Design Star Wannabe: Rough Start!!!

Reedy Roo and I made it back East to my Home Sweet Home.Nine and a half hours of travel time and we were in the door. Relief! Ten minutes later,we were back out to the grocery store to buy food and milk cruising in my Mom's mini van. The trip was uneventful except for the kicking, screaming, temper tantrum of all tantrums in the airport terminal. It was Reed, not me in case you were wondering though secretly inside I was feeling the same way.

This morning was a little less effective. I awoke at 6 am to meet the contractors scheduled to arrive at 7 am.. Exhausted and caffeine deprived I waited. I phoned with no success. I waited some more. Noon came and went...no contractors. No return phone call.

While I paced and my heart raced in frustration I accomplished a couple of other things:
1.) Measured the windows and ordered exterior wood shutters
2.) Found, met and hired a landscaper to take care of the front and back yards and add landscaping.
3.) Searched the garage and made a list of the machines needed to be sold.Pratt and Whitney 2 ton lathe, Monarch lathe, Brown & Sharpe grinder, Nikon Profile Projector V-14, Cincinnati Toolmaster press a whole machine shop in my garage.
4.) Posted several items to craiglist for sale
5.) Scheduled a second contractor to come look at the bathrooms for remodeling.
6.) Found and scheduled a mason willing to do re-pointing on a three story house chimney or at least give me a quote.

This is such a bittersweet experience. I write with tears rolling down my cheeks. Part of me is appalled and overwhelmed with the sheer mass of things my father collected and the scope of the project. And part of me is intrigued and joyful as I open and explore each one. I hadn't realized how much a part of you things can be, not necessarily materialistic valuable things but items of love, knowledge or the history of the person they belonged too.

In organizing, so we can empty the third floor I have to find homes for my dad's photographic darkroom equipment.

A Charles Beseler Enlarger Model 45 with the original cover. A Fischer Scientific Company scale that measures to 1/1/000 of a grain. An american Optical Stereo Zoom microscope model 569. A Consew single needle commercial sewing machine, a US commercial blind stitch machine, an antique solid oak drafting desk with all the drafting tools. And that is just the stuff not in cases or boxes on the third floor.

Finally around 2 pm the contractors scheduled for 7 am showed up. Of courseby now, I was working with the landscaper and the bathroom reno guy had showed up an 1.5 hours early so he was inside measuring. Not his fault he had called and my 80 year old mother said it was fine to come early. Somehow, I managed to work with all three, chase my three year old and change a dirty diaper.