Hmmm. So it’s been quite a while since I’ve dusted off the key board and written anything about the house. Guess what….I’m not gonna write about the house tonight either. The kitchen shelves are coming slowly, and a few odd tasks have gotten finished. But truthfully the house is a damn mess. Power tools and pizza boxes. Dirty clothes tossed to the bottom of the basement stairs - dishes in desperate need of a washing.
The house has been temporarily put on hold for
the new job (now three months old)
late preparation for the Chicago marathon
Well the race is here. I don’t feel ready in the least, and it’s cold here in Chicago. But I’m still a bit excited to see what the story is with running a marathon. So here we go. 12 hours from now. I should be well and truly into the 2009 Chicago Marathon.
Last week was a crazy week - even by my standards. Pure insanity. Two weeks ago, a few friends had signed up for the Crystal City Twiliter 5k, and asked me to join. I’m always up for a race, but as we’re on the tail end of a build cycle at work, I wasn’t sure I could go. So I held off on registering.
By Friday night it clear that we were going to hit the deadline, meaning no weekend work. On line registration was closed, and a friend of mine had asked me to come spin with him at Wonderland. I put it to the back of my mind. I always had soccer on Sunday, right?
So Friday ends with a wimper - a beer and a bite to eat with co-workers, and beer at the local, then home. Saturday, well, I’ll just say that craziness insued. And not yer out-with-the-lads beer drinkin’ craziness. Not that fake, self-created craziness, but real, unexpected issues that just pop up when you least expect it. So by 5:40 pm, after dealing with the homefront, I realized I was gonna run. A quick text to my buddy Rafiq, and an infuriating metro ride over, I was in Crystal City, plunking down my $40 day-of registration fee. I ran a minute and a half off my best, but it was totally worth it. Head-clearing goodness.
I know that this site started off (at least in my head) as a how-to documentary for do-it-yourselfers. Don’t be fooled - this post is still in that vein. No everything you need to know about a house is a step-by-step manual for projects around the house. Sometimes you need to get out and let go in order to build a home. So, for me that’s soccer, or running - the occasional written word. Whatever you have on the side, don’t forget to indulge yourself once in a while. It’ll make building the home that much … less insane.
My apologies for having no pictures. I showed up late for the race and had to check everything immediately. My thanks for Kevin, Jeff, Rafiq and Jamie for organizing, and coming to the race. Look for more Team Lucky Bar races in the future.
Last weekend we took our motely Sunday league team to Philadelphia, PA for the annual Fado Cup soccer tournament. 4 games in one day is quite a bit for the old fellas, but we made a good showing. After a rocky start, a 0-1 defeat to “The Misfits”, we got back on track with victories against Chicago and Stamford. For my part, I scored the goal that put us through to the semis, and then slotted in the assist to the fella in the orange shorts, sealing the deal.
Embarrassingly enough, the tourney film crew caught my meager celebration on film. I hope to have a copy of the vid posted soon. If I’ve lost a strp on the pitch, then I’ve definitely lost all of my swagger in celebration. Who knew that I’d have to add goal celebrations to my training regime?
While the pitch was absolute rubbish, we did manage to put together a few decent football moves, including a handful of overlapping runs from the (balding) wing backs resulting in goals. Ollie, second from the left, top row, managed to volley in a screamer and a cheeky one-timer to clinch the win against Chi-town.
Our tournament came to an end against a fit and young Columbus side that plays together twice a week. A hand ball and own goal into the match, we found our legs a bit a held fast, but ended up losing 0-3. There’s a part of me that’s thankfull we didn’t make it to the finals, where a very good Atlanta team was waiting. They thumped Columbus 8-1 on their way to a second straight Fado Cup.
Beyond the footie, it was a weekend repleat with great quotes, including the insiteful scream of “I’m running!!!” by a defender as he called for the ball. The quote of weekend had to be “Sham, I’m bollocksed,” said by an anonymous teammate after one two many beers - and pouring one of those beers all over his crotch.
Ah, the pleasures of playing football with the Irish. It was a fantastic tournament - a big thanks to Fado for organizing the event, keeping us fed, hydrated and alive.
This weekend we transformed my house into an art gallery. All the furniture was removed from the living room, and all the crap laying around my first floor was relegated to the basement. It’s too late tonight to go into detail, but I’ll just say thank you to everyone who came over. It was fantastic. For my part, the paintings made my house look amazing - and gave me a glimpse of what it can become. Enough of the rhetoric - here a few pics of the house transformed. More to come.
East wall , looking forward, and Katie
East wall, looking North
The artists. Kelly Queener (left), Katie Claiborne (right)
I’ve been pretty bad about posting videos documenting my progress on the house. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t been making progress - or not filming the work at hand. It’s just a bit time consuming to edit what is fundamentally boring for those not actually doing the work into something palatable. But this is a holiday weekend, so what better time than now to show off some of the progress made on the house - the backyard, in particular?
Last summer, I was more or less overwhelmed by the backyard. I was redoing a bedroom for my sister, trying to score new clients, and doing a bit of travel. So my work on the backyard was really just a desperate attempt to stay ahead of the weeds. This Spring, however, I jumped on the yard and turned the whole damn lot. A previous owner seemed to have a fetish for sinking large steel poles into the ground - just below surface level. Digging those bastards up was a real pleasure. There were cinder blocks, bottles, toys, bones (BBQ remnants, I’m guessing), and of course, the omnipresent weeds.
After two passes, I managed to get most of the debris up. The clearing also revealed a great deal of the brick patio. There’s only so much patio one needs in a small yard, so I pulled up the extra brick and constructed two makeshift planters. I’m not too thrilled with them, so after some consultation with my neighbor Kieth, I’m planning on repurposing the brick as a hearth in the corner of the patio nearest to the steps. That, however, is a task for another day.
The same said previous owner had also placed a row of Day Lillies parallel to the walkway. Over the years, the lilies had taken over, there fronds extending well into the walking path. After some procrastination, I moved them against the garage. You can see the changed position in the video. Amazingly, the lilies survived and bloomed right on schedule.
So at this point, I was starting to get a little shape to the yard. Another neighbor, Maurice, has a ridiculous garden, and is always giving away plants. Enter the primrose. The five massive primrose bushes you see in the video started as 2 inch seedlings. He also gave me the red-bloomed plant seen at the end of the video, but I’ll be damned if I can remember it’s name.
With the primrose as a base, I set about to add a good number of perenials, as well as some ground cover. My original plan included a much larger garden space, but after fighting the weeds for the first few weeks of June, I realized that grass was in order, as well. So, I set 10 gladiola bulbs (now in bloom, and not pictured) two “elephant ears” and a smattering of Home Depot purchased perennials, and a “Little Gem” magnolia tree.
I admit, it’s no english garden, as yet. But I am amazaded at the difference two months can make. As I settle into the new job (Q Industries), and get my training schedule sorted (Chicago Marathon) I’ll drop in a few more flowering plants, and do a little landscaping. I’m really looking forward to next Spring, though. The groundwork has, quite literally, been laid for a kick-ass garden.
This clearly has nothing to do with my house. At least not anything I’ve done to the house today. Carlo Crivelli’s “The Annucation” has always been one of my favorite painting since the first time I saw it in London at age 18. My father bought me a poster reprint, which hung in many an apartment over the years. It may, in fact, still be around here somewhere, although I do remember it having taken a few knocks over the years.
Why would I write about a painting I saw at 18? It just came to mind. I just felt like seeing this particular piece tonight. Hanging my print to be one of the most important rituals in establishing a new living space. Right after setting up my stereo.
So for some reason, after a day spent working in the yard, my thoughts drifted to the imaginary world I always associated with “The Annucation”. I know there is a religious back story to the piece, but the detail and clarity of the piece always made my mind wander. There always seemed to be so much more going on just beyond the edge of the frame.
If there’s any connection to the house, perhaps it’s just the urge to put my stamp on the space, beyond drywalling, and painting, and plumbing. A little art and imagination goes a long way toward happiness. Perhaps tonight is “hang the paintings” night. Not to wild and crazy, I know. But after a week at the new job, it’s kinda nice to spend an evening at home, writing somethin’ about nothin’.
Just returned from a brief holiday with my parents, kid sister and her boy friend. Won’t lie - time on the lake made me a bit sentimental. It’s not often that sentiment is a quantum emotion - fragmented memories all linked to your current place, yet each sentiment discreet, and vastly different. My thoughts ranged from catching a bluegill by the eye as a boy while visiting Oklahoma , to family trips to Lake Cumberland during my teens, to a trip last summer to Dale Hollow.
Life was very different a a year ago (or “then” if you’re catching references).
Boating with the family is a good time, every time. But I definitely had a bout of introspection that led me to this fact: it’s been a crazy year. I certainly wouldn’t have expected my life have taken the turns it has during the last few months. In the broad spectrum of my life, it wouldn’t stand out as remarkable - I haven’t had any hole drilled into my head. I haven’t purchased a home, and I haven’t left the country for a month or more. But I am keenly aware of mistakes that have been made - mistakes that can’t be undone, and that perhaps shouldn’t be undone. I’m aware of choices that I’ve made that may effect my life as much as the aforementioned drill hole.
All in all, life is going well. I start a new job (which I think will be fantastic) on Monday, I’m running a race tomorrow, and the house is coming along. Hell, even the book I’m reading (Hocus Pocus, by Kurt Vonnegut) is quality. Perhaps that is why I’m susceptible to nostalgia - to reflection. Life’s successes are very much like mile 10 on a long run - you get hypoxic enough to believe than everything is good, and the next 5 miles aren’t much of a task. You reflect back on the past ten miles, and think of them fondly, as if they weren’t much work at all. But when you were on mile 7, you thought you might die.
When I first wrote this, I felt like I might be in mile 10, pushing forward to easier times ahead. At the moment, it looks more like mile 7. And I may have left something very important back at mile 5. I have the sneaking suspicion that Orwell would have been disgusted by my expended metaphor, but it’s what comes to me at the moment. And he’s dead, so I’m not likely to receive a reprimand.
Now you might accuse me of being vague - I’m guilty, and it was certainly intentional. The details aren’t important. What is important is notion of reflection. And taking time to do it - to feel the water on my face and remember the times spent away from the world. I relinquished control (or the illusion of control, if you like) for a few hours and took the time to think about what has past since I last laid out on a boat floating across a lake. I took inventory of the mistakes I have made - one standing out in particular - and felt the sun on my skin. The sun said that I’d never correct those mistakes, but that life would likely be alright, and that I would be able to lay out at take a nap in the heat of day again regardless of the troubles at hand.
Of course, I haven’t completely given up on rectifying the mistakes of the last year. It’s in my nature. But I have come to grips with the beauty of spending a weekend on the lake with Mom, Dad, Kelly and Joe, rather than dwelling on sentiment. That’s the lesson of reflection - it’s fleeting, so you best enjoy what’s really in front of you, lest you be Narcissus.
After another day of watching the rain come down outside my office (um, bedroom) window, I’m taking a break to post a few pics of the front yard. Ok. One pic for now. They damn things are so blurry, I can’t really justify putting too many up. But one should get the point across - my new rose bush is blooming, and the other additions from early Spring are doing well. The pic doesn’t do it justice. But after all the battles I’ve had with the front and back yards, I figure a little status update is in order.
I have a short video of the back yard, post weeding and tilling, but I haven’t had time to compress it yet. In theory, I’m due to be picked up for a book signing at The Pug, then off to DC United. But my ride is 20 minutes late, and I’m begining to wonder…
