From the start, it was Jamey, me and our black cat Izzy. We brought minimal furniture (we didn't even own a real couch!), a vehicle and a bike for each of us, and little more.
Here's my attempt to inventory what we did and how we grew in this place:
- 17 new windows
- three days with a sledgehammer and jackhammer to remove the big cement slab steps in the front; replaced with a lovely wooden deck. Uncountable hours sitting out there with ice cream, yogurts, snacks, books and beer.
- one layer of old siding ripped off, one layer of new added
- baby dog in 1999
- two layers of new tiles in kitchen
- baby girl in 2003
- kitchen gutted to studs and rebuilt
- bathroom semi-gutted and rebuilt
- one new room in the basement
- sixty gallon fish tank rescued from storage crate...too many fish to count. Seven inch Convict Jack is buried in the back yard
- ten gallon birthday fish tank revealed: one frog and lots of fish...all dead
- two different sandboxes built, one un-built
- baby boy in 2009
- mac-daddy tree house designed and built (it all started when a friend offered a "free" play house for dismantling)
- paint in every room (several rooms had multiple paint jobs!)
- new roof; new roof on garage as our do-it-yourself project
- countless outside movie nights in the back yard
- four feet of a new chimney
- motorized vehicles that came and went: Lisa's original Grand Am, Toyota pick up, Camry, BMW motorcycle, Izuzu Trooper "bio diesel" project (plus associated motors...), The Prospector, Toyota 4Runner, VW Jetta TDI.
A lot of living...
I just read a historical-fiction book about Frank Lloyd Wright and Mameh Borthwick's love affair. The descriptions of the home FLW built in Wisconsin for his love are exquisite. The home was their refuge from the world, connected to nature and built with love. I've begun to feel that way about our new space. I love sitting in the family room, with the beautiful view of the trees in the back yard in place...peaceful and quiet. I didn't feel it at first; I think I needed the fall to really let go of A Avenue and embrace HH.
