We are moving again.
Exchanging a 100 year old house full of character and charm for one where water doesn’t drip from the ceilings at random intervals. Giving up twelve glorious acres, but giving Garrett back two of the hours he spends commuting every day. And packing up my studio, which had a wall of windows overlooking the creek (but practically no heat), for a corner of the basement.
If I sound melancholy I suppose I am; I really wanted this place to work out and even had little fantasies about buying it someday, even if my practical self knew that it was a terrible idea. In the end our landlord made the decision for us, by dragging his feet so long on the necessary repairs that we felt like we couldn’t continue to raise our family here.
But if we can ignore its mechanical failures, this place has a presence, a patina, that only time can create. There is an air of fading grandeur which I quite enjoy. The old landscaping is overgrown and mysterious. Perfect for hide and seek. Perfect for prowling about with my camera. Luckily I took thousands of pictures here, enough artistic inspiration for the next decade is cached away on my hard drive.
Our new home is in a charming little town. It is brand-spanking new, so what it lacks in patina, it should make up for in functionality. We’ll be minutes from coffee shops, restaurants, and the quilt shop that has supported my creativity for the past 4 years. It’s going to be awesome. And as soon as we get there I intend to begin enjoying all those perks.
But for now, for our last days here, let me dwell a bit in the beauty and grace of this lovely old place. We’ve made a lot of memories in our short time here.
So I offer up some of my favorite photos from this place, closing the book on this little chapter of our family’s history. Goodbye, house! I won’t forget you!
I posted more of my favorite photos from this place here.
Hey Jess, we want a quilt made with the colours on the “Fall Colors” photo right before the Christmas portrait of the kids with Garrett holding Eva up and hiding! : ) What a gorgeous palette that is! All these photos are SO beautiful, we are so sorry not to be seeing this place again. But it will be nice in so many ways at the new place. We’re looking forward to coming over!
Jessie, thank God for all your beautiful photos so we can remember everything we loved about this place, and all the fun times we had there! I too will miss coming to that beautiful hideaway and looking out (through all that glass!) at the water and the trees and whatever wildlife was passing by–you couldn’t help but feel calmer just being there. It’s against all logic, I know–we have to remember the plumbing disasters, electrified walls, inefficient heating, inefficient cooling, etc.–but in spite of all that, and even though it was only one year, I know this place is always going to hold a special place in all of our hearts. But it’s on to another era, and I can’t wait to see the new place–hopefully many new, wonderful memories will be built there as well–without the “charm” of such old house disasters! And you have a treasure trove of photos and memories to inspire fabric designs and art projects for years to come!
What gorgeous photos! I am sure you will miss this beautiful countryside, but I do not doubt that you will find beauty wherever you go. Looking forward to seeing the photos of your new surroundings – Lida
I just met you tonight at DC Modern Quilt Guild. You are so sweet in person. Then I popped in to see your blog. How have I never found this before? I adore your images. I can totally feel what you were writing as well. And your fabric line is lovely. I’m pretty sure it was what you were working on in hexagons today? Lovely! I hope to meet you again!