Keeping Things Interesting

Note: I actually thought I posted this on Friday, so imagine my surprise when I found it in my drafts folder today. Things are that crazy right now with the big move less than 5 days away. Fair warning, I’ve got lots to share, but will probably continue to be behind at least until the weekend.

They say it takes six weeks to form a habit, and I’m telling you right now that given the last two months of my life, if a day goes by that I don’t have a mild coronary regarding The Liberty House, I just don’t feel right inside.

Thursday started out with progress (the house has both heat and running water) followed by minor panic (the fuel tank is empty and I need to be at my house that is 50 minutes away in 30 minutes to write a check to the fuel truck) that segued into excitement (half of the roof had been de-shingled and skylights removed) which was followed closely by absolute bewilderment at getting caught in a random hailstorm while loading flooring into my car. 

Oh. And then a tornado.

This was spotted 8 miles from my house. The hail thing was funny but the tornado was decidedly… not.

For the better part of this disaster I was sequestered in a basement in downtown Ann Arbor calculating the odds of having the Liberty House scattered brick by brick over SE Michigan the same week I officially closed on it. Apparently those odds are higher than one would expect.

When I’d seen the house 3 hours earlier in the day it basically had no shingles on a large part of the roof, which meant that even if it didn’t get flattened by a tornado there will still a large possibility of water damage. If you’ve been around this site for any length of time at all, I’m sure you can imagine I’m not good at the whole sit-in-a-basement-while-my-house-may-be-getting-destroyed thing, so I was one of the first people back on the road post-storm. It might have been the longest 45 minute drive of my life– traversing downed trees, exploding transformers, and flooded roads– to get back to the Liberty house, but when I got there I found this:

DSC_0891

God bless my roofers and the military-like precision with which they attached that tarp to my roof. It turns out the areas north and south of The Liberty House got pummeled, but I was blessedly spared.

Not everyone was so lucky, with some houses in the neighboring town having been completely flattened, but the good news is there were no casualties from the storm.

Just as I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed at the number of house projects that needed to be tackled in the immediate future, this has given me the perspective to be grateful for each and every hour I’ll spend sanding down floors and installing plumbing fixtures in the next couple of days.

14 Responses

  1. Hang in there! We used to say: “Non-illigitimi-Carborundum” -(or something like that). Relax for just a moment, and absorb all the good energy that your fans are sending to you now, when you need it the most!

  2. Not to worry… When the frogs fall from the sky and locust are everywhere, and you see four dudes on horseback, then you can panic. Pardon me for saying… you have an amazing spirit!

    1. I have an absurd number of flies in my house at the moment and I thought maybe I was getting “plague-lite”… you know, because flies are smaller than locusts. You gotta keep it in perspective!

  3. Are you able to write your house purchase off as a business expense because this house/property is now your new “office” for producing this DIY blog, which is a type of business venture? It would be worthwhile if you could get some type of tax break to subsidize the impending remodel projects.

    1. I am not. I do write of some of my blog-related expenses such as part of my internet bill but there are other legal and financial implications with trying to write of the house that wouldn’t fly. Plus I have a full-time job and this isn’t my primary source of income.

  4. Glad to hear from you! I wondered if you saw any of the tornado action (I’m in Indy). Glad you and the house are ok. Keep us updated.

  5. Good grief! Glad you are okay (and that Liberty House was not dismantled by the tornado or flooded by the rain!).

  6. Well – next time try to keep the thought that if the house has survived 150 years it’ll probably be fine. It obviously survived some kind of fire and who knows what other ravages through those years. But I bet you were beside yourself! With that behind you – how are the floors going?

  7. YAY for heat & running water & no sky lights & tarping extraordinaire roofers!

    Glad the tornado missed you and no life was lost where it did hit.

  8. Thank God all is well! KC is so right about the house withstanding 150 years of who knows what kind of weather. The Liberty House is solid!

  9. I agree with KC – keep in mind the house has survived – hopefully it’s a good sign that the land sits in a way that helps push tornadoes past. so glad no casualties.

    there isn’t a greater feeling in life than “god bless my roofers for their military-like precision”, feels so good to have ppl who love homes as much as you do!

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