WE'RE BACK!!

Where do we begin? It's been over six weeks since anything has been posted and much has been going on. Let's begin with the most important news...WE'VE MOVED INTO THE HOUSE!! Yes, after being "homeless" for more than 16 months, we finally are back home.

Saturday, April 11th was the date of the blessed event. After getting the necessary CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY locked-in on Friday, we rented a large truck and moved most of the stuff in on Saturday. After a very long and hard day of moving (and once the bed was set-up), we decide to stay the night. Though the gas had not yet been turned on (hence no hot water for those much needed showers), we stayed the night and woke up Easter morning in our very own house...and haven't left since!! We celebrated our first Easter in our new home!!

Yes, the chain-link fence and the green porta-potty are gone!! Aside from that and the behind the scenes activities (city and bank foolishness), you'll note numerous exterior details when you compare the above picture with that from the last posting. How many can you find? Note that we now have a driveway, stairs and walkway to the front door, sod, wrought iron on the second floor deck and last but not least, the ever important house number...so we don't get lost?

Here's the driveway-side of the house. Yes, very soon (once the concrete dries and a sealer is applied), we'll be able to park our cars in the garage.

Though not 100% complete, here's our walkway, stairs, front porch and oh yeah, our grass!! It's appeared like magic. The city said we needed grass before they'd approve our habitating the place and "poof", it mysteriously appeared.

In an attempt to retain the look of the streets we found while in Lucca and Venice (Italy NOT California), we went with this European Fan pattern for the driveway. It turned out very cool and it's quickly become our pride and joy.


Miraculously, the dining room table and chairs that we purchased over a year ago, actually fit in our dining room area. Sometime being lucky is better than being good!!



Here's where most of the eating will be happening. Once we install the gas barbeque, we'll be eating like kings. After more than a year of eating out, home cooked meals of any type sound fantastic!!

Here's a shot of the copper tiles we found for the area around our fireplace. The picture on the right is a shot taken from the outside deck into the kitchen area. Note the Windex. We'll be buying this shit by the 55 gallon drums to keep all these damn windows clean!! We're waiting for the first bird to plow into this big glass door.

Here's our final shot for this session. The cinderblock wall will soon be stuccoed with a finish and color that'll match the house. We also have more landscaping (citrus trees, bushes, etc.) and stone sills for the windows planned. We then need to address the three columns needed outside along with the ones inside the house. Though we're actually living at the house, Gina may still be contemplating jumping. The minutia and contractor crap that she has to put up with, never seems to stop!!

This ain't over yet. Though we're moved in, there's still more construction, endless amounts of detailwork...and postings, to be done. Once some of the wounds have healed, I'll also share with you my opinion about contractors and building your own home...but until then, goodbye and good night to all!!

...just in case you're interested, we now have gas!! We've taken showers, Gina's cooked meals and with the exception of not being able to park our cars in the garage (yet), we have a fully-functional house!!

SO CLOSE, BUT SO FAR!!

In our month absence from the world of blogs, lots of things have been going on. We have the first two comic book shows of the year under our belt, the economy continues to tank, our daughter Sarah has unexpectedly come back to roost....and oh yeah, construction on the house continues!!

So here's the house as it now stands. The most important things to note are: a) they have build the front and side retaining wall and are working on the driveway b)they moved the lovely blue shitter that's become a local landmark and a second home to us, and most important of all, c) there are actually folks working on the house...and it's Saturday!!

Actually most of the work over the last month is evident inside. The flooring is now complete, they installed the appliances last week, we now have toilets and they're applying mahogany staining on anything that moves.

Yup, here it is...our "work-in-progress" kitchen complete with stained-mahogany cabinets, granite countertops and Viking appliances. Who could have imagined that kitchen appliances would cost damn-near to $20,000. In ads we get every Sunday, they're giving-away refridgerators at $500. How we spent the money we did is one of many fiscal mysteries I need to uncover. This is Gina's present for all of the trauma she's been through from living at the office for the last 15 months. Enjoy!!

We're very happy with how all the colors work together. Here's Gina expressing her delight with the prospect of cooking again. We have not had a home-cooked meal for over a year now. Though the thought of eating out every evening sounds great, it isn't!! It gets old and expensive very quickly. We're both looking forwards to a return to cooking and eating at home.

Here's downshot of the medallion that's placed under the stairs. We also set it up so that if we ever get lost, the four points determine true-North, South, East and West. We're calling up the folks at Guiness and telling them we have the world's biggest pocket compass. People will come from all over the world (and pay the big-bucks), to see what we got!!

The master bath is coming along quite nicely. Here's we see for the first time, a shot of our free-standing tub in-place...complete with hardware. To the left of the tub is the entrance to our walk-in shower that has no doors or curtains. The photo on the right is counter-top for the master bath vanity. Once we pick-out our mirrors, this room is done!!

Here's a quick peek into the laundry room. Inside you you see our brand new washer and dryer. Though no one seems appreciative, Gina and I are doing everything we can to stimulate the economy.







...and here we have our newly-stained garage door complete with our big-ass pile of dirt. The opening to the left above the garage, is the deck outside the master bedroom. Once they install the wrought iron the deck will be ready for habitation...by us!!

NEWS FLASH!!
The house was inspected by IndyMac and we were awarded the coveted "95.19% COMPLETE" award. The reason this is soooo important is we are now able to convert our Construction Loan into the final Mortgage.

(PLEASE NOTE that the above is an incomplete entry. My intentions were to finish up this entry and move on to new developments. Well laid plans of getting back to documenting the project within a few days quickly went down in flames. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months. Here we are five weeks after this entry was begun. Rather than attempting to finish the existing entry, it's time to move on and start fresh. I apologize if I left anyone in a lurch with my abrupt "drama-free" ending. There's new activities and stories to be told...and with that being said, let's go forward into the past!!)

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Before Gina and I hop on the plane to New York tomorrow morning, I figured you deserved some new pics. They removed the scaffolding from the house and like magic, for the first time we actually feel that this project may actually be over soon!!

Look, we also have a roof? It'll be interesting to see what the house looks like once the portapotty is finally removed. Maybe we can keep it and turn it into a playhouse for the local kids?

Aside from some stone sill and apron treatments under the windows,this is pretty much what these front portions of the house will look like...once the chain-link fence disappears!!

Here's cool upshot that I thought looked incredibly artsy-fartsy. Not certain what if any functional descriptive purpose it has, but you have to admit, it's definitely a neat wall!!

As you have probably noticed by now, yes I do have a gutter-fixation. All those years of being told to get my mind out of the gutter, have left their mark. I promise to start by therapy once the house is complete!!

If not for the neighbors houses and the power lines, one might think I snuck a shot from Italy into the photos. The tile roof is almost complete and nicely captures the weathered Tuscan look we were going for.


Here's an interior shot of the stone used on the floor being applied...add a little grout and we'll soon be moving in. This stone and mahogany are all that's used on the floors throughout the house.

The garage door finally got installed. Once stained, is should be incredible!! All we need now is a Porsche Turbo and maybe a stray Ferrarri to wander in and stay for a while.

Graphitti Designs will be exhibiting at the New York Comic Con this weekend in of all places, New York. This is the first show of the year for us. It's been nice not having to travel and do all the prep-work necessary for these shows. It will be very interesting to get a first hand look at the effects of the economy on our market. If folks stop buying shirts, you may see our new house for sale on Ebay sometime this Spring.

While out of town, we have high expectation with regards to the progress that'll be made on the construction. When we return we should see all of the stone flooring installed and the granite countertops in the kitchen. Within two weeks, the kitchen appliances should be installed and all of the cabinets should be completely stained. I've never been known for being an optimist but for once in my life, I hope to God I'm right...this little ray of hope, is all that's keeping Gina and I going at this stage. The rigors of construction have taken their toll and this needs to come to an end very, very soon. Pray for us!!

THE ENDLESS STORY

Though construction is moving at a very fast clip, at this stage IT JUST AIN'T QUICK ENOUGH!! Our Construction Loan expires Jan. 24th and for the first time since construction began, our contractor has given us a completion date...MARCH 2009!! Somehow, those two dates just don't reconcile. There should be no problem getting an extension on the loan but as with everything in life, it comes at a price. We're being told by IndyMac that the extension will cost one half point (.50%), of the amount used to date...PER MONTH!! This is on top of the monthly interest payment we're already making. Plans are to negotiate with IndyMac and see if we can pay some sort of one-time, lump amount for the extension on top of the monthly interest nut.

Before I go further into my rant, here's a new batch of photos updating the status of the house. The exterior finish/paint is complete. They have also begun installing the copper gutters. Inside, there's a flurry of activities. Stone stairs, electrical wall switches and fixtures, bathroom counters and counter tops, shower walls, kitchen cabinets and island, wood floors and much, much more have all been started.

Here's a pic of our retirement account. We're banking that copper will become the new gold. When the price of copper skyrockets, we'll be sitting on the friggen' mother lode!!

This is our incredible Murano glass chandelier that hangs over our dining room. Gina and I purchased this along with six (6) matching wall sconces and two (2) matching ceiling fixtures while visiting the Murano factory in Venice (Italy, not Calif.), two years ago. You may have noticed that one of the glass shades is missing. It's not missing, but was broken. After being shipped from Italy and being in our "protective custody" for years now, it mysteriously broke once it was brought on site to be installed by the electrician. Ain't it's incredible how some people are afraid to fess up to an accident? A very frustrating and disappointing development.

Here's the rough framework for the kitchen island. Once they locate the sink and fixtures, final measurements will be made and the granite countertops will be finished.

Here's an action-packed shot of the master bathroom. On the left is the vanity with the "his" and "hers" sinks. The pic on the right shows you the walls in the shower. Hopefully we'll actually be taking showers in this room within two months? Yeah, I know...that and when pigs fly!!

Here's the in's and out's of our front door. The left interior shot shows one of the large Murano glass fixtures. Outside we see the bare door with considerable work still to do. Natural stone will be used to cover the recessed area flanking the door and the same darker-colored stone we'll be using under the exterior window, will be used to frame the door. It should look very cool!!
The sequence on many of the remaining construction tasks, are now interwoven with each other. Once the bathroom and kitchen cabinets have been placed, the tile floors can finally be installed. They are scheduled to remove all the scaffolding and install the tile roofing. Once this is done, the scaffolding can be removed. It's been so long since we've seen the house without the scaffolding, it will be very momentous seeing the house for the very first time without them. With the scaffolding removed, work can also begin on the grading with the hopes that the retaining walls and pouring of the driveway are not too far behind.

The removal of the scaffolding and installation of the tile roofing this week, should provide some very spectular pictures within a week's time. I'll do my best to squeak out an update before our lives get even crazier!! Gina and I have two shows coming up in February. We'll be in New York during the first weekend and San Francisco two weeks later. We'll get a first-hand look at the effects of the current economy on our customers. Here's to a robust 2009 for all!!

HOMELESS: DAY 365

I would like to say "It's hard to believe a year's gone by since we vacated our quaint San Clemente home", but I can't!! Looking back, having a year behind us is a great feeling. It does means that: a) the worse is over and b) we have the feeling that the end is near. Yeah, we realize that's what many folks are saying worldwide right now thanks to the current fiscal state, but we can actually see for the first time ever, an end to our "project". We may actually have a home in the foreseeable future...and I can put a stop to these pesky blog-postings once and for all!! The cyber world will be a better place without me!!

THESE PICS SAY IT ALL!!

Forward progress on the house is now proceeding at a blinding pace. The first two layers of concrete stucco have been applied to the exterior walls...in a few more days, the final textured, color-coat will be put on top of all this...and the walls will be finished. After that they'll finally set the tile on the roof and presto, we'll have a house!!

Since concrete-colored exterior walls have minimal visual appeal (hence can quickly become boring), here's a trypic of the exterior. The first (on the left), is the exterior archway above the stairs that take you to the third floor deck. The center shot is the deck area around the skylight...and the picture to the right is the front dining room/kitchen window. There, was that quick enough for you?

Let me now take you to the interior walls have all been drywalled, coated and painted since your last visit. Here's a quick sneak-peak at the interior. Once accented with the windows, door and floor treatments, it should look even better. We played around with some very non-traditional colors and placement for these colors. Though the house may never be featured in Better Homes & Gardens, Architectural Digest, or Watchtower, we're really happy with the look we pulled-off here. Let us know what you think. Not!!

This is the first color you see when you enter and the main color used throughout the house. This is a picture looking back at the front door.


This taupe/gold color is used on the main walls in the entry, in the hallways and on the "rotunda" walls around the staircase. Once upstairs, the color continues into the kitchen. Where the kitchen ends and the dining room begins, the walls turn red. These "red" walls then continue throughout the dining and living room areas.

Here you are looking at the stairs area with skylight. The wall to the left, is the end of the living room wall.




Now we move the camera a little to the right and see the stairs on the left, the kitchen in the center and the dining area on the right. To the very right, you see the face of the fireplace. Somewhere between the dining room and the fireplace, is the sliding glass door that goes to the second floor deck.

Here's your first look at my personal fortress of solitude. Yes, Gina gave me one room in the house to do with as I wish!! This is a shot from inside the room looking out towards the front door. Note the berry-colored paint with I think an eclipse gold accent wall. That box on the right is for the electronic gear. It may be a small room but it'll be a great place to go when everyone is asleep and I want to watch a movie with the volume cranked to 11...or even 12.

These pics are all of our living room. The one on the left is our weird ceiling/wall with the fireplace on the left-side and the AV component box in the middle. The center picture is of the wall where the TV will be mounted. The small hump at the bottom is something we built to house the center, in-wall speaker. Since the master bedroom shares the backside of this wall, we needed to deaden as much sound as possible...for when Gina's in bed sleeping. If that doesn't work, I retreat to my "fortress"!! The last picture is the ceiling in the hallway transition to the master bedroom. We feel we added an additional level of character to the house with the paint colors and placement we choose. If red's an "angry-color" as some believe, we gotta' be the most pissed-off people in town.

Here's a sampling of the master bedroom suite. This is a picture looking towards the "sitting area" and the door that leads to a private deck. To compliment the mahogany used on the doors, floors and trim, we had them box the visible ceiling bean with mahogany. It looks very cool!!

Above we have the most important room in the house...the master bathroom. What you're looking at in the picture on the right, is a small alcove where the freestanding tub will sit. We took advantage of the very unique ceiling configuration in this room and painted the ceiling accordingly. This bathroom is ready for business!!

Last but not least, we have the den/office that connects with the garage at the back of the house. The color is a very intense grapey/purple color that is capable of making a grown man's eyes bleed. The color is so vibrant that I'm thinking about using it for some accent areas in the garage!!

Now that you're all questioning and second-guessing our sanity (and color choices), you're probably all wondering how we both have survived so long in the graphics and design business with such questionable skills. For better or for worse, we feel we have create a unique environment that is warm, friendly and inviting, a house that reflects our personalities. This is the house we'll be living in for the rest of our lives. We may change the paint-schemes and the furniture around every decade or so to reflect changes in our tastes (or the onset of dementia!!), but this house is ours...or should I say, it's the bank's, for many, many years to come!!

On a parting note, wanna' know why we miss living in San Clemente? Aside from the fresh air and blue skies, this pic says it all. This was taken on Dec. 14th at 5:05 PM. With weather and sunsets like this, why would we ever want to live anywhere else?

ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE?

The house is all prepped and ready for the first stucco coat. Hopefully this will be done later this week!! Gina and I are leaving town to spend a few days in New York City and then we're off to Baltimore. We'll be back late Monday. We hope we'll be pleasantly surprised and that the house will be stuccoed by the time we return. While that's being addressed on the outside, they'll be insulating and drywalling the inside. We should have some very cool pictures to show you very, very soon!!

Here's Gina checking out the new door. Now that it's been stained, she's become even more protective towards it. I pity the fool who tried to kick this door in...only to find Gina on the other side!!

While all the outside activities hit their stride, they have been busy hanging door inside. The picture on the left are the doors to the downstairs TV room with the double doors leading to the master bedroom on the right. Neither of these have been stained yet and should look incredible once finished.

We leave the serenity of San Clemente to return to our Anaheim residence, only to come face-to-face with this...

When we left to go to San Clemente at 10 am or so, we saw a very small plume of smoke in the distant blue skies. Here we are returning three hours later. Driving on the freeway less than a mile from the office, we come face-to-face with this incredible billowing wall of smoke. What the hell happened?


We were suddenly in the middle of a big-ass fire. With everything we own currently at our office/warehouse, we needed to get closer and see what exactly was happening. The freeways and most roads in the area were closed, so it took us almost an hour to finally find a way to sneak into the area where the offices are located. We quickly were in the direct path of one honking fire!! The fire began on the left side of the Santa Ana River and thanks to the strong winds and low humidity, quickly jumped the river and spread to the other side. There were now smoke and flames on both side of us. Luckily we have a concrete tilt-up building with the river directly on the one side and the 91 freeway on the other. Most of what was burning was open land but a number of homes also got destroyed by the fire.

Though Gina was extremely concerned and wanted to leave, I convinced her that if it gets worse, we definitely would quickly get our asses out of harm's way. We both got on the roof of the building and watched the fire rage. At one point, I was manned with my water hose while Gina went inside to follow the newbreaks on TV. All was going fine until Gina heard on the news that a large furniture store in the complex down the way had gone up in a ball of flame. That (along with the Police Dept. driving through our complex making one last evacuation notice), was all it took for Gina to demand that we leave immediately. We took a hard drive backup, a few pieces of art and half of Gina's wardrobe, and left Graphitti Designs in the hands of the gods.

Here's Gina on the roof of Graphitti Designs modeling next year's new urban guerrilla fashions. Notice the colors and the fine cuts of fabric. We guarantee that you'll stand out at the next firestorm you attend!!

We were not allowed to return that evening but discovered at around 10 pm, that the fire had passed by us with no ill-effects (other than the smell of smoke) whatsoever. They opened up some of the roads on Sunday and by noon, we were back at the office watching the first set of football games. Since no "disaster" occurred, life returned back to normal as though nothing has ever happened. Kinda' strange how quickly things change!!

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Our friend and next door neighbor WILLIAM "Willy" ENGELS died on Monday Nov. 10th. He watched over the construction project like a proud parent during the days when we couldn't be there. Willy was constantly dropping by to talk with all the contractors and was the kind of neighbor made popular on old black & white TV shows like OZZIE & HARRIET. Earlier on Monday, Willy dropped by with copies of "Noah Today" (http://home.att.net/~hideaway_today/t133/noah.htm), to share with all the contractors on the job site. Later that afternoon to the shock of everyone, he was found dead in his home.

Willy always knew more about our construction and we did. His excitement and ethusiasm towards life was infectious and was always positive. Our condolences go out to his wife Donna, his family and his friends.

SKYLIGHTS, VISITING NATURE, FINANCIAL UPHEAVAL AND PORNO!!

Yup, it's all coming together...or at least that's what they're telling us!! We've got a skylight, we've got roof tile, we've got pre-stucco activities, we've got a front door and we've got a fireplace. Sounds like we have it all, but in all reality, we don't have squat!! What we need now is to get all these pieces put into place so construction can proceed at a blinding pace.

Here's Gina standing in front of the house "reflecting". As you can see, most of the house has been wrapped with the paper and chicken wire prior to the first layer of stucco that'll go on later this week.

Here's an exterior and interior shot of the skylight. I've been assigned by first official job once we move-in. I've been told I get to clean the skylight every week!! Looks like we'll be purchasing Windex in the convenient 55 gallon drums.

And here we have a sampling of the roof tile. They need to deliver and set the tile on the roof a few weeks prior to installation to acclimate the tile. They did an install on a small area to make sure Gina and I liked everything (color, pattern, visible concrete, etc.). Since we liked what we saw, they will finish the installation after some of the dirtier-elements of the exterior stucco are finished.

Here's Chris our General Contractor showing us where to put it...I mean, where one of our exterior lights will be located. Actually Chris promised to have the construction completely finished by January 2009 if I put a picture of him on our blog. We have seven of these lights outside: two flanking the front door with another two on both side of the garage, with three more located in various locations around the house.

...and here's our very cool mahogany front door. This is one of many "problem" areas the house has created. The flat door jambs fits into a curved wall that will be our front entrance area. Lots of brain cells have been expended (from both the thinking and the drinking), to work out all the construction challenges this house has to offer. Who's idea was it to have a house with curves?

We wrap things up on the home front, with some construction details. The pic on the left is a downshot of the stairs from the second floor. All we need to decide now is what to do tile-wise with the floor at the bottom. The middle shot is the chimney and how it integrates into the third floor deck. Gina wants to make certain that it'll be real easy for Santa to find and to jam his fat-ass into it during his annual visit. The final is the interior framing for the fireplace.

In an attempt to keep Gina from going stir-crazy, we took a quick road-trip to Yosemite National Park. It's less than 400 miles from us and is actually a very easy drive. Since Gina is not known for camping or being a big fan of nature (sleeping in a tent, co-existing with animals and squirrels, visiting an outhouse...without running water or fixing meals on a campfire), we needed to make reservations at one of only three, hotels in the park. As you would expect, these hotels are booked waaay in advance and reservations need to be made a year or so in advance. We got very fortunate and were able to make reservations at Yosemite Lodge (in the valley), for one night only (Thursday)...and off we went!!

Immediately after going through a long tunnel cut in the mountain, you open onto this picturesque-view of the Yosemite Valley.

Here's Gina communing with nature and posing with friendliest tree she could find. This was midway on our hike to Vernal Falls. We planned on going to the top to camp overnight until she told me she needed to go the bathroom...and down the mountain we went!!

The shot on the left is the view of Yosemite Falls we had as we walked out of our room at Yosemite Lodge. Normally there's water gushing forth from the area indicated. Because it's so late in the year and water for the falls come from the glacial and snow runoff from the high country, there was no water left to "gush". On the right is Bridelveil Falls...which actually had water!! We climbed around on the rocks and were able to get to the base of the falls.

Guess what A-list celebrities were seen at the premiere of Kevin Smith's ZACK & MIRI MAKES A PORNO?

OK, maybe the C or D-list grunts but Gina and I did attended the premiere of Kevin Smith's new film ZACK & MIRI MAKE A PORNO on Monday Oct. 20th. The premiere was held at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Blvd....in Hollywood!! Though we did not see as many Chinese as I was hoping for, the movie was great and was viewed by an appreciative crowd. Gina was initially reluctant about attending the premiere. Regardless, she did attend and surprisingly, throughly enjoyed the movie. As expected, ZACK & MIRI is chock-full of well-written sophmoric humor,and is easily Kevin's best movie ever. Rather than dick-n-poop jokes starting at the very beginning of the film, he waits and gets you emotionally invested in the characters before he unleashes his colorful comedic wit. Once you realize that his humor though often off-color is not mean-spirited, it's easy to see beyond the moment (and the language), and enjoy a very sweet love story. Congrats to Kevin on what I predict will be his biggest hit to date and on his personal growth as a writer and director. He is so uniquely talented and was able to craft a commercially successful film while retaining his artistic vision, voice and integrity. The film opens this Friday Oct. 31th...check it out!!