FRANKENHOUSE!

"It's ALIVE!" but trying to make sense of all the patched together pieces and parts is certainly a haunting proposition. In the past almost eight decades this house has had many lives as we discovered as we started digging in deeper to the mystery of the 58th Street house.

Here you can see the door frame,
redwood shingle and "brick" layers.

Judging a book by three different covers?
When replacing the back door to the home we were shocked to see that the house had not started out with a plaster exterior. Directly underneath the plaster was a layer of what looks like thin brick but under further investigation was fake brick made of some sort of tar-paper substance. Yet it didn't stop there! Underneath the brick-ish substance where painstakingly layered redwood strips in nearly perfect condition! We are hoping to start going from neighbor to neighbor in the hopes of finding pictures of the house in it's many disguises over the years.

Donny completes his project!

It all started with a door.
The very first glimpse of our new house came in the form of a crisp, white back door. Our friend Donny took over the whole project and while Chris and I spent hour after hour pulling crud from the house and tearing down disintegrating particle board shelving. It was a tough project because the door and frame where odd sizes and crooked. A whole new frame would have to be installed. When Donny called us to his his efforts we were elated. Sure, a door might not seem like a big deal but it had a lot of emotionally charged symbolism for us. With help, we could do this and we were taking our first steps on our adventure but the door and tools needed sucked away the last of our yard sale funds.

Now we are not sure what can even be done with no money for materials so Chris and I just focused on what we could do, continue the massive clean-out project. By the end of the day on Sunday the huge 40 yard waste container in the driveway was completely filled and we realized to out horror that we would need another container but had no money to get one. Can't think about that now, we will figure something out I know.

Paul and Chris talk in the shade.

A visit from a new friend.
Saturday we were given a welcome respite from our labors (and worries) when Paul Romo from Inside East Sacramento stopped by. He was dispatched by the editor to learn about our story and what we hoped to accomplish. Paul was incredibly brave as we gave him the tour, venturing places even I was hesitant to go. He took pages and pages of notes and his questions were thought-provoking, helping us to really solidify in our minds what our vision is, as well as get some emotions going for me. It was kind of embarrassing for me to stand there covered in filth with my hair looking like a rat's nest fighting tears in the backyard full of weeds and junk but I think Paul did a lot for us that day. I was still scared by what we were taking on but I now understood that this project was so much more important to me than I had even guessed.

Stuff Flo was dealing with!

A visit from an old friend.
One of my closest friends (and Donny's wife) came by on Sunday despite her incredibly packed schedule. She came bearing gifts that were so welcome but the greatest gist of all was her positive energy. While I sat down to eat lunch she scooped up a pair of gloves and dove into the basement bringing up arm loads of moldy books and files and heaven knows what else. She was smiling and positive and happy and my greatest blessing on Sunday when I was so exhausted and fighting back a migraine. To top it all off her farewell was a neck and shoulder massage (did I mention she is the BEST massage therapist in East Sacramento?) which chased away my migraine and enabled me to work several more hours that day. (Note to self: try to get a picture of Flo for the blog.)

WEEK FOUR HEROES

My daughter Cassie for watching her fussy little brother all weekend. Your love for Jax makes my heart fill to overflowing and I am so proud of you!

Our good friends Leah and Becky for opening their home to Cassie and Jax all day Saturday and all day Sunday so they could be safe and then refusing any money for their trouble!

Yet again, Donny and Flo! You guys are amazing and such a blessing!

The nice gentleman who carted away a lot of old metal and ruined appliances so we wouldn't have to pay to trash them.

The equally nice gentleman who carted away our giant truckload of cardboard so we could save room in our trash container as well as saving the time and gas going to a recycling center.

Paul Romo for the insight into our quest.

My never faltering husband.

Our bright and shiny new door! The first milestone on our adventure thanks to Donny!

LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING AND SEE MORE PICTURES OF THE PROJECT AT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.GROVETRIBE.COM