If These Walls Could Talk....

We looked at this house on a whim. I saw they had an open house and told Rick we should go look at it. We pulled up and Rick said the driveway was to to small it would never work. I told him we did not have to look at it if he did not want to but he said as long as we are here we might as well go it. We took one step into the house and I knew I was home. I fell in love. Rick took a little longer looking around and then agreed that he thought it would work. The next day we were back for a second look and both agreed it was perfect. Now that we have been in the house for a month we could not be happier.

The house was built in 1916 so it is 102 years old. I love every inch of it. I love thinking about all the people that have lived in it over the past 102 years. All this history that this house has seen. Everyday I discover something new in it. I love that it has the original beautiful wood floors, the original wood doors and trim. Every time I walk on the wood floor and they squeak it makes me smile. I am home...

First the kitchen, The kitchen and the bathroom are the only floors that are not original on the main floor. The kitchen is super tiny and I love it. I am not sure if the cupboards are original but they are pretty old. We have surprisingly a lot of storage in the cupboards for such a small kitchen. We were going to put a door over the spice shelf but we decided that we like it open. I guess I will just have to keep my spices neat.
 

The white door leads to the basement and also to the backdoor. It is nice because I can close it when Rick has customers here to get strings.

This is our living area. I love that it is so open. This living room and dining room have a pony wall that separates them.

The house original had a porch on it. The previous owner took the wall out and open the room up so that is why the floor is different.

Christa found us the perfect table for in front of the window. It is our favorite place to sit and look out at the lake. The window is being replaced with a new one on Monday. It is the only window in the house that had not been replaced. I am looking forward to a window that is not all fogged over.

A closer look at the dinning room. 

The dinning room has a plate rail in it. Since I do not have decorative plates it makes a perfect place to put my sand. Every time Rick and I go someplace on vacation I collect a small amount of sand and put it in a jar.

This is the "master bedroom" 

The second bed room. Or if you ask Larina she will tell you it is her room and her bed. 

The dogs wanted to be in a picture too. 

The bathroom on the main floor is a Jack and Jill bathroom. It has two doors and can be access from both bedrooms. It as 1950's green plastic tile on the walls and huge cast iron tub that the previous owners restored. Sometime down the road we will remove the plastic tile and put in a new floor. But for now it is going to stay.

Now to the basement. It is half finished. For an old house it is in really good shape. 

Ricks archery shop. This is his busy time of year so he had to get it up and running in a week. When things slow down we will do some remodeling in the basement. We are going to put some kind of flooring in it and maybe inclose the furnace in a little room. He is seeing how everything works for him before he decides what he wants to do. 

Ricks office and the basement bathroom. We also have two storage rooms in the basement and a walk in closet in the bathroom. 

The house has so many things in that make me smile. Every time I open a door and feel those original door knobs in my hand I think about how many people have opened and closed them over the past 102 years. Just so much history in  this old tiny house. 

These are the stairs that lead to the attic room. You will have to watch my blog for updates as we get it finished. As of today we have all the plaster and lath taken out. The electric was updated yesterday and the ceiling is being insulated as I type this. We should be able to start on the walls this week. I am excited to have it all done.

So there you have it this is our new house.

Sharon

It Could Have Been Worse......

We moved into our new house 10 days ago and today a tree fell on it. But I count ourself's lucky. It could have been way worse. The tree fell on the corner of the house pulling off siding, gutters and the soffit. It looks like the roof is okay but won't really be able to tell until morning. We are grateful that it was not worse.  We are also grateful for to the friends that came over with a chainsaw and help remove the tree so we can get out of the garage.  Amy is also very lucky because she had her car park in the exact spot where the tree landed 10 minutes before.  It sounds like there is a lot of damage in Waseca and other towns. 

If you look at the corner of the picture you will see my statue of Mary. It was my Great-Grandma's and she has come with me to every house I have. I think she was looking out for us tonight!

                                                     The rainbow after the storm.


Sharon

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." -George Eliot

When I left Carleton at the end of April I was mentally and physically exhausted. I was full of anger and sadness. I was broken.  I need to find myself again and let go.

So now four months later I feel so much better. I did a lot of sleeping in, relaxing and just being with myself. I stayed up late and slept until 9:00 every morning. Then I would get up and have my coffee and maybe by 11:00 I would shower and get dressed and go on with my day. It was great. It was what I needed to decompress and find me again.

A week after I left Carleton I started working as a on-call person at ICAN in Waseca. They are a great small company that has group homes for disabled people and they help in supporting them in their daily lives.  I would work two or three shifts a week.  I loved the work. I really enjoyed working with and getting to know the people in the home I worked at. It was so good to work with people that appreciated you and knowing that I was helping to make there lives better. The bad part was it was working evenings and weekends again.  Even if it was only a couple shifts a week and I loved the work I always kept my eyes open for something else because I knew I did not want to work evenings. Really I did not want to work at all but if I wanted to have some spending money I knew I need to work part time somewhere for the next 5 years when I could really retire for good.

So tomorrow that something else is going to start. I was hired by the Waseca School District as a Paraprofessional working in the high school with special needs kids. I am very excited. I have said for years that it is a job that I wanted to try.  After 26 years I will no longer have to work weekends, night, rotating shifts, or holidays. And best of all no summer work. I will work a total of 172 days in a year. I will be 5 minutes from my job if I drive or I can bike to it in ten minutes.  No more getting up at 3:30 in the morning, driving for an hour and working a 10 hour shift and driving another hour home.  I will put in 7.5 hours days at the most. I am so excited to start this new adventure.

So at 56 years old I am started a new career. It is not a high paying job nor is it full time. But it is a job I have always wanted to try so I am.

It is never to late to try something you have always wanted to do.....
Sharon

Spend Time With Those You Love. One Of These Days You Will Either Say, " I Wish I Had" Or " I'm Glad I Did."

This weekend we went packed up the camper and went to Hines MN to go to my sister and brother in-laws house. They had moved to a hobby farm in April and hosted the family for a fun filled weekend.  It was so fun to be with the family and just relax. The only time we are ever all get together is on holidays and those days are always rushed and busy. It was nice to spend four days together. We played games, shot archery, biked, went swimming, did some skeet shooting and four wheeling, we ate way to much and had many great talks and laughs around the campfire. It makes me so happy to see the grandkids and great grandkids interacting with my mom and dad. They will never forget these times with them.

We all need to take time to be with the ones we love. Life is busy for everyone, it is a choice we all make when it comes to spending time with family. As I looked around this weekend at the four generations of family that made the time in there busy lives to be together for a few days it made so very happy. Life is so short, be with and learn from the each other.


Make Memories....
Sharon