The Little Orchard House

Emergency Masonry Day 1

Brooke Tansley — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:12:06 +0000

After a morning of discussing the ins and the outs of this, our first actual construction project, we finally arrived home with supplies for the first of three courses at 12:45pm.

We had to chisel off the cap stones.

Then it was mixin’ time.

Turns out we had some serious past life stuff going on. Armand was instantly good at this as if he’d done it before.

It wasn’t pretty, but it was thorough, and we’ll be covering it anyway.

We only had 2/3 of a course done by the end of the day, due to a morning of discussion, internet research, and prep.

To be continued…

Emergency Masonry Project Today!

Brooke Tansley — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:17:44 +0000

So yesterday, our beloved 6 pound yorkie, Fenway, took an interest in our retaining wall and tried to jump down to get to another dog. Our 9 foot retaining wall.

Here’s what the wall looked like when we bought the place:

We’ve since sold the gates for scrap, so here’s what it looks like now:

Well, Fenny was in that corner, trying to figure out a way to jump down. A 9 foot drop!

Well, today, we will fill in the gaps with concrete block. It will eventually get stuccoed over so that it doesn’t look like poop.

We will take plenty of picks to show you! So happy to be doing something after such a long period of inactivity.

Change of Plan #482: The Baby Bug

Brooke Tansley — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:37:16 +0000

We’ve got it bad. This isn’t helped by the fact that all of our married friends save one has either just had a baby or are just about to have one. Every time I hold one of the new nippers my uterus yells “I want a baby!” and I’m quite certain that other folks’ll start hearing it yell soon if I don’t listen to it.

Armand and I had a very candid and realistic discussion about the reno and where the baby makin’ fits into that plan. It’s become clear, financially, that adding a second floor to the house is a long ways away and if we scrap that plan then we’ll be able to renovate the house proper sooner. This means being okay with not having an office and not living here forever. I can be okay with that. We’ve also set a deadline. We’re going to get as much done as we can, hoping to finish, but at this certain point it’s baby time, ready or not. We’re not getting any younger. For realsies.

This means that the end result will be a two bedroom one bath house with a one or two room guest house with bath. Kiddies will share a room till one of ‘um is a teenager – then we move.

That’s all I’ve got for now. Still waiting till there’s enough cash for our perforated drain pipe, 1″ washed gravel, tiller rental, river rock, and grass. Sigh.

I’ll keep you posted.

12 things left…

Brooke Tansley — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 16:07:46 +0000

… on a non-house related to-do list. Then, time to lay some drain pipe, till that yard, and plant. God, it’s been forever!

Good news – Armand booked a national network commercial for Lexus! So, knock-on-wood-fingers-crossed there might be more money for home improvements around here.

In other news, check out the 4th of July Parade in El Sereno.

In the interest of full disclosure…

Brooke Tansley — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 03:41:44 +0000

Well, it’s been awhile. Truth is, we’ve been a bit broke. More truth – I’ve been a bit down about it. In the interest of truthful storytelling here at The LOH I think that I won’t stay mum anymore during tougher times. Renovating a home is hard, the cheerful ease I see on the home reno blogs that I follow can’t be constant, and I need to cease comparing our project to others. We can’t be alone. Other folks have fights. Other folks have a hard time making decisions together that satisfy both partners needs/desires. Other folks are broke sometimes. Perhaps by laying it out here, our normal can be a comfort to you, if you’ve got a project.

I tend to withdraw from my friends when I’m going through something tough, and I’ve been doing the same here. Maybe it’s what I do for a living creeping in, but I do need to remind myself that I don’t have to entertain. I can also connect, which is the most important part of what I do. I can do that by making this a completely honest account, troubles and all. Hopefully, you’ll be with me.

We’re getting back to work here at The LOH this week. This time, although lean, has been productive. We made a feature film (a drama called Take Care), I wrote and put up my first show (Disney’s Silence of the Lambs – the Musical at Upright Citizens Brigade), I did another sketch show with my team, The Space Program, at Upright Citizens Brigade, I shot a music video for new singer/songwriter Cazz, and I’m learning the ukulele. So there’s all that.

Thank you for reading, and we’ll have some home news soon.

:) Brooke

More Movie Makin’ at The LOH

Brooke Tansley — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:58:45 +0000

Standing by…

Brooke Tansley — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 21:12:08 +0000

Shooting on the indie film Take Care continues at The LOH till the 9th and I’m putting up a show at Upright Citizens Brigade on the 10th, so things have been hectic! He’s a lil’ peak at our bedroom on camera…

We’ve got lots to show and tell about – we’ll be back soon!

‘Crete Haul: Nat Geo Edition

Brooke Tansley — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:34:31 +0000

Yesterday was a b-b-b-bear, ya’ll.

We headed down to Montebello to rent our stake truck.

Here’s what we were facing:

Get it done.

This is where the day got all National Geographic on us.

Eaten.

Sorry, lil’ guy.

We pick up every piece, put in the wheel barrow, dump it into the truck, and pick each piece up again at the recycling center and throw it.

Every piece.

Here’s the progress throughout the day:

at 0 wheel barrow loads in truck

at 10 wheel barrow loads in truck

at 20 wheel barrow loads in truck

at 30 wheel barrow loads in truck

at 41 wheel barrow loads in truck

Part 2 later…

Time to Haul More ‘Crete!

Brooke Tansley — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:50:14 +0000

We both got a weekday off! In 15 minutes we begin the day’s hauling!

Ya know, it sure seems like we can’t get away from this concrete stuff. On Monday, we celebrated our two year anniversary with some roller coasters at Six Flags, and just as we got in line for the first coaster of the day, we saw this:

Really? Stop following us. What gods must we appeal to? I will appeal to them.

Tomorrow I’ll have pics from today to post.

The LOH Gets Ready for its Close-up

Brooke Tansley — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 02:15:55 +0000

Armand, Buddy, The LOH and I (sorry, Fenway) are all in the indie drama, Take Care, that begins filming on Friday. It’s written and directed by dear friend, Scott Tanner Jones. Check him out here, here, and here.

Having The LOH on camera in such a “before” state will be a wonderful thing to look at once we get to some actual “afters” on this reno. Of course, it is a lil’ bit like when I played a serial killer on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and made my network television debut with not a bit makeup on my face and hair color soaking my melon. Stuff looked rough.

If ya don’t feel like sittin’ through the vid, here’s what I’m talking about:

Also, face in lettuce:

Both The LOH and I are looking forward to some more glam camera time.