Old Home Love

Our present home

Our prior home

I am so glad to received my latest issue of Folk magazine. One article that I really connected with was Old House Love by Anne Lorys. In the article she is basically taking the reader on a tour of her quaint Victorian cottage. She goes on to explain how she and her husband came to live in this little fixer upper. She also describes her love for old imperfect homes. It was as if she was describing me!

I grew up in a small country home. My first home after leaving the house of my youth was a brand new mobile home; which is very typical for our area. Most folks start out in a mobile home of sorts and later build a house on their piece of land. Regardless I thought I had really made it. I had new appliances, new carpet, a heat pump.

 After my first marriage ended. I moved back to the house my grandmother had lived in. At one time the house was acclaimed as the Scales-Ellington plantation but by the time I had come to live there it had been through quite a bit of changes. The era of when you covered the wood floors and panelled over the old bead board had taken it's toll. The house had also been vacant for a few years before I began renting it. Thankfully the rent was cheap and I also think I received some healing for my heart being back in the house that was full of so many memories. Living in the old house was quite a chore. The plumbing was horrible, the floors were ratty, winter would work you to death just keeping heat. If snow fell it was very common for it to blow through the cracks in some of the back rooms. The old house had also become home to a variety of creature. Oh, but what a treasure on a hot summer day the big double doors open, gentle breeze that cooled the house. The huge winding stairs, the nine foot ceilings and that wonderful smell that only that house had. Not a old bad smell but the sweet smell of home. I thought I would buy it. I thought I would live there until I died.

After the owner refused to sell and realizing that we had to truly find a place of our own; we purchased the home we live in now. It too is a older home, built in the 1950's but we could already visualize  the transformation. Ten years of ups and a few downs hasn't left opportunity for too much remodeling. It's more like you fix it as it comes along. I'm sure my husband think a newer home would be great and I think the kids might wish for a more modern home. The still share this place we call home and all in all we're a blessed family in a blessed little home.

I'm inspire that there are other that share old home love just as I do but whatever home you live in I wish you well and pray that all the hearts that dwell within your walls are blessed too.

p.s. //americanfolklife.blogspot.com I love this blog and the magazine is beautiful.