Much of my free time — everyone’s around here — since mid-February has been spent on cleaning, cleaning out, fixing up, and remodeling an old house (ca. 1880). Alison’s marriage is ending (mostly amicable w/shared custody) & she bought a house on auction. It’s a real fixer-upper and, truthfully, it’s all she could afford. Real estate prices are still pretty crazy around here, and I’m astonished at what’s out there, what’s affordable, and “what you get.” We looked at one house with her that we all dubbed “the meth house,” which was also a fixer-upper, but in a vastly different way. (Also, not great vibes… at all.) There some pretty shitty floorplans out there, folks, and even shittier “flips.” (Gray, gray, and more gray!)

No strangers to fixing up old houses, it’s been all hands on deck, with Rusty doing most of the heavy lifting. Like, completely redesigning & rebuilding the stairs from first floor to second. I think it might have been in/on This Old House where he first heard the term “Happy Hands at Home,” referring to homeowners doing their own home improvements (TBH, we are among their number)… and this place was victim to the happiest of hands & some of the more questionable “improvements” I’ve ever seen. For instance, the stairway started out OK, except that it was built around a window frame & part of a baseboard heater (thankfully, they didn’t hack the woodwork), then after you hit the landing and made the turn, the steps had a 12″ rise!!

Now that there are easily traversible stairs (still in need of handrails & finishing), Rusty’s attention has turned to the 2nd floor bathroom, which will also be home to a stacked washer & dryer. The plumber is coming next week, and the electrician shortly thereafter, and there is a lot to do for both trades. (Arguably, the plumber drew the shortest stick.)

While Rusty’s been building, I’ve been doing a lot of cleaning out, happily doing demo where needed, and cleaning. So far, the focus has been the kitchen counter & cabinets (inside & out), but that’s almost done, so I’ll be moving on to the floor next.

Kate has been trimming off doorways with corner beads & mud and doing a lot of priming & painting.

Ali has been doing everything, in addition to planning & wrangling deliveries… and working & being a mom.

The kids have been helping, too! Ginny & Malina have begun painting their bedroom, and Junah replaced the hardware on all the kitchen cupboard doors & drawers.

Here’s how Ali’s hardware demonstration for Junah went. haha!

So far, no one has freaked out or given in to the overwhelm, which could so easily happen. We’re all just plugging away whenever we can & for however long we can. A lot can be accomplished in just a couple-few hours. It’ll probably be a good 3-4 weeks yet before they can even begin thinking about moving in, but I know it can’t come soon enough. They’ve been living in my teeny-tiny Airbnb apartment since right around Christmas, and they’re all looking forward to settling into their own place & having their own spaces.

Oh! Did I mention that their new house is just five blocks from mine??