this old house

When I walked into our house for the first time I knew it was going to be our home. It's old (we're not sure how old but probably 95 years ish) and it needs LOTS of work. I feel like we're custodians of it and that it deserves our respect and care. Our home is not just walls and a roof to me.

I have always liked old things. I like to think about what they might have seen and the stories they could tell us. Many people look at old weatherboard homes like ours and just see lots of hard work. I see that too- but I also see lots of opportunities to be creative, to restore something to it's original condition and make improvements, which for 'practical types' like us is really rewarding.

As I type the husband is is using a heat gun and scraper to peel off years and years worth of paint from the outside of T's sash window, he's been doing that since 9am- it's now 5. The timber underneath the paint is beautiful, he's done a fantastic job, it's almost a shame we're going to paint over it again.

Now that we know what will and won't be repaired by eqc we've started some repairs beginning with the windows. We'll strip and re-paint the weather boards next and the roof also needs painting. Hopefully later this year we're putting in a new kitchen, taking out a wall and adding french doors to create a second living area near the kitchen. I'm looking forward to being able to sit there and look into the back garden. My clever husband is one of those people that can grow anything and our garden is looking lovely.

Most of the EQ damage was cosmetic with some wobbly floor issues added in. For all of the major quakes I was at home with the kids, it shook like a bag of sticks and made a lot of noise in the process but it has kept us safe. It's pretty easy to warm in Winter ( has lots of roof and underfloor insulation) and nice and cool in  Summer. I really do love our home and the memories it holds.

After the Feb earthquake were were in the front garden when a couple walked past. They asked  if the house was ok and we got talking. It turns out their family lived here for 29 years, from when they were first married in 1953 until 1982.

A few weeks later they dropped these photos in our letterbox.

front of house

rear of house

Rear of the house- pre quakes, about a year after we bought it, looks even worse now- no chimeys!

So there's a bit about our happy wee home. After the repairs have been done inside I'll take you on a tour of some of my favourite little corners of it : )