There, But for the Grace of The Universe, Could Have Gone The Pony

The Pony is not totally unlucky. Sometimes The Universe does not exactly smile upon him, but at least does not thumb its nose. The Pony had to work late on Friday. He sent me a text at 2:30 that he would probably be out until 6:00. Two hours overtime. So I shouldn't worry if I hadn't heard from him at the regular getting-off time.

The Pony also revealed that a fellow worker had been involved in an accident the night before. On the same road The Pony travels every day to and from the office to his route.

"If you go by the auto shop we use, you might see the wrecked LLV (Long Life Vehicle). A rural carrier rolled it over on the big curve by the tracks last night. Someone was in his lane and he overcorrected and it flipped. He's fine. Maybe bruised, but the manager said he was feeling/doing okay when she talked to him this morning, since he had his seatbelt on."

"So glad he's okay. People drive crazy there."

On Saturday, when The Pony was waiting for a tire to be replaced on his Metris, he got some pictures of the wrecked LLV.

The LLV is the square little vehicle that you probably think of when you imagine a mailman driving around.

I blocked out the serial number part of the vehicle identification. Still, you can see how the top dug into the dirt in the rollover.

It held up fairly well, I think. The LLVs were built in the 1980s. They were supposed to last 20 years. Many are still in service today. The Pony was lucky enough to get a route that has a Metris assigned to it. It's a mini van that has AIR CONDITIONING and a heater that actually warms the vehicle. Hopefully, it is as safe as an LLV! That workhorse did its job in protecting the driver.

Bad Luck or Good Luck. It's Relative.

The Pony has had a streak of misfortune lately. Wednesday night was no exception. 

Sometimes, The Pony falls asleep on the couch after work. He's been off this week, taking some days to relax over the week of our birthdays. Which doesn't make him immune from falling asleep on the couch. He has done that throughout his life, on many different couches.

"I woke up in the middle of the night, without any lights on. I got up for the bathroom, the one in the hall. For once I was still wearing pants. When I was done in the bathroom, I bent over to pull up my pants. I smacked my head on the door frame! I got a big knot over my eye."

I learned of this when The Pony came out Thursday to download my tax software on HIPPIE. I'm sure you know by now that technology is not my friend. Anyhoo... The Pony was over in Backroads anyway, for a doctor's appointment for something else. He showed the doc the eye.

"She said if it had been a few centimeters off, I would be in the city right now, seeing a specialist, in an effort to save sight in my eye!"

That's the deadbolt to lock the door on The Pony's hall bathroom. It has a sliding barn door. You can see the outside of it here, before The Pony moved in, with assorted furniture sitting around.

It's a small half-bath. Just a toilet and pedestal sink. Not a lot of room for bending over to pull up pants, even with the barn door open and a light on.

There's the damage to The Pony's eye, but without the knot that later appeared. The doctor took a good look, did some vision testing, checked the pupil reactions. Except for some pain, The Pony was fine. 

Which I guess is actually GOOD luck. Considering...

No Inclement Weather Can Keep Hick from His Appointed Rounds

We were under a winter storm watch on Wednesday. Of course it has turned out to be nothing, after we canceled a casino trip over it. The Pony has taken some vacation days this week, in celebration of our birthdays. He still volunteered to go in and help out a couple days at the post office. Wednesday was not one of them, considering the forecast.

Anyhoo... nothing stops HICK from going to town every day. At least for Casey's donuts. He usually has a project. Like Bargain House. 

"I think me and Old Buddy can still get the boards put on the back of the house. If the snow isn't coming until 8:00, that will give us plenty of time."

Looks like Hick was right. It helps that we got next to nothing anyway. He was able to close in the back porch area on Bargain House. Here's how it looked when we bought it:

Hick tore off the ratty-looking decayed wood, and closed in part of that back porch to make a laundry room/mud room entrance.

Hick also said they got the door hung. You can see the hinges, but the door is open in this photo. Hick will put siding over the wood, he says. He regrets that he HAS the siding to do it, but it is white, and won't match the yellow of the rest of the house. So he can't use it.

You can also see that there's plenty of room for future residents to have a nice covered patio to sit on and watch kids or pets play in the back yard, or have a grill or small table there.

Bargain House Begins: Kitchen

The kitchen of Bargain House needs almost everything! Flooring. Cabinets. I'm not sure about the countertop and sink. Hick says if he leaves the configuration the same, the counter and sink are good. However, he wants to make more cabinet space, and put a corner cabinet at each end. The windows are all fairly new, just not trimmed on the inside. That's a window over the sink, but Hick has it covered so people can't look in and see his tools and supplies.

This process is not a big deal for Hick. He found some cabinets on Facebook that were just the right measurements. However... he noted that they were currently in a 2nd floor apartment. So he didn't pursue them. I guess Hick DOES have a limit for how much effort he wants to put into acquiring materials. That's okay. Other cabinets will come along.

The doors are just stored there temporarily. Hick got them for $50 apiece at the VFW Store. He said they would cost $200 each if he bought them retail. They may not all be used in this house. Hick likes to hoard store things for future purposes. The space under the counter has a gas pipe, which Hick is not sure about. He said maybe there was some kind of oven there. Looking at the ceiling, I think maybe it used to be a stove area, and then someone took it out and put in that counter.

There were not any usable appliances in this kitchen. Hick will make sure it has a stove and refrigerator before we list it for sale. He's good at finding bargains like that. He plans to put them in the area at the right of the above picture, which was taken from the door to the kitchen. 

Here's another angle. The stove and refrigerator would go along that wall where the cabinet and old fridge are standing. With a corner cabinet to extend the counter a bit.

Oh, I misspoke (mistyped?) on the topic of the bathroom door. Hick said it was a 28-inch door that will fit there. Not a 24-inch door. "I HAVE a 24-inch door that I got at the same place. But I plan to use it for a closet." Val stands corrected.

Bargain House Begins: Living Room

Bargain House is small. Nothing special. It has a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms. The living room is a good size, for a small house.

As you can see, the previous owner left some furnishings behind. Hick plans to leave the fake fireplace, since it works. I don't know what kind of shape the chair is in. Hick might be sitting in it to rest while taking a break from working! Or it might be trash and he will haul it off to the landfill. Or he might give it or sell it to one of his cronies. You never know what Hick has in mind until he does it.

Hick says there is enough space in the living room, and that he might add a half-bath. Since Hick does the plumbing himself, it would not cost too much. Just supplies like pipe, and wood for framing, and a toilet and sink. Hick always buys a new toilet, but often finds second-hand vanities or pedestal sinks.

Those drapes will have to go. And the carpet. The walls need a good coat of paint. I find the shape of the ceiling interesting.

Bargain House Begins: Bedrooms

Bargain House, our newest flip house, has two bedrooms. The one in the front of the house was being used as a living room, according to Hick.

The previous owner even left the TV in there. And pictures. The carpet will have to go.

The back bedroom appears to be an actual bedroom:

Nothing too bad in this room. I'm not sure of Hick's plans for the flooring. In the other flip houses, he's taken out carpet and put in laminate wood floor.

The bedrooms will most likely be the easiest part of the rehab of Bargain House.

A Respite from Bargain House for the Latest Offer on the Double Hovel

Hick got a call from Realtor on Friday. She had received an offer for the Double Hovel. Here's Hick's tale.

"Realtor said, 'I know you won't accept this offer, but I'm obligated to present it to you. It's a full-price offer. They will pay $15,000 down, for you to finance the property for them. They will pay you $900 a month.' Of course I said no. Realtor agreed. She said she didn't know this other realtor. That his credentials didn't check out, and she would never want to do business with him."

"Yeah. I agree. Why should we finance it for them? It's not like we would need a loan. It's paid for already. But that would let them get off without paying any interest. And for $900 a month? The main house by itself would rent for that. And they'd still be getting the Beauty Shop to rent or let somebody else live in for free. We're not THAT stupid! Besides, it would take about 15 years until the property is paid off. We might not even live another 15 years!"

"I know. Realtor was right. No way we're taking an offer like that. She DID say that things might start to pick up, once winter is over."

"I definitely want to extend her contract for another six months. It's not like it's costing us anything. Just her commission once it sells."

I haven't revealed this offer to The Pony yet. I'm pretty sure he will agree with us. At any rate, Hick and I add up to 2/3 of our business partnership this time. So the majority is making the decision.