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Have you ever heard the proverbial advice: “Buy the worst house on the best block“? Well, when we take advice, we go ALL THE WAY! In the summer of 2017, we moved to Connecticut, where I’m the Director of Curriculum and Professional Development in the smallest school district in the state. (SUCH wonderful colleagues I have!) After renting for a year and eight months, we found our diamond in the rough.

And when I say rough…the old dear had sat empty for a year. She has rotting sills, crumbling chimneys, with a touch of asbestos. Our realtor, Sarah, said, “It’s got great potential!” The inspector said, “She’s got good bones.” Our banker, Kelly, said, “You could really do a lot with that!” Sort of like all the things people said to me when I was growing up, with my cat-eye glasses and frizzy-haired self! lol

When we closed on the house earlier this month, our daughter drove down with the kids to see our fixer-upper. Before she arrived, I convinced Jim to sit down for a champagne toast at Abigail’s Restaurant in Simsbury. After the gang arrived, we drove with the old front door key for a tour. My pre-school-aged grandson, although disappointed his room “didn’t EVEN have a door”, kept looking for the good in the house. “Look! THIS light switch works!”

Jim stayed behind to lock up that first day. Or tried to, anyway.
This is where his first-day fun began.

First, the back door would lock. Frustrated, he finally took a two-by-four and nailed it across the inside opening! (After all, he has to replace the door anyway. The next day he installed a new lock.)

Next, he went to close the garage door. When he pushed the button, the motor whirred, the door inched forward. The. Chain. Snapped.

Oops.

Since he didn’t have all of his tools there yet, he had to improvise, but eventually got it shut and locked. Move replacing the garage doors to the short list!

I hope you follow along as you see my visions become a reality. We have plenty of plans for this cute colonial cottage!

Next up: What day is it? DEMO DAY!