It all started with a drip.

In this very first episode of Abandon House: How to Survive a Home Repair Fiasco, Kenny and Shari Rudolph take us back to February 17, 2017 when a rare Southern California storm turns their dream “castle” on a hill into a battleground: against the elements, and a slew of pirate foes in the forms of contractors, crews, and insurance agents. Their leaking kitchen window (or is it a sky light? maybe a sky wall, or an atrium?) was combatted with the first of many renditions of what would come to be known as the “pots and pans ballet”...which they didn’t yet know would mark the beginning of what would become a five-year adventure into the half-a-trillion-dollar industry of home repair and restoration.

Along the way, Kenny and Shari share:

• The shock of discovering that their “invading raindrops” weren’t a one-time problem
• The hilariously desperate (and very wet) improvisation of catching leaks with cookware
• How their “castle” became the stage for unexpected chaos and comedy
• Their origin story as a couple - from elevator roulette and “non-dates” to long-distance love and finally moving into their fixer-upper together
• The first frustrating encounters with their insurance company and a surfer-dude adjuster

This episode sets the stage for the saga to come: a mix of comedy, cautionary tales, and hard-earned lessons about the pitfalls of homeownership.

Bonus content: See photos of the real pots and pans ballet and other images from the fiasco at abandonedhousepod.com

This podcast is the official companion to the book series of the same name Abandon House: How to Survive a Home Repair Fiasco. Book 1 is available wherever you buy books, and at this link: https://www.amazon.com/Abandon-House-Survive-Repair-Fiasco/dp/B0FJYRFYKT

Next time: Kenny and Shari’s spray-and-pray search for a contractor takes them from skylights to shantytowns, while their insurance “solution” falls apart.