Touring Our Future Home at the Home and Garden Show

This is kinda like the Star Wars series where the second story       

released is the first story in the series.  In my last

              post I told you about Our Envelope Home,

 now you get to hear how we found it,

                       bought it and learned about it’s

unusual beginnings. Too bad

 I can’t make these words

                                scroll like Star Wars…

I need a

 Bigger

          Budget.

     Before HGTV we got our ideas on home renovation from attending the Home and Garden show held every year at the convention center.  We always looked forward to the Home show.  It was fun looking at all the innovative products and designs to see how we could make a few changes around our house.  There were some elaborate displays and for a number of years they would actually build an entire house in the convention center (without a basement), pretty amazing.

     A complete house built at the convention center was a big draw because it was an amazing feat that took place in about 7 days, seems almost impossible.  I happily stood in line to view the house whenever they built one there and they were always worthwhile.  I remember commenting on how attractive some of these houses were, especially one in particular. 

     Fast-forward a few years when we decided to move to St. Charles, Missouri.  A real estate agent told us about a house at the south end of Hwy 94 that was on the market, so we decided to take a look at it.  We were not really prepared to buy anything; we normally don't make quick decisions on a major purchase like a house.  So we drove out to the house in Cedar Glen Subdivision off Hwy 94 to take a look.   We immediately liked it but we had few concerns.  We were told it was a high efficient envelope home but it had a wood (treated lumber) foundation, which was unusual in Missouri.  There was a guarantee on the foundation but guarantees are only as good as the company backing them.  The builder still owned the property but renters were living in it at the time.  This was the first envelope home built in St. Charles County.  

     We didn't make an offer because we wanted to investigate this wood foundation.  A short time later after we felt more comfortable about the wood foundation we made another visit to the house still not seriously looking, just curious.  The real estate agent encouraged us to make an offer saying the builder was anxious to sell.  Mimi and I talked it over (we really liked the house) and decided to make a lowball offer because the wood foundation would scare most people away.  We did not bring the checkbook because we had no intention of making an offer at this time but we figured what could we lose so we made a low offer excepting it would be rejected.  Everyone knows when you make an offer on the house you put earnest money down to secure the offer but I only had $10 to put down.  Surprisingly the agent accepted the earnest money and submitted the offer.  Try that in today’s market and see where it gets you.

     The negotiations went quickly and we got a great price for our high efficient envelope home in St. Charles.  End of story right, no not even close.  At some point in the negotiations the builder told us this home was originally built in the convention center for the Home and Garden show, then disassembled and brought out to this lot and reassembled on the foundation.  No way, I knew there was something familiar about this place, I had been through this house at the convention center and really liked it.  The builder said it took over 300 carpenters to build this house at the convention center in 7 days and he had colored slides showing the build.  He loaned me the slides and I watched our home being built at the convention center from bottom to top, it was awesome.  There were so many carpenters running around working on the house, it looked like there were ants running all over the house, carpenter ants I'm sure, Yuk Yuk.

     How did they disassemble and reassemble this house, you might ask?  These were my exact words.  I’m told they numbered then cut the walls at the intersections then loaded everything on a tractor-trailer hauled it out to St. Charles and reassembled it (on the wood foundation) by adding additional 2x4’s or 2x6’s on the corners to reattach the walls.  I’m not sure about the electrical since the drywall wasn’t removed but somehow everything seemed to work except the air conditioner.  Actually, the air conditioner worked but it was wired incorrectly to the furnace so that first summer the furnace ran whenever the air conditioner was on.  They kept saying that the heat pump didn’t put out cold air like a regular air conditioner, which maybe true but it shouldn’t be warm air.   Heat pump Smeat pump.  We finally convinced them something was wrong which is when they found that it was wired wrong.

     Thankfully, everything went smoothly after that and we enjoyed living there for about 14 years.  Our home had a big yard (corner lot) in a great neighborhood with many good memories.   

Are you American?

     Recently I saw a news item referring to Marco Rubio as Cuban American standing next to an Indian American and African American supporters.  This description was from a news reporter. I see this often; people identify nationality first, Asian American, Hispanic American, Italian American, etc.  Do you see anything wrong with this?  I get it people are proud of their heritage but if you are born in America, aren't you an American first.  Aren't you proud to be an American?

     It seems that this is more prevalent in the U.S.  If you are a citizen of France, Italy or Spain but with a Cuban, Indian or African heritage would you call yourself Cuban French, Indian Italian or African Spaniard.  That doesn't seem to be the case.

     My roots that are connected to multiple countries, which I think is the case for many people.  My heritage is German, French and Irish, so based on the way some US citizens describe their selves I should call myself German French Irish American.  Pretty ridiculous, don't you agree?  I was born and raised an American but I happen to have a German, French and Irish heritage.

     If you are a citizen of a country you should be proud to take that country as your first designation instead of race or heritage.  If you are running for President of the United States it only makes sense that you would want to be recognized as an American versus a Cuban American or fill-in the blank American.

     Be proud of your heritage but be just as proud of your country.  Your heritage gave you your looks and characteristics but America gives you the freedom to express and practice your beliefs.  Of course there’s danger in referring to yourself as an American despite your heritage, we might end up uniting ourselves instead segregating ourselves.  “Just Saying….”

Our Envelope Home

     Our first house in St. Charles was an envelope home.   What the hell am I talking about, nobody lives in an envelope.  We all know the fairy tail about the little old lady that lives in a shoe but an envelope, really!  Our home would be considered a green home today but back in 1984 when we moved in to our envelope home the word green was just a color not a description.  Another way to describe our home is passive solar but it was more than that.  

     It was a house within a house by that I mean the living quarters were encased by a shell (envelope) with a tempered air to help maintain a comfortable temperature in the living quarters.   Our house had a double wall on the north and south facing walls with a minimum of 12-inch air space between the wall and a solarium with a wall of windows heating the space.  The house also had a double floor in the attic with a fan (thermostat controlled) that circulated air within the envelope by pulling air through the cooling tubes located outside on the east and west side of the house.  When the temperature in the envelope reached 74 degrees the fan would turn on and draw cool air in to the space.  The idea was that by maintaining a lower temperature in the envelope the living quarters would be easier to cool.  In winter the sun would heat the solarium up and as we all know heat rises which would then keep the air in the envelope warmer thereby making it easier to heat the living quarters.

     The basement was built the same way with double walls but much wider than 12 inches.  The cooling tubes entered the basement at the north end of the house right below the envelope space.  We had caps that would close the tubes off in the winter. The space around the basement living area was 5 feet wide on the three sides but only about 2 feet on the north side.  Our kids loved it because it was enough space to roller skate in almost like a track. The basement was big enough to have a playroom, workshop and office in the living area.

     In our kitchen we had a big window that slid open to the solarium and when we turned on the second attic fan with the kitchen window open the cool air rushed in like a strong ocean breeze that would cool of the house quickly.

     The cooling tubes were about 12 inches in diameter with screen covering the opening to keep any critters out and traveled down the foundation entering the basement at the floor level.  This made the air coming into the house very cool, which was great during the summer.

     The foundation was treated wood, which was an initial concern since the foundations in Missouri are almost always concrete but it was never a problem.   It was the driest basement of any house we lived in.

     The main entrance had French doors that separated the living quarters from the entry foyer.  This was also a design of the envelope home and it seal tightly almost like a vacuum.  The house was super quiet because of the double walls and extra insulation so much so that we rarely heard the doorbell inside the entry foyer unless we were in the living room.

     This was a very unique home where we made great memories and you would never know it was different than any other house in the neighborhood other than the wall of windows in the back.

     

Your "Back to the Future" Dream

     If you could travel back in time for just one hour where would you go and whom would you like to meet.  As I think about this I find it's not an easy question to answer for me.  Would you pick a historic moment or a historic figure?  Would you put yourself in danger or try to change history?

     An aviation buff might want to be on the plane with Amelia Earhart (let's say an hour and 15 minutes before the crash), Charles Lindbergh or some other famous aviator.  Someone fascinated by Hollywood may want to spend time with a renowned actor like Douglas Fairbanks or Greta Garbo. Your personal interest (profession) and beliefs would play a big part in your decision. Maybe you want to meet Frank Lloyd Wright or be in an episode with The Three Stooges, these are both interesting and ridiculously fun dreams. That’s all this is just a fun exercise to let your mind wonder.  Here are some ideas in case your stuck; racing fan, historian, humanitarian, comedy buff, UFO encounters, sports enthusiast or religious, well you can see how this could be a never ending list.

     There is no right or wrong answer but it makes me think more deeply about what makes me the way I am.  Whatever inspires or motivates you will likely influence your "Back to the Future" dream decision.  I have had many interests in life.  I laugh a lot which is why I love a good comedy, making wine is also hobby I've had for a while and I like to watch historical shows about ancient times in our world but my most recent interest is writing stories.  

     So after much thought I decided that if I could only choose one "Back to the Future" moment it would be meeting with Mark Twain at the time he was writing "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer".  Why Mark Twain you may ask when there's so many great writers to choose from, well he is down home type of person that had a good sense of humor and an interesting viewpoint on life.  I imagine he would be interesting and easy to talk to with his down to earth attitude.  I have no doubt I would learn something and I would hope to be inspired to a new level of writing.

     Now it’s your turn what where would you go and what would you do in your hour.  Seriously, I really want to know.  I would love to hear your “Back to the Future” dream.

Is Listening a Lost Art?

     It seems like no one listens to others anymore.  Sometimes it appears they are listening but all they are doing is formulating their rebuttal argument.  I know there are many people who are scared, anxious and upset about life in general and this makes many of us angry.  We want to see a change and we feel the answers are obvious.  It's important that we voice our opinion, which is our right but it is everyone's right.  Angry people seem to have zero tolerance to the opinions of others as if other opinions are not worth hearing. 

     There seems to no shortage of angry people, screaming and yelling their opinions, chastising and intimidating anyone that disagrees with them.  It's gotten to the point where people are wary of giving their opinion when they know they have an opposing viewpoint.   This is a sober thought because if you're not listening you're not learning.  If you've only heard one side of an argument you are brainwashed.  How can you form an intelligent opinion about something if don't open your mind to listening to both viewpoints?

     I believe listening is a sign of intelligence, not the only sign but as crucial as any.  There are many hot topics that drive passionate opinions but this is not about any one topic just how we approach others with our opinions.  Many opinions are self-serving and therefore tarnish our ability to listen to others.  Some of our world leaders, politicians and corporate executives are shining examples of people with poor listening skills and self-serving opinions.

     You will never find someone that will agree with you 100% of the time but you may learn something from someone with a different background and opinion but you will need to listen.  “Just Saying….”   

Your Last Meal

     Have you ever wondered about your last meal?  I'm not saying this is if you're on death row.  Let's just say had the strange opportunity to design your last meal, what would be on the menu and who would you be dining with.  I don't mean for this post to be depressing just thought provoking.  Regarding food there are people that overindulge, some that choose to always eat healthy and the rest of us are somewhere in between. 

     When I was younger I was more of an eat to live person versus a live to eat person but as I've aged I have placed certain foods in my favorite category and look forward to a meal of these foods.  I try to maintain healthy weight but I eat unhealthy favorite foods only not or a regular basis.

     I like seafood, BBQ, steak, pasta, bacon, Hey! What about salad?  Well I like salad but not the same as the previous items I mentioned and for my last meal it would just take up extra space so I will opt out on the salad for my last meal.  I don't like the uncomfortable feeling when I overeat and I prefer quality over quantity so may not eat everything on my plate but I will taste everything.  Should this uncomfortable feeling be a concern with your last meal?  Maybe not but it is for me.

     So my perfect last meal would be starting with bacon wrapped BBQ shrimp, surf and turf for the main course would be BBQ Ribs and grilled swordfish (on a bed of pearl couscous).  I know BBQ ribs is not a typical choice for a surf and turf entrée but this is my meal not yours.  My side dish would be a baked potato with butter (no sour cream).  Oh! Let’s not forget about the wine, my choice would be a Cabernet (Napa) or Bordeaux.  Now I would not normally have dessert with a meal but this is a special occasion so I would like to have a caramel cinnamon roll with French vanilla ice cream drizzled in caramel and nuts and a glass of 30-year old port wine.  Sounds yummy but it's way more than I could eat so I would share this meal with family and friends.  Why because breaking bread with friends is the best part of any meal.

     The truth is it is unlikely that you will know when your last meal will be so I have a better idea.  Food is one of the joys of life so why wait until your last meal to enjoy this pleasure.  Life is about balance not about overindulging or starving yourself so make plans to enjoy a special meal with family and friends on occasion without feeling guilty.  Your favorite food will be a treat but the company will be memorable.  “Just Saying….”