The Money Pit

A few years back, I will not say when exactly as that may really put me in the “empty nest” age-bracket, there was a movie with Tom Hanks and Shelly Long called The Money Pit. Do you remember?? It was truly one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. For my dear “30 something” friends who may not have seen this, you may want to consider renting it for your VCR….ummmm….DVD……ummmm…..Blue Jay, or what ever the heck the new contraption is called (note to my kids….I really know what it’s called, I am not senile yet….just a bit of humor here).

Lex and I purchased our dream home in Bath, PA...a tract of land along the Bushkill Creek, with the house nestled on 27 wooded acres. The property includes our own private bridge that must be crossed to get to the driveway. It is really quite beautiful, especially when the leaves are in full color!! And for you hunters, Lex and a few of the guys working on the house killed two deer the first day of hunting season. Sounds great so far, right? Well, not the part about the killing of Bambi, or the fact that the guys working on the house couldn’t have been because they were busy playing “Rambo”. But the property does sound kind of dreamy, doesn’t it?

The house was a sprawling ranch (aka rambler for the Minnesotans reading this) with a 2nd story at one end. It had several doors in the front, and quite literally looked like a motel. The garage was once a dog kennel….that was turned into a bakery. I think they specialized in Hotdog Buns….sorry, I couldn’t resist. Sounds a little scary though.

We bought the place knowing that it needed a LOT of TLC, but not knowing at the time just how much!! I think the only thing about it that does not resemble the movie is that the tub has not fallen through the ceiling of the first floor. That could not happen to us because A) we have no running water to fill the tub and B) we have no tub, as this house was a foreclosure and the previous owner took everything including, literally, the kitchen sink!

It has been a very draining several months, both mentally and financially. But, it is almost completed….and looks more like the vision that Lex and I had when we both saw it. Our daughter, Leigh, is the only one of our kids to see the house “before”….and a few friends here who have been privy to several photos I may have passed around. I think you will all be surprised. I will post a “before” and “after” picture once I arrive in PA. Yes, I am counting those days.

Hopefully, the house isn’t under water after all the rain and snow PA has been having! Lex, where did you pack the waders??