And the pony’s name is -- #50!
As you may already know, I moved to Oshkosh, WI, in August of 2009. Since then we have been living in a rented house on a beautiful historic street near the downtown area. This turn-of-the-century beauty (built in 1907), retains most of its original woodwork, offers updated baths and kitchen, and sports a beautifully finished third floor with guest rooms and bath.
In January, our landlords decided to re-list their property. That’s right – I have been cleaning this rental (all 3000 sq. ft. of it) for showings so that the landlords can sell it out from underneath me. And I apparently have done an awesome job – since the landlords have accepted an offer on it in the last week. (In all fairness, I need to explain that we really like our landlords and completely understand their definite need to sell the property. We are excited for them to have received an offer and hope their sale will quickly be completed.) So – knowing since January that our days in our beautiful rental were numbered, we have begun to hunt in earnest for a home to buy. At some point a couple of weeks ago, I counted up all of the real estate sheets I have from properties we had viewed. Thirty-nine! We had traipsed through 39 houses – dragging our lovely realtor Sheri through a majority of them with us. We saw the good, the bad, the ugly. We saw bad paint, stained carpet, and ugly wall paper. We saw strange furnishings, little yards, old cupboards – weird floor plans, dated fixtures. We saw dirty kitchens, piled clutter, water damage, cramped spaces, damp basements.
The strangest phenomenon: the Oshkosh Outies (as my realtor named them). Nearly every older house in town (including our fancy rental) possesses a potty in the basement. I don’t mean a bathroom in the basement. I mean a toilet. Just a toilet – stuck here and there – next to the furnace, under the stairs, barely enclosed, entirely exposed. Occasionally we found one accompanied by a nasty shower – but seldom by a sink. One seasoned realtor told us that many of the houses were built in stages among friends. The locals started with a basement and lived in it until they could afford to build more house. From the looks of things, once they built the rest of the house – the ignominious basement potty was mostly abandoned – and never cleaned again.
House #40 had borrowed space for the second bath from the middle of the family room. Now, I confess I really had my heart set on the second bath – but not there! Another property (I forget which #) had it’s second bath right beside the kitchen table. – “Excuse me, Aunt Erma, could you please scoot your chair into the table a little so that I could squeeze behind you and open the door? I really need to go! Sure, go ahead with your story. I can still hear you!” Can you hear me?
By the time we hit houses #41 -- #46, we were branching out to the west side of town. Then someone mentioned upcoming road construction scheduled for a major intersection between the west side and our places of employ. We checked the city website. Sure enough – the project is scheduled to take the next 5 years! Given our track record, as many of you know – re-doing that intersection could last longer that our entire stint here in town!
At one point, I looked at John and stated randomly: “there’s got to be a pony in here somewhere!” We had certainly looked at lots of manure!
Then about 2 weeks ago, I found a new listing on realtor.com – a house down my very own street! – a house I have walked past nearly every day that I have lived in Oshkosh, -- a house I have repeatedly admired. House #50!!! We saw it before the sign hit the front yard. Although our offer was significantly less than they had wanted, the owners couldn’t argue with a clean offer from people who didn’t need to sell a house. It had been on the market for a week when they accepted our offer. We gain possession on April 30th! We feel so thankful to God for blessing us with this amazing property.
House # 50 was built in 1924 by the Carver family – owners of a local ice cream parlor! Imagine living in a house built during the roaring 20’s with ice cream money!!! It is completely updated, yet historically preserved – utterly charming. It has nooks and crannies, shutters and hardwood, roof angles and chandeliers. And – it has a potty in a little room in the basement – complete with an antique crystal light fixture – a window – no door – and, of course, no sink!
Ephesians 3:20-23 (New International Version)
20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
