A New "Secret Garden" for the Wood's!

I got home from work at around 4:30 p.m. and the phone rang.  It was Leslie, the manager from the Senior Park where my mom has lived for the past 11 years.  Leslie informed me that the Fire Department was called out because a neighbor heard my mom yelling for help from inside her little house.  She had taken a fall in the office at 8:00 p.m. the night before.  Being unable to get up, she pulled herself along the carpet with her arms and finally made it to the telephone only after sustaining severe rug burns on both her arms.  She was able to pull the phone down and attempted to call 911 only to find that AT&T was having technical difficulties with their lines.  The phone was dead.  She laid in the same spot, near the front door, for almost 20 hours calling out for help.  It wasn't until 4:15 the next evening that a neighbor, who was taking her trash can to the curb, heard her cries for help.

Needless to say, it took this incident to make me come to terms with the reality that no matter how young I felt, I was no longer 26 and my mom was no longer 58.  Because my mom has a terrific sense of humor, I reminded her that the lady in those "I've fallen and I can't get up" commercials used to irritate her and said, "Mom, Guess what?  You are that lady".  Mom was not amused.

Our Lease is up in "The Woods Secret Garden" on April 16th and so we decided this would be the year to not renew our lease and to find a place closer to mom so that I could pop in everyday and see her face and make sure she was okay.

We currently live in a 540 Sq Foot one-bedroom apartment so we are accustomed to "small space living".  There is so much more to the story; but the way it all worked out during our exploration is we found a vintage 1964, 520 sq foot, single-wide mobile home right in the same park where mom lives.  With my love for power tools and interior restoration, I immediately fell in love with this little charmer.  Amazing hardwood cabinets and built-ins and a polished hardwood ceiling in the living room.  Little hidden delights everywhere.  Even a retractable kitchen towel rack that slides back into a skinny vented cabinet next to the oven.

We will actually be spending less a month to live in our own little home and be just down the street from mom.  She turns 75 on February 26th!  Happy Birthday Mom!  We are excited, too!

Lots of work ahead for this 53 year old woman and her husband; but it's pretty cool that we can do anything we want to the interior of our home now that we own our living space.  I will be posting our progress with before and after pictures on this blog--that is if I survive the move.

One of the first things, I thought of (even before our offer was accepted) was adding a cute gazebo in the back yard.  I found this rather amusing.

It was either the Gazebo or the house.  We chose the house.

This cracks me up!  The Gazebo actually cost more.  I know not everyone would want to live in a little mobile home; but, you have to admit, we got a great deal for this little place and the quality of construction on the interior would blow your mind!  They truly don't make things like they used to.  Not one single piece of particle board in the entire interior of the home.  In fact, the built-in vanity in the bedroom is 100 % hardwood and could actually be removed from the wall as a free standing desk.

Here is a "before" of the bedroom:

I will do my best to give you all progress reports.  Of course, I have grand ideas; but will have to do little projects at a time as our budget allows.

We will really miss the Wood's Secret Garden" and hope to find new delightful things in our new little village. Michael already discovered (right in our little backyard) what we think might be a mold spore from outer space (just kidding - lol).  But, really, if anyone has any idea of what this little black hair like plant with little silver balls on the tips might be.  Please leave a comment.

Likewise, if you happen to know what this furry little thing is that we found on a dried up vine in the backyard might be.  Do tell!