Sea View 1 (Remodeling Contract)

Sooner or later, came sooner then later. The bid on the refurbish came through in a somewhat round about manner. The job had been given to a friend of the clients, Taelyn, by Hera, one of the owners. The other owners Ophelia, Eris and Freya, were not very confident in Taelyn's construction ability. We worked it out so that Taelyn is the main contractor, but only if he uses Pixielated Builders to do the actual work. It boils down to ,I'm doing the work, and we are pretending that Taelyn is in charge. The Phist bros. have been "strongly" advised, that they are not to be pulling any scams on Taelyn.




The Sea view is a larger house than I have been dealing with. You may notice , from the back ground that, it is not in my usual construction area. Mrs. Pender has graciously allowed me to work on it in her kitchen.




Where Eris, Freya, Hera and Ophelia (from now on they will be called the Group) found this house, I'm not sure. I do know how they aquired it. (Pixie Mortgage Payments) The previous owner had done a great deal of work on the interior, and after discussion with the group, we will be making minimal changes to the inside. The members of the "Group" have already staked claims to their favorite rooms. Most of the work will be the addition of lighting, molding, doors and so forth.

The exterior will be repainted, but using the same color scheme. We will need some more windows, doors and be doing some detailing.

Since this is a pre-existing building, it was necessary for me to have it inspected prior to being issued a building permit. The building inspector, J.R. Katscan, gave it a through going over.





J.R. (stands for Just Rotten) pronounce the house to be structurally sound and he will be issuing the permit shortly.

The Purrrfect Home (Part 12)

> Once again there was trouble on the construction site. A lot of the following is just what I have been able to glean from asking a bunch of questions. How much is fact I could not tell you.

Supposedly, Lefty was doing some touch up painting in the kitchen/family room. He said that he had an eerie feeling that he was being watched. When he turned there was a giant monster getting ready to attack him. At that time he claims that he calmly left the house, found a phone and called for assistance.

Wright's version was, he heard a scream, then shortly, something shot past him like a speeding bullet. Since the "rocket" somewhat resembled Lefty, Wright followed him. After Lefty made a phone call, he was too excited to answer any questions. Wright decided that he should call me.

Traffic was a zoo, there were road closures, traffic jams, etc., I did manage to get to the site, and was met with the following.

Lefty had apparently called the National Guard. They had surrounded the house and were trying to get the spider to come out.



Just as I approached the officer in charge, I heard him tell a sergeant, "Get on the bull-horn and tell that spider to come out with it's hands up and it won't be harmed!". To which the sarge said, "Sir, I don't believe spiders have hands, nor arms for that matter". "Sergeant, I've just recalled that spiders don't have hands. Tell it to put half if it's legs up and come out".

I told the Captain, who I was and asked what I could do to help. Before he could tell me to mind my own business and leave, the Spider called out. "Did I hear someone out there is named C. Pender? I need to talk to him, tell him Mr. Thorne sent me over for a job interview".

We finally got things sorted out. The National Guard left, without causing any damage to the Purr-jon house, that could not be easily repaired.

The spider had not meant to scare Lefty, and was sorry because he just has that kind of effect on people. His name was Tarin. He has been a friend of Mr. Thorne for a long time. When he lost his job as a WEB designer, due to down-sizing, Thorne had suggested he come by and see me.

Since we had just installed the roof, I thought that I would give Tarin the job of shingling. This is usually one of the most time consuming and boring jobs in construction.

I love Mr. Thorne! Tarin had the roof shingled in no time. Multiply eyes, eight legs and a great deal of enthusiasm. What a worker! He even made several tours around the roof to make sure everything was correct.

I know you are saying to yourself, "This solves C. Penders problems". Not so! Yes, Tarin is as efficient as two (maybe even three) workers, an answer to C. Pender's prayers. However, a problem has developed with the Phist brothers.


Lefty won't do any work because he is afraid of Tarin, and all he does is carry around a rolled up news paper for protection. Wright on the other hand has formed a group (consisting of only himself) to make sure that Tarin is treated ethically.

The Purr-jon house is now complete and the deed and keys will be turned over to Rose and Lily in the next few days. I'm not sure what my next project will be. I had put in a bid on the refurbishing off a large house, but was informed by the owners that they had found a local contractor (a personal friend) that was going to take on the job. I'm always curious about my competition and inquired who this contractor might be. Taelyn! Sooner or later I may still get that job.

The Purrrfect Home (Part 11)

Work is progressing on the house fairly quickly, the Phist brothers have been taking a lot less time off since our little talk. I am still looking to hire some additional help. The building homes for Pixies is really booming. Pixielated Builders may be getting a contract on a refurbish of a very large house.

The other day, while I was in the loft, I heard a shrill little voice calling "Mr. Pender, are you up here". The first thing to appear in the doorway was some wild yellow hair, followed by a very small young lady. She said her name was Dolli, and had heard that I was looking for construction help. When I asked her where she had heard about this, (mainly with the idea of strangling said person) she said that the Phist brothers had mentioned it, while they were in her diner. She owns and operates "Dolli's Grub and Java". Of course I had to ask the standard questions.

Me: " Why are you thinking of changing jobs?"

Dolli: "Well the Board of Health is closing down my diner, just because I refuse to wear a hair-net. Have you ever heard of anything so stupid? A hair-net would mess up my lovely hair."

Me: "What do you know about construction?"

Dolli: "I've heard a lot of construction talk in my diner and can learn very quickly. When I opened the Diner, I had no idea how to cook or even boil water. Every time I walked by a construction site, however, the workers would yell "Hey Dolly, what's cookin'?" So they must have known that I had a natural talent for cooking, and that's why I opened a diner. I even had a repeat customer the other day, or would have if he's seeing eye dog had not pulled him back out the door".

Me: "If one of the Phist brothers asked you to bring them a hammer, what would you do?"

Dolli: "Ask them what it looked like, and then try and find it."

Me: "Well, thank you for stopping by. I have some more interviews to do and will let you know."




Dolli: "If you hire me, I'll be glad to fix lunch for the crew, every day! I brought you a cake."


The Phist brothers take enough time off without them getting food poisoning, too! I hated to fib about calling her, but luckily she had forgotten to leave a number.

I had only been back at work for a short time, when a squirrel poked his head in the front door. He had also learned that I was seeking help. His name was Randy Rodent Again questions had to be asked.



Me: "Why do you want to work for me?"

RR: " I'm by nature a forager, but I heard the Phist brothers talking in the Park the other day, and they said they work for you for "Peanuts". I got to thinking that it would be real nice to have a steady income and be able to spend more time with my family."

Me: "What do you know about construction?"

RR: "I've built several nests, usually in hollow trees, but sometimes on tree limbs."

Me: "What would you do if I asked you to bring me a saw?"



RR: " I'd first have to remember if I had it and where it might be stored. I do have a compulsion to pick up stuff that has been left laying around and storing it for future use. Most times I can remember where I stored it.... Well, sometimes..... Actually, I usually forget."

Me: "Well, thanks for stopping by. I'll let you know."

What's a pixie contractor suppose to do, I just can't seem to find anyone that will be of any assistance. Maybe my luck will chance. Mr. Thorne said he might have someone that would work out. I guess we'll see.