1211 A Perfect Summer Day

When we arrived last Saturday the temps were in the high 90s and we could barely see the islands. A storm blew through on Thursday and cleared everything out. Last night we finally saw a sunset. Today has been coolish and windy. While walking along the lakefront today we could practically see people grilling out on Kelley's Island. Lake Erie is like a saucer of water, and with a little wind you get white caps.

I'd stopped in a new gift shop and heard a rumor that a house on the lake listed for $695,000 was in a bidding war, and had gone up into the $800s. So we were walking along trying to figure out which one it was. We did see one in contract which still had most of the porch protection in place. Like many of the older houses, some of its porches had been filled in. A lakefront house can get pretty chilly. Location really is everything. In Columbus, this house might go for $65 or $70,000.

Someone flagged down my husband today on his bike ride to ask if he'd retired. Their kids had just bought a house on our street and wanted to remodel. He won't take the job, but did stop and look at it and explained to them the complex set-backs and footprint rules. We do ponder what some of these young families do to be able to afford a second home--when we were their age, the groceries were spread awfully thin at the end of the month, and we'd hold our breath that nothing went wrong with the car.

Also on our street, the only "fixer-upper" left in town has changed hands. I stopped in yesterday to say hello. The floors and walls were straighter than I expected, judging from the outside. This family group owns about 6 other cottages that we know of, and I know they'll do a good job. It was an incredible mess. The former owner's family had been here on Monday to take out what they wanted. Then the next day a dumpster was in the yard, and virtually everything in the house went into it. I heard the young owner say, "Here's another typewriter," as he threw it in. The final frosting on the cake made of trash was 4 double bed mattresses. The roof is completely covered with a tarp--it's been that way for two years. The two story garage, which looks like a former stable, leans dramatically to the east. We'll enjoy watching the transformation.