our house: before

I thought I would post a few before and after pictures of the house and property. We took possession of the house a year ago January, and were able to move here in late August. It was a bit of a rush getting it liveable, but I had some help. My friend Mark did all the things that I didn't know how to do, and taught me a lot in the process. Another friend, Buck, spent a lot of time helping me drywall the guys' bedroom, as did Pete and Lisa. Eric and Lisa helped me tear parts of a barn and old house down so that I could reuse the wood for my bedroom ceilings and walls. I certainly couldn't have done it without all their help!

Here's a picture of the outside of the house. The windows face south, and the north side is built into a hill. It is very energy efficient.



Here is a picture of the kitchen exactly as the previous owner left it. Yes, it was a bit of a mess! What you aren't seeing is the beautiful stone wall to the left of the cabinets that runs along the entire north side of the house.




Here's a picture of the living room and the southern windows:



There are a lot more I could show, but there is no way that the pictures can indicate the shape the place was in, or the smell that greeted you and stuck to your clothes from just walking into the place. We were worried it would never leave, but it did. Now we just have the smell of chicks, turkeys, ducks and geese to contend with!