I apologize if the files take a long time to load

here's the Headquarters. Right in the heart of rural Middle America, Le Mars, Iowa


Here's Mrs. POAC picking beans from our garden



Here's Main street

Just kidding, that's behind our house

Here's the "pumpkin patch


And here's a squash

I just thought that was pretty

Wow! Very nice!


Thanks for sharin guys!

again, you're shittin' me. This is HQ ??

I don't see any painted rocks so it can't be HQ !

Wanna see my HQ ?

You're welcome. And thank you.

I forgot to show our container garden:



It's funny. We went to the farmers market for the first time in Le Mars today and we had more of a variety or produce in our back yard than the whole farmer's market put together.

Hell yeah.

fat chance.....

gimme a few to locate and upload.....you'll be disappointed !

My Humble Box

okay brace yourselves...............



clickit for full size in a new window.

No, just joking, this is the nearest castle and my brother.

Gotta go upstairs to get another CD. BRB. Promise.

Good thing yer kiddin!
I'd have to come visit and act out a few Monty Python Skits

Very nice humble abode, Sky. Nice landscaping, too. At first I thought you lived somewhere tropical. Then I saw your location.

Is that a trebuchet parked out front?

okay, still searching......so here one to keep you interested....

me, the moon and a UFO. Foto by my brother who has seen many a UFO. I didn't even see this one. Honest.



edit : correction, me, jupiter, the moon and a UFO. I think there were 3 planets in a row that day.

The title is in my name too!
Next phase in my plan,
assuming property values haven't closed me out of the local market,
a small chunk of land to roll the box on to!

I'll be looking in about 2 years.
We shall see!

sorry for keeping you....had a crash and a smoke

the breezeway

backyard, garden and #2 son

west side of the house

front yard and fiat punto

view through front gate to backyard

as our neighbor sees us

a jayhawk with absolutely no ass in his pants

yip

daaayyuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm


Nice pad!
OK. Party at Jayhawks house!

My wife says you look very distinguished. =-)

okay, the party happens here. Now to convince my wife

Tell her it's the first monthly meeting of the Hops and Barley Association,
and that if she's very nice, she can hold the gavel!


Nice place there Jayhawk. Ya done good!

thx Sky. Will do but she won't fall for that...too smart she is.

sundown as seen from the roof the day I put in 5 skylites after insulating the roof. Beautiful area.

Your place looks nice too Sky. I lived in a double-wide in Az. for 7 years. What more do ya need ? Our house is a pre-fab. One step up from a trailer home. In the summer when it gets really hot, which is fairly rare, I'd prefer an adobe house.

What happened to those high up bits that required repair? Hit by cannon balls?
Looks like an add-on for Rapunzel...or to pour boiling stuff onto intruders.
Cool pic.


Fabulous!

Thanks Sky and Tj...great pics! Are those Fuschias, Sky?
Tj, HQ looks lovely. Did you WAIT for her to bend over to take that pic?
Men! Harumph!

Rhodedendron, the state flower.
Plus a Maple, thats been there a year,
and a cork screw willow that I planted when I moved in 4 years ago.

The box was almost worth scrap when I bought it.
Only one person knows how far it's come.

10 years ago I was chapter 7, no job, no car, no money.
It's been a slow rebuild, but this time it's for ME!

I figure I have about 15 years to see how much I can accomplish.
Even with a very slim budget, this time it's for me!

The landscape gives it a polished look.
However, the Rhodies were a Freecycle freebie.
The low deck is actually pallets!
The awning was a freebie.
The window trim, lumber from the same pallets. (I recycled the fake shutters)
The paint, both blue and cream, $7 for a 5 gallon bucket. Recycled paint!

The two bit tour of my place reveals an awful lot of freebies and very cheap acquisitions. The hot tub out back that is surrounded buy the 2x6 deck deck, and will soon be covered by a 12x14 foot awning, all freecycle free! Though the tub needs some fixing!

And though I'll tell anybody I am not a painter, or a carpenter, or a plumber, or an electrician, or a mechanic, I do all these things, even if sometimes I have to do them twice!

What I am very good at, I am an accomplished scrounge!



TJ's house is quentessential middle America!
It has it's own built in charm. (and makes a very fine avatar)
I love the garden, but I wonder where the compost pile is?

TJ? When was it built?


Jayhawks place is exceptionally cool.
He is indeed a fortunate man!

Here is my house. And a lovely fuck you POAC

I don't think a cannonball has ever hit the place.
The whole damn castle was in dire need of repair 10 years ago. This pic is about 6 years old. I have loads more of the castle. Spent one freezing winter day there taking over 400 pictures. It was a very cold winter day and I was the only humanoid there. Talk about cool ! A club has since been founded. They host Medeval Festivals oh, 4 or 5 times a year to raise funds for the endless renovations. The castle does look a lot better now, I have to admit. Entrance Fees to the festivals are steep but you can get 50% off if you're dressed for the time period. The castle, which is really not a castle but a Burgh has an inner yard where concerts are regularly held. The whole place is magical and the best part about it is that it's only six Ks through the woods from my house. No town or farm in between, just woods.


and thisis a crapper

goldcoastprestigerealestate.com.au/..........right.

Forgine Investment Approved.At over 300 squares this palatial mansion provides a most unique lifestyle to the worlds Elite. 34 Rooms (including bathrooms) under main roof. 6 double bedrooms with ensuites & private balconies. 2 Large inground Pools. A Gymnasium & Sauna. Land size 7.9 acres. 1 Million litre Dam.

Price $5,500,000 +

right Jack. I'll be over as soon as I can get a flight.

I used to have a place just like that. But then i upgraded.

This is a great thread... just to see where everyone is at... all our humble stories!

Sky... very very impressed with the freecycle upgrades you have done... and isn't it soo much more rewarding to do everything yourself than to have it hired done!

Jayhawk.... you must be handy tooo what with putting in the skylights! Also, love the architecture in your place and the surrounding area! I take it your in europe somewhere... (dugh.. haven't really seen any nice castles around the states! ) TJ and I were trying to figure out where you are from... Germany? Netherlands? the structures don't really appear english..... but then again.....how would we know!

As for our humble abode.... we are renting. When we left Kansas City we were facing eviction, no job for me for over a year... and money was non existant... We called a couple places, my dad went and viewed them all for us (he is a real property appraiser) and told us which one to rent. We didn't see it until we pulled in the driveway at midnight before Thanksgiving!

The house has come a long way since we moved in... (TJ will send interior pic's) we have repainted the whole interior (except poac mission control room...) cleaned windows that hadn't been cleaned in 20+ years... carpets, repaired ceilings, etc. Next year it will be the outside we tackle for cosmetic improvements....

The house was built in 1920... then had some odd additions put on in the late 70's. We have the old dirt basement we never venture in... cause I am sure it is filled with snakes and bugs! HA

Anyhooo we hope to own our first house in a couple years... any rehab it to the original condition....

And yes Panda... I think he waited till I bent over! HA HA HA

Germany 4 sho. Been here for 26 some years.

here's what we (Robin) picked from the garden yesterday


Here's my favorite thing about the house: The old-school manual doorbell:


and here's how you operate it.

Ronnie,

An 85 year old house is bound to have it's built in charms.
Even snakes in the basement.

12 foot ceilings, arch ways, door knobs. Enjoy it while ya can.



TJ, Great lookin garden treats!
Cherry tomatos or Grape tomato's?
I love um both!

not really....there's usually a professional by my side telling me what to do. In this case it was my best friend Rainer. I'm currently -like right now- building a storage shed right up against the breezeway. Goin it alone this time and noticing what hard work it is. I'm draining the rain water barrel this very moment so I can move it and decide on how and where to anchor the wooden beams. The structure will be out of wood. Not sure yet what kind of roof....if I use the leftover cement shingles from the house I can swat two flies at once cause they have been in the way since we did the skylights and all. This place being my very own, I have loads of work to do and very little time and/or money to do it. It's gotta be done all the same. This new shed will house our bicycles, garden tools, lawnmower, barbeque and some dry wood for the stove in the house ...making for more room in the breezeway to sit and relax. I'll then work on closing off the breezeway somewhat so we can sit out there in the fall and on mild winter days. I don't smoke in the house at all so the breezeway and the garage are my smoky refuge - my choice btw. Winging it to the max here, I'll be proud when it's done and each time I accomplish something like this it gives me bigger ideas and self esteam. My Dad used to say I have two left hands and don't like to get either one dirty. It's the truth but even Dad is proud now of some of my mini achievements in the field of craftsmanship.

great pics.....I might have to post some in a day or so.....at one time I did live in a small Iowa town, now I live in a small Illinois town and am surronded by republicans...Dennis Hassert (speak. of house) even has an office here.....as well as two repub state senators, one also lives here.....so you know how most vote...

www.geneseo.org is a good site to check out my town

Jesus, with that many Churches they'll have to be handing out crack cocaine to get people to attend.

rock on... still have my architecture down! We, someday... will live over sea's....

We moved home to for money and to be closer to my parents.... so it will be a little while... but someday... watch out world here we come!

I actually loved Germany when I visited... actually all of europe... it just has soo much more history, better architecture, culture, and freedoms!

more of z7q2 world headquarters

Could we see the computer that POAC resides on? Or is it a 2U rackmount in some darkened warehouse full of 22,000 other 2U rackmounts that you've never seen?

Jeez!

What you guys do for Halloween, I can imagine Christmas!
Shades of National Lampoon, Christmas Vacation!


Really, awesome work, glad you know how to play and have fun.
Nice house too!

I bet that picture wasn't taken any time near halloween. I think their front yard just has a serious problem.

Ha!

Gawd Jack, you funny!

Thanks! It's one of the last ones in town to still have a septic tank and well, so when the energy crisis causes central services to shut down I'll still be able to cling to a bit of civilization, with the help of a Honda Generator.

Halloween is our big holiday, we put up a feeble string of christmas lights on the gutter for Christmas, since everyone else in the neighborhood puts up enough lights that airplanes try to land on the street.

We have to have obscene amounts of candy on hand because people come to our house by the SUV-load. We always make at least one young child cry every year, too, the holiday would not be complete without it.

z7q2

You'd be very disappointed to see the computer the POAC resides on. It's just a little Dell PC. We don't een have a network anymore.

Those pics of your house are great! I'm so insanely jealous. This will be our first Halloween in a house. I'm really looking forward to it. We have a big picture window that's just begging to become a 3 dimensional scene of immeasurable terror

xxx

No small potatoes, those. Congratulations!

ha ! I told my wife I need to take a picture of them and post it on "the white Rose forum"......she said, "wait a minute, lemme put the big ones on top".

Thanks Folkie. We plant potatoes each year. This year's harvest was indeed a good one. The time was also ripe as thunderstorms set in while we were working. Once the weather changes as it did today, it stays kinda wet and the taters go bad or critters get at 'em before we do.

P.S. Posting pictures : Lesson II

1) I posted "thumbnails" ....the URL links are copied and paisted as they are...no "IMG" button needed. This saves bandwidth on the forum and best of all....you get to click the thumbnail and see the big picture....bigger than it could ever be in the forum.

Nice 'taters!!!!!

and thanks for the tip on posting a thumbnail

/ taters : thanks. I wished I had an Irish cellar to store them in
/ thumbnail: no problem, this was lesson two on image hosting...we learn as we go
/ your updated avatar : and how did you get the flag on the left to magically straighten out ? No reply required. Looks better...or am I halucinating again ?

A: Your in Germany... plenty of use for potatoes... I should know, I'm german... with a long line of recipe's behind me!

And your wife is very much like me:


I learned a german trait is strategic, planning, etc. no wonder she wanted the big one's on top.. she is planning for next year!

And thank Billy sheers for the switch on the flags...

Once upon a time a couple decades back while living in the Seattle area, the house we rented had a garden plot. So, come spring I did all the do, including a good rototilling!

I didn't know that the previous renters had planted potato's and hadn't harvested them! As a result of the fine rototilling, the entire garden patch had ALSO become a tater patch! That was an interesting gardening experience that year.


Edit to add...

Oh and By the way, my favs are the lil tiny taters!
Mix um with peas and cook um with white sauce!

Oh my!

Panda:


I thought I was the only fuschia fan around here. Here's my first one. It's hanging on the front portch right now

wow, the big picture really gets the tastes buds going.......


I was blessed with some farm fresh 'taters that a friend had stopped over and left with me....nothing like fresh fried potatoes in the morning with breakfast....(I cheat, microwave the potaoes first, then they dont take so long to cook)

xxx

Awesome work there Jayhawk!

I can relate to what you refer to as your carpentry skills.
As I tell anyone that will hold still,
I am not a carpenter, or plumber, or electricial, or painter, etc etc, but that doesn't stop me from doing these things! (even if I have to do them twice!)


Anyway, thanks for sharing. Good work!
I'm glad yer able to sit back and admire your accomplishments!