She's Ours

So, we did it!

I had cold feet on the way to the bank, I'm not sure why!

Since the sellers did their thing on Friday,

our part of the closing took all of 15 minutes, or maybe 10.

We got lots of new keys.

We went to the house and the Buick was gone!

Which is a Good Thing, since we had no title or clue.

And then we opened door after door and looked

and looked ...

and looked around.

We were so awed that I couldn't bring myself to snap pics, you know?

but gawsh She needs a lot of work!

I put my special violet vase in the window.

Lit sage.

And then started ripping up lineoleum to see what they were hiding!

Yeah, some damage to the wood floors, but nothing so terrible.

And old, dark, kinda interesting tile in the kitchen.

I had planned on marmoleum, 

(look at all those awesome colours!) but then

I might just keep what's there.

I tend to do that.

(Pic from a previous, preliminary inspection!)

Back tomorrow to meet a heating & air dude,

and go to the waterworks and get that turned on.

And then Friday meeting a roofer!

And not-so-suddenly, I want to stitch again.

almost closed

Well the Closing started to happen on Friday, 

but they didn't tell me until that morning!  Apparently something about

coordinating all the sellers and their spouses (since title is in an estate).

So we didn't make it down there because it started sleeting.   

You know what wimps we Southerners are about snow! 

So we go in tomorrow, pay and get the keys!   

I was excited to find out that this gorgeous lady is a fir. 

I've been thinking a lot lately about firs.  

And there is more than one of Her!

oh the all-important hearth, what to do with you

The closing was supposed to be today but is apparently delayed. 

The title is coming out of an estate so they say that might be the reason.

But I think somebody just forgot to put it on the lawyer's calendar. 

Dern lawyers.

It really doesn't matter, except I can't do it tomorrow (doc appt.) and 

I'm anxious to get to work!

So here is the current state of the hearth at Violetcroft.

Poor neglected hearth.  

Although they did leave her complete with a Holy Bible, a gourd Santa, several books,

family photos, crocheted potholders, and a stapler.

The options seem to be:

a.  Unbrick her and try to work with her as an open fireplace.

Pros:  ambience, purity to period

Cons:  lack of heat

b.  Unbrick her and add a fireplace insert with a blower

Pros:  good heat by most accounts,

although one friend has one and says hers sucks on heat.

Cons:  serious uglification unless major bucks are spent, 

visible power cord from blower (even more ugly)

  quite expensive regardless

c.1  Unbrick her and add free-standing woodstove

Pros:  much more attractive, could get the soapstone I'm loving

Cons:  we lose space, need a hearth pad

c.2  Leave her bricked and add free-standing woodstove

Pros:  possibly simplest, could install ourselves?

Cons:  I think we would lose the most living room space 

I would totally welcome hearing other thoughts and experiences.

But.  I just saw the most amazing blackbird activity I've ever seen.

A mighty horde, swooping from the ground to the trees and back again

encircling this place.  I think it was a Starling dance

right here in our very own woods.  

A copse

This is looking out onto our new pasture.  

I was wondering what was in there, 

and hoping it wasn't a bunch of old junky appliance parts.

I love how land and houses always come with some mysteries.  

Is it an old well-house?  

It has some faucets and a cistern-looking thingymabob.

It's supposed to be on public water now.

It's an odd sort of structure with a triangle of limbs built up and suspended with pulleys..

All built around this tree, which is loaded with little purple berries.

You can probably tell that we visited the house yesterday.

I took lots of pics (more to come)..

and we close on Thursday!  

We're on again

Ok so strangely we are back on, I mean off, to the cottage!  So that means cottage bloggin!  I had fallen in love with another house in the meantime, it was quite lovely, but really, it was too far.  I know some friends will wonder how it could be too far and this one not, because they really are both far.  But this one is about 1/4 the price, so it seems not as far!  And only about half the distance from where we are now, so renovating and moving don't seem like as much of a thing.   It will be far for some friends, but when you live in the country, you get used to driving, if you want to go anywhere, that is.  And the friends I've made so far in NC are PRECIOUS.

I'm sure you remember the to-do list.  Maybe I should put it on the sidebar to keep it handy.  I think I'll edit that one rather than re-doing periodically.  I did get the stove too!!  And there's a car that comes with the house, weird.  I'll have to tell you about the neighbors one of these days...

The closing isn't until the 24th
so we won't get started in earnest until then.  

Plenty of time to dream and pin.

A facebook friend had thought these tea leaves suggested I'd be moving to (or near) Virginia, but now I see that it meant moving to the Violet Loop!

Oh and come visit my new Tarot Tumblr!

Seems like everyone is sick around here..

The Mazarin Stone episode features a most extraordinary room:

Holmes's Third Eye:

Such a poignant moment.

I'd like to do a 2012 year-in-review, but this pretty much does it.