Hello to all my thousands of readers. It’s been over a year since I bought the apartment building on West Wilson Avenue in Chicago. It’s taken me pretty much all this time to get settled. Last Spring I was still living in my old apartment by the lake on North Sheridan Rd. All the apartments in my new building were rented out, so I had to wait until August to move in. Meanwhile, I made some small improvements and repairs. I became very familiar with the bike trip from Sheridan to Wilson. I got on first name basis with my plumber. After my old lease ran out I rode the train out to LA to visit daughter Natalie, then camped out in Bucks County PA with my sister.

In August, I moved all my stuff from storage in the basement to the apartment on the third floor. It was exhausting even with hired help, friends of friends, who learned better than to come back a second time when I needed additional things moved up. I had expected to be out of boxes and reasonably well set up by October, but it has taken until now. I had major work done — fixing up the room in the enclosed porch, new siding in the back, extensive masonry repairs. I fixed up lots of things in the apartment myself, scraping and painting, screwing down the wood floors to squeak a little less. The entire Fall, the dining room looked like a storage room in the back of a hardware store.

I bought a chandelier, carpets and furniture. I had things well enough in hand to have family visit for Christmas. Now in January I finally have all my boxes put away, my pictures hung up, and furniture delivered. Here a photos for a grand tour.

Welcome to the building. The copper awning/canopy was painted over and falling apart when I moved in. An old guy (as old as me!) with years of historic renovation work took the project in hand and here is the result.
Entry way on third floor.
Living room.
View of corner of W Wilson and N Rockwell.
More living room.
The apartment faces south, so there’s sun all day (weather permitting).
I can study, read and play with the computer here.
Master bedroom.
Master bedroom 2.
Second bedroom. The futon folds out to a full size bed, and there’s a roll-out single bed in the closet.
Dining room with my fancy art-deco style chandelier.
Dining room viewed from kitchen.
Another kitchen photo. The previous owner had done an upgrade, with new appliances. So that was one thing I didn’t have to do.
This is the last kitchen picture, I promise. Nice stove installed by previous owner. I added the block-top work table from Ikea.
This is the room in the enclosed porch that I re-did in order to make it a music room. I had new soundproofed flooring installed, and repainted the walls, which had thick old paint peeling off. It is a comfy place to play, with a view out to the alley in back.
A small sitting area on the staircase in the back, behind the kitchen. You can see my nice new siding in the back. I sat out here and played guitar when the weather was nice, though the noise from airplanes coming down to O’Hare was a problem sometimes.
And here, finally, is the view out the back. This formally completes our tour, from living room in front to porch in back. Hope you like it.

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