Confidence

I'm feeling more confident about our home sale so I thought I'd share a part of it that touches my heart. Remember we put our house on the market because we found ONE house we loved and could afford. Then someone bought that house out from under us. We continued to look around to decide if we wanted to keep our house on the market or just stay put since we do love our current home. So I had a list and my Realtor and I took an afternoon to peek in them all. I have to say that I love looking at houses so it was fun for many reasons. I also love my Realtor who is fun to hang out with. We looked at probably five of the houses on my list and they were definitely TOO small or too much work or too ugly. I had asked her to take me back into a house we had looked right after I found the "perfect" house since it had come down in price and I remember loving the kitchen.

In my search and in our home selling I discovered some part of what I love about houses. I love original. I love old. I love when I can feel the history and I can feel the family that loved the house. So many houses we looked at had lots of re-dos. Some were very nicely done but none suited ME. Even the house we had an agreement on had a kitchen that I didn't like. The rest of the house was great (including a 1950's yellow tile bathroom) but that kitchen stumped me. After looking at lots of other houses I figured it out: I like original.

I stepped back into this house and it hit me. It hit me almost immediately. I had found it. I went into the kitchen which is very tiny but set up very nicely for cooking. Those cabinets! I love them. I began opening the cabinet doors and I found recipe books and a recipe box. The woman who is selling the house lived there for 44 years with her family. She is now in a nursing home. Well, I saw that box, opened it and found cards with her handwriting and all those recipes. Some were hand written, some were cut out of magazines. I said to my Realtor, "Oh, I'd love to have this. I'd love to have a part of her stay in the house."

My Realtor told the story to the agent selling the house who happens to be the owner's niece. Guess what? They took the box out of the house so it wouldn't get lost when the furniture was being taken out. The owner also took all her recipe books and is copying more recipes for me!!!!! Yes, they are giving me the recipes. I can't believe it. I found out she is a painter and a knitter and very active. They told her that I am young (thank you!) but know all the old fashioned arts and that we love her house.

So there's my story. I find it as charming as the house. The picture is of part of the kitchen. There is quite a lot of wallpaper in the house which we will remove over time and some lighting fixtures which don't suit me. I think for awhile I'll just keep it and get a feel for the house. To enjoy what was from the previous family and to then make it our own for the next 44 years!