The Question of a House's Legacy

One good thing about moving is that it makes you clean out your house and re-evaluate all of the things you've collected over the years.   Sometimes, you come across stuff that's been stuffed away and stored and you realize, it should be displayed. 

Recently, when Jason was cleaning out our garage, he came across something that was left in this house as part of the estate when we bought it.

Originally, we tried to donate it to a historical library, but at the time, the library was renovating and said they didn't have room.

We're kind of glad, because it is a really cool piece and Jason decided to dust it off and hang it in our guest room.

It's a certificate of service for a person named E.R. Aldred for the Horseheads, NY fire department dated March, 1890.

We have no idea who this is, or why it was left in our house.  Our house was built in the 1940s, and, to our knowledge, no one with the last name of Aldred owned the property.

Nonetheless, it's an interesting piece of local history, so we decided to hang it proudly in the guest room.

As I've mentioned before, our house was filled with remnants of someone else's life.  It was really sad, actually.  Prior to closing, the deceased woman's children came through and took what belongings they wanted to keep. 

I was saddened by their choices.  They left boxes of their mother's poetry, love letters, books and tons of other sentimental items and instead, they chose to keep objects that had more monetary value - like pieces of solid wood furniture. 

I spent countless hours reading the journals and books of poetry that were left behind.  I found joy in piecing together who this woman was and what meaning her life had, yet at the same time I struggled with reading the writings at all, fearful of violating this woman's personal thoughts and feelings.  

She was a peace keeper -- a lover of animals and of life.

So I struggle with the question one of my dear blogging friends, Deborah from The Fairfield House posted yesterday to my blog.  She wrote:

"Stephenie, There are pieces here that we feel belong to the house and not to us. So, if we ever decide to leave, they will remain. Are you going to leave something that you found behind? Imagine what you will discover in your new old house!"

I understand what Deborah means in that houses have a life and history that go beyond their owners.  But I struggle with the thought of leaving some of the wonderful belongs behind -- not so much because I cherish objects -- but because I feel a desire to protect what was so freely discarded before.

What if the new owners throw away this woman and this house's history because they don't see it "fitting in" with their decor?

What about all of you? Have you found treasures in homes you've purchased?  Do you feel the desire to keep and preserve them or leave them as part of the house's legacy?

Bittersweet Goodbyes

"All changes are more or less tinged with melancholy, for what we are leaving behind is part of ourselves."
-- Amelia Barr

My distance from blogging isn't because I don't love all of you.

It isn't because I'm lazy either.

The real reason is that our home search is over.  We found a house and our offer was accepted, which means saying goodbye to our first home.

  It's been a good little house, and it's come such a long way - just check out the "Our Fixer Upper" page. 

Jason and I both have a habit of getting attached to people, places and things, so although we are incredibly excited about our next adventure, we're busy saying goodbye by putting the final touches on this little Cape that will undoubtedly make someone a great home.

It's difficult each day making sure every area of our house is spotless, just in case a realtor shows it while we're off at work.  While we both know it's necessary for the realtors to show our home in order for it to sell, it's far more emotional than we originally thought it would be.

Jason hates the thought of other people walking around our house, peeking in our closets when we're not home.  I don't mind that so much.  We both hate the thought of leaving something that we worked so hard on in the hands of new owners -- people we're trusting will take as good care of this house as we have.

I've had to stop Jason from doing any more home improvements.  He's annoyed that we won't complete the house by getting a new roof or tiling the backsplash . . . in our minds, we're leaving the house unfinished.  I'm not the type to leave something unfinished and neither is Jason.

But all of these feelings of sadness are coupled with excitement about our new house -- a house with history.

I can't wait to tell you about it.

Oh and don't worry - I will still show you the final guest room re-design, the office "nook" and all of the other projects we've completed before we leave!

Absent

I woke up this morning to an email from my mother asking me if I had forgotten to update my blog.

It made me smile. To answer her question, which might very well be the question many of you have:

No, I haven't forgotten to update my blog.

You might think that I am busy making those Pottery Barn grapevine chargers.

Negative.

The grapevines still sit in a garbage can outside. However, I won a virtual Easter Egg scavenger hunt over at The Fairfield House and was thrilled to see the prize arrive by mail yesterday -- a $25 gift card to Pottery Barn!

At the time of the scavenger hunt, I didn't even know what the prize was, but I was frantically searching for the egg in Deborah's photos. I would have been thrilled to have won whatever the prize was -- even if it was a leg lamp, or a secret decoder that told me to "Drink More Ovaltine."

What can I say?  I'm very competitive.

But a gift card to Pottery Barn was such an awesome prize, so thanks Deborah!

You might think I have been busy decorating my new office nook.

Negative.


Jason moved the computer in, but the walls remain bare.


Maybe I've been busy working on designing Lori's foyer?

Nope.  (Although we have made some progress)

I've been absent because Jason and I have been searching for a new house.  It's an exhausting endeavor, but hopefully soon I'll have good news!

 

Rescuing a House

As many of you know, Jason and I are thinking about buying a new house.  We actually had a realtor visit last weekend to give us a comparative market analysis so that we would know what we could list our house for.  We were happy with the number she gave us, but not quite ready to list until we find a home to buy. 

The original plan when we bought this house was to flip it.  It was in terrible condition as you can see from our "Fixer Upper" page.  We figured, we'd do the improvements it needed and sell it to make some quick cash to buy a house we REALLY wanted. 

What I didn't know is that some people become attached to houses, as if the house is one of their kids.  Jason and I both fall into that category.  I guess it would be easier if we could find a house we really, really love. 

We went to look at a house the other night and I could hardly contain my excitement.  The house was built in 1850 and was out in the country with a couple of acres of land.  I was envisioning a big porch where I could put a rocking chair, detailed trimwork, and a backyard that would house my dream of chickens.

We expected the house to need work.  As we drove out to look at it, I asked Jason if it ever occurred to him that we rescued a house. 

"Yeah, I think about that all the time," he said.  "So many people looked at our house and passed it up because it was so crazy.  We definitely saved it." 

Even though we are out looking at other houses, we continue to rescue this little Cape bit by bit, even though all of our friends tell us to stop spending money on it if we're considering selling it.

Jason is busy every night working on turning the closet into an office.

He also recently painted our front door black. After we decided to paint the entry black, we had to paint the front of the door to match the inside. I am really happy with how it turned out.

Here it is after it was stripped (I forgot to take a picture of it white!)

And here it is black.

We just need to get a nice antique knocker for the door.

We still need to address the landscaping and curb appeal for our home, although Jason and Kelby did install this awesome brick walkway last summer! 

What in the world are we going to do about those steps? Any ideas?  They are such an eyesore!

Anyway, I was excited at the possibility of rescuing another home, except this time staying in it for a long time and raising our children in it (yes, that's plural . . . we hope to add to our family in the near future . . . hence the need for a bigger home).

I won't get into the details of the house.  I will just say that it was wrong.  On so many levels it was

wrong

wrong

wrong.

I am good at seeing past imperfections and imagining possibilities but this house was in total disrepair.   Although the yard had beautiful, mature trees, it also had a barn located on the property that wasn't part of the sale of the house.  To access the barn, the owners had to use the driveway for the house.  I know that would bother me.

Imani thought the house was haunted.  So did Jason. 
I thought the house had a very bizarre layout. 

I left the property and didn't speak for some time.  When we got home, even though it was only 6:30, I crawled into bed and snuggled up with my sadness and disappointment.    Jason came upstairs and tried to cheer me up.  He asked if I would cook dinner so he could work on the closet-office. 

I told him I didn't feel like it.

He asked what I wanted for dinner. 

I told him stuffed peppers.

While I was upstairs, I was thinking of the dilemma.  We definitely need more space if we are going to expand our family because this little Cape Cod will be cramped!  But I cannot see moving to a home that needs twice as much work as this one did.  We've considered calling an architect to see what the possibilities of an addition on our home could be.

But then that rules out the possibility of my ever having chickens.  The village won't allow it.

As I pondered this big decision, the aroma of stuffed peppers drifted upstairs and I heard the rhythm of the hammer nailing beadboard to the inside of the closet.

Seriously?  What did I have to be sad about? 

Life is good and I know no matter what decision we make, everything will be okay.


PS: Did you take my survey?  If not, please click here.  It's closing on Friday.