Movin' on up....to the Permanent Side...

Honestly, I had decided to myself that this day would never come.  Not that I would dare admit that to anyone...but there are only so many times that you can be told 'not possible' before you begin to believe it.

I began my job search about ten months before I moved up to TN, thinking that that would be plenty of time, considering that I didn't want to apply for something too early when I wasn't ready to move.  Nine months later, and one month before my self-imposed deadline, I was still jobless.  In desperation, I made my rounds to all the temp services in town, and was rewarded with my first ever temporary assignment.  It looked promising, as it was slated to go permanent, and it gave me the much-needed boost to make that life-changing move to the Ridge.

Alas....how could I have foreseen that the plant I had planned on making my home would pull up stakes in the Tri-Cities, a mere three months after I arrived?  Fortunately, they made the announcement a year and a half before their intended shut-down date, so the entire plant had time to pound the pavement before we got kicked to the curb.  I wound up staying there a year, (job-hunting the entire time, to no avail) before being called to the HR manager's office and given a lead on a position with a company in Bristol, in which a former employee now worked as CFO.  It would be temp to perm, as this one had been...without the shut-down factor.  I was on the road again, a mere six months before the axe fell.

Unfortunately, I was there no time before that CFO started throwing a lot of work my way that I had no business doing, in the position I held there.  He lied about hiring me permanently after my initial 3 months, and I soon realized that the work he was giving me was setting me up to take a HUGE fall in the event it was found out that he was embezzling from the company.  I wanted out in a hurry. (He actually did get caught and fired..but it was after I left.)

In desperation, I began posting my resume on the internet, even though I never expected much that way, but once again....just in time, I was rescued by a phone call out of the blue one morning when I'd literally reached the end of my rope.  A guy in Illinois had seen my resume posted on Monster, and thought I'd be perfect for a job he was trying to staff.  There were only two catches:  1) it was only...ONLY...a 3-month gig, with ZERO chance of permanency, and 2) they needed someone IMMEDIATELY.  I would have no chance to work a notice at my current job. 

Now, I will say that I do NOT like the idea of leaving a job without working a notice....it totally goes against my personal work ethic.  In fact, more often than not, I have worked way over the standard two weeks, just so I could bridge the gap and train my replacement. But I will tell you that I was so desperate to distance myself from this scarily unhealthy environment that I did not bat an eye when I told the guy he'd found his girl.  It didn't hurt that the pay was more than I'd ever made in my life, up to that point.  I figured that even if the job was only 3 months, it would carry me 3 months further down the job-search road.

As it turned out, though, even though that job WAS a 3-month gig, it was extended to a year.  And then they added another year.  And another one.  In total, I have now been here at the VA as a contract employee for 3 years...a far cry from the 3 months I was told up front. 

During that time, I have not stopped looking for a job, but positions this lucrative are scarce as hens' teeth in these parts....I mean, this ain't Atlanta, y'know?  Not that I want it to be....but I digress.  I've applied for numerous jobs here on station, so that I could stay at the VA (which I love), but there is a hiring freeze on, and the only way they fill positions right now, is either from the inside...or by a Veteran....and that last is not me....much as I wish it was.

Enter my miracle.

Turns out I have a disability.  I will spare you the gory details, but back in '97, I had a bad ear infection which culminated in a ruptured ear drum. Since then, my hearing has deteriorated at such a slow rate that I hadn't even realized how bad it had gotten.  When we realized that our program was not going to be refunded for a fourth year, some good friends on the inside got busy and put their ears to the ground for me(I will forever be grateful to them....they literally threw this job into my lap with the proviso that I had a disability).  It actually took me a few minutes to even remember that I had the problem...but I went to the doctor for a hearing exam, and tested out zero in my left ear.  Armed with documentation to that effect, I was able to land my dream job.  Who would have ever thought a blown eardrum would be a blessing??

Today, I found out that I will be a permanent Government employee, with all the rights and benefits thereof.  And I will be doing a job that I love: payroll.

God is so good.

A Little Update

We've been in our new home a little over a week now, and even with all the construction and very little furniture, and living out of boxes and making do, it is really starting to feel like home.  I still marvel at all those little things...like space and hot water...that I used to take for granted.  After living in such cramped quarters for the past two years, I think it very likely that I, like Claire, will never take those things for granted again.


The new stairs are progressing nicely, thanks to my amazing father-in-law.  The treads and risers are done, but there is still no handrail up, and the closet that will be underneath has yet to be framed in.  That is really going to change the look of the living room, I think...but we really, really need that closet space. 

The space on the other side of the bedroom door, underneath the new upstairs landing (which Dipstick really seems to enjoy, as well as the rest of the loft), will be devoted to my new reading nook.  I can't wait to be able to curl up with a hot cup and a good book (hmm....wonder which one I will choose?), and enjoy my astounding view. 

This pic is cheating a bit, as it's looking down my driveway from the bedroom window, but it's the same view I have from that wall of the living room.

As you can see in the pics above, the old bathroom door has been framed in, in preparation for new wallboard to close it off for good, and the new door in to the laundry area/bathroom has been cut out, but not yet finished.  I like this on two levels:  first, because I will now have more wall to display family pics and a better stairway, and second, because it offsets the bathroom door for more privacy. 

On a side note, yesterday was the first day of Spring...but someone apparently forgot to send Mother Nature a memo, because she dumped half an inch of snow on the Ridge last night.  I wish I could have seen it in the daylight, because I'm sure that it was beautiful, but I did manage to get a pic of Luggie's tracks in the snow outside the door, by way of floodlight.  It was better than nothing, I suppose, and at least I got a momento of our first snow in our new home.

Last weekend, I caught Keith outside playing with Luggie.  It was so sweet to see the two of them together, and it was almost a perfect reflection of the baby pic I had of them together three years ago.  But the funny part was that as soon as I clicked the picture, Keith saw me, and snuggled up closer to Luggie for a Kodak moment.  So....of course, I accommodated him.

The Interior (part 2)

 There are two interior 'rooms' in the house...meaning rooms with actual walls.  One is the bedroom, which is small enough that I can't take a pic that encompasses the whole thing.  So the first pic is from the doorway, looking toward the two windows, and the second pic is from the corner between the windows, looking back toward the living room.  There are exposed beams in the ceiling, which I love, and an area above the small closet, as well as two transom spaces above the door and in the wall.  I think these also add a lot of spaceousness to the small space.

 Although the former owner had her queen-sized headboard against the wall next to the door, we intend on putting a smaller full-sized bed in this room for company (although we may stay in it initially ourselves), and the headboard will be inset into a niche in the wall next to the closet, so we can lay in bed and look out the windows at night.  From the window facing down the drive, we should be able to get an amazing glimpse at the sky.
The other room is the bathroom, which has a small closet area ajacent to it that contains the washer/dryer combo.  After much deliberation, we have decided to leave it there instead of moving it downstairs, but I will go into much more detail on all these plans as we work on them.  I will say, however, that the plan that I think will be final is my idea, and I love, love, love it.  In the meantime...what you see here is the washer/dryer, and a small linen closet next to it, which will be removed.  As it stands, you have to walk through this little area to get into the bathroom, the door of which is just beyond the washer/dryer.

 Looking through that door, you can see into the bathroom, which is probably about ten times the size of the one in the camper that we're used to.  And I do love that window, which overlooks the back side of the house....the only side with no long-range view....but it's full of huge rhododendrons, which you can see in this pic.

 There is also a full-sized tub in this bathroom...with a FULL-SIZED SHOWER.  And that shower contains HOT WATER....in abundance.  After two years of standing under a warm trickle, that alone is worth the price of admission.  And I cannot stress that enough.

I haven't spoken much about the kitchen, but I have included a pic of it here, because it too will be getting a huge transformation.  As with all the other plans, though, we have decided...for the moment, at least, to scale back in this area, too.  (We can always add more later, but we really, really want to get in this house as soon as possible!)  So instead of tearing out the wall you see in this pic, I think we've pretty much decided to work within the space we have.  We will still be tearing out the cabinets, but the sink will stay in the same place, so we don't have to reroute plumbing, and we'll have a bigger window over it.  The back door (beyond the refrigerator) will be removed, and the kitchen will take on a U-configuration that will wrap around the walls for more counter space.

In the loft, we'll be removing the railing (at least initially), so that we can expand the floor all the way to the wall above the kitchen.  That will remove our open beams (sigh), but the beams will still be visible, and that's more important.  Here in these pics, you can get a better idea of the views we'll get sitting on (or in) our bed in the loft, which is why we want our bedroom up here.  We'll figure out something for privacy screens, which will have to be worked out eventually, anyway, just for when we have company, if for no other time.  With just the two of us living here, it really won't be an issue most of the time.  One thing I do want that Keith is working on is to install a horizontal fan across that open space above the living room, and remove the two ceiling fans that are there now.  They don't move much air where they are, and are impossible to clean.  I want them gone.

Here, you can see the beams looking down into the kitchen area.  This will all be floored, and it's this area that will become the upstairs powder room (waffling on the shower, still, but only because we really want to keep the view on that side of the house).  Looking over the front railing, though, you can see how much larger the living room looks.  Keith is standing in what will wind up being our dining nook. He's going to make me a wide-planked farm table to go there.



As I've said all along, the best asset of the house is the breathtaking roof line.  It's by far one of the most unusual ones I've ever seen, so whatever we do, I want to be able to enhance that, which is why I want to get rid of the ceiling fans and add a beautiful paddle fan across the space.  It will absolutely be beautiful, and functional too, and one heck of a lot easier to clean!  Below, you can see where the stove pipe goes through the ceiling...I'm really hoping that the stove works out, since that would mean we wouldn't have to figure out how to plug that ugly hole in the otherwise breathtaking ceiling.

The head of the bed will be against the door-windows in the loft, and I'm not sure how we'll go about treating them to keep out the cold. I haven't actually brought it up, but I'm almost hoping that we will rework that to regular windows so that the head of the bed will be against an actual wall, with windows above it.  We shall see, I suppose.  This is also the back of the house, with no long-range view, but lots of rhododendrons.

One of the coolest things, though, is the idea I had for moving furniture into the loft.  Since we're not sure what kind of stair treatment we'll have, or whether it will be feasible to utilize it for moving furniture, the only other alternative will be to move it up and over the loft railing from below.  I came up with the idea of installing a rustic barn pulley for hoisting things with a rope, etc, that we can attach to the main ceiling beams on a track that can be moved back and forth.

 Then it will always be available for whenever we need to move stuff, and the rest of the time, it will just sit there and look cool.  Here is the centermost point in the ceiling, and I just love the way the massive beams come together to form it.  I just hope that all our ideas will come together to really showcase the workmanship to it's full potential, because for all the crappy things the builder did, he did do an outstanding job on the roof!

The Interior (part 1)

 The house was built square....26 ft. by 26 ft. on the outer walls, which makes it quite interesting in terms of interior layout.  All the windows consist of varying styles and shapes, which makes for a very eclectic blend, to say the least, but we want to preserve some of that, as it actually adds to the charm of the place.  The only thing is....a lot of the 'windows' are not actually windows...they're doors, and interior ones, at that.

This translates into single panes... not good against the wind and cold.  So at some point in the future, we will need to address that.  

The single biggest challenge we face, though, is not the windows....it's the stairs.  In a space as small as this one already is, there was never any thought as to the stair design.  Meaning that there was never any place to put stairs....kinda important in terms of reaching the loft.

And since my bed's gonna be up there....not like we can just chuck it and make do.  When we first came on the scene, the stairs were only partially built.  They had never actually been completed, and were of very poor construction, so Keith just tore them down and built a sturdier version temporarily.  A lot of things were done temporarily, just to get the house to qualify for financing, but we have intentions of tearing most of it out as we go.  The stairs were definitely in that category. 

 Considering that space is at a premium, we have waffled constantly about the stair treatment, and even thought for a while about going with a very compact spiral staircase in the corner.  Although that would be awesome in terms of visual appeal, it would be very hard for me to navigate, especially as we age.   It's been a huge challenge to come up with a design and layout that would meet all our needs....functional AND visual...without eating up all our floor space in the process.
 I do think though, that we have finally managed to come up with a plan, thanks to a four-part brainstorming session held with Irb and Jessica, but more on that later, as the time comes to actually work on it.

One of the things we have also decided on is to keep the existing walls intact in this room, instead of bumping the large wall out for the fireplace.  We will be placing the fireplace in this corner, instead, which will also serve to maximize our space, while at the same time, making the space look cozy and intimate.  It will keep our view from being blocked, as well as channeling the heat toward the upstairs.  And placing it there will also give us a better view from upstairs of the fireplace itself, without sacrificing the window view. And believe me when I tell you that it is spectacular. From upstairs, looking out three walls worth of windows, the entire Holston mountain range is viewable.
 Well...during the colder seasons, at least.  In the warmer ones, all we will see is a wall of cool, refreshing green....delicious!

Below the existing stairs is a tiny area between the bathroom door and the bedroom door.  It's an area that used to contain a small wood stove, until poor design almost burnt the entire house down and it was removed.  (It now holds a place of honor underneath the house, but plans are to resurrect it and reinstall it upstairs in the loft. Not sure if it will stay there, that is to be determined...but it's a lovely little stove that deserves a chance, and since the pipe's already in the ceiling, we might as well give it a shot before we close that off.)  Right now, that funky little space is being taken up by stair supports and a propane wall heater, but that will also change with the new stairs, and the addition of a monitor heater until the fireplace can be built, which will be our main source of heat.

 Since these pics were taken, Irb has been a busy bee, tearing the stairs and the railing out, so none of this even exists anymore.  I'm so glad I got the chance to take these pics for comparison...this journey's gonna be awesome!

...And Awayyyy We Go!

The day has finally come, I believe.  We are taking full posession of our new house.  Yesterday,  I went down and had the electricity turned on, but it will be a week or two yet, I think, before we turn the water on.  At this stage of the game, there's really no need for it.  The pipes are already drained to keep them from freezing, so the longer we can wait, the better off we'll be.  Of course, when the time comes to start scrubbing and painting, etc..we'll have to rethink that plan.

This past weekend, we made the long shlep up the driveway to survey our kingdom with a critical eye.  Along the way, Keith and Irb made mental notes on problems with the existing driveway, and we decided that, rather than put new scars on the land, we'll just rework what's already there. Keith thinks we can do that with minimal headaches, and still have a functional driveway, and I'm all for that plan.  The path the driveway is in is beautiful. It's just way too freaking steep for sane people to navigate.  Not saying we're sane, mind you....but we don't even have a vehicle that can make it up at all, much less on a reliable, consistant basis. 

Fortunately, Keith has his handy-dandy backhoe already in place, and he knows how to use it.  So functional, we will be.  That, by necessity, will be the first order of business.

Once we got to the house itself, we turned our attention to various layouts we'd been mulling over for adding a new master suite and expanding the existing galley kitchen into a gourmet chef's dream.  What we decided on, though, was a compromise that we both feel is more in keeping with our goals, and far more in line with our virtually nonexistant budget.

You see....Keith and I are not planning on taking out any loans to do any of this work, just as we have not taken out any loans (yet) to build his shop.  That day may be coming, but for now, it's strictly a pay-as-you-go arrangement, with Keith, his dad, and Irb doing all the work themselves.  You'd be amazed how far you can go with very little money.  The drawback is that it takes longer to complete....but if you're as determined as we are not to accrue any more bills, you make it happen.  Of course it would be awesome to just have the money in hand to go ahead and get it all done yesterday, but when you're working as a temporary employee that is not guaranteed their job past the end of the fiscal year, it's just not worth losing everything from impatience.  So....we make do with our little camper....and we thank God every day for providing a roof over our heads while we work diligently to realize our dream.

Back to our compromise...

As we stood in the living room, gazing up at our little loft (which we had planned to use as an office space), it occurred to us that it was the best spot in the house, view-wise.  From a seat (or bed) in the loft, you almost have a complete 180-degree view of the Holston Mountain range.  And by expanding the floor out to the wall above the existing kitchen, it would give us enough area to create a small bathroom, complete with shower, which will be pretty close to perfect for us.  The trade-off?  We will lose the exposed beams above the kitchen....but only in that spot, because once we knock out that wall, the existing kitchen area will become an island for food prep and seating, that will adjoin the living area nicely.  We can still keep the roofline high enough above the new kitchen area to have exposed beams if we still want them...and honestly, I do, because it would really keep the cabin ambiance flowing.  It also means we'd get to keep and even expand the existing decking outside the main entrance, which I love the idea of.  And the living room is plenty large enough to handle a small desk, which is all we really need in the way of office space, anyway.

The existing bathroom, we will also keep intact, but remodel to update a wee bit.  The existing bedroom, we will do the same.  The laundry area will be moved downstairs, and the entry door reworked to give more wall space to the living room.  We'll just move the door around the corner into the kitchen area, and rework the laundry to be a large linen closet area that you will have to walk through to access the bathroom...which you have to do anyway.

The living room wall will be bumped out to add a huge rock fireplace, which will be the focal point of the whole house.  And the downstairs will be finished to accommodate all the mechanical stuff, the laundry area, and a den-type space for the guys to retreat to, when I shoo them out of the house to clean.
All in all, a better...more consolidated, and more realistic plan, that will still accomplish all our needs.  We have never wanted a large house...we want a cozy one, with a large kitchen we can both get into without getting in each other's way. 

So the kitchen and the fireplace will be our main focuses, especially the kitchen, which will need to be completed first.  No...I won't get all the bells and whistles right off the bat.  But as things need replacing, I will get them.  And that's ok with me. I'll just be happy to be able to open a cabinet without the entire contents of my current kitchen falling on my head. 

As we go through this process, I will take and post pics so that you can see the progress.  As a start, I have taken quite a few of the house in its current condition...the 'before' pics, if you will.  But since I can't post them all at once, I'll save some for another post.  The ones I've posted here are of the outside, and a small part of the existing basement...the mechanical part.

I'm very excited to be documenting this, to have as a record for the future.  And if you're reading this, then hopefully, you will join us for the journey.  We're very excited to get started!

Good Starts...

Well, this year has started out with a 'bang', and I mean that literally.  I could hear the start gun go off, even before the calendar rolled over, and I'm not complaining one bit. 
So far, I've lost 7 pounds on my new lifestyle change (NOT a New Year's Resolution...this was in the works way before...it just happened to coincide), and still going strong, I might add.
And this past weekend, although we didn't get to see our grandsons as planned over the New Year's weekend, we did get to go down to NC and spend the day with them Saturday.  I guess I should clarify that....Irb and I went down.  Keith was sick and couldn't go, more's the pity.  It just wasn't the same without him.  Still...we've decided to start going down once a month, so it won't be long before he gets to spend some time with them of his own.
We started the day early so we could get down to Murphy by 10am, which is when the boys' basketball game started.
  We'd not had a chance to see one of their games yet, and were really looking forward to it.  Halfway down, we discovered that, although I had been prepared enough to remember to bring my food for the day, I hadn't brought my purse. With all the money in it.  And credit cards.
Hyeah.  Fortunately, Irb had a few bucks with him, and the company credit card...and we were driving the Honda, which is great on gas.  So, we decided to keep going....so glad we did! The game was great, although the boys didn't get to play as much as usual, and their team lost.  Still, we enjoyed watching them hustle.  Even though they need some work, you can tell that they will be very good in another couple of years, if they stick with it. And I believe (and hope) that they will. 
After the game, we headed to McDonald's for lunch, mainly because it was freezing cold, and because they have a great indoor play area that we could let the boys play in.  We also let them open their Christmas presents then, which they had great fun doing, and I took some shots of them goofing around.  After a bit, I could tell they were getting a bit restless, so I asked them what they would like to do.  We had a few hours to kill before we had to meet back up with Katrina, and they surprised me with a request to go to the library. Apparently, they'd seen a red-tailed hawk on the way to school, and wanted to research them.  So, off to the library, we went.  Unfortunately, it closed five minutes after we arrived, so it was necessary to fall back to Plan B....which, in this case, meant the park.

We'd actually wanted to do that all along, so we could play with the boys' RC helicopters, but aside from the temperature (which fortunately DID warm up significantly in the afternoon), they were also in need of batteries AND charging...two things we couldn't provide at the moment. 

So the boys asked if we could go for a hike along the river walk instead. This turned out to be a great plan, first because I really needed to get in a workout that I hadn't expected to be able to do, since I was traveling, and second, because, unbeknownst to any of us, the city had been working on an expansion of the trail, and so there wound up being quite a lot of new territory for us to explore.
All in all, it took us about an hour and a half to complete, including some intricate study of train track switching systems, and we had a great time, ending up playing at the playground for about a half an hour until it was time to meet Katrina. I think Irb had as much fun there as the boys did.
The trip home was fairly uneventful, and we only had to put an additional 15 bucks on the credit card for gas!  I tell ya, that little Honda's some kind of awesome.  Just wish it was 4wd.
Sunday was great, and I got a lot done, including resting up from Saturday's escapades.  Can't wait to go back down on February 2nd!