Since this blog is primarily to document our retirement and the fun we’re having, it only makes sense to go back and tell the story from the beginning. In June 2009, we moved ‘back’ to the area where I was born and raised…not my husband’s roots, but mine. We had fallen in love with an old federal-style ‘four-over-four’ brick house, and had started renovating it four years prior to our moving into it. According to county records, the house was started in 1845 and completed in 1854, which now makes it 161 years old. The house is in good shape structurally, but needed central heat and cosmetic updates; paint, new windows, floors scrubbed and sealed. We also completely gutted the existing kitchen and downstairs bath. The better half is VERY handy, and because of that, we were able to do the majority of the work ourselves.
When we moved, I was still working (from home) and my husband retired at that point; his new ‘job’ was to finish the renovation of the old house. We were fortunate in that our house sold quickly in a very depressed market, and we had to move in a hurry! We only had the sink cabinet and the cabinet that holds the microwave built when we moved. We had all kitchen appliances, but only the refrigerator and microwave worked. The range needed to be ‘plumbed’ for gas and the dishwasher needed it’s plumbing also. We had torn wood out of an old corn crib across the road and the heart pine was being turned into our kitchen cabinets, made by the better half, of course. By end of that summer we had a full kitchen, minus the island we now have. That meant no more grilling most of our meals on the gas grill outside, and boiling water on the range, and not hand-washing dishes! Oh the joy of modern conveniences in a VERY old house!
And, the other thing we started once we moved, was the in-ground swimming pool. We had one at our previous residence and loved it, but I had said we could wait til the next summer before we built a new one. I did a take-back and decided I couldn’t stand a summer w/out a cement pond, so work on the pool started just after the 4th of July. Worried that we would hit rock and not be able to continue, I did a ‘no-rock’ dance the first day, and it worked! Only 2 or 3 larger sized rocks that could be lifted out w/ a backhoe were unearthed. By the 2nd week in August, we were swimming…it was GLORIOUS, to say the least! And cause for another happy dance by me!
Over the next year, features in the house morphed from the temporary cabinetry, and/or hardware, into the final features. It kept my hubby occupied…sometimes I think he worked harder physically than he had the last several years before he retired. Had we stayed in our old home, he would have been bored and looking for another job in 6 months – there was just not enough there to keep him busy. Here, he always has something to do – partly because of our barn art and projects we enjoy doing, but when you own an old house, there’s always something that needs fixing!
Another reason so much was finished in a year’s time was because I had signed us up to host the 35th year reunion for my high school class. By June of 2010, we had graded, seeded, and landscaped around the house and pool, built a deck outside of the ‘woodshed’ where my husband does his creating, strung lights and were ready for my classmates. It was a fun event, very relaxed atmosphere, and now they want to have our reunion here every five years! What was I thinking???
That’s the end of Part 1…stay tuned for Part 2 😉
hailey-stout studio 