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Nov. 23rd, 2004 10:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ljgeoffLast Friday, Nov 19, Kickmoon (minus Len) hied itself off to Germfask, and to the Staple's. We had to wait for Lucas to get off from work, so we headed off at around 5pm, arriving at their homestead around 6:30, in the full dark.
The Staples own over 200 acres of forest land. From the road, it's about a mile walk over uneven, muddy, puddle-shrewn trail to get to the house (hence, Len's absence.) The cabin is about 20' X40', with a loft. For some reason, I was surprised by how cluttered it was - I must have expected that my mother lived there.
The five of us filed in and immediately crowded the place. To the right of the door, there was a wood table with four chairs. In the middle of the room was a big wood furnace, and a wood cook-stove. The kitchen ran along the right (east) wall, with cupboards and a dry sink. It was very dark, with a small electric bulb burning over the cook-stove, and another hanging over the counter. The rest of the room, on the other side of the cook-stove was dark. I think that there was some sort of livingroom-type of arrangement.
Roger, Laura's father, is a little gray gnome of a man - about 5'3", with wild, shoulder length grey hair and a bushy chest-length beard. Laura gets her size and her pointy little nose from him. Caroline, Laura's mother is tall, maybe 5'7", with a long ponytail of iron grey, and big, chunky plastic framed glasses.
We talked for about 3 hours. The Staples own a lot of land, and our hope is that they will put a mortgage on one of their properties, which we will pay, and we will use that mortgage money to purchase the building in Ishpeming. They have over 200 acres in Germfask, and three properties in New York state. Two of the New York properties are homes, which the Staples rent out. This is their main sourse of income. The third property is acreage that no one has seen in over 20 years, and that they rent out in part - the rent only sufficient to pay the property taxes. This last property is the one that we hope that they will mortgage.
As my parents have mortgaged their own home to secure the purchase of the home I live in, I have to say that I am surprised at the great reluctance of the Staples to help their only child, especially as the risk to them, to their income and way of life, is so small. Well, easy for me to be cavalier with their property.
When we left, I think that we had at least shown them how committed we all are to this idea of buying this huge building and sharing it, and I think that they thought the idea a little less crazy. I really don't know how it's all going to go.
The Staples own over 200 acres of forest land. From the road, it's about a mile walk over uneven, muddy, puddle-shrewn trail to get to the house (hence, Len's absence.) The cabin is about 20' X40', with a loft. For some reason, I was surprised by how cluttered it was - I must have expected that my mother lived there.
The five of us filed in and immediately crowded the place. To the right of the door, there was a wood table with four chairs. In the middle of the room was a big wood furnace, and a wood cook-stove. The kitchen ran along the right (east) wall, with cupboards and a dry sink. It was very dark, with a small electric bulb burning over the cook-stove, and another hanging over the counter. The rest of the room, on the other side of the cook-stove was dark. I think that there was some sort of livingroom-type of arrangement.
Roger, Laura's father, is a little gray gnome of a man - about 5'3", with wild, shoulder length grey hair and a bushy chest-length beard. Laura gets her size and her pointy little nose from him. Caroline, Laura's mother is tall, maybe 5'7", with a long ponytail of iron grey, and big, chunky plastic framed glasses.
We talked for about 3 hours. The Staples own a lot of land, and our hope is that they will put a mortgage on one of their properties, which we will pay, and we will use that mortgage money to purchase the building in Ishpeming. They have over 200 acres in Germfask, and three properties in New York state. Two of the New York properties are homes, which the Staples rent out. This is their main sourse of income. The third property is acreage that no one has seen in over 20 years, and that they rent out in part - the rent only sufficient to pay the property taxes. This last property is the one that we hope that they will mortgage.
As my parents have mortgaged their own home to secure the purchase of the home I live in, I have to say that I am surprised at the great reluctance of the Staples to help their only child, especially as the risk to them, to their income and way of life, is so small. Well, easy for me to be cavalier with their property.
When we left, I think that we had at least shown them how committed we all are to this idea of buying this huge building and sharing it, and I think that they thought the idea a little less crazy. I really don't know how it's all going to go.