Bless me father, for I have sinned. It's been almost three months since my last blog post. Since July, the leaves have all changed colors and, just a few short days ago, started to fall. We have intermittently moved the old garage, poured cement for the new, put up walls, a roof, and a few days ago we moved all the displaced garage materials and tools back into a covered garage. It won't be totally finished by winter, but will be covered and wrapped enough to protect people and things.
My one issue with this garage project is how it takes up much of what was the backyard. Two lots is not very much here in Creede, and my dreams of a yard for frolicking dogs has been dashed by a 500 square foot structure that I can't even park my car in. As it's been strictly designated for cars being worked on, not to live in.
How could I allow this to take place? Was this simply the outcome of a matrimonial war? Well, there are actually several benefits to having this particular garage. Firstly, the thing acts as a fence and blocks our view of the gas station across the alley. Something that, as summer tourism picked way up, became highly uncomfortable for us both. "Hi, Y'all!!! Whutcha doin'?!" Secondly, when the backyard is actually clear of all extra lumber and actually landscaped, it'll be a nice private area for hosting parties and enjoying peaceful, quiet evenings. We will also add grass to the east side of the house, expanding the green there. Thirdly, this gives RJ a real place of his own. If what he says is true, and he built The Mannsion just for me, then the garage is a sacred place he can call his own. And honestly, the amount of hours this guy has put towards this entire project is staggering. When you look at how much most people pay hourly for work like this, you realize how much he's given. AND, on top of his paying work in which he does the same damn thing. As long as I can store my bikes and have a say about outside wall decor, I'm pretty good. And what I love about this structure is how different it looks depending on from which point you're looking at it. It'll eventually have a patchwork of metal for the roof and
board and batten siding. I'm hoping to find some cool lights for the deck and various vintage signs etc for the siding. Okay...it's gonna be pretty sweet.
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| Walls go up quickly. |
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| You don't even need to have any real walls up to start parking in your garage. All hail RJ's new baby "Little Elvis" a 1964 Ford short-bed pickup. |
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| Cool roof angles. |
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| And what we have today. This is the view from the alley. |
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| View from our deck. I admit to standing on the bench. But should be a nice little party space. |
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| View from our driveway. This will not house a door, rather a really cool window we found up at Extras in Denver. |
*Mary Louise Berry was my oldest aunt on my father's side. She passed away last December from cancer and without her generosity, this project would not have been possible.
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| Mary Louise Berry (1944-2014) |
**With how easy it is for churches to become tax free entities we thought we'd also make it a church. Praise be to Ford. May your vehicles always run with vigor. (Seed money for well running engines appreciated). We'll pray for you.
