It all started with ice

BIL moved in with us a few weeks after he was released from this latest incarceration. The job that he had been counting on for the past two years fell through due to the economy but he was lucky enough to find something rather quickly. Cell Phone Niece's fiance got him a job driving a combine, harvesting barley or something like that. Unfortunately, he came in at the end of the season so he only worked four days. Corn season doesn't start until July 1st so since his last day of work, May 22nd, he has been working around our house.

The first thing he did was hook up our ice maker. That is a story in itself but the short version is, he had tried the last time he lived with us and was unsuccessful. When ever he was bored in prison he said he thought about our ice maker and how he could fix it for us. The problem was finding the right lines. There were many possibilities but none seemed to be the right one. This time he was able to do it. He made me take a picture of our first glass of ice so that I could send it to Hubby who was out of town on business at the time.



We bought this house in 1998. In all the time we have lived here, very little has been done in the way of home improvement other than the few rooms I have painted and some new curtains. Seriously, that's it, except for the things that BIL did the last time he moved in with us. The big one was building our deck.



The man is a ball of energy. If I didn't know he was being drug tested by his PO, I would swear he was on something. When he was locked up he got a job working at the fire station and his Captain loved him because he was always looking for something to do around the station. His favorite thing is "thinking" about what he can fix or improve. Every morning when I get up, he has already been "thinking" and greets me with his latest plan.

I started keeping a list of everything he has done so far. You might read this and think I am exaggerating but in truth, I have left off a lot of the smaller jobs he has done.

In the last 21 days he has...

Hooked up the ice maker
Moved all the furniture out of the family room and moved his furniture in
Took down the plethora of old cable tv wires hanging on the side of the house
Put new screws in my dining room chair that was falling apart
Glued the piano bench that had already fallen apart
Moved everything off the deck and scrubbed it clean



Stained the deck
Trimmed the bushes along the driveway
Pruned the trees in the back yard
Hung my Mickey Mouse mirror that I purchased Jan. 2007 that was still in the box



Cleaned the flower beds in the front and back yard
Mows the front and back yard every Saturday
Hung five smoke alarms throughout the house
Sewed and hung shade cloth over the deck



Replaced top board on bedroom window frame
Installed new toilet in back bathroom
Replaced the plywood on the cellar door



Rebuilt and rehung the lattice gate on the side of the house
Pruned all the large bushes on the side of the house



Took down wobbly hand rails leading up porch steps and filled in holes with cement
Cut down a tree with a hand saw and pulled out the stump with a chain and Oldest Son's truck



Poured cement to make a new sitting area in the yard
Made a cement and stone pathway to the new cement sitting area



Spread caulking between the wall and the brick all the way around the house
Stained my potting bench
Replaced the rotted out window sill board in the front window (I think of everything I love this one the most!)




Planted 12 shrubs around the new cement pad
Dug up Sago palm at Mom's house and replanted in yard
Planted lemon tree



Fixed latch on shower door
Replaced broken handle on screen door
Replaced old pipes under kitchen sink to stop leak
Fixed leak in back bathroom faucet

Today he is painting the house trim and shutters.



And that is not counting the two days he spent over to his Aunts house and put up rain gutters all around her house. And the days he went to his Mom's and replaced the toilet in her bathroom, and hung shade cloth around her mobile home and planted all her flowers for her because her back is hurting and painted her front and back porch.

Plans for after corn season are to paint the outside of our house, put on a new roof on the garage, reupholster my Gpa's leather chair, repair the backyard fence, make shelves for a pantry in Nieces hall closet, restain the front door and put on new handle that we have had for 8 years, and what ever else pops into his head. I have a feeling our money will run out long before his energy does.

There are still 20 days until corn season. He will be living with us until he gets his drivers license back.

In 18 months.

Our house has never looked better. I'm sure the neighbors think we are getting ready to sell the place with all the work going on. Something new every day. He says its his way of keeping busy and also to repay us for letting him live here. We love having him here, and not just because he does things for us. He really is a great guy.

Have I mentioned how much I love my BIL.