The house is held together with baling twine and hope. We bought it with our fingers crossed, just looking for somewhere that we could call home.
It was a mess then.
**
When we moved in, it took 6 of us to remove the filth left behind.
I took on the bathroom with bleach and elbow length rubber gloves and I scraped and scrubbed until I could see the floor under the dirt. I wished for a hazmat suit the whole time.
Eventually it was liveable.
Eventually.
**
Nathan moves an old tank filled with bits of concrete to weigh it down.
Underneath he finds a stash, wrapped in decaying garbage bags, a hollow underneath the tank containing syringes and water. No drugs – although we’ve got no doubt they were here before.
We clean it up.
Like every other mess we’ve found, we don protective gear and get it over and done with.
You don’t want to know what we found in the old stables.
**
Nathan starts pulling out an old broken window.
I bounce next to him and make him pull out the frame as well.
It’s not enough; it’s never enough and I make him pull out the wall as well, talking grand ideas of laserlight and indoor greenhouses. Before he knows it I’ve convinced him to tear down the slats that enclose the BBQ area and we’re letting in the light, brushing away dirt and cobwebs and wondering why we didn’t do this sooner.
**
Later we sit, admiring our handiwork, looking up at the stars. Watching the night sky in front of us, the moonlight on the garden. The cool breeze floats through to the kitchen, a welcome addition on a summer night.
There is an awful lot of work left to do, but things cost money, something we are frequently short on. We tell ourselves that it won’t be forever and we plan our escape, how we’ll put this house on the market and buy something else.
But not yet.
For now, this place is home.
Actually, I do.
Want to know what was in the stables.
????
A story for another day I think.
It sounds amazing. And a bit scary. But mostly amazing. I don’t think I could do it, but I love the idea of being able to really create the home you want. I’ve spent far too long in rentals.
No matter how much work we put into this place though, it will never be exactly what we want. The whole house is built backwards and just ugh. But it’s home and it will do.
When we bought our first house I was overjoyed and had grand plans. The evening we moved in I was crying. There was no heating. It was a chilly March. The house was damp and smelled it too. With Spring I couldn’t get myself to work indoor that much and spent wonderful hours designing and creating my dream garden. Then my husband had to leave for professional training for 10 month and I did all the DIY work myself, arranging, painting, fixing. I loved it but was sometimes discouraged. And then he had a job with an assigned house and we had to sell. We no longer own any place now. I just wrote a blognote about what home means to me, it’s in French though: http://minutepapillon8.canalblog.com/archives/ces_lieux_qui_nous_habitent/index.html
ps: also curious about the stables.
I also want to know what was in the stables tbh…!
You’ve got more guts than me I think. 🙂 xx
Your changes sound lovely, but so much work. Every house is a work in process. There’s always something more to do.
Well we don’t own our own house so that gives spouse a reason not to ‘do’. It is our home though and I spend a fair time wishing we could afford to update. I am a horder though and often look and wonder if we got rid of all the ‘stuff’ if that would look better. I read your words and a tiny bit of me wishes I were young again with the energy and vision you have in seeing your dream. For some reason this post has really touched my sensibilities, perhaps its made me look back whilst you look forward.
I’d like to know what was in the stables too!
Snap. We have lived in our house for fifteen years. It was owned before us by a Hospital Authority. It was a wreck having been lived in by down and outs, squatters. Holes in the walls, in the floors, damp, insects. You name it we had it. But jackie my wife fell in love with it. Possibly reminded her of me. A surveyor had printed in big letters DO NOT BUY IT. But here we are and Yes we are happy even though neighbours do not appreciate our wilderness garden with it’s active wild life.
Our house is falling down around us. Like you our resources are very limited.
I plan and dream and wish but in the end we have to make do.
Beautifully written as always V.
I add my voice to those wanting to know what was in the stable. I hope you get comfortable soon.
The house is built back to front? Just switch the back and front doors. Problem solved…..hee hee.
I also want to know what was in the stables.
I love home reno stories.
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