Inside Out

Here you go: the public unveiling of the first look from inside a framed Good Room.

I have yet to see this myself; this is Lynn’s photojournalistic effort. (In the old days, I would have known how to set this picture straight; in this brave new electronic world, I can’t figure it out, so we’ll all just have a slanted perspective today. Below, you can decide if the dog is half there or half absent — it’s your philosophy test for the day.)

I will lay eyes on the framing this afternoon when we go out to meet Dusty for the it’s-urgent/now-it-isn’t/now-it-is gas fireplace discussion du jour. Here’s how that has worked: at some point Dusty suggested we go talk to Mountain Fireplace Specialists, but there was no rush on that. Then he called and wanted to know if we’d gone, so we made a point to go the next day. Then Lynn wondered to Dusty when he needed a decision and there was no rush. This week he called to see if we’d decided so Jered could frame for the fireplace. I texted Dusty pictures from the catalogue of the two units under consideration, and he said he would look them up on-line that night and perhaps we could meet Thursday.

Yesterday he called to ask a question about the library (I’ll be getting the eight-foot ceilings I wanted, but only in my library alcove) and then he wanted to know if there was anything else. “Well, there’s the fireplace,” I replied. “Yeah, did you make a decision?” he asked. So now we have a meeting planned in the Good Room at a rather unspecified time this afternoon. I hope every process we have ahead of us is not this convoluted.

I went up to the college — I mean, university — on Wednesday because I thought I’d be giving blood, but the bloodmobile still hadn’t made it over from Pueblo, so I went instead to whatever they call the building that used to be the Union, because they have a fireplace in a three-sided style we’re considering. Mountain Fireplace has told us they have yet to have a customer happy with the ambiance of the flame in this unit, because the building lights tend to shine through and wash out the flame, although maybe that wouldn’t matter as much to us since we specified that our main interest is heat production, rather than a gas fireplace that provides flame but no warmth as the People of Money apparently prefer.

[Here is a depressing aside, compliments of Mark Reaman, editor of the CB News: the poorest half of the planet, 3.8 billion people, together have assets equal to the 26 — that’s twenty-six, or “fewer than seven chairs’ worth of people on the Silver Queen” ski lift — richest people. Nice work if you can get it.]

Alas, the college’s fireplace wasn’t on, or burning, or however you refer to a gas flame, and while I’m sure I could have found someone to turn it on for me, I realized I was near the bookstore where my friend Teri runs things, and it was one day past her birthday, so I went there instead.

Her folks, lifelong ranchers from Parlin, have been building a house not too far from our current house. When I asked her dad last year about town living, he pointed out they’re still in the county, albeit contiguous to city limits.

I’ve seen lights in the house when I’ve been out on the Van Tuyl trails after dark, so I asked Teri if they were in. Since November, it turns out — although her dad has been driving on a near-daily basis out to the ranch, now under management by his son.

Teri did say her folks had a heck of a time waiting on subcontractors, and that there was a full month and a half where absolutely nothing happened on their house. So far, other than a week here or there for vacationers, we haven’t been held up by the subs. I hope we aren’t held up for any great length: Audrie has already sent us contracts to sign to list the Irwin house for sale by March 15.

Of course, Lynn did get an offer yesterday that may be too good to pass up. Before telling you about it, let me confuse you with a clarification. Just a little way up the street from us on Irwin is a young couple, Geoff and Kate Oros. His parents are going to be among our Riverwalk neighbors — their house is one of the three currently under construction. Kate, who grew up in Gunnison (and used to be in my tap classes), was an Orr before she became an Oros.

So it is not this Kate, but instead a Katie and John Orr of Sparks, Nevada, who sent Lynn an offer and a contract. They would like to buy our Riverwalk property. Now, they don’t appear to be aware that we are currently engaged in construction on this lot, and there’s a chance they may also not be aware of the nature of real estate prices here in Gunnison, because they have made the overly generous offer of $3,270.00 for our lot.

Yes, four full figures — it’s tempting, indeed. But that is a touch below what we paid prior to improvements like a newly-enclosed Good Room, so we may have to give it a pass. Even if they are property investors who pride themselves on quick and easy transactions “and seller satisfaction.” And, unlike the fireplace, which we may or may not need to decide on today, we have until April 30 to consider this steal of a deal.

We’ll keep you posted.

What I call the back and everyone else seems to think of as the front of the house. From left to right: garage, bedroom that is now nearly 12 feet wide, unseen library alcove with lowered ceiling, Good Room at last framed in, and a bedroom with French doors. Envision a deck in front of the French doors and Good Room, and a patio before the other bedroom. We may all be envisioning those for years before they materialize.