Who needs a dog?

A while back, we decided that we should wait to get a dog until we have a house. We have been waiting a long time to get a dog. But who needs a dog when we have pets like these? Can you see them all?

Beauty in Nature Part II

This one is a little more obvious. We have a GIANT cedar in our front yard! Isnt' she lovely?

Beauty in Nature

Last Friday, we couldn't help ourselves, but to knock something down! There was an old lean-to used to store fire wood that was so rotten it could barely stand. So, with a few well placed whacks with the hammer and a quick push, it came tumbling down. A small triumph. We then got to spend half of the day on Monday (Labor Day), deconstructing our little heap of rotted wood. And there in the rubble, I found it...beauty.

This little gem comes to us courtesy of moss. This is the underside of the lean-to roof. There were some screws that went down through the top. Those screws made holes, and through those holes grew moss. Looking at this, it is not so hard to believe that the Earth is made up of Space, is it?

We did it!

After all of the trials and tribulations and almost a year of house hunting, we finally got one.

Oh the joys of home ownership! When I was thinking about what to write in this first post it occurred to me that I could probably use this very phrase for as the opener for every posting, used facetiously or otherwise. But then I realized that it would become overdone and at least for the first several posts could be annoying to those out there who have owned a home far longer than I and believe that I don’t have a true enough understanding of the “joys of home ownership” in any sense to use the phrase. Thus, I will use it sparingly.

Our new home…what can we say. She is the biggest, oldest, and nastiest house we could find. For those of you who know me (Andrea) well…my dream house. Built in 1927, this two-story craftsman boasts 1878 square feet of living (1148 down and 730 up) on a spacious 0.2 acre lot. The home is currently divided into two separate living spaces, each with 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, and a kitchen. Period details abound throughout, including original trim, fir floors, and built-ins. The period details also extend to the wiring and plumbing, both essentially original to the property; as well as the roofing, siding, and carpenter ant colony (est. 1927).

The previous owner passed away some time ago and there had been tenants renting for at least the last 7 years. We felt terrible for ousting them, but so it comes, so it goes. Both tenants were smokers and the house is caked in tar. You can see the ghostly outlines of previous furniture in some of the photos.

We have had keys in hand for barely a week at this point and have spent the last 6 nights at the house after work cleaning and prepping the upper unit so that we can move in and begin the work in earnest. We have also been trying to track down some good help. The bug guys will be out next week and we hope to have some bids on the roof as well. We’ve put in some calls to drainage and foundation folks, but they have neglected to call us back thus far, surprise, surprise.

Despite all the work, we love our home and hope that you will enjoy seeing our joys and our pains plastered up on this site.