Next Step

Tax Credits
We heard from the State Preservation office today that they are recomending approval (contingent on two things) to the National Park Service. We said in the application that we will restore existing original windows and keep trim. They asked us to restore existing original windows and keep trim.

Ok. We're down.
Now on to the National Park Service for their review and, hopefully, their approval.

Assholes
Someone kicked in the back door again. No new needles and nothing was really there to steal. However, they did remove and take all of the knobs off of the cabinent doors in the hallway kitchen. A contractor we had out checking the place out said, hey, free deomlition.

No trespassing signs and trip wires installed. We do have a bamboo jungle afterall. Might as well use our survival skills to keep/make things interesting.


Pretty!
And so we know where it is and can easily access it... Lizzy Proposed!

ohai!

Tax credit application submitted thanks to Heather Wagner once again saving our ass and taking an incomplete pile of weird and turning into a lovely application.

End of the month

We've owned the house about six months now and what do we have to show for it

1. Amazing ideas from Sara at 4 Over 1 Design. She helped us figure out the nooks we couldn't wrap our heads around. We worked with Heather Wagner on the tax credits for Oakwood (fantastic by the way) and were happy to have the opportunity to work with Durham's other Preservation Leading Lady.

2. Tax Credit application is very close to finished. We need to give it another once over (Harris), finalize descriptions (Natalie), fit the pictures to the rooms (Natalie), complete drawings of the proposed exterior (Harris), complete the existing cad (Natalie), complete interior proposed cad (Natalie), and then copy everything from the federal application and paste it into the state (Natalie)

3. Lot of Lizzy, Lizzy 2, yard etc is coming right along. We hope to finish the trash pick up at Lizzy 2 this weekend. We will then go to the scrap yard and use the money we make to create the Bottle Count Prize! We've also gotten great estimates for tree care from Cormac and Erica at Aerial Innovations. This is the same company that takes care of our trees at Oakwood and we've got a lot of faith in their honesty and ability. They also don't use spikes or take other short cuts that damage the trees and just love climbing and playing in the trees. It's their playful professionalism that is just so cool. We've got to work out with the property owner next door about the tree situation as the ones that need to come down stradle the property lines.

4. Estimates- We're still waiting for estimates...
This is sort of frustrating but not really frustrating. Since Harris is on the Dole it's not like we'd qualify for any loan (short version, I'm at 50% debt/income ratio because I am responsible for all of our mortgages and student loans, none of Harris's income counts, and the income from Q St rental doesn't count. I look very bad on paper right now even with my high credit score and money in the bank.) We are also being very cautious so that we can claim the federal tax credits. I can totally understand why estimates would be slow coming when the contractors know we won't start work until the tax credit plan is approved and we have the cash to pay them.



Lucky for us it's light at night again and we can start spending dates playing in our little non-electrified shell.

Gone

Bamboo is gone for $19.50 thanks to either the carelessness of the solid waste dept. or the indignant responses from council members.

While Harris was talking to Solid Waste about the problem on Friday, the caller suggested that Harris take it up with City Council if he had a problem with it. After I got back from lunch on Friday, that's exactly what I did and it seems city council was not amused.

By 3:30 Friday afternoon Harris had an apology from the director of solid waste who had pulled the tape of the call and listened to it and confirmation that they would pick up all of the bamboo for no additional charge by the end of the day.

It's all gone.

We also anticipate having our first estimate for the shell rennovation delivered to us this week. This would entail a licensed general contractor fixing the foundation and rebuilding the roofline. Additioanlly, they would put in the new replacement windows where the current broken replacement windows are, rebuild the porch, and replace rotten exterior wood.

We're thinking colors along the lines of ... HEX: #F70586RGB:

This is going to be fun

Harris was told today, while on the phone with Solid Waste, "if you've got a problem with it* call City Council".

Email sent to council and city manager at 1:10pm

Two responses from council members by 1:27.

This should be fun.

*the definition of a bulky brush pick up being two grabs with the automated arm on the truck not two visits to a site.

Bamboo removal

Harris signed up for yard waste service for the remainder of the year. The cart rental plus service agreement set us back $19.50. This also entitles us to two free bulky brush pick ups. We have requested one for the bamboo that the city tells us will be complete by Saturday. We'll see on that one.

It also enables us to fill 10 lawn and leaf bags a week with bamboo leaves to be picked up for free at the curb by the city.


You might wonder why there are so many posts about bamboo and so few about...you know...the house.

First, the bamboo is something we can actively work on and make progress, ergo it is satisfying to do this work. Additionally, it is realtively inexpensive to go and hack/haul/curse the bamboo.

Second, the bamboo lot had previously obsured the sidewalk, making it impossible to see the connections between this section of Elizabeth St and the hill. Now that we've cleared it, from the sidewalk you can see straight on to Dowd St. It is also less likely that the lot will be cited by NIS for code enforcement.

Third, the overgrown and trash filled lot makes the place feel abandoned and un loved. We want to instead make it seem a little loved.

Fourth, Natalie is tragically afraid of snakes. As it gets warmer, there is less of a chance that she will go anywhere that she cannot see the ground...so we better get it clean before the critters emerge.

Fifth, we're still planning the interior of the house. This isn't our full time job by any means. Since we don't have the loans lined up yet to do the work or the tax credit application submitted, there's not much we can do inside of Lizzy other than clean.

We've set up a meeting with Sara of 4 over 1 to chat about the house next week and are excited to hear her thoughts!

First Bottle count

85 pulled from the bamboo today

Bamboo v.5

Today was much majesty.

I decided, you know, bamboo is just grass. How hard could it be to move it to the street?

I found out four hours later (with the help of Bill) that it is that damn hard to move bamboo after it's dry and there are thousands of shafts.

Paid Bill $80 for the 4 hours of work today. The lot is nasty, there are stakes everywhere, and he's great company. We got to gossip and at least one person stopped by after hearing Bill from the street. Harris and Madeline brought us pizza and real soda and Madeline got to look for bugs with her PopPop.

While we were moving bamboo to pile at the street, we also started moving bottles. First count coming soon!

Lizzy Proposed

Harris and I were brainstorming this past weekend about what Lizzy was missing and what we have not decided on.

We have a really tall crawl space. We're currently investigating whether or not we can pour concrete and finish part of this space for a laundry room and climate controlled storage. This would also enable us to put the water heater here if we decide to go with system with a tank and let us keep the panel box there. We have to investigate code for these decisions.

We're going to ask the preservation office if we can remove the fireplace that has collapsed. This has been a plan for awhile now, but we had been thinking that if we are able to remove the fireplace we would then place a half bathroom in that space. Now we are thinking that if they let us remove the fireplace, we'll put a staircase to the basement nee' crawl space in that location.

We still have not resolved where we will put closets. The house has been...altered...in such a way that there are really no straight lines or consistent walls. Once we remove the existing closet and full bath off of the bedroom, we'll have a better idea as to the dimensions of the hallway. However, we will also then have a house with no closets.

Then there is the question about access between the bedrooms. Do we want all access through the hallway or to retain the access between the two bedrooms? This access point was originally the rear door, so I think we have a lot of options.

So before we submit the proposal to the preservation office for comment we have some details to work out on our end. Thoughts and opinions appreciated...

I give you Lizzy Proposed!

Before and after - Sidewalk

That damn bamboo.

Sidewalk around the time we bought the lot

From Lizzy tax credit application

Sidewalk mostly finished

From Lizzy tax credit application

whoops

***I looked and it seemed that a couple of things were drafted then never posted.

We had TROSA come to haul away all of the bamboo and such that I have lopped, only to discover that we are heartless and thoughtless. It was quite an eye-opening experience for me.

The estimate they gave was great, their lawn shop supervisor visited the site and thought it would be a quick job. We were happy that all of the bamboo would be hauled off and we could focus on cleaning the lot. When the crew arrived, several of the workers freaked out. They saw bottles. They saw needles. They couldn't work in those conditions.

We found this out when we called TROSA to find out what time they would be there so we could pay, sign the paperwork, and generally cheer them on and thank them. TROSA amazed us that day. If you have any experience with day laborers or the general state of workers who are paid off the books in Durham, you know that it is a sad place with no work place protections, pay under the table, and wages less than minimum wage. Workers are treated at chattle.

When you combine non-profit status to that, often people are exploited beyond belief. In the name of recovering, someone else benefits from their labor entirely.

TROSA is the exact opposite of this. We knew this before hiring them, but had it confirmed in numerous ways that day.

When their workers came to the supervisor and said they were uncomfortable TROSA listened. They DID NOT tell their community members to suck it up. They did not tell them to get back in there and finish the damn job. They LISTENED. They responded with respect.

TROSA pulled the crew out of the lot immediately. They called and explained that while they did provide services, it was a treatment facility and therapuetic community. They could not put their residents in a place or position that would be detrimental to their recovery from addiction. They were very sorry and they would love to finish the job, but since there were bottles (and someone saw needles) they just couldn't put their workers in that situation. Thank you for the business, but they would have to turn the job down until the situation changed.

Trosa is amazing.

When you consider the amount of power someone at month 6 has in a 2 year residential treatment facility generally, to be able to say, I spoke up and people listened and respected what I had to say. People were concerned not about the bottom line, but about my well being and opinions. This says so much about the people who run TROSA at every level. I was humbled by both the fact that I had not considered how a recovering addict would respond to a lot with the detritus of addiction strewn about and then releived by the response of TROSA that showered their members with honest respect.

This still leaves us with a bamboo lot strewn with bottles...but we're working on that.


This is the email I sent to them...

To the crew who came to 503 N. Elizabeth St this am,

We are so sorry. We did not consider the fact that the lot would be personally disturbing. We have not suffered under addiction, and had blocked out the suffering and misery that the vacant lot represented in our minds. We knew there were 40 ounce bottles scattered about, but we had seen no needles. Frankly, we wouldn't know what a crack pipe looked like to know if we had seen those. If we had seen the needles or crack pipes we would never have asked for you to enter that situation. I imagine it would be much like thinking your going to the grocery store and really entering a haunted house.

We have the utmost respect for TROSA and the PINNACLE of respect for all of the brave men and women who enter and complete the program. You are amazing and brave souls and we are so truly sorry we caused any of you any pain this morning.

Please let us know if there is any way we can make this up to you.

Natalie Spring & J. Harris Carpenter

a slight update

That bamboo...

We have failed to mention that on bamboo day two we discovered that Harris has an extreme immunological response to the fibery things in bamboo. This means that the majority of lopping, cutting, hacking, and moving has fallen to Natalie.

Great.

I truly enjoy it though, so it's not a big deal. It's rather relaxing if you can believe it. I lop, chop, move, and chat with the people in the group home next door. They are not quite convinced yet that I (and Harris) own the house and lot nor that we don't need any help with any odd jobs yet.

Tomorrow TROSA will be coming to haul off all of the bamboo, brush, and limbs that we've managed to cut down in the past month. While I know that the lot will still look like crap, for some reason I've got this Disney Miracle (tm) image in my head that suddenly our lot will be picnic clean after they leave!

It won't. I know. You can all say you told me so.
We've got to blow all of the detritus and leaves into...something...right now the plan is the bottom most corner of the lot that has ivy on top of it. Maybe the droppings of the bamboo will suffocate the ivy as they decompose?


Before and after pictures posted...after. Yeah.

The girl child celebrates her birthday this weekend so work will be minimal.

Friggin bamboo

We ordered the lawn mower (173cc 21" Kohler Rear Bag Rear Propelled Lawn Mower ) today and the end of the bamboo is sooooo very close. After we cut it down and then clean out the bottles, tires, and trash, we basically have to mow it every week for three years. Other effective methods involve a mattock or backhoe. One of those is ruled out by laziness and the other by the slope of the yard.

We were debating tonight if we had clumping bamboo or running bamboo. After mindlessly staring at pictures tonight I have found the answer. If you look in this picture from the State Preservation Office, it is clear that this stand of Bamboo is older than Harris and I are.




If it were running bamboo, the entire neighborhood would be covered by now. While extensive on the lot it by no means covers the entire surface, so it is clumping bamboo. However, we're pretty sure it was added after the period of significance and can be killed.

We hope that we will have it all cut (but not yet dead) after Madeline's nap on Monday.

Before taken from the back corner of the house.


Todayish taken on a spot near the original that was previously covered.

Hack and Slash IRL

Harris and I took advantage of Madeline's nap and the warmer weather today to get some hacking and slashing of bamboo. We also put an advertisement on Craigslist and another on Freecycle to encourage folks to come and get bamboo on their own.

Here's the progress as of today. While there is a slope, it's not THAT much of a slope. The pile is that majestic.


We spent about an hour and a half each over there, so we'll clock this at 3 hours total. We're estimating we have about 3 more total hours of hack and slash remaining. We're then going to rent or borrow a leaf blower once it's dryer and blow all of the leaves into the corner. Hopefully at that point we'll have hauled off all of the bamboo and will be able to mow the hell out of it.



Interesting things found today:
Tires
Bottles
Cups (that strangely match the ones used at the group home next door...)
An eddie bauer bag
another part of the toilet.

Bottles

Guess how many bottles we will find on The Twin of Lizzy !!

Specs:
Lot is .088 acres with a front dimensions of 67.50 feet on Elizabeth St.
Last time NIS cited it was : 8-12-2010 ((Weedy/Junked lot closed by compliance)...right...)

Rules:
Closest without going over wins*
No dumping of new bottles
Guesses must be submitted here in the next little while.

Winner will receive bragging rights re: mad math skillz!! and a surprise!

Bonus points if you correctly identify which bottle (king cobra, budweiser, wild irish rose, etc) is the most common.

Land! Take two!

We signed the papers this AM and if the snowpocalypse stays at bay a little longer they will be filed at the courthouse this pm.

We paid $3,520.65 for the bamboo jungle next door (inclusive of fees). It is formally known at 503 N. Elizabeth St and clocks in at .088 acres. It is unbuildable without permission from the board of adjustment and then, you could only put a very small single family house on it. We purchased it because we were concerned that the yard for lizzy was very small and did not want to have a rental house or for sale house next door to an overgrown bamboo jungle next to the former shooting gallery.

It is currently covered with bamboo, ivy, and empty King Cobra and Budwiser bottles.

We will be clearing the lot and using it as a side yard for Lizzy. There are some beautiful trees waiting to be liberated from this jungle. Pics to follow shortly.

Plans :
Clear sidewalk in front of bamboo forrest
Hack Bamboo
Count bottles
Clear trash

Lizzy Current

And since the last post was rambling and only half related to Lizzy, I give you

LIZZY CURRENT



There's a little fine tuning of this to be done; After those changes are made I can create Lizzy Proposed.

Ramblings

Our heat at Oakwood broke this morning and after a 3am freak out (WHAT IN THE FUCK IS THAT MELTING PLASTIC SMELL) in which we all got dressed, told Madeline she needed to be a brave and cooperative child and wear many layers, and made multiple trips to the crawl space, Harris discovered that the breaker/switch/fuse whatever thing that powers our heat pump was literally melted.

The irony that we own three houses, two of which have no heat, and none of which we could stay in was not lost on me. We have high hopes that our HVAC crew will show up by 9am and will fix the heat.

Harris and Madeline are asleep upstairs which leaves me to stay awake downstairs and await their arrival. I've made brownies, cleaned the kitchen, and will probably finish the laundry before they do.

Anyway, I also realized I needed to update the totals section here and on the separate spreadsheet we keep. We had to renew our vacant house insurance policy. Because the housing market is crap (which makes no sense to me) vacant house policies are hard to get and the only one we've found so far is a company in Arizona who will give us 3 month renewals. Great right??? As soon as we start construction we can get a construction policy or something. However, we're waiting for tax credit application approval before starting construction so here's hoping...

Again. Anyway.

We bought a pair of these today on sale at Sears for $15.88. FISKARS!

Being me, on our way home we stopped by Lizzy to try them out. I had to cut several strands of bamboo before I realized that yes, it was cutting that smoothly. We might be looking at fewer hours now.

We've gone back and forth about the best way to get rid of the bamboo. Chainsaw or loppers, and loppers has finally won out. Elena Chainsaw Turner came over to scout the lot today and agreed that the level of trash, bottles, junk, undergrowth, and slope meant that the chainsawing would probably be...not fun. Add to that her theory that as a grass it would gum up the blades often enough that you'd rather just hack it and Harris finally agreed to let me lop it all out.

Our new plan for the yard is to
1. Cut down bamboo, vines, and small shrubs.
2. Haul trash, bamboo, and logs to curb.
3. Dispose (trash/recycle) all of the crap.
4. MOW baby MOW!
5. Find land pin.

zomg

any day now! ANY DAY NOW!