Saving Kathy's House

As most of you know, I write the Lotus Bay Mysteries (and not often enough). When I started the series, I based it on a real place.

Over about a decade, I'd watched what I began to call "Kathy's house" (the basis for Swans Nest Inn) fall into disrepair. It made me sad. It made me want to write about rescuing it. Of course, I needed a BIGGER house to act as the inn, so... I just added more rooms. A lot more rooms--and a taller attic. (I figure Swans Nest Inn is at least double the size of "Kathy's house.") The grass was never cut (the picture above was taken in early spring), and it just got shabbier and shabbier. And then one day, the dreaded RED X went up. That meant, if it caught on fire, it wasn't safe for firefighters to enter.  (Ruh-roh!)

Then, two years ago, a FOR SALE sign went up. Yay! Someone was going to save Kathy's house.  Only nothing happened for quite a while. In fact, there's also a commercial building on the lot, and the new owner worked on it before the house. It was finished last summer and looks quite nice. They finally painted (or stained) the house last fall. I was surprised he choose charcoal gray. (Not my choice.) But the house was finally starting to get some love.

The house is by no means finished. And where I took it from four apartments back to a home, the new owner is taking the home and making it a duplex. It looks quite a bit different, but actually very nice.

How do I know about all this?  I met the new owner last week. He's a surveyor and was surveying a cottage near ours. Our neighbor works with him and as I was packing the car, I was called over to speak to him. Not only had our neighbor read the Lotus Bay Mysteries, but he'd loaned the books to the surveyor and his wife. I told him I'd added a big porch, and apparently it's in the works, although I'm not sure if it'll be in the front or the back of the house.

It was so nice to hear about the love and care that's going into the restoration. (You can't see it, but there's a lovely picnic area to the left.)

Don't you just love happy endings?