Happy Anniversary, Baby

Got you on my miiiiiihhhiiiiiiiind … I had to finish that thought just so you’ll be hearing the Little River Band the rest of the day. You’re welcome.

But this isn’t that kind of anniversary. It’s a housaversary. And it’s a milestone.

Happy SILVER Anniversary, This D*mn House! While the blog has only been around for a sliver of that existence (2007, or 2008 if you count the year anyone actually started reading it), we closed on the house itself June 10, 1986. The concept of This D*mn House was born shortly thereafter – as a running joke for a syndicated TV show, much like “This Old House.”

And a serial rehab began.

HOLY CARP! On that date in 1986 …
· I had my name on a house mortgage, but not yet on a car title.
· I was not old enough to legally drink.
· I was still in college.

And now it's 25 years later. I am older (as the tinges of gray, beginnings of fine lines and extra pounds will attest) and I hope a lot wiser about many things. I've been trying to find the Polaroids from when we were looking at the house but with no luck.

Looking back, the avocado green linoleum in the kitchen should have been a warning ...

Here's a few other things to consider when you're looking at a house -- particularly an older one.

• Closet space. This D*mn House was built in 1940. Each bedroom has a "closet" which would pass as a large kitchen cabinet for most people. People just didn't have as much stuff then and didn't need the space to keep it.


• Electrical outlets. Again, because of the time it was built, rooms other than the kitchen weren't really adapted for today's power needs. Most rooms have a maximum of TWO plugs. Most have just one. (Until a few years ago, this included the dining room and a hallway which had NO outlets.)


• Lot size. If you compromise and get a smaller home, does the property allow for expansion if you decide later to take that on?


• Door size. While 36-inch is pretty much standard today, it wasn't always. During the first years we lived here, we had to widen the front door! Makes it a whole lot easier to get things like furniture and appliances in and out.


• Bathrooms. I would never ever never again buy or even rent anything that had less than 2 baths.

So maybe I have gotten a little wiser. And hopefully, if this place doesn't kill me first, I'll get to see it finished, or at least mostly finished. I think it may always be a work in progress.