My New Hobby (aka how many English majors does it take…)

Ever notice how, when people are talking about a big project and trying to sound optimistic, they say things like “well it’s not like building a house, right?”

Yes, I am building a house, to sit on the bank of my river place. Well, sort of building— at least most of what’s about to begin is new-house stuff: water-well-septic-electric-foundation-plus-all-those-esoteric-things-that-modern-building-codes-require. The house itself is NOT new, but a rescue baby that I found after a few years of skulking around on house-movers’ websites.

I know, it doesn’t look like much right now, just a dingy little pound-puppy of a house, sitting in the path of ex-urban development somewhere north of the Twin Cities. The bulldozers were literally pushing over the shed in the backyard on the day I met with the house mover guy to do a walk-thru.

It’s not very big: 28’ wide by 40’ long, small enough that they basically just shoved a busted skateboard under it to go down the highway. But it’s got a perfect layout inside and the scratch-n-dent exterior can be remedied once it’s set down.

Here’s a shot from the house movers’ site, before they sliced it off the foundation.

The big windows will face the river—I’ve never understood why builders put the ‘picture window’ facing the road, as if it’s the proscenium of a stage, a peep-show or a puppet theater for anyone passing by.

And below (thanks to Google street view) is a ‘before’ picture I found while obsessively researching the history of the house.

Yes, it’s got that ginchy 1970’s vibe, which will not be replicated. Tune in again for more posts, including interior photos and ongoing tales of The Process so far (including why I’ve been reluctant to write anything about this project while it still seemed so likely to not happen at all).

Signing contracts and loan apps as we speak….

C

p.s. There’s got to be many better colors for a house than piss-yellow. What’s your pick?