January, 2018

So why aren't we at the island?

That's minus 22 freeking degrees!!!

 Can't get the boat, the jet skis or the truck started.

Any questions?

Finally, it's back

In 1997, Janice was diagnosed with breast cancer right around Valentine's day. In an effort to add a little joy to a dismal situation, we were walking on the boardwalk in Santa Barbara when we came by a display from a local photographer exposing his work at an art event.

We were immediately drawn to a tryptic he had taken in Bryce Canyon state park in the dead of winter. He explained that he was in the area when a huge snow storm had closed the park. He ended up walking miles with his tripod, camera and other equipment through the deep virgin snow when the weather changed and suddenly cleared. He came out to an opening that allowed him to get the shot of a lifetime. We were gob smacked and it became a must have addition to our little art collection. 

Tryptic by Thomas Styczynski

It hardly made up for the diagnosis but it allowed for a a much better memory associated with Valentine's day.  We had the tryptic for 7 years until we packed everything up in the house and stored it very carefully with the rest of our furniture and possessions. This was when we rented our house out while one of the kids was in law school and we went off on our big adventure after I retired.

During our absence, it was stolen. We were crushed but Janice was particularly heartbroken because of the memory of how we had acquired it. So, a year ago, I located the photographer and talked him into producing another copy of the limited edition. It's a beast of a Gicclee, printed on canvas and measuring 4 by 10 feet [1.25 X 3.5m] and occupies a whole wall in our bedroom. I picked it up this month and its back in its proper place.

The gang is all here!

Xmas this year. From the left: Jeremy and Kami (who flew in from New Orleans), Him and Herself, Mandy and Markus (who flew in from Germany).

#1 son, Wesley (who flew in from Idaho). It gets a little chilly here in January, so he had to dress up.

 Richard and Vicky. Richard was one of our pastors back in the day and helped me put some drywall up in our home when I was building it.

Our friends Bruce and Piper managed our property the past two years during the periods we were away from California.

Miles and Estelle. We have a history of doing great murder parties together.

Longtime friends Marilyn and Ed

Friends Jay & Helena, Neil and Catherine

If we didn't spend so much time goofing around with everybody, we would actually get something done around here :) The thing is, I don't see the point of busting my butt all week long only to spend the week-end with a busted butt. (!)

Fire update

Yes, the largest fire in our states history (larger than the size of New York City and Boston combined) that started on December 4th was finally contained 2 days ago. At one point, it was growing at a rate of 1 acre per second.

Meanwhile, 20 people have died in the flooding from the recent rains in those now burned out areas, and more are still missing. Its not looking good for them as well as the fact that more rain is forecast in the coming days. 30 miles of Hwy 101, the main artery through the state, has been closed for a week. Hard to believe you can have both going on simultaneously but it is what Montecito (home to the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres) is going through..

Rescuer searching for bodies inside a house full of mud

Except for the owners of the 1000 homes that were burned, things have largely gone back to normal in the rest of the area. Several people wondered how close it was to us and if we were at risk. As it turned out, we were not at risk but you just never know and we don't take anything for granted.

Years ago, when we built our house, I planned for the worse case scenario I could reasonably prepare for. I built a little fire house of sorts off our parking area and installed a regulation fire department hydrant connection that is supplied by our 2500-gallon (10,000L) tank water supply. This in turn is replenished by our well that is on its own separate power source. It may sound like a lot, but the fire department would use that up in about 3 minutes.

My poor man's fire department

Aside from the fire axe and smoke hood to rescue kids that might have still been in the house, the unit holds 150 feet of forestry fire hose and has its own connection to allow me to get started with fire suppression before the fire crew would arrive.

Sprinklers can be seen on both rooftops.

Finally, both the house and my workshop have rain bird sprinklers on top of their roofs to wet the structures down if fires or burning embers from a surrounding fire threaten us. It is the best I can do.

Woo Hoo!!!
Show and tell (aka TA-DA)

Having a couple of clamps helps

Big on our to-do list upon our return this year was to build and install the railing for our deck. Last year, I installed temporary barriers and added large plant pots to keep anyone from falling through, but we knew that we had to get real and legal. This year, we did. 

So, I built a curved railing to match the shape of the deck. Going from a straight railing to a curved one may not sound like a big deal but it adds a level of complexity on a whole other level. It was what I had picked and what I wanted so I was prepared to do the work and I did. So there! :)

The Tigerwood rail cap had to be fabricated from laminated pieces, glued, routed, sanded and attached to the posts with the stainless-steel cable rail system. The upper deck is now a done deal. Next year, we will move onto phase 2.

Old doors

Moving on, 3 days after we arrived here in October, we finalized an order for our new entry doors (front and back) for the house. The existing doors, while pretty cool being Mahogany with stained glass inserts, had seen too much sun exposure and weather over the past 33 years and were due for replacing. Besides, Janice said "the stained-glass thing is dated, baby". We could easily understand anyone thinking that we showed up then decided to replace them and got on the j-o-b. 

Inside, as they originally looked outside before the rain and sun got to them.

After gutting the entry, we thought we would try to be more inclusive by having an open-door policy.

Actually, these kinds of projects that consume all of our allowance for a while, are slotted into the schedule far ahead. This one was put in the hopper 8 months ago when we left California for France. All of our 'big' projects are laid out at least 8 months out. When we leave here, we have the next big project decided on for when we return in 8 months. Anything that needs to be ordered or scheduled is done that far in advance. The only thing that we schedule further out than that are our plane tickets. Those we do a year ahead.

Being in any one home for 4 months allows us to get things completed because all of the planning and decision making was already done before we left the last time. The execution can begin quickly after we arrive, allowing us to see it to its conclusion before we leave.

 Planning next year's project.

Knowing that, our plans for what we will do at our villa in France when we arrive in February was set in motion before we left last June. All the parts and pieces await our arrival to get-er-done. Ditto for the island. Next June's project at the island was organized before we left in September and simply awaits our return in June for it to happen.

It may sound complicated but it really isn't. Before we leave anywhere, everything is organized for our return in 8 months so that no lead time is lost...times 3. It can seem a little frustrating at times if it's a big project and it barely gets completed before we leave because we have little time to enjoy it. But... we have decades to enjoy whatever 'IT' is each time we return.

Returning from Los Angeles with our front and back entry doors. Some assembly required.

Back to the doors in question, we commissioned the custom metal doors from a company in Los Angeles. The center panels were laser cut from a single sheet of metal and there was only one door manufacturer in the area able to do it. Others were going to cut, bend and weld all the pieces then grind the welds smooth. Not what we wanted.

Some projects cost more than others but are less work for us. Others cost less but can be quite time consuming. This one was both and sent us running with our hair on fire to the fiscal equivalent of the witness protection program. It will be a while before we see daylight.

New steel doors in place. I may have done the work myself but after removing the openable glass paneled inner doors, it took 3 of us to lift the metal doors to hang them on their hinges.

Like everything else we do, it's not for everyone, but we felt that it fit our style and house to a 'T'. The interior of the Mahogany doors and sidelights were in great condition so we re-purposed one of the sidelights into a door for the new linen closet I built in October. Since the sidelights were removed, I finished the spaces with stacked stone to match other areas of the house.

Having a little time to spare, I went ahead and stripped, cleaned and put two coats of finish on the siding of the house for about 4,000 sf (400sm) of total coverage. No pics are included because, well, enough is enough, right?

Oh, I almost forgot. There was also the little project of refinishing our entry sidewalk. It was in great shape but to tie it in with the new doors, it had to be acid stained and sealed. It is this kind of project that makes us realize the value of our labor.

Before

After

We got a bid to have it done and then realizes that a day or two of work can make such a big difference in the cost. With bigger projects, several thou$ands here, a bunch of thou$ands there and SHEZAM!...before you know it we're talking real money. The timing worked out well as some of the kids showed up for Christmas within hours of completion.

Truth be told, I love doing this stuff. I love going to bed at night having made our lives and our home a tiny bit better and being blessed with the time, the resources, the tools and the ability to do it. What's not to love?

 The boarding of the SS Honey Bee

Last summer, I had an unusual experience at the island. In 17 years of running a boat all over the area, I had never been 'boarded' by any law enforcement officers performing a search or inspection. Being so close to the border, it is not unexpected and many people have had the dubious pleasure of the experience. Finally, I guess it was my turn.

Not one to let the opportunity go to waste, I suggested the possibility of writing an article about my experience for our local Thousands Life Magazine and they jumped on it. It was published this morning and if you are curious and interested, you can read it by clicking HERE.

Sunset on our deck in one of our 4 seasons. Summer, summer, summer and almost summer. No gloating intended (OK, maybe just a little), just a little palm tree relief.