We are working on plans for renovation and an addition to our 1915 Arts & Crafts style bungalow, in downtown Royal Oak...
It's been a wonderful experience so far, but I'm SO anxious to get the physical project underway!
We live in Michigan and while it is 85 glorious degrees here today, winter is not REALLY all that far off...
We are really lucky to be working with a designer and a builder who are wonderful human beings; and who happen to be extremely talented and exacting craftsmen! The house is an absolute pit right now, after having survived a tenant from HELL for nearly four years, and then my 20 year old son for a year. Add to that, the fact that my husband was raised by folks who survived the depression, and saved EVERYTHING, "because you never know when you might need it!!!"; and you've got a recipe for a house full of stuff (okay... CRAP), that needs to be thrown out or given away.
I'm almost over the incredible anger I have towards the tenant from HELL (his initials are RICHARD LUPA, boy, what a diappointing, sorry excuse for a human being HE turned out to be!) He was a "friend" in need when my husband agreed to let him rent the house from us... he was suposedly going through a divorce (still hasn't happened as far as I know)... my husband took pity on him and agreed to let him live at the house until he got back on his feet. Richard shacked up in our house for about three and a half years with his girlfriend Karen (also married, but to someone else!), and now owes us thousands of dollars (apparently we will have to get in line, behind the IRS among others, as we are not the only people he has scammed... charming piece of work, right?!?)
He left us motorcycle parts, motorcycle tires, scrap metal & a variety of junk, all over the basement, and unfortunately, none of it of any real value...
the moral of the story is... don't ever do someone a favor, where there's personal property or money involved, without a written, signed contract... and document everything.
This is a photo of the house, from the back (not it's most flattering side!)... the decklet and the "Wendy's Room" will be coming off to make room for a two story addition, where my new kitchen will live! Our yard will end up being quite small, but that's okay... I'll still have a blast gardening and fixing it all up, once the construction is done... can't wait.
Kathy your blog is fantastic. Here are all the details of home renovation and home-wrecker(awk! his R.L. initials are the same as mine). Then there are pages of aesthetic wonders that clearly have taken hours to create. They are ours to enjoy with a few mouse-clicks and scrolling. What a wonderful slice of your life that is a cross-section of so many of our lives with art and mess and loved ones and villains. And speaking of slices, here's a portion of one of my latest publications:
http://www.udsakron.org/images/LERMAN-K55.pdf
Don't fret about holing up in your home to create, it takes time and solitude to make great art.
Namaste v'shalom
Ruth
Posted by: Ruth | October 10, 2007 at 10:57 PM