# 169 - The Jacked-Up Door

Our wonderful dog, the amazing "Howdy" has gone through our front stained glass door a few times. Well, don't worry, he doesn't actually go THROUGH it, he simply jumps on it expertly to cause all the glass to fly toward the street and he always walks away without a scratch on him.

Why does he do this? Well, he doesn't like anyone around the house, especially at the front door. It's a problem. He would even crash through a window, if he could. I think he's a big sweetheart, but not everyone else would be likely to share my opinion. He loves other dogs, women, and kids. Men...not so much. Uniforms...not so much. But, he protects the chickens, so he's a doll in my book.

The first time he broke the door, he was after the postman. For all of you mail carriers out there, I apologize on behalf of every foul-minded dog that you must endure, and I don't blame you for not wanting to come to our front door again.

If that wasn't bad enough, the dog pouncing on the door with his powerful front paws in Australian Shepherd fashion has resulted in us winning the "Most Ugly" door in the entire neighborhood for the past year.

I am shocked that the neighborhood association wasn't sending us notices about the blue painter's tape, masking tape, Plexiglas, and ugly appearance that our ruined door gave to our street. Granted, all the ugly stuff was on the inside of the house, but the blue line of tape through the center of the glass was surely not unnoticed by those who live closest to us. --- Wait a minute --- I forgot that we had taped cardboard to the exterior so the glass would not be a danger. Yep, back to being extremely ugly and a mystery as to why we weren't put "on notice."

So, this weekend, Deputy Dave took the door off the hinges (while I was still asleep) and he loaded it up into the bed of his truck to take to our favorite local stained glass shop. The women there are a bunch of funky ladies who I love to be around...fellow weirdo artist types, such as myself. Deputy Dave and I have taken classes there and it sure makes you appreciate this artform.

Those miracle workers put our door back together, AGAIN. It cost just under $200. but after we tried to find another pretty door, we decided that the repair fee was much lower than it would cost to replace the front door entirely. We also considered replacing the stained glass with alternatives, but nothing was workable...we do want it to be beautiful and to again be a selling point of the house. So, the plywood option was not viable.

And since the door is 3/4th stained glass and solid mahogany, it is well over $2,000. retail. And since we are about to list our house on the market, we knew we wouldn't spend that kind of money to buy a similar new door. No way.

But, this door is so pretty...as long as it is not sporting jagged shards of glass from the dog lunging at it.

To spiffy up the door another notch, Deputy Dave decided to totally refinish it, so he began the tedious sanding process.

Meanwhile, an old door to a storage shed had been installed by Deputy Dave as a temporary front door for the day, but it was a tad too little, so it wouldn't close all the way. But, that dilemma is nothing that a good old propped piece of board can't fix!

Can you tell we're Southerners at this point?

In one day's time, the door had come down, been repaired and sanded on the exterior, then rehung. It is a heavy door. I have no idea how Deputy Dave took it down and loaded it into the truck by himself. And, I have no idea how I slept through it all.

I woke up and the stained glass door was missing and the metal door was in place.

Next, can I wake up to find all of the windows in the house washed completely clean?

As for the door, after the funky stained glass shop people repaired it, we were told to not clean it for 48 hours so that the lead can completely cure. No problem. You already know I'm not keen on doing windows, but did Brice and Stefie REALLY have to carve their initials in the dust of the glass?

Look closely.

Now that I have a pretty door again, it's weird. I walk by it and do a double take. It is pretty again...just in time for us to sell the house. Why do we always do this? Why do we wait to make things awesome and THEN move out?

Oh yeah, I know the answer...I don't really want to LIVE in a house that is perpetually "staged." My kitchen stays a mess; I have dust; my floors have dog prints on them; there are extra books stacked in the corner; my paper shredder is in the middle of my master bedroom; and my windows are covered with a layer of solar-energy-dirt-goodness, and I like it like that. I like my "lived-in" house.

Also, the bottom line is...if we were going to continue living here long-term, we'd not be able to keep this door. Let's just hope that it lasts long enough to sell this house!

I'm so glad to have a repaired front door. It's a reason to breathe a bit easier, especially with our legal background...I can't help it, I'm always watching out for liabilities. This door had been a liability until the beautiful blue tape had been adhered to it. Everyone in our family and all of our friends knew us as the people with the jacked-up front door. But, it's great to not have to worry about a lawsuit waiting to happen as the next solicitor comes to the door and slices off an arm on the broken glass while trying to sell us something useful, like glass cleaner.

If they ONLY knew.