Lanny's Loonies
So I've realized that I am overdue for an update. To be honest, however, I don't feel I have much to update on. But since it has been almost a year since I've seen some of you, and longer for most, I'll ablidge. I'm only going back a year though. I don't even remember what happened before that!
Some of you may remember something about my being laid off for a while, then taking a job that I was bored with after a few days, then having to endure it for almost a year. Well, in February of 2005, I accepted a position with a remodeling contractor just south of Minneapolis. The design position was held by the same person for over ten years before the torch was passed to me, which is a little daunting, but well worth-it, considering this is the position of a lifetime for me. Or at least where I've been trying to direct my career for the past 3-4 years. So last week I passed the one-year milestone as the sole architectural Designer/Drafter for a high-end remodeling service. So what is it that I do? I go to the house of a prospective client, measure their house, create as-built drawings, come up with a few options for remodeling, then carry that all the way through the development of the design into construction drawings. Our projects range from small bathroom & kitchen makeovers to huge 2-story additions. A project I'm working on right now involves expanding a 1 1/2 story house, and adding a full second floor on top! That's a fun one! If you're interested in more, our website is www.sylvestreconstruction.com. Can you tell, I like my job?
As I mentioned, our office is just south of Minneapolis, in Richfield, MN. At the time I accepted the job we were living in Rogers, which is about 40 miles north, through the city. But knowing that we were in the process of trying to sell our house helped me come to terms with the drive. After two full months of a 3-hour total daily commute, we finally were able to sell our house and move closer to the city, which is what had been our goal for the entire six months the house was on the market. From our first home in Rogers (which was admittedly spacious for just the two of us and the dogs), we moved to a small (stress the small) one-bedroom apartment in Minnetonka. Just so you know, house-sized furniture does not belong in an apartment. We signed a six-month lease, with absolutely no idea for our next house. It is a lot easier to buy a house when you are not contingent, though, and we had decided to try the "free spirit" thing for a change. Well, the first couple of weeks weren't too bad. But then "free spirit" started sounding like "clausterphobia" and "no idea" quickly turned into "precise list of wants and needs." So we started looking.
We decided that the top of our list had to include a house that was able to be remodeled to our satisfaction without breaking the bank. The second on our list was location, location, location. Closer to the city, our parents, and our friends, and now my job. We searched the listings and toured houses for what felt like an eternity, and started to think our house was just not out there at the moment. But we kept looking and praying, and eventually we were pleasantly surprised by a house we found in Richfield. A 2-story, 4-bedroom plus den, built in 1965. Our realtor must have thought we were nuts when we walked in and said it was exactly what we were looking for! It was a step back in time. Nothing had been renovated since it was built in 1965, green shag carpet, wood paneling everywhere, an impossible kitchen, and absolutely perfect! The structure of the house was good, and the layout allowed enough square footage that we wouldn't need an addition in order to rework it. SOLD!! We closed on the house at the end of May, the day before leaving for Washington for the gazebo dedication.
We spent eight days driving to and from Washington, which is something we'd never done together before. It was a very memorable experience on many occassions. The best breakfast we'd ever eaten at Michael D's in Coeur D'Alene Idaho, getting stuck for a night in Yellowstone, making an emergency money transfer at a public library in Cody, WY, and all the while sleeping in the van we borrowed from my dad. Of course, the highlight was spending a couple of days at Lake Retreat with all of those who could make it.
We returned to Minnesota on a Thursday, and began the demolition process on our new old home the following Saturday. We had a great turn-out of willing friends, and about two feet of rubble covering the entire first floor after just a couple of days swinging sledge hammers! And of course, the demolition of most of the walls revealed all of the pipes, ducts, and wiring that were hidden in the walls, some of which we had planned to remove. There is always an expectation of surprise when taking on a remodeling project of this proportion, but you're just never quite sure how or when those surprises will surface. Well, we had more than a few, but even with all of the hard work and frustrations, we had a great time. One we will always remember. We spent a little over six months, almost every night after work (usually about four hours), and every possible weekend undergoing physical labor, and trial and error. We stayed in the apartment for the first four months of our lease, in order to have a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. But then we began to have an infestation of three different types of bugs (I know - gross), which seemed to be coming from our nieghbor's wall... and decided to take advantage of the opportunity to end our lease without penalties. Was the house done? No. We literally had no kitchen to speak of, and the entire house was under construction. No place for a bedroom, except the dingey, somwhat finished basement. But with some quick thinking and creative solutions, we managed to throw together a make-shift apartment and a kitchenette. We lived off of cold cereal and Easy Mac for two months, and had to resolve to wearing our shoes at all times, but it worked. And it allowed us to spend even more time per day working on the house.
At the end of a very busy summer, which was both long and short all at the same time, we finished the house. Well, enough to move upstairs anyway. Every room is still a work in progress, but we are able to live and entertain now. And it was all so worth it. Now we just have to convince our relatives to come visit us! Any time you find yourselves in our neck of the woods - or even if you specifically intend to visit us - we would love to have you!
Dustin has been working for the same custom home builder (Novak-Fleck) for the past six years, and was promoted a little over a year ago to Estimator, in addition to his drafting and design duties. It's a bit further to drive now, since we've moved, but still a decent commute.
To round out our little family, we have our two Beagles, Alice & Sara. We are pathetic pet owners who spoil them rotten at every opportunity, but who can resist those eyes?
So that's it. That's our year in a very large nutshell. I now find myself sifting through the letters and photos send to me by Grandpa... My mom's old report cards and letters sent home during college, photos of her when she was young, photos of Lynda & I when we were young. I appreciate all of the work done by Grandpa and my hard-working aunts, who have taken the time and care to go through every last item that Grandma saved over the years. Through all of the time that was spent sorting and wondering why in the world she kept so many seemingly meaningless pieces of paper, please know that there was a reason. These things allow others to see a world they never knew. And to have answers to a small few, albeit futile, questions of history they never would have had the opportunity to discover, had it not been for those papers. It's comforting in a way I never knew possible, to read kindergarten report cards and letters written in happy and stressful times. Thank you for that. And thank you for being a wonderful family to me, my sister, and my mom.
Now, if any more of my cousins get married without me knowing, I'll have your heads. I'm serious.
Some of you may remember something about my being laid off for a while, then taking a job that I was bored with after a few days, then having to endure it for almost a year. Well, in February of 2005, I accepted a position with a remodeling contractor just south of Minneapolis. The design position was held by the same person for over ten years before the torch was passed to me, which is a little daunting, but well worth-it, considering this is the position of a lifetime for me. Or at least where I've been trying to direct my career for the past 3-4 years. So last week I passed the one-year milestone as the sole architectural Designer/Drafter for a high-end remodeling service. So what is it that I do? I go to the house of a prospective client, measure their house, create as-built drawings, come up with a few options for remodeling, then carry that all the way through the development of the design into construction drawings. Our projects range from small bathroom & kitchen makeovers to huge 2-story additions. A project I'm working on right now involves expanding a 1 1/2 story house, and adding a full second floor on top! That's a fun one! If you're interested in more, our website is www.sylvestreconstruction.com. Can you tell, I like my job?
As I mentioned, our office is just south of Minneapolis, in Richfield, MN. At the time I accepted the job we were living in Rogers, which is about 40 miles north, through the city. But knowing that we were in the process of trying to sell our house helped me come to terms with the drive. After two full months of a 3-hour total daily commute, we finally were able to sell our house and move closer to the city, which is what had been our goal for the entire six months the house was on the market. From our first home in Rogers (which was admittedly spacious for just the two of us and the dogs), we moved to a small (stress the small) one-bedroom apartment in Minnetonka. Just so you know, house-sized furniture does not belong in an apartment. We signed a six-month lease, with absolutely no idea for our next house. It is a lot easier to buy a house when you are not contingent, though, and we had decided to try the "free spirit" thing for a change. Well, the first couple of weeks weren't too bad. But then "free spirit" started sounding like "clausterphobia" and "no idea" quickly turned into "precise list of wants and needs." So we started looking.
We decided that the top of our list had to include a house that was able to be remodeled to our satisfaction without breaking the bank. The second on our list was location, location, location. Closer to the city, our parents, and our friends, and now my job. We searched the listings and toured houses for what felt like an eternity, and started to think our house was just not out there at the moment. But we kept looking and praying, and eventually we were pleasantly surprised by a house we found in Richfield. A 2-story, 4-bedroom plus den, built in 1965. Our realtor must have thought we were nuts when we walked in and said it was exactly what we were looking for! It was a step back in time. Nothing had been renovated since it was built in 1965, green shag carpet, wood paneling everywhere, an impossible kitchen, and absolutely perfect! The structure of the house was good, and the layout allowed enough square footage that we wouldn't need an addition in order to rework it. SOLD!! We closed on the house at the end of May, the day before leaving for Washington for the gazebo dedication.
We spent eight days driving to and from Washington, which is something we'd never done together before. It was a very memorable experience on many occassions. The best breakfast we'd ever eaten at Michael D's in Coeur D'Alene Idaho, getting stuck for a night in Yellowstone, making an emergency money transfer at a public library in Cody, WY, and all the while sleeping in the van we borrowed from my dad. Of course, the highlight was spending a couple of days at Lake Retreat with all of those who could make it.
We returned to Minnesota on a Thursday, and began the demolition process on our new old home the following Saturday. We had a great turn-out of willing friends, and about two feet of rubble covering the entire first floor after just a couple of days swinging sledge hammers! And of course, the demolition of most of the walls revealed all of the pipes, ducts, and wiring that were hidden in the walls, some of which we had planned to remove. There is always an expectation of surprise when taking on a remodeling project of this proportion, but you're just never quite sure how or when those surprises will surface. Well, we had more than a few, but even with all of the hard work and frustrations, we had a great time. One we will always remember. We spent a little over six months, almost every night after work (usually about four hours), and every possible weekend undergoing physical labor, and trial and error. We stayed in the apartment for the first four months of our lease, in order to have a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. But then we began to have an infestation of three different types of bugs (I know - gross), which seemed to be coming from our nieghbor's wall... and decided to take advantage of the opportunity to end our lease without penalties. Was the house done? No. We literally had no kitchen to speak of, and the entire house was under construction. No place for a bedroom, except the dingey, somwhat finished basement. But with some quick thinking and creative solutions, we managed to throw together a make-shift apartment and a kitchenette. We lived off of cold cereal and Easy Mac for two months, and had to resolve to wearing our shoes at all times, but it worked. And it allowed us to spend even more time per day working on the house.
At the end of a very busy summer, which was both long and short all at the same time, we finished the house. Well, enough to move upstairs anyway. Every room is still a work in progress, but we are able to live and entertain now. And it was all so worth it. Now we just have to convince our relatives to come visit us! Any time you find yourselves in our neck of the woods - or even if you specifically intend to visit us - we would love to have you!
Dustin has been working for the same custom home builder (Novak-Fleck) for the past six years, and was promoted a little over a year ago to Estimator, in addition to his drafting and design duties. It's a bit further to drive now, since we've moved, but still a decent commute.
To round out our little family, we have our two Beagles, Alice & Sara. We are pathetic pet owners who spoil them rotten at every opportunity, but who can resist those eyes?
So that's it. That's our year in a very large nutshell. I now find myself sifting through the letters and photos send to me by Grandpa... My mom's old report cards and letters sent home during college, photos of her when she was young, photos of Lynda & I when we were young. I appreciate all of the work done by Grandpa and my hard-working aunts, who have taken the time and care to go through every last item that Grandma saved over the years. Through all of the time that was spent sorting and wondering why in the world she kept so many seemingly meaningless pieces of paper, please know that there was a reason. These things allow others to see a world they never knew. And to have answers to a small few, albeit futile, questions of history they never would have had the opportunity to discover, had it not been for those papers. It's comforting in a way I never knew possible, to read kindergarten report cards and letters written in happy and stressful times. Thank you for that. And thank you for being a wonderful family to me, my sister, and my mom.
Now, if any more of my cousins get married without me knowing, I'll have your heads. I'm serious.
posted by Donella at 12:55 PM
1 Comments:
We definately wondered about some of those pieces of paper! I am glad you are enjoying them!
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