The Purrrfect Home (Part 10)

"Don't pay the ransom, I've escaped!"


No, I am not in Brazil having absconded with client funds. Nor am I in legal trouble, or any of the other rumors that have been started by sources unknown. Not a lot of progress has been made on the Purr-jon house, lately. The reason for this is two handed, or I guess I should say the lack of two handed.

With weather turning nice, it has been hard to get any work out of the Phist brothers. They have been to baseball games, tennis tournaments, horse shoe matches, lawn bowling, gone fishing and it seems anything to keep from working. Would you believe they even went out of town for "Thumb Wrestling Mania"? I've had to sit them down and have a long talk about their remaining in my employment.


You are not the only one that has taken note of no updates on this blog spot for awhile. The Purr-jon sisters are stopping by later to discussion why their home is taking so long. I've begged the Phist brothers to at least appear busy while Rose and Lily are on the job site. They got right to work, what they are doing, I don't know. After having reprimanded them, I felt it best not to ask.

I met with the sisters in the loft area. They said they were pleased with the house, but wished it were progressing faster. They liked the carpet, being more impressed with the sun room ,than the other rooms. (I've since learn from the Internet, that cats distinguish blues and greens clearer then other colors. Most other colors appear in gray ranges). They tried to pin me down to a completion date and I managed to side-step it, time after time.

Then the yarn that the Phist brothers had laid out began moving and the conversation came to a halt.











In a split second Rose and Lily were out the door of the loft, their focus on the slowly disappearing yarn.






Now I knew what the Phist brothers had been up to when they laid out the trail of yarn.








By the time the Purr-jon sisters had reached the ball of yarn in the front entry, all thoughts of completion dates, slow progress and etc., had slipped their minds.







They spent some time pushing and chasing the ball of yarn around, finally got bored and then departed. Lefty and Wright have just proved that they are a valuable asset to Pixielated Builders. Even so, I've got to find some additional help if I plan on completing this house any time soon. If you know anyone that might be interested, have them drop by the construction site for an interview.

The Purrrfect Home (Part 9)

I'd been to the Builder Supply Store again, seems that that's my home away from home anymore. When I returned I found that Taelyn was busy working on the carpet in the living room, by himself. Not a good thing. So I went in search of the Phist brother, who should had been helping (read as supervising) Taelyn.



There was the sound of a fire extinguisher being used in the loft. Worried that there might be a fire, I ran towards the loft, only to hear Wright tell Lefty " Cool me another one", then the sound of the fire extinguisher again. As I got closer I heard Lefty say " You got any threes" and Wright say "Go Fish".

I was not happy with what I discovered. It seems Lefty and Wright had decided that while I was away they could have a little party. They had been using the fire extinguisher to cool their beer. Reluctantly they returned to work, and I went down to help Taelyn. I heard a muffled cry. " Mr. Pender, Help"!

Can you guess where Taelyn is at? Here's a hint. Usually large lumps are not found in carpet.


I yelled for one of the Phist brothers to come and assist me. Lefty was first on the scene and helped lift the carpet off Taelyn.

I asked Taelyn what had happened. "I don't know Mr. Pender, I was trying to put this carpet down, when everything went black". Of course Wright had been to the first-aid kit and brought the gun, just in case Taelyn had a major injury.

"Mr. Pender" said Taelyn, after he was extracted from under the carpet, " I've been thinking that maybe the construction industry is not for me". "I know that you count on me a lot, but would you be angry if I quit? I think that I have a lead on a job that will suit me better".

I told Taelyn that I would miss his fine work, but that he felt it was best, I would accept his resignation. I wished him good luck, and he departed. I will miss him, but I think our accident rate will drastically decease. "Good Lucky Taelyn, where ever you go"!

The Purrrfect Home (Part 8)

On my insistence the Phist boys apologized to Taelyn for pulling that "Board Stretcher" prank on him. I don't think Taelyn even realized that he had been duped. He said that he was"Sorry that he hadn't been able to find the Board Stretcher". I've known the brothers pretty much all of my life, and can honestly say that their behaviour has not been improving, lately. I wonder if this has anything to do with their appearing in this blog spot? It seems that some people react strangely when they reach any form of notoriety.

Taelyn set about installing the overhead light in the dressing room.

Surprisingly? , that did not go well!

Upon hearing the crash when the ladder fell, I dashed in to see what had happened. That ladder should get a job at the Rodeo, as it had hog-tied Taelyn faster then the record time for calf roping. Being unsure how bad Taelyn might be hurt, I yelled for Lefty to bring the "First-Aid Kit".

By the time Lefty arrived I was pretty sure there were no life threatening injures. Minor scrapes were about it. Application of a band-aid or two, would cover the situation. When Lefty reluctantly open the first-aid kit, I was stunned!

A bottle of Wild Turkey and a gun, were the only contains of the first-aid kit! Lefty explained that the "Wild Turkey" was for minor injures, and the gun was in case of major injures. It is not hard to figure out why Lefty and Wright had been hanging around the first aid kit, so much, lately. Wright arrived on the scene and tried to insist that Taelyn looked like he had major injures.

I confiscated the gun from Wright. Taelyn is going to be just fine. I'm just going to have to be very selective in picking jobs for him. Oh yes, I'll see what can be done about getting a more conventional first-aid kit!

The Purrrfect Home (Part 7)

Taelyn has been real helpful. I've got him working closely with Lefty, kind of like an apprentice. His eagerness makes up for his lack of knowledge. He has a lot to learn and seems to enjoy hammering the most.

There has been a rash of accidents on the job site. None of them have been major, just little things, slivers, small cuts, abrasions and etc. Lefty and Wright are never far from the First-Aid Kit. .

I had to make a trip to the builders supply house, and when I got back Taelyn was missing. Lefty and Wright claimed they had no idea where he might of gotten off to. Maybe it's me, but they sounded less then truthful.

About a half hour later Taelyn returned. I asked him were he had been and heard quite a story involving a "Board Stretcher".

Taelyn said that he had been helping Mr. Lefty with the floor molding in the Sun Room, when they had discovered that one of the boards was too short.

At that point Mr Lefty had asked Taelyn to go find a "Board Stretcher" so we could make the board longer.

"I didn't really know what a "Board Stretcher" looked like so I checked in my Basic Carpentry Book" said Taelyn. There was no picture or anything about board stretching in my book. Mr. Lefty and Mr. Wright seemed to be very busy, and didn't have time to describe what it looked like. I looked for you, but you had gone. I decided to go see my friend Mr. Thorne, and ask him.

As I was leaving I heard Mr. Wright ask Mr. Lefty if he had "scammed the Newbie". Not knowing a lot of the technical terms in carpentry, I did not understand what they meant. Then Mr. Wright laughed and said to Mr Lefty " give me a "high one"".

After I had found and asked Mr. Thorne about the "Board Stretcher", Mr. Thorne told me that the only place that might have one was at the Ice Cream Shoppee. It would be best to go there, order a Root Beer Float, and only when I was finished with the Float, ask about the "Board Stretcher". The phone rang while I was there and I think it was Mr. Thorne, who talked to the shoppee manager. After my Root Beer Float was finished, I asked if they had a "Board Stretcher". The manager said that they had just given out the last one, and would not be getting any more, for awhile. He also suggested that Mr. Lefty might try and find a longer board. "I'm sorry I was not more helpful" said Taelyn.

I thanked Taelyn for his excellant effort, and went in search of those trouble making Phist bros. Do I have a "Board Stretcher" for them!

The Purrrfect Home (Part 6)

We had just finished the carpet on the last wall of the sunroom, when Taelyn dropped by.

Taelyn " Good Morning Mr. Pender".

C. Pender "Good Morning to you too. What brings you around?

Taelyn " I decided that I need a job . Saoirse and Andara said that you might be looking for some help in your construction business. Is it possible that you would be interested in hiring me?"

Before I had a chance to respond, the Phist brothers appeared. It is amazing that you can call them all day long, and they don't respond, but let something happen that is none of their business and you'll be tripping over them. Once I got them to go back to work, I asked Taelyn a few questions.

C. Pender "Why do you want to get a job?

Taelyn "I've been house sitting for Ms Ariel, and like the idea of having my own house, someday.

"I've brought some tools, just in case" said Taelyn as he pointed at his wheel barrow.

Taelyn "I've even been reading a Basis Carpentry book."

When you are in a service related business, your employees are a reflection of your company. Bad help can make or break you. While I like Taelyn, I honestly did not know a lot of his background. I insist that my work force be "drug free". So I asked Taelyn if he thought he could pass a drug test.

Taelyn "I don't know, Mr. Pender. Maybe if I studied, because I don't know anything about drugs. Saoirse and Andara, did teach me how the determine which nails go in which walls ( See: A Cabin in the Forest (Part 2). , if that will help.

C. Pender "Do you have a criminal record?

Taelyn "No records. I just have DVD's and CD's ."

I guess I'm just a soft touch, plus I really do need some help on this construction site. I heard myself say " Okay Taelyn, I'll give you a try".

Taelyn grabbed his hammer and Basic Carpentry book and said " Whoopee! What do you want me to hammer, first?"

I sure hope that I did not make a mistake!

The Purrrfect Home (Part 5)

The Phist brothers get weirder every day. Since the "Accident", they felt it would be a good idea to have a First Aid Kit available on the job site. This did not sound like a bad idea to me, and I told them to put one together. Lefty insisted that there would be nothing in the kit that could be used as a tourniquet. After Wright tried to "tourniquet" (read strangle) him, he won't work if there is anything on the job that could used as a "tourniquet". Thus, the brothers and myself inspect the job site each morning for any such devices, before the day's work can commence.



We have finished putting the molding and door trim on the loft.





The room with the beige carpet will be a combination kitchen/family room.

We have a good start on the Sun Room, and barring disruptions from Lefty and Wright, it should be done soon.

As hard as it is to get quality work from the Phist boys, the LeFoot bros. proved to be even less productive. They kept tripping over each other, and really had trouble using tools. I think that about all I can use them for will be "transportation". If you know of some good workers, contact C. Pender at Pixielated Builders.

The Purrrfect Home (Part4)

The Phist brothers and myself had been hitting it pretty hard. After deciding to complete one room at a time, construction has moved at a fairly rapid pace.

The room with the burgundy carpet is going to be a Dressing Room and also contain the Restroom facilities. The Purr-jon sisters are "models" and spend a great deal if time with make-up and such, thus the need for a rather large room. The loft area will be the sleeping area. As requested, I am installing wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling carpet. Lily and Rose have left all decisions as to carpet colors up to me. I am starting to think that they can not distinguish colors.

All was going well, until the accident!

As it was explained to me, Lefty fell off the step ladder and then the ladder landed on top of him.

When I arrived on the scene, Wright was either checking Lefty's pulse or giving him CPR. I haven't a clue as to which one. I am not sure if Wright knew either.

The accident scene became even stranger, when Wright proceeded to apply a tourniquet to Lefty, even though any blood from his wound was already dried. When I asked Wright why he would do such a thing, especially since it could strangle Lefty. He's explanation was, ever since they were kids, one of his secret desires, had been to put a "tourniquet" on Lefty. What better time than now?

It always take some time to discover the truth when dealing with Wright and Lefty. However persistence will usually pay off. While playing with a untility knife Wright had accidentally cut Lefty. Since they have no insurance, they decided to fake an on the job accident, with the hope that Workmans Comp. would cover the medical expense. To date these medical expenses are the cost of a band-aid and a dab of neosphorene. The Phist brothers waste a great deal of time and effort trying to be "clever". If you remember, when they wanted to go fishin, Lefty had faked an injure to that same thumb. Just proves that "it's not nice to try and fool C. Pender"!