Remodeling your house in anticipation
of selling, is a curious thing. Most homeowners fix what
needs fixing, maybe paint, clean the place. Some refinish a
room, or pay to have it done, or they would, if they still had
savings, or they can access credit. Selling a house is always, I
suppose, tinged with a bit of sadness; except among those perhaps who
have taken the “home” out of house and replaced it with
“investment.” I never imagined this house as any kind of
investment, except perhaps in me, having a place to call my own, and
land to grow food on, to expand and mature my skill set, and to sing as loud as I want, and dance as wildly as I feel like. This house and garden has been a kind of cradle, in
which a profound transformation has taken place in me, the last six
years. In which I have come to a considerably greater understanding
of what and who I am, and the world in which I live. I love the place.
My intention, is to spend less than
$3500 dollars, to transform the house in such a way that I would like
to live in it, reflecting as much as possible who I am. I am doing
all that work, using materials that are provided by others, or that I scavenge. There are
three primary areas of transformation, the kitchen, the bathroom, and
the sun room, which will receive full to nearly full make-overs. Keep
in mind, this is primarily an aesthetic shift. I won't be adding
cisterns, or stone bread ovens, or attached greenhouses. I won't be
rebuilding the frame to accommodate larger and more south facing
windows, or adding passive solar water panels, for hot water and
radiant heating, or even insulating more efficiently. There's nothing
particularly “peak” conscious about this remodel, but the house
will look nice. That's important too, actually. I'll get into more
about that in later posts, as the rooms progress.
My new under $500 kitchen, in progress
There has been more joy than sadness, as I've
gone about the work of remodeling. Not that I don't want to stay
here; I do. But I can't read a piece like this one by Ilargi over at
The Automatic Earth, without acknowledging that credit markets are on
the verge of epic failure, and mortgage debt starts to look a lot
more like potential bondage, in an increasingly literal sense. I
don't mind so much, the idea of being free and clear. Camping in the
Minnesota Wildlife Refuge this summer and finishing Progress Interrupted doesn't sound like a bad idea at all.
Of course there is the impossible dream
of actually living in this house that I am remodeling, and proceeding
with all the transformations I envision, and am capable of. But I've
been dreaming about that for four years, living in the shame of
living on my father's dime, and I'm damn tired of that too. But those
of my readers who are at all familiar with what I write about, what I
have written about, what I have available free for anyone to read, may imagine that those words have isolated me somewhat, in this culture of epic denial. You think Jill Schmo in human resources at
Z industries is not accustomed to googling the name of every
potential hire? I did, when I was managing Monster Halloween. Found
some astonishing information, on at least one person I didn't end up
hiring, when I would have otherwise. What are they going to find when
they google William Hunter Duncan? In service to the Goddess, what?
Perhaps it's best, if I just get rid of
my cell phone and disappear into the wilderness for awhile. Not that
I wouldn't continue blogging. Writing. Dispatches from the end of
civilization.
I mean, it's 2012. Lets revisit that
again, briefly. I don't believe Mayans ever predicted the end of
the world, to come this year. I do think they fixed the winter
solstice of 2012 as the end/beginning of their 5,126 year, long count calendar.
The global economy appears to be teetering at the edge of collapse,
the climate also seems to be spiraling out of control, or at least
out of what anyone considers normal, perhaps irrevocably, and we are
clearly at a plateau of oil production, and water consumption, which
means no more growth, contrary to the prevailing orthodoxy. So you
tell me if those Mayans weren't on to something? It also happens that 5,126 years correlates roughly, to the rise of patriarchal, command and control domination as a defining paradigm. What will define the paradigm of the next 5,126 year cycle?
Meanwhile, America is going mad, and
about to go batshit insane. Look into this man's eyes. What do you
see? I see a ferret's eyes. Now, the ferret is an impressive, noble
animal. A fierce fighter. But you wouldn't be wise to put one in charge of the hen
house. Indiana has seen fit to make this man their state treasurer,
and they are poised to make him one of their Senators. If you think
the will to violence to protect ones territory was bred out of
Americans with high fructose corn syrup, corn fed beef and 24 hour
media, you'd be mistaken. You can be sure, no ferret can have any
intention but to loot nest eggs. Men aren't ferrets, of course, but
we all model certain kinds of behavior. This man's rhetoric at least, is about eating the poor.
Looting the treasury of the nation, and
nature, seems to be the name of the game, just lately. Top to
bottom, both sides. Here in Minneapolis, we are in fact about to
build a football stadium, with expanded gambling and about 350
million more added to the debt of the city and state. Meanwhile, the
baseball team across downtown, with their hundred million dollar
payroll, billion dollar owners and their fancy new public-financed
grounds, are the worst team in baseball. I predict, Minnesota won't
even finish building this new stadium, especially not if the
financing falls apart, an unfinished relic to pick apart for scrap,
while we're still somehow on the hook for the debt.
Where was I? Oh yes, remodeling. I presume if you read this blog, you are aware the home of Homo sapien sapien is in desperate need of remodeling. You can do the $30,000 kitchen version, with the super fancy appliances and copper this and new stone that, or you can salvage what has already been, and transform, with a close attention to detail, and a care for beauty.
But remodeling doesn't really work if you don't dismantle the existing order. And you have to have skills, to do the job right.
But remodeling doesn't really work if you don't dismantle the existing order. And you have to have skills, to do the job right.
6 comments:
kitchen job looks good man.
It funny, I'm also a bit jealous of your possible escape into the wild. Chris McCandless has always had a very large place in my heart. I've always wanted to do that but never did. I married and reproduced so now that is what life is about first.
You should go into the wild, just remember that Alexander Supertramp wanted to come back to society in the end. I imagine that kind of loneliness would get old pretty damn quick. Unless you wanted to find a tree to sit under until you found the way out.
Luciddreams,
I have no intention of escaping, or leaving society. The Minnesota wildlife refuge is in the midst of a three million metro. I'm just preparing for a time-out of sorts, if it should come to that. Renegade camping doesn't cost much. Write in the morning, hunt and gather in the afternoon, sleep at night. Enough money to supplement the food, with ample coffee, whiskey and weed, and all is well. Until winter.
awesome
trees-are-the-answer
Send me an email. I won't publish it. I asked the same, from an earlier comment, but I don't think you saw it.
I agree with lucid, the kitchen looks really nice, especially for $500.
Going into the wilderness has been my plan X for a long time. (Don't ask me about plans Y and Z, you don't want to know, and I don't want to tell you.) It is my antepenultimate fall back plan, but I definitely don't want to do it if I have other options. Now, going into the wilderness with a Global Village Construction Set and a hundred good friends, that's a different matter....
John,
If I had a few million dollars, I'd buy some land and start a village. That was plan A. Plan X is camping for the summer on the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers - but only if I lose my house.
You should blog about plans X,Y and Z.
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