home improvement

i've bought a house. and on this front, i am definitely a late bloomer. I grew up transient, a military brat. i've never even wanted to own a house. i've always said i never wanted to be in a position where i couldn't leave town in a hurry. i've bragged about how great it is to have a landlord to call when something breaks down.

but in the summer of 2000, I bought a house.

maybe it's some kind of weird menopausal nesting instinct. but i found myself with some money earmarked for my "old age," and having weighed my options, buying a house seemed like a good balance of forward-looking investment and instant gratification. and despite the harder truths of home ownership (such as the fact that the phrase "disposable income" has passed from my vocabulary), it's been a wonderful experience.

the following winter, my sister toni - a horticulturist by trade - joined the household, adding a whole new dimension to the game: gardening. we made a merry team: she has the knowledge, i have the enthusiasm, and we both love playing in the dirt. she stayed two years and taught me everything i know about gardening before heading off to colorado.

here are some pictures, and a bit of commentary. i've rearranged thigs to make them easier to view. let me know if you find any broken links.

the bamford house

i did all the things everyone warned me against. i fell in love with the first house i looked at. hell, i fell in love with the interior paint job! i offered much less than the owners were asking. i looked at one other house "just in case" but couldn't muster any enthusiasm for it. in short, i put all my eggs in one basket.

and here i am, solidly ensconced in the house of my dreams. as someone who knows me too well said, "maybe this is your reward for being open to the surprises the universe hands you."

it's a 1919 (or possibly 1908 - there seems to be some dispute on that question, but certain architectural features place it closer to the '20s to my eyes) charmer that mixes historic features with just the right amount of funky weirdness. the sellers were acquaintances of mine, theater people who probably wouldn't have let it go had his job with micro$oft not forced them to move to redmond. their mutual flair for the dramatic is evident in the choice of paint colors - dramatically elegant upstairs, and literally loony in the daylight basement (which features, among other things, a quasi-apartment with its own bathroom and kitchen, and a sauna off the laundry room!)

it's on the national register of historic places, too ...

Here are some shots of the interior:

".. it was built by two women, a widow and her daughter, both music teachers. ... (a neighbor) tried to buy the lot from the widow so no one would build there and he wouldn't have to have such close neighbors. The widow would have nothing to do with his offers to buy saying that she wanted to live close to an able bodied family man. :) So the house was built in 1909 (the dates are iffy because some say 1908 and some 1919)... People in the neighborhood have said to me many times that the house has always attracted ecentric folk. Previous to the last owners that sold to us (neighbor's) aunt lived there and apparently gave parties and only grew native Oregon plants in the yard...she added the sauna I believe...she seems to have been given the "crazy aunt" title in her family...always doing things a little different. ...There must be happy haunts that reside within."

those who know me will understand why this feels so very, very right. this is the house where i plan to complete the process of growing into the crazy old neighbor lady who keeps too many cats and scares all the kids (but secretly bakes them cookies). i truly feel as if i'm home.

the fact that the money for the downpayment comes from the sale of my late mother's house somehow completes the circle. i suspect she's been looking over my shoulder egging me on ...

... more to come.