For the Last Time, I'm Not moving but...

I've done a few Sunday posts on houses that I am NOT going to move into.

Houses that I wish I could, but I'm not able to for various reasons.

I've decided to stop this WISHING and just get to work on making my house into the home that I want...

UNLESS I could move into this house! LOL!

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I got to thinking about what I hate about my house and what I love.

My dad always said that it you are struggling with a problem, to make a list

of Pros and Cons. 

So, here's the list.

I HATE that I live on a busy street and it's sometimes its hard to back out of the driveway because of traffic.

I LOVE that I live on a busy street that immediately gets snow plowed and if the street needs repairs, I don't have to pay for it like many other people do on side streets because I live on a main-thoroughfare.

I HATE that I don't live out in the country away from everything.

I LOVE that I live less than 5 minutes from a grocery store, a gas station, a library.

I HATE that I'm on a bus route.

I LOVE that I'm a bus route so when I get old and can't drive, I could take the bus if I needed to.

I HATE that my house is small.

I LOVE that my house is small. It's easier to heat and cool and there are no dark corners for monsters.

I HATE that my neighbors are so close.

I LOVE that my one neighbor is so close that he decides to snowblow my sidewalk too.

I HATE that the neighbors to the south have grandkids that bark at and tease my dogs.

I LOVE that the neighbor to the north has a cute little grandkid that yells "Hi Neighbor" when he sees me.

I HATE that there's no privacy in front of my home. Everyone drives or walks by and sometimes leave cigarette butts and trash.

I LOVE that when I'm gardening in the front of my house, the elderly neighbor with her Schnauzer stops to talk.

And the lady with her Shih-Tzu tied to her walker stops, pulls down a seat on the walker and sits to chat

and the woman who jogs with her Pitbull shouts out a greeting and compliments my yard

and the retired man with his St. Bernard nods and randomly gives an observation.

I HATE that my yard is long and narrow and mostly in the back of my house.

I LOVE that my yard in the back has a lot of room for my patio dog area and a separate area for my picnic table.

And a sloping landscaping and a spot at the bottom of the hill for a garden shed and maybe someday room for a handmade greenhouse.

I HATE that I don't have a garage.

I LOVE that it leaves me more room and not having a garage keeps my property taxes lower.

I HATE that I have a gravel driveway.

I LOVE that I was able to incorporate part of the drive by raking it out and seeding it

and therefore giving me more yard.

I HATE that I don't live close to work.

I LOVE that I don't live close to work.

And it's nice living minutes away from my sister.

I HATE that I'm haven't been able to be just be Happy with my house but 

I LOVE that this list has helped me realize all the good things about my home.

I HATE that I will probably still have days where I pine for something different but

I LOVE that by looking at other homes, I can find inspiration for my own.

I'm Not moving but...

but if I did.

I'd like a house that looks wonderful at Christmas.

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I'm Not moving but...

and definitely not here!

But I do have a little story about this place.

It's not the story that I would love to know.

It's not about the life and history of the place

that would be the BEST story.

Nope, it's about when I went to community college.

My Dad wouldn't allow me to go away to a 4yr school.

I couldn't get any grants because he made too much money and refused to sign on any loans.

He thought school for me would be silly.

He said that I should get a secretarial job for a couple of years until I met someone and married

and stayed home for the rest of my life.

So I paid for community college myself 

I majored in English and minored in Art.

(I had this big idea of writing a novel.)

But between working part-time and going to school where I knew no one
and then coming home where there was no encouragement.

Well... I didn't last long.

Pretty soon I had stopped going to classes and instead just sat in the library looking up random things.

I slowly dropped classes but never told my dad.
I would get up in the mornings and go about the pretense of preparing for school.
I'd grab my books and leave the house.

Sometimes I would drive to a park and read or just drive.

I ended up one day in Davenport (the city I now work in)

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and I drove around the historic homes.

There was one home, a mansion really, that was abandoned.

I would walk around it and try to look inside but windows were boarded up.
It wasn't in the best of neighborhoods and

I felt bad for this house. 

It must have been so grand at one time and now it was just sitting there, falling apart.

I remember wishing that I had money to save it
but that was an impossible dream.

Finally one day I quit driving around and went and got a job at a bank.

My Dad was so happy. So proud.

sigh.......

So, my middle niece Maggie, has a friend who is a Realtor.

He's only been licensed for a year or two but he has grown up in the business and his father owns a Real Estate Agency.

Maggie and I were talking and I asked how her friend was doing. 

She said he was doing well, selling a few houses and he even had a mansion in Davenport in his listings.

Later at home. I looked up the mansion listing.

Yep. It was the same one from so many years ago.
The brick drive is still there.

I remember driving under this sheltered spot. I'm not sure what it's technically called.
Surely not a carport! But this is where I tried to peer inside.

If you go around to the front, but actually I guess it's the back, you can look over the city -

Can you see the Mississippi River?

That's the Centennial Bridge to the the right.

I live over there in Illinois.

back to the house-
The front (back) has been restored.

Apparently someone had tried to save it.

Such a HUGE task.

Such fine detailed work -

and so many fireplaces!

The kitchen is gorgeous, even though I usually prefer white, I could live with this.

Oh, the money it would cost to fix it properly.

I hope the right person comes along and saves it.

I'm so glad to finally seen the inside.

I can imagine wonderful parties and fireplaces crackling and a big Christmas tree.

I can also imagine little dogs running down halls and up and down stairs.

And cats sunning themselves in the windows and hissing at ghosts.

Full listing HERE.

I'm Not moving but....

once again,

not moving

but....

I live in the Quad Cities.

The cities that make up the Quad Cities are in Illinois and Iowa and they all border the Mississippi River. The four cities that have been called the Quad Cities since the early 1960s are Davenport, Iowa and the Illinois cities of Moline, Rock Island, and East Moline. Bettendorf, Iowa grew large enough in the 1970s to be included, but the name change to the Quint Cities never caught on.

In my personal opinion, Bettendorf is definitely the most properous and nicest of all towns.

And they have a VERY low crime rate.

Of course, each city has it's on unique "vibe". 

I love Rock Island because I grew up here and because it's the rebel.

It doesn't have all the ordinances that the other cities have.

Some cities you have only hours to shovel your sidewalks and in Rock Island you can wait days to shovel or stomped it down with your boots.
Of course you can be sued if someone falls and the Postman can choose not to deliver your mail if they want. 

And couple of years ago they finally banned leaf burning, something the other towns had enforced for years and while many people were happy, many were NOT. 
There was an elderly man who kept burning his leaves and the fire department came out and put it out and he just light it right back up.
Of course the firemen came back. 

Also in Rock Island, there is not a pet limit but rather you have to have your dogs current on vaccinations and rabies and cats are not allowed outside. If they pick up your cat, you will get a ticket unless it's declawed. If it's declawed, they figure that it must have slipped out accidentally, or this is what I have been told.

In Davenport and Moline there is a limit of 4, but no more than 3 of a species.

so you can have 2 cats and 2 dogs or 3 cats and 1 dog or 3 dogs....well, you get the idea.

and Bettendorf has no limit either but I understand they are less tolerate.

If someone complains, you are in trouble. Or so I've been told.

I of course think that a limit is asinine. I have seen a single dog, tied outside huddled under a porch and have been told that as long as there is some sort of shelter and access to water that there's not much that they can do about it in any city.

I know this because I have called in the past, repeatedly.

Yet, if someone has 4 dogs in some of these cities, they could be fined and forced to get rid of one of their dogs.

How crazy is that?

When there are people like me and most of my co-workers who dote on their pets and provide for them before they care of themselves.

I understand this is to discourage hoarding but I think that hoarders are going to hoard no matter what. 

They don't care what the law is.

So why deny a home to an animal that might be euthanized otherwise?

I just think it's too generalized and actually can hurt more than help some animals.

This is THE reason that I live in the city that I do.

I do know that if I moved to Davenport, across the river, the town that I work in, that I could apply for "an excessive pet" permit and they would come out and inspect my home yearly to make sure the conditions are what they should be for multiply pets. 

I could easily do that without any worries because it's pretty evident that everything I do and buy, I have my pets in mind.

I know that I treat my critters way better than some kids are treated but I just don't like that thought of anyone having that kind of power of me and mine.

I could of course lie but I worry about everything and I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

But...some days it would be nice to drive to work in under than 10 minutes, and not to battle the bridges.

I would love to be able to come home everyday for lunch and let my little ones out.

So yeah, some days I do think about moving across the river and where property taxes are lower.

Also I don't know Davenport like I know Rock Island. I'm not sure what neighborhoods are "Safe".

But I do have friends that could guide me on that.

There is ONE neighborhood that I know is very nice and I found a little cottage tucked in between the other larger breath-taking homes.

No worries of any kind for me as it's already sale pending. 

It's 8 minutes from work and 6 minutes from my best friends house

So, here's my latest crush, it's in Davenport- What's your opinion?

OK, obviously I am wanting a home with a fireplace.

All the little extra furniture of course would not be there.

I would have fewer but bigger pieces in this room.

Here's the view into the next room,

Which I would have as a dining room.

The next room is a three season porch!

(Another requirement of mine.)

This would be fixed up with a couple of BIG comfy loveseats and the TV.

In other words, this would be the DOG room

Oh, and inside the front door, a foyer

(I love the window bringing in lots of light.)

and the kitchen-

OK, I don't what's going on with me but lately I'm loving GREEN.

I never was that big of a fan of it before, but suddenly I am.

I ADORE the glass fronts of the upper cabinets.

I know that most people would want to update this kitchen but not me.

I could be very happy with this.

A window above the sink!

Yep, I'd be Happy Happy.

Basic bathroom.

I'd paint in here

and get one of those white ruffled tiered shower curtains from Target.

OMG! a Linen closet.

Just lovely.

I've always wanted a linen closet.

Bedroom

Hmm. This color might go with my things. Hmm.

I think my painting from my bedroom has that color in it!

Art room

Cute backyard, easy to maintain.

I LOVE this little garage. 

I don't have a garage. it would be nice to have one.

and space for additional parking

I like the arbor and fence.

Cute.

well, I'm NOT moving, and....it is still out of my price range.

But I wouldn't have to do very much to this place.

It makes more sense to buy a place "done" than a cheaper place that needs money poured into it.

and it's already Sale Pending.

Oh well, I'm not moving...but HERE is the full listing.

I'm NOT Moving but...

Well, I had a great listing that I wanted to show today but while working on this post
I discovered that all the photos are copyrighted and I'm not able to show them.
Then I started a search and found more information on this property
but still no photos to share.
I did find out that it sold three years ago for $35,000.00!!!
and they are currently asking $79,000.00 and the estimated value of the place is $88,000.00
on some searches
and as high as $121,000.00 other places.
It needs A LOT of WORK but as I've said before, 
I'm not moving, but....

It sits and 5.2 acres, obviously it's more about the land.
The owner is selling through a FSBO website and then it occurred to me that I could just post a link to it for your viewing! 
I know it's inconvenient to have to do this but I really think you need to see the photos to appreciate my IDEAS.
So, HERE it is!
and here are my ideas for the place.
(All links for these images can be found on my Pinterest board entitled FARMHOUSE.)

First I would redo the exterior in white siding and lots of windows for more light -

and a porch with grey floors in the front-

and an enclosed porch to the side or maybe something like this -

and a metal roof, but in a blue-grey color -

and then around back would be an enclosed porch with room for a pool-

Inside I would have exposed beams and skylights-

and have it kinda Modern but still Country -

and have things Simple, Natural and White-

and then a Big Barn in a Beautiful Turquoise color -

because I would need a barn for HORSES! -

and maybe some little lambs -

and then I'd need a truck, to haul around my family -

I mean, if I was moving, but I'm not.