Weekend Coolness
May. 6th, 2007 11:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancerjodiSo much has happened this weekend. Its been good, despite Brian's on callness.
On Friday we went to Karaoke with co-workers of mine at the Saugus VFW. Its never what I'd normally do on a Friday, but we had a good time. Brian did well on his first introduction to my crazy co-workers. I sang Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" with Milan, and apparently didn't sound that bad (unless they were just saying that):
http://marmontianderson.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=20
Saturday brought a ballet class, Brian was at Free Comic Book day in Coolidge corner. We did a ton of running around and had some interesting experiences. I poked a bit at landscaping the front yard and we have some ideas, but they still need flushing out (pics here and some questions):
http://marmontianderson.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=19
Mal really likes this box we got from Tandy Leather:
http://marmontianderson.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=9
We had a visit from Ectropy, and on her way out one of the old residents of our house walked up to us. He lived here for about 30 years, and happened to be in the neighborhood (he still leaves nearby - I'd estimate he was in his late 50s/early 60s maybe). He asked if he could peek in the door and then Brian offered him a tour.
He was so happy with what we've done to the house - he kept saying he was thrilled that there was a young couple here giving it new life, and the we obviously really cared for it. Seriously, the guy was beaming and I thought he was going to start crying and/or hug us. He told us a bit more about the family we bought from (they too thought they were weird, and didn't really want to sell to them for fear of what they'd do to the family home, but it was money and they needed to sell - this was 2000). I'm not sure if he kept in touch with them after selling, but the guy was aware that they had done a ton of work; he told us that "they moved in and promptly ripped everything apart, ruining it".
He told us of things that used to be in the house that were since changed by the former (to us) owner. Like our bathroom mystery was solved! The original bathroom WAS where ours is upstairs. There was a clawfoot tub and a sink in there - no toilet because it wouldn't fit. The closet of a 1/2 bath in our downstairs hallway was also original to the house - they had a toilet in there and an extra in the middle of the basement (which we new about, the remains of the drain and water pipe is still there). Our bedroom was his parent's bedroom, he slept in Brian's craft room (the built in bureau in the closet is original to the house, and this guy used to keep all of his clothing in it - Brian's not so sure he wants to rip it out anymore). Our craft room was his sister's room. There were like, 5 or 6 kids that lived here with the parents - in our little 3 bedroom house. I mentioned that his sibling's names were scrawled on the basement walls and he said that's because that was their little play/hangout room. It makes sense, with so little space (we did that at my parent's house when I was a kid too). The nook that our fridge is in now is where their sink was originally (with some pantry style cabinets) and the wall that our sink is on now was totally open for their kitchen table. The french doors that lead into our living room weren't there either - the former (to us) owner added them. That makes a lot of sense to me now, because though old, they aren't as old as the other doors/hardware in the house. The knobs and hardware are clearly Art Deco (1920s-1940s) where our house was built in 1900 (yes, I'm a design dork, but you all know this). He loved our new bathroom, loved how we decorated the kitchen, and was really impressed with how their old porch is now a full room (our Den).
He thanked us again for all of the work we've done, and said his Mom (who lives somewhere in Natick now) would be really happy to hear about it. He asked our names, shook our hands and was on his way. My guess is we won't see the last of him, because I could see him driving by to see if he can find us outside or maybe he'd send us a letter? My Mom thought that he may want to bring his Mom by to see the place.
Such a cool connection! We'll have some time around home and get to see some friends today (I may go buy some plants), so I can't really complain. I'll be ready to start the week tomorrow. :)
On Friday we went to Karaoke with co-workers of mine at the Saugus VFW. Its never what I'd normally do on a Friday, but we had a good time. Brian did well on his first introduction to my crazy co-workers. I sang Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" with Milan, and apparently didn't sound that bad (unless they were just saying that):
http://marmontianderson.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=20
Saturday brought a ballet class, Brian was at Free Comic Book day in Coolidge corner. We did a ton of running around and had some interesting experiences. I poked a bit at landscaping the front yard and we have some ideas, but they still need flushing out (pics here and some questions):
http://marmontianderson.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=19
Mal really likes this box we got from Tandy Leather:
http://marmontianderson.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=9
We had a visit from Ectropy, and on her way out one of the old residents of our house walked up to us. He lived here for about 30 years, and happened to be in the neighborhood (he still leaves nearby - I'd estimate he was in his late 50s/early 60s maybe). He asked if he could peek in the door and then Brian offered him a tour.
He was so happy with what we've done to the house - he kept saying he was thrilled that there was a young couple here giving it new life, and the we obviously really cared for it. Seriously, the guy was beaming and I thought he was going to start crying and/or hug us. He told us a bit more about the family we bought from (they too thought they were weird, and didn't really want to sell to them for fear of what they'd do to the family home, but it was money and they needed to sell - this was 2000). I'm not sure if he kept in touch with them after selling, but the guy was aware that they had done a ton of work; he told us that "they moved in and promptly ripped everything apart, ruining it".
He told us of things that used to be in the house that were since changed by the former (to us) owner. Like our bathroom mystery was solved! The original bathroom WAS where ours is upstairs. There was a clawfoot tub and a sink in there - no toilet because it wouldn't fit. The closet of a 1/2 bath in our downstairs hallway was also original to the house - they had a toilet in there and an extra in the middle of the basement (which we new about, the remains of the drain and water pipe is still there). Our bedroom was his parent's bedroom, he slept in Brian's craft room (the built in bureau in the closet is original to the house, and this guy used to keep all of his clothing in it - Brian's not so sure he wants to rip it out anymore). Our craft room was his sister's room. There were like, 5 or 6 kids that lived here with the parents - in our little 3 bedroom house. I mentioned that his sibling's names were scrawled on the basement walls and he said that's because that was their little play/hangout room. It makes sense, with so little space (we did that at my parent's house when I was a kid too). The nook that our fridge is in now is where their sink was originally (with some pantry style cabinets) and the wall that our sink is on now was totally open for their kitchen table. The french doors that lead into our living room weren't there either - the former (to us) owner added them. That makes a lot of sense to me now, because though old, they aren't as old as the other doors/hardware in the house. The knobs and hardware are clearly Art Deco (1920s-1940s) where our house was built in 1900 (yes, I'm a design dork, but you all know this). He loved our new bathroom, loved how we decorated the kitchen, and was really impressed with how their old porch is now a full room (our Den).
He thanked us again for all of the work we've done, and said his Mom (who lives somewhere in Natick now) would be really happy to hear about it. He asked our names, shook our hands and was on his way. My guess is we won't see the last of him, because I could see him driving by to see if he can find us outside or maybe he'd send us a letter? My Mom thought that he may want to bring his Mom by to see the place.
Such a cool connection! We'll have some time around home and get to see some friends today (I may go buy some plants), so I can't really complain. I'll be ready to start the week tomorrow. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-05-06 03:28 pm (UTC)That is very very interesting, and I didn't think stuff like that happened in real life, just in the movies. Weird.