fire, water, and air - jes

To start with, I finally remembered to take a picture of the front of my adorable little fixer-upper. The garage has been converted into a huge living area with an awesome wood-burning fire place. I love the red brick. There are two blue bricks to the left when you walk into the house. Those are thanks for elementary aged Marshall and little sister Annie, who decided that if they only painted one each, they wouldn't get in trouble.

I cannot wait to fill all of the flower beds with plants, and to get some more grass growing in the empty spots. The neighborhood is nice. Humble, cute little homes that for the most part are well-kept. The neighbors are glad we're fixing things up. Renters just don't have the motivation (which I can attest to, since until now I've been there) to fix things up when they know it's only temporary.

Before things can be fixed up though, you really need to have gas, water, and electricity.

Okay, I never just imagined that utilities happened by magic, but I've never in my life moved into a place that didn't already have those things turned on. When the pilot lights are lit, the disposal is running, and the toilet can flush, then it starts to feel like a house. We got our gas on yesterday. I had to be home from 8-5 (and possibly after five because that's how O.N.G. works. I was there, with just Rocket, without my car because Marshall needed to bring me lunch, without my phone because I forgot to plug it in, with the possibility of being there for ten hours.

Fortunately the O.N.G. man showed up early.
"They just don't put any wood on matches any more."
"Well ya'll must be the only guys who use em."
"That's the truth, we hafta try and get em in bulk."

And poof! We have hot water.

I just never really thought about the magic utilities that come from the city and make our house livable. I cannot wait to actually see the bathroom with the lights on (so I can clean the heck out of it and take a bath). Keeping my fingers crossed that the electricity pops on today. And maybe that there aren't too many thunderstorms.