Well, It Was An Adventure

I have to say that our little excursion to see the house and property I talked about last night was a very, very different experience than what I had imagined it would be. 

First off, let me say we have the best realtor in the world. He has helped us and the kids buy houses and he is funny and kind and honest and he's known Glen since he was a kid buying his first car. And now his kids are in college, older than he was when he bought that first car. So it's a very real and very long-time relationship. And friendship, too. He's so sweet and I have a feeling he may be a regular church-goer. I always try not to cuss around him but although I do manage to avoid using the word "fuck," other shit does come out of my mouth. Like the word "shit" for instance. 

I was tempted to cuss a LOT today. Not out of anger or anything like that, but out of amazement and wonder and bafflement and a lot of other emotions that I went through. 

First off, the house is on almost fourteen acres which is a hell of a lot of land on and near a big lake around here. So there is that. And it's all woods, Florida pine and oak backwoods. And of course Glen LOVES that. He's already trying to figure out if it's zoned to be subdivided so that we could sell a few of the acres if we wanted to. 

When we first got to the house we looked to see what the lake view is like. It's like that first picture, meaning the house has been empty so long that the vegetation has grown up to block it. You literally cannot see the water for the trees. 

We headed down to the back of the house to see what the underside of it looks like. It's a strange build in that there is a finished basement which was once an office, I think, and also a big piece of unfinished area that had insulation falling out and old, old, crap that had been shoved under there and it was pretty horrible. In fact, it started making me feel sick, to see all of that nastiness. But Glen...oh our dear Mr. Moon! He's got his flashlight and he and Jeff, the realtor who has his own flashlight, are underneath there, hoping not to disturb any animals, and checking out the floor beams and all that stuff that you're supposed to check out. 

Let me stop right here and tell you that Jeff tried harder than any realtor in history to convince us not to buy this place. He was the voice of reason. I mean, I didn't need convincing. But Mr. Moon, for at least awhile there, was seeing everything cleared down to the lake, the needed demolition done and the crap hauled away and repairs made and in place. 
This is the same man who constantly tells me that he is not up to all the work our house here needs. I will point out that our house is not on a lake or surrounded by fourteen acres of woods, either. 

The house was not built in the 80's. We found old checks and bills scattered about that dated from 1974. And this means, as Jeff pointed out, that before being lived in, the house will have go through EPA inspection which is very expensive. Lead paint was outlawed in 1978 but before that- nope. There wasn't a lot of paint in the house but asbestos? Who knows? Hazmat suits would be involved.

As the guys continued their inspection of the underpart of the house, I went back up to the front of of the house in search of the in-ground swimming pool that was spoken of and I literally stumbled across it on what we had all thought was just a huge screened in area, attached directly to the house. 

There, under that blue tarp, surrounded by decking, is the pool. You can see the diving board platform at the other end. It's a big pool. We have no idea what it looks like because that tarp is pretty much bolted to the decking. But how curious! Another curious thing- the beams in that area are steel. Steel beams over the pool. 

Okay. So on into the house. 

And this is where it gets beautiful. 

Such gorgeous wood and that fireplace is made of Florida limestone. That is the open living area of the house and I have to say that someone truly put a lot of thought and love into it. 

Now the kitchen?

Not so much. There was a very large pantry off to the side. I did very much like the terra-cotta tile in that space.

And...bonus points for shelves all set up for a massive record collection and a decent amount of books. 

 
Can you dig it? 

We went down to the basement which was a mess. It had a dead squirrel in it and smelled moldy. Lots of bookshelves down there. Almost like someone had had a law office set up. 

There were two bedrooms on the main floor and they were absolutely nothing to get excited about. Small, carpeted, closets. 

And this one had a sink in it which is very handy, I suppose. The bathrooms were typical for their day meaning butt-ugly.

There's an upstairs bathroom which is accessed through the garage but I did not feel the need to go visit it. Jeff did say that I was missing some really fine vintage mustard-colored carpeting. 
"Still, no," I said. 

As Jeff was leaving to get to a meeting, Glen said, "Well, if we buy this I guess I better get used to single living."

"That's right," I said. 

No way in hell would I let him take that on. I can see the beauty in the dream of what it could be and I love him for not being afraid to take on almost impossible things. However- well. You know. 

I kept whispering to Jeff, "Don't let him buy this house. Please don't let him buy this house."

And by golly, he surely pointed out every damning feature he saw. 

I've made the chocolate pecan pie to take to Thanksgiving breakfast tomorrow that I promised Lauren, and the angel biscuit dough is ready to roll out and cut. I'll bake them at Lily's. I also got two fruit cakes made and they are in the oven right now. 

Just checked. One is done.

I have SO much cheesecloth and spiced rum to wrap them in. 

And I think I'm going to have to make two more batches.

Well, Happy Thanksgiving whether you're celebrating with a turkey or a breakfast or a delicious meal of side-dishes or a Swanson Turkey dinner. 

Remember those? I can remember the way those mashed potatoes made with something not potato-related and marinated in fake butter and tinfoil tasted like it was yesterday. 

Good and good for you! 

How are we even alive?

I'm grateful for alla y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon