Peaches and Snoopy were reunited today. I so appreciate the opportunity to see Peaches with Barbara’s daughter visiting. It’s been several weeks beyond the two-year mark of the fire. For those who are unaware, Peaches and Snoopy are the two dogs that survived my house fire. Peaches was in the process of going back to the Laconsay family. Natalie was already driving up from San Diego to get Peaches, and I was afraid that I was going to have to tell her that Peaches died with the others. I begged the firemen to check the lookout area of my backyard because they refused to let me check myself, of course. Fortunately, Snoopy and Peaches were safely in the lookout awaiting their rescue. The memories of that day are still hazy in my mind, but the outcome could have been even worse.
Shea and I brought Saffron (fka Edna) with us too.
Almost all of my plants are flourishing in my backyard of the house under renovation after the recent rains.
It warms my heart with a bit of nostalgia to see the dogs on the mostly complete back deck while I look at them from inside the slider, but it still feels like there is so much still to be done.
This is probably the most extensive internal tour I’ve filmed in months. I’m still shocked at there being no new flooring, no doors, no bathroom construction, or even the beginning of the kitchen build. On the bright side, almost all of the light switches and electrical plugs appear to be wired, including the laundry hookup and bathroom vents. I don’t think I’ll be living there even at the two-year mark in January, which makes me sick to my stomach. I feel like I’ve been played like a pawn, forced to live in a rental for so many more months than necessary. Houses were built from scratch much faster, but when you’re constantly waiting for red tape from the insurance company that slow-walks the paper checks, it’s no wonder everything takes longer than necessary while I suffer.
My Koi Pond Green house is coming along. The external base coat is done, and the back deck is mostly done. The tan trim is yet to be done, but they even painted the siding that survived the fire, which is encouraging. I do love the brown color of the deck, and it’s composite, so much more waterproof than the wood deck I previously had, which was always deteriorating. Under the composite, Shea said there is copper-treated wood which will also last a lot longer.
Some of the sockets and light switches have been installed in the house. I picked out the color for the back decks. The gazebo in the side yard to go over the hot tub was rebuilt. They caulked the siding on the house, although the front of the house still lacks some siding and needs the front door installed. I’m still waiting for floors, kitchen build, and bathroom builds. Whether the back decks are built before I move in is not critical.
I also manually pruned the tree/bush that keeps growing into the windmill.
More progress on my house, at least from the outside perspective. Almost all of the back-facing siding is up, which only leaves one more side to go! It will look like a complete house from the outside, so then I need some basics like bathrooms, kitchen cabinetry, and floors put in. Hopefully Cankles McTaco Tits won’t fuck up supply chains, tariffs, and labor supplies anymore for me. The recent rains have been good for the garden, including the yellowing bamboo, which is now greener. The neighbor’s trees are growing into my inner side yard, so I’ll have to contend with that soon before they bring down the fence.
Since the roof went up, another major step has begun. The actual SIDING of the house has started to go up. The whole house will be painted to match the siding that survived the fire, of course, but this was one of the major steps I was waiting for. I still feel like there is so much damn work to be done and I don’t think I’ll be in before the holidays, which has made me extremely upset. It’s not so much that there’s anything sacrosanct about the holidays to me, but I know that moment will come to a crawl at that time of year, so I wanted it the fuck over with. Days like today, despite the progress, are really melancholy for me and I can’t believe I’m still stuck in this situation like a pawn. This project should NEVER have taken two years, and January 18 will be the two-year mark since the worst day of my life.
We thought the floors were being installed, but it looks like some of the pieces of the subflooring were just being replaced. What’s staged in the garage might be flooring or more siding. It’s hard to tell.
This is a very special photograph from today’s Vallejo Fest, where Shea and I tabled for a few hours on behalf of the Humane Society of the North Bay. This fireman, who was helping us sell a fundraising 2026 calendar with Vallejo Firefighters and HSNB dogs, posed with Snoopy and me. He saved Snoopy (foster dog Peaches was also brought out to me, but it might have been from another fireman) when, sadly, five of my dogs died that horrible day. He understood that I have very foggy memories of that day, which was the worst day of my life, but he was so kind to Snoopy and me today. The story is mentioned in the November 2026 picture on the calendar that they posed for.
In previous years it was called Vallejo Waterfront Weekend, but this year it’s one day.
This media for the event is also special because it has our foster Marshall on the cover!
Generally the second day (Sundays) in years past was very slow. It’s a fundraiser for many non-profits here in Vallejo.
Combined video that Shea and I took at Vallejo Fest.
I’ve waited for many months since I chose these shingles to see them on my roof. Ironically I’ll barely see them after the solar panels go up, but it does give me a sense of relief that they are completely done, especially before the rainy season. It’s also a huge sign toward the house being ready in the near future, but not too near enough for me.
Today marks five years since I moved to Vallejo and closed on my home! While most of the last two years have been a nightmare, as I have NOT been able to live in my home that was severely damaged by fire. Supposedly I’ll be back before the holidays, but that’s still many months past the intended move. It’s still ridiculously too long by all accounts, but despite that major setback and the horrible loss of life that day, I am so glad I’m here in this town that has been so good to me with a community that really had my back when I didn’t realize I needed them while I was in a haze after the tragedy in January 2024. The good news is that I have the rest of my life to not live in temporary housing that is suboptimal for my lifestyle. I need my garden back, my hot tub back, my three backyard sliders back, my carpet-less floors back, my one story life back, my non-popcorn ceiling back, my spacious kitchen back, my better flow home back, my walk-in shower back, my three car garage back, my corner home, my flooding of light in all parts of the house and places to sit and nap in the backyard at all times of the day in or out of the sun, my back deck to listen to occasional rain fall while outside with my coffee, my smart home music system emanating from every corner when desired. I’m struggling with these last few weeks in this rental, but it feels like an ever-moving target because I’m a pawn between the insurance/claim adjusters with their agenda and whatever is happening with the contractor, which includes tariffs and supply chain issues that this most corrupt of presidential administrations has contributed to. On top of that, I’ve had to spend a lot of money out of pocket just to move things along, since I’m trying to do things the right way, without going nuts on the improvements. Due to poor American leadership, due to the idiocy of the majority of the American electorate, I’ve had to pay higher amounts than otherwise because of stagflation. I always remind people that all politics are local. This is an example. When I get a move-in date, I’ll scream it from the mountaintops. I’m so embarrassed by having to guess at a move-in date when people tell me, always adding the caveat now that “so I’m told.” The picture below is shortly after I moved in five years ago, with some Halloween decorations up (during Covid, so I didn’t expect any kids).
Covering the HVAC, which was getting leaves and fruit dropping from the neighbor’s tree. I want the tree hangover to be trimmed because every year this causes a lot of work for me, although at least I was able to put it in compost and ate a few of the fruits.
HVAC was put in and has power, but the vents are not in the most ideal places. I wanted to hang a specific tapestry in this area, but now I will not be able to because of the placement of this vent that was not there before.
Painting of the rooms has been done. We are pleased with the final green and gray colors. The purple of the big room is very consistent with how I bought the house, and I love it.
I’m very concerned about rodents getting into the crawl space, as that’s what caused the fire. The wires must be covered with metal to be impenetrable.
After moving in these trees were dramatically pruned so that the window overlooking the next door neighbor and my house was fully exposed. Now that they are finally growing back, I hope they are never pruned again, although I will be adding some privacy to a few areas.
Sometimes I think I’m the luckiest man in the world when it comes to catastrophes I avoided, and sometimes things like the fire that happened to me that killed five of my dogs, nine days after a ten-year breakup, really put me in my place. I have told many people that I was interviewed for a job on the 76th floor of the South Tower in 2001, FIVE weeks before 9/11. I have the photo ID from entering the building and blogged about the whole thing. I’m so grateful I did NOT get that job.
I also survived a bomb threat at one of the major law firms in downtown San Francisco on the 29th floor around 2009, as a litigant came in with a flashing belt yards away from my office.
So it gave me a bit of a chill when I heard the address of this recent midtown Manhattan mass shooting that happened. 345 Park Avenue was my in-person office for years, and it was literally my first job ever in Manhattan when I moved there in the Summer of 1988 (then aged 20). For 19 years, I continued to work in and eventually moved to Manhattan. I know I’m far removed from the situation now, but it still gives me a bit of a chill. The corner of that SAME building is also known for being where Marilyn Monroe did her white dress twirl over the subway grades. Small world, eh?
