My Favorite Old House

I love old houses. I was lucky enough to grow up in the same town as both sets of my grandparents, and they lived in charming old houses. Not giant houses, but charming older homes that were cared for and surrounded by beautiful flowers and well tended lawns.

Perhaps my fondness for older homes started with my fascination with my grandparents homes. All of my grandparents have passed away but I still fondly gaze at their houses if I happen to pass by, I am so thankful that the current owners of these lovely homes are taking good care of them like my grandparents did.

I don't know who owns the house in the photo above, but when I spotted this home about fifteen years ago it was love at first sight. I think it's because it has the same roof pitch as my own old house, and the same style of dormers. That's where all of the similarities end. My house is the plainest Jane ever, I call her Old Jane. Old Jane is sturdy...her floors don't slope, her roof doesn't leak, her pipes rattle a little but they're in prety good shape. But Old Jane just "aint purty" like her cousin Janelle LaBelle from the next valley over.

Janelle LaBelle is what my house could be, but it would be a task equal to turning an ugly duckling into a swan. Janelle LaBelle has bay windows and a beautiful front entry porch with an arch! An arch I say! Janelle LaBelle has those really cool knee brace things up by the eaves, she has the exact same siding as Old Jane but Janelle LaBelle has decorative vents .... oh how I love decorative vents. Thirty years ago somebody who will remain nameless put aluminum framed windows (yeck, bleck, poohey) in two of Old Janes upstairs bedrooms...that was a sad day for Old Jane.

The Husband and I are talking about spending a lot of money to fix up Old Jane. Aw heck, we're been talking about this for at least five years. She'll never look like her cousin Janelle LaBelle but I think that it would be a good thing for Old Jane, I'm just not convinced it would be a good thing for me. I have a really serious problem with what I call "major purchase anxiety", but I won't go into that right now....that is a completely different subject....a completely different blog...we don't really even want to "go there".

Poor Old Jane.