Saturday, March 21, 2015

Out of the Ashes

After our home burned down, the hardest thing for me was having the family staying in several places. Keith and I and Gage were in the basement apartment (1 bedroom) of my brother Kenny and his wife Rhonda. Their daughter Heather had been living there.  She had just bought a house that we were all ripping apart to remodel. She graciously moved into the house despite having no bathroom or kitchen so that we would have a place to stay. Lynnea was staying with her boyfriend. Shane was staying with his girlfriend. And KC moved between several friend's homes before winding up in the apartment sharing the living room with us.

We were about to buy a house that was being worked on and even had a contract drawn up that would allow us to live in the house while waiting the two or so months needed for the mortgage approval process. It was supposed to be done in about five weeks. BUT, the repair schedule crawled at a snail's pace. May turned into June. Then July came. And in August it still did not have a certificate of occupancy, therefore could not be sold. I was worn out and stressed, and finally told Keith that being together was more important than owning a home. So we decided to take the small down payment we were using for the house and instead use it for security on  a rental.

We just moved into a friend's rental home. It is big and spacious with two bedrooms upstairs (one for Lynnea and one for KC), a big living room with a fireplace and dining room area. There is a sitting room off the kitchen and a big three season room off that with entry to the porch that we will use as our bedroom. Downstairs there is a a finished basement that has an area that is perfect for another bedroom. It has another fireplace, a big laundry room, and a basement work/utility room. Gage and Shane will be down there.

Now the fun part -- furnishing this hug space on a tight, tight -- did I say tight?? - budget.
We are starting with a sofa, coffee and end tables and a daybed from my best bud Jeannie.
And Keith's mom and cousin gave us a sectional. We  have my grandmother's secretary and  round dining room table with matching hutch (this set is truly mid-century modern). They were in the front of the garage, the only area that didn't burn to the ground. Despite some water damage they are quite usable.  We also took the frame of our metal kitchen table out of the ashes. It is peeled and rusted but maybe with a coat of paint it will live again.

On the porch of the house there is a metal outdoor table with a cracked clear plastic top and an end table in the shed.  One of Rhonda's friends gave us a bedroom set. And it is with these items that the journey to creating a home begins.

No comments: