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I got tired of borrowing a trailer from my dots’ boyfriend’s family every time I found supplies or treasures on Craig’s List, so I started scanning The List looking for a good deal on a flatbed trailer. All the good deals went really fast so I missed several. Yesterday evening I saw a 14′ trailer for $250 in a little town about 25 miles from Wichita – the other side of Wichita from my hood. I arranged to go look tonight after work. When I got their I learned that the tires needed to be replaced. They held air, but had chunks of tread missing and had the radials showing through. Not an expensive thing to replace, but I had 40 miles across south Wichita to go, not much daylight, and no spare. Add to this that the trailer had no lights. He had some temporary lights that had magnets to hold them in place that he would sell for $20. I talked him into throwing them in. This still was a good deal, but getting home was nerve racking. This was the roughest, bumpiest pull ever due to the tires. I had the windows rolled up and radio going so didn’t realize what kinda noise they were making til I passed some horses and they all turned and looked at me! haha. I went over some railroad tracks and one of the magnet lights bounced off and shattered, then was dragged behind for about 100 yards. So much for his baling wire job of securing them in place. I only passed two cops and luckily the sun wasn’t down yet. I made it home with no blowout and right at dusk after driving 40 mph the whole way. Next stop, junk yard for some used tires and a spare. Then I’ll be ready for whatever Craig can throw at me. Peace out.

Okay, sorry for the delay. Between starting a new job and working a bathroom remodel on a house we will refer to as “The Spa”, I have done very little to the Teepee. I did however make a Craig’s List purchase today. I bought 45 sheets of metal panels for $250 to use on the leaky roof over the den. I was going to completely rebuild the roof line, but decided that was too much effort and money for this place. Thanks for the resale and recoup advice from my friend and trusted adviser, Shirley.

I bought the metal from an individual and it was in a grassy area. After I got home I took my shoes off and walked across a hardwood floor and soon discovered that I have a goathead (sticker/thorn) on the back of my jeans cuff that I stepped on with my full weight. Lemme tell ya, 165 pounds of pressure on a goathead going into your heel, hurts like a mother. #giveortake30pounds

I’m hoping to install the roofing over labor day weekend. Not too many other free weekends on the horizon. Pics and details to come. I’ll try to not be a stranger.

Today I cheated on the teepee with another home. I’m remodeling a bathroom for some friends in Wichita. Today was demo day. If you ever wondered what a bathroom with a tile shower looks like after you crunched it up into little pieces with a bunch of hammers, look at this picture. 1250 lbs worth.

Since the weather has been nice, I’ve been outside painting. #SARC I’m thankful for all the shade trees. I’m almost done with the main house color. I thought it was a chocolate milk colored light brown, but found out it was a greyish toupe. Not beautiful, but when you pay $15 for 5 gallons at Habitat for Humanity, the price is right. Still need to buy some trim paint. Pics when I’m done.

Speaking of price is right, I checked out Craig’s List free section expecting lots of junk and found a free garage door that fits the back of my garage. Currently there is two rotting pieces of plywood on h ingsthat needed to be replaced. So, I got the door and was happy with the price.

I learned yesterday that a couple that I have played volleyball and softball with live in my hood. Yesterday he was driving by in his truck and she was in the back holding onto a grill. She invited (read:yell) me to a cookout at their house – two blocks away. I met some more of my neighbors. When explaining where I lived, one of them said “Oh, at The Church?” That was the name the hood had given my place because of the solar panel delio on the roof. (steeple) I said “well, it’s a teepee, but yes, that’s where I live.” Good times!

Stop by if you’re in the hood.

I got these two sinks installed in the master bathroom, finished the shower, and swapped out five brown outlets with white ones. Plumbing and electrical. Watch out Fire Marshall Bill. Thebaby blue sinks are orginal, but put in new counter top and faucets. The showers is completely new. And well, the outlets are new too.

Actually, four doors down, but there was no song for that. I got these hung today in the hallway to the master bedroom. These doors used to be red, the carpet emerald, and the walls brown. The teepee is lovin all the time I am spending here lately.

After weeks of not much work on the teepee, I took off Friday and got nine hours of  work in. I painted a bunch of interior doors, hung trim, and put silicon around the tun and sink in the master bath. No pictures yet, but progress. Too much rain right now is reminding me that i need to reroof soon.

After much jacking around with the well, i noticed that the well pit had a ring of debris – dirty, leaves, etc about half way up – above all the electrical. So I deduced that during this recent rainstorm this thing was half full of water fo the electrical stuff got wet. Nice. But it had been working while under water. Crazazy! So, me being an Okie, I  gave the well pressure valve a couple of good whacks to free up whatever had it froze up. Guess what? It kicked on! Dang, i’m that good/lucky. You just have to know where to tap.   Showers for everyone!

Work has been slow going on the teepee lately and she showed her displeasure over the lack of attention. I woke up this morning, turned the shower knob, and nothing happened. The well isn’t kicking on. phrumph and grrrrrr! Luckily the local gym has a shower. Not much I can do now. I’ll have to figure it out tonight. And I was so looking forward to Friday! 

I got my letter from the county and it was good news. Instead of raising my property value 6%, they cut it in half. BAM! See, I told you it was just a teepee!

It is softball season for both dots and grass (read: weeds) is growing like crazy and various other great distractions. As a result my work on the teepee has been at a crawl. I did get the master tub/shower ripped out and have installed the new tub and shower. I still have a lot of trim work, etc around the shower but things are looking better. Pics to follow after the trim is in.