Hey, sounds like some of you still remember me !!
Thanks guys. Yea things were really taking a downward spiral a few years ago and I thought there was no end in sight. The politics over here are still certainly against the working man so we'll see over time whether the mongers outpace the makers too fast for it to last, but I'm hopeful these days at least and that's a big change for me. I never had kids and I'm glad for that or I would still be worried.
I just have to ride things out another 20 years or so and I shouldn't have to care after that.

That would be a cool man cave, but it needs a bit of work...

Great to hear from you Vince looks like you have a few projects to keep you busy for awhile...

When I found out the cabin was coming up for sale, I really wanted to acquire it just to have control over who lived there. It's right across the street and its condition caused me to worry about the type of problem who would be interested in it. From what I've seen over the years, there would be a 95% chance of it becoming a big neighborhood problem. At the same time, my other main thought was that I needed another house project like I need a hole through the head, but the pros outweighed the cons so I bit the bullet.
The pros are that since my house is small and no room for guests, I would be able to provide a really cool place for out-of-town company to stay, like family or Aussie pinhead voyagers or the like.
The other thing is that in 15 years or so, I can maybe rent it out for some additional retirement income. It would be nice to have it that close so I can keep tabs on the tenants if need be, and if it needs attention of course it wouldn't require much of a commute.
I've heard from several neighbors and I'm happy to find that they are unanimously pleased that I got it. They appear to expect (correctly) that the place will finally be fixed up and taken care of rather than falling apart (further) and dragging down their property values.
It sits on a fairly large lot too, and between the two I now have a little over an acre. If you're not in a hurry, a leisurely stroll across the two lots takes a good couple minutes now. This makes for some nice space between neighbors and a good feeling of privacy, and of course a lot of exercise from mowing and tree trimming - another thing I needed as much as a hole in the head. Oh well. It will be fun fixing it up.

So now I just need to...
install some kitchen cabinets
trim the whole damned house interior
get some flooring installed
build the deck out back
and that is before I start working on the cabin...
this list could be a couple pages long.

It's entirely possible I have lost my mind or something.