See that armoire sitting on the front lawn? It needs to go into that open second story window. It has been determined that the armoire is 1.5 inches too tall to clear the narrow second floor landing. 1.5 inches!

Not to be deterred, these guys have a plan. Um, what exactly is the plan?

Are you sure about this? Because I’m not really convinced this is a good idea.

Oh my god! My heart skips a few beats as I imagine my antique armoire crashing to the ground and splintering into pieces. Between heart palpitations, I keep taking pictures to capture the end result…good or bad.

Ok, I can breathe again. It is going in!

After this the guys and I cracked open three cold ones…and I don’t even like beer.

Peonies always remind me of my grandmother. I can’t get them to grow in our yard, so I have to buy them. Oh, but they smell heavenly…

The view outside my office window; purple splashed against a bright blue sky.

Update: The other site took down my article and photos this morning. Thank you to everyone who contacted them on our behalf!

Taking photos and content from my website without my consent or prior approval and posting them on your sham of a site, created for the sole purpose of generating Google ad dollars, is not appreciated. It is called stealing, but I’m sure you are already aware of that. You probably don’t care that it takes me a good amount of time to photograph and write the content on this blog.

My original article         Stolen article {they have taken it down}

Did you ever think that those ad dollars that you are earning off of my work would be better spent lining my pockets? Have you seen my house???? The next time you are on this site to pilfer content please click on an ad or two, we could really use the money. We promise to put it towards remodeling our kitchen.

Yes, we are using part of a wooden crate to cover up a big hole in our ceiling. Yes, I did use duct tape to tape over a huge hole in the wall.

Right now, my world seems to be spinning and I am just trying to catch my breath.

An unlicensed driver lost control of the car she was driving and crashed into our new car. Her car ended up on the sidewalk, wedged between our fence and a utility pole.

David was laid off from his job last Friday.

On Monday, we were deeply hurt by a family member and have been left feeling betrayed.

I have white knuckled it through the past few days and tried to keep in mind how lucky I am, in so many ways. But, if the great universe is listening, I have had enough! Please, don’t send any more bad things my way for a while. Pretty please.

I was ok when the quake happened, but now I’m kind-of freaked out and feeling anxious. Delayed reaction. I’m always disoriented when the shaking starts and never quite sure if what I am feeling is actually an earthquake or my imagination.

I was braced in a doorway thinking, “I wonder if this is going to get worse? This might be the BIG ONE,” just as casually as if I was thinking about what I need to buy at the grocery store. Strange how the mind works.

This earthquake seemed to last longer than most quakes. It was what I call a “rolling” quake, the whole house moved in gentle waves like a sailboat being rocked back and forth across the surface of the ocean.

David felt the quake at his work in Santa Monica. We are both fine and our house also appears to be fine…nothing broken, nothing cracked…except for my nerves.

Last night I spotted a dark gray cat perched in the very center of our roof. He looked like a Medieval gargoyle, waiting, keeping a watchful eye on the neighborhood, hoping to catch a pigeon for his dinner.

David: I just met your fan.

Heather: What?

D: I just met your fan.

H: I have a fan?

D: Yes, this guy recognized our house from the website and he stopped and talked to me.

H: Really? What did he say?

D: He said he was K from Echo Park.

H: OH, that’s not some guy. That’s K from Echo Park with the Craftsman 4-plex!

D: Do we know him?

H: David, remember we saw the pictures online of his house being moved through the streets of downtown Los Angeles?

D: Oh! That’s who that was?! He said he was looking at houses in Jefferson Park.

H: Is he looking to buy?

D: I didn’t ask. (You can see where this conversation is going)

H: Did he say how the restoration of his 4-plex is coming along?

D: I didn’t ask.

H: Did he want to see the work we have done on the house?

D: I didn’t ask…

Ok, so K from Echo Park is more of a restoration comrade in arms than a fan of our house. It is a strange thing how the internet allows people “know” each other even though they have never met. I often visit websites to watch the progress others make in restoring their homes and even though we have never met, I feel almost like they are friends…or they would be friends if we actually lived in the same neighborhood.