Search Results for: the hoa house

Where do I begin?

How about the very first day.

I’d actually like to tell you about some things that happened a little sooner than that, but those little gems, I’m gonna save for the book I’m going to write someday. 😉

So here we go.

We moved in on a Monday afternoon and after a few hours of unpacking, I took Lucy the puggle princess for a walk around the neighborhood. 5 minutes into the walk, I pass a lady {also walking her dog} and she says…. “I know you, you’re on Facebook.”

The very next day Chino the Handyman and his crew showed up and the remodel started. Within an hour a retired man walking his dog marched right up in to our driveway and began quizzing the workers. I had to stop him from coming in the house. A few hours later he was back, this time with the dog, his wife and another set of questions. What were we planning on doing with the place, who were these people working on the house, how long was the work truck going to be parked in the driveway, could he come inside and look around?

I don’t think he caught on that I was the actual homeowner for a few days because every time he’d come around and ask questions I’d have this quizzical look on my face and really just sort of brush him off by saying I didn’t know, and that I had to get back to work.

There is a HUGE difference between a polite hey, welcome to the neighborhood conversation, and intense interrogations. There is also this really cool thing called reading people’s body language. It’s not a hard skill to learn either. And yet, for some reason, I couldn’t step outside the house without running into this person. And it drove me bonkers.

Luckily though, the demolition stage of the remodel was over in just a few days so I could hole up inside. And, because I can be a bit of a stalker myself, I quickly noticed this couple walked their dog in a particular pattern around the neighborhood. So, I just started taking Lucy for walks in the other direction. And that whole game of cat and mouse was soon over with.

Until I started my pruning phase.

I thought I was being super clever by pruning the 500 million rhododendrons on the property, but I was wrong. Every few days I’d go outside in the late afternoon {because there were less people outside at the time} and trim {to within 1″ of the ground} one of the many rhododendron plants. I’d then haul my least favorite shrub on the planet into the backyard, and cut it up into tiny bits before throwing the leaves in the back of my husband’s truck {below the top of the bed of course} when he got home from work so nobody would notice.

But someone {with nothing better to do, like I don’t know, cure cancer, feed the homeless, read a book to a second grader, clean up their own yard} ratted me out. And thus the letters from the HOA started showing up in my mail box.

• Mavis vs the HOA Part One
• Mavis vs the HOA Part Two
• Mavis vs the HOA Part Three
• Mavis vs the HOA Part Four
• Mavis vs the HOA Part Five

In case you forgot, this is a very large neighborhood with hundreds of homes in it. So someone, had some serious time on their hands if they noticed a little yard work being done. Then again, if you are walking the same loop around the neighborhood every single day, I’m sure you’d noticed if something was a little off if you were stalking someones house too {that, and the fact about 90% of the people in the neighborhood PAY someone else to do their yard work for them. So maybe a homeowner working in their own yard was a red flag?}. But noticing something like the removal of some seriously ugly plants is one thing. Reporting it to the snoopervising committee is something completely different.

The hashtags #GetARealLife and #MindYourOwnBusiness come to mind.

Soon after we put up a {5 foot} fence {because that was the highest we were allowed to build it}, the letters seemed to stop. Sure, I’d get the occasional person {who I didn’t know} walking by who would shout something to me from the road, while I was in the privacy of my fenced backyard but the letters stopped. So that was nice.

Now the only things I had to deal with when I dashed outside was the grandma who didn’t speak English but made it a point to stand directly behind me and shake her head in disappointment, when I pulled weeds. That annoyed the CRACKERS out of me. But stranger than that was a certain landscaper in the neighborhood who wanted to know where and when my husband worked, along with about 20 other million personal questions. Unlike grandma though, I was able to nip any further conversations with that guy in the bud. I simply gave him the evil eye and went inside the house. And then totally ignored him every.single.time. I passed by him again. He got the picture real quick that I wasn’t up for a game of 20 questions {that you shouldn’t be causally asking someone anyway}.

Again, I want to say, in general, I am not a rude person, but there is a HUGE difference between a polite conversation and being all up in someones business. Don’t get me wrong, there are some really nice people who live in this neighborhood {my neighbors with the black dog, The Church Lady, my 90 year old neighbors, the lady up the street with the old German Shepard, the lady who I’ve never talked to once because she is always on her phone but that has worn the same orange track pants and pink jacket every day she has walked by my house for the last three years. She totally gets a round of snaps for not giving a fig what people think of her outfit and not feeling the need to paint her face and put on $500 in workout clothes just to get her walk in by 8 am}.

Are you still here? Are you still reading this nonsense? Do you feel like you are sitting across from your nutty friend and she’s just venting and this really isn’t a blog your reading? You have no idea what this is exactly, but this crazy train, you’re on it. And just like Lauren from The Truman show you keep wondering…

Well you’re not the only one sista. Everyday I wake up and it’s like going to the carnival. I never know what prize I’m going to go home with or what shiny object is going to strike my fancy. Blah blah blah….

After the remodeling and garden projects were pretty much done, I got bored. Like real fast. Like, what do people do all day in their finished house, with their finished yard, when their kids don’t really need them anymore stage in their life? I’m not a shopper, I don’t hang out at the wine bar, get my hair or nails done, browse… for ANYTHING, lounge around watching soaps or reality tv… Other than walking my dog or the occasional hey, today looks like a great day to walk a marathon, I don’t really have a sport I spend my time doing….

SO WHAT? WHAT DO I DO NOW? I was pretty much walking in circles for a few months there until I started dyeing wool and rug hooking in earnest.

And then that just became a normal thing I did every day. Neeeeeext!

The days in my dull suburban life slowly passed, {actually, they crawled} and I stared at the walls, some days I’d even join Lucy at the big window and watch the people pass by {all ten million of them each hour}. I began to wonder if people living in other HOA’s got emails or messages like this in their neighborhood flyer boxes:

I don’t know what it’s like where you live… but yo, here in Stepford, we have 911 on speed dial. Because 2 people walking back from the store with a bag of pancake mix {with apparently a hole in it} just doesn’t make sense to us.

The clothing drive for cats though…. Seriously, I couldn’t make this stuff up, even if I tried.

And then, then there was that whole keeping chickens in your back yard thing. Which, I never told you about. I saved that one for when we officially sold the house.

It’s a good thing I like to keep things PG around here…. because otherwise, I wouldn’t be using thumbs to express my feelings about how I felt about that letter.

A few months later, we put the house up for sale, and got a better than full price offer the very next day. It just goes to show you, there’s a house {and neighborhood} out there for everyone.

Hey, Have a WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Go Get Em Tiger!

~Mavis

• The First Apartment
• The First Mobile Home
• The First House
• The First Home in a Suburban Development
• The House with the Hardwood Floors
• The First House We Built
• The House Where This All Started

When I think about the house where this {the blog} started, all I can picture is the massive garden we had there. But before I get ahead of myself, let’s go back to how we ended up moving to that house.

We were living in Puyallup at the time and Chino the Handyman and his family were just beginning to build a new development out in Gig Harbor. The lot sizes this time, were around 1.25 acres {some lots were even larger} and my husband’s job had just transferred locations so putting our house up for sale and moving, seemed like a really good idea at the time. It was at the height of the housing boom and we ended up getting top dollar for our home and so “moving on up” seemed like a really good idea.

What we should of done {and I’m pretty sure ANYONE who bought a home at the height of the market would agree} was sell our house, put the money in the bank, rent for 2-3 years until the market hit rock bottom AND THEN build/buy a new house. But you know, we all sorta thought housing prices would continue to grow, grow, grow… so we had Chino and his family build us a house. Lesson learned.

Yada yada yada, I remember moving in around Mother’s day and hurrying to get the house unpacked so I could get tomato plants in the ground before it was too late. And about a week after I got the tomato plants in the ground, a deer came along and ate the plants down to little nubs.

So naturally, my campaign for my husband to build me a fence went into high gear. He protested saying her NEVER wanted to build another fence again but in the end, he gave in. This time around though we paid someone to dig and set all the fence pots around the property and my husband did all the rest. Including the gates and arbors. Oh how I LOVED that arbor!!!

The first year we were there, we had a massive snowstorm and since the neighborhood was on a huge hill, the kids got some serious sledding in that winter.

Looking back, although we took a big hit when we went to sell that property, I don’t think I’d trade it for anything. The kids ABSOLUTELY loved exploring and playing outside, swinging in their hammocks, digging holes, visiting with the chickens, clearing brush {and the bon fires that followed} were even fun.

It’s also the house where I started this blog. Had I not decided to plant a big garden, I wouldn’t have been online researching plants and gardening techniques. Up until that point the only thing I used the computer for was email and buying and selling my hooked rugs and stitchery pillows on ebay. I didn’t even know what a blog was {or why anyone would want to share such personal information about themselves for Pete’s sake} until my husband suggested I look online and see what I could do to deter deer from coming in our yard {probably as stalling tactic so he wouldn’t have to build a fence}.

Up until that point, all my information came from checking out books from the library. But once I figured out I could use the internet for more than just ebay and email…. Whoa Nelly, things started to look a little different at our house.

Suddenly there were plant starts in every window and I had even taken over the kitchen table and counter tops with growing medium and potting trays. My poor husband, he thought I had lost my mind.

And then one day Chino mentioned he had some extra boards I could have… and well, one garden box lead to another and then all the sudden we had 16 raised garden boxes installed along the side of our house and I was spending all day, everyday outside.

And by the next spring a greenhouse was ordered.

And then there was that whole gnome thing…

And Evening Magazine stopped by.

And as the kids grew, the crazyness just continued.

There were team parties and pasta feeds, cupcake baking, and neighborhood Christmas parties, Easter egg hunts down at the neighborhood park and so on. At that stage in our lives {middle school, high school, and my insane love affair with gardening} that house was the perfect fit.

I had the BEST neighbors and having their kids over to pick berries or collect eggs or share the extra produce was a total blast.

And then all the sudden {near the time The Girl was getting ready to head off to college} the house started to feel really overwhelming to us. Because really, what were we going to do with all that space once the kids left? So after a whopping 8 years there {and the longest we had ever lived anywhere} we decided to put the house up for sale, downsize and move on.

And that’s exactly what we did. And you know what? It was the right decision. Things change. People change, and it was just time to move on.

If I’ve learned one thing over the years, it’s always, ALWAYS go with your gut. You might be scared and nervous to make that big change, but when you know, you know.

Tomorrow… the HOA house. 😉

~Mavis

More stories in this series:

• The First Apartment
• The First Mobile Home
• The First House
• The First Home in a Suburban Development
• The House with the Hardwood Floors
• The First House We Built
• The House Where This All Started
• The HOA House

While I was looking through our family photos for this series, I was shocked to see so many pictures of my husband painting, gardening, building fences and so on. Because I was like, WHO IS THIS GUY? And then I came across the photos of the first house we built. And I was like, ahhh yes, this is the house that broke my husband. The house that made him not want to do another DIY project ever again.

If I’m remembering correctly, we sold our previous house like the day after Christmas because we spent Christmas morning in a packed Denny’s eating oily pancakes and we were all tired from my parents Christmas party the night before. I think my parents were headed out-of-town the next day and while we waited for our house to be built, the plan was to move into my parent’s basement while they were out of state for a few months. It was a win win for all of us, my parents had someone to look after their home while they were away, and we had a place to stay rent free. The commute was long, but it was worth it.

After about the first week, and a couple of giant wood spiders later, the kids were afraid of staying in the basement. So we hauled the kids mattresses up to my parents room and we all slept in the same room for few months. And I remember being in close quarters was actually kind of fun.

The reason my husband doesn’t take on big house projects anymore….

That back retaining wall…. Whoa Nelly it was an undertaking for one person. Especially for someone who had never built one before. When it came time to build a fence I remember my husband flipping out just a wee bit and throwing his arms in the air and telling me we were going to PAY SOMEONE ELSE to build it. Looking back, it’s kinda funny now, but at the time, not so much.

Whateva. He did a marvelous job on that wall, and built us an amazing fire pit too. The kids and I planted a giant vegetable patch all along the back and one summer we even planted those mammoth sunflowers around all three sides of the fence. It was THE BEST house for that period in our lives. My husband worked just 5 minutes away, Chino the Handyman and Girly Girl lived across the street from us and I had the best partner in crime. A neighbor lady with kids {a little younger than ours} who lived 2 doors down who loved a good bargain, gardening and just the total randomness of life as much as I did.

The kids were ALWAYS outside digging for treasures, playing on the back patio or riding their bikes and scooters out front. There was a giant hiking trail not to far away and so in the summertime we would load up a backpack and go exploring with my neighbor and her kids.

Although my husband had known Chino the Handyman’s family for years, this was the first house we had them build for us from scratch. And I loved it. We picked out black granite tile counter tops, dark shaker cabinets, and black appliances. I remember being so excited to have one of those mini double ovens and being able to bake a single sheet without having to turn the whole oven on.

The only negative thing I remember about that neighborhood was waking up one Sunday morning to the sound of the 50+ year old man down the street {who was a total busy body, and his wife was ALWAYS in everybody’s business} running his insanely loud R/C car up and down the road at 8 am. I marched right outside in my pajamas, got about 3 inches from his face and said in a very matter of fact tone, “You know, some people are still sleeping at 8 am. My bedroom, is at the back of the house, and I can still hear your stupid little car. SO THANKS. Thanks for waking me up.”  My husband was so embarrassed when I told him what I did. But you know what? After that incident, I never heard that R/C car again.

{Picking blueberries with the neighbors}

Neighbors, they can make or break a neighborhood. And that first house we built, we hit the jackpot.

Have an AWESOME Monday everyone,

~Mavis

Fun Fact: When it was time to sell the house, there was a house very similar to ours {size, price, neighborhood type} about a mile away. I happened to be driving by when I noticed an open house house in front of the home so I stopped and took a look inside. I would later learn, the house I walked though, was none other than Mrs. HB’s. 🙂 Now how’s that for a coincidence?

P.S. Have YOU ever built a home? Was it a walk in the park or was it a constant battle with your builder? We’d all love to hear about it.

More stories in this series:

• The First Apartment
• The First Mobile Home
• The First House
• The First Home in a Suburban Development
• The House with the Hardwood Floors
• The First House We Built
• The House Where This All Started
• The HOA House

If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t have bought this house. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good house, in a nice neighborhood and I met The School Teacher who ended up being one of my favorite neighbors of all time {she taught me how to make mashed potatoes properly with sour cream, butter and cream cheese, and the best strawberry cake ever}. The house was a nice upgrade from the cookie cutter house, it was brand spanking new, and in a better school district, but still, looking back, we should have just stayed put at our old house for a few more years.

{Annual Father’s Day Hawaiian Shirts}

The neighbors to the right of us were from Germany and about 10, maybe 15 years older than us. They were super kind and enjoyed talking to our kids {and treated them like mini adults}.  The wife didn’t really understand why people had so many garage sales or why the trash cans in the US were so big or why recycling wasn’t offered.

{Getting ready for the first day of school}

The summer after the neighbors moved in, they installed an above ground pool and the woman would sun bathe topless in the {privacy of her own} backyard. Monkey Boy was 3 at the time and since my husband was gone at work during the day, it didn’t really bother me. I wondered though, what the young married {and very religious} couple next to them thought about the whole au natural sunbathing thing. 😉

The day after we moved in we had the linoleum in the kitchen pulled up and hardwood floors installed. Which in hindsight was totally dumb because we only lived there like 3 years and it didn’t make a difference {profit wise} when we sold the house.

We took some serious painting risks in that house and painted the front room red, the downstairs and kitchen area brown and let the kids pick out some pretty funky colors for their rooms as well.

Although the thing that gets remembered most about being there when we go through pictures every once in a while is how Monkey Boy accidentally hit The Girl in the head with a golf club and we had to rush her to the hospital to get patched up. I remember my husband being incredibly irritated because it took so long for a Doctor to give her stitches and he was afraid she was going to have this huge scar on her forehead for life. These days, you couldn’t see a mark on her head even if you had a magnifying glass.

I LOVED the location of the house, and walked the kids to school practically every single day. Even when it was raining {which I don’t even remember it doing that much, probably because the kids used their lady bug and froggie umbrellas and walking in the rain was fun}. My parents would come and stay at the house when the HH and I had to go out of town {for his work} and they too felt at ease there. We were one of the first families to move into that particular development and the kids could ride there bikes up and down our road and write messages with chalk in the driveway.

My brother and his friend built Monkey Boy and The Girl a play house and I planted fruit trees and built my first brick garden path on the side of the house. The HH built {yet another} fence and although there were more flowers than vegetables growing in the backyard, digging in the dirt {both me and the kids} was high on the priority list at that place. Until we {I} ran out of projects to do {idleness seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life}.

So after a few years, we decided to move yet again. 😉 And I’ll tell you that story, tomorrow.

Have a great Sunday everyone,

~Mavis

P.S. How about you… Have you ever bought a house that at the time seemed like a good idea at the time but in hindsight you wish you hadn’t?

We want to hear about it!! 😉

More stories in this series:

• The First Apartment
• The First Mobile Home
• The First House
• The First Home in a Suburban Development
• The House with the Hardwood Floors
• The First House We Built
• The House Where This All Started
• The HOA House