by Kristin Dennis
It has been just over a year since we bought the castle from the Pignataro family on 10 October 2023. Oh, what a year it has been since we have become the current custodians of the Santa Fe Castle!
So many exciting things have happened, and we have met so many new friends along the way. We are now in an entirely different position than when we first bought the castle, a better position where we feel that we are in a much better place and a clearer direction of where we are going. Ian bought me a five-year journal that I started on 1 January 2023. And yes, this is me, Kristin, the other half of our duo.
The very first day of 2023 was spent at the castle, baptized by the water that was (endlessly) running through the ceilings, surrounded by the buckets that have become somewhat of an almost daily routine. We had also acquired our first small battery-powered sump pump, and we were anxious to find a solution to our very soggy problem. We had to rely on a small battery-operated sump pump because we hadn’t installed the power amp yet. Man, were those ever the days.
Nevertheless, in a way, the water became a twisted metaphor for us, a brand-new way of life for our family and for the castle. In the chaos of the moment – not having the experience a person would typically have for undertaking such a massive project – I realized that soon, we will attain all of the knowledge and guidance that we need, and the beautiful castle will become fully restored for everyone to enjoy some day in the near future.
Waxing poetics now, upon reflection, has no bearing on how we were feeling at the time, trust me! I was flipping through the first few months of the journal, absolutely wide-eyed and in awe. Lots of commentary about rainstorms and water…the drought that we had this summer was a bit of grace that we needed to get everything sorted out with strategically placed sump pumps. We also have, in the meantime, rearranged our entire lives to dedicate ourselves to this project, which included selling our house in Friendswood, finding a suitable rental in Santa Fe near the castle, working full-time, learning about historic renovations, conducting an in-depth research of the property and surrounding area…wow. We did it, though! AND we are still happily married :). We also have a l-o-n-g way to go, but we will persevere! Because the alternative simply isn’t an option.
Our first lesson was learning that anyone could call themselves anything they liked on the shingle they hung outside the door in most building trades without any oversight or state licensure. The onerous task of diligent and deep background checking was on us, and now it’s one that we don’t take lightly at all. Fortunately, we learned this lesson very quickly.
Ian had learned how to tear away ineffective small attempts done by others on the roof to stymie the water flow, and he came up with a creative solution that would hopefully hold up until we could get the permanent fix. That “permanent fix” will happen once the perimeter walls are replaced to hold up a new roof, and new joists to replace the rotten ones under the floor, so the wall will have something holding them up (makes sense to me, gravity always tends to have the upper hand). It’s a challenge, no doubt about it. It’s a very expensive challenge. One that will begin very shortly, and we cannot wait!
December 2022, Kristin Dennis
I have never imagined myself as a “blogger,” but here I am, jumping right into this new undertaking! Writing is more of my outlet; Ian is the hilarious and creative man making videos and slinging water. This whole year has been remarkably great overall, a terrific start. We have learned so much so quickly about so many different things! I haven’t started a journal entry with, “I feel dead today…” since the early springtime! I know that I am wayyy behind the times; it’s probably all about podcasts and videos these days; blogging was so twenty years ago…literally writing in a journal? 1900s, right? I am perfectly fine with that. I feel a bit vulnerable
We have also started an online store here on this website, with more merchandise to be added as we create it in order to raise more money for renovations. All of your support and encouragement is so welcome and appreciated by us both. We can’t thank everyone enough for being as interested as we are in the castle!
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