Find #2 !

 

I know it doesn't look like much.  I mean, it looks like a box.  Because it is a box...

 

But not just ANY plain, old box.

 

A FANCY old box.

 

 

It's apparently a fire box, so used to hold wood- sometimes coal-, and it's covered in brass.  I tried finding them online, and I did find a few to compare it to, but most of them have a "pub scene" on them.  This one has... a hunting scene?

 

 

As you can tell, I'm not the best picture taker.  But you can see the details.  And the small piece of missing trim on the front there. 

Of course, I found this on craigslist.  The day it was listed.  I sent it to my husband, and his response was "Do you think that will fit in your car?"  I knew I had to have it, and he must have felt the same way.

In any case, it's beautiful, and it should go into our beautiful future home.

Speaking of which, stay tuned, because I'm going to post some other interesting houses.  It's not that I don't love the school house anymore, or see it as going to be ours, but... I'm impatient.  And I love houses.  And being a realtor, I'm of course going to look at everything I can.  So some interesting "competitors" coming up!

A REAL Update, but it's a drag...

I finally got ahold of the owners! And it was a nice enough chat, but in the end, they aren't ready to sell. Maybe in a year or two... So I will keep following up.


The dilemma I have now is... How do I keep blogging about this in the meantime? There are things I could post, but I'm not sure if it would matter. Not until we are there.


Plus, blogging about it more than a year or two out- how crazy does that make us look?!  

An unwanted but necessary update...

I know I haven't posted in a while, and that's because I was waiting for good news.  Or any news.  But instead, we are still waiting.  We haven't heard back from the owner yet; we believe he may still be out of town.  I tried calling, and his answering machine was full.

The only thing I can think of right now is... to write a letter.  A nice, simple letter stating my case and hoping that he will get back to us.  Because if he doesn't, I don't know what we will do.  I've tried pointing out to my husband that we need some kind of timeline.  Just in case.  I mean, we can't wait around forever... Not that we should have to.  It is our destiny.  Right?

In the meantime, I will try to do some posts on design thoughts and preparation and all that good stuff.  Also finish the rest of the site, because that kind of needs to happen to.

So... cross your fingers for us?

First contact.

My efforts to contact the owner were unfruitful, and I never heard back in regards to seeing the school. We were having a family event in the area, and I tried calling again... No answer. So I did the logical thing- finished my drink and walked on over.
As my husband and I approached, we could see a car pulled over next to the school. A woman got out and asked me if we we owned it (YES, SOON, my brain said). I explained that no, we did not, but I was going to try to talk to the owner, which she very much wanted to do, as well. Luckily, she wanted pictures and to inspect for ghosts, not to steal what we want to be ours!
So I knocked. And waited. A younger woman came to the door, and I tried the best I could to explain myself and not seem crazy, which I'm sure didn't happen. I left my business card. She was watching the place while her parents are vacation, but she said we could take a look around. Don't go inside, she said.

It was nice to be able to get up close and see things in more detail.

we learned that there is a tin ceiling somewhere. And that work was done on the foundation. Also, rusted radiators everywhere.

I'm hoping that that chimney would work for a woodstove. I'm assuming that they had one in there at some point. One whole part of the building looks removed in the front... And unfortunately, part of a tree fell and damaged the newer roof.

All in all, we are excited and terrified to keep pursuing this. We both agree that the first things that need to get done are the windows and tree removal. Then figure out the heating situation. If it's enclosed and heated, that means it's ready to move in to, right?

.

My Very First Find!

So, as promised, I'm going to share the item that made me realize I needed to start documenting everything...
It's shiny and engraved and detailed and unique. It's perfect. And I had a harrowing experience getting it.

It was listed on Craigslist- of course- and I knew instantly that we needed to get it. It was advertised as a plaque, but it's more like a frame for a plaque. A historical marker plaque, if I have anything to say about.

I tried researching the company that produced, but the only thing I could find was that Francis Metal Door &Window Corp was located in Rochester, NY and involved in a legal case in the 40s. It looked like it was possibly about taxes, and I wonder if that was the end of the company. I wonder if they made a lot of these or if it was a custom piece... But honestly, all that really matters is that it's MINE now. And that we will use it for the school house someday.
What perfect weird item did you just HAVE to have? 

Completely ahead of ourselves...

DESTINY

We haven’t even seen the inside yet, other than a few photos.  We haven’t talked to the owner.  We haven’t inspected it yet.  We’ve really, essentially, accomplished nothing in regards to actually buying this place… but in our heads, it’s ours already.  So much so that I am going to buy our first item for the house in a few days.


That’s right; you read that properly.  Buy. Our. First. Item.  For the house we don’t have.  I mean school we don’t have.  Because it’s not even technically a residence.  In fact, it’s been abandoned for about 70 years.  It will need to be made habitable before we even begin to do any of the fun stuff.  And it needs to be purchased before we can do that.  Mentally we are decorating already…


Honestly, this is all my uncle’s fault.  He had the lifelong dream of fixing this place up, contacted the owner, got us thinking about it… but as it turns out, it’s actually OUR DESTINY.  I know that because I’m usually full of these sorts of crazy ideas, but my husband talks me out of them or disagrees or even vehemently argues against them.  NOT THIS TIME.  He’s even worse than I am.  And in a few days, I will share my acquisition for it without shame… because this is ABSOLUTELY going to happen.