The Old Folks Home

[ronott1]

On the road. Gassed up, car washed (Maddy loves the car wash), Monster Java Kona Blend in my cupholder and we just stopped for car fries @ McDonalds.

Sounds like a great trip home!

 

[perchie.girl]

House Church women coming out of prison. The house was really pretty much crap.

They had 21 women living in a one bed one bath house. The kitchen layout was horrible floor space was about six feet by six feet and the only bathroom lie beyond the kitchen so you had to walk through the kitchen to go to the bathroom

The other spaces they were parking bunk beds were the Green house and the Art studio. There were four bunk bed sets or eight women living in the Art studio and they had partitioned off the green house room with curtains for three more sets of bunk beds. And the Laundry room had bunk beds lining the walls. The one bedroom that was part of the original house had a padlock on it.... That was the Womans Ministry leader's room, who was the wife of the Minister.

I couldnt do more than a very quick walk through because I felt I was invading what little privacy they had. The house and the grounds were IMMACULATE. their schedual was posted on the green house wall. And every minute of their lives were schedualed even down to smoke breaks and shower days. In five minute increments. They each only had five minutes for a shower....

The roof of the green house was covered in multiple layers of clear plastic... but I knew that wasnt keeping the water out. The wood was rotting. and falling in in a couple of places.

When I came out I had a little fit. I thought the house needed to be buldozed... But I loved everything else the grounds the Eighteen acres the walls outside with their moszics...

They wanted 99K for eighteen acres... I talked to my realtor and he said they had to sell it for under a hundred because of the fact it was a church and they had recieved it as a donation. This kept them from having to pay sales tax on it. He also told me it had fallen through escrow now three times. Because of the house.

I made an offer contingent on my house selling. There were some other issues that went on that caused escrow to go more then 45 days... They were willing to wait because when I got my money they would be getting cash... I got a good price on my home in town.

So While I didnt get the brand new modular home I wanted I was in LOVE with the land.... and the house itself... truly has grown on me. Even though I cant get fire insurance on it. The well is iffy The plumbing is finally under control... The wiring was done by an amateur. Telephone lines dont work Cell phones dont do well. The only TV is Satellite. The only radio comes from either Las Vegas or Mexico.

But when I am there my life is zen.... The air is crisp and clean and the wind is always offering to brush away the clutter. You can hear a conversation more than 20 acres away. and you can decide to answer the door way before uninvited get there. One direction you can see deep into Baja California, the other direction you can watch whispy clouds form over the rocks... Sort of like a smoke signal from aeons past.

If you sit and listen you can hear grass hoppers or cicadas (some years). There are little pools of water hidden in depressions that remain for months after a rain.... So there are dragon flies and Fierce humming birds defending their feeder or flowers. Geckos come out at night so do bull frogs during mating season.... they burrow deep to survive the dry time.

One of the women who lived there while i was purchasing the property told me... this is blessed land you will be happy here. She was right.

sigh I just need to get back.

deb

 

[mrballance]

So true. I remember doing just that, finding all the small tourist attractions here.
Very interesting things.
*The Scott Joplin house, home of the famous ragtime composer
*Jefferson Barracks national cemetery,  Burials from the War of Independence through the present and both Union and *Confederate burials from the Civil War.
*Sappington House museum, oldest brick home in Missouri (1808), even older than mine.
*Hawken House, of the Hawken riflesmiths.
*Grant's Farm, family home of the Busch family(think beer) originally the log home of Ulysses S. Grant which he hand hewed in 1855. 100 species of animals roam the grounds with camel rides and even kangaroos and elephants. It's the breeding stable of the world famous Anheuser Busch Clydesdales. There's a historic family collection of carriages, coaches, carts and sleighs from Europe and Asia. And for adults, free beer.
*Fort Belle Fontaine, first U.S. military installation west of the Mississippi River.
*Frank Lloyd Wright House
*DeMenil Mansion, home of the Oregon Trail explorer and guide.
*Daniel Boone's home, of the legendary hero, more like a fortress with a dozen historic buildings from the 1800s
More cemetaries
*Bellefontaine with graves of explorer William Clark, William Burroughs, Thomas Hart Benton, James Eads, Adolphus Busch and poet Sara Teasdale.
*Calvary with gravesites of Tennessee Williams, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and Dred Scott. Many architecturally significant private mausoleums and monuments, including that of the Nez Perce warriors that came to St. Louis in 1831 to visit William Clark.
*Anheuser-Busch Brewery tour, it changes from year to year and again - free beer.

Almost all that stuff is free too.

See what I did there Vehve?

You forgot a float trip on a clear spring fed River

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Good point. I did mention in another post that we could do the Ozark Scenic Riverways. Nice rivers in that national park complex but I have secret favorites.

Are you familiar with our clear streams?

 

[getaclue]

deb, don't forget to finish the story...PLEASE!

tn, YAY! I know you will both be very happy to get home. I know it's hard to keep an active kid settled down some When my kids were small, I would go into the toy, and craft section of the stores. I usually bought an item or two, here and there, that had been discounted, so it was cheap, especially crafting items. These things all went into a bag I had in my closet. Whenever one, or all of the kids began feeling better after an illness, but weren't ready to go outside yet, they got to pick an item from the bag. In addition to play dough, coloring, legos, barbie's and such, which they did routinely and would get bored, they got something new each day to hold their interest, and keep them occupied. Sometimes I would throw a quilt on the floor, and we would do an indoor picnic. Set up a jigsaw puzzle somewhere. Not the real easy ones. You'd be surprised at how everyone passes by, and looks for pieces to fit, then they go on their way, and come back to it later on. Kids can be very good at finding pieces that fit, once they get the hang of it. You can seal, and frame it after it's done, and hang it in her room. I'm not telling you what to do, of course. Just offering suggestions for those times that she seems extra bored, or restless.

I originally thought the owner of this house had stumbled onto the proverbial bad apple of a realtor. After reading all the posts regarding lousy realtors, I realize there are quite a few of them in the apple barrel, and they've set up shop. Thankfully, there do seem to be a few good ones too. I am really hoping that Saturday is a fruitful endeavor, and brings us closer to our dream. Our purchase of a home is not contingent on the sale of this house. I am in hopes that we will have found, bought, and moved into our home long before this one sells.

 

[mrballance]

Good point. I did mention in another post that we could do the Ozark Scenic Riverways. Nice rivers in that national park complex but I have secret favorites.

Are you familiar with our clear streams?

Yes, I live in KC now but my Family is from Rolla. I've floated quite a few ozark streams

 

[perchie.girl]

deb, don't forget to finish the story...PLEASE!

tn, YAY! I know you will both be very happy to get home. I know it's hard to keep an active kid settled down some When my kids were small, I would go into the toy, and craft section of the stores. I usually bought an item or two, here and there, that had been discounted, so it was cheap, especially crafting items. These things all went into a bag I had in my closet. Whenever one, or all of the kids began feeling better after an illness, but weren't ready to go outside yet, they got to pick an item from the bag. In addition to play dough, coloring, legos, barbie's and such, which they did routinely and would get bored, they got something new each day to hold their interest, and keep them occupied. Sometimes I would throw a quilt on the floor, and we would do an indoor picnic. Set up a jigsaw puzzle somewhere. Not the real easy ones. You'd be surprised at how everyone passes by, and looks for pieces to fit, then they go on their way, and come back to it later on. Kids can be very good at finding pieces that fit, once they get the hang of it. You can seal, and frame it after it's done, and hang it in her room. I'm not telling you what to do, of course. Just offering suggestions for those times that she seems extra bored, or restless.

I originally thought the owner of this house had stumbled onto the proverbial bad apple of a realtor. After reading all the posts regarding lousy realtors, I realize there are quite a few of them in the apple barrel, and they've set up shop. Thankfully, there do seem to be a few good ones too. I am really hoping that Saturday is a fruitful endeavor, and brings us closer to our dream. Our purchase of a home is not contingent on the sale of this house. I am in hopes that we will have found, bought, and moved into our home long before this one sells.

I finished on post 22614 I probably have a books worth of stories about the house.... But I have to finish the one I am currently writing right now before starting another.

deb

 

[superchemicalgirl]

getaclue I have to agree with you about realtors. I have bought and sold houses in Arizona, Florida and Utah. I have not been impressed with a single realtor. I understand they are working commission but I have yet to see a single one earn the 3% - 6% they get on the sale of a house. I plan on making my next one work for that commission when we finally get the chance to get out of here.

I've had a slew of bad realtors (that I fired) and then the really awesome one that got me the house I'm currently in. I had a list of needs and a list of wants and he reviewed it with me and then got started working. I had been looking for a house for almost a year with a bunch of different realtors and within 2 weeks of having him we found this house. A couple I know moved to the area about a year ago, and I tried to set them up with him. Unfortunately he was retired by that time but he set them up with a friend of his, and they had a good experience and found a home quickly, as well.


Bama, I got home a bit earlier than usual today and the roofers were just finishing up for the day. Out of the 3 burly men working on my roof, 2 of them had to tell me they had chickens, too.


Wait for it...


They both have silkies.

That would explain the tarps over all their equipment - they're not used to real birds.

You'd think burly roofers would have real birds. Like turkens.

 

[Bunnylady]

Or showgirls.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Yes, I live in KC now but my Family is from Rolla. I've floated quite a few ozark streams

Bonus. So you know how beautiful they are.
Welcome to the OFH.