Here is a story that we have been 'sitting on' for a few weeks. It is a story of a completely unexpected and rather amazing blessing.
In mid-February a random series of events led Julie to contact our dear friend, Erick, who is a local realtor. She was interested in a house that she had seen that was for sale for a very reasonable price. Since Anna and Matthew became engaged Julie had been thinking about their housing once they are married this summer. While she had never really considered buying a house, discovering a house that could be paid for with the same amount of money that is currently being spent on Anna's housing certainly had a ring to it!
Erick showed us three houses and the second of the three turned out to be just perfect. (Ironically, NOT the house that first got Julie's attention!) A cozy little cottage (that Matthew has dubbed their little Hobbit hole). :) The lady who owned it had lived there for many years. Her own grandfather built the house in the early 1900's and she grew up spending her time there. I like the idea of the legacy of family already associated with the house - and I think the lady appreciated the idea of passing the house on to a young couple starting out on their own lives.
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| Matthew and Anna the day they first saw the house. |
Because of some specific circumstances, the sale of the house went very, very quickly. In fact, the Monday that James was in town was the day we received the key to the house. It was everyones first chance to get inside and see the house as an empty slate. How exciting!
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| Entry way |
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| Living room (you can see into the dining room) |
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| Main bedroom (that is a large walk in closet off to the right). |
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| Standing in the living room - you can see the door to the main bedroom and into the dining room, as well. |
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| From dining room looking back to living room. |
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| 2nd bedroom |
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| From dining room. Door to 2nd bedroom on right, door to kitchen on left. |
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| kitchen |
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| Looking back to dining room. Jackson standing in doorway to back room/utility area and bathroom. |
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| Back room/utility room and bathroom. |
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| bathroom |
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| back room/utility room |
There is a lot of work to be done and much of it is already underway. Carpet has been removed, cleaning is happening and is scheduled to happen, yard work is in process and Marvin is steadily working on removing an old building out back that had a collapsed roof. That has been a melancholy endeavor in many ways because of the things inside that building. It is a shame that when the roof first collapsed that items couldn't have been salvaged, but I know the previous owner was surely overwhelmed by the prospect. Julie did manage to recover some dishes that were literally sitting on a porcelain table in the corner of the building. A teapot and some cups & saucers were almost eerily left untouched in the midst of all the trash and debris.
Anna and Matthew plan to have the former owner over for dinner in the fall when they get moved in. They want to learn more of the history of the house and her family - and want to make a connection with her, as well. There is much more to the story that I wish I could share, but just know that it was a true blessing to everyone involved. We consider it a blessing on Anna and Matthew's future. :)
Some of the renovation photos... there will be many more in the months ahead, I am sure!
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| carpet coming up in living room - yes, there is hardwood under there, too! :) |
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| Matthew and Anna checking out the backyard that first day. |
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| This was the outbuilding that is now coming down. It is our only before picture since we forgot to take any before renovation began. |
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| Marvin working on tearing the old building down. The sides have multiple layers including shingles. If only the roof had been built as strong... |
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| There is the table that had the teapot and dishes just sitting on top of it... you can see the various parts of the roof that have collapsed down into the building. |
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| You can see that it was a lovely 2 room building at one point. |
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| Makes me want to cry... |
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| the backyard - a lot to do, but a lot of potential. |
More in the coming months!! :)
