I’m thinking of that book – If you give a mouse a cookie … what’s the next line? He’s going to ask for a glass of milk – or something like that.
It’s sort of the same concept when you buy an old house. Like … if you buy an old house, you’re going to have to renovate the bathroom. But if you want to paint the pipes, you’ll have to wait until you can buy heat-resistant paint. (We’re going on four years now, but notice how the masking tape is still in place ready for the paint?)
Or .. if you want to install wood floors, they might bubble in the humidity, even if you chose water-resistant tek.
And the plaster might fall off your floorboards because there was a leak in the water heater.
And the humidity problem will not be helped by a bathroom ventilator that no longer works. See the aluminum foil there? Take a tip from the pros here. (Oh, and you might regret having a built-in toilet, because then what do you do when it leaks?)
Okay, my mouse+cookie premise is falling apart here, but you get my point, right? When you buy an old house, there is so much work to do!
This was a brand-new window, a brand-new stairwell, and a brand-new paint job three years ago.
This is supposed to have track lighting above the cupboards, hidden behind a frosted screen.
And there is now mold next to the back door, in the stairwell which was brand new.
And we haven’t even started on the outside! I don’t think the cement terrace was quite this broken when we bought the house, but the tilleul tree roots just keep growing and growing!
If you give a tree some roots, it’s gonna …
And the workers had to cut the shutters to get them to fit in our odd-sized windows, and now the wood is warping.
And is it just me, or does this house need a paint job?
And the dead roses need clipping.
And the lawn needs mowing.
And the dishes need doing.
I’m so overwhelmed!!!!!!!!!! I’m ten exclamation points overwhelmed.
We grew up renovating an old house, and my parents had two different takes on it once we left the nest. My mom and her husband bought old fixer-uppers and restored them to their former beauty. My dad and his wife had a house built brand-new from scratch. When I sent my dad pictures of the house we just bought, he said, “Looks like a lot of work!”
But, you know, we just don’t have the money to buy new, even if we wanted to. And I do like the old charm. But it means that you have to become an expert fixer-upper (which I am not). Or you have to learn to live in shambles without losing your marbles. (I haven’t learned). And then with the little time you have to work on it, life gets in the way with kids, dog, activities, work, blogging … (had to slip that in).
And life carries on in its delightful way too, pulling your attention away from the duties, and on to the pleasures. Look at the Calla Lilies my neighbor cut for me from her garden.
And the very vanilla cupcakes I had to make for my last English class of the school year.
Calla Lilies
Cupcakes
Calla Lilies and Cupcakes!
Calla Lilies
Cupcakes
Calla Lilies and Cupcakes.
Oh my gosh, I’m so distracted. No wonder I can’t get anything done.
We rent now. Far too expensive to buy anything in Santa Fe. I miss some home projects, but for the most part, I love calling the landlord! Hang in there and what you get done, you get done, because with three children, a dog, a husband, activities and of course blogging, etc. all that really matters is that you live each day happy!
The lilies are lovely, but I agree with Alison, Mmmm, cupcakes!
Jane recently posted…Friday Foodie: Watermelon Juice
You’re right. I have such high expectations, and I forget that I’ve got a lot going on. I wish I could have some simple days ahead of me. Maybe I should schedule a staycation. 🙂
There’s always something that needs to be done around the house, isn’t there? I feel that way and I only have a condo, not even a backyard to worry about. But I always have to remind myself not to get overwhelmed – it’s more important to be with friends and family. The dishes can wait a little longer. 🙂
Jackie recently posted…The One with the Twin Brother
You’re right, Jackie. The dishes can wait. As long as I get to them before the smell.
heee 🙂
We don’t have a fixer upper, but it’s not new and definitely needs some work. We’re doing things little but little, but there will always something to be done!
Leigh Ann recently posted…5 year old philosophy and some stuff
Yes. Always. Let me not get discouraged. (Or let me strike it rich and hire others to worry about that).
Our house is 47… Young by many standards but was a fixer upper despite our mega fixing upping (not done ourselves!) it is starting to show its 40ness much like I am… You know those crucial inner parts now seem to be going awry! So despite our year long home makeover, I looked up from reading your post to observe the missing molding from when a pipe got a pinhole and soaked the floor, and the hole in the ceiling left by the electrician… And the hole in the screen where a raccoon clawed it… And I celebrate that we are not haughty entertaining folk with perfect dinner party type friends! Because well… For most real people our homes will never be “done”… Because, well, there are always those damn cupcakes and all those other things FUN! So just keep celebrating that.
This comment cracked me up Heidi, and it was just perfect. Yes, we old people lose a little resiliency as time goes on, so we should go easier on our houses. And there are way too many things to celebrate!
We’re not hoity toity dinner people either. We’re simple folk. 🙂
The height of old house insanity is when you painstakingly strip and stain one side of an old door and paint the other side because that’s what they originally were, only someone has moved the door to a different room and the stained side only shows when you are inside the room and close the door.
Oh wow. That is insane. And … why am I not surprised? 😉
I forgot to take a picture of Juliet wearing the earrings you gave her. So pretty! But then they got infected again because it’s still so new in the process, so we’re keeping the posts for awhile longer.
—I think I’d just keep saying to myself– “BUT you’re in France…But you’re in France, Kim!”
Please do a blog on how to make those cupcakes. The frosting looks DEVINE!
What is your class studying in English? Books? Is the class in French?!
Xxxxx LOVE.
My Inner Chick recently posted…Murder, Therapy, & Walking Thru The Fire
Okay! I can do those cupcakes. That will be a great excuse to have another baking recipe, which I have not done in such a long time. My English classes are small groups of 8 children, taught in my home. There is such a demand here, so I do my part. They like coming because we always have baked goods for the holidays. 😉
Oooh, I had calla lillies and cupcakes at my wedding! I would’ve been distracted too!
Seriously though, I’m way overwhelmed too! Every time I think life is slowing down, the roller coaster takes off again. We both better be buckled in and holding tightly!
Kristen recently posted…Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb – Review by a Tween
I’m sure your wedding was just gorgeous. Was it a summer wedding? Mine was a fall one and I had dark red roses, but I think calla lilies would have been perfect for the summer.
How many times have I felt ten exclamation points overwhelmed! Almost as many times as I have listed all the ‘things’ I need to do here.
Then you said Very Vanilla, and I forgot about the cracks, the mold, the warped wood.
And then everything looks much more manageable. One thing at a time, friend.
Andrea recently posted…Ten
So you’re easily distracted too! HA. We need to get by in life somehow.
The work is truly never done. Sigh.
Jennifer recently posted…Dark Dawn
I love your house, even with all the work you still want to do- it’s beautiful and charming. Even our house needs lots of work and it’s only 17 years old. We’ve done all these lovely renovations and it looks new, but look closer and you’ll see the windows, roof and heating/cooling are all pushing 20 years. It never ends. Ugh.
It’s good to be reminded that even newer houses need lots of work so that I don’t get discouraged.
Oh, not everyone can handle this. Thankfully, not everyone needs to. If we wanted to get a house with no work, we could only afford it pretty far outside of Paris.
Mmm… I’d get distracted too with cupcakes and those beautiful flowers!
Our house seems to need work often too and it’s not that old. I guess that it’s just part of owning a house.
Jackie recently posted…Super Clean with #MyPlatinum
Yeah. I need to remind myself of that – all houses, even the newer ones, need work.
Our home is over 100 years old and OMG the project list…. But I love my old homes. xo
tracy@sellabitmum recently posted…Five Things To Expect From Sending Your Kids Away To Summer Camp
Lovely! Over 100 years old? That definitely entices me, but oh so much work.
hahahaha!!! this made me laugh so much. we have an old-for-the-states house [1921] and our second night in it, it stormed REALLY bad, and the gutters that hadn’t been cleaned in years overflowed onto the leaded glass window, which we consequently learned was NOT air – or water – tight, because water poured in and my husband FREAKED out that we had made the biggest mistake of our lives. clear silicone caulk became our friend 🙂 and in the winter we do those shrink-wrap your window kits with the double-sided tape and your hair dryer. and now i want to remodel the bathroom [who’ll pay for that, i have no idea] because only after having a baby did i find out our bathroom is too narrow for me to be able to kneel to give him a bath in the tub. so i sit on the edge and get splashed.
they keep you on your toes, the old houses.
emily recently posted…it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood [some thoughts on spring in the city]
I laughed out loud at your husband’s panic. Hopefully things have settled in by now and there are NO regrets!! 🙂