Winter into Spring

I have not posted a blog since last January, right before Tabby, Spencer, and I prepared to relocate from Norman to Lincoln. Moving is always a drag, and this one was made more difficult by the myriad remodeling to be completed before we listed the Norman digs, and departed for Lincoln. It began in February and we finally moved in late May. It was super gnarly and the last bit of work on the house was the hardest, since I decided to blow it off, you know, "until later" as any self-respecting homeowner/self-contractor would do it.

Why spend all that time, like a Rodin, trying to make that 85 degree corner "look" perpendicular, when you can be running in mud puddles with Spencer? Why would you try to make level, like Marcel Duchamp, that 5 degree dip in the floor when you could be at the skatepark? Why would you try to tie-in two walls of different composite materials, like Dan Graham, when you could be playing a gig with your band? I'm not an artist, and no trades-skilled person is. Exactly, you know what we're talking about.

So when we made a bid on a good HUD-owned home in Lincoln, it was time to hustle to the finish line and deal with those crummy legacies of owning and remodeling a poorly remodeled home.

And we also bought another fixer-upper, since we're old home junkies, and why pass up a good deal, especially when all housing has been over-inflated and over-speculated since 2002? Who wants to pay more than you should for a piece-of-(add your expletive here; you can add "heaven" there if you're opposed to profane language)?

Below are some highlights from the winter and spring, and I will blog again very soon, so stay tuned.....

Home Sweet (piece-of-_ _ _ _?) Home in Lincoln

Spencer playing on the old storm shelter. We were glad we never used it (except Tabby when she called me while in Lincoln in May, the day after I left, during the gnarliest tornado outbreak last spring. Thanks Big J, Jaysie, and Tara for going over there to help her out!)

Getting ready to dismantle the vent....

Flower Child

Grinching it.

The boy and the dog.

Running through the backyard buffalo wallow.

These are some shots of the house, remodeled. We lived in it, finished, for about two weeks.

Living room.

The backyard and studio. Of course, the garden was very nice the day we left, in full bloom.

This was the studio, where we recorded the Zombie vs. Shark album, and was a hangout spot during the spring and summer. It was also the guest room.

The back deck.

Sunset in the Flint Hills, on the move to Lincoln.

A summer sunset in Lincoln.

At the new house.

Dark cloud over Lincoln (physically and mentally...).