The story of our home
We are a little more than 6 months into the year, and every night at home has been spent sleeping outside. Our thick sleeping bag recently replaced by linen sheets and a thin duvet**, the gentle breeze of summer serves as the best blanket of all. The last 2 weeks have been the height of Ponderosa Pine pollen season. Given that our last house up on this hill was surrounded by smaller evergreen trees, the phenomenon of blowing sheets of pollen was new to us and unexpected. Additionally, I can also say it will forever be unappreciated, and perhaps even dreaded. Every morning we wake to a new layer of thick yellow dust that coats everything around us. And since we are tucked in, but outside, the fine yellow dust lays all over us as well. Good news though, my years of spring allergies seem to be disappearing. Perhaps total inoculation brings with it a stronger immunity. Regardless, as a person who dusts and sweeps daily, this shit makes me nuts.
The true purpose of this post is meant to tell the story of our home though, how we found it, the family that built it and the plans we have for our future in it.
I started thinking about how to tell it a few Sundays back, as Erik and I sat in a shaded corner of the driveway with the ladies that we are buying the house from. I am a firm believer in signs; those things/ moments/ acts that happen that direct us to the next right step. The story of how we came to this house is full of them.
Last August, 2 days after I had reluctantly signed another year lease on our last home, I came home from work and asked Erik if he would come and see a property down the road a bit from us. He had already made a drive by a few weeks back and glanced up at me with that look that said “what the fuck for?” The truth is, I had loved our last home more than any other. It was full of light and we got to watch the sun rise and set every day as it painted it‘s pinks and oranges across the sky. Not only were the views magical, but the house was the first Erik and I had made a home in together. I didn’t want to leave, but circumstances and a nosy neighbor were creating a situation neither of us enjoyed. Never the less, the plan was to stay for another year and hopefully save enough money to buy something the next year. Looking at a house to buy on that Wednesday in late August was not in the “plan”.
We went though. Leaving the dogs at home we climbed into Erik’s truck and drove the mile or so down the road and turned on the dirt road that would become our way home.
As we approached the top of the driveway, we noticed an older woman getting into her car. White haired with a great grin, she smiled at us as we approached. “Did you all want to take a look at the house?” She asked as we got out of the truck. “I’m just headed to the recycling center and need to be there by 5, but I can show you around for a little bit before then.” Erik responded immediately in his kind and chivalrous way “We would love to, and I can take your recycling down for you if you’d like.”
After explaining that we did not have a realtor and were not exactly in a place to buy the house but had seen it on Zillow for the last couple of months and kept wondering about it, we started off after her. The house sits on 13 acres she explained. Her husband had built it in 1973. They had lived in it until recently when they moved to town to an assisted living facility. He had passed, she said, only last January. It was unexpected and she was selling the house because of that.
So....Gale. She is about 5 foot 2 and in her early 80’s I would guess. Besides the grin, her eyes are shiny and we can see her goodness as she walks from room to room, telling us a little about the history of the house. You can tell from her every move, this house is filled with love and stories.
Let me stop here and say this. I love clean, modern lines and fresh coats of white paint on flat finished walls. I love cement and cork flooring, commercial style home kitchens, and bathrooms that offer deep tubs and walk in showers.
This house.... had none of that. There was more carpet than I had ever had in all of the houses I have lived in put together. There were mirrors glued to the walls with ship motifs etched in to them. The master bathroom had carpet. The kitchen was the size of my food truck, with linoleum counter tops and a green porcelain sink. The lights through out the house ranged from salad bowl styled ceiling lights to hanging ship style with cast iron and yellow glass. And the outside offered a 1/2 inch thick shake shingle roof with multiple out buildings styled in the day of Heidi and The Sound of Music.
And WE TOTALLY FEEL IN LOVE WITH it!
As we finished the tour Gale turned to us and asked if we had a realtor we were working with? I offered that we did not. I also said, truthfully, that we weren’t truly in the position to buy at this point. And what do you think her response was?.... “Well perhaps you could lease to own?” And just like that our lives began to change.
She wrote her name and phone number on a piece of scrap paper and handed it over. I looked at it and noticed her last name was the same as my middle name, Adair. So.... again... a sign.
(Stay tuned for more....)
The Adair’s
Summer linens and green grass
Morning light on yellow dahlias
Smokey Mountain mountain moments
Michael (our oldest pooch) on the kid’s/ pull out bed.
**The sheets and duvet cover are from one of my favorite stores in Denver called Homebody. https://www.homebodydenver.com/