A Mini Tour

I have not had much free time to write lately because trying to put the house together while working full time keeps me pretty busy. We still have a lot of boxes around and no idea where to put the contents.  My daughter, when visiting recently, asked how it was possible to move from an apartment into a house and actually have less room. Not sure, but apparently we did it!   Actually it's because we had a lot of storage at our former dwelling place - a full attic, two story garage and two story barn out back.   Here at the new place we have no out-buildings at all, an attic with no floor (just insulation above the ceiling) and there were only two closets in the whole house, one downstairs and one upstairs. So, the first thing Mac did was build a closet in the master and one in my son's room.

As I write this, he is outside constructing a small shed to keep the recycling bins and the lawnmower in to keep them out of the rain. It hasn't solved the whole problem but we've made a start.  Here is what the upstairs looks like right now.  Scroll down a few posts to see the pictures from a couple of months ago for comparison.




Here is what the hallway Mac built looks like now. He still has to put the window trim and the radiator cover on.

Here's the new half bath.

This is the little bedroom where my daughter will stay when she visits. We were calling it the office until we realized there won't be room for a desk if we keep the bed in it, and of course we want her to have someplace to sleep when she comes to stay over. And there is a small stand of shelving and a T.V. as well.
We had to take space from the two smaller bedrooms to carve out the half bath and the hallway.

This is the master bedroom.  The skylight has not gone in yet - that has to wait until Mac does the roof.  But it will be right over the bed.  Here too we still have to do all the window trim.

Although most of the work we have done has been upstairs, as you can see it is still a work in progress. 
The downstairs is another matter entirely.  We really have not done anything to it.  Because the frame of the house needed such extensive repairs, we didn't have nearly enough money to do what we needed to.  There is still much that needs to be done and because of time and financial constraints, it will take years.  But at least it is livable.
Here are some shots of the kitchen.

...And our little deck out back.

Mac is planning to demo it, maybe next year and build a patio instead.   It was not done correctly in the first place and because of that, it's causing problems with the sill of the house, but for now it's nice to have a place to sit out there.



 I would show you the parlor and living room, but they are not too photogenic right now.  We have most of our furniture crammed into the parlor, because Mac has all his tools and table saws and building supplies in the living room.   He needs a space to work that's out of the weather and as previously mentioned, we have no garage or barn yet.   He intends to build one as soon as our budget allows, which may be a long time away.  We also have an in-ground pool, but it has not been operational for many years and is over grown with grapevine and bittersweet.  There are cattails and reeds growing in the bottom of it and it is currently serving as a frog nursery.  Mac says he hopes to get it back in shape and running by 2014.  I'll post some photos of it soon for the curious.

All things considered, I feel very blessed.  I now have everything I ever wanted in life.  How many people get that?

Sea Change

Today my world underwent a transformation.  It started out like any ordinary day; the sun came up, the coffee brewed, the animals were fed and I made eggs for Mac and myself.  But then instead of going off in opposite directions to work, we drove together to a lawyer's office and signed the final settlement papers on our house. 

On the drive home afterward, the entire world looked different to me.  I felt as if I had undergone a complete change in outlook - this same feeling came over me on the day I brought each of my children home from the hospital after their births, also.  Somehow the whole world seemed different and new.

 I looked around at all the houses whizzing by the car windows and noticed how appealing they looked.  The paint colors seemed clean and bright, the yards looked inviting and the personal touchs, door garnishments and other adornments seemed sweet and whimsical, and it made me feel good inside just to see them.

I mentioned this sensation to Mac and asked if he noticed it as well.  He smiled and said no, nothing different about all the homes today - he had always noticed others' homes.  I thought about this and realized that I hadn't really liked to pay much attention to these things before, because it made me feel like a poor kid with her faced pressed up to a toy store window.  It was painful for me at some level to take in and appreciate what most others around me had, while I had no hope of having it myself. 

Over the years, I had seen Mac go into other people's homes and transform them into lovely, comfortable, stylish places with his handi-work.  While Mac had made our apartment and backyard at Catbird Heaven into a very nice place to live, it just wasn't the same because it was never ours, and we knew it never would be.

Years ago after Mac left the iron workers he had once constructed metal buildings with, he had worked for a residential home builder here in town, and with that crew he built a sprawling neighborhood from the ground up; a development consisting of cute, contemporary Capes and Ranch homes, frame to finish.  I could only watch year after year as he brought the dream of a home to life, for everyone it seemed, except us.  It felt sort of like attending a feast, but not being allowed to eat, or sitting on the beach on a hot day in front of a beautiful sea where there is no swimming allowed.

But that has all changed now.  Near sunset this evening we pulled up to the house...our house, with keys in hand.  As we walked around, planning and measuring, we were both struck by the amount of work that lies ahead.  The house needs so much cosmetic help, and a bit of structural help too, but we are up to the challenge.  As the last rays of the sun poured through the windows and the western sky ignited, we were overcome by awe...we had finally done it.  Mac let out an exclamation.  "What?" I asked, though I already knew the answer. 
"I can't believe I am actually standing in the kitchen of a house that I own." he said, shaking his head and laughing.
 "I know!" was all I could say, smiling from ear to ear. 
In the months to come I know our joy will be tempered by the realities of making it a home, and the even bigger reality of meeting all the financial obligations that come with it, but I have faith that we will be able to do it.  A lot of hard work lies ahead waiting for us, but it will be so worth it.

Happy New Year

photo by Idea go, freedigitalphotos.net

It is amazing to me that another year has drifted into the history books.  I would be here all week writing if I were to try and sum up the year that was 2010.  So many changes, upheavals, losses, gains, sorrows and dreams fulfilled. 

All in all, it was a very good year for Mac and me.  In our lives, the first very positive change was that I started my new job last January after being Cut Adrift! from my beloved, previous position at the end of 2008.  I have found a new role and some new associates, some of whom I am only just now starting to think of as friends.  I definitely have trust issues from earlier experiences, and apparently it takes about a year for me to begin to think of someone new as a friend. 

My new position was created by "ARRA", the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, perhaps better known as the Obama Stimulus (thanks, Mr. President!).  As such, it was a temporary job, with only a limited amount of funding to fuel it.  My new boss, however, sought out and has found a new, more stable funding source to which she applied and got approval to make mine a permanent position.  Part of the deal was that the job had to be posted as an opening to the general public, and I am now involved in the very weird process of applying for my own job.  One hundred and six applicants sent in resumes.  Interviews start within the next few weeks, and since I have a full year's experience with glowing reviews, I think my chances are very good.  This has been another reason that the undertaking of the expenses of homeownership right now is more than a little terrifying, but I am running on faith all the way.

Of course, that astounding development of finding ourselves in the role of new homeowners was the biggest change the past year has brought for us.   I say "finding ourselves in the position", because it actually does feel like it is something that just happened to us, rather than something we caused.  It has been just that surreal.  Going into 2010, neither Mac nor I could have imagined in our wildest dreams that we'd be buying our first home before the year was out.

The elderly lady Emma, to whom I wrote the letter in my last post had been living alone in the little home for some time.  She lost her husband over twenty years ago, and her children have long since grown up and moved away.  She recently moved in with one of her kids and so the house became available.   I am told that she is quite sad to have left her home of about fifty years, so I wrote the letter to try and explain what it means to my family to be taking it over.  I will bring a copy of it to her representative at the closing this week and ask that it be given to her.  I hope it helps to alleviate some of her sense of loss. 

There were so many coincidences, synchronicities and strange happenings that made everything come together in this unlikely venture, that I have to believe that something big is at work here.  Although I have always tended to be a very anxious person, I find myself moving serenely and deliberately through my days and dealing with each new issue that arises with an odd air of calm and resolve.  This has reinforced my deep sense of trust that in the big picture, all will be well for us in 2011 and for the foreseeable time to come.  I finally feel that the universe is smiling on us.

May the year ahead be one of peace, love and prosperity for all of you and yours.  God bless us, every one!~ Deedee

A Letter To Emma

Dear Emma,

Not too long ago on a warm sunny day, my husband and I were walking our little dog down your street, and as we passed your house, we saw you sitting in a plastic chair in the driveway.  You seemed like you were looking for someone and when you spotted us approaching, you sat up straighter, leaned forward and began to smile and wave.  We smiled and waved back, and I felt a very strange feeling come over me - a premonition as it turns out, now.  I remember feeling that perhaps you were giving us a sign, and on that day I wondered what it would be like if we lived in that house.

You see, we have walked by that house thousands of times over the past three decades.  We’ve lived just a short distance away for the past thirty one years.  We have been renting the second floor of a two family home all that time, because we could never afford a home of our own.  My husband is a self-employed carpenter and roofer, and I am an office worker.  We started our lives together with nothing but each other, because that seemed like enough.

Oh, we looked at a few houses back in the eighties.  But even the relatively small down-payments back then before the housing explosion seemed like such a lot of money for us; a very young couple just starting out without a nickel to spare.  Then came the children, and our oldest was born with a condition that required years of expensive, weekly medical appointments that were not covered by our poor health insurance.  Soon it was time to help the kids with their educations which we were happy to do, but it was drain on our finances, and we just couldn’t save anything up.

We have grown almost old together, and although we have worked hard all our lives, we despaired of ever being able to own a place of our own, until we saw that your house was for sale.  At first, I was only mildly interested when we saw the sign.  We didn’t have much cash to spare, and I thought the house would be snapped up before we could scrape something together.  But the weeks ticked by and when the sign stayed and the price dropped, we knew that we had to do something.  From that moment on, everything has fallen into place perfectly, with amazing synchronicity.

Right away, my husband will fix the roof, shore up the floor joists, replace the ceilings and woodwork, and put up new sheetrock on the walls.  We will paint each room.  Over the next few years, we will landscape and groom the yard.  We love birds and I am already designing a beautiful feeder system and flower garden to bring them in.  I grew up with a swimming pool at my childhood home and have always dreamed of having one, so eventually we will get yours up and running again, and when we do, I plan on swimming every single day each summer.  It will be like heaven to me.

By God's Grace we are finally realizing our dream.  We waited on Him and He did not forsake us.  Different people we spoke with were amazed that the home stayed on the market for so long.  I tell them that no one else bought it because it's our house, meant for only us.  I know that it has been predestined that we should live there, and I want you to know that we will cherish and care for that little house.  I want to thank you Emma, for helping us to finally make the dream of our lives come true.   After today we will be going home...at long last.