PROGRESS!!! Slow, but sure!

Wednesday was a BIG day at Grandma's house!  All the quakies were removed.  The lawn is looking worse but now you can see the house.  The neighbor's all came out and shared their opinions (positive). 

More yard work: filling holes from the old, old, old scrubs and from the cedar trees on the north east corner of the house (counting the growth rings they were over 80 years old), cutting down  more "junk" trees, and a dead apricot tree (in the play area)..followed by weeding and weeding and weeding!  This is just part of the outside work we are planning.

We are hoping to post a weekly update.  Keep checking back!  We will include pictures of the inside and the yard.

Have a great weekend!  We will decorate graves on Sunday.  Saturday and Monday will probably be spent at Grandma's.

Love,
Shelley



It's back...with no quakies!



REALLY..IT IS BACK IN THE FAMILY!!!

Okay...enough false alarms.  After the last post we had an inspection on the home...and we found a lot of hidden problems.  We went back to the bank and made another offer.  It was rejected.  We told them that we had spent enough time and money and that we were withdrawing the offer.  Mark thought that they might come back in a few months and want to take the offer. Well it wasn't a few months...it was a few days!  After 8 long months....it is back in the family!

We have been busy cutting down quakies, getting bids for a sprinkler system, trimming scrubs (some have been there for years) and cleaning.  We wish that we could irrigate, (I would love to run through the water and play in the wading pool) but the water shares were sold with the house!   So now I'll  have to run through the sprinklers.  You can drop by anytime and join me.

Tomorrow we will have all the quakies removed (YEAH).  We wanted to have an open house on Memorial Day, but  decided  to wait until we have more done.  After our children walked through they really thought that we were nuts, and too old to take this on, THANKS!   Every neighbor that walks by comments that we have a "big job". Thanks, we didn't know that.  My dad is starting to come on board.  He helped mow the lawn last week.  He seemed a bit nostalgic when he took a break and sat on the porch.  He has been wonderful to bring us garden tools and drinks.

BEFORE: Parkway looking towards the house

AFTER: Parkway without the quakies looking North...others quakies gone or will be gone before end of week!!!

Yesterday (90 deg.)  I worked outside for too long and then I went  inside and started cleaning.  The home was so nice and cool (no A/C).  While washing the front window, I remembered all the great meals in the dining room with many of you.  I could hear Uncle Glen playing honky-tonk on the piano and could almost see Grandma sitting in her chair, crocheting.   Yes, I get nostaglic when I'm there.  I would love to move in and call this home, but for now we will rent it.

I'd like to ask all of you if you would  be willing to share pictures and memories of this home. I asked Dad for any photos that he had and he said that he didn't have any????    He thinks that the orginal stairs went up through what is now Grandma's bedroom.(?)  We would  really appreciate any other information on the homes orginal floorplan. We are excited to hear from you.  We want to add  this information/photos to the blog and  hopefully get  more descendants involved.

In a few years we will open the home up to all.  We will be posting pictures of the progress.

Love,
Shelley

PS.  Please pass this blog/information along to your family.

PATIENCE...something I must need to learn!

Hi Family,

Still no word from the bank! Still hoping that this effort will materialize.

I keep driving by and can see that this home is begging for some TLC .

Keep your fingers crossed, so we can all go back and enjoy those tender memories of Grandma H.

Hope you are all enjoying this "New Year"!

Love,
Shelley


shellwalk@gmail.com

Two More Days!!!

Dear Family,

We hope that you had a Merry Christmas! It was our "off year" but we did get together with 3 of the 4 families for lunch on Saturday. We had Nicks family with us from El Paso, it was good for them to be with family. Nick called from Afghanistan and was a little homesick (for some reason)? That is our third son, he is in the Air Force and this is his second deployment.

Anyway...enough about our Christmas. We heard from the agent that the bank will be out of the office until the 28th. They got our last offer and said that the docs all look good...so we might know before the new year! We will still have to do the inspections and I hope that Mark won't be around when they are done. He says that the only reason he is willing to do another restoration is to keep it in the family, he was hoping that he could give it to me for Christmas! I don't think that he wanted to do any shopping! He is a keeper!

Have a Happy New Year and we will keep those of you that are interested updated!

Lots of Love,
Shelley

!

33 Minutes On Hold

Hi Family,

Yesterday Mark spent 33 minutes on hold with the bank that holds that loan of Grandma's house. He decided to hang up and when he called back the recording said that the office was closed.

We wanted to give you an update. Not much news. We wish that we had used a different agent. We have to call her to get any updates. She finally gave us the banks phone number and the contact person so we could make some calls. The bank is doing another appraisal and if it comes in $10,000 less then our offer would do.

Getting a little discouraged, but not giving up. I won't admit that my Dad was right when he told "me that I was crazy for wanting to get the house back in the family."

I have tired to make contact with the previous generation (the Abel's). But like Charlotte "Munns" (Aunt Lotties daughter) Grandma's sister, reminded me that many of those cousins are deceased. So it looks like if the house is to be saved it is up to this generation.

I would appreciate any comments from you if you think this is worth pursuing or if you have any questions.

This is getting to be that busy time of year, but all I want for Christmas is to make this happen and to have our son come home safe from Afghanistan! Maybe, I should go sit on Santa's lap and ask him for it!

Have a good day.

Lots of Love,
Shelley

Wouldn't It Be Lovely....to see Grandma's yard look like this again?

Hi Family,

Each time I drive past Grandma's house (almost every day lately) I think of how beautiful she and her yard where.  In the fall, when I was in elementary school, I walked and would stop and pick a beautiful blue Morning Glory that grew up the power pole.  I would smell it and look at it all the way to school. 

We can all probably remember seeing Grandma on her knees either planting flowers, in the vegtable garden, or weeding.  I  remember when she would be irrigating and I would run to the wading pool to see if it was filled with water (not apricots)!

Can you remember the Ferris wheel filled with geraniums, the steel wheelbarrow brimming with flowers? I sure do, I  broke my new front tooth off playing tag with some of you (in the dark of course).  The rock garden was always blooming with splendid plants.  Everyone admired the gorgeous begonias under her bedroom window.  I know that she loved her yard and the beauty of flowers.   

What traditions can you recall? Remember our Thanksgivings at Grandma's home? We were all gathered wall-to-wall.  It was fun sitting on the wooden plank held by two chairs - that was the next step after the kids' table.  Our family still lights the lemon extract-soaked, sugar cubes and places them on our miniture plum pudding.  This is a tradition that I  hope my children and grandchildren will continue. 

At this special time of the year, I want to tell you all how grateful I am for each of you.  We are so blessed to have this wonderful family.  I am also grateful for those that have gone before us.  Our heritage is so rich.  Thank you all for the precious memories!

Please let me know if you have any ideas to save Grandma's house.  I would love to hear from you. I have received one comment and so appreciated her words of encouragement and support.

We hadn't heard from the Realtor about our last offer...we are hoping that it hasn't been sold.  Let's all get creative and think of a way to keep it in the family!

I hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by those you love.

With Love,

Shelley

P.S.

Please send me any of your families' emails so that they can be part of this effort.  And thanks for sharing this blog with your family.

Where Have All These Children Gone?

(click to enlarge and read names)

Are you in this photo? We were wondering if any of you have talked to your siblings or parents about saving part of our heritage (the home)?

Also we're looking for a list to contact all of the Able cousins. It seems that at the last Abel reunion (held in Pleasant Grove) the descendent count was close to 1000. If you have their emails or addresses, we would greatly appreciate you sending them on to us. Also, if any of you know who put that reunion together we would appreciate knowing. We think that it might have been Grandma's family.