My First Flower Garden

So being newly married and owning a home for the first time I have not had a lot of experience with planting flowers. Seeing that our yard needs A LOT of work I decided to start by adding a few flowers up by the front. I think it actually turned out pretty well, not I just have to wait for the flower seeds to sprout.

The Before Picture


During


After...There are flower seeds in the back section that I hope will grow!

The Handyman

The reason my blog is called a Handyman and a Nurse, is because my husband, Joe is a Handyman, and I am a Nurse like I previously mentioned in my introduction post. Upon the suggestion of a very wise woman I have decided to expound a little on the Handyman part of my life. My husband grew up as number 10 of 11 children. Yes, I said 11 children all from the same mother and father who were awesome Christian parents! I am not sure where Joe’s dad learned his trade, most likely from his dad, but anyway, Joe’s dad worked as a maintenance man at a hospital working on the ventilation and heating and that type of stuff. And now works in the maintenance department at MBBC. All of Joe’s life he has watched and worked with his dad on home projects and little fixer up type things. When Joe was younger he wanted to be a plumber when he grew up. And although that may seem strange and possibly even gross to some it wasn’t to Joe, nor was it the gross factor that intrigued him about plumbing. It was the puzzle of making something work that currently wasn’t, finding a solution and making that happen. As Joe grew he learned more and more from his dad. Joe started college after high school but after his first semester he chose to drop out because of difficulties with controlling his seizures and being able to remember the content. (Another post for another time) At this point Joe moved out to Colorado to live his brother and sister-in-law. His brother just happens to be a realtor and loves to work on fixing up houses as well. During this time, together Joe and Phil were able to buy 3 junky houses fix them up and then sell them for profit. In these houses they replaced windows, remodeled bathrooms and kitchens, tiled floors, painted and many other things that I don’t even know. These were all very successful.

When Joe was 19 he made his first home purchase of his own. He bought two duplexes that are back to back. These duplexes were bank owned and incredibly disgusting inside. In one of the four units there was a bum living, if you can imagine was a mess that was. Joe began to rip all of the old stuff out and replace the appliances, windows, carpet, and completely redo the bathrooms and kitchens on all four units. During this time Joe had moved into one of the units. As they slowly got done Joe put them up for rent and during the last three years there have been renters in and out. Some of which have taken good care of the place and some of which have trashed the place. Being a landlord definitely has some interesting moments.

Although these duplexes are Joe’s pride and Joe and show so much hard work and effort we have decided that it is time for us to move on and sell. We are both ready to move into a single family home with a backyard and a few feet between our neighbors bedroom walls. Also, we are ready to move to a new location with fewer gunshots and less scary people. Since putting our property on the market in January we have had 3 people look but no interest beyond that. We continue to pray and wait for God’s timing in selling and finding a new home, even though that is one of the hardest things to do.

Some extra things to brag about my husband for; He built me a pantry that rolls out, VERY Awesome and necessary for our minimal storage space, he built a beautiful deck for a family COS, he remodeled my parents entire bathroom, and he has taught me how to do some very basic things such as how to hang a picture and use a drill. Although Joe would prefer to work on other people’s homes it has been incredibly nice to have someone living with me who can fix pretty much anything at any time of day. (My parents have appreciated him for that too). At this point Joe is working for himself and running his own business, Struska Remodeling and Renovation. Business is very up and down at this point, but Joe is LOVING being able to do the work he has a passion for. Hopefully this gives you a little bit of a look into my other half! Oh, and since I am a nurse I will be there to aid him back to health when he chops a finger off! ;)

(Pictures to come later)