The Other Money Pit

Tennis

Mostly the lessons that kill me considering I haven't boughten a new frame in forever. But the stringing for breaking strings...I need to get my own stringer. Too bad it will cost at least a grand, maybe more. Soccer isn't too bad.

The biggest money killer of all time was my oboe. Nice instruments cost a fortune. Another killer for the oboe. Reeds cost about 12 bucks since I haven't learned to make them yet.

(Luckily) my parents pay for all of this stuff.

 

The hobby shops that sell those things are fascinating too! I got to walk through one the other day with a very elaborate track setup. It was extremely detailed...bushes, people, even an "Arnolds Diner"!

it was really cool.

 

Jarrell,

Well, the only reason that I wasn't totally fooled was that the engine wasn't weathered enough. If it hadn't been so clean, there would have been no other visual clues.

Nice shot. :wink:

 

Hi Jarrell...I know what you mean about another money pit. My friend has been collecting since he was a kid and continues to get the anniversary set each year. Has a small layout in the basement...but is collection is way out of control.

Just another uncontrolable addiction!! :roll:

 

I thought his finger was kind of a give-a-way too. :|

 

chris, you don't have train-sized fingers where you live? :shock:

jarrell, i have a friend who was heavily into HO-scale when he was younger. he had a bunch of marklins that were fun to run around the tracks. he gave it up when he got his driver's license and started spending on cars.

ricky

 

Boys and their toys!! *LOL* Jarrell really gets into his trains, he even has a track going around the ceiling of his office - really cool!!!!

Here's my moneypit. 1867 Victorian house - original slate roof, riverstone foundation walls in basement, original gas pipes for lighting fixtures (capped of course). She was built in the age of romance, when tradesmen built ceiling and cove moldings by hand, building them up layer by layer, lath and plaster walls with horsehair in the undercoat, no Makita cordless equipment here! The oak door casings in the livingroom and diningroom have 48 steps! Now they just throw houses together, such a shame.

 

My money pit was salt water aquariums, aka reefkeeping. It's surprising how expensive of a hobby it can be, e.g., having to pay $6+ per pound for live rock and needing 2 pounds per gallon of tank. Then there's the metal halide lights, filtration systems, RO/DI units, refrigeration units to cool the water, protein skimmers, etc, etc.

As you may have seen from Henry's photos, the results can be spectacular but it is a hobby that requires substantial $ and a daily commitment of time.

 

Mine was electric guitars. I got up to about 13 (average cost $1500-2000) before NAS overcame it. Back down to three now.

 

I don't play much any more, but I still have 5 electric bass guitars. And I owned (and raced) 35 dirt bikes. :roll:

 

My other pit is getting deeper every day. I have a 36 foot RV - has a 80 gallon gas tank. Last time it took two credit cards to fill with gas as I hit the credit limit on the gas pumps.

80 gallons to fill up - and 8 PPG.

 

Here's my other pit. Meet Don and Mike. Then there's also Steve. They're getting paid every Friday through the end of August. Then there's the materials. Kitchen cabinets and countertops alone would have outfilled the biggest lense luster in the forum.

We bought my mother's 101 year old house and are doing some reworking. Fortunately they're great guys and the house is worth it.

Tom

 

Tom, looks like 1905-1910 era? (referencing the door and window trimwork). Good old lath and plaster walls - a lot cooler than drywall! Great old houses are terrific but they do cost $ to upkeep and reno. At least your boys don't have beers in their mitts!! *LOL* Keep up the good work, I can tell you it will be worth it.

 

Sandi
That's a beautiful house,those old houses have much more than the precast ones of today.

We live in a house witch was a chemistry in the middle of the town center
about 120 years old
Bought it ten years ago renovated it from top to bottom,costs exceeded the buying prize,but my wife and I love to live here always noise from life around us,have no store in it for now,the neighbor rents it for storage.

In the basement are ancient Spanish tiles had a bid for it of € 450 m2 no way they won't come out they belong here,also there are the storage rooms for col-es before central heating was installed.
Have to pump the rain water out a cemented pit there is a in house rain pipe that comes out in the basement.
All these things and many more gives our house HER charms.
Loving it

 

Hello people,

Like Sandi and Hans I own an old house as well. Not as old as Hans' or Sandi's but, still 70 years old. We'll need to spend some money on our property soon. The wooden shed in the garden is falling apart and the floor downstairs is moving in a way it shouldn't. Probably a rotten wooden beam.

We did modernise the house a little when we bought it in 1993 but except for central heating and a modern bathroom, the house still has this pleasant "old fashion" feeling only an old house can give you. A lot of original details. Things that need to be restored are not replaced by plastic or cold concrete. We like to keep the old style.

So that's my other money pit.