The Beginning…
The COVID pandemic, as terrible as it’s been, has provided some interesting opportunities. I haven’t worked at the office for over a year now, and I don’t really want to go back. I miss certain elements of working at the office: I loved listening to BBC Outlook on my drive in and it doesn’t seem the same sitting at home, I miss meeting up with friends for coffee breaks and lunch, and I definitely miss running over to someone’s desk to ask a question instead of dealing with the virtual world. The pandemic has created a housing boom for us and because of working from home and being able to make a lot of money on my house, I was able to sell it and move to a very quaint little village (significantly further from work) and into my dream home.
So, that dream house? It’s the backbone of this experiment in journaling or in the digital world, blogging. What is it I want from this? I want to find myself and create an incredible home in the process. This house is old, approximately 166 years old. The “new” addition is only 121 years old. For a person who dislikes ever admitting her age, especially after 30, it’s ironic that I’ve always wanted an old home. Who in their right mind leaves a beautiful, big, less than 20 year old house to move to a village she barely knows, where she knows no person, and into a house she’s not completely prepared for – me, that’s who.
There are so many things about the house that are me – situated in a charming village where people still say hello as they pass by, really old and charming inside with wide plank floors that aren’t always straight, a side porch for early morning tea, and a really funky set of stairs to a cool upper loft. There are so many things about the house that are not me – a rock foundation in a crawlspace that includes three sump pumps and currently water (more to come), a main floor bathroom that subs as a laundry room and that requires a person to turn sideways to get in and out of the shower, and an upper bathroom that has a gorgeous claw foot tub that’s so gross no one would want in!!
This blog is the story of how I make this house into my home. I’m hoping it also helps me to figure out what my second half of life is going to look like; knowing that it never turns out exactly according to plan. It’s about creating a haven where working from home and relaxing away from work are both accomplished with comfort and style. I hope this is a journey of discovery.