All This And More

Had we bought our house in Canada, we wouldn't have been able to close yesterday. Happy belated Canada Day to all you hosers up yonder, eh! As it was we had a smooth transaction in Mpls, USA. The woman conducting the closing had a very sonorous voice. Who even knows what we signed? "And this is the form that states your lender has the right to transfer your mortgage ... and this is the form that states you are who you are even if you don't sign your name with your middle initial ... and this is the form that states your lender can take your children if you miss a payment" ... and, so on.

As it was we walked out half an hour later chatting pleasantly with our realtor and the former owners of the house. As it was we were handed a bag of keys and garage door openers which we clutched along with our kids and a parcel of awkwardly sized sheets of paper -- all of which are terribly important. "Thank you very much! Enjoy the house! Oh, about that backdoor lock ..." I have no idea how I'm going to clip that garage door opener on the non-existent sun visor of my Big Dummy.


Afterward we piled into the Subaru and went to our new home on Irving Ave. We had to wait for the water guy to come read the meter. He could show up anytime between noon and 4pm. Luckily he came at 1:30, since without supplies or furniture or toys for the kids it could have been a very long wait indeed.



Here the girls, in various stages of girding, enjoy our new living room. We have an honest-to-goodness porch out that front door, not an enclosed three-season kind, but an actual porch. I kinda like that being a southern boy and all. Open porches can be a bit of a rarity in the northern climes. And above that porch is a second floor patio which opens from our third bedroom.



One of the major search criteria was original woodwork. We succeeded on that requirement. This built-in is par for the course for houses constructed in the early 1910s. Very nice indeed. The walk through from living room to dining room has wooden columns. It's not too shabby at all.



Here's our kitchen pictured from the eat in bar. Nice updates but an excellent touch with the classic range and hood. Yep, six burners and a double oven. The hood has a built-in warming box which was modified to accommodate an exterior vent.

That's enough of a preview for now. I'm certain more photos and stories will follow. One cool detail we learned from the previous owners is that we are the third owners of the house -- they bought it from the original owners who had it built in 1911. I guess that might explain why it has a mellow, peaceful vibe about it. It already feels like home.