Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Vandalism and Theft on Christmas


World's Worst Christmas Present

Sometime between when we left the house late Christmas Eve to when we returned the morning after Christmas we made an unpleasant discovery. Someone had gutted our power box. Because the incident is being investigated (we had to make an online report to the Sacramento Police department because they were just to understaffed to send someone out) we can't give out too many details but there may have been one witness and one of the neighbors had installed a security camera that we hope may have recorded the event. Until then we have found ourselves with yet another huge setback. We now have to pay to replace the panel and for the electrical work to fix the damage. When I start to feel upset by this senseless act I find myself wondering how pathetic some one's life must be to stoop so low to do this and then all I feel is a deep pity. Sure, we are going through a tough time with plenty of setbacks but we have are surrounded by love. Which makes me think of...

My Christmas FaceBook Message
Just the night before we discovered this I had posted a late night message to my FaceBook page. I wrote:
"I am surrounded by so many beautiful people. People with such light inside of them that they brighten my darkest days. They turn a time of hardship and pain into a night sky of painted lights of wonder and magic. I find myself perversely blessing those very hardships for helping me see those stars in my life. I am so very grateful to all of you, my stars, my beacons of light."

For every setback we face it is a time to reflect on how blessed we are. We have so many people who have shown us their love and caring, we have had neighbors help us again and again. We have the love of our children who are still so excited by returning to our family home. If you look into our bank account you may think we are in deep financial straits but if you could look into our hearts you will see that we are overflowing with riches.

We will find a way to do this and we will do it together with the love and support of family, friends and our community.

Tony of SOS Plumbing
BELATED THANK YOU'SWith all the challenges arising in the past week or two we have been late in thanking a few folks. We have had an electrician, a plumber and a general contractor give us discounts and allow us to make smaller payments so that we could get much needed work done in time for inspections. 

East Sac Hardware
I knew that we had to find some reliable help and FAST. So I went to East Sac Hardware for guidance. (I used to go to East Sac Hardware as a child and my mother would always buy me a Crush soda from their now vintage soda machine. Yes that was 30+ years ago!!!) I was directed to a gentleman by the name of  Tahoe who introduced me to Torrey Stoddard, the owner of TMS Construction, whom we hope can guide us the rest of the way in our project so that everything is done just right. 


Tony Chance of  SOS PlumbingEast Sac Hardware also directed us to Tony who quickly came in and got the work that we needed for the inspection done. Thank you so much Tony!

Morgan and Robert
Morgan and her boyfriend came to help us for a week and together they have been an amazing help. I honestly think that their being here to help us has saved my sanity. Thanks guys! We love you.

We have so many people to thank who continue to help and support us when they are able. Please take a moment to visit our thank you page to see what an amazing community we have supporting us.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING AND SEE MORE PICTURES OF THE PROJECT AT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.GROVETRIBE.COM

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Fly or Fail

It looks like we have some help on the way in the form of a general contractor and a plumber willing to help us out. Today will be the big test. If all goes well we can get the tremendous boost we need if not then we may be in dire straights. I am working on pictures and will post a blog tonight letting everyone know how we did. This morning I visit the doctor to follow up on my concussion before work begins. Tune in later for a big update and lots of pictures!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Blog, Interrupted

First, please allow me to apologize for what may be disjointed blogging. As you will see, I have a good reason for my lack of… can’t think of the word! Going to ask someone for help thinking of a word… eloquence.  
On December 7th I had promised you a blog and on December 8th I was home alone with my toddler diligently blogging when my vision exploded and then went black. I awoke to my toddler frantically calling out to me and bringing me toys. I only blacked out for a second but the incredible pain in my head told me I needed to call my husband right away. Trying to call up his number when I could not focus my eyes and trying to calm a hysterical toddler was not the easiest task I had undertaken. With a bag of peas clutched to my head we made our way to the Med7 only to be told that they felt that I had a concussion and that I had to go to the hospital emergency room. Two hours later I was diagnosed with a concussion and urged not to exercise, lift objects or make important decisions for the next week and to expect the symptoms to last several weeks.  I was not to be left alone for 24 hours.
My husband drove up to Oroville to bring (back) down my oldest daughter and her boyfriend so they could help take care of Jax and me.( Morgan had just been down visiting for her birthday but you will read about that later.) What a blessing they have been and a very tough time in our lives has been filled with a light of joy for all of us by having them here.  I will be posting another update blog of what has happened to us since the emergency room visit but first I wanted to at least publish the December 8th BLOG, Interupted
Chris with angel electrician Paul Marquardt
POWER ON!
My biggest concern before moving the family in was safe electricity. Ever heard of “Knob and Tube”? I had no clue what it was until the walls were opened up and I saw the ancient electrical system slithering its way through our walls.  It was going to take a complete re-do of the electrical system and that was an expensive prospect but one we knew we needed to have 100% professionally done. We obtained many quotes and they fell in the range of between $4,000 and $7,000. We found out about Paul Marquardt through Inside East Sacramento and after talking with him he agreed to do the work for us at a FREAKISHLY HUGE discount. It was still a significant chunk of money but the work that Paul has done is stunning. (Was it the hot chicken melt I made him for lunch?)  All of our power needs are met, everything is up to code and the work is tight and tidy. The relief that I feel knowing that Paul is part of our barn-raising family now is beyond words.  Thanks Paul!

Meet Nick. Ok we need a better picture of Nick.
In the Nick of Time
We have lost some volunteers who have had to return to their busy lives but we have had one special young man come in and blow us away with how strong, capable and dedicated he is. Nick was one of my tai chi students when I taught free tai chi in the park in Folsom. In the past two weeks Nick has spent several days a week, all day, helping us. Despite his youth – he is on the cusp of twenty years old- he has a surprising amount of skill and experience from working with his father and has quickly become one of our most amazing volunteers. (He hasn’t quite tied with Justin yet though. ;-) Nick, we are so lucky to have your help when we need it the most!

Flying Eagle, our "foreman".
Sometimes Giving of Oneself When There is little to Give Is the Right Thing to do!
Okay, one of the guilty pleasures of having a blog is being a bit wicked and wallowing in a little “I told you so!” once in a great while. I had a lot of people treat me like I was not thinking too smart when I offered to teach tai chi for free in the park last spring. I was still trying to recover my strength and time and money was precious. I was told to either not teach or that I should charge for the classes and I refused to do either.  I was called foolish for giving of myself when there was little to give. To quiet the criticism I insisted that doing all of this was strictly selfish as my students were the ones that kept me doing tai chi even when I felt too weak, something that made me stronger and stronger as the months passed by. (Besides it is something that both my daughters would do with me as well and I really enjoyed that.) It was only through these classes that I met and befriended amazing folks like Flying Eagle and Nick. Without Flying Eagle THIS PROJECT WOULD NEVER HAVE WORKED and Nick has been such an amazing help! I may have people reprimand me for giving of myself but I will never regret it in my heart.

Happy, Happy, Happy 19th Birthday Morgan!
Yes, folks. I am now the mother of a nineteen year old daughter! (I know, I know… I look WAY too fabulous to be old enough to have a teenage daughter but yet I do! I attribute my dazzlingly youthful beauty to my Paiute bloodline. ;-)  With funds tight and a crazy schedule it was going to be tough to sneak in a birthday party but despite all that and a migraine the size of New York we pulled it off with Becky and Leah’s help.  We had the party at Becky and Leah’s house, with Leah using her artistic skill to decorate while the kids and I whisked Morgan away to McKinley Park to feed squirrels and ducks. You may not think that this is what a nineteen year old wants to do on her birthday but it has a special meaning for her and I. When she was little she always loved going to the park (either McKinley, East Portal or Capitol) to feed the squirrels. Oh, the stories we can tell. (Imagine undulating waves of winter-starved squirrels racing towards you while you drop your bag of peanuts, grab your daughter’s hand and make a run for the safety of your vehicle!)  It wasn’t an expensive birthday –although we did splurge on our traditional lemon cake from New Roma- it certainly won’t make MTV any time soon, but it was full of love and laughter and goofiness and it was wonderful. (Special thanks to Robert for letting us borrow Morgan!)
Acts of Service
When my husband and I had dated for a while (I think around “Date 11”) Chris gave me a book and asked me to read it and take the quiz in the back. It was “The Five Love Languages” and at that moment I knew this was the man I was going to marry. That was almost six years ago and I have never felt more loved in my life and we both refer back to the book as a guide in our relationships.
The love languages in this book include: “Words of Affirmation”, “Quality Time”, “Receiving Gifts”, “Physical Touch”, and “Acts of Service” as a way to show someone you appreciate them.  I not only apply these concepts to showing my family what they mean to me but to our friends and volunteers as well. While I was helping Becky rake her lawn she mentioned how tight her time is and how there are so many tasks around the house she isn’t able to devote a lot of time to. With the kids and I spending several days a week at her home, often from early morning to night as Chris and our volunteers worked, I really felt a strong desire to repay her hospitality with what I thought she may need most: Acts of Service.
Scrubbing Becky's counters.
First, I always try to make sure that I leave her house as clean as I found it. With me sometimes spending all day there with one or more kids I decided to make good use of that time and go one step further: I detailed her kitchen. Jax was an eager if not incredibly efficient helper as together we scrubbed tile, cabinets, floors and appliances. It took all day (Jax enjoyed an extra long nap-break and my efficiency improved tremendously then)  but  [end December 8th blog to rush off to Emergency Room]
[Back to December 20th] I am pretty exhausted just from writing the brief intro to this blog but I plan to have more up later today or tomorrow with help from my family. Click back in soon for more pictures, more updates and more of our barn raising saga 

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Frugal Tips #5 & #6 - Weekly Update Pending

Chris and Jax with part of our Corti Bros. family.
So you know it’s bad when you wake up at 4 in the morning and you are excited that you get to stay home with the toddler and clean house. Trying to juggle a million things and trying to get the house ready in time is exhausting on every level.  I have to get an update together and I am very late in getting more pictures up but in the meantime I thought I could share a couple more Frugal Tips.
Frugal Tips #5 & #6 – ASK and Acknowledge
ASK (or you probably won’t receive)
We are sitting at the computer at 5 am in the morning trying to figure out bills. (I know it may seem like a waste of one person’s time but I really recommend involving your mate in the bill and budgeting process, at the very least once a month. It saves a lot of relationship misunderstandings if they always know what is going on and you both make money decisions together!) It is always a balancing act especially when you are carefully trying to rebuild credit. One way that we try to save money is by closely monitoring and adjusting our service (i.e. internet, tv) plans to optimize what we pay for what we get. We are constantly calling in and asking what specials we can take advantage of, looking to see if there are there any new discounts that we can ask to be applied to our bills and so forth. This morning we saved ourselves $50 with a ten minute phone call doing just that.
Take this concept out on the road when you are out shopping. Ask about any discounts that may be able to be applied to your purchase. I am a coupon clipper (I carry a big plastic envelope of coupons in the car with me) but I don’t always catch them all. If I know I am going shopping somewhere I make sure to Google that store and “coupon” and see what printable coupons or specials they may have. If not, I ask at the register. You would be amazed what you can get. I got 20% off a purchase at Kohl’s (saved almost $9.00) just by asking.  
Yes, it may be embarrassing to ask -it’s kind of like dating- you run the risk of being publicly rejected but if you don’t ask you WON’T get it ever. I never press the issue, if I get a “No” I always smile and thank the person anyway. After all a sour face and an attitude will get you nowhere but I have actually had it happen where a sales associate remembered me from a previous time (and how polite I was when rejected last time) and they pulled out a coupon for me to use the next time I came back. You can imagine how great that feels that someone remembers you and does that. Which brings me right to Frugal Tip #6:
Acknowledge
Relationship-build with the folks who work at the stores or services you frequent. Genuinely care about their lives and you will see that some of them may start looking out for you. These are real people, who want to be treated with kindness and respect, and really appreciate it when you look in their eyes and acknowledge them as a person. Sometimes this can have amazing results.
Many years ago -when my CFS was so bad I could barely get outside to do yard work- I was gifted by a relative one year’s worth of lawn care. I knew of the guys that did lawn care for almost everyone else on the block and hired them. I always smiled and waved when I saw them. I would go out and talk to at least one of them. I made sure to lightly water down any dirt patches so that dust wouldn’t surround them as they worked. On really hot days I brought them water or homemade lemonade and on really cold, winter days I would bring them coffee and fresh-baked muffins.  The time came when our gift ran out and I went through a divorce, I was a single-mom supporting two kids all on my own. I went out to tell the owner of the lawn care service what was going on and that I would not be able to pay them anymore. He was very kind and sympathetic, wishing me the best… and they kept on doing the yard work anyway! This went on for many months before I had to move away. I like to think that they did this because that is what you do for family and they had become an extended part of my family. Maybe that is what community means. I cared for them as people and when I was in need, they returned it in kind.
So next time you talk to someone at a store, or someone doing work for you, remember that they are a part of your community, a person that wants to be acknowledged and appreciated. We all seem so busy nowadays that we rarely notice the person checking out our groceries or assisting us at a help-counter. (Sometimes I think we have better relationships with our phones, TV’s and gaming consoles than with those around us!) Recognize how tough their day must be, especially at the holiday season, and give them a smile that crinkles your eyes and a kind word of thanks or encouragement. Most often your payment is bringing a little ray of light into someone’s life and that is enough to lighten your own step as you go on your way. It may not always work, some people are really attached to being underappreciated and may not welcome your interference, but every once in a while it may come back to you in ways most wonderful and unexpected.
Hopefully coming up later today or tomorrow: WEEK EIGHT UPDATE

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

BIG OLD GINORMOUS OVERDUE UPDATE

So we had our visit to the E.R. this week... but first let's recap the weekend.  Now that permits are in place the real work has begun but our time is so short! Things have been so busy that we aren't finding a lot of time to take pictures or write blogs. So with that said... Here are the updates in hastily typed, bite-sized pieces.  ;)

Woman + Chain Saw = ?
Not the aforementioned E.R. visit that’s what! I did manage to get a little over an hour in helping Chris last weekend when Jax took a nap and Leah watched the boys for us. My dad told us that he really wanted us to remove the gazebo-like structure by the pond. It had overgrown with vines and was rotting and was now a safety hazard he wanted out ASAP. We had hoped to leave outdoor work for spring – we need the inside of the house livable NOW- but he was right, we wanted any hazards on the property cleaned up right away as well. So there I was, all snug up in a purple hoody, work gloves and goggles wielding a chainsaw.
Why was I the one wielding the chainsaw you may ask? After all Chris is taller, stronger and doesn’t have CFS to deal with. I, however, have extensive experience with chainsaws being the only son my father never had. Yep, my younger years were filled with busting concrete with sledgehammers, building tool sheds and medicating cows (oh, never, never again!) I have taken out a few trees in my time and I know how a chainsaw can kick, bind up and how to clear it quickly. So, it was actually safer to let the shorter, weaker but more experienced member of the family dig in and have some power tool fun.

Special Delivery
With our funds cut low from unexpected remodeling emergencies it was the call from the Sierra Service Project that lifted our spirits and returned some spring to our steps. Flo had brought over her husband's work truck to help us pick up some long lumber pieces when Chris got the call that we could pick up some items that the Sierra Service Project (SSP) could not use and they were not allowed to resell. Hours later, Chris, Flo and Flying Eagle return with a truck bed filled with bathroom features (bathtub, toilet, vanity, sink, lighting, etc.) It was like getting an early visit from Santa. We still have a lot of expenses but every bit that we get donated helps us so much. THANK you, thank you, thank you Robert of Sierra Service Project!

Raking Leaves as Therapy
Finding babysitting has still been a challenge so I have been out of the action watching kids most of the time. I feel frustrated at being so out of the loop and not feeling like I am helping to get the work done with our time so swiftly running out. It was when Jax went to sleep and his older brothers were watching a movie that Becky came home and told me she would be out front raking all the leaves that had been knocked down by the gusting winds earlier this week. I offered to run down to the house and collect a rake and help her with her yard. It was such a relief to be outside; to not have to worry about which kid was getting into what kind of trouble but most of all being able to give a little back to Becky for allowing us to use her home as a safe haven for the kids and I whenever we needed it. (Several full days this week!) So we both went outside and chatted about our kids and yard work as we battled the leaves into a big pile in the street and it felt awesome. It struck me how fortunate we are to have so many kind and giving people in our lives. We truly are blessed.

Authentic Memories
So often parents today stage their memories; they plop their kids in Santa's lap and urge them to smile. Sometimes they go to great lengths to create a memory that wasn't actually a memory at all. It was just a stage play. So when that moment comes when it is real we almost miss it.
I was on kid duty again and feeling frustrated that there wasn't more I could do to help. I had walked the three boys (Jax and my two stepsons) down the street from our safe refuge at Becky's to see Daddy. When we arrived I saw our next door neighbor attempting to wade through an ocean of leaves while his two little daughters played in the front yard. I still had the rake in the back of the car from when I helped Becky earlier so I joined in on the yard work. At first the neighbor said I didn't need to help but I pointed out that a majority of the leaves were from our trees. He thought for a moment and gave me a smile and a nod.
We raked while the kids played and it felt good to be doing something outside. We had all the kids "helping" at one point or another but I found my swift progress hampered when Jax ran up to a huge pile I was trying to get to the street and leaped in. My first flash was "Great. How am I going to get this job done?" When I realized, this was the first time Jax had ever jumped into a pile of leaves! I whipped out my phone and snapped a couple of blurry pics. As I look at those pictures now I feel such a deep satisfaction knowing that the moment was real, the joy of it was genuine and so this blurry, hastily taken photo has become my favorite one of all.

We shall call him: Frankenpinkie!
A Visit to the E.R.
First off, it's not what you think. We were actually at "home" in Folsom. Chris was doing something completely unrelated to the renovation when it happened. "It" being slice his finger open with a super sharp Leatherman knife while working on a little model car for his oldest son's boy scout project. It was early Monday morning when I hear. "Honey! I can't get it to stop bleeding!" A few hours later, we somehow manage to get Chris all stitched up (nine stitches in all, luckily he missed most of the tendon) his two sons to school in Roseville, my daughter dropped off to school (all three kids made it on time no less!) and Jax packed into the car for us to get down to the 58th street house in time to meet the electrician at 9:30 am! Yep, this was going to be a crazy week...

Hot lunch for cold volunteers.
Where Did All of These People Come From?
Tuesday finds us packing up Jax again. Well, I am packing up Jax. I am trying to do as much as possible to keep Chris from tearing open his stitches so I am watching him like a "Mother Hen" (as Flying Eagle calls it) while I wrangle Jax and pack up food for ourselves and volunteers, toys, tools and plenty of diapers (for Jax, obviously). I decided to pack supplies to make my famous Chicken Melts because with the weather so frigid and the house not yet heated I wanted to give everyone a hot lunch. I was glad that I had packed extra supplies as we had a lot more folks helping out today than I had thought. Flying Eagle was helping out as usual (where would we be without him? Probably homeless!) but one of my other Tai Chi students, Nick, decided to ride his bike 45 minutes to our house to help out too. The electrician is back working and I offer him a hot sandwich too. Later in the afternoon Justin comes to help out yet again! I wonder if it's the food...

City workers chat with Chris.
Currently...
We have heard back from a plumber that should be coming out later this week so we can hook up all the nifty stuff we got from SSP. The City of Sacramento will be working on removing the ancient, forgotten water main. The electrician is coming back in a few days and we are hoping to get our first inspection done soon so we can start putting up drywall in the gutted kitchen. We got a great deal on a HVAC unit (nothing fancy but we will have HEAT!!!!) but it still cost thousands and will wipe out the rest of our funds after we pay the electrician (who also gave us a great deal!). Not having any credit to speak of SUCKS.
We still have to figure out what to do about getting a fridge, counter tops, drywall (we may have a lead on someone donating unwanted drywall to us, keep your fingers crossed!) and the hundreds of little things that add up and drain our wallets dry. I am planning on making goodies as holiday gifts for our volunteers/donors so I will be whipping out batches of divinity (yes, I can actually make divinity and the secret to making it in winter is using a space heater in the kitchen to alleviate humidity, a thick crockery bowl and WOODEN spoon!), toffee, various nut brittles and of course my varieties of cobbler that seem to be in such high demand. Anyone want to join in on the fun? :-)

Gushing broken 70+ year old  water main. Missed that post? Check out our last blog.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING AND SEE MORE PICTURES OF THE PROJECT AT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.GROVETRIBE.COM

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Setbacks, Setbacks and More Setbacks

Saturday, December 3. City worker tries to plug a gushing mysterious water main.
We have entered Week Nine and I haven’t posted in a while. We have been very busy but in this case please don’t equate being busy with progress. We have had several major setbacks that have drained time and funds and worked our volunteers to the max. I have no idea (and very little hope) as to how to get this done. I won’t blaze your eyeballs with all of the setbacks we have experienced in the past week, I will just share a few of them so you get the idea.
Hidden Water Damage
Several days worth of work (one “day" lasted from 7am in the morning to 2:30 am the next morning, non-stop) and $700 of our cash that was needed for other projects was taken up with extensive water damage that we uncovered as we worked and had to fix before we could go any further.
Loss of Some of Our Most Amazing Volunteers
One of our guardian angels, a man who has blessed us with so much of his time, knowledge and incredible energy, has found his own life suddenly challenged and he now finds himself having to make an emergency move.  We have pledged to help him wherever we can and we want to thank him for all that he has done for us.
Another volunteer who helped us out has been suddenly inundated with jobs. I am hoping that some of it had to do with the good word that got out about him helping us. We are sad to lose him but joyful that his own business has picked up.
The busy season has made it harder for some of our friends to help so we are seeing less and less folks helping out. This is completely understandable. If we had had a choice (or maybe more advance notice from our landlord), trust me, we would not have chosen this project during the winter, during the holidays no less! Folks have a lot to do, are busy shopping, preparing, decorating and spending time with their families, so it makes sense that getting help will be harder and harder as the holidays approach.
Some folks who promised to help just dropped off the map once the initial promises were made. We totally understand if things have changed but can you at least give us a heads up so we stop waiting and wondering?
Disappearing East Sac Contractors
Yes, these were going to be PAID contractors. We had saved up money and with some donations were going to pay to have essential work done on the house. We had appointments with them, they bid on the job, we accepted the bids and they have either failed to show or will now not call us back. Some folks that I have shared this with said to me, “a lot of contractors are flaky”. I had thought by going with local East Sacramento contractors that we would at least get communication. Heck, we had money set aside to pay these people and they bail without even a call? I had hoped to keep our hard scraped together dollars spent on local contractors but now we are looking anywhere we can find now that weeks have been lost dealing with people who dropped the ball.
Message to contractors: If you bid on a job and promise to do it can you at least give your client a call if something comes up and suddenly you can’t? Please don’t make folks wait a week or two while your deafening silence eats up precious time.
Broken Mystery Water Main
Yesterday my husband was working in the basement when under the front stairs he saw a partially buried pipe. He went to brush dirt off the top, with just his fingertips!, when the mystery pipe burst! Water began pouring out and when they tried to shut off water to the house it didn’t stop! WTH!?!?! They went to turn off the water at the property line, got it turned off and THE WATER DIDN’T STOP! After calling several plumbers -none of which could make it out for several hours- we figured out to call the city (it would have been nice if some of these plumbers had offered that advice to us).  The worker from city of Sacramento came out in amazing time and was able to stop the water. He told us that it was an incredibly old water main that had never been shut off and that even the city didn’t know about. He assured us that on Monday workers would come out and seal off the old mystery main at the street but in the meantime my husband was wet and incredibly chilled in the frigid temperatures and wind. He NEVER gets cold but we had to break off work early and get him home to a hot bath and warm clothes because even with the heater blasting in the car he just could not warm up.
So here I am at two in the morning, unable to sleep because I am just so worried. With all of these setbacks (and more!); I can’t see how we can do this. My husband keeps telling me we will make it work somehow but it would have to be some kind of Christmas miracle to pull this off.  There is so little I can do at this point, my CFS is in overdrive and I am weak all the time now. I feel helpless. There have been so many people who have helped us so far that I know we can’t give up. We can’t let them down and let all of their time, donations and help go to waste. This has to work.

END IT ON A HAPPY NOTE (DANGIT!)

On a happier note we have been able to help out one of our volunteers by doing graphics work for his business. We are still working on it but here is a first stab at a logo for him that I created during the week while Jax took one of his rare naps. I got the idea from playing with his last name in my head. I got "Can O Paint" going through my mind and I started the logo with the can, then came the ladder and the painters tape, etc. I just sent it out to him and haven't heard back. We may scrap it all together but I thought it was fun. What do you think? 

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

We are still alive

Sorry Folks. Things have been so busy around here it is hard to find time to post blogs. We are still alive and trying our best to get everything in order. We do still need a lot of help so if you want to join in on the ...ahem... "fun" be sure to contact us. We hope to have a "real" blog post up in the next day or so.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

The Long, Hard Night

I was not there to take pictures of our own "Black Friday" so this snapshot of Justin from Chris's phone is all we have.
My husband is an early riser. He has been long before I ever met him. Years ago he decided to get back into shape and with a full-time job and family he had to find the time by sacrificing sleep. He rises around 3:30 to 4 am EVERY morning. Even on weekends. So it was on the morning after Thanksgiving.
He did not rise early for Black Friday deals. He rose to once again meet our challenge of trying to make a permanent home for our family. I rose with him but it was hard. I usually go with him, sometimes with kids, rarely without and help out as I am able. This morning I could feel that I had reached the end of the line, the limits of my CFS had been crossed and I knew I could not go down to East Sacramento with him for the first time since our adventure began.
This decision was made agonizingly over the next several hours as he prepared to leave. We have been together for six years now but so much of our time is divided between work and family and life that at night we collapse into bed barely able to give each other a bedtime kiss before passing out from exhaustion. It is because of all this that every moment that I can find to be with him is precious. I am extremely blessed to be joined with a man with whom every second of shoveling trash or peeling back rotten carpet on my hands and knees is quality time building a better life together. This feeling is what made the decision to stay home in Folsom with the kids so hard.
I think he may have been relieved when I admitted that I just did not have the strength to go that morning. He had watched my swift decline over the last week and the weather was so cold that I would be forced to stay inside our neighbor’s house with the kids anyway. I was heartsick when he went away. I so wanted to do all of this together, to spend this time with him, but I had to do the smart thing and it sucked.
Chris worked for a few hours on Friday alone. Usually Flying Eagle helped us but he was gone until Monday because of the holidays. I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to help the day after Thanksgiving and so I imagined he would be alone all day. Then I got the news that Justin was joining him and I felt better.
Justin has only come into our lives recently; he read the article in the Sacrament Bee and offered his help. He came over last Saturday and when he showed up to work he did not hold back. Over the past week he has put in several days of work and again rejoined my husband on Friday to take on a monumental task. (What task you may ask? Some things we are keeping a secret for the unveiling. Come to the party and we will tell you!) The hours ticked by as I cleaned our current home catching up on neglected laundry and scrubbing the stove. (Even though I could not work on the 58th St house I would do my best to pull my weight when and where I could.) Dinner time came around and Chris and Justin were still working. Usually when it got dark we stopped work because we had very limited lighting.
I contacted Chris and was told that the project they were working on could not be halted in the middle and that they had to keep working. I was pretty unhappy. I had used caring for kids and housework to keep myself occupied. Now the house sparkled and there was no more laundry to fold. The kids were settled and all I could do was fret over not being there with my husband. Hours ticked by. I started counting how many hours Chris had been gone working on the house. 12 hours, 13, hours, 15 hours… I would ask Chris to check in, worried that he was exhausting himself; worried that he was working alone. But no, Justin was still there and he would not leave my husband until they both quit work at 2:30 am Saturday morning. I desperately tried to stay awake (not a good thing for those with autoimmune disorders) but finally drifted off at 1:30 am. I felt disloyal for sleeping while my husband worked hard on our dream, while someone new to our family was there with him when I could not be. When he finally got home at 3 in the morning he was cold and dirty. He crawled into bed and I happily snuggled up next to him. That feeling that I get whenever he holds me blossomed in my chest and I twined my warm legs to warm his cold ones. We fell asleep for only a few hours before having to wake and start all over again. The house would not wait, time is running out. But for those few hours, I had the love of my life back and he was holding me in his arms and everything was right with the world.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Giving Thanks on 58th Street

Over the past several weeks our family has grown larger. Old friends have re-emerged in our lives to become an essential part of our "barn raising" and new friends have joined our tribe. We feel truly blessed.

THANK YOU AND HAVE A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Many Facets of Family - Thank You Body Concepts!

The time crunch is on and a lot is going on, so we have less time to do blogs but we really need to give thanks for a Thanksgiving Week Miracle brought to us by the folks at Body Concepts and specifically masterminded by Linda Bailey.

You may remember that Chris was going to sell his bicycle that had been a birthday present just a few months ago so that we could afford some much needed materials for the house. When I protested (and yes, I cried) his words were "We need a home." It was sad not as much for the material loss but what it represented for our family. If you ever read our Tribe Tracks blog (on winter hiatus) you know just what it all means for us.

Chris asks Rob for tools while
Linda goes into the office.
When Linda found out that Chris was selling his bike she was adamant that that would not happen. Without Chris knowing she called me and informed me in no uncertain terms that we were not to sell the bike. To make a long story short Linda was hard at work for the next week making calls to the team and just about anyone else she knew that may be willing to help. She gathered donations and (and she and Rob donated as well) and called me to tell me if the amount she had managed to gather would be enough. It was not quite as much as what Chris was hoping to get for the bike but it was enough to help tremendously and I was sure it was enough to keep Chris from selling the bike.

I told Chris that we had finally got a response from someone and we were to meet them in Old Folsom. Chris prepped the bike and was stoic, repeatedly telling me that it was okay, we really needed the money. Needed a home. We traveled to our destination and I asked Chris if he wanted to keep the bike pump that was attached to the frame. When he responded that he did but he needed an allen wrench I told him to go ask Rob as they always have bike tools at Body Concepts.

Linda hits Chris with the envelope.
Chris walked the bike in and started talking to Rob when Linda walked up with an envelope. She handed it to Chris and in a very authoritarian manner said, "You're not selling your bike.

Chris stood there for several moments confused. Then it all unfolded. Linda told Chris that they had raised the money to save Chris' bike because they themselves had had to do just that in the past to make ends meet. To some people, selling a bike is like selling a couch. But for a cyclist like Chris, with the tarmac in his blood, selling his bike is tantamount to a Samurai selling his beloved katana.

With the donations of these wonderful people we can now afford all of our permits which we paid for today with the money and should have enough to pay for almost all of the electrical work in the house. To all of you, you will have quite literally brought light and warmth into our lives. Thank you!

THE BODY CONCEPTS FAMILY
LINDA BAILEY AND ROB KOPITZKE
CARLOS PONCE
GARY NIEMAN
JIM BLANKENSHIP
PATRICK PETERS
JOHN DEPEW
GARY SPEER
KEN TOFT
"DJ"
AND THE WONDERFUL ANONYMOUS DONOR

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

...Lovin' From The Oven

Cranberry Cream. This is my weakness.
Woke up at 4 am and started baking right away. I have a lot of people to feed today. Not the least of which are our wonderful volunteers.

PeanutButter Creams all packed up
and ready for hungry volunteers.
Last night I made a quadruple batch of my PeanutButter Cream bars. (My husband and I refer to them as cobbler although in reality I think they are really more like a crisp.) They do best when they have had time to rest and for the flavors to meld. They are my husband's favorite.

This morning was a quadruple batch of Cranberry Cream bars. Almost like a cheesecake with a top and bottom crust. So creamy and smooth with just a touch of sour bite from the whole cranberries. This one is my favorite and is my weakness. Men really like it, but women flip out for it. Some like this one hot from the oven but I love it after it has cooled in the fridge for a while and it becomes so smooth and creamy.


Last (baking right now), is the original recipe that I created so many years ago from left-overs from a thanksgiving dinner. When you put so much work into making whole cranberry sauce and there is so much left you just can't bear to throw it all away. I always have Granny Smiths and oatmeal and baking supplies and thus a star is born. This one is filled with piping hot, thinly sliced Granny Smith apples and is the best when fresh out of the oven and warm. It makes a wonderful breakfast. When I had trouble waking up my oldest daughter in the morning I found that baking a batch and wafting a freshly cut piece under her nose would get her instant attention.

I love to feed people, especially that moment when they try one of these three recipes for the first time. They have no idea what they are in for. The wonderful thing is that these bars/cobblers/crisps are full of good things that taste wonderful but provide good energy for hard work. Think of a morning bowl of oatmeal jazzed up with fruit or peanut butter. I hope that these small tokens that have been baked with love will show our volunteers how much they mean to us and that they have become part of our family.


Snuck a picture of the CranApple as it baked. The juices from the apples and cranberries have started bubbling and you can smell the carmelization in the crust.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Community


Jax helps Mike bring in supplies while Flying Eagle watches (& intercepts Jax from actually getting inside! LOL.)
 KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED FOR US
First, we wanted to share with you that we have potentially earth-shatteringly good news this weekend but we are keeping it under wraps until we are sure it will come to fruition. Even if it does we have come to know that we are in such urgent need of an electrician and plumber that we may have to end up hiring one. So, to repeat a previous plea: if someone knows a licensed electrician and/or plumber who may be interested in guiding us (or perhaps be willing to give us an off-season discount or maybe they need some graphics or website work done in exchange?). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send them our way!


Jax and I "hang" in the car.
 FINALLY LEARNING TO ACCEPT MY LIMITATIONS
This weekend was a flurry of activity as we met many new friends who wanted to be a part of our "adventure" (as I have come to call it in an attempt to stop the nervous twitching I get every time I think of the enormity of it all). This weekend my CFS caught up with me and I tried to do some work on Saturday and I had no strength left. I quickly realized that I was just in the way and it was best that I watch kids and let other stronger folks do the work I could not handle. For those that know me, you may be shocked. I am always the one that wants to jump in waist deep into berry vines or pick up a sledgehammer. I guess I have finally figured out that managing CFS is about learning that I can't be that hard-core "no one can outwork me" farmgirl anymore.


Chris greets brand new friend,
Mario,who has come to offer help.
I spent most of the day watching Jax either in our vehicle or walking around the neighborhood visiting neighbors (babysitting was not to be had and our usual refuge was not available). Sunday I was still too exhausted to do much but that was just fine because I had all three boys to watch today. I got to spend most of the day warmly snuggled up at a friends home (our aforementioned "usual refuge") watching Titan A.E. and the Shirley Temple version of Heidi with the boys. (They had a tough time for the first ten minutes watching something in black and white but after that they got sucked into the story. Mwhuahahaaaa!) My husband and Flying Eagle ended up running the show and meeting and greeting most of our visitors.




COMMUNITY
We had several people stop by to give advice and guidance and some jumped right in to the mayhem itself. Everyone that stopped by was kind and supportive and it really made us feel great to see so many strangers come by to be a part of the ahem...fun.

One of our volunteers was Mike Cano of Cano Painting. As we talked he promised to return early next week to help us prep the walls and trim, I asked him if he had a website so I could link it to our website and he said that he did not yet have one but really wanted one and hoped to get one together someday. (He had before and after pictures of his work that he really wanted potential clients to see.) I told him I would be happy to help (nothing fancy, as you can tell our own website doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles as my webmaster knowledge is pretty basic) and he became so excited. We all started grinning like happy dorks at how well it all seemed to work out for all of us. This was the perfect example of what Chris and I hoped to embody with this project: people helping each other as equals- community.

Illustration of the "community solution
puzzle" in today's church program. 
Sunday morning we went to church and I almost laughed aloud when I saw that the theme of today was on "community". It felt like today's message was perfect for us. Our pastor had a hands-on puzzle and invited everyone to try and help solve it. He had three butter knives, three glasses and a plate as a "roof" that needed to be supported by just the three knives and glasses at a certain distance from each other. Children and adults alike amassed the table and worked on the problem until the solution was found: the three knives had to be interwoven in a pattern where all three were supported and provided support to the others. It was a visual demonstration of "community" our pastor said. I was so simple and beautiful and profound and exactly what Chris and I hope that our barn raising achieves. This project has become less and less about the house itself and more and more about the connections we are making with those around us.

It may take a couple of days to get our Week 7 gallery up as we are doing some revamping to the galleries but in the meantime here are some more pictures from the weekend....

Justin came out of nowhere and became an instant part of the family. He threw his whole heart (and body) into the work and has been a source of great advice and enthusiasm. He has promised to return mid-week for another session and has been doing research and sending us lots of information.

I met Paul at Home Depot on Friday and was impressed with how extensive his knowledge was of the construction of the old East Sacramento houses. He said he owned a home in Tahoe park and has been a handyman for several homes in East Sac area. He was kind enough to drive down all the way from Shingle Springs (well, he did have a job in Fair Oaks but still he drove all the way down her just to help us!). Thanks Paul!


Somehow Stu snuck by me (I think I was putting Jax down for a nap) so I didn't get to meet him but I was able to snatch this quick shot. I have been in constant contact with Stu on email and he writes me pages long email as the loving but firm "Uncle" giving us reality checks and lots of advice and ideas. I can't wait to meet him in person, he certainly does have a way of writing an entertaining (if prolific) email.

Bernie (yes, that is her name) visited us and said she would love to come play in our garden once the time came. She is just about to turn 76 and is an eleven year breast cancer survivor. She asked if she could invite her lady friends to come play in the garden as well. I can't wait until spring and we get a bunch of ladies together to do some real mudslinging. :)
We are keeping one of our visitors secret because he is part of our hopefully HUGE COOL surprise. I hope it works out because it would be AWESOME! Stay tuned folks!

BEFORE WE GO...
Shout out to Shannon who drove and escorted me into Home Depot even though I was as weak as a kitten.  Thank you for taking such great care of me when you are already so busy with your own life. You ROCK SHANNON!

Permits and Tigers and Bears! Oh, my!

With offers of help coming in things have been very hectic trying to talk to so many folks. I am late on getting some blogs up but I hope you folks will be understanding. A lot of folks have mentioned permits and to answer, Yes, we have visited the nice folks at 300 Richards Boulevard and sat and talked with them at length. Actually, I guess we came at a pretty good time (it was a Tuesday morning) because we were able to talk at length and in great detail. Many drawings were made and a lot of guidance given. We have stacks of paperwork all filled out so that by the time we enter our building phase (yes, folks we are still working to clean stuff out, gak!) we will have everything we need.

I will have to say that although the folks at the city office were very nice and helpful the costs of permits in the city of Sacramento and what is required as compared to other cities is bordering on the outrageous. I know the city government is hurting for funds so I guess it is just another sign of the times. We just do what we need to do to get it done right.

Speaking of getting it done right... We are in MAJOR need of an eletrical contractor and we understand that this may eat up a big portion of what funds we have scraped together but if someone knows someone who may be interested in guiding us (or perhaps be willing to give us an off-season discount or maybe they need some graphics or website work done in exchange?). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send them our way!

Okay, back to work on this cold rainy Sunday...

Friday, November 18, 2011

Ironic

So I had promised to do my next blog on "How is your CFS doing?" but because it is TOTALLY SUCKING right now. I am going to have to wait until I feel better (please, please let that be tomorrow!) because I can barely even type these few sentences at the moment. :-(

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

WE HAVE A NEW (to us) STOVE!

A member of the MyFolsom.com community saw the Bee article and posted it to the forum on the website. We quickly got an offer for a stove that needed to be re-homed after the original owners remodeled their kitchen. When asked if the oven worked we were assured that it had just baked some pies before it was recently removed. I am so excited to know that when we move in we will have a working stove and oven. I cook 2 - 3 meals a day and bake pretty much daily so it is such an important appliance for us to know that we have.

I am not sure if the donors wish to remain anonymous but their screen name on MyFolsom.com is "puppylover". If they give me permission to post their names I will update the blog but in the meantime...

THANK YOU PUPPYLOVER! and thank you to Chris V for posting the article and helping encourage support. We have other MyFolsomites who have also pledged support so we will keep you posted. What an awesome group of folks!

Floor Plan and "Wish List & Give List" added to website


Hi folks, due to popular demand (and a desire to not look like a babbling fool everytime folks say, "What do you need? How can I help?") we have added a "Wish List & Give List" page to the website as well as a basic floor plan we put together last night. (I had nightmares about measurements all night long.) So take a look!

http://www.grovetribe.com/WishandGive.html

Frugal Tip # 4 – Clearing Out Blackberry Vines Yourself (No, seriously!)

When Flying Eagle has to leave Flo shows up to take his place in the battle against the vines.
A good friend of ours offered to front us the money to have our backyard cleared out for us to save us time and energy so we could focus on the house itself. He sent someone over to look at the yard (JUST the backyard) and the guy said he could clear it out (no landscaping mind you, just clear out weeds and suckers) for ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS! My husband and I looked at each other with incredulous looks on our faces. We thanked the gentleman and told him that there was no way that much money could be spent on clearing out the backyard.
We had worked inside all day Saturday and found that without any money for materials we were facing the backyard. We had a couple of friends stop by to help us for a few hours at a time and we dove in to the sea of green matter. Of course, the most challenging part of the project was the monster blackberry vines that had literally grown to over ten feet tall. When we had first moved in to this property about thirty three years ago it was full of blackberry vines and given any kind of leeway they will take back over aggressively. For many years we kept a moderate sized hedge of them and during summers made blackberry jams and syrups (for ice cream and pancakes). My older sister was a master canner by the time she moved out on her own.  As I became a teenager it fell to me to keep the blackberry vines in check and when we decided to populate the ENTIRE backyard with a vegetable garden I was sent to do battle with the hedge to make room.
If you have ever tangled with blackberries you know how punishing they can be. Those thorns produce their own kind of piercing, stinging pain that takes about a week to subside once they tag you.  Here are a few tips I developed over the years to make it a bit more manageable:
GEAR UP
No matter how careful you are, they will grab you and it is up to you to make sure that what they really grab is fabric and not skin. One secret is doubling up on all clothing:
Wear a long sleeve shirt that is closer fitting to the body and then cover that with a loose, thick long sleeved jacket or work-shirt of a very thick material (chamois/felt/padded “lumberjack” jacket etc.). Thrift stores usually have some on hand as they are not in demand fashion items that fly off the rack.  Same with pants, if you can manage a pair of pants inside a pair of heavy jeans or coveralls that is your best bet. Heavy, thick-soled ankle-high boots are also a huge plus. Gloves of stiff, thick leather (again I double up on gloves and even then I still get stuck). Goggles are a MUST! You can also choose to wear a hat to protect your head and a mask or handkerchief to help cover your face. The less skin exposed the better.
TAKE THE ZEN APPROACH
If you have ever practiced Tai Chi then I can explain handling berry vines is like practicing push-hands with a Grand Master: KEEP YOUR TOUCH VERY LIGHT AND BE WILLING TO GIVE. The only thing that may have a chance of taking on the vines themselves is the sole of your boots or your tools. I avoid touching them with my hands at all and when I do my grasp is feather-light. If a vine swings towards you, give way or step back. In hand to hand combat, the vines will most likely win.


 
HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS
Your #1 tool is a hard-tined garden rake. This is what you will use to do the actual handling of the vines as if you had an extra-long arm with metal fingers.
Second is your cutting tool. This can be a hedge trimmer (which only really works well if you really know how to handle it), long handled loppers (which only really works well if you have two people working) or, my favorite cutting tool for vines: a garden machete.
Tool Warning! First, always use extreme caution when using these tools. Second warning: when buying a garden machete check the thickness of the blade. A blade that is too thick will not slice well and is a pain in the tush to sharpen. You say you don't know how to sharpen a blade? Then you should probably grab a friend to handle loppers for you while you rake. It's more fun that way anyway.
TECHNIQUE (or everything I needed to know about trimming berry vines I learned in Tai Chi)
The most important thing to understand about taking out these thorny buggers is to use their own nature against themselves. The thorns cling to and clutch at everything so use that characteristic to press and roll them into compressed balls (or mini-bails).


Chris rolling a vine bail while I cut.
To start, I will throw the garden rake high into the hedge and use the weight of the tool and down-ward force to compress it down and away from where the vines originate from the ground. I press them down with the rake and sometimes the sole of my boot until they are so caught up in each other that there are no loose thorny arms swinging about. Then I cut the stems a few inches from the base. I then roll the big mass into a dense ball and will use either the garden rake or a pitchfork to move the mass where I want it. It will feel awkward at first but after a couple of rolls you will get the idea.


Vines have grown through the cement wall adding
yet more cracks to the now defunct Koi pond.
FINISH IT OFF
Once you have all the vine’s “arms” removed you may decide to take them out altogether. Blackberry vines are incredibly invasive and swift-growing. If you do not fully remove the roots you will have a large hedge again in no time. (Also prepare yourself to have to spot check regularly to tackle any new shoots that always seem to come up.) To remove roots I know of two ways: my preferred method is to dig out as much of the roots as I can and practice vigilance on removing upstarts. Some folks I know used to use this herbicide that you paint onto the cut ends of the vine stumps and it is supposed to go into the plant and kill it that way. Honestly, I don’t even know if that stuff is still available because I just like to dig the roots out. The fewer chemicals I deal with the more I like it.

The aftermath. Okay, a lot more clean-up
is still left but it was getting dark. :-)
In the end, it is always a lot of hard work and I will admit that there were four of us tackling the job that day and I was only able to handle about an hour or so of the day-long project before I became totally depleted. It was very hard because I grew up with a farm-girl mentality and love jumping into this kind of stuff and going at it all day. It makes you feel alive. But my body has changed now and I was forced to stand by and pick up garbage (ugh!) while the others got to do most of the “playing” with the vegetation. (Have I mentioned that CFS SUCKS?!?!! Yes? Well, sorry for the redundancy.)


So here are my tips on clearing out the pernicious vines but if all else fails I know a guy you can call and he will be only too happy to remove them for you. For a price.

Next Blog: “How is your CFS doing?”

LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING AND SEE MORE PICTURES OF THE PROJECT AT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.GROVETRIBE.COM
We have also added a new THANK YOU page to the website this week! Take a look!