A year ago today we woke up for the first time in our new house. We had lots of help moving in and I spent the next month or so unpacking, arranging, rearranging, and re-rearranging.
I don't have photos of our actual move in. I was too busy with the actual act of moving that day to take photos. But I DO have photos of folks helping us move a truckload of my parents' furniture. The rest of this entry will just be photos of the past year in and around our house.
A month before we closed on our house, we were unloading a truck of furniture into our garage.
Friends and neighbors helping unload the truck
Even little guys have big muscles
Two days after moving in, this happened.
And it kept happening. We started with snow in November.
Our snowy street
The back of our house after the snow storm.
Four days after we moved in, we brought home Max.
He was so little then!
How you doin'?
The cats find cozy spots to sleep in the new house.
We were visited by Norf Side Santa whose job is to look out for The 'Hood.
Aw, widdle Max with Norf Side Santa
We are visited by festive neighbors caroling.
December blizzard
Max could leap the fence...but doesn't.
Max loves the snow.
A dumpload of snow.
Lots of ice on our roof.
Bob finds a way to stay warm.
Brother's family visits at Christmas
Brother at Christmas
St. Patrick's Day visitor
More snow in April
April Snow
A clean garage
Snow is finally gone!
Bob and his chiminea
Max got BIG
Feast for April open house
Open house guests
Bob's biggest fans
Our house's accessibility allows others in wheelchairs to visit.
The Urban Homeworks folks that made our house possible.
No snow and flowers hanging on the porch.
Spring time in bloom on our porch
Our garden and front porch
Pots of geraniums on stoop.
Bob and Max as they were (are) seen in our neighborhood all the time.
Peace vigil 5 doors down where a man was murdered.
Same vigil
The man who was murdered worked with youth at our local high school.
May storm brings hail which Max finds tasty.
2 daffodils came up from all the bulbs I planted.
Back deck bedecked with potted flowers.
Bob helps with cleaning. This is my office.
May 22nd. Tornado hits our neighborhood but thankfully misses us.
We spend next week or two helping with cleanup, distribution, and whatever else we can find to do.
North Minneapolis loses over 200 trees in the tornado changing the landscape.
Down wires were everywhere. Power was out for 4 or 5 days in some areas.
Beauty for ashes
Neighbors really came together to help each other out
Because of our super wet spring, trees were just uprooted.
We were the Minneapolis drop for our CSA this year.
Boxes of fresh eggs and veggie.
Free annuals given out to beautiful North MPLS homes.
Pretty!
Found this friendly little bunny in our blvd. Kept it for several days before turning her in to pound.
My dad helped me put up a clothesline!
Wet and rainy early summer
Mom, Dad, brother, husband, nephews and I all enjoyed our first juicy lucy at Matt's.
Iconic
Nephew loves our cats
Dad and brother in living room
Older nephew loves our cats too.
Family in our home.
Dad took me, Bob, my G'ma, brother, and nephews to see the Twins play. Bob and I walked the 1 mile to the stadium and back.
Storm passing through sent a tree onto power lines. Power was out nearly 24 hours.
Our housemate had JUST moved in and my friend and her son were visiting. Good timing.
Best friends.We need a kid to tire out our dog.
Jen...our first non-family houseguest
Local high school has an open house.
We attend even though we have no children.
Go polars!
We attend a peace vigil after a rash of young men are killed in the neighborhood.
Our city councilman.
First high school football game of season. Go Polars!
Go POLARS!
GO POLARS!
On September 4th I had a seizure out of the blue while at church. Hospitalized for 4 days.
Max turned 1!
Lowry Ave Harvest Fest
Bob, Edrin, and some clown at Harvest Fest
Neighbors at Harvest Fest
Paint the Pavement neighborhood mural painting
Painting the pavement
Neighborhood mural
Bob in middle of mural
Bob won an award from the MN state committee on disabilities for his water outreach to our neighborhood
We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary
Us out at Redstone to celebrate 10 years of marriage
The next day I had surgery and spent the night in ICU.
Autumn on our street
Our porch before the squirrels attached our gourds and pumpkins forcing us to get more.
I started losing hair! A condition due to the radiation they used during my surgery.
We were given tickets to see the Vikings. We got to sit on the floor!
They actually won this game.
Bald patch
My way of dealing with the bald patch.
Bald patch still visible but less annoying to me now.
Baldy
Our pumpkin haul from local pumpkin lot.
Doesn't everyone wear an apron when they carve pumpkins?
Our front porch pumpkin-fied.
Ready for Halloween
Max in his costume waiting for Trick-or-treaters.
My costume. I'm a punk girl.
Bob hands out candy to friends.
Bob hands out candy to neighbors.
Bob turns 50. I host an open house to bless him.
Guests/friends/neighbors/family at Bob's open house.
Our housemate Kenan with a not so subtle Max.
I make the unfortunate decision to shave my head with a razor. Gonna stick to the clippers from now on.
I buy a bunch of hats to keep my head warm.
So what's next? We don't know but we are open. Urban Homeworks is almost done rehabbing all the apartments in near area. They bought the empty houses next door and across the street. So we know we will be having new neighbors in the near future. We love the ones we have met and know now and look forward to getting to know whoever moves here in the next year.
We also know that we have a spare room ready to house any guests that may come our way. Some day we'd love to finish the basement which would house at least 1 other guestroom but that will have to wait for a while.
We also know that we are ready, willing, and usually able to serve our neighbors. We have brought meals, been to cookouts, seen people we know at local stores and restaurants, and it seems someone always honks and waves when we're out walking Max. We love our community even while we pray for peace, favor, and positive change to come to North Minneapolis. We will do what we can to see that these things happen.
Once again, stop on by. I may not be as industrious as I was pre-seizure but you will at least get a glass of cold water, a cup of hot coffee, and some sweet treat. Here's to many more years in this home, neighborhood, and community.
Looks like you have had an amazing but busy year. Here's to hoping your next year is great.
ReplyDeleteI love this entry so much!! And Max was sooo tiny, golly.
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