The End of Summer

So sad, so true.

What's up, players.

Well, this is it:  the End of Another Summer.

So we ended up doing a hell of a lot this summer, far more than we have the previous few years, and as such this summer flew by in record speed.  No one feels quite ready to return to the Grind of work/school just yet, as there's been zero wind-down from all of the adventures we've had over the last two months.  From Disney World to flooded tents, from youth camps to lake retreats, from VBS weeks to summer classes, we've done a hell of a lot.  And now we have to set our sights on the approaching school year, which will see Yours Truly once more assume his U.S. History mantle, Abby enter the Fourth Grade, and the Cannonball heads off into. . . MIDDLE SCHOOL.

Holy f***ing Hell.

Anyway, August was slower than its predecessors, but we still kept relatively busy:  the weeks were filled with different VBS and community center classes for the girls (and yard work for me), with the weekends were designated outings with our social group of moms and dads.  Almost like clockwork.  We'd squeeze in shopping trips for Back to School here or there, and I had to set up my classroom again, but there were some other random things we did from time to time.

Without further ado, here's what our August - the End of Summer itself - looked like for the Houghs.  Enjoy:

One day Kris and I took the kids out to some local blueberry farm (orchard?) to work picking crops like a couple of field hands.  You know, 'cause Family Fun and all that bullshit.

Kris selects our buckets.

The girls show great enthusiasm for this kinda thing.  At first.

Alayna was funned out after about twenty minutes.  I think that's a new record for her.

I can't imagine picking cotton.  I mean, blueberries are easy to pick and you can eat them while you pick them.  Cotton's sticky and stringy and there are prickers that stab you and you can't even it.  Being a slave in the 1800s would've SUCKED.

One family member refuses to throw in the towel.

Waiting for Mom to check out.

Over fifteen pounds of blueberries (and some jam) later, Kris was finally ready to leave.

Kris puts on her Mom Face during a Back-to-School shopping trip for the girls.  Her and Alayna butt heads on an almost constant basis every year.

Some overhaul was done to the Dining Room and Kitchen this month.  Kris had been wanting to repaint the Dining Room for a few months, and finally got around to doing it (with my help.)  It went from a tan to a Dovetail grey.  I can't tell the difference, to be honest, but the wife is happy.  So there's that.

Ripped out the overhead vent/light to our stove in order to make room for a microwave we had purchased (ours broke earlier in the summer, so we've been living microwave-free like a bunch of Amish people all summer long - it's been Hell.)  Taking this out and reinstalling a new microwave was a pain in the ass, but John came over and gave us a hand.

Happy Wife, Happy Life.  There's a reason that's a saying, folks.

The Great Kondo Purge of 2019 continues.  We've hauled out so much crap  (like this furniture, here) it's ridiculous - I don't think I could've undergone this endeavor a year ago, as I used to be somewhat of a hoarder, but this has completely changed my penchant for 'stuff.'

I wanted to buy some Rough Riders (my favorite cigar) for our camping trip to the Jellystone in Silverlake, so I asked our buddy Brad (a cigar rep who sells them) where in town I could buy some.  He gave me this huge freezer bag full of $10 cigars for FREE.  I f***ing love that guy.

Taking the kids out for an afternoon lunch at Plymouth Park for Midland's Meet Up and Eat Up program.

Watson got stung by a bee in the face this month.  That was kinda hilarious.

Abby, showing off her new backpack.  We splurged a little on the kids' backpacks this year, each one cost about $40 and were legit, 5-star-rated backpacks off of Amazon, but we wanted them to get something that would last more than one school year.  They both understand they're not getting new backpacks for awhile now.

Sizing up bikes at Meijer.  Both kids are in need of new bikes.  I hate how fast kids grow.

We got this bike that someone was getting rid of, and I was able to polish it up to make it look new.  Had to fix the tire and inner tube, but its running smooth now.  It's a 26", mint-green, beach cruiser, so it's too big for the girls and difficult for them to ride (no hand brakes), but c'mon. . . it's a free bike.  You're damn right we took it.

Watson.  Always in your face.

We took Alayna to Northeast towards the middle of the month in order to pick up her school schedule and check out her locker.  She's been so excited to start Middle School and have her own locker, and has been counting down the days until she could get in to Northeast and check it out. 

We were convinced she'd have difficulty mastering her locker combination, so you can imagine our shock when she opened it on the first try.  Apparently locker combinations are her thing.  Who knew.

These are far bigger (and nicer) than the ones my students have at our school.

Sizing it up.

She's a Hough.  What do you expect.

Speaking of Hough-ness, check out this old letter I found from my 3rd Grade teacher as I was Marie Kondo'ing an old tote filled with past school work in the basement.  Sounds pretty legit to me.

More Back-to-School shopping.  Here's Abby trying on some not-at-all-practical women's shoes on at a Marshall's.

Back at Northeast, about a week later, installing some of her locker accessories (white board, pen/pencil caddies, mirrors, magnets, etc.)  The girl does love to accessorize. . . 

I took Alayna and her friend, Christina, up to the Great Lakes Ice Creamery for a cone one afternoon.  Anything for sugar, folks.

Throughout this whole Kondo process, we've had to bid farewell to quite a few things that were hard to get rid of, due to sentimental or nostalgic reasons.  My grandfather's jewelry box, for example, was pretty hard to get say goodbye to, but it wasn't very practical for me anymore (I needed a bigger one with more space, that was of higher quality), so I decided to let it go.

Fortunately, my little brother, Jeff, wanted it, so at least it's staying in the family (which is obviously preferable.)

Abby's bedroom has been getting an overhaul this summer, piece by piece.  She no longer wanted a Star Wars-themed bedroom - she's sadly outgrown the franchise - and instead wants a tropical/beach-themed bedroom.  Kris sold all her Star Wars room decor on Facebook Marketplace and used the money she got from that (which was substantial) to purchase new tropical bedding and some room decor (like the backpack hook, shown here.)  Eventually we're going to repaint this purple accent wall a coral color, and put in a loft bed with a desk to giver her more room.

Making some lunch with our live-in neighborhood kid, Ella.

I've been named a Top Fan for Radio Wasteland, my local record store here in town.  I've been a regular of their establishment since Day One, but this is another accolade I happily accept.  It's nice being rewarded for all of your hard work over the years.

Another Friday, another Fast Food dinner with our three girls.

- Brian

The Houghs' LAST Move

Welcome back, America.

Most folks don't realize this, but since 2005, Kris and I have moved eight times.  That's eight times in twelve years, roughly 13 months per domicile (I think - my math sucks.)  Kinda broke down like this:

1. Sept. 2005: Ghana/Farwell to Briarwood (our first apartment, in Clare)
2. Sept. 2006: Briarwood to my Parents' House in Clare (in the few months before we moved to Florida, in order to put aside extra money for the big move south)
3. Jan. 2007: My Parents' House to Camden Landings, in Orlando (our first apartment, in a somewhat questionable neighborhood in the Conway neck of the woods)
4. April 2008: Camden Landings to Camden of Hunter's Creek (moving into a bigger apartment across town, into an upscale golf community)
5. Feb. 2010: Camden of Hunter's Creek to Sindlesham (moving a couple blocks away into our first rental house, in Southchase - an equally nice neighborhood that saved us a lot of money by not being near a golf course)
6. May 2012: Sindlesham to Majorama (moving out of our run-down rental house into our first purchased home)
7. June 2015: Majorama to Ivy (returning to Michigan after nearly a decade in Florida, back into a rental in Midland)
8. June 2017: Ivy to Whitewood (back into a home we own. . . the LAST home we ever own.)

Home owners, once again.

So yeah.  Long story short, we're funned out with moving.  Hence this being the last one.  We found our dream house, and we're hunkering down here until we die and are preferably buried in the backyard.  

Kris and I closed Friday morning, June 2nd, and spent the rest of the day moving seven car and van loads into the new house.  The following day, I would move over an additional five van-loads of stuff over while Kris, Mom, and Kris' friend, Kim, painted the new Living Room, Dining Room, Hallways, Kitchen, and Abby's Bedroom.  The rest of the weekend was spent with me moving five more van-loads of stuff over by myself while Kris put things away and cleaned up stuff at the old house.

The following weekend (last night and today), was spent moving over the big furniture, which wasn't too bad because there were three of us moving stuff (my two brothers and I), and Kris and I had thoroughly gutted the Ivy house of all the clutter that would take a lot of time loading and unloading.  All we had to move were about a dozen pieces of furniture and some of the other stuff that was too long and/or awkward to load into Kris' van.  Not too bad.

Rest assured, though, we were all sweaty and worn out before we were even close to being done.

Behold - The Last Move of the Houghs:

Following the signing of the last papers at Closing, Kris and I drove our previously-packed vehicles over to our new home and for the very first time set foot in our new home.  Coincidentally, the very first thing moved into this place happened to be my tenor ukulele (shown above, lying on the right-side built-ins of The Study.)

The Kitchen, and Dining Room beyond.

The kitchen goes off to the left, the basement stairs descend down through the door to the right.  We're going to have to paint this wall of the Study this summer, at some point - it's in rough shape.

Kitchen

The Dining Room, in its existing, not-for-very-much-longer paint scheme.

SO much nicer than our old kitchen. . .

The very, very green Living Room

The Girls' Bathroom (you can't imagine how happy we are to have our own bathroom again. . .)

Abby's Bedroom (soon to be painted grey and purple.)

Our Master Bedroom

This paint job isn't too bad, so Kris and I are keeping it as is for the time being.

The Master Bathroom

Alayna's Bedroom (we're also keeping this existing dark pink/light pink color scheme.)

Back into the hallway

The sellers were nice enough to leave all this plastic, protective wrap on the carpet for the moving process (a nice gesture, to be honest.)  You can see they took off the handrail to accommodate the moving of furniture (and refrigerators, unfortunately) up and down the stairs. 

The main area of the basement -  seems a hell of a lot bigger with all the crap moved out of there.

The side-room of the basement. . . which we're going to paint grey and turn into a hodge-podge of music instruments, more bookcases, girls' boardgames and toys, and a desk/office space.

Here we have the Workshop.  It was covered with sawdust and required a lot of deep-cleaning, but it was necessary for what I had in mind for it.  There was a lot of loose boards and leftover scrap wood/metal to be tossed out, as well.

A lot of paint, primers, cleaners, lubricants, and other such house items to be stored elsewhere, thrown away, or used throughout the moving process.  Took a LONG time to work through all of this.

Back into the side-room of the basement (that open door way straight ahead is the Storage Room.)

Storage Room

The furnace and water heater (both new, thank God.)  You'll also note the lack of refrigerator.  Damn it.

Another shot of the side room (with the Workshop, there to the right.)

At the far end of the basement.  See that Midland Loons decal on the wall, there?  I tried peeling it off, but it's stuck to the paint - we'll have to tear it off when we repaint this room eventually, and in the meantime hang another piece of wall decor over it.  That, or just lie and tell people we're big-time Loons fans.

This room served as the default storage staging area as we moved stuff into the house over the course of the next week.

The Laundry Room.  

As I decided to break in this new toilet of ours, off the back end of the Laundry Room, I noticed the vanity mirror on the wall (see previous picture) had a hinge in it.  Curious, I looked closer at the mirror and realized with surprise that the mirror itself was actually a SECRET DOOR.  Upon opening this door, I found a HUGE crawl space - completely finished and mold-free - that served as additional storage space.  Since I was a young kid, I've always wanted to find a secret room in a house, so you can imagine my delight upon finding this most-welcome surprise after purchasing the home (we weren't told of it at any point in time throughout the closing process.)  Check that one off the ol' Bucket List.

The sellers also left behind a shock-collar for the dog, as the yard was equipped with an invisible pet fence for the property (if you'll recall, the yard is unfenced at the sides.)  A bonus, for sure, but I doubt we'll ever have the need to use it - Watson doesn't stray out of the yard.

The move-in process begins. . .

I've been holding on to this 30-year anniversary imperial stout from Bell's for a special occasion.  I can think of nothing more special than for it to become the First Beer to be Consumed in the New Study of Brian J. Hough.

After a day of Kris and I moving multiple van-  and car-loads of stuff into the new house, I had over 75 flights of stairs and 35,000 steps on Fitbit, and a sore back to boot.  The next morning, Kris went into Paint Mode, and Yours Truly decided to give his back a rest by unpacking and putting things away instead of moving stuff.  While Kris started on the Living Room's dastardly green walls, Mom went to war with Abby's Bedroom (now a Dovetail Grey.)

The assembling of the Library (a long and difficult process, rest assured.)

In the afternoon, Kris' good friend, Kim, came out to lend a hand with the painting.  And, as you can see here, she brought along her daughter for company.

The Study, coming right along.  I installed some under-cabinet lighting on the top, right shelf, but had to order another set for the top left shelf (I'll post another pic when I get that up.)  These books won't necessarily stay like this - the left side looks good, but I don't like the look of the right at all - I'll have to tweak a few things.  The horde of boxes at the center, as you could probably surmise, is my ridiculous record collection.

Kris works her way into the Dining Room (note the beige walls, no longer white) and Kitchen.

The finished Living Room (so much better.)  The same beige color runs the length of the Living Room, Foyer, and Hallway, and into the Dining Room, while a darker brown serves as an accent color on the wall with the picture window.

Foyer and Hallway

Taking a break with the offspring in the backyard (I'd soon purge most of these obnoxious garden ornaments - I found them tacky.)

The basement starts to get cluttered. . .

Assembly of the IKEA Kallax shelving system begins.  This would end up taking two days to put together, but the end result was worth all the labor, worth the special trip to Canton, and worth the hefty price tag.

I'm not a handy man by any means, but I get by.

Assembling the actual compartment shelving doesn't take too long at all, really - pretty straight forward - but the door inserts are a pain in the ass to do right.  I bought two 2x4 shelving units, plus an additional 2x2 shelving unit, thinking to run them all along the one wall of the Study.  Unfortunately, I only had room for the two longer units, taking into account the sub-woofer and all, but I had more than enough space for my collection to grow with just the two.  Kris and I decided this leftover unit would serve as a Coffee Bar in the Dining Room instead.

The shelving complete (except the doors) - now comes the wiring.

. . . and this wasn't all of them, either.

All hooked up and ready to go.

After an entire morning and afternoon of deep-cleaning and de-cluttering the Workshop, I began moving in all the random crap of mine that Kris didn't want displayed anywhere upstairs:  swords, knick-knacks from my worldly travels, vintage electronics and videogame systems, lava lamps, and all other sorts of awesome that had no home otherwise.

My goal, as previously-mentioned, is to eventually convert this room into a Captain's Quarters, if you will: a retro, throw-back den that will house all things Brian that aren't otherwise classy enough to display in the Study. That space underneath the workbench is perfectly-sized to house one of my mini-fridges - we'll see if we can't make that happen.

Piles and piles of crap to sort through. . .

Storage room, slowly coming along.  Eventually I'm going to create a second row of shelving using the old steel shelving systems that were previously holding books and vintage videogame systems in our Ivy house.

Found this carved onto the board that serves as a shelf above the workbench.  I'm hoping it wasn't carved by a poltergeist. 

This morning, bright and early, Kris went out and picked up the moving truck (and I, not being capable of driving anything much bigger than a Chevy Uplander, loaded up both the car and van with more crap.)

Chris came over around 9am and helped me load up the couch (which was by NO means easy, being the heaviest item we owned - we had to take it straight out the front door, over the balcony railing, where it snagged on a ceiling hook and was subsequently stuck.)  A half-hour or so later, after we moved the couch and several other pieces of furniture, Jeff rolled up and helped us fill up the rest of the moving truck (and his pickup.)

We accomplished this in about an hour, tops - Kris and I had handled most of the moving of items ourselves.

One last moving truck for the Houghs.

After another hour or so, we were done.  Sore and sweaty, but done.  Kris bought the Borthers Subway, and I provided some much-needed ale refreshment (this Founders was a beaut.)

- Brian