Yesterday a few folks expressed interest in seeing some photos of Babci’s House. So here’s a quick little tour of Babci’s place in all it’s glory. The last photo in the deck is babci’s new bathroom. I wish I could find a before photo because it was so gross. Her second bathroom is also pretty gross but that was the better of the two. The door to the bathroom doesn’t open all the way because there is a sink behind the door. It’s just so dumb. That’ll be next on the list once we put the hall and upstairs bedroom back together.
These pictures are missing some of their babciness because she’s been gone for two months. There aren’t clothes hanging off of all the backs of the chairs and there most definitely would be something cooking on the stove. Her sewing area would have a little pile of fabric scraps underfoot and her mudroom would have at least one pair of muddy boots in it and root vegetables in a bucket.
Babci Doesn’t Like Her Bedroom
Babci’s bedroom has been gutted and redone, so it’s actually one of the nicer rooms in the house with outlets galore (something not easily come by in a house over 100 years old). Babci claims the floor paint I used is slowly poisoning her. I was trying to save a little money with the paint because the house is worth less than we paid for it in 2005. Since I don’t want Babci thinking I’m deliberately poisoning her we’re going to splurge. The next bedroom will have hardwood floors installed and we’ll move her there. I personally think she’s getting sleep apnea due to her size and that’s what’s causing her discomfort at night but that’s a discussion I need to save for her next doctor’s visit.
She also has this bad habit where the closets sit empty but she has piles of clothes hanging on hooks or the backs of chairs in every room. It drives me a little crazy but I think she does it not because she wants to drive me nuts, but because she didn’t have closets growing up. In her little log cabin, you stored things on your walls and on the backs of doors and under beds. You know what they say about old dogs and new tricks.
Babci’s New Bathroom
Almost everything in the house has been bought second hand, or came with the house when we bought it (the house was an estate so most of the furniture in it stayed). I’m very excited to finish up the bathroom. It’ll literally be the nicest bathroom she’s ever had and considering that the first 1/2 of her life she only had an outhouse and no indoor plumbing, this new room is palatial in comparison. Believe it or not, even though the bathrooms at this place were falling apart, they were still in much better shape than the ones she left behind in her rental house. It wasn’t until she moved out that I had them redone. For a long time, we just didn’t have the money to do anything about it and neither of us were going to go into debt to fix them. Now that’s a lesson right there. She’s always been grateful and never complained because each place has been a step up from the last one. That’s patience isn’t it…having to wait 78 years for a nice place to bathe.
Is it Okay to Live in a Construction Zone?
My cousin thinks it’s a little cruel to have babci’s house a disaster area all the time, but each passing month the place gets a little nicer. Plus, she lives alone so it’s nice having the hustle and bustle of work going on. There’s nothing more interesting to an old lady than to watch another person at work.
I know it may look like a dumpy old fixer to some of you, but after we put an offer on the house, I brought my mom out to see the place. When she stepped foot in the kitchen, she broke down and started to cry in front of the people selling the house. She said it was the most beautiful place she’d ever seen and she couldn’t believe this was going to be her home. I’m really glad she likes it here. Plus, I think the previous owners were happy that they found nice people to sell the house to. I was a giant pregnant woman wanting to move my elderly mom to town. What’s there not to love? We ended up moving her 2 days after my due date. It was a little nuts, but it was worth it.
Well that’s all for now. I know it’s not MTV cribs, but I hope it’s at least mildly interesting nonetheless.
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