Manzanola

My parents have recruited me to help with their newest project this summer.

They bought a house down in Manzanola, Colorado (where my dad grew up) for $7000. Basically it's a very cute old house but needs a TON of work....new roof; we're going to try and salvage as much of the siding as possible by scraping paint, sanding and repainting; gutting out the inside and leaving the frame; replacing the cloth-covered copper wiring for something more safe; all new floors and drywall; tearing out old insulation and re-insulating the entire house; fixing up the shared garage with the house next door that's owned by the school district; new driveway; ripping out all the old roots and dead trees and transplanting new trees, etc.

My parents are looking to do this as cheap as possible....hence why I'm going to be participating in so much manual labor for free!!! They are looking for discounts for everything across the board...I will just be one of their gophers.

They look to either have this as a back-up for if they lose everything they have (which very well could happen due to the economy). They had to take their current house off the market. They tried to re-finance their house and the bank won't let them. So times are tough. It will be there in case. And if that doesn't happen, they will lease/rent it out and make some money off of it.

It really is an adorable house and apparently the economy in Manzanola is starting to pick back up so that's good. And the house is in an excellent spot....right across from the park and right down from the school. Oddly enough it's also right on the same corner that my dad's first girlfriend Trish lived :) hahaha

So this summer I have a busy schedule already....working full-time, traveling to Salt Lake City, Utah to try to follow our genealogy and prove our Chreokee heritage so my brothers can get their tuition & fees paid for by the government, and now a huge restoration project four hours away in Manzanola, Colorado!!!

Of course I'll have to add a little fun in there too :D