33. The Homestead "diamond in the rough"

Guess it’s about time I mentioned the homestead. Had it not been for the economic crash in the city a few years ago, I'd still be in there plugging away on another cereal commercial, or starting up some ragtag animation school. (A median-priced home in San Francisco, the most expensive in the U.S. market, is $759,000) Que and I were looking for ways to live with the economy when I mentioned that I'd be happy to support Que's search for work out of state. “Really? You're kidding? Okay!”, was the reply I received. Soon enough, we married, and started our own excursion to the Great NW, not unlike that one on The O Trail some 200 years ago...







Well, to make a long story short, Que settled into his new dream job, and soon enough, we purchased the diamond in the rough. Life is good...(Our only wish is that the railroads were offering passenger service to Stumptown once again. Good ol' President Shrub hacked services just after 9/11.)

SEE BELOW FOR EXCITING BEFORE AND AFTER REMODEL PICS!
~UPLOADED AT THE PACE OF A SNAIL~

BEFORE-BATHROOM: Dusty pink bath tile with matching grout, of course.




Dank and dark with knotty pine cabinets and seersucker-esque textured wallpaper peeling at the seams...




>
























































































































































Need I say more?


Okay, here's one more. (Click on image to see details of black moldy growth, crud build up between the tiles.)

BATH AFTER PICS: Stay tuned!

Oh what fun we've had! Now that we are out of the pricey city, we can engage in such things as house remodeling. Never thought we'd wind up this far into the back country, though. I guess it might have been inevitable, as my dear friend E told me in an email exchange, “Why, Jane D'oh, you have been fortunate enough to meet a man who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty.”

BEFORE "knotty pine anomally" formal entrway:
























scrape, scrape, (@!#) scrape...























AFTER:


















After making a list of the affordable homes in our new town, the diamond in the rough was the last house on our list. I really was not interested in the ugliest house on the block. It appeared to be a cross between some sort of Swiss Chalet Alpine fantasy and Steve Martin's rustic house in 'The Jerk'. It wasn't until I saw a glimpse of the insides from the online real estate web site, that the diamond struck my imagination. A classic, unpainted craftman bungalow in El Big? Who would've known from the outside!









Tearing apart walls, patching up awkward doors, peeling down 4 layers of nasty wallpaper, drywalling, replacing hideous chandeliers, patching lath and plaster, ripping out musty old carpets and mold-encrusted walls, building a walk in closet, sanding and refinishing fur wood floors, installing in floor heated bath tiles...and all the while listening to the local olde timey obnoxious classic rock n' roll station, and all in 100 degree heat.

And that's just the inside of the house. The list goes on and on, and won't be completed for awhile. The good new is, the rugs finally arrived and are installed, (after a very long 3 month delivery wait ) and the heat is working quite nicely.

As a result of a lot of sweat, patience, and hard work, we’ve found a good life in this remote little corner of the North West.