Total Waste of Time and Money, Nearly Froze but there was room at the Inn

FolioMark · #1 12/27/04, 02:25 PM

ust got back from my trip to my Missouri place over Christmas and not to beat around the bush...IT WAS A TOTAL DISASTER. Nothing got done, spend too much money, nearly froze to death and even managed to melt a tire on my wheelchair and spend christmas in a motel eating Sunchips and Dr Pepper watching bad cable movies and hoping Jon would be able to find a working car to come rescue us. It could have been worse, I might have been in Iraq or Homeless or swept away by a Tsunami, but needless to say Im glad to be home. I should have known better to trust the weather forecast but they said nice weather all week but it only lasted three days. The carpenter showed up 3 days late and we were able to strike a deal at a decent price. He was supposed to start on Thursday Dec. 23 but never showed up and I have yet to get a hold of him. My little house is comfortable as long as the temperature is above freezing but when it goes to single digits fireplaces just dont do the job. I now know why our colonial forebears had low ceilings, wing chairs and wore night caps. By christmas eve, we were cold and miserable, the water was frozen in the gas jugs we haul water in and I couldnt even wash dishes. The kitchen was soo cold i hated to cook. Thank GOD for my good neighbors Jeff and Adrianna and RAndel and Pam. They all lent a hand with extra wood and Randel and Pam had us over for dinner one night. Finally we retreated to town and a motel so we could be near the Bus Station. Jons car had broken down and he couldnt rent one as he had no credit card, so we were going to try to come home on a bus. Greyhound has accessible buses but I had my litle dog with me and they werent convinced she was a "companion Dog for the disabled" and of course in the best tradition of bureaucracy, the Man in Charge of ADA Compliance does not work over the holiday. Jon finally convinced a good friend to drive down here and rescue us. SOOOOOOO all in all after wishing and hoping for more than a year, I still dont have a roof on the addition though I did buy all the materials and store them. I hopefully will be able to get the carpenter to do the work from the plans and without my being there as soon as I can find him..NOOOO I did not pay up front.
And the first thing I do in the spring is buy and install a good heating stove, finish all the insulation in the old part of the house and get it finished before I even think about working on the new section. Maybe next year, we will have that dream Homestead Christmas. But it could be worse and the new year is coming.

primroselane · #2 12/27/04, 02:45 PM

Glad you made it back okay. Be it ever so humble, there's no place like a warm home.

I drove over 600 miles Christmas day. Still recovering. Have never seen traffic as bad as it was Christmas night.

Building a home on a pay as you go plan sure teaches you patience.

I was defintely colder than I thought I would be the first couple of years. Contentment and cold are two words that just don't go together. Cold is bigger distraction than hot because hot just lasts for 12 hours or so. Cold, like an unhappy wife, is forever.

**Terri** · #3 12/27/04, 04:33 PM

I hope that your New Years is a happy, fullfilling one. With warm feet!

PonderosaQ · #4 12/27/04, 05:23 PM

So sorry your Christmas week was such a disaster for you. I remember how excited you were when you told us of your plans. How did you melt your wheelchair tire? You didn't say. I'm sorry you were so cold. I was that way for a couple of months last winter and even now with improvements I've still had the drain line freeze. Also had a power failure last week and the house went down to 44 with just the wood stove. It's exhausting. I wish you the very best for 2005 and hope next Christmas will be the one you have been dreaming of!

PQ

reitenger · #5 12/27/04, 05:36 PM

Hate to hear when things go so wrong. Where in MO are you building? We are in the process of moving into the travel trailer to move onto our ten acres near Seymour. The house we are in in Springfield got down to the low 50's last week, and thaqt's with a new central system that was POORLY installed in a poorly insulated house. If you guys are close enough in MO, maybe we can get together on some building sometime. We are doing the build as you plan thing for ours, luckily we don't have to travel a long distance to do so. If we can be of any help we are willing.

tallpines · #6 12/28/04, 09:29 AM

Childbirth is a hard process but the rewards are great and the pain is soon forgotten.

Sounds as if you are having a difficult labor........

FolioMark · #7 12/28/04, 11:41 AM

PONDEROSA: I was sitting with my back to the fireplace toasting my backside and watching tv. when I went to go get a cup of tea, I put my hand on the wheel right in a patch of melted rubber. Luckily my hands are like leather, and I only got a small burn, but right in the crease of my thumb. Got a big ugly scar on the tire now and I sort of limp as I roll along. :haha:

REITENGER: When you move to your acreage we will be relatively close neighbors.My place is 17 miles south of Lebanon in Laclede county about half way between Lebanon and Hartville. If you go east on 60 to Mansfield and then North on 5 through Hartville, you will find me with ease. Perhaps we can get together this spring and summer to help each other with some building projects. Drop me a pm and tell me more about what you are planning to build.