Cat's Outta The Bag...

[Stoneman]

Leaving for the Gettysburg area in a few days and spending five or six days scouting towns, neighborhoods, houses and the such. The plan is still leasing a house for a year to make sure it's where we want to be. Yeah, I know. But we don't want to get stuck somewhere and have to deal with selling & buying, selling & buying, selling & buying. If that area of the country is where we want to be it gives us plenty of time to find just the right place and not be rushed. I'm not dealing with this again!

And to be honest, not being responsible for every last bit of maintenance and any little thing that goes wrong is kinda appealing - even if it's only for a year.

[Stoneman]

What a great trip, AGAIN. Met some locals, met some New England transplants - one from Amesbury, one from Merrimack NH. Great peeps, great times.

I don't want to jinx anything, but I'm pretty sure we found our house down there. Just on the edge of the battlefield (THE "Wheatfield"), yet just enough out of the way. Way more house than we'll ever need at this point, but the price was holy-fuck! I'm not gonna get too much into it until it's a done deal, but we'll be getting all the lease paperwork and info this week. Just an amazing house & yard with plenty of room to keep my shit and plenty of room for the kids/grandkids when they come to visit.

Our house is still coming along fine and the interior is almost done. I was able to get to work on the yard and shoreline yesterday and it's looking pretty damned good. Still haven't got the dock in, but I kinda hadta wait until I cleaned up the shoreline. Everything is there, just gotta get it together and in the water. Shit just keeps getting more real. Now it's like, upon us. We're getting excited as hell.

We're hoping to fill & sign all the paperwork this weekend to get our house ready to list. We're hoping to have it listed by next weekend and fingers crossed it goes quickly. We're ready!

[Stoneman]

We got an unexpected very generous offer yesterday from a fella we helped out when he was starting up his painting gig last year. The short version is, he saw some of my painting pics on social media and reached out. He'll be painting the garage next week for silly money. We'll have to prep it and pick up the paint we want, but he'll do the rest. In & out in two days. Damn near shit myself. That'll clear up AT LEAST 3 or 4 days for me.

BIG mistake. I opened up a can of worms. We tried to match the house by painting over the dark brown paint the garage is. 5 gallons did 2 coats on 3 sides only and still looks like shit. We should've just kept it dark brown and recoated. But no, we're too caught up in trying to compete with the other big ticket sellers. Hindsight, huh? That's the only thing I regret putting the paint to so far. But man, now it's up to me to get it looking good.

No hard feelings for the dude that painted it. He kept me in the loop for the two days and knew right away the paint wasn't gonna cover good. He did a bang up job for short money for the task we burdened him with. Live & learn I guess...

[Stoneman]

We're still waiting for Randy to feel up for whacking some low hanging branches, but we get it. It's more important he's healthy.

[RandyO]

We're still waiting for Randy to feel up for whacking some low hanging branches, but we get it. It's more important he's healthy.

I'm getting around a little better, but not to the point that I dare aggravate anything, just hit 229.9 on scale, haven't seen that since I first met you 26 years ago

[Stoneman]

I'm getting around a little better, but not to the point that I dare aggravate anything, just hit 229.9 on scale, haven't seen that since I first met you 26 years ago

Yup, just razzin' ya. Get to feeling better bub!

[Stoneman]

I'll likely be making this thread disappear shortly...

Lease agreement in hand, photos & drone stuff of the One Zero Friday, house should hit the market next week.

[FriskyDingo]

putting the cat back in the bag as they say...

Good luck

[RandyO]

still haven't made it over with my pole saw, still walking wobbly. Assume you have finished using my ladder

[Stoneman]

still haven't made it over with my pole saw, still walking wobbly. Assume you have finished using my ladder

I'll actually be using it this weekend to try to save the garage. Unless of course you need it back!

[Stoneman]

Which reminds me: PAINTING PARTY AT THE ONE ZERO THIS WEEKEND!!! That's right people. You can take part in saving the historical Stonnerstock garage this weekend! No experience needed!

[RandyO]

Which reminds me: PAINTING PARTY AT THE ONE ZERO THIS WEEKEND!!! That's right people. You can take part in saving the historical Stonnerstock garage this weekend! No experience needed!

appointment with my spine doctor today, going over last weeks MRI, I will ask what I should do physically, not in pain now, but still wobbly

[Stoneman]

Which reminds me: PAINTING PARTY AT THE ONE ZERO THIS WEEKEND!!! That's right people. You can take part in saving the historical Stonnerstock garage this weekend! No experience needed!

Don't forget!!!

[Stoneman]

So yeah...things haven't been as smooth as we had hopes. Mostly because I'm a "shiny squirrel" kinda guy. But at least all the indoor painting projects are done (stair stringers and associated molding can suck my ass!) and I have a little more trim work in a couple rooms. It took me TWO fuckin' days for those damn stairs. Two coats of primer and two coats of paint, but I was also able to get that one last room recoated between coats. Once again, I thank three teenagers...

The yard is coming along just fuckin' dandy. Sold the Jet Ski (glad you guys had so much fun this weekend, Bill!), Mark the Yamaha God is picking up the Raptor Saturday, and we finally got the future son inlaw to get his piece of shit SxS outta the yard this weekend. I fell a few boards short on the dock, but I picked up more deck board and that'll all get wrapped up this afternoon. Big Shirl got more mulch to spread, still gotta get some crushed stone and get that around the house & shit. Weeding, Round Up (because I like killing shit), new mailbox post, and we're good. Still hoping Randy feels good enough to stop by (just kidding Randy, I could always grab your saw).

And for those who couldn't make it and have anxiously been waiting; lucky for you all we had to postpone the garage painting party! I'm hoping to get started on it toward the end of the week and into the weekend. Plan is to have everything else wrapped up so I can focus on just that. Should I start a new thread for the sign-up list?

[Stoneman]

And to beat all the piss right outta me, we are now officially paying rent (lease, actually) on our Gettysburg house. Sadly, it was the only way we could hold the house. Our plan is for Big Shirl to head down the first weekend in August to meet the movers. I'm hoping to get down there no later than the end of August. We're both obviously hoping the house sells quickly so we can just put this incredibly taxing sell & move behind us once & for all.

[RandyO]

I haven't been doing so well without a walker, another MRI this Wednesday. 3 years ago, I couldn't get doctors to order a MRI, now 4 within 2 months, 2 for GI tract, and 2 for my lumbar spine, no pain anymore, just walk wobbly. Shopping today again with one of the store's electric carts

I will show up with my pole was to get that branch or is it two or three

[Stoneman]

I haven't been doing so well without a walker, another MRI this Wednesday. 3 years ago, I couldn't get doctors to order a MRI, now 4 within 2 months, 2 for GI tract, and 2 for my lumbar spine, no pain anymore, just walk wobbly. Shopping today again with one of the store's electric carts

I will show up with my pole was to get that branch or is it two or three

Like I've said; it's more important that you get healthy. I can easily come grab your saw, I like giving you shit.

[RandyO]

Like I've said; it's more important that you get healthy. I can easily come grab your saw, I like giving you shit.

mostly, I'm working on getting Anne out for more than grocery shopping, before she knows it, you & Cheryl will be in PA

[Stoneman]

mostly, I'm working on getting Anne out for more than grocery shopping, before she knows it, you & Cheryl will be in PA

Yup. Deep down inside we were hoping to already be there. As it looks now, well...I've already covered that. LOL!

[Stoneman]

This was a complete thorn in my side for +/- THIRTY years.

Short version:
The wall was torn out back when it was still the family camp. There was a bedroom there before the bathroom was extended. Plan A was to simply put up another wall and use it as a small room of some sort. Plan B was to just put up a knee wall and use it for whatever. Plan C was to just somehow finish the raw part of the ceiling and leave it as an alcove. Plan D was to leave it the fuck alone and put my gun safe and shooting/hunting supplies in it. Plan D won for many years, until...




...it took selling the house to get off me arse and finally do something about it. Perfect? Ha! Hell no! But with a bit of touch-up work, who'll know?

Fresh coat of paint (yeah, we still had what we used 20+ years ago, and it was just fine) and every bit of trim in those pics is freshly installed. The entire alcove was basically left alone before just tossing the safe and my other shooting/hunting stuff in there and saying "fuggit".

[SteveM]

Caulk and paint will make you the carpenter you ain't!

[Stoneman]

Caulk and paint will make you the carpenter you ain't!

And how!