Community Garden, Renewal and Turnover

August 22, 2014

The community garden is shoulder high with corn. The peas and eggplant have long since harvested, but there is still plenty of lettuce, herbs and tomatoes. Jeff and I don't have green thumbs, so the best we could offer were gardening tools, water and a plot for everyone to share.

As we approach November and the anniversary of the first move-ins, I think we're getting close to being "done" for the project. Maybe a sense of "done" is when you're ready for the next venture. In my case, the next creative venture is a book about the vortex in time where everything came together to allow this old house to be saved. In Jeff's case….well, we'll have to wait and see now won't we :)

Posted on August 24, 2014 .

Vacation time...

After a tremendous amount of work on Jeff's part, we were queued up to take an extended vacation. Finally. We hadn't taken any kind of a break (as in being more than 3 hours from the property) in a year and a half. We were lucky enough to find neighbors and friends to watch over the properties armed with a truck load of keys, contact info for all the major subs (we were still under warranty and Jeff didn't hesitate to leverage, especially when there was an oversight during the mad rush to complete). 

We needed to re-learn now to slow down.

Posted on July 28, 2014 .

Happy Spring

April 7, 2014
To: Micro-neighbohood of tenants 4:26 PM
Fr: Jeff 
Re: Happy Sprng

Dear Bridge Dwellers,

We splurged on some summer stuff for all of you to enjoy. 

You can't help but notice the new glider bench on the front porch. A grand old dame like this isn't complete without a porch rocker. Perfect for a gin and tonic on a warm summer night. The porch light is switched in the entryway if you want it darker while gliding.

There are four zero gravity backyard lounge chairs in the Bike Bunker (i will get to hanging them up next weekend), feel free to carry them to the yard for lounging in the sun. Please return them to the Bunker when you are done so they stay secure. You haven't napped until you have tried one of these.

A new Weber grill is all ready for use out in the back yard (still a bit soggy) and it is a very cool grill. It uses charcoal but has a propane starter with an electric spark so there is no need for lighter fluid or matches. You make a pile of charcoal in the middle of the lower grill, flip up the plastic cover on the front where the timer is, open the gas knob and push the start button. Once you have the gas lit let it burn for 5 to 10 minutes then shut off the gas as your coals will burn and spread on their own. Don't forget to turn the gas off or the starter tank will run out. Please return to the grill after it had cooled and replace the cover so it is in clean shape for your neighbor.

If you haven't cooked on a Weber you should. Open the lower vent when lighting or cooking and close both lid and lower vent when you are finished as it will extinguish the burn and preserve the charcoal for the next use. There is a bin for charcoal that tips out the end opposite the grill and I loaded it with a bag to get you started. If you pay it forward when you use it, it will never run out. This way no one has to store charcoal or starter in their apartment.

A picnic table is next, enjoy,

Jeff & Beth

Posted on April 7, 2014 .

Maintenance Whack-o-Mole and Pigeons

As we continued to play whack-a-mole with start-up glitches, we remained optimistic we were close to having worked through every apartment: mini-splits condensing, dryer vents not secured sufficiently, fobs for easy access not working (someone pulled the plug and the batter ran out), loose tiles, overhead lights needing tightening, community garden having less than perfect soil preparation. Then the pigeons arrived.

When the house was vacant for months, pigeons roosted and nobody paid much attention. We were now. Their gentle cooing transformed into an "I dare you" to figure out how to make us leave. We hired pigeon whispers to add spikes all around the house. The pigeons moved to the porch overhang. Eventually Jeff screened off the overhangs - double sided after he pressure washed the steps and entry.

They moved to a small overhang above Hawthorne. At least they waited until Jeff had painted the front steps.

 

Posted on March 18, 2014 .

Tenant Turnover and Sink Holes

February 18, 2014

During 6am sanctuary I read an email from our tenant in Steel. He needed to move to El Paso by March 1st. I told him were were sorry to see him go, but understood. Later I sent him the buy-out process, updated the website to say we had one unit available and posted a craigslist ad with Broadway pictures (they have the same setup only a mirror of Steel and had better lighting). 

At of 8:20 AM a new wrinkle in owning a seven-plex exposed itself. What happens when a gutter is forced off the building due to torrential rains? Answer: a sink hole is born. 


To: B&G 8:20 AM
Fr: Jeff
Re: Sink hole and fallen downspout

Hi Guys,

Looks like the wind loosened a downspout not he west side from the top roof to the lower roof. The sink hole can wait for dryer weather, but it would be good to have the downspout reattached as soon as possible.

Jeff


To: B&G
Fr: B&G 1:45 PM
Re: Sin hole and fallen downspout

Can you please get a gutter guy on the repair asap so we don't blow out the landscaping?


By mid-morning we received a half dozen responses including a woman who works for Nike and lives down the street, and the owner of Fifty Licks an upstart artisan ice cream company, and a couple moving from New York. Wind it up baby.


February 19, 2014 7:05 PM

Jeff and I were enjoying dinner when I heard my phone text double-ding sound on the counter. Since we were in the middle of screening applicants, I checked.  My jaw dropped. I plopped back into my chair and slide my phone over to Jeff. In 24 hours our tenant in Steel went from "gotta move" to "changed my mind." In-between we had cranked up the machine and had new  tenants in the middle of the screening process. Dilemma. We spent the rest of dinner googling tenant and landlord rights in Oregon. 


 

 

 

Posted on February 19, 2014 .