Holy Bunch of Swears and Cries of Joy

For the past three days, I've been dealing with the pain in the ass that is flood insurance. FLOOD insurance in COLORADO, you say?! Wasn't Colorado just on FIRE, you say (with feeling)?!

This is what I imagine flooding in Colorado to be like, though hopefully I will never have to find out. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

As we found out a few days ago, flood insurance is a necessary evil in Creede if you live close to the "flume" in town, which most people in town do. The flume was created to prevent water from the mountains from overtaking the town, though Creede has not majorly flooded in 100 years. But, because appraisers are only allowed to use old city plans, which don't include the flume, all of us have been deemed to live in a "floodplain".  And federal law states that if you are trying to get a loan, you MUST have flood insurance if you live in such an area. And flood insurance...is bloody expensive. And the premium usually must be paid up front. Bull shit!!! But, I digress.

HOWEVER! As of this current writing, we were approved today for our flood insurance (at the lower rate, thank the heavens) as well as for our refinance/construction loan.

MAJOR FORWARD MOOOOOOOVEMENT!

This allows us to pay off the current mortgage, which was only for five years with the understanding that we would refinance ASAP, and gives us the means to complete the house so we can...wait for it...LIVE in it! Closing will be on or around July 31st.

As for our construction process, the next step is demolishing the old addition to make way for the new one, and then framing and closing in the new structure. Then, RJ will move back around to the front of the house and concentrate on that until we can move in--details to come.  Paid work continues to be fairly steady for him so he'll be pulling double duty for a while. But the best part is, we don't have to pull from out of our shallow pockets to pay for most of this stuff.

So after a three month process, start to finish, Step Two is just beginning. And dang it feels good.

Daaaaang.

The Money Shot

So here we are. The moment of truth. We've done everything we are able to do up to this point. RJ's dad, Roger Sr., has been here the past few days to help RJ rough in electric, which was amazingly helpful. (Photos of the house's present state below.)

The appraiser visited our house today and will give two appraisals to the bank. The first will project what the property will be worth when we are finished, and would enable us to get a construction loan. The second establishes what the property is worth now, and would enable us to get an equity line of credit. Both have pros and cons and both would allow us to take the next step to finishing the house.

So, as of 8:30pm this evening, we've been appraised. They'll give the information to the bank. The bank will let us know how much we can borrow and at what interest rate. And now...we wait. And that's just about all I have to say about that. (And thanks, everyone, for the good thoughts. I can feel them working...it's like eating a piece of really good chocolate.)

In other news, as we dive into Taming of the Shrew rehearsals and the July 4th holiday week, it may be rather quiet. Quiet in a way I haven't experienced before in Creede. Though we've had a couple of clear days, the fires still burn on the other side of the mountain to the south. Hopefully there will be an onslaught of walk up ticket sales in the next few days, but the week that is usually the busiest of the season, probably won't be. T'is strange...Okay bye.

Looking at what will be the living room, and downstairs bathroom. Dorky not included.

View of the eventual kitchen. Damn dog...get out of the...

My contribution today was wiping off window sills and putting a couple of coats of paint on RJ's magic.

This is what we've got. Dear Bank, please send cash now. Love, The Manns.

Mini House Update

So, in the off chance our house goes up in firery flames, please disregard this post. (It's a joke, people, we're still okay.) This post is mostly photos. Enjoy!

Sun hitting the awesome.

I almost had a heart attack today when I listened to the first of two messages from the insurance broker who has been working hard to find coverage for our exact needs. The first message said that because of the nearby fires, they weren't sure the underwriters would go ahead with the policy. Fuhhhhhhhh. The second message said that it WAS approved but that we should go ahead and pay the needed deposit to get things moving (construction policies can require a deposit). So after 20 minutes of printing, scanning and emailing, we should have things all set. (Update this morning: We have a binding contract and all is well. YIPPEEEE!) The appraiser never showed up last week and with 149 to South Fork open only occasionally at present, this may prove difficult. But our banker is checking with the appraiser again this week to hopefully, ahem, light a fire under their butts.

In the meantime, RJ and I (when I can) have been doing some more finishing work on the outside. RJ has done some beautiful, custom work on the porch posts and peak of the porch. It's lookin' saweeeeeeet. Here are some photos I've posted on the Facebook and some new ones from today. Hopefully I'll have more to report very soon.

Post before paint. Each post contains 40 pieces of wood.

Entrance a few days ago.

Reverse side of the entrance way.

Painted posts

Tongue and Groove under porch

Black and white of the detail. (Original design by the previous tenant, who I shall call, B.)

Burning Thoughts: Or, How To Survive a Grand Forest Fire and the Internet

Alright, alright, alright, alright, I'll write about the dang fire. But I'm having a beer while I do it.

So...the entire state of Colorado is having a little problem with...well, fire. And we, being in Creede, are close to one of them, called the West Fork Fire Complex. And it's making a lot of people...well, crazy. And most of this is because of listening to word of mouth, and not from the Sheriff's office or Forest Preserve folk. It's a little like the Boston Marathon madness that caused me to leave the blessed Facebook for a week. About 5% of the information is true and 95% is speculation. But first, to get this out of the way so you can calmly read the rest of the blog: The town of Creede, where the repertory theatre is and where I currently live/work, is still safe. Creede proper is not surrounded by many trees and is, what the Sheriff's office likes to call, easily defensible. If, in the highly unlikely case that any of the fire reaches the boundary of town, it would be easy to prevent the fire from spreading further.

What We Know: 

What is it? The West Fork Fire Complex, which is this: http://www.inciweb.org/incident/3436/ Please do read--it can give you more detailed info than I ever could.

Bad news: This fire has the perfect conditions to do its dirty work. There are thousands of acres of dead, beetle killed spruce trees that are just going up in flames. As of this morning the fire was 0% contained and it is unknown at this time when the fire will become contained. It is erratic and "unprecedented".  Crap.

Good news: There have been NO reported structure losses at this time. The fires are still 12 to over 20 miles from Creede itself. There is no pre-evac notice for the town of Creede (a 10-12 hour notice that a mandatory evacuation MAY take place) nor is there a mandatory evac for Creede either. The theatre has a couple different plans in place if the need for evacuation arises. We have had meetings and emails on a daily basis to keep us up to date on all of the information about the fire. Most of us feel pretty dang safe and well taken care of. Go CRT!  So, you can feel good about supporting and donating to your local non-profits. Do it. Yay.

It is also important to keep in mind that in the grand scheme of things, this is a very natural and positive process. Meaning, fires start to destroy overrun forests and make way for new growth. It's been this way for a loooooooong time. Beetles kill the spruce, fire burns the dead spruce, aspen grow up in its place and provide shade, allowing for new spruce to grow. Thus making future fires unlikely for many years to come. Brilliant! Thanks, Mother Nature! Oh...there are houses there...well, you've gotta take one for the team sometimes.

So...yes...there may be damage and loss outside of Creede. Even though Creede is a town of about 400 people year round, there are many outlying areas that are in danger--4UR Ranch, Blue Creek Lodge and Wagon Wheel Gap to name a few. And though they are many miles outside of town, they are still considered the Creede area and HAVE been evacuated. South Fork, the town 21 miles from Creede, is 3 miles away from the burn and has been evacuated. Firefighters are working NON-STOP to control this fire. It is big. But it depends mostly on conditions (dryness, wind, temperature, amount of dead wood to burn vs. live wood). The conditions right now are so good that Mother Nature is dancing around naked on the burning hillside. Like she does.

Now that I've gotten the facts off my chest, I can let you in on my feelings. I have been through a fire before. One that was much more urgent and personally damaging, though on a much smaller scale. About 10 years ago, in Chicago, a woman on the second floor of my apartment building in Uptown lit a bunch of candles, probably drank too much wine, and then passed out/fell asleep. When she eventually woke, half of our apartment was on fire. I was woken up at 3 in the morning in my loft bed by an upstairs neighbor who sounded like he or she was running back and forth across his or her floor. Then there was a knock on my door from a police woman telling me I had to get out of the building. My mind flashed back to stupid college fire alarms caused by too much pot smoking, so I didn't take anything as I went to leave my first floor apartment through the nearby back door. As soon as I walked into the hallway, I saw that it was foggy. Smoky. I turned around, threw some essentials in my large purse (thank Jeebus for large purses), grabbed my cat and left the building. As I walked to the front of the apartment building, it was like a movie. Flames were lapping out of a second floor window and a few minutes later we just hear this "WHUMP" sound as the roof caught on fire. I put Oscar the cat in my car and stood with the rest of the neighborhood watching the place burn. Because, honestly, what else is there to do? (Besides making sure you have renters insurance, like I thankfully DID.) It is at the same time terrifying and beautiful.

Which is what the feeling is around here currently. RJ and I drove west yesterday to see if we could see anything and about 12 miles out of town you start to see flames on the mountain top. Yesterday, the weather report was completely clear. But you'd never know because the smoke was so thick it looked like it was overcast. (Mmm beer). We arrived back home and I freaked out a little for about 45 minutes. Even though we had to drive 20 minutes TO the fire, you can't help but feeling like it's RIGHT THERE. It is really fucking scary. And beautiful. People are on edge here. Some people with medical problems or small children have left voluntarily because of the smoke.

And you have to be really careful about what you say, in person or on Facebook, and about what you "heard," because 9 times out of 10, it's incorrect information. Even major news outlets are reporting incorrect information. So if you have questions about safety in Creede, please contact me directly. Getting information from people who are not in town or the immediate area, who always have the best of intentions, can end up making it worse. Someone posted an article which gave South Fork a low to moderate chance of survival. My own father had heard this information. And that information was speculative, but when people hear it, they think it's fact, or at least imminent. And right now, South Fork is okay. So I've been trying to stop leaving pissy comments on friend's pages and doing anything but extreme damage control to outright wrong information. And you know what? We're ALL tired of talking/hearing about the fire. It's exhausting and stressful and scary not knowing if we'll have an audience at the theatre for the rest of the summer, or whether the smoke will get so bad we DO have to leave. It makes me long for hot, humid and rainy Chicago even more than normal. Right now I could use some humidity and thunderstorms.

But I'm okay. We're okay. I'm not lying to you or sugar coating, it's just the truth. RJ is down working on the house today and hopefully in a week or so, all of our refinancing/appraisal business will go back into motion.

And for now, it's business as usual, if just a bit (or a lot) smoky. But right now, just right here in this moment, the air quality is good with not too much smoke. I have the afternoon and evening off and I'm almost finished with my Banquet of Beers. Everything's gonna be alright. Probably.

Comedy Tonight: Or, how to build a house, put on a musical and shape young canine minds in a single bound

To say the last three weeks have been eventful would be a raging understatement. In a few short weeks, I have rehearsed and opened the first musical I've been in in over ten years, mostly finished the outside of the house and added a year old pup/dog named Dorky to the Mann family. (The Mannmily?)

But first thing's first: Holyfuckingshittheoutsideofthehouseislikeumdone! Pretty much. We still have some painting and trim to complete as well as shingling the top of the porch, painting it, etc. But the huge stuff is done. The cedar siding, the caulking, the priming, the painting, the porch concrete and construction is DONE. And yesterday, insurance supposedly stopped by to take photos and hopefully did not run away screaming in horror--which is what they would have done a year, or even a month, ago. It's been three weeks of RJ and me spending every free hour of daylight putting this place together. All I hear in my head is that kid's voice after an X-Files episode saying, "I made this!"

I have made many kinds of pies, I have made art and I have made theatre, but I have never made a house. My house. And even though the battle is only about a third of the way done, a huge phase is complete. Made possible by my husband, self, and many friends who gave an hour/day to us--painting, putting up siding, or just cleaning up. What can you say to that? How can you adequately thank someone? Yes, yes, beer is always good, but it's just a darn nice thing to do. So, to all our amazing and helpful friends: Thank YOU!

Beginnings of a porch

Side View

The West Side. Formerly Known As: The Ugly Side

What is left to do on this dear old house of ours you may ask? Well, a lot. We are still waiting to hear from the bank appraiser about when they can come and check it out. Once they do, they will appraise what the property will be worth once it is totally complete. That will determine what the interest rate will be on either a refinance with a construction loan or an equity line of credit. Both would serve the same purpose--getting the house liveable by the fall. We still need plumbing and electric. We need to tear off the very back of the house, which is pretty much all that remains of the previous tenant's sty of filth. RJ will then build the framework for a slightly larger addition that will eventually contain a mud/laundry room, downstairs second bedroom and upstairs third bedroom/man cave. Once the framework is in place we can put in plumbing, since it will be easier to do that all at once even if it takes a while for the addition to be completed. Electric, walls, flooring, appliance installation, wall paper/paint, furniture, etc. I'm sure I'm forgetting something but it's a hell of a lot.

And somewhat daunting. But FINALLY when you look at this house, it looks like it's loved. It no longer looks like an ill person neglected it or forgot about it. The brilliant thing about the insurance agent coming to take photos is that they don't go inside. They take photos of the outside. You don't even need you to be home. So there is something to be said for good curb appeal. We have been told by a banker friend that this can even help your appraisal. It just gives non-builders a better idea of what things will look like. It's helping the imagination along. And you know what...even to a builder or, like, me, it helps to create a picture of what things can and will be. As Peter Gibbons says at the end of the movie, Office Space, "Fuckin' A."

As it stands now

But on to the dog! We now have a year old Australian Shepard, possible Border Collie mix named Dorky. Dorky came to us from a friend of RJ who loves dogs, but is newly single and a chef. Therefore he was easily gone for up to 12 hours a day. That--combined with a working dog's need for stimuli, running and companionship--is a recipe for bad puppy behavior. The good news: Dorky is well trained, house broken and sweet as hell. The not as good news: He is a puppy and gets you up early in the morning full of energy for, well, stuff. He also chews on things he should not be chewing on. RJ and I had been talking for a while about getting a new puppy. It's been almost two years since Candy died and Buford is quite old for a Mastiff and showing it. We had hoped to get a new pup shortly after moving into the new house. But, as most dog and cat rescuers know, these animals tend to choose you, whether you are ready for them or not. I have never had a puppy and I am proud to say that I like it. Buford is, as RJ says, his own dog. Meaning that though he likes human companionship, he isn't necessarily super interactive. We got him halfway through his life, he doesn't play much and isn't terribly active (typical Mastiff). Dorky aims to please. His connection to us is real and palpable. He needs us and has already bonded to us very quickly. I've never had that.

And speaking of new things, there is that musical I'm a chorus member in: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum. All I will say about it is that it's a silly skit--full of vaudeville, commedia stereotypes, dumb women and manly men. And it is more fun on stage than I've had in years.

The Dork

Holy (SWEAR WORD)

I've been wanting to write a blog post for the better part of the week and now it's the beginning of a new week and I can barely keep my eyes open to type. But I NEED to get it OUT! I started this particular draft almost a week ago, after we had learned we better get a move on the outside of the house to help the whole refinance plan come together. After not quite a week, the front is pretty much done, except for some final painting and the actual front door to be hung--both of which we'll be doing tomorrow (if I don't collapse). And even though the rehearsal process for me has been fairly light this week, pretty much every free moment of daylight has been spent getting this house ready for its insurance photo shoot. And after tomorrow, another light rehearsal day, shit get craaaaazy. As they say.

So, let's go back in time a few days when the painting had yet to begin, and the smell of cedar was still fondly on my mind and in my nose.

I'm not sure if there is a smell more satisfying and nostalgic for me than cedar siding, though onions cooking in butter gives it a run for the money. My mother used to give me these cedar eggs to put in my top dresser drawer as a way to keep moths away and also to give off a nice fragrance. When they were brand new, the smell was so strong and amazing. I mean, hey, nothing else smells quite like cedar. As the weeks went by, the smell would begin to disappear. Sometimes I would take a piece of sandpaper and sand the egg to release more fragrance. So every time I smell cedar I think of my mother and my underwear drawer (you guys, that's totally not gross).

Now our entire house is in the process of being covered in cedar.

Cedar is one of the most expensive wood sidings you can get. It's known for being water resistant and durable as well as containing no knots, which can cause all sorts of problems when the wood is so thin, so...there aren't any. Siding must be measured constantly so it fits around windows and doors and in between those things and the edge of the house. But once you get everything cut, it goes up very quickly. RJ and I put up the entire 1st floor front siding in only a few hours over two days.

This is additionally satisfying for two reasons. One is that this job is something I can actually do. I like to leave the cutting up to RJ, as it can be very precise and he's had tons more experience with it. I don't want to shave something too short and waste anything. But I can put it up. I can even use a dang nail gun! (Yeah, you heard me.) Two: Putting up siding makes the house look...real and finished. The inside still has a long way to go, though the electric is being roughed in upstairs thanks to a friend of RJ who used to work as an electrician.

The paperwork is proceeding for the refinance, which is incredibly exciting and if this keeps up, things will be getting DONE! Take THAT, Mr. Appraiser!

But wait...what's this?! I'm rehearsing a musical?! Luckily I have not been called much in the last couple of days, so I've had time for house shenanigans, but I won't soon...have time. And for the first time since buying this house a little over a year ago, this makes me sad. I think of this house all the time. The possibilities, the progress.

And oh...progress it did. Siding, then caulk to fill in the tiny gaps between the siding and windows/doorframe/side of house. Caulk comes out of another type of gun and is tedious and messy until you do it for hours and then finally you aren't SO embarrassed about your lack of skills (yesiamtalkingaboutme). Then on to primer, and finally...paint.

As the siding went up, we tested some color. We'd originally wanted red, but then RJ thought that because the roof is green, it would look too Christmasy. So we thought maybe a dark grey with a colorful door. But we just couldn't get that RED out of our minds! So we did a patch test. Our particular red goes on very pink, but dries much darker, almost like a barn red, which is what we wanted. Even with the green roof, which actually has some browns and reds in it too, it looks really great and exciting. I've been attempting to take photos every evening when we finish and most of them I've posted on Facebook. But I'll post them again here.

On Saturday I came back to the house in between rehearsals and RJ had decided to do what RJ sometimes decides to do and put some "flourish" on the house. I may have found a man that is only .000001% gay, but that gay comes out in his wood flourish (yes, I know that sounds dirty--you are WELCOME). I just wish the gay would come out more stereotypically, like folding the laundry or doing the dishes. BUT I DIGRESS.

Now that the front is almost finished, work on the two other sides can begin and should take a heck of a lot less time because of fewer windows and doors and therefore less siding to custom cut. Jesus, it's a lot, but damn is it satisfying. When you stand back at the end of each day and look at what YOU made, it's damn good.

Damn good.

RJ was nice enough to pose while putting up the siding.

Beginnings.

Color. We likey.

RJ doin' what he do. This is above the top window.

Almost...there...

Just after I took this picture we painted over the aqua wood on the front of the roof with an off white as well as the bottom board under the door.

On the Cusp

So, here I am, sitting at my dining room table early in the morning on a rainy day that is fast becoming a rare rainy week in Creede. My coffee mug is full and so is my brain. The new Creede Rep season is around the corner and starts this coming Tuesday. And just this past Tuesday morning I sent in a loan application in order to refinance the house with a construction loan that will allow us to finish the house faster than the current snail's pace. We are attempting this for a few reasons: We bought directly from the owner last year and currently have only a five year mortgage. The idea was to refinance ASAP before rates go up. The construction loan will allow us/RJ to do a bunch of work at once, allowing him to focus mostly on the house, with a day or two a week spent on paying work.

This is truly being an adult. And this stresses me out. Maybe because both my mother and father did not own property until well into their 40s. Maybe because I've moved around so much in my life (hell, I still do!), it's difficult for me to think of one place as being "home."

In terms of a house loan, we are not asking for a ton of money. We got the house for very cheap and put a nice chunk down on it. But we are also both independent contractors and I don't work in the world's most high paying profession.

I won't bore you with woe is me, an actor's life is hard, blahblahblah. I actually considered deleting this post after rereading the first paragraph. Money stuff is strange. It's oddly personal. It's a little bit like bowel movements. We all have them but somehow keep trying to cover up the fact that we do.  All I'm asking for is good house vibes to be sent. Cause...this is major stuff.

But on to the AWESOME things to share: We bought new cedar siding for the house which will hopefully go on in the the next couple of weeks. Since it's probable that we will have to get the house appraised by the bank, we decided to invest in making the outside look stellar. Apparently that can go a long way even if the inside is still in major construction mode.

RJ also got some tongue and groove wood for the upstairs free from a friend. I'm sure he bartered something, hopefully not a pet or a future child. I destroyed my grip pulling nails out of said wood the other day. I now have a deeper appreciation for RJ's daily labors. And I am also looking into acquiring work gloves from the hardware store. My little feminine hands are still aching with joy.

In closing, (no pun intended) stuff is definitely happening though still slowly. And we'd love to light a fire under the ass of this whole process and hopefully my portfolio (HA!!!!) will allow us to do so. May the credit gods shine on all that is right and good.

And now. A dumb picture of a cat.