2022 - What a Year!

We’ve had a spectacular year, our first full year in Homestead, PA – just outside of Pittsburgh.  We continued to make improvements to our home, a 1900 three story brick beauty, that served as a rental for 80 years and of that, some of the time it served as a brothel.  If these walls could talk!!  John and Carter have nearly completed work on the first floor where they live. All that remains is their bedroom which is currently under construction.  Jessie lives on the second floor, and her kitchen has been nearly completed. All that remains in her space is her bathroom, which unfortunately leaked water onto our newly renovated bathroom on the first floor.  Ugh.  Add that project to the queue. The good news is that our house came with a Mary Shrine that we've adorned with flowers, except when it's snowy.

The project house

Because we own so much repair and remodel equipment (over 188 purchases at Lowes alone), we decided to purchase a second under-loved-but-rock-solid house 7 blocks away. It was in really rough shape inside. Our plan is to restore it to its 1900 splendor and then rent it at below-market, so people who live in this community have somewhere to live affordably. 

Find the cat in the bean bed!

John has kept himself very busy with repairs to both homes, and being primary chauffer for Jessie. He also made an agreement with the property owner of a vacant lot across the street and he built an amazing garden with 10 beds, complete with beans, eggplant, corn, strawberries, blueberries, peppers, melon, tomatoes, raspberries and flowers. He’s enjoying some free time to catch up on news, and exercise, and enjoying strolls through the neighborhood.  Carter helped with the rehab, until she was hired as the part time executive director of the Association for Episcopal Deacons, a national professional and advocacy organization for deacon. Carter also filled her time by enrolling at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, to get a Graduate Certificate in Urban Ministry. She hasn’t been assigned to
a local church yet, but continues to work with the Episcopal Diocese and expects to be assigned in 2023.  Her support of the housing projects has waned, but she’ll be back to wearing her Carhart overalls once her schooling is over in June.

Max, Carter, Jessie Mary, John & Lamar

Jessie is doing really well.  She’s been stable since August 2021, and she’s been a pleasure to have around. She has a friend, Lamar, who lives upstairs with her.  He’s very kind and supportive of her, and does much of the cooking and cleaning. He has friends in the community, which means she has friends in the community. Although sometimes they’re loud, it’s a joy to have her happy and engaged.

We were able to go on a few trips this year.  We went to Cleveland to visit childhood friends of Carter’s, and joined them for a weekend at one-room cabins in the woods. There might have been some rain, but it was a fun time anyway! We also were able to travel to West Palm Beach and join six others to celebrate a birthday, all expenses paid by the birthday-girl’s wife.  It was an amazing time away. It was a little touch-and-go, because we travelled the day a hurricane made land in Florida. It was a little bumpy to get in, but sunny skies the rest of the time. 

Our big travel this year was a driving adventure to Manhattan, where Max Hawley married Uwala Mary Nosa, at St. Peter's Episcopal Church. It was a lovely service, and we’re grateful to have Mary in our family.  

We're really enjoying the Pittsburgh area. As much as we enjoyed our 30 years in the Pacific Northwest, we are feeling at home back in the midwest.  And the area is so steeped in deep and complex history that I missed in the Northwest. Trinity Church, which eventually became the Diocesan Cathedral was originally built in 1805, decades before the State of Oregon existed. 

Suffice it to say, we're very happy with our move, our life and our location. We have a spare bedroom, and there are hotels within walking distance, so come on out!  We wish you a happy and healthy 2023.  

702 -The clean out begins in earnest

 

Whew!  What a week of cleaning things out. 

On Saturday, I participated in a community garage sale, with some stellar extroverted help from my bestie, Katherine.  True, we didn't sell everything.  And true, Katherine might have given some things away. And true, I think we had some pity purchases.  But we did sell some things.  More important to me, there were some folks who actively wanted the stuff that looked so junky to us.  

Whatever we didn't sell went strait from the street to the car, and ultimately to Goodwill. True, I could have taken it all to Goodwill to begin with, but there's something honoring about finding someone who actually wanted that mirror with the plastic molded rose frame.  That makes me a bit happier for the stuff in the house. And did I mention that everything we put out never came back into the house? That's definitely a win. 

Tuesday, we had work done on the trees. The mulberry on the right in the picture was removed, and the sycamore that had branches threatening to go into the house was limbed up and trimmed away from the house. All of that, plus another very messy mulberry was removed from the backyard. Our neighbors said that when the tree in the back is full of berries, it's also home to raccoons, groundhogs, and skunks. Without the berry feast, hopefully, we'll begin to have fewer visitors. 

Today, we got a 30 yard dumpster delivered, and we began to fill it up. The dumpster was originally delivered to the wrong address, so we got a late start.  But we got a bunch of stuff put in the dumpster. I suspect we'll have it filled by Sunday, and hopefully be able to get out all the bagged garbage, and junked furniture.  Then we start the fun part of demolition. 

First on the demo list is removing the filthy carpets and cheap paneling. That way we can see what conditions the floors and walls are in. I suspect neither are finish-ready, so we'll likely have to to some hefty rehabbing of the floors, and probably dry-wall.  My beloved is figuring out how to run plumbing and electrical, so once we open the walls, we'll figure out what additional wire/pipes need to go where, before we put on the drywall. 

The best part for me is that once we can remove the carpets, broken furniture and garbage, I can deep clean, and then it doesn't feel like I need to take a shower after every visit. Let the cleaning begin. 

This is the living room, with bags and bags to toss. 

  

This is what the kitchen looks like after John removed a
sagging upper cabinet crammed full of dishes

Here's the second bedroom on the second floor, 
complete with tons of bags and a huge, heavy 
couch.  

To get the couch down the stairs
and around the corners, we cut it apart, 
first taking off the legs, and then 
cutting it into three pieces.  So much
easier!

This is the dining room, without the table full of glassware.
Both the table and the glassware are GONE!

And here's a switch plate, attached to 
paneling - with no switches behind it. 
Hmm.