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.

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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)