After an exhausting weekend of work on the house, Mrs. 1500 said this to me last night:
I look forward to the workweek so I can actually relax.
This morning, I had forgotten exactly what she had said. I asked her about the quote and she said this:
I’m too tired to remember.
Yesterday, she said something more ominous:
We haven’t talked in ages. I feel disconnected from you.
I feel the same way. We’ve been so busy that hardly ever talk. The weekends are worse. We were supposed to close our home remodeling permits 4 months ago and we’re still not ready for final inspections. But we’re almost there now.
Ask the Readers will be back next week when hopefully things settle down a bit. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures!


Look at this awesome vanity my friend made (not in our home):
As I was typing this, I heard a defeated voice from the kitchen:
- Me: What’s wrong?
- Mrs. 1500: Dishwasher is broken!
I can’t make this stuff up!
(Mrs. 1500 note: The dishwasher is just clogged – hopefully. We bought it off the neighbor down the street for $50, so even if it is completely broken, we’ve put off spending $800 for 2-1/2 years. Thanks to Google, we’ll probably just bail out the water, clean out the clog, and be up and running in about 30 minutes. I’ll keep you posted. But yeah, it gets kind of defeating. Sometimes I think Jim Collins is right about houses being terrible investments.)
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Enjoy some time away!
More and more, I am completely onboard with the idea that homes really are terrible investments. Unless you happened to buy at the right time, or are specifically looking for a fixer upper that you can make money from, home ownership is completely overrated in my humble opinion. I doubt we will own a traditional stix-‘n-brix home again…
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A well deserved break, I’ve been wondering how you’ve been keeping up writing so much with your hectic schedule.
While I pretty much agree with Jim and some other bloggers that Homes are usually bad investments, I also heavily enjoy cranking my tunes or playing guitar/piano without neighbors getting annoyed on the other side of a wall. All my woodworking, beer brewing and various other hobbies would be a lot more difficult in an apartment. But if I lived a much simpler life, I think I’d be a renter for life.
Yes, take a well deserved break. That’s how we feel around here too. It’s always hectic. Someday we’ll have a simpler life. At least you’re not sick…
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Life has been pretty busy lately. It’s the shift from winter to spring for me. When the good weather starts I stop being a sloth and go into superdrive. I have been on a clean/purge/organize/fix roll. We have this outside shed full of things and I am slowly but surely purging items because I want it empty. This shed is not small by the way. I have also gone through the closets and purged items. I finally concentrated on the neglected guest rooms. After 2.5 years, I finally started working on them. One is finished. One is halfway there.
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I should mention that although the projects are fulfilling and I feel accomplished, I do get tired.
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Enjoy the time off. No need to drive yourself into the ground. Have a beer or three and crank up the tunes.
House maintenance is such a pain sometimes. Most of the time it will never be a good investment….and people wonder why I don’t own hard assets like rentals.
It’s like owning a house x2 or x3. Makes me tired just thinking about it.
Enjoy your break!
You guys certainly deserve the time off and I totally agree on the houses being terrible investments. We had our own dishwasher snafus three weeks ago and came to find out the previous owners who DIYed everything screwed up the electrical. An $800 dishwasher turned out to be about $4000 total after repairing the initial problem and then finding out we also need a new electrical panel because the one they put it has too much power running into it. We should’ve just rented a nicer house for cheaper.
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I love using google and youtube actually to fix broken appliances and pretty much anything around the house.
That vanity is really interesting, what is it underneath the glass? Is it like an old sewing machine or something? Cant tell.
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I use Dr. Google for almost everything, it’s amazing what you can find. 🙂
Take some time off and focus on the more important things in life.
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We’ll be here when you get back!
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Dishwasher “not working”?
One major reason is that the drain from the dishwasher to the rest of the underthe sink plumbing is clogged with particles that got chewed up by the dishwasher.
My wife called a plmber. He said, “$300.00” I said, “let me try myself.”
I took apart the pipes leading out of the dishwasher. Sure enough, totally blocked. Cleaned then out, put it all back. Then, hit the dishwasher reset button. Then, using an allen (hex) wrench, with the power OFF be sure you can rotate the dishwasher internal mechanism. (Do some google searches to see how it is done.)
Turn water on. Adjust pipes for leaks if necessary.
All done. Saved $300.00
Enjoy your leisure time, you’ve earned it!
Looking forward to your perspective after this work is behind you.
Oh man, me too. Me too…
Recharge those batteries! Maybe your buddy Elon will actually figure a way to do it for you 🙂
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Relax! It’s good that you’re taking a week off (at least from the blog). I hope things calm down a this week.
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My wife and I get in communication ruts like this sometimes. Road trips help so we can hash out our thoughts. Being stuck next to each other without using a phone is amazing for getting the talking jucies flowing.
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How can the dishwasher be broken, if your wife can still speak?
I use Dr. Google for pretty much everything, it’s amazing what you might find.
I know, right? There is almost no excuse with Google and YouTube.
That vanity is super cool! I especially like that they left the sewing machine and it’s case intact.
Yeah, this neighbor is super talented and creative. He inspires me to think differently about every single home project.
Good luck getting through this round of projects! I’m inspired by your ongoing home projects but they’re also a great reality check. We’re not ready for a bigger place with all the attendant work yet 🙂
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