33. The Homestead "diamond in the rough"

Guess it’s about time I mentioned the homestead. Had it not been for the economic crash in the city a few years ago, I'd still be in there plugging away on another cereal commercial, or starting up some ragtag animation school. (A median-priced home in San Francisco, the most expensive in the U.S. market, is $759,000) Que and I were looking for ways to live with the economy when I mentioned that I'd be happy to support Que's search for work out of state. “Really? You're kidding? Okay!”, was the reply I received. Soon enough, we married, and started our own excursion to the Great NW, not unlike that one on The O Trail some 200 years ago...







Well, to make a long story short, Que settled into his new dream job, and soon enough, we purchased the diamond in the rough. Life is good...(Our only wish is that the railroads were offering passenger service to Stumptown once again. Good ol' President Shrub hacked services just after 9/11.)

SEE BELOW FOR EXCITING BEFORE AND AFTER REMODEL PICS!
~UPLOADED AT THE PACE OF A SNAIL~

BEFORE-BATHROOM: Dusty pink bath tile with matching grout, of course.




Dank and dark with knotty pine cabinets and seersucker-esque textured wallpaper peeling at the seams...




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Need I say more?


Okay, here's one more. (Click on image to see details of black moldy growth, crud build up between the tiles.)

BATH AFTER PICS: Stay tuned!

Oh what fun we've had! Now that we are out of the pricey city, we can engage in such things as house remodeling. Never thought we'd wind up this far into the back country, though. I guess it might have been inevitable, as my dear friend E told me in an email exchange, “Why, Jane D'oh, you have been fortunate enough to meet a man who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty.”

BEFORE "knotty pine anomally" formal entrway:
























scrape, scrape, (@!#) scrape...























AFTER:


















After making a list of the affordable homes in our new town, the diamond in the rough was the last house on our list. I really was not interested in the ugliest house on the block. It appeared to be a cross between some sort of Swiss Chalet Alpine fantasy and Steve Martin's rustic house in 'The Jerk'. It wasn't until I saw a glimpse of the insides from the online real estate web site, that the diamond struck my imagination. A classic, unpainted craftman bungalow in El Big? Who would've known from the outside!









Tearing apart walls, patching up awkward doors, peeling down 4 layers of nasty wallpaper, drywalling, replacing hideous chandeliers, patching lath and plaster, ripping out musty old carpets and mold-encrusted walls, building a walk in closet, sanding and refinishing fur wood floors, installing in floor heated bath tiles...and all the while listening to the local olde timey obnoxious classic rock n' roll station, and all in 100 degree heat.

And that's just the inside of the house. The list goes on and on, and won't be completed for awhile. The good new is, the rugs finally arrived and are installed, (after a very long 3 month delivery wait ) and the heat is working quite nicely.

As a result of a lot of sweat, patience, and hard work, we’ve found a good life in this remote little corner of the North West.

32. Meltykiss

Culture Shock Level Check: missing Japanese candy stores
















The snow has melted in our front yard. It's a relief to be able to see the earth again— if only for a brief time. I feel like I've survived my first real North West snow storm, which, oddly enough, parallels nicely with the frantic completion of my first final at the school.


It is a balmy 42 degrees outside. The school is out for the winter holiday, so the town seems abandoned. It sort of feels like we have the whole place to ourselves. The students and faculty have gone home to where ever they're from, or have just gone away. ( ie: Oaxaca, Paris, Sacramento Valley...)











Empty hallway at the school. A common sight in El Big: Mountain seeds are often seen propagating in common areas like hallways, service areas, and landscaping. They are just everywhere!
( Tip o' the hat to my brother-in-law, Que Si')

Not experiencing the usual onslaught of the Bay Area's crass Christmas commercialism is odd. El Big's Christmas commercialism comes in the form of really elaborate Home Depott style decorations on the neighbor's front lawns. I also recieve an onslaught of East Coast junk mail order catalogs addressed to the former homeowner's former wife.

There isn't the usual 10 minute wait behind 8 students per vehicle at the drive through coffee hut, either. I spot only one acquaintance as I do my weekly shopping at the Safestway. The checkers are chatty and seem relaxed and starved for conversation...


Que and I meet friends for the Friday night El Big movie premiere of Mel Gibson's 'Debaclelypto' at our one movie theater. We arrive 10 minutes early and have no one in front of us or in back of us while we're in line for tickets... And what used to be a 3 sec wait at the busiest intersection in town, is now my former, "California stop" 1 sec pause. I am starting to get a better feel for just how small this town really is without the student and faculty population from the school...


Unappetizing muffins at the grocery store. I hope it's butterscotch.















I have a lot of nervous artistic energy again. I feel it kick in on my final assignment at school. Taking care of the family last year really took it out of me. It's good to have it back...

























Last night I paint a portrait of Que. acrylic on canvas 12/15/06
Adding MeltyKiss "Precious Cocoa" to my growing list of items to remember to bring back from Christmas in SF...

31. Thanksgiving Cartoon

Culture Shock Level Check: I'm missing my SF friends at times, but I'm liking the isolation... I have to admit, having access to the art school makes it bearable. The school attracts some creative, driven people, and that's a nice contrast to the monoculture and maple syrup pace of the town. I've wanted to get away from the city for awhile now, so this is a welcoming pace. Living in the middle of everything hip and cool was invigorating for the first 37 years, but it was often a distraction from the focus of creating my own art. The intro to intaglio was a kick in the pants. I didn't create anything I'm exceedingly proud of, but that wasn't a big surprise, being that it was technically heavy. I'm looking forward to delving deeper into an independent study so I can focus less on technical aspects, and more on content... Last night i dug out my satirical print art books and was able to decifer the techniques made by my printmaking heroes Hogarth, Duemier, and Goya. "Sweet.", as the fellow students like to say.

30. Low res laptop sketches

These thumbnail designs were created on an online drawing program with my Mac and Wacom pen.
From L-R: har gow; Michael Moore; The mentor; French water glass; self portrait during an earthquake; after Rembrandt. (Click on photo for larger image.)