Concrete Demolition
After the previous closet/shed/structure was removed we assessed the situation to figure out what else needed to go. While the new structure wasn’t going to…
Category: Update
Weird Outdoor Closet Demolition
Continuing on with the shed story…way, way back at the start of the pandemic, Agent Smith wanted to destroy something, so I got to work…
Almost Caught Up!
Would you believe I’m no longer two whole years behind in writing about all the crazy stuff here? That’s right, I’m now only 3 months…
Dinosaur Covers: Did I go too far?
I picked up some cute outlet covers via Etsy a while back. I added them to the guest room to further the dinosaur theme. What…
Historic Visitors
Following on from the last two posts, I sent an email and a couple of months later the date was set for two people who…
Progress Report
Following up from the last post, I sent an email to the address and got a reply. It was from the eldest son who grew…
House History via Obituaries
A while ago I posted about finding the obituaries for the parents of the family for whom this house was originally built. I’ve also come…
Midge V2.0
Back in January of this year our beloved Midge was stolen from the service yard of our mechanic. She hasn’t been seen since. Insurance wrote…
More Notes on Visitors
The year prior to the pandemic lockdown, we had a rash of visitors–a friend from my days at school in England (they are now married!),…
All the Way from Ohio
Last fall I drove out to Ohio and spent a month visiting my parents. During that time I organized their basement. Things like the fifty-year-old…
Public Service Announcement
You may or may not know that we have a small YouTube channel for hosting the larger videos for this website and other interesting things.…
Another Fun Tale
This past Boxing Day (the day after Christmas), I, Agent Smith, and a few intrepid residents managed to make the old burned out VW “magically”…
Major Leakage
After the plumbing modifications detailed in the last post, the pipes were quiet for about 10 months. Then one night in mid-December of last year,…
The Wonky Water Pipe
Shortly after moving in, we had to have one of the hot water heaters replaced, as it was making that sad sound that signified it…
More Auction Finds
In addition to giant steel bird statues, a couch, dining table and various other large items, over the last few years I’ve used auction houses,…
One More Studio Innovation
When we lived in SF, we had two couches in the living room. Agent Smith purchased them for his first place in SF before we…
Wine Room Redo
Carrying on from the last post, the studio building also has a wee wine room. When we first viewed the property, there wasn’t much wine…
The Studio Building Today
Back in 1999 the previous owners built the studio building. As documented in past posts, it’s just a weird building. Comprising three actual rooms and…
Mini Addendum
The wee poem I wrote about the Mini Cooper came about because the BMW Car Club sent an email asking members for stories from members…
Hat Rack Tricks
Since I seem to be on a home-furnishings-post writing frenzy, I found one more item in my backlog of pictures. Shortly after we moved in,…
New Old Table
In the north hall, next to the armchair and the ottoman I made, sat a table–one of those formed plywood ones from IKEA. The finish…
The Feathered Dinosaurs (that eat things they should not)
Living with parrots means things that should not be eaten are often eaten. Eventually you get used to making sure you don’t leave stuff laying…
The writing process (failure)
Keeping up with the news/projects to post ratio is something that fails to happen, as noted by the fact that I’m still over a year…
More Dumpster Tails
Since moving here we have filled roughly two dozen dumpsters. Our first one was a big 40 cu yd, but getting those up the mountain…
Blank Walls in the Studio No More
For a long time, the walls of the studio building were barren. I have been adding things into the space over the last few years…
Upgraded Fence
The big storm we had in 2021 also took out the rotting wooden privacy fence that runs along the north wall of the studio building…
Being Creative with a Fireplace
When we were in escrow, we had the chimney inspected as part of all the other inspections (well, septic, house, etc.). The inspectors told us…
Overgrazing is BAD
When we moved in to Purgatory in the summer of 2015, the previous owners had decided to allow a local caballero named Herman to pasture…
The forgotten story about the new neighbors
Way back in 2017 I wrote about the issue of manure seeping out of the neighbor’s animal pens. Two years later, the place was finally…
Evolutions…the North Office
My office, formerly used as a family room by the previous owners has gone through many changes and shuffling since we moved in to the…
The Blue Eagle and Friends
Or “how to find interesting art for your home.” Auction houses haven’t been just a good source for interesting furniture and giant steel birds. I’ve…
Sculpture Highlights
(and better gate power!) To really spice things up, this past November we had the electrical situation at the main gate sorted professionally. Regular readers…