Happy New Year to all our friends and followers out there in Cyberville! I hope your holiday season was filled with the 3 Fs: Friends, Food and Family. As for David and myself, we received about the best present anyone could ask for, a brand new/old house!

I’ll spare you all the details about how busy we’ve been. I am certain you will assume so. I want to get to the photos asap but first, let me share with you the story of our first night in our new home. We can call it, “Welcome to Sutherly.”

Our first night was Thursday, December 22. Our good buddies Heather & Neil were anxious to help us celebrate. We decided to order takeout from Dellz Uptown and Moe’s Crosstown. We would follow dinner with one of David’s & my favorite pastimes; a fire in our old fire pit on our brand new patio.

Things were going swimmingly. It was the perfect night to spend outdoors with friends around a toasty fire. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere, I look over my shoulder and who do you think I see standing beside me? A policeman, that’s who! Welcome to the neighborhood I guess, huh? The first thing that came out of my mouth was, “Wow, this never happens on Seabrook!”

I thought for sure he was going to tell us we were being too loud or we weren’t supposed to have a fire. But that wasn’t the case at all. He asked us how long we had lived here? We told him that this was our very first night. Wanting to know if we had any information about a minor incident that happened earlier, he realized we wouldn’t be able to help if we had just moved in. He then quickly moved on to the subject of our house.

According to the officer, our house was known within the department as the “Hoarder House.” That’s nice, don’t you think? 🙂 He then went on to share a story with us that I will warn you, is not a pleasant one. Read at your own risk.

I will need  to remind you of the horrid condition this house was in when we bought her. Animals, cats, dogs, even raccoons lived here. Here are just a few pictures to remind you of how terrible it was. Be thankful we don’t have smell-a-vision!

Are you still with me? Okay, thanks for hanging in there. Here’s the officer’s story…

Sadly, the last gentlemen to live here passed away a few days before anyone realized what had happened. When the authorities were final notified, they realized that the task at hand would not be easy under any circumstances, but especially so at the Hoarder House.

It was St Patrick’s Day, 2014. Officers arrived dressed in hazmat suits and a battering ram in tow to knock down the front door. After the body was respectfully removed, the officers called animal protective services to deal with the animals.

When the officer arrived the police officers warned him of the conditions of the home. Having had many experiences with hoarders and the like, the officer felt it could not be any worse than what he had seen in the past.

The police office continued the story. He said the officer went into the the house, stayed for a few minutes and then came outside and…there’s no way to put this tactfully. He lost his lunch on the front lawn!

Why on earth would I put that into my blog? Because it is true. And because I want to impress upon you just how awful this house was just 6 short months ago so you will have a better appreciation for how beautiful it is now.

Hold on to your britches. We’ve made it to the photos!

Take note of the chimney beyond the door in the center to give you a better perspective.

The door with the glass in the photo below, is the original front door. Even though the house was built in 1913 The door is from the 1800s. This is one of many indicators that told us the house was built from remnants of previously built structures. A local craftsman built us a brand new front door patterned exactly after the one in this photo. We also used the small closet door upstairs in the 3rd bedroom.

It was a little difficult to come up with before and afters for the kitchen since the addition changed the perspective so much. I thought you’d like to see how beautifully it turned out.

Please excuse the construction materials on the counter! 🙂

And the fireplace!

Well, I guess that’s about all that needs to be said this go-around. I feel like however, we have reached some sort of plateau as we have completed the renovation. I feel also, that there are many stories yet to be told. The story of the fireplace alone has a very interesting story. Hang on to your britches folks, we aren’t finished yet!

Until next time, take care.

Note:  I just wanted to remind you of the little game I play using the title of a song for the title of the blog. I have know from the beginning that the title for the before and after blog would be The Lovin’ Spoonful’s  song “Do You Believe in Magic?” The answer to that question is, “Yes, I certainly do!”

 Click on the link below and take a stroll back through the photos. I am sure you too, will believe in magic!

Peace out! 🙂