The Great Leveler

The house that we bought on the property adjacent to our church is no more; neither is the rubble of that house when it was torn down. What’s left now is dirt, laid over the former basement space of the house by the machinery you see here, and soon to be blanketed in snow thanks to the storm that will hit overnight. But it was good to see the expanse of the property, and get a sense of what we have to work with in the spring, when we decide what to do with it (we already know we want parking in back and a garden in front; I mean the specifics). For one thing, it gets more sun than I thought it would, and it’s winter. That’s useful for planning.

It’s been a good day, folks.

— JS

12 Comments on “The Great Leveler”

  1. Exciting to be making headway on a big project. Fun to watch your posts and see how this will grow.

  2. Two sets of steps but I don’t see ramps in this view of the building (quite a gothic look btw). So now you can add wheel chair or restricted mobility access from the parking lot.

  3. I have to ask – knowing Krissy’s fondness for machinery, did she get the opportunity to drive that beast in the photo? I can just imagine the giant grin she’d have on her face as she sat in the cab and wielded the levers!

  4. Not the same at all!!! No slight intended. But the plans triggered memories of one of my favorite songs:

    ___I went back to Ohio

    ___But my pretty countryside

    ___Had been paved down the middle

  5. When my parents bought a barn (actually a double barn) to make over into a home, threre was a sublimely ugly farmhouse attached. For a few years that’s where we slept on weekends, while important things like reliable floors were installed in the barn. Then my brother and I had an entire house to play in. Then it was just a sort of nagging eyesore. My father advertised that he would give the house to anyone who wanted to take it away and live in it elsewhere–it was a sturdy house, just not where it was wanted. A guy took him on the offer, raised the house onto supports–then ran out of money. Eventually Dad called the local fire department and offered it to them for firefighting practice. When it had been set afire and rescued several times and there wasn’t much left, the remains were plowed under and grass seeded.

    Whenever Dad went out to regard the clear sweep of lawn that had replaced the house, his delight was audible.

  6. Maybe consider a labyrinth for the front garden? It would be a nice feature for the community.

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