I brought the patio furniture home.

The Starlink Mini has arrived, and I installed it at the shop. The shop and the auction barn (formerly the detail shop) have internet access now. The Mini is intended for lower usage, which is what I anticipate will happen at the shop. I’ve put a couple of Ring cameras on it for now.

I had a “good day” two days ago. I realized I was content in that day. Maybe, someday, I’ll be able to string a few of those days together, because, frankly, it felt good.

 

38 Months

Philosophical Meanderings, Too Posted on by

This has been an odd month for me. I’m feeling generally positive. Despite that, something is still off. I’m struggling to focus and pull together a plan of action. I can force myself to do things that simply must be done. I can be somewhat reactive to tasks, but I struggle to formulate a cohesive plan of action to execute.

I still have the Coupe listed on Facebook Marketplace. I had one person from Brenham come look at it, but he decided to pass — he was interested in yard art, and I think it might work for something better than that. I also listed the chain link and gate in the green space. I’ve had inquiries, but nobody has come to look or purchase the full bundle yet. Yesterday, someone just wanted a section of chain link, and I sold him that.

I’m still waiting for quotes for several projects I need someone to do — sewer line replacement at Crockett and the upstairs back bathroom completion at the house on the most pressing. When the time is right, the contractor will appear. New cabinets and sinks have been installed at Crockett. We finally have a full-size double basin sink in the kitchen. We have a utility sink in the waiting room, and the sink and vanity that were in there have been installed in the hallway bathroom.

I sold two clarinets at the end of May. My sister wants the third one. That leaves about 25 more instruments to find homes for. I’m not rushing that process.

I’m watching the Outlander series for the second time. I’m in Season 5. Brianna is making a paper airplane to commemorate their first anniversary and saying she wants their marriage to grow strong. I’m reminded that as a couple who has time traveled from the 20th Century to the 18th Century, they have a common frame of reference other people around them don’t share. I lost a 38-year common frame of reference three years ago, and I’m too late in my life to meet and establish that again. It’s one of the things I mourn.

I continue to breathe, because someday, I’ll be glad I did.

2 Years

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Two years. Two years without hearing his voice (I have a couple of grumpy voicemails I salvaged). Two years without him asking me to breakfast — the last thing he said to me. Two years of wishing he could have been with me as I did the things I had to do — the things WE planned to do together.

The things I cherish are unique — his handwriting and the ingenious things he made to solve minor problems I had. Mostly, I miss our conversations. He loved to make me laugh, and he was pretty good at it.

I’m grateful for friends, both near and far, who have stuck by me and supported me for these last two years. Not only did I lose Alan, but I lost my dad six months before him, a beloved high school teacher a year later, and a dear friend from high school six months ago. I’m almost afraid to find out who’s next, but at my age, one constant is that we begin losing people from our lives. It’s part of the price we pay for living.

I’m still figuring out who I am now as a solitary human being, because, somewhat surprisingly, everything changed two years ago. Even the things that are the same are different. I’ve determined I don’t need fixing, so that’s been a huge relief.

Projects are slowing down. The renovation portion for Crockett Avenue is complete, and we are moving our stuff in and getting things situated. We’ve hosted our first two Milam Touch of Love events there — Wellness Day and Barn Cat Day. As the weather heated up in March, it became apparent the warehouse space would require air conditioning, so a mini-split unit has been installed in that room.

Our setup for Barn Cat Day (the crates are available for Wellness Day participants and weren’t used for Barn Cat Day):

I’m getting the office set up. I’m not rushing this, but it’s taking shape.

The break area is usable. We’re still sifting through what we want where.

Since there is no usable counter space in the break area, this little area across the hall handles overflow and storage.

Alan had these trophies from his rally racing days in the late 60s and early 70s, so I brought them to where people can see them.

Projects at the house are wrapping up. One man is preparing the porches. Work on the downstairs bathroom is in progress and should be completed in time for me to use it after my foot surgery in mid-May. The same is true for my access ramp and sidewalk from the driveway to the front door.

The tape is off the garage doors, and the new openers have been installed.

The gutters are installed, so rain will be channeled appropriately now. Rain barrels are planned but not purchased or installed yet.

 

22 Months

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Here’s this month’s progress on the house: Yes, we got a dusting of snow. Looking for paint colors for the bathrooms. I found more than two full rolls of this wallpaper, so we may get some accent walls as well. Nordic Noir seems to be the color of choice. Will … Continue reading →

Twenty Months

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Twenty months into this unwelcome transition, I’m still feeling unsettled with a roller coaster of emotions I can’t identify half the time. Things are happening, though. Friends invited me to travel to Shreveport, and they taught me to play a few casino table games. We had an enjoyable couple of … Continue reading →

June

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I didn’t post on the thirteenth month, but I was aware of it. Work has started on the garage. Boards on the North and Wasteland wall will be turned the proper way, and primer is being applied to the entire garage. The lanterns will be going to their new home … Continue reading →

What’s Next?

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What’s the focus for the next year? I’ll keep working on renovating the house — I installed a new post and mailbox today. The old post rotted out. I have three sets of sturdy steps. The leak into the downstairs bathroom appears to be halted. On Monday, we’ll pull scaffolding … Continue reading →