"east west home best mean house"...

well, it's official. we are home owners. it's been official for about 2 weeks now, and why haven't i posted sooner? that's right - there's just that much to do. it's a beauty, though: 100+ year old victorian, 2.5 stories, 1 car garage, storage shed, nice deck, and the most beautiful backyard tree. now don't be fooled. it still needs work, but we are a young, able-bodied, hard working couple (alhamdulilah). so i have every confidence that we will bring this house into it's potential, and our "sweat equity" will mean dollars in the future. would ya' listen to me? "sweat equity," it just means hard work. (Like pulling staples out of hardwood floors, one by one, after removing carpet from a room that is 13'X13' - that kind of hard work.) it's one of those real estate code phrases that we've picked up. here are a few others: "character" - "it's old"; "charm" - "some of the style is probably outdated"; "fixer-upper" - "RUN!!!" our house has "charm" and "character", not to mention the previous owner was fond of hunter green (bless her heart). so we've got our work cut out for us, but we will pace ourselves and learn a lot in the process. bet you want me to stop talking and show you some pictures, right?

there used to be another house on this corner, but it was abandoned for a while and the city eventually tore it down. soon after, the previous owner (we'll call her Miss Green... in the library with the candlestick!) bought the adjacent lot. what does all this mean? we hold the title for both properties. (sweet!)


here's one view of the deck. reminiscent of Jumangi, i know, but Miss Green moved out months ago. so the house hasn't had regular upkeep (not the detailed kind anyway). let me find a better shot...



(that's better.) with this jazzy deck/stage set up, i can see hosting artists' reviews and readings and whatnot...


and here's the beautiful tree. it's great for shading the deck, hanging a tire swing, stringing white christmas lights for aforementioned artistic gatherings, doing pull-ups... (HomeBoy has already tested that last one.)

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forgive the cliche, but this is a new chapter...blah blah blah - i can't even say it, but you know where i was going with that. it's exciting but not overwhelming. i'm anxious but not worrisome. i am grateful for this house and love it as it is, but i can't wait to see what it could be. interior pictures of the queen mum in the next post. (yes, i named the house; i do that with cars too, but not all inanimate objects - like i don't name refrigerators or microwaves or anything. no, HomeBoy doesn't know i named the house...well, i guess he does now.)