Here it is!

It's not much of a looker is it? We've been making some progress on the house in Barnum lately so I thought I would start updating with some before, lots of during, and eventually...some day... after photos. The wife of the previous owner had rheumatoid arthritis so the ramps of retainer blocks and cement made it possible for her to get around in her wheelchair. Wooden ramps would have been much easier for us to disassemble but, on the up side, I have pallets full of retainer blocks for future projects. I couldn't find any pictures of the inside of the house ...but just think "black hole". Everything was covered in fuel oil soot and had to be removed. Our neighbors, a.k.a. Steve's folks, gutted the whole thing for us that first summer. The next big project was to raise the roof twelve inches to make nine foot ceilings. I wondered whether it would be worth it but Steve was all about doing it and he was exactly right in what a big difference it would make in the look of the house. It made me nervous when the whole roof was sitting up in the air on two big beams. But before long the walls went in and the beams came out. Next, we added a garage. It looks great, although until we get our front entry added on it overpowers the rest of the house. The upper window and dormer let light into a bonus room that's above the garage. I hope it will be a great place for the grandkids to hang out when it's done. The front door is going to be placed where the two windows are on the left side of this picture. We're changing the roofline on that end of the house to match the look of the garage . Hopefully, the building materials will be delivered today so work can start on this latest improvment. Steve and I picked up the rest of our windows last night so as they get installed it will really change the way things look.