The "How Hard Can It Be?" Gene

It is an enduring truth of human life that few things are as satisfying as watching other people hard at work whilst you sit comfortably at a distance, sipping your favorite brew.  

We enjoyed watching this play-by-play video the other night over dinner.  A young, unemployed civil engineer did a brilliant job from top to bottom over a four-year period.  It's a great way to take your mind off the state of the world for an hour, not to mention your own troubles. I suggest, however, that you lower the playback speed to about 80 percent if you want to keep up with Speedy Andy.

BTW, here at Blue Truck HQ, the plumbers are supposed to come today to fix our runaway toilet.  Somehow, the fasteners on one side of the base have disappeared.  You haven't really lived until you've taken a ride on a rock 'n' roll toilet!  I tell you what.

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Sunday Drive: Baby Blue

This song recalls for me another springtime and the bittersweet memory of my first love, more than half a century ago. I've written about Pat before, if you care to read the story - that chaste and secret love we shared came to a sad ending, but I've never forgotten the sunshine days of fun and friendship - that special cameraderie of boys becoming men together.

Other loves and other disappointments followed; but at this late age, living contentedly with M.P., I realize how blessed I was to have those friendships and passing joys. How true the saying is - better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.

Yesterday, I happened to come across this recording by the Mike Faraci Band, a local NYC group, which is an amzingly good cover of the 1972 Badfinger original.  Huh.  How do those young'uns even know about such antique music, I wonder.

By the way, Mike is a man of parts: lead singer, guitarist, composer, artist, interior designer, and is highly skilled at carpentry and other DIY projects.  Rather studly, too.  Check out this tour of his New York City apartment - his aesthetic is not mine, but I can appreciate what he's done with colors, textures, and light:

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Chateau Poseidon: Fountain of Possibilities

Latest updates from those French Canadian guys.

Episode 15: Second Floor Possibilities

Episode 16: A Fountain for Poseidon

Note to readers:  I admire the energy and know-how these fellas have; but the work is proceeding very slowly, and in future I may not post all their vids.  The last one above was interesting with the fountain, furnace, and apples.  The one prior to that was dreadfully dull:  scraping and painting all those window frames.  

Problem is, they still haven't made the caretaker cottage livable, and winter will soon set in.  The amount of work needed on the big house is mind-boggling, and so is the expense.  No doubt somewhere in one or both families is an indulgent Big Mama or Big Daddy with very deep pockets.  It must be nice not to worry about how to pay the rent or keep food on the table while picking out designer decor and furniture.

Frankly, I think with this beat-up chateau way to hell out in bumfuck, they have bitten off much more than they can chew or ever make a profit on, but what do I know?  I wish them good luck with this monster reno.  It will certainly be a great learning experience.

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Todd and Rob Do Up the Outdoor Den

The mountain boys are back from Wyoming and itching to get the back porch all fixed up for fall with new furniture, a chandelier, and a truckload of pumpkins. Their aesthetic is very different from mine; but it's pleasant to see two husbands enjoying their life together. And obviously not at all worried about the price of groceries. I'm sure they spend more on decor every month than we do on food. Lucky ducks.

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Chateau Poseidon: Treasures and Troubles

The latest updates from the chateau guys.

Epsidode 13:  Fishing for Treasures

Episode 14: Tower of Troubles

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Todd and Rob Still Shedding

The mountain boys continue their labors in their tiny garden shed, which now has new windows, new wainscotting, new panelling, new ceiling, and new paint.  They sure are good with tools, and I envy their know-how, though I hate to think how much money, time, and sweat these guys are pouring into a 4' x 8' room that no one will ever see except them and their plant life. But hey, at least they're not destroying Western Civilization - are they? 

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Chateau Poseidon: Episodes 10 & 11

Tom and Damien carry on with renovation work, decor planning, and friendly visits.

Episode 10: Chopping down overgrown ivy; a visit by a couple of Brits who are renovating another chateau; and a secret transatlantic flight.

Episode 11:  Fun with spray paint; a difference of opinion; late riser vs. early riser; a quick lunch in the town market; and Damien's design plans for all the first-floor (American: second-floor) bedrooms.

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Todd and Rob Strip Down and Cut Up

 The mountain boys put windows in the potting shed.

M.P. says it would be easier to just remove the siding and put translucent fiberglass panels all around the outside. When I said, why don't we do that with our own storage shed, he just growled and looked away.

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Tom and Damien: Chateau Poseidon updates

These boys are working and videoing so fast on their grand reno project, I can't keep up with them.  Here are their two latest vids.

Episode 7: Our First Thirty Days as Chateau Owners

Episode 8: Let's Talk about Money

They've also posted their first video en francais here.

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Todd and Rob: A Fright and a Fix-up

If you're like me, you may want to skip the snake part, from about 3:00 to 11:00.  Or watch it have a good laugh as the guys lose their minds.

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Todd and Rob's Mountain Oasis

The Georgia boys show off the luxuriance of their mountain garden in the height of summer:

BTW, don't miss the light show in the last eight minutes.

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Chateau for Two

Tom and Damien are a charming Canadian couple who bought a derelict chateau in France, where they have a monumental repair and renovation job ahead of them:

In their second video, they give a mini-tour of the chateau:

(Mais je ne comprends pas pourquoi les gars ne parlent pas le francais dans leur videos. Pour le convenence de leurs telespectateurs anglophones, je me suppose.)

For a full tour of Chateau Poseidon from top to bottom, and a bit of the grounds, see the video they made for So Chateau here.

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Restoring Sean: From the Top Down

Sean completes the ceiling and a lot of trim work.  The best view of the overhead work is from 36:30 on. 

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Restoring Sean: Derailed but Determined

Big, beefy, hairy guy with a sweet smile is renovating an old house he bought.  Come watch.  

If you're pressed for time, get the best view of his body of work starting at the 27:00 mark.

 

He's also into interior design. Check out his website at restoringsean.com.

(P.S. -- Where did all these home-repair bears come from?  In my day, everybody was into disco, not DIY.)

Todd and Rob Canoodle On

Those Georgia mountain boys are getting all hot and sweaty as they continue with their canoe project.  But will they shuck the shirts?

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Rodney and Jake Roof the Coop

Or, Rodney on a hot tin roof.  Just a simple backyard job, easy-peasy with power tools.

Bonus:  The guys install a new super-duper theft-proof mailbox:

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Better Homos and Gardens

The warm weather has brought the DIY'ers out in droves, on YouTube anyway, and my truckbuddies may be interested to see what somebody is doing with an old plantation house in South Carolina.  Brian Branton, a D.C. attorney and lobbyist, saw historic Cedar Grove for sale online a while back, and by his own account, immediately fell in love with the place and snapped it up.  Now he's hard at work writing checks to have the house and gardens restored to his idea of fabulous.  

An enormous "passion project," as monied people like to say, but he seems to have the requisite energy and enthusiasm for it.  Well, good luck to him in that reddest of all red states - I'm sure it's great fun to have a whole estate to play with. 

You can choose how much you want to see of this project, from among a dozen or so vids Brian has posted already.  Here's his first introductory overview from April 2024 (2 min.):

 

 Here's Brian's walkthough of the whole house, a work in progress (47 min.):

 

And here's his latest video, just posted yesterday, an overview of the garden and grounds (29 min.): 

 

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Todd and Rob Fly the Flag!

Pride comes to the North Georgia mountains:

These boys have big ideas that your Head Trucker wouldn't dream of attempting even if he was able to do it.  And obviously, they have Money.To.Burn.  But it's sweet to see a gay couple living out their idea of domestic bliss.  More power to 'em.

Here in Texas, M.P. has been working like a Trojan the last few weeks on clearing brush, mowing the lawn, trimming the bushes, and replanting some herbs and flowers.  I hope to get a few pics to post soon.

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Todd and Rob and the New Canoe

Those Georgia boys are at it again, adding yet more flowers and trees to their mountain garden, and water features too!  They sure have lots of energy.  As we used to, once upon a time . . . 

After a long season of winter inactivity, M.P. in the last couple of weeks has gotten back into yardwork and gardening with vigor.  The bright spring sunshine has helped his mood quite a bit.  He says, "I feel happier now - but I hurt all over!"  That's retirement life.

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Chicken Coop Tour!

M.P. tipped me to this video by a couple of guys down in Austin who are real handymen.  Rodney takes us on a tour of their custom-made chicken coop and run, all very well built.  What really aroused my, um, interest is Rodney's cut-off shorts that always seem about to slide right off his slim, supple body.   If they lived closer, I'd offer to lend a hand and help him out.  Boy howdy!

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