A bathtub, A door, and some stuff I don't know about. . .

For those of you that don't know, I live in a very old apartment building. It has a lot of charm, hardwood floors, big windows, two-prong outlets only, and a big claw foot bathtub. But no shower. Just a bath. So I've been taking a bath every morning for about three years. The novelty has worn off. So, imagine my excitement when I walked into the house last weekend, and found this sitting in my living room:

I don't know when the plan to install it will happen, but just seeing a real shower brings joy to my heart.

And then below, I have no idea what this stuff is-- probably the septic? But it looks very important, and it's behind my house. 

Unfortunately, I have NO IDEA how to flip this photo around, but LOOK! I have a DOOR!! 
AND WINDOWS!!!!!!!
I am anticipating a lot of questions about the door and windows, and because I don't actually know anything about them, I thought this tag would be helpful. Again, sorry I couldn't flip it so that you can read it properly, but I'm just not that clever. 
I have a meeting at MDI Housing Authority with the Director, Terry, and I'm hoping I'll get some answers to some questions they didn't know in November. I'll also be signing some fancy paperwork (not bank paperwork), so that will be exciting, too. Things are happening quickly, people!

More pictures, but nothing new. . .

Well, because not much has changed since the last batch of photographs, I will upload some of the photos that didn't make the cut the last time. I do have shingles on my roof now, but that doesn't exactly call out photo-op, so my backyard will have to do. Well, back pile of dirt if we're going to be honest. Eventually I would like a back porch and some flowers and vegetables (right Michelle, Tracey, Aunt Daryl, Mom, and all my other gardening aficionados?), and maybe a lawn. 

A lot of people have asked about Roady, and right now, I'm thinking that there probably won't be a fenced in portion of the yard. I would like there to be railings on the porch so that he can hang out without being tied up, and then maybe a lead in the yard so that he can be outside with me. 

I'm not sure how well you can tell how big this is, but for those of you that have been to my parent's house, I would say that this is about as big as their backyard. 

And this is a close-up of my bedroom. Not much else to say about that, honestly.

And here are my neighbors! There is now a house behind that pile of dirt, and that is my closest neighbor. If you look to the right of the photograph, you'll see a road, and that is the curve of our little cul-de-sac. My house is on the elbow of that. Maybe next time I go down, I'll take a picture of the circle from higher up the hill looking down on the houses. Any other requests?

It's a REAL house. Like, for real.

Um, yeah, so I have a HOUSE!!! I wanted to see how the foundation was coming along, so on my way home from work I stopped by, and there it was in all it's glory! I scrambled in for a better look, and I must admit, 22 x 22 is smaller than I imagined it to be.


This is obviously the front of the house. If you look closely, you can see the outside entrance to the basement on the left side.


And this is my living-room alcove-- boy am I glad that I spent the extra money on the alcove-- it will really add space to a very. . . . cozy. . . living room. As you can see, it will also add a fair amount of light (this window is Southeast facing).
Here is the upstairs taken from the landing. It's difficult to make out the different rooms in this picture, but we are looking at both the master bedroom (the window to your left) and the guest bedroom (the window to the right). Both rooms are on a corner, so there is a second window for each room. The bathroom is not pictured, but is immediately to my left. The guest room will really only have room for a full size bed, dresser, and bedside table comfortably. You don't need more than that, do you?
And this is my kitchen window! Good morning! This is actually pretty much my entire kitchen. So, yeah, everything is smaller than I expected, but I'm okay with that. I am SO glad I was able to get inside the house today, because it is helping me be more realistic about what furniture will actually FIT inside the house. You all will need to help keep everything in perspective, okay?


So, I was pretty much jumping up and down while inside, and it seemed to hold up pretty good. That's a good sign, right? They are working on the foundation of the house next to mine (that will be out my kitchen window), and to my relief, they have positioned it so that I will still get the morning sun through my window unblocked by my neighbors, and the view outside the window as seen above will remain untouched. Can you say bird feeder?


On another note, a friend has asked for a heads up every time I update my blog. For those of you interested in a reminder, let me know either in the comments section of this post, or by email, and I would be happy to send out an email to more than just her. I'm sure there's a way to do a "notifylist" that isn't manual, but I don't know what that is.

First Purchase!

I found this breadbox at an antique store in Ellsworth (thanks Bethany), and I fell in love as soon as I saw it! I do want my kitchen to have yellow walls, so I'm hoping this will match okay (the rooster has yellow in it. . . ).

Pictures?

Here is a stack of wood that will eventually be walls:

In the background are houses that are almost done. Their foundations went in this fall. I haven't been inside of any of them, but it looks like all the exterior needs is siding and front steps. 

And here is the foundation-- it doesn't look finished, does it?

An Introduction. . .

Hi, Internet. 

I am starting this blog to chronicle my jump into adulthood by buying a house. Here's the start to the story:

Last October I heard about a housing development going up in Bar Harbor that was geared towards middle income folks on Mount Desert Island that could not afford to own property, but were the significant full-time/full-season workforce. MDI/Ellsworth Housing Authority bought 200 acres of land  that had previously been a part of Pooler Farm (a long time ago). The plan was to build 31 "green" houses designed by Coldham and Hartman Architects (who also designed College of the Atlantic's new dorms), who specialize in "cohousing". Basically, we share a small amount of space with the understanding that by pooling resources and building community we'll have less of an impact during the building process, and then of course, the living process. The houses are super energy efficient, insulated with recycled material, are solar panel ready (they come separately), made from sustainably harvested wood, and are just smaller than the normal house. The houses are essentially "kits" that are put together like modular homes, reducing costs in a number of ways. We had a choice of a two-bedroom or three-bedroom home, and then a number of specialized options that we could add on at extra cost. 

I met with the director of the housing authority, and really liked what I saw and learned. I had been looking at other ways to buy a house or even possibly build, but finances were always the limiting factor. This seemed to be the only way I was going to afford a house here on the Island. 

I went to the bank, and it only took a few minutes for them to approve a loan for $168,000. For those of you that are local-- Machias Savings Bank was GREAT to work with, and I really felt like they were going to put in extra work to make sure I got the best deal possible, even if that meant they didn't really make much money on my transaction.  I am hoping that I won't need to use all of that, but the complete tally hasn't been done yet. I did choose a couple of small options (an alcove in the living room being the best one), and I was able to choose the outside color of the house, the wood floors and cabinets, and countertops in the bathroom and kitchen. 

SO. All of this decision making was very exciting and by November I had the plans in my hands, and all we had to do was get through the winter, and they'd start building in the spring. But Spring has lasted a LONG time, so I was convinced they wouldn't be able to get a foundation in until May. I am having a hard time uploading photos today, so those will come soon! I was out at the site today, and my foundation is IN, but looks not done yet. I will keep everyone posted (as is the point of this thing. . . ). Please feel free to add in the comments section what you would like to hear about/see pictures of. Thanks for visiting!

Here in a Rocky Cup

Here in a rocky cup of earth

The simple acorn brought to birth

What has in ages grown to be

A very oak, a mighty tree.

The granite of the rock is split

And crumbled by the girth of it.

Incautious was the rock to feed

The acorn's mouth; unwise indeed

Am I, upon whose stony heart

Fell softly down, sits quietly,

The seed of love's imperial tree

That soon may force my breast apart.

"I fear you not. I have no doubt

My meagre soil shall starve  you out!"

Unless indeed you prove to be

The kernel of a kingly tree; 

Which if you be I am content

To go the way the granite went,

And be myself no more at all,

So you but prosper and grow tall.

-Edna St. Vincent Millay