What?! A fire... !!

Apparently, while we were at the studio packing up... our dump truck caught on fire at our house and burned completely up. We were so busy moving and only sleeping at the house - we didn't notice it (it was in the back yard) and someone had to ask us about the first - because it made the newspaper!

Oh yes... I kid you not.

And while a certain neighbor who compulsively burns leaves and then uses his dump truck to scoop ashes into the creek near his house - so the fire area goes undetected (especially during non-burning times) - well, he denied having a fire that day (but I was told by another neighbor that he did) and therefore didn't take the blame for a fire that started near his property and climbed uphill to our dumptruck - and also burned about an acre of underbrush. (Thus revealing another wonderful treat that the owners have left on the property - this one because a dump full of broken bottles, cans, pots and pans, and just junk. It had been hidden in the bushes all these years and only noticeable when all that growth was burned.)

Yuck!

Anyway... we lost the truck and about $3000 in tools, small eqt, party supplies, and pool stuff - PLUS the value of the truck - which is now worthless and has to be hauled off the property.

Here's the truck.

Yes. we're still working on the freakin' money pit!!

To be honest, I do not like this house!! I wish we could move!! It's NEVER going to be done!

ta da!

A yard was created! And we even added about 10 feet the the yard on the side - so we made it even bigger than before!!

the making of an actual yard

 When we first moved in, there was a hill that was washing further and further into the back room. It made for a very small back yard and we wanted it to be away from the back room, and to have a back yard the kids could actually enjoy. So we hired someone to do some work for us.

our Home Crap Home

 There was almost NO insulation in the walls and single panes on the windows. This is what all the windows would look like every winter. Plus, the wind blew through the paneled walls - literally and honestly knocking off photos that were hanging on the walls.  Plus there was ice that formed on the bottom of the living room exterior wall every winter. It was a VERY cold house.

 When we first moved in the house was sinking. Well, just the kitchen and the right side of the living room. This is how much it fell within the first 2 years! It dropped more than 8 inches (about 3 on the right side of the photo and 8 on the left). It got so bad - lol - that we couldn't allow the kids to all stand at the sink or the stove at once because we were afraid that side would cave in!!

This is a photo of my two eldest kids the summer we moved in. You can see how the boards are starting to rot out and this back room is starting to cave in. We eventually had to use it just for storage because it was poorly built and maintained over the years and .... well... there was no saving it. Plus - for YEARS - it didn't have any siding. It was ruined by the weather.

This was taken within the first few years of living in the Money Pit. The floor slants dramatically to the right. Why??? Well for one, untreated termite damage from the owners. And two, TONS of water damage. We found out later when we tore this entire area out (foundation and everything... all the walls, the ceiling. Everything except the roof was gone. This was empty and nothing but dirt) that all problems with the house weren't actually fixed - they were covered with drop ceilings, carpet, paneling and the like. But underneath everything was rotted wood that was barely holding the house together. By the early to mid 90's, the damage was so bad (not by us, mind you... the damage was already there years and years - decades - before we got there)... the house was only worth $9000. Yep. And the biggest complaint was the falling flooring and poor structure. We had our work cut out for us!

The dropped ceiling that covered a ceiling nightmare.

Within the first few years the bathroom was the first to go. The hot water tank literally fell through the floor, and the tub was next.

This shows just how damaged the siding was and how badly it was eaten up.

The living room ceiling also hid a mess... and it was falling down tile by tile.

sigh....

Didn't I tell you?? A money pit!!

Photos from the movie... so you can compare just how bad this place was

Believe it or not... we've come a LONG WAY!!!

Our Money Pit

Have you ever seen the movie MONEY PIT with Shelly Long and Tom Hanks? It's my feel-good go-to movie whenever I'm feeling down. Why? Because I know exactly how they feel. We live in this tiny little house owned by a family member, and it's about 100 years old and I swear, it feels like it has that much square footage to live in. When we moved in, the termites were holding hands to keep the floor in place. Well, eventually even the termites bailed and we had to replace 400 square feet of house. And I don't mean a little bit of replacement... I'm talking about gutting out the entire floor (foundation, walls, flooring, ceiling, windows, etc... EVERYTHING!) and literally starting over. It has taken forever to get this done, and now we've put more into renovating the house than what the house is actually worth! But in the end, half the house is brand new and the other house is a century old. Not too sure what the termites are doing on the other side, but if they are holding hands, I hope they'll stay put for a bit longer.