October 25, 2006--About a house

The house that is pictured (in my October 13t post) is catycorner to where we are living. I took that picture from our front porch because it was snowing. Well, the day after I took that picture a "For Sale by Owner" sign appeared in the front lawn, so I called about it and we went over and looked. I don't know if we're going to get it, but it certianly is an interesting old house. It's the biggest house in town, and was owned by some very wealthy people. The roof on that house is original--100 years old. It's slate. It needs a ton of work, especially on the outside, though. It could be a very nice house if it were fixed up.

It has two balconies (both are on the opposite sides of the house, though) and this lovely curved porch out back. It had it's own tennis court back in the 50s. The poles are still there, with ancient looking lights. The man who was living there had strung ropes across and hung laundry on them. The familiy used to entertain state politicians out there on their propery.

It would be neat to get that house, but he's asking too much for it. He wants $89,900 for it. It needs too much work for that price. It's got an acre of land, four bedrooms, a sunroom, 1 1/2 baths, a full basement, a 2 story carriage house, a full attic, and has both baseboard heat and a forced air gas furnace. The owners were so wealthy that they could afford both.

It needs siding and a lot of exterior work. It's full of junk. The inside needs some basic paint, but it's not in bad shape really. It's a shame how run down that house is. It has such historic value. One thing that's really fascinating is the murals on the basment wall. There are ladies painted on it, that look like they are from the fifties or before, in provocative poses. I saw three of them, and the owner said there's a fourth down there somewhere. Erick and I were wondering what we would do with them if we did buy that house. On one hand, it's not exactly appropriate for a pastor-to-be to have on his walls. On the other hand, to paint over them would diminish the historic value of the house.


Speaking of which, Erick has finally sent in his application for licensing. We are members of our church now, we've got our background check sheets filled out and notarized, and it's in the mail with his fee. Yay! We also have been invited by our church to be on the Vision Team, which is a team of people that will help set the direction of our church. We're pretty excited by it. I looked at the list of things we're expected to and I haven't got a clue, but Erick studied that kind of thing in school so he's got a better handle on what they will be doing than I do. I guess I'll just get to listen and learn this time.

In other news, Abby lost her first tooth!