Prank, Scam, or Goofy Plan That Hit? - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 16

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 15 - February 25, 2026)

More than really being necessary, having a dedicated email address for Blood, Sweat, and Pig’s Ears simply made me feel good. It also established a buffer early on, as if this blog was more removed from me. I didn’t mention my family, and I was several years deep before I even shared my first name. The blog email allowed me to remain somewhat anonymous while still being accessible. Plus, it made this site more of a creation from scratch that stood on its own legs.

When I first came up with my idea about connecting with people working for the home improvement networks, I kept closer tabs on this secondary address. Although I checked my main account daily, the one for this blog was one of those things that got away from me a bit when I realized it wasn’t being used very much. But then a year and a half into my delusions of having the attention of TV people, a noteworthy blog reader emerged from cyber space.

Was this some sort of joke? Were hidden cameras mounted in the living room, capturing my excitement before someone would suddenly let me in on this well pointed prank?

Besides being next door neighbors on our cable menu, I’d noticed how Nicole Curtis’ Rehab Addict aired regularly on HGTV and the DIY network. And because of this, getting an email from someone claiming to be a Director of Original Programming and Development representing each channel, tracked.

My hunch had been right. They did know about me.

This reach out was dated September 26, 2013, but I didn’t open it until the second day of October. After preliminaries, the TV scout flattered me by mentioning my blog, my enthusiasm for renovating, and an appreciation for my approach and attitude toward my pig’s ears. Then I was invited to submit an introductory video about myself, something that included my family. Conversational in tone, this letter was full of useful information I needed to make my decision about if and how to respond.

More than once, I’d received the well-known congratulatory letter from an international esquire representing some wealthy distant relative who’d died with millions. Midway through the Sept. 26^th note, my mind went to these internet fishing schemes. But then I looked at the sender’s email. Rather than one of those alphabet soup type addresses that looked like a pet walked on the keyboard, it was professional, matching the person’s first initial and last name @HGTV.com.  

I re-read this message several times and then wrote a thank you note back that amounted to, “I’ll put something together and send it to you soon.” Not a huge promise. Only an acknowledgement that I’d seen and read the unsolicited email.

I gave it several looks throughout the day as I thought and thought. I did some on-line researching, and that sleuthing, coupled with the network email address, helped get me to the point of concluding that it was a legitimate introduction and invitation. Coming at it from many different angles, I couldn’t see a reasonable downside to sending in a video.

Eventually, after I talked it out with my wife Diann, she got right to the big question on her mind: “Did this guy ask for any money?”

I shook my head to answer and then we began laying out a plan to submit something.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 17 - March 2, 2026)

Metal Tank, Bat Waste, and Teenagers - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 15

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 14 - February 23, 2026)

Parenthood unleashes a cascade of advice on how to get through the early months of sleeplessness, then suggestions about raising a toddler, and on from there. For me it was a lot at first, too much guidance to swallow. But then someone made it clearer for me by saying something like, “Take it in and then just use what you can.” Renovating a rundown property is similar, with a flood of recommendations until bystanders feel convinced a rehabber knows what they’re doing.

So, this collection of responses to viewers is meant to answer questions but also help people who may want to document their own rehab on film or share information that can be passed along to someone trying to be on TV themselves. Far from feeling as if I have all the answers, I can write about what I experienced for people to use however they think might fit for them.

Before getting married and renovating the homes featured in American Rehab Charleston and Restoring Charleston, I’d been part of a handful of mission teams. I’ve spent a lot of time working alone on my project houses, so traveling, serving, and living with others was uplifting each time I had these opportunities. In addition, unlike when I renovated solo, I had other people to think things over with and then help carry out plans. I always enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to manage with whatever tools and materials are available, and the mission field is filled with these sorts of instances.

One afternoon in Papua New Guinea, I was part of a group of Americans and local men trying to install a galvanized tank. It had become another lesson in how things could be done without modern equipment as pairs took turns with hand shovels to create the round hole the size of a small car. As the last two diggers spread a thin layer of gravel over the flat bottom, this assembly of a dozen or so put our heads together trying to figure out how we could place the metal cylinder without damaging it. Brainstorming led to my suggesting we slide the unit on planks straddling the hole, then lifting it in unison before we slowly lowered it to its spot. It worked and I was pleased to have teammates able and willing to give my idea a try. And it was safer, easier, and more satisfying than going it alone.

Another time, in the mountains of Central America, I was helping an electrical crew wire up a school building for lights. I didn’t have much to offer until we ran into a small roadblock, an obstruction preventing our crew from running power to the new switch box.

Although many things are foreign abroad, there are some common building fundamentals, and using those, combined with what I’d picked up in that part of the world, I helped these tradesmen identify the non-electrical problem before putting forth a proposed workaround. The cavity was filled with bat guano, and one solution was to cut a hole and clean out the space, allowing them to carry on. They liked the idea and it worked. After they finished, I built and installed an access door over the new hole. It was easy and economical, and practical too since it could be removed if anyone needed to work on the system in the future.

There were many other things that made working in these volunteer roles fulfilling, but these times where I felt I’d been there for a reason, still stand out for me.

Being the one with a workable solution feels pretty great when it happens. And thankfulness afterwards is also very nice. As much as I wanted my blog to spark my next opportunity, work I could do while still being close by for my family, I was hoping for something that was also gratifying. Respecting uncrossable lines and having limited access to proper resources, I now realize that I was hoping for a lot.

I’m far from being a super confident person. I do feel at ease in my element of jacked up houses though, as if I’m rungs above capable. Being even more candid about my aspirations for a chance to help the unknown, unseen TV folks, I was being unreasonably delusional. 

For example, after Rehab Addict Nicole Curtis commented on my post, I allowed myself to believe that someone from HGTV or DIY was following this blog. So, I started to write with their eyes in mind. I would have been stoked to be able to be a part of something one of these networks was doing. I could review photos or video and perhaps offer some unorthodox or unrecognized solution to issues on renovations to be featured on one of their shows.   

There had been times when I’d headed up teams of youth working on old houses, projects where adults like me had been strongly encouraged to allow the teens complete work we might be able to knock out quicker or easier. I had been surprised to enjoy walking them through steps, thrilled at how they stood taller after achievements they’d woken up thinking were beyond their capabilities. In the world of renovating, I held certainty I could do that remotely for the home improvement networks without having to be on site far and away from Diann and the kids.

If television producers were tuning into my blogging, I was going to do what I could to make it clear how uniquely qualified I was to help them.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 16 - February, 27, 2026)

My Imagined Alliance with Rehab Addict’s Nicole Curtis - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 14

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 13 - February 20, 2026) 

I had not spoken with Nicole Curtis, the star of the hit TV show on HGTV and DIY called Rehab Addict. Nor had she talked to me. And yet, through my blog and her comment in April 2012, we had sort of communicated. I suppose, without intending to, I’d said, “I get what you do” and she’d answered with a simple, “Thank you.” And maybe it was as basic as appreciation going two ways, up to Minnesota and then back to me in South Carolina by way of the internet.

It could be seen as more. I was promoting her and her show. But I was also applying what I believed as the key to being a good teacher, by directing followers or readers of my blog where they should look to learn, as if I was saying in my own way, “If y’all want to understand what I do and how I do it, find Rehab Addict on television and watch Nicole Curtis. After a few episodes, you’ll see and hear how you can save time and money by making use of what’s already there rather than tossing good stuff and replacing it with pricey new things. You can see how she makes something unwanted beautiful again, and at the end valuable. You’ll get a better idea of why renovating an unwanted house is so gratifying.”     

My blog was started for my own personal/professional reasons and ambitions, but it was also to inspire and educate others on how to renovate a house with potential, maybe even a property that real estate and construction experts were convinced was unsavable.

With most of my projects, I’d done what people with experience and wisdom and authority genuinely believed was undoable. And through my blog, I wanted others to realize that they could do the same, that they could buy a house that looked a lot worse than it actually was and step by step, bring it back to life. My message wasn’t only about resurrecting houses left for dead. But I felt if I could show how I save a property that was condemned, officially labeled Uninhabitable, then others could take what I had learned and was able to share and use it to help them revive the worst house on the block, or in some neighborhood near them. They could put their blood and sweat into something, make it their own silk purse, a special place to call home. Or maybe they could use what they learned to have a cool rehabbing career of their own.        

Right or wrong, I thought that in her show Rehab Addict, Nicole Curtis was doing that same thing.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 15 - Coming Soon)

From the Top: Responses to TV Show Viewers up to Post 13

Responses to TV Show Viewers

As I think back and write, I now understand a bit better how to answer questions family, friends, viewers, and strangers have presented over the last thirteen years. To the right people, stirring together my errors with the choices that seemed to work out can serve useful. 

Me being on TV doesn't add up for many. And I get that since I'm also looking back and scratching my own head. Vagueness that was my attempt at politeness created an unnecessary void too easily filled by the overly creative. Like many things, time and patience are the essentials making me more able to get down to some of the nitty and the gritty. 

Working through this Response series of essays is bringing back good memories, and things I haven't thought much about for a while. An assignment perhaps long overdue, I am enjoying it more than expected. For those of you interested in starting from the top, I've dropped this list of links leading up to yesterday.

:)    

Salutes of Appreciation for Notes and Messages - 1/20/26

Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 1 - 1/23/26

The Lifestyle of Rehabbing: Post 2 - 1/26/26

Drawing Inspiration from Survivorman: Post 3 - 1/28/26

My Contractor/Family Man Standoff: Post 4 - 1/30/26

Teaching and Coaching and Coping: Post 5 - 2/2/26

Blog with a Dog Named Cerberus: Post 6 - 2/4/26

Radar Blipping Due to Flipping: Post 7 - 2/6/26

Discovering Rehab Addict Starring Nicole Curtis: Post 8 - 2/9/26

Nicole Curtis on Rehab Addict Grabs My Wife's Attention: Post 9 - 2/11/26 

Oh, Fart Knockers! Nicole Curtis Has Stepped in It Now: Post 9a - 2/13/26

My Wife's Assertion About Nicole Curtis: Post 10 - 2/14/26

Nicole Curtis Boosts My Spousal Awareness: Post 11 - 2/16/26

Self-Appointed Mission: Connect With TV People: Post 12 - 2/18/26

Half-Baked Move Toward Television: Response Post 13 - 2/20/26

My girl and I
Circa 2009 

Trent 

bloodsweatandpigsears@hotmail.com

Half-Baked Move Toward Television - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 13

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 12)

In the spring of 2012, some things were clear. My wife had let me know, either sincerely or tongue-in-cheek, that the star of HGTV/DIY’s Rehab Addict had been tuned into this blog. Diann made her opinion clear several times when we had the show on at home. On the inside I was thinking, “That would be neat.” While on the outside I was saying something that amounted to, “Thanks for your cool proclamation, girl, but I doubt this person on TV has time to read my blog.”

But then, the plot thickened when Nicole Curtis commented on a post I’d written saying, “Thanks for “getting” what I do :).” If this was the actual home improvement dynamo, then she was showing me in a magnificent way how right Diann actually was.

Some could speculate that I was likely just ignorant to what really happened, that my wife reached out to Nicole, asking that she comment on Blood, Sweat, and Pig’s Ears. People may feel inclined to believe that because of my spouse, the rehabber logged on and took time to do a favor for some stranger and that this colluding was all done a thoughtful gesture or, so I’d be aware of my wife’s brilliance. Although something like this could have happened, I pretty sure that’s not the case. And if she did pull off this clandestine plan, Diann is still keeping the secret of all this scheming to herself.

Also, it might have just been someone claiming to be the TV star. I also got how this could be a possibility. However, the mentioned commenter did include www.nicolecurtisdesigns.com with the six- word response, so that lent some legitimacy to the prospect that the rehab addict was the one who’d read and commented on my post.

I dug Rehab Addict, as much or more than This Old House, and related with what she did and how she did it. I wrote a few paragraphs about my feelings several times in multiple posts that year and in 2013. But the bottom line still is that Diann had been right, while I was surprisedly pleased about being wrong. And I thought it was fun having the TV star’s comment at the foot of my article.

As far as I could consider, I had no inroads to the television universe, leaving me scratching my head. I didn't know folks in the TV world: family, close friend, or old pal from college. And my orbit was without anyone who could have suggested that Ms. Curtis check out or type a comment on my website.

But eventually, when I was through wondering, I took some passive action, writing additional posts about the network's programs. Besides more about Nicole Curtis and Rehab Addict, I wrote about other shows, like Renovation Realities and Renovation Rescue, series I liked that seemed to be coming from the same place as me and Blood, Sweat, and Pig's Ears: trying to educate with advice and tips while inspiring people to renovate. I was wholeheartedly in sync with that mission because home renovating is fun, and done right, can be profitable.

Even if it was a delusion, I liked imagining TV producers using my blog as a resource. But suddenly, I had a new goal: I wanted to be a part of the team, a legitimate asset. I wanted them to establish more formal contact so they could call or email whenever they had a question. Just like with the online Q&A forums, I was primed and ready to provide solutions if or when they ran into on-site gridlock.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 14 - Coming Soon)

Self-Appointed Mission: Connect with TV People - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 12

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 11 - February 16, 2026)

The details behind Nicole Curtis commenting on this blog in April 2012 were a minor mystery. I wrote nice things about her show and basically, she thanked me. In addition to this being a special moment, it was a thought-provoking surprise that forced me to concede that my wife was right and I was wrong. At the least, the TV star was aware of my writing here. And that was very cool.   

Around this time of my life, I would often visit online question and answer forums for do-it-yourself renovators seeking advice. While some questions, the softballs, would get flooded with helpfulness, other advice seekers would get nothing. These blatantly overlooked peeps had taken time to describe their issue and formulate a request, sometimes even post a picture. And yet all they got were cyber crickets for days.

I really wanted to help these folks, to do what I could. I suppose it’s a little like me taking on my unwanted houses; in these forums I was filling a need, trying to help the DIYers who were being unnoticed. And a funny thing would happen sometimes: once I made an effort to help the person make some sort of progress, others would chime in, and the once ignored would get a variety of additional suggestions to compare with mine. And I was sure that was really helpful. I was happy to be the lone commenter, equally pleased when I instigated a trickle, and amazed when my thoughts were followed by an avalanche of aid.

Because of blog comments and emails, it was clear that my participation on these Q&A sites led folks back to my blog. And one of these people may have been connected to the home improvement networks. Perhaps this person, or someone else, told Nicole Curtis about my post promoting her and the hit rehabbing program. I'll likely never know how the blonde rehabber found her way to my blog.

However, what I must admit now, so many years later, is that my mind began to percolate on this unexpected development, inspiring me to think, I have their attention. Meaning: the people at HGTV/DIY know about me. Right or wrong, that's how my brain began to process the comment from the popular rehab addict on television.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 13 - February 20, 2026)

Nicole Curtis Boosts my Spousal Awareness - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 11

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 10 - February 14, 2026)

Think about married couples you know. How often have you heard a husband say, “My wife was right. I was wrong. And I’m more than okay about it”?

In 2012, I was working steadily on projects down in the west of the Ashley River side of Charleston and blogging about home renovating here. Besides listening to me blab about my work, the steps and approach I took, my wife Diann proofread many of my posts before I hit publish. This had given her a solid grip on my takes about renovating that I was sharing online.

One night, while Rehab Addict was on our television, Diann shared an opinion about the TV renovator’s strategy. Having heard similarities in what we each thought, my wife reached a conclusion, that Nicole Curtis was one of my readers. Even though I wasn't in step, I was flattered.

In April, after watching a few episodes, I wrote a post about the host and her show. I provided a few examples of how I related to much of what Nicole Curtis was doing and mentioned how Diann often described the unsteady compensation as a feast or famine way of living. It was basic writing, very positive and full of enthusiasm as I more or less promoted the show by teasing a few details while encouraging my blog readers to watch Rehab Addict.

The next morning, I sat down with a coffee and checked my email. This was before I had a smartphone, so I was at the desktop in the corner of our living room. I opened my inbox and there was a message from blogger.com saying, "You have a new comment from Nicole Curtis," time stamped the night before; a simple thank you.

Then I opened my blog page to check if the comment was actually there. I needed to see for myself, the remark with the post, before I would tell Diann.

And there it was.   

My position that Nicole Curtis was unaware of my blog was no longer plausible. Candidly though, I still had doubts, speculating that there was a strong chance someone just told the female renovator about the article. Yet having no idea how things actually were, my mind raced as reality settled in: My wife was right and I was impossible-to-now-disagree wrong.

I had to break this news, but only by letting Diann see the comment for herself. I scooted upstairs and said, "You need to come down to the computer."

"Why?” she asked with concern. “What happened?"

"Everything's okay. Just come downstairs."

After reading the words, Diann shouted as she pointed her dainty finger toward my face, "I told you! I told you she reads your blog!"

Although I still wasn't convinced, a seed had been planted. I had someone's attention, someone in the HGTV/DIY universe, and I was going to give them more to consider.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 12 - February 18, 2026)

My Wife’s Assertion About Nicole Curtis of Rehab Addict - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 10

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 9a - February 13, 2026)

Happy Valentine's Day to my supermom-wife Diann!

She has never been involved in the day-to-day progress of my project houses. For some who don't know our family, this has led to questions. But those close to us understand.

Parenting a developmentally disabled child, my stepson, is a 24/7 role. Even when Diann's not shadowing him in person, she's the dedicated general of my stepson’s caregiving team. When her phone rings, her back stiffens as concern floods her expression. She’s steadily mindful of his schedule, the appointments, therapies, and check-ups throughout our calendar. My wife is in this special needs-mom-mode, day in and out, even when he’s not with us.

Being a witness to this pair’s special bond is tough for me to adequately describe. She understands his unique way of communicating. Diann and our boy have endless inside jokes triggered by tiny signs with his hands or sound effects with learned meaning. Apart, and even more together, they’re both way past remarkable. Our daughter is right there with her, but the depths of his special language left me in the dust years back.

The multisyllabic medical terms and medicines that are part of his past and present, roll off Diann’s tongue, keeping her in pace with any practitioner or pharmacist. She regularly calms other mothers with a fresh diagnosis who are in need of encouragement. Navigating the waters of special needs parenting is tricky and listening to my wife educate and reassure others is a source of prideful amazement for our daughter and I.

My wife has an incredible work ethic, gifted with an ability to focus whether she's digging into finances, dealing with a family member's health issue, or fighting for her only son in court. She's effective in an admirable way, in my eyes, as well as those who have seen her at the helm of these responsibilities.

At the risk of coming off as if I am bragging or even pandering for empathy, I hope to make it clear that my wife is an extraordinary woman before I go further with my storytelling.

*

When breathing life into the lungs of a run-down house, TV’s Nicole Curtis can get it done and it was nice to have Diann draw her own comparisons between me and the popular rehabber on television. In our own respective ways, we each had things in common with this gal addicted to rehab.

My wife naturally shared her own awareness of these commonalities and in early 2012 she responded to dialogue on Rehab Addict. "She sounds like you,” Diann said. “That sounds like something you'd say!" That was a significant moment. She had been listening to me when I had wondered, a few times, if she might have been faking attention.

Weeks after this confirmation, the rehab addict was in midsentence when Diann shouted from another room, "She’s talking like you again!” before saying, “You wrote about that in your blog.” Then her head popped around the corner, and she added more definitively, "She's reading your blog."

A couple days later, something similar happened and Diann got even more charged up, slower, clearer, and louder this time as she said, "I'm telling you, she's reading your blog!"

Although I appreciated how Curtis was expressing a similar viewpoint, I didn't share in my wife’s opinion about the TV renovator having or taking the time to read my blog posts. Still, it seemed like Diann felt as if she knew female intuition type stuff that I needed to consider and try to understand.

I didn’t think too long and hard about these conclusions. I was just thankful the show helped Diann understand some of my takes on renovating a little better. Plus, I was flattered that she saw parallels between me and the rehabber blowing up on home improvement television.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 11 - February 16, 2026)

Oh, Fart Knockers! Nicole Curtis has Stepped in It Now - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 9a

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 9 - February 11, 2026)

Into my laying out of background that led to me renovating my houses on television, I learned season nine of Rehab Addict would run episode one on February 11^th. This caused me to think, Great news. That’s fortunate timing, since the show’s host is a significant part of my attempts at explaining how and why I ended up on the tube. But then yesterday news about the cancelation and removal kept running across my phone.

Nicole Curtis and I have never spoken, at least not directly. I don’t know what her life is like; single mom, businesswoman, TV producer, published author, home improvement royalty. I certainly do understand what it’s like to write, to avoid overusing the same words or typing something unique or clever more than once. But more significantly, comparing that to speaking on camera, I absolutely know how it is having a microphone under your shirt for long days. Tiresome weeks of talking, talking, talking, and having people listening and recording come along with wearing dual hats of renovator and communicator as you work, mind racing at ridiculous speed. I’m sure being a producer with other unknowns attached only adds to brain clutter.

This is far from excuse making for Nicole Curtis. Yet due to long days mic’d up for the dusty cameras, embarrassed at tripping over my own tongue, I can once again relate. In that TV remodeler mode, there is a drive to deliver for the producers while simultaneously thinking toward the post-production phase. With this comes awareness to provide material for the next team, perhaps for an introductory sequence like Rehab Addict when the home renovator is at the top of the stairs questioning a decision to cover up pickets. “Oh, fart knockers!” would have been a nice little nugget, but instead it came out as the N-word and the rehab addict is paying a huge price for it right now.

Besides having a mom, wife, sister, and cousins who are really strong women, I’m a girl dad. And good or bad, I see women through men’s eyes. It’s impossible for me to overlook how they get judged by a different tape measurer than us dudes. And to me, this situation with Ms. Curtis is starting off as a fresh example.

I saw the clip and to call it racial slur usage seems heavy handed. It’s clear she recognized how words spilled from her mouth intolerably. She didn’t excuse herself. She didn’t laugh or shrug. She seemed to feel bad and regretful right away.

No one that I know of says what Nicole Curtis said. Yet I’ve certainly heard attempts to avoid profanity in the form of goofy curses like “fart knockers,” or “fart nuggets.” That’s more plausible and I’d like to believe that was what she was trying to get on film; something cheeky, rather than something disrespectful. That’s more on brand for the blonde renovator.  

In depth insight here is beyond me. And yet I do know a bit more than most, that Nicole Curtis has broken some hearts in TV land, had to say no behind the scenes when submission may have been expected. More than this being an example of racism, it seems like an attention-grabbing effort that’s backfired horribly or perhaps a move to knock the rehabbing queen off her throne.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 10 - February 14, 2026)

Nicole Curtis on Rehab Addict Grabs my Wife’s Attention - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 9

Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 8 - (February 9, 2026)

In 2011, I began hearing about HGTV/DIY’s series Rehab Addict. For people visiting my jobsites in the West Ashley part of Charleston, it was as if I was an up-close real-life example of the type of hands-on renovator they were seeing on the popular TV show. I wasn’t exactly the same, but they saw me as more similar than teams flipping houses at high speed.  

The first time I saw Rehab Addict, I liked it. And even if I didn’t have time to stop and sit and watch, it was one of those shows that I could have on and listen to as I did things around the house or took care of our kiddos. It was fun—jazzy music, positive vibe, and a fast pace—and I liked the moments where I’d be nodding along as I thought that’s how I do this or that if I was Nicole Curtis. The show just made sense to me.

The host took a cost-effective approach to the tasks with a find-a-way, make it happen sort of attitude I felt sure would help aspiring renovators. And rather than tossing good stuff in the dumpster and then spending time and money bringing in new, the enthusiastic rehabber was salvaging the savable. This was a biggie for me. And along with that she seemed quick enough without hurrying while commanding an out-of-the-box problem solving style that I appreciated.

By 2012, Rehab Addict had become insanely popular, and it was running in hourly marathon form at all hours and days. We had it on around our house a lot there for a while and one night, the Minneapolis based renovator said something that grabbed my wife’s attention, with Diann responding, "She sounds like you. That sounds like something you'd say!"

Diann and I have teamed up on our own home, painting hallways or furniture, staining a fence, and certainly plenty of yardwork. I'm sure that if we'd been able to take on an entire house together, from scouring the market for a prospect and then the steps in between leading up to closing day, we could have had wonderful results as co-rehabbers.

Although she watched some of the videos I recorded of the Hurricane House, my wife didn’t really understand what I was doing each day. But watching or listening to Rehab Addict, helped her get a taste of the enjoyment I tried to describe, what I felt in bringing my own unwanted properties back to life. And that was more significant than strangers seeing the similarities.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 9a - February 13, 2026)

Discovering Rehab Addict Starring Nicole Curtis - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 8

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 7 - February 6, 2026)

In speaking with an experienced wordsmith, one where I was probing for advice on some specific writing, this person said, “You need to go back further.” These words have been lingering in my mind as I try to answer questions stemming from my time renovating my houses on American Rehab Charleston or Restoring Charleston, shows that people are still watching and then reaching out to me over.  

Many people seem eager to understand a bit more, in order to use something from my experiences to help themselves or someone close to them with aspirations into unknown territory, TV or otherwise. Or maybe it’s simple curiosity to help my being on their television make more sense. And for those disappointed by what they saw in the shows, I hope this helps to answer your questions even better as well. There’s just too much to say in a few sentences or paragraphs in a way that’s fair to me and all the people who worked on each series.  

In 2000, soon after I bought my first house, people began to ask, "Are you a house flipper, like the people on television?" But I didn't watch much TV, and these questions were lost on me.

From the way it was explained, the house flippers sounded like an intoxicating mix of real estate brokers and folks who seemed to have tapped into the legendary spirits of pirates and cowboys, starting and racing a financier's clock, then selling a house in months before zooming onto the next project. And as cool as that seemed, it wasn't me. I was just one guy trying to be practical, methodically salvaging in attempt to make the most of what I had as best as I could. I was hands-on, doing much myself on houses that realtors, investors, and contractors saw as hopeless causes.  

Sure, I was focused on budget and schedule as I beat the bushes for needed subs and tradespeople, but it seemed like I was in a lower gear than the TV teams. And although I was taken in by the romantic descriptions I heard, I concluded and then explained regularly how I was not really a house flipper.

Then, in 2011, the visitors to my projects in Charleston started saying things like, "You remind me of the girl on Rehab Addict." They said her houses were in bad shape, she did a lot of the work herself, and she tried to save materials too good to discard. By this time, I had access to the home improvement networks. My wife and I tagged teamed the kids, so when I was in the ring and naptime rolled around, I caught episodes of the show and host I'd begun hearing so much about. Even though the rehab addict was a nice-looking single mom, while I had a scruffy face, we were both blonde Midwesterners getting after it in similar ways on our own project houses, so I understood the well-intended comparisons.

Although I felt as if I could relate, I didn't think I was like Nicole Curtis either. Her projects were much grander than mine, with finer architectural details. And she displayed an impressive, productive command of her team, while I sometimes found myself doing conversational somersaults before landing on a solution with my crews. Ms. Curtis got where she needed to go quickly, and I was envious.

On top of that, she had multiple, impressive looking rehabs humming along at once, like the performer spinning plates on a stake at the circus. But me? I was resurrecting homes left for dead, one by one.

Although we were similar, we weren't that alike, and I felt certain she'd agree. It was like we were both playing the same sport, but she was leading troops in the big leagues, while I was doing my hammering and picking up innings in the minors. Still, the comparisons made me feel good, and through her, because of her and her show bombarding HGTV and DIY in episode parades, people started to better understand what I did and how I earned a living. I was grateful to this gal on TV and that was noteworthy.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 9 - February 11, 2026)

Radar Blipping due to Flipping - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 7

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 6 - February 4, 2026)

I realize not everyone wants to read about my past history. However, some have nudged me for more backstory, information that adds up, or is put down in a way they can use for themselves. And clearly, I’m happy to share more for those interested, enjoying the process of sifting through how the pieces of time unfolded and ended up fitting together.    

“Where do you start to fix up a house this bad?” or “How do you do it?” Those are easier questions for me to answer than, “How did you find your way onto television?” And lack of specifics can give the impression of intentional coyness. Which is the case for me since I imagine I’m most often doing people a favor being brief in answering TV questions. Rather than a dull road, that chapter of my life is hard to explain in a few short sentences.

In the early years of my renovating career, project visitors would sometimes ask, “Are you a flipper?” or if I “flipped houses.” Back then, my schedule and budget were tight, initially filled with full-time work and my attempts to save my first condemned property on the side. I was short on extra cash for cable and only took time for TV like the show Survivor, news, or something special like the Super Bowl. I’d even stopped watching This Old House because I was too busy. So, I was pretty much clueless, and these visitors started to bring me up to speed on flipping homes and different shows they saw about this.

The way I understood it, how I think I get it now, is that house flipping is a ramped-up schedule, high gear from day one. My way, salvaging what I can saves time and money in the long run, but it’s never seemed as if flippers being featured on TV operate this way. I really get into the history of my properties, the previous owners, additions, background things that I think help me make the most of what I’ve invested in. Hard core flipper schedules don’t allow for those sorts of time eaters. They’re sprinters and I suppose I’ve always been more of an endurance type of renovator. I’m mindful of how long it’s taking, but it’s a more methodical route, because for me, that’s been most practical long-term, big picture.  

I’m sure some flippers dipping their toes in the water, take it slower and try to save usable material along the way like I do. But twenty-five years ago, I could tell that the folks on television inspiring strangers to stop in and ask questions were a different breed than me, including their quantity of rehabs. I work steady on one project, and most have taken longer than a year to complete. But the hardcore flippers seemed to be knocking out multiple projects per year. Production mode—Bam! Bam! Bam!

That's never been me. I don't believe I qualify as a house flipper. I think I've always been closer in approach to This Old House, even if my homes are more modest. And that just makes sense, because I really dig that show.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 8 - February 9, 2026)

Blog with a Dog Named Cerberus - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 6

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 5 - February 2, 2026)

In the summer of 2011, I wrote my introductory blog posts to burn a few hours while my four-year-old was at VBS. Then I came up with a short list of possible titles; catchy, mind-grabbing labels that people could easily remember and find on the internet. However, one after another had already been snatched up by website founders I considered as clever, yet quicker than me.  

I kept at it though, seeking out something unique to name my blog. This thinking took me back to my early inroads into renovating when one doubt filled visitor, convinced of my imminent failure said, "You can't turn a pig's ear into a silk purse." But I found ways of saving that house, the one deemed uninhabitable after a devastating fire. And this led to something else noteworthy: my winning a contest on thisoldhouse.com, the site of the show that had fertilized the seed for my renovation dreams.  

Even with this unlikely success, subsequent jacked up house projects had also been initially seen as foolishness. But the resurrections were forged around my joy of these challenges, a passion that made it easy for me to let this work consume the bulk of my thoughts and time for nearly ten years.

Although I hadn't cried, I’d been bloodied and dripped plenty of sweat on my jobsites. So, I eventually combined that ill spoken remark with the well-known idiom, blood, sweat, and tears, and typed “Blood, Sweat, and Pig's Ears” into the on-line search box. It was up for the taking and I had this blog name.

*

Before marriage and fatherhood, most of my decisions seemed predicated on the schedules and budgets and profit margins of my work:

How long will this take?

How much is it going to cost?

And How will this or that impact the property's value?

But by 2011, my thoughts had become dominated with getting our daughter ready for kindergarten, my stepson's development, and trying to be supportive of my wife in her role as a special needs mom. My life of rehabbing had been eclipsed by other priorities; beyond anything I’d anticipated.

I was steadily eating into my nest egg as I struggled to find family/work balance

, some equilibrium that was also profitable. Writing emerged as something I could do as I stood ready to fill the next need at home. Plus, it helped me cope with the end of the life I’d had before marriage.

Along with answering questions, sharing what I’d learned while trying to inspire others, I had three hopeful objectives that were the early foundation of Blood, Sweat, and Pig's Ears. The first focused on connecting with a motivated seller of an unwanted property, maybe a house with gnarly damage or issues I was uniquely qualified to sort out and address. Secondly, I was optimistic this log could help me find a client with a challenging home other contractors wouldn't take on. Or lastly, by putting myself into wider view as an essayist, I had fantasies of linking up with someone in the world of writing.

I didn't need this site to help me land more than one legitimate opportunity. I only needed one hit to make this step into murky territory feel like it was over and above a cool new hobby. Yet more significantly, I really needed BSAPE to help me regain footing on a fresh patch of solid ground.

(Response to TV View Show Viewers: Post 7 - Coming Soon)

Teaching and Coaching and Coping - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 5

My Contractor/Family Man Standoff - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 4 (January 30, 2026)

People have been really great about listening to my simple explanation: that this blog was the catalyst leading to my time on TV. However, I realize some have found this hard to swallow, as if I’m not telling them the whole story, which is accurate. I don’t think most people really want to hear all that much, recognizing that they’re being polite to ask, but appreciate being spared on the nuts-and-bolts play-by-play. However, some really want to know more, so they can chart their own course or maybe simply feel more satisfied with what they know of my story. So, for those after added background, I am laying out some of my history as I sort through it.

Into my new role as husband, father, and stepfather, I realized my schedule was less forgiving. I made adjustments, hitting pause on new clients. Instead, I focused on projects where I was owner and GC, so I could work and step away as my wife and I tag teamed childcare duties. In the five years after getting married, I designed and built a home to sell and renovated three rundown houses and an outbuilding. The economy was neck deep in the recession when I closed out my last two properties in Charleston, and I felt thankful to break even on both.

More than life being a little different, my career of renovating houses was on life support. During this time transitioning from full-time contractor and renovator to family man, I started this blog. People had steadily asked me how I approached my renovations, and I discovered that as much as I enjoyed answering questions, giving advice, I also really liked writing about it. Sharing my written thoughts was way outside my comfort zone and ended up being a nice rush. I wasn’t strategizing or thinking too hard about what I was doing or where the blog might lead, nor did I have an editor or co-hort. My wife was my proofreader and cheerleader, but that was the extent of my blog team. And when I hit the button on that first post, I was in full-fledged denial; the writing was in the first person, present tense as if I was still living within my rehabber lifestyle.

Although this blog has been a way to inspire and educate others, I suppose in a sense I was using it to relive some of those glory days getting smaller in my rearview mirror. I loved my family, and the new life that it created for me, but at the same time I really missed the one I’d had. On top of this, I was disappointed with myself for not being more ready to navigate through the stumps of this husband/fatherhood season. My optimism had bitten me badly and I held fear of losing that too.   

More than being intentionally disingenuous with readers, or potential house sellers I wanted to sit down with, I was being dishonest with myself. My renovating mojo had not disappeared in the blink of an eye, but had lifted up, faded away like an early morning fog; there for a long while before being suddenly gone.

I can speculate that this delivery of my thoughts, feelings, and experiences, though inadvertent and unintended, misled people. And as this was happening, I was simultaneously fooling myself with thoughts of getting back to a substantial part of that way of earning a living after my daughter started school. I was ignorant to think so definitively that it would work out that way. I suppose it could have. It just wasn't meant to be.

Blogging helped me cope, doing a work around on my own ego and identity while struggling to learn how to adequately be there for my family. Simply, yet candidly stated, I failed to confront and adjust to my new reality as quickly as I should have, leading to a writing perspective that was off the mark.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 6 - February 4, 2026)