My old house

First—I am really excited to be here.  I have wanted to own a historic house for a long, long time.  Friends have warned me that it will be fraught.  I hope I am prepared, but we’ll see.

One thing nobody warned me about was how much cleaning would be necessary to start out.  When you see pictures of beautifully restored homes, or visit house museums, they have already been cleaned, probably by a staff of more than one person.  Well, I don’t have staff, but I do have family members and a lot of elbow grease, which I will be using to get the house in shape for our first visitors.  First on the agenda is cleaning, and then painting.  There is of course some gardening to do, too.  J

Five things I love about my old house:

 1.   The woodwork—no where will you see today, except possibly in the houses of the rich and famous, the quality of woodwork that you will find in an old house.  Even humble homes were beautifully made.

2.   The details—the paneling, the ceilings, the staircase—all wonderfully decorative as well as functional. 

3.       The wrought iron fence—There is very little that is more wonderful for a garden than a wrought iron fence with fleur de lis.  More on that soon.  I have big plans for the gate!

     4.  The porch—I won’t have much time for sitting, but I hope to be able to eventually enjoy a good book on the porch swing.

   

         5.  The ghosts—The feeling that you are walking, working, and living where others have been before lends an air of gravitas and a sense of belonging to something larger than yourself.  What happened here one hundred years ago?  Fifty years ago?  

Call me a history nerd, it’s okay.