A Warm Welcome Into Our New Hood...

Today was the first day of burn season.

We thought this might be a way to make friends with our new neighbors.

First, we smoke them out.

Then we show them our new septic system.

Brand new. Never been used.

I think they'll be impressed.

Don't you?

I love the shade of green

we chose for the cover.

It blends well with the landscape.

Then we'd brag a little about our water meter.

We went with the industrial look .

We think it looks edgy.

What do you think?

We've only had a couple rains but things are really greening up.

Waiting for the neighbors to gather 'round.

Hello neighbors!

Come on out..

we know you're in there!

Alright, never mind with the smoke signals.

Fire that baby up!

Son2 waiting to meet some playmates.

That doesn't sound quite right.

Okay...who's watching the fire?

Um...guys...

the windows on the

Aloha are melting.

Nobody came out to play...

and we are very happy about that.

This was a test.

When we try to burn brush over

at our senior house,

the neighbors dial 911 before a

match ever hits the brush.

They sit on their porch and watch us.

Phone in hand , waiting for one wrong move.

I love our new neighborhood.

We didn't meet any neighbors today,

but we got to know them.

There were no calls to the fire dept.

No calls to environmental health.

They are the kind of neighbors we

were hoping for.

One Tiny Step Forward

We have a nightly ritual.

Sometimes it involves dinner,

sometimes a glass of wine,

but it always includes a discussion....

On how turn this...

into this.

We've met with several contractors,

and architects...

They didn't quite get

the mid century modern thing....

until today!

Today we found someone who

understands us,and what we want.

And he didn't laugh when

we told him what our budget is.

That's one tiny step forward.

There Goes The Neighborhood

We signed the papers on the property yesterday and set up camp today. One of the neighbors was walking his dog as we cruised into the neighborhood with our trailer(s) in tow. Can you imagine what he must have been thinking?

Where's the flamingos?
There goes the neighborhood.

Time To Build a Dream

Our offer was accepted on the property today! We are really excited about the prospect of building a "mid century modern" home. .

We have always bought fixers so the idea of building something from the ground up is really appealing.

It was a good day.

Are We Nuts?

Tomorrow we will take the plunge and hope for the best. We are putting in an offer on a piece of property, so send some good ju-jus our way. Here are a few pictures of homes I wish we could afford to build.

We love Eichler homes

from the fifties...

We like the industrial look too.

We also like mixing modern with rustic.

And bringing the outdoors in.
I see a white cinderblock fireplace

in our future.
You get the idea...lots of windows mixed

with a tad of industrial and

lots of mid century modern.

On a shoestring budget. No sweat!