The Coffee House

[Dean_Gretsch]

I almost bought a 200 year old house in Maine when I was looking to buy. But just needed too much structural work. The people who eventually bought it, tore it down. Which was unfortunate.

That is sad. Old houses have so much character.

 

[SquarePeg36 7]

The people who eventually bought it, tore it down. Which was unfortunate.

That's a big thing here these days. There is really no buildable land left in town. Most of the homes are in very nice shape and were nicely built to start out with but there are others where they original owners never updated anything and stayed in the house 50 or 60 years. People are buying those and tearing them down. The good news is that they are not putting up those ubiquitous cookie cutter McMansions - the new homes they are building on the cleared lots are in the Tudor and Victorian style of the neighborhoods. The city planning board here is notoriously hard to please and thought it's a pita when you want to do anything, it has kept the city very nice.

 

[limr29 2]

I thought I already posted this.
Daves house has roof and ceiling that have already collapsed. This place will probably be outlived by me.

The place I work is in excess of 30 years old. It just got a lot of roof work and flooring repairs.

Someone asked why I don't speak of prosperity. My next check tomorrow is already spent. Have no real chance to get a computer or even an older Canon DSLR.
Where is this prosperity you speak Of?

Until this Samsung Galaxy 6 Active dies it is my entire link to life outside my immediate area.

Y'all have a nice day now, you hear?

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Dave, I'm curious (and am also in education) so I have to ask: if you had a chance to retrain for a different trade, would you, for example, consider a 2-year degree or certificate program at a community college?

 

[smoke665]

No that’s Lizzie Borden.

I know, weak attempt at humor.

I almost bought a 200 year old house in Maine when I was looking to buy.

I always thought I wanted to buy a historic house and redo it, but after doing a lot of the remodeling to our old house, I decided that was to much work! It wasn't that the house was that old, (less than 40 years old), but houses show their age over time. Cabinets, appliances, floors, paint needed updating and we were right at the point before the bubble burst. We sold for almost $20k under what we could have gotten for it the year before, but on the bright side, we still got a chunk of equity to put on the new one. Our house was the last one in the neighborhood that sold for over 12 months, and the couple that bought it with the intention of flipping it for a bundle ended up holding the house for almost 2 years before they sold it for not much more than they paid for it.

 

[Gary A.]

My house is "only" 67 years old. That is pretty new for our town. I believe the oldest home here is the Phineas Upham House which is right down the street. 1703 or 1730 depending on which historian is accurate: Phineas Upham House - Wikipedia

There is a house in neighboring Saugus, MA that was built in 1692 called Boardman House that is pretty famous locally.

I found this interesting list on Wikipedia of the oldest houses in Massachusetts. The one in Salem, MA - Pickering House - was built in 1664 and is still being lived in.

List of the oldest buildings in Massachusetts - Wikipedia

I rented a really old house in Hingham MA for almost 5 years. No, insulation in the walls. Still had the original single pane windows. Uneven floors, low ceilings, small (about 710sqft). Extremely small bathroom which was basically renovated by making one room smaller. Clearly added after the invention of indoor plumbing.

I almost bought a 200 year old house in Maine when I was looking to buy. But just needed too much structural work. The people who eventually bought it, tore it down. Which was unfortunate.

That sounds like Gary's house.

 

[davidharmier60]

We live basically week to week financially.
I'm 57 years old and do not wish to attend school. We do not try to finance anything because it would take paying back.
Nothing has actually collapsed.
In three rooms part of the ceiling has fallen. It is a manufactured house made of crap.

And I don't really know what else to say.

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[davidharmier60]

I do know to say this. 4am will be here before Dave expects. He is going to go to bed very soon.

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[Gary A.]

Gary turned the old Jimmy Doolittle Theatre into the Ricardo Montalban Theatre. A very difficult job because of the age of the original theatre, everything I touched was not according to plans unleashing a flood of paperwork. The theatre was on Hollywood and Vine and had those cool stars in sidewalk in front. Gary and his metal fabricator alllllmost ... removed an existing star and installed one with our names on it.

 

[SquarePeg36 7]

Currently considering doing an addition but dreading the whole process. If I could wave a magic wand and have it done and just write a check, it would have been done 10 years ago. Now I wonder if I waited too long... I only plan to be here another 10 years or so. If the real estate market stays the way it is now, I would clean up on the addition but if things fall, I could end up regretting it. Decisions, decisions... If I could sell my house and buy something a bit more suited to our current needs I would but the market in this city is too hot and I need to stay here until Princess finishes school.

 

[smoke665]

Currently considering doing an additio

We did that at the old house, it was a giant pain.

 

[smoke665]

Morning y'all. The sun is out, the air is brisk, and it's a beautiful day on the mountain.

Sadly I made the mistake of stepping on the scale this morning............so far the cutback on calorie intake isn't working, as I've actually picked up a couple more pounds. Unfortunately, for Sadie I put her on the scale also, seems she's picked up a little lead in the butt as well. So, looks like we "both" are in for some lean times ahead of the holidays.

 

[Gary A.]

Buenas Dias Coffee Hosers. Yesterday, Gary cooked up some Chicken Carbonara and Orange Sorbet for guests and Mary Lou made some persimmon bread. We had a very nice evening in the patio and stuffing ourselves beyond all reason with the delicious stuff. One of the guest said everyday she was in Italy, she ate Carbonara for one of her meals ... but this is the best she's ever had. Maggie provided the entertainment.

 

[Gary A.]

iPhone

The Chicken Carbonara.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Rain, rain... and laundry. Maybe a movie afternoon. Had some yummy pumpkin bread with morning coffee that stretched into afternoon - and which I didn't have to make. Win win!

 

[SquarePeg36 7]

Saw the Bad Moms Christmas movie the other night. It was pretty funny.