Elmira

We hear that our house was originally a chicken coop. An old guy, Elvin Brevik, lived on a big piece of land, which he gradually split up and sold in parcels to our neighbors, many of whom have been here for 25 years or more. They remember when there were no trees in our front yard, when there was no "Seaview", a swanky subdivision down the hill, and when our house was home to chickens. Andrew and Becky bought our place from Elvin and transformed it into what it is today. Becky had three boys, one after the other, and Andrew built cabinets professionally and expanded the house and shop.

The realtor praised the custom cabinets in the kitchen and pointed to the stove. "It is completely modern but it looks old fashioned. It cost $6000."

What? Meet Elmira.

A home renovation blog could turn this story into a series of posts with blah before and twinkly after shots. Let's just say that Dave removed sweet Elmira, hacked into the cabinets and installed a stove and ventilation system that he preferred.

Demolition

After

And the postscript for our old girl, Elmira?  Craigslist found her a home in Wisconsin and she is now installed in a Log-Crete cabin. Yes, those logs are made of concrete. The stove's new owner told me, "Everything worked out great."

Photos courtesy of Log-Crete.com