Auntie Devika's Boarding House (Part 5)

C Pender here. It has been awhile since I last updated you on the Boarding House project. Sorry about that, but I've been busy arranging for Pixielated Builders next project.

Anyway, I stopped by the Maplewood today. From the look of things, Alonzo has been doing a great job. He has put Tarin back on the payroll and had him laying the carpet in the attic area.

I understand that he will also be doing the siding and probably the shingles also.

Devika has been spending a great deal of time, at the job site. She seems to be very happy with her apartment area.

Dee expressed some interest in what kind of view she will have from her windows.

We have little control over the final view. That will depend of course on it's final location at the "Tree House".

Before I left for the day, Tarin had started applying the siding. He is really an expert with those kinds of jobs.

The Phist Bros. seemed to be absent for the job site. When I asked Alonzo about them, he told me , that Lefty and Wright had taken some time off .They had been doing such a great job, that Ariel had given them a large bonus. The new found wealth was burning a hole in their "pockets?". I guess we'll find out what the blew the money on when they return.

Auntie Devika's Boarding House (Part 4)

The other day I stopped by Devika's Boarding House. The attic floor was in place, along with part of the roof.



Also the stairs going to the attic, (Devika's apartment) were nearing completion.



When I returned home, there was a message on my answering machine from Tarin. He has finished his Web Site job and was inquiring if I had any work for him. I returned his call and suggested that he check with Alonzo about assisting with the shingling and/or siding installation.



Tarin called me back, after visiting Mr. Pamplemouse, and told me Lon would give him a call when he could help. Tarin also was suprised that Lefty had been very cordial to him. We both found this strange, as usually Lefty panics around Tarin. I decided to investigate.

***********************************


The following day, while on the work site, I asked Lefty about his lack of fear of Tarin. Lefty told me that he felt very safe when Lon was on the site. He suggested that I ask Lon about Spider Wrangling, which I did.

It seems that Alonzo had spent some time on the "Rodeo Circuit" and had been a "Wild Spider Rider". He had pictures.



The spider was kept in a cage for the event. The cages were a fairly new modification, and introducted, after some spiders had escaped into the town of Glendale. The "Glendale Rodeo" had been renamed the "Glendale Stampede" after that incident.



The rider then mounts the spider and tries to stay seated, using only one hand, the other hand must remain in the air. The Spider will try to dislodge the rider by "bucking, twisting, etc." Points are awarded for time and style.

These are pictures of Lon's last ride.





Lon said that he had retired from "Spider Busting", after his nose had been shortened. He finds that the construction business is much safer.

That explains why Lefty feels safe with Alonzo on the job. I think he figures if Tarin should get out of hand, Wrangler Lon will just jump on him and ride him to a standstill. I guess we'll see if that works out.

Auntie Devika's Boarding House (Part 3)

Since "Lon" has taken over the majority of my responsibilities, I have not been spending a lot of time at the job site. I was pleasently surprise to see that things have been progressing quite well. Actually I am Shocked.

The carpet, molding, stairs to the 2nd floor and french doors had been completed.



The shower, sinks, and toilets are installed and functional in the second floor restroom.

I did do a complete inspection, after all, my name is on the Permit as primary constractor. The Phist Bros. seemed to be adapting to the new situation quite well. Lefty in particular seems to really like Alonzo M. Pamplemouse.

Devika came by today.

She arrived as Alonzo was taking his lunch break. He was kind enough to offer to share his cheese cracker with her.

Lon offered to show Devika around the job site. First was the restroom. Dee thought it was beautiful.

Dee found the kitchen to be lovely and functional.

Alonzo showed Dee where they would be adding shelves in the pantry,

and also where the light had been installed for the pool table,which will be going in the community room.

Devika was very pleased with the way her boarding house is coming together. I did find out that Alonzo has been using a lot of subcontractors. That explains how so much work is getting done. Of course that is going to drive up the cost of this job, but that does not seem to be problematic to Ariel. I am also very curious as to why Lefty thinks so highly of Mr. Pamplemouse.

Auntie Devika's Boarding House (Part2)

Alonzo M. Pamplemouse got to the job site about 11 this morning.

He was hired by Ariel, and works directly for her. It is my understanding that Devika will make all decisions about decorating the house (colors, carpets, furniture and etc.). I will be in charge of construction and my crew. Alonzo will however be the "coordinator", and deal with all purchasing, permits, inspections, Safety concerns, the quality of building materials and etc.



Alonzo came up to the second floor, where we were working, and introduced himself. "Hi, everybody just calls me "Lon". I asked Lon how we were going to handle the work situation, after all, most of the things he was taking over, were things I had been doing. Alonzo suggested that we sit down and discuss everything. "I'm kind of tired from being up this early anyway.



Ariel had told him not to interfere with the house construction, but be as helpful as he could possibly be. As he understood the situation, he was to ensure that only the highest quality materials were used in the construct. Since Ariel was very sure that the more expensive something is, the better it is, he had been told to spare no expense on this project. Ariel wanted him on the site, as close to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as possible. Since the house doesn't have a roof yet and few other amenities, I questioned where he would stay.



He had planned ahead. I had never seen a portable mouse hole, but he had one. It can be set up on any wall and he says it is quite comfortable. The peanut butter cracker, he said would take care of his meals for about a week.
I knocked off for the day. I some times wonder about this Fae World.


******************************************************

I was planning on having Wright or Lefty bring the shower stall (for the second floor restroom) in through the back of the house. In the past, one of them would just pick it up and place it in location. "That is not how Alonzo sees it."



He had rented a forklift!



He had had concerns about safety. The strain of lifting might cause the Phist Bros. some physical problems. Also he had rented the forklift from Ariel's "new equipment rental center". Lon was sure that it was top of the line, as it had been very expensive to rent.



The shower stall reached the second floor without incident, amazingly. I convinced Alonzo that the second floor would not stand up under the weight of the forklift, nor was there a reasonable way to get it up there. So he finally allowed the Phist Bros. to move it into place.





There was one more surprise, but I'm sure it is not going to be the last. The Phist Bros. and myself all got huge raises. Since this is work contracted by the FAE Government, we are entitled to the same hourly wages that government employees (doing the same type of work) get. (I think this is referred to as "Davis-Bacon Wages). At this rate,the Maplewood won't look like the Taj Mahal, but it will cost about as much.

Auntie Devika's Boarding House (Part 1)

Things have been progressing slowly. It has taken the Phist Bros. some time to recover from their Christmas Party. They also did not return to work until they had broken all of their New Years Resolutions (that didn't really take much time). With all the snow in the "high country", the Bros are now claiming to be skiers, and claim to be spending a great deal of time on the slopes. I can believe this as I have never met anyone with more potential for going "Down Hill. It is strange however, that anytime there is a closure of Interstate 70, due to weather conditions, they are always trapped in the traffic jam.

We have got some work done anyway.

The Community room came out quite well. The hanging lamp will be over the pool table.



This is a view of the dinning area and the kitchen.





We have been experimenting with the placement of the kitchen counters and appliances. The overhead kitchen light, we are planning on using, is on the floor.



The second floor is in place.



The majority of the electrical for the second floor is installed and tested. Devika picked out the wallpaper, and I think she made a good choice.

I got an E-mail from Ariel, yesterday. It seems that she is sending an individual, named Alonzo Marion Pamplemouse, to oversee this construction project. I don't know much about him yet. Rumor has it that for every dollar Ariel spends on this job, she will be reimbursed a dollar and twenty-five cents by the FAE Government. Ergo, Alonzo will be making sure that only the most expensive materials will be used, and the construction will take as long as possible. (I'm sure the Phist Bros. can help with that). I've heard of some government projects that were handled this way.

NOT a home for the VanSwynes Anymore!

Those of you that regularly follow "Pixielated Builders" know that every thing runs smoothly for C. Pender and crew. NOT!!! Ariel came to the job site, and I was in formed that she now owns the Maplewood. It appears that the Van Swyne sisters had a falling out. The two older sisters do not want to live in the same residence. They sold the Maplewood to Ariel.

With the influx of more residents to the Tree House , Ariel has decided to have the Maplewood redesigned as temporary housing for displaced Fae ladies. If it wasn't for the Tax Breaks Ariel will get and the fact that the Fae Government is giving her an allotment for each tenant, I would think that Ariel had developed a "streak of nice". We all know her better then that.

Devika has agreed to manage the "Home", and I will be dealing directly with her. Some of the first floor walls had to be removed, and most of the second floor interior walls , will not be installed. Devika's plan is for the first floor to have a large community room.

The Kitchen and dining area will cover the rest of the first floor.



Since there will be a large number of meals served daily in the "Home", the area under the stairs has been converted into a pantry.



The second floor will be a large open dormitory and there will be a large common bathroom. The attic will be Devikas personal rooms and office area.

The Phist Bros. are back and the work has been going quite well. I've decided that we will try and finish one floor at a time.

The Phist Bros. insisted on having a Company Christmas Party. I'm not going to say much about it. The picture shows Lefty taking a short "nap". Partying can be hard work!



Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the gang at Pixielated Builders!

A Home for the VanSwyne's 2 (Permit 102407)

In the last year, I've built or remodeled 6 structures for various denizens of the "Tree House". Some rather large, some a great deal smaller, but one question always comes up. "Whose paying the bill"?





After my problems with "Pixie Gold", I now have a policy of checking the financial back ground of my clients, before I get started. Thus, I ended up at the 1st National Bank of Fae. Mr. Sterling, the banker, was very helpful and assured me that the VanSwyne sisters were very capable of financing any project, as long as it did not exceed 7 figures. I did not ask, but Mr. Sterling seemed to feel the needed to tell me more then I needed, about where the VanSwyne fortune came from.





One story that he had heard from his grandfather (their money has been in the family that long), was that the money came from an inheritance from their uncles of several generations ago. As the story went, these uncles (Norman, Hyrum and Maximillian) had designed the first air conditioning unit that would be of commercial value in the auto industry. This was around 1930. They approached several auto manufactures, and while the auto tycoons loved the thought of automobile air conditioning, there was a problem. At that time the brothers were know as the Swine Bros. (they did not change their name until some years later), and were insistent that SWINE AIR CONDITIONING be on all of their units. The name was not necessarily a great selling point, in the eyes of the manufactures. Finally, a compromise was worked out with Ford. The Bros. sold the rights to their units, but with the stipulation that their first names appear on each unit. That is why auto air conditioners have settings of NORM, HI and MAX. Yes, I know, I'm not sure I believe it either.





It was also suggested that their inheritance may have come from the these same three uncles, but had come from a settled lawsuit . Something to do with harassment, along with pain and suffering caused by a Wolf. Again who can be sure? They appear to be very solvent, which is all I needed to know.


I've started with some of the walls.





I'm hoping that once Wright and Lefty return, we'll be able to get a lot more done.