I’ve taken an extended break here lately to focus all spare
moments (when I’m not engrossed in childcare) on work and house renovations.
But now summer is here, classes are over and I can perhaps breathe and blog a
little before starting a new full-time job in the fall.
Today’s post is comprised of imagined conversations between
the former owners of our house. It was (apparently, based on dates from
newspapers we’ve found – there are no official records we can find) built in
the late 1940s, then added onto and remodeled sometime in the 1980s and again
in the 1990s, we think. We’re going through and updating and repairing
again.
In the 1940s Encinitas was mostly rural, and our house was
probably a small 1-bedroom bungalow on several acres of farmland. Now the land
has been subdivided into housing and some remnant greenhouses from the farming
era are in the process of being converted to housing as well – darned good
schools and lovely Pacific Ocean!
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| Why yes, apparently rain made the news in the 1940s, too. And people also used kid leashes (or a "walking harness," here) |
Cast of characters
1940s – 1950s
Merl – 1st homeowner
Ethel – 1st homeowner
Hank – Merl’s buddy
1960s – mid 1980s
Bob – 2nd homeowner
May – 2nd homeowner
Sally – daughter
late 1980s - 2013
Doug – 3rd homeowner
various cats
Scene 1: The original bungalow
Hank: [helping lay hardwood flooring] “Well, Merl, looks
like we’re outta building paper.”
Merl: “Dang. Ethel already went to town in the car. Lemme go
see what I can wrangle up from the kitchen.” [comes back with stacks of
newspapers]
Hank: “Oh sure, those should work for the underlayment.
Farmer’s almanac? You got the latest edition? Some pretty good feed deals
advertised in there.”
Merl: “Hey Ethel, I had a few leftover slats of wood from
tearing down the outhouse that I couldn’t fit in the dump load. So I just threw
‘em out in the front yard. Perhaps you could plant some nice succulents over
the top?”
Ethel: “Sure, Merl. How thrifty of you!”
Merl: “Just be wary of the nails, I didn’t bother taking
them out.”
Ethel: “Oh, you scoundrel! Well, I’m sure they’ll just rot into
the ground after a nice light rain.”
Scene 2: The first remodel
Bob: “Hey look, May – a pile of construction debris is
hiding under these succulents! That’s convenient. I’ll just add our leftover
concrete from the demolition.”
May: “Great idea, Bob! That would be pricey to take to the
dump. I’m sure it’ll just break up and become part of the soil in no time!”
Sally: [having her infant hand and foot smooshed into wet
concrete] “huh? wahhhh!”
May: “My gracious, Bob, that is just the cutest remembrance.
Don’t forget to scratch in the date. And let’s write our last name over there.”
Bob: “That really completes the walkway. I love how you
thought of cementing the beach cobbles into the sides of the entry pad, too.”
May: “And so convenient how the walkway and pad just run
straight down the front yard hill and into the door!”
Sally: [thinking] Gee, I wish I could talk and alert them
that rain water will also run straight down the hill and into the front door
like that. Alas!
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| In the 1940s, people hosted dinner parties and kids blew out birthday candles! Woah! |
Scene 3: The third remodel
Doug: “You know, Scruffy? Cat doors are for sissies. I’m
just going to cut a hole in the wall here between this exterior storage closet
and the rest of the house, and then take off some of the screening on the
outside, and you can go in and out as you please!”
Racoons/possums/etc.: [some time later] It was so nice of
Doug to provide direct access to the crawl space under the house, storage area,
and even the kitchen when everyone is sleeping! And just look at all this comfy
insulation material beneath the floors we can use for bedding. Let’s all move
in, kids!
Doug: “Watch out, Rascal! I’m just going to throw this
mirror down from the second floor into that dirt pile, better move!”
Rascal: “Meow.”
Doug: “Ya know, it’ll be easier to just throw all of the construction debris off the roof into the
dirt in hindsight. Bagging it up and lugging down the stairs is so exhausting.
Look out! Here come some broken tiles and nails!”
Doug: “I’ve been thinking, Rascal. What if I feel like
welding upstairs as well as downstairs?
I might as well run some more 100-amp wiring up to the utility room while I’m
at it, just in case!”
Rascal: You’re building an airplane in the living room;
what on earth will you build upstairs?! Well, at least it will probably be fun
to climb on.
Doug: “Hey
Pumpkin, could you use another broken surfboard for your scratching
post? This one seems a bit shot. I’ll just grab one from under the house.”
Pumpkin: “Meow.”
Doug: “Here you go, little guy. I just stuck the old one
back under there, too, in case it comes in handy. I did also happen to catch a
glimpse of what I think may have been poor Rascal’s remains, too. I always
wondered what happened to him. Oh well!”
Doug: “It sure would be terrible to get the house fumigated
for termites. They have taken quite a liking to the wood siding, but I just
can’t bear to think about those horrible chemicals killing all of our arthropod
friends, and what about all of the mice and rats that have taken up residence
in the walls? We don’t want to put them out, right Pumpkin?”
Pumpkin: “Meow.”
Doug: “I sure hope one day you learn to chase after them,
though – that would seem fair. In the meantime I’ll just let them continue to
eat the electrical system and nest in the insulation.”
So, what is the advice I can offer from these made-up reflections? Don't consider the future owners of your house when you do strange things like install a partially-finished low-voltage wiring system that no one else can work with. It's more fun to just let them redo everything again! Yeehaw!
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| Early version of Skymall? |
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