So it took us a few years

But we have finally, finally finally fixed this situation:

http://thischarmingoldhouse.blogspot.com/2006/12/whhhhhaaaaat-part-2.html

Yes, way back in 2006, we documented one of the many oddities of the house, specifically the hole in the floor of the upstairs bathroom.  It was one of those things that bothered us, but that we didn't know how to fix, and that wasn't a hugely pressing issue.  But now, lo these many years later, it is fixed.  And there was great rejoicing in the land.

Our awesome next-door-neighbor and all around handywoman, Liza came over and fixed that thing right up.  Here's what it looks like now:

We also had her install a new faucet.

Next up: ELECTRICITY!

First, we had this box underneath the cabinet in the kitchen. Jake had installed it when the previous under-cabinet lighting fixture (which included an outlet) died.  It's where we plug in our kettle, so it's a pretty important one. 

 Lisa fixed it up with a more appropriate exterior-mount box and put it on the wall, in addition to tacking up the on/off switch for the undercabinet light so it's not so hard to find.  Genius!

She also moved the light switch that turns on the overhead light/fan in the kitchen so that now you can turn it on when you walk through the door.  I know, I know, seems pretty basic, but previously, you had to walk into the kitchen, around the stove, and over to the microwave nook to turn on the light.  So now, when you come to our house, you'll be able to turn on the kitchen light without a map!  We're still fumbling over it, though, and will be for the foreseeable future, I'm sure.

And then, our favorite piece: a new cabinet!Hooray!

A Close Call

Minutes ago, I was sitting in the front office when I heard a frightening crash. I looked out the window and saw this:


If you're wondering where this is, here's the damage from another angle, showing 83 Durant:

WOW! Thankfully, no one was parked in the driveway of this house (there is often a schoolbus parked here), and no one was around. Yikes!

Update: After the tree came down, our great neighbor Lisa came over and helped me fix our driveway fence. I don't know if you can see this in the photo, but the fence between the neighbor's driveway and ours was in very bad shape, and it was about to fall over in the wind. Lisa brought her skill saw, and more importantly, her skills, and made short work of fixing our fence. YEAH LISA! She is a problem solver!

Also, I dug around in my early house files and found the number of the owner of the property next door. It's a rental unit, and we don't really know the tenants, who were all at work. Back when we first moved into 83 Durant, we had a tree taken down that was on the property line, between our two houses, so we had looked up the owner and called him. I still had his name and number (because that's how I roll) so I called to let him know. He was here in less than half an hour to assess the situation, and he called his tenants to give them a heads up.

I just got in from talking with them. We had said a regular "hello" and general politeness in the past, but now we know each others' names, and we exchanged phone numbers. Hooray! Neighborliness and disaster go together well. Here's for more neighborliness and less disaster!

But for now, here's more pix of the disaster: