Home Sweet Home

I have a lived a long time in my red house.

Originally, I lived here from baby to age 9. I loved my red house. My dad even made me my own little red house to play in. I spent hours playing here. When we moved my dad took it with and painted it to match our new house.

1974

 
We then moved out to the edge of the suburbs until I was 18. During this time my dad had been renting the house out so when I talked about moving out after graduation my dad suggested I find some roommates and rent the house. Okay, it really wasn't that simple. I actually threatened to move in with a boyfriend that my dad did not like. At all. He said I could live in the red house as long as I only lived there with other women and he offered a ridiculously cheap rent. I wasn't stupid. I took him up on the offer and lived here for another 10 years with a variety of changing roommates. When I was 28 I finally decided to move out and eventually bought a duplex of my own.

 

Not a red house

As the red house aged my dad tired of having to maintain it and decided to put vinyl siding on it. He 'claims' he ordered red vinyl only to show up and see that the siders were putting this sad peach color on it. It broke my heart, but at the time it was filled with renters and I never thought I would be living here again.

I loved my duplex and loved living in the city (oh how I miss NE Mpls restaurants, friends, walking along the river...), but I knew I would need a larger home. I never actually thought I would move back to the red house, but my dad offered to sell it to my husband and I ...and here I am.

Shortly before I purchased the house there was a bad hail storm and the siding was damaged on two sides. At first the insurance company was only willing to replace the two sides. However, we discovered that the color had been discontinued. Yes! Apparently the insurance company searched warehouses nation wide before agreeing months later to reside the whole house. By this time my husband and I were in the house and were able to pick out the color we wanted.

Red, of course!

We still have a lot to do such as put new railing on the upstairs deck, add a new screen door, move the odd gutter that cuts over the sidewalk and well, there are more projects than I can list....

So this is my red house.