The Family Portrait

Seen through the eyes of a six year old!



That thing above Deborah's head is the ceiling fan in case you wondered.
I noticed that my lips are so much fuller than ever before and I have my old waistline back!

The Price of Gas!

We just got our gas bill from Vectren yesterday. We used to pay just $3.50 several years ago as a service charge each month but that was increased to $7.34 about two years ago. Now, realize that we use NO gas at the "Old Crack House" or so little that we got billed for one ccf last year and that was for cumulative use of the tankless water heater. Now the fee has increased to $13.47 a month with an added volume charge based on usage. Next year it will go up to $18.37 with no volumetric charge. That means we are paying 83% more for a product that we aren't using. I don't understand it. The world markets are plummeting, we have another 100 plus years supply of natural gas and the cost of that has decreased about 30% since last summer. So, how can it cost 83% more to get it to my house when it has been coming in since the 1890s and I have gas lines in my floor to prove it!

Overdue Update

Here is an overdue update of what has been happening here.

1) House update; very little to report. I have done little to nothing for the last two months due to item 3) below. I am trying to get the place cleaned up and all the clutter put away because we plan to move in very soon!

2) Kid update; Elizabeth turned six last week and is more excited at the fact that she has a loose tooth than the fact that she has almost completed her kindergarten course for the year. Of course the completion of school work only guarantees that she will proceed to first grade material before entering first grade. The losing of baby teeth means she has to be more vigilant with her brushing!
She didn't want to go ice skating this winter either ......

3) The Dayton Mayor update; If you don't live in Dayton or check my link periodically at the right side of the page that says "DaytonMayor" then you have no idea what has happened in the last few weeks. Five people submitted petitions to run for mayor. Only two qualified. The incumbent and myself. Since then two of the people that did not acquire enough valid signatures from registered voters residing in the city have filed protests with the board of elections. The board of elections has rejected their protests since they have little legal claim but if their claims were valid I would have been running unopposed! I am running as an independent candidate but have managed to attract the favor of the Republican Party which is going to help me out tremendously in the days ahead. Fortunately there will be no primary election since we only have two candidates. This means that I didn't get swept up into a whirlwind of chaos preparing to be on a May ballot. Hopefully this also means that I can get some work done on the house!
This will be an interesting year. I hope I can keep up!

Today I ....

did something I haven't been able to do in a while. I worked on the house! I have to get the place cleaned up for several reasons. I will elaborate more in the very near future! In the meantime I am starting to get the third floor cleaned up a bit. We have lots of walnut shells littered all over the floor up there. Me thinks we have a squatter .....

The Cost to Build in 1965

I went to visit my father in Cleveland a few weeks ago and he wanted me to go through a stack of old papers. Most of the papers got shredded but I saved an old folder pertaining to a house that my parents built in 1965. I remember the house vaguely. I remember visiting the site once while it was under construction and I remember a little bit of the time we lived there even though it was for about two years. My grandfather gave my parents the lot since it was next door to them. My brother and I used to run over to their house on Saturday mornings so that we could watch the cartoons on TV in color since they had a color TV while we still had black and white. Everything my parents paid is documented in this folder. It is quite interesting to someone like myself. The house was a brick veneer modern ranch style 40' X 24' single story house with a basement and integral garage. The model was called "The Christopher".

My parents took out a mortgage for $12,500 AT 5 1/2% interest. Their mortgage payment was $80.00 a month. My father made $613.00 a month as an industrial engineer. The basic shell cost $7618.00 and labor cost to build was $775.00.

The entire cost to plumb and sewer was $335.00. Wiring was $140.00. Heating was $108.00. Plastering cost $520.00. The garage door cost $90.00.

The total cost on the construction loan sheet was $13,258.75. I believe the place was completed within 6 months.

I think we have spent way more than this. My labor cost is nothing and we still aren't done yet! My dad told me he once ran for the school board so it would seem we have more in common than one would have thought!