befores and afters.

During a short east coast visit last week, we took a walk around the block in our old Virginia neighborhood. We saw a lot of changes since we were there eight months ago.

The house at the top of the street, which sat halfway done for months, is finally complete. It's now surrounded by an inviting brick wall. Before and after pics:

The house on the adjoining corner sold over a year ago but was only recently torn down. Also, spires!

The asbestos shingles are gone from the little house up the block. This one had a "new homes" sign on it in my first McMansion entry, and I figured it would be gone months ago.

The house that disappeared in a June entry last year has been replaced:

Finally, here's one more that's nearly complete - with an impressive wall of pain. The first pic here is not the same lot, but it's a good example of a nicely kept original model, one street over.