A parable is a story with a moral, right? Well, I feel kind of like that farmer in the parable. I forget the name of it - maybe someone will know? Anyhow, it goes like this:
It's a farmer with a large family and a small house. He goes to the village wise-man and asks him how to get a bigger house for his family when he doesn't have much money. The wise man tells him to take the chickens into the house. Eeew, I say - I think they're stinky and they'd make a mess, but the guy does it. After some time, the guy goes back to the wise man. He says, "I took the stinky, messy chickens into the house with my wife and two dozen kids. It's more crowded than ever, so how do I get a bigger house? I really need a man-cave."
So the wise man tells him to take the pigs into the house. At this point, I'm hoping this house has dirt floors, so all the animal droppings can just be sprinkled with more dirt or swept out the door. The guy grumbles some, but since it's the recommendation of the wise guy of the village, he decides to do it. I'm not sure how many pigs he has, but the guy is nuts. It's a madhouse as the family tries to live in a small, dirt-floor hut with dozens of kids, loads of chickens, and some swine. The guy goes back to the wise man. "Okay. I put the pigs and the chickens in the house with my family. The girls are grossed out and whining about having to share the bathroom with *real* pigs, the boys are chasing the chickens so they don't lay eggs. This is nuts. And I still need my man-cave, but I don't have the dough to make it happen. What do I do?"
So the wise man tells him to take the cow into the house. And for some stupid reason, the guy decides to do it. Fortunately for his family and the rest of the livestock now residing in the house, there was only one cow. This goes on for a while, but now it's complete and utter chaos in the house and no one can move anywhere without stepping on someone (or something - is it animal or mineral?). His wife is angry all the time, and finally tells him she's going to divorce him if he doesn't do something about the situation. The guy goes back to the wise man. "Look, dude. I did everything you said. I took the chickens into the house. My family squawked, but I did it. Then I took the pigs into the house. It is handy to have the bacon a bit closer, but they can sure eat a lot and my girls don't like sharing their ribbons. Then I brought in the cow. Now it's bedlam. I can't think. I can't sleep. My wife is ready to leave me. And I still don't have enough money to get a bigger house that has a man-cave."
So the wise man tells the guy to go home and take all the livestock out of the house. Lo and behold, when all the animals are removed the house seems quiet and spacious. The family was happy again (particularly after all the animal residue and smell was cleaned out of the house). I'm not sure the exact moral of the story - but it has one. And I don't know if the guy ever got his man-cave, or if he was just content that he got to stay married and the kids stopped squabbling over the bathroom so much. But he was happy too.
Are you wondering what the point of the story is yet? It's my living room. For weeks & weeks now, we've had some of the kitchen cabinets, sheets of plywood, two-by-fours, and tools sitting in the middle of the living room. And today, since the new kitchen wall is framed, Greg moved the stuff back into the kitchen (well, some of it was used up in the process). I have raw plywood floor with a border of hideous pink carpet, but I'm loving that I can see across the living room. (And that the water is hooked back up to the fridge - our tap water tastes *aweful*!)
It's a farmer with a large family and a small house. He goes to the village wise-man and asks him how to get a bigger house for his family when he doesn't have much money. The wise man tells him to take the chickens into the house. Eeew, I say - I think they're stinky and they'd make a mess, but the guy does it. After some time, the guy goes back to the wise man. He says, "I took the stinky, messy chickens into the house with my wife and two dozen kids. It's more crowded than ever, so how do I get a bigger house? I really need a man-cave."
So the wise man tells him to take the pigs into the house. At this point, I'm hoping this house has dirt floors, so all the animal droppings can just be sprinkled with more dirt or swept out the door. The guy grumbles some, but since it's the recommendation of the wise guy of the village, he decides to do it. I'm not sure how many pigs he has, but the guy is nuts. It's a madhouse as the family tries to live in a small, dirt-floor hut with dozens of kids, loads of chickens, and some swine. The guy goes back to the wise man. "Okay. I put the pigs and the chickens in the house with my family. The girls are grossed out and whining about having to share the bathroom with *real* pigs, the boys are chasing the chickens so they don't lay eggs. This is nuts. And I still need my man-cave, but I don't have the dough to make it happen. What do I do?"
So the wise man tells him to take the cow into the house. And for some stupid reason, the guy decides to do it. Fortunately for his family and the rest of the livestock now residing in the house, there was only one cow. This goes on for a while, but now it's complete and utter chaos in the house and no one can move anywhere without stepping on someone (or something - is it animal or mineral?). His wife is angry all the time, and finally tells him she's going to divorce him if he doesn't do something about the situation. The guy goes back to the wise man. "Look, dude. I did everything you said. I took the chickens into the house. My family squawked, but I did it. Then I took the pigs into the house. It is handy to have the bacon a bit closer, but they can sure eat a lot and my girls don't like sharing their ribbons. Then I brought in the cow. Now it's bedlam. I can't think. I can't sleep. My wife is ready to leave me. And I still don't have enough money to get a bigger house that has a man-cave."
So the wise man tells the guy to go home and take all the livestock out of the house. Lo and behold, when all the animals are removed the house seems quiet and spacious. The family was happy again (particularly after all the animal residue and smell was cleaned out of the house). I'm not sure the exact moral of the story - but it has one. And I don't know if the guy ever got his man-cave, or if he was just content that he got to stay married and the kids stopped squabbling over the bathroom so much. But he was happy too.
Are you wondering what the point of the story is yet? It's my living room. For weeks & weeks now, we've had some of the kitchen cabinets, sheets of plywood, two-by-fours, and tools sitting in the middle of the living room. And today, since the new kitchen wall is framed, Greg moved the stuff back into the kitchen (well, some of it was used up in the process). I have raw plywood floor with a border of hideous pink carpet, but I'm loving that I can see across the living room. (And that the water is hooked back up to the fridge - our tap water tastes *aweful*!)
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I haven't done a thing to help with the remodel this week. Greg, on the other hand, has been quite industrious. He re-routed the vent pipe (which involved running it through the floor, sending it up in a new spot, then going into the attic to re-route tubing there too), framed in the new kitchen wall and bedroom closet, then moved the cabinetry from the living room back into the kitchen. He did a fair amount on his own, and then James graciously spent his weekend helping to make it possible to move my "chickens and pigs" back into the kitchen.
Moving the Vent Pipe
Raising the Wall
More Raising and Framing
Routing Things in the Attic
The Wall
The Wall & the Closet
James in the Closet, Cabinets in the Kitchen
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