The Old Farm House

When we bought our farm 30 years ago my Hubby was excited beyond words.  For years he had searched for the perfect farm in the perfect location, now he had it.  Before this we had been farming a steep, hillside farm about 20 minutes from our house in town.  Commuting there every night after work was time consuming to say the least.  The thing about buying a farm is that you are buying a farm.  You just "make do" with whatever house comes with it.  The quality of the barns will be discussed and taken into the equation, but the house is incidental.  To the farmer--not the wife. 

The first I knew that this farm was even under consideration was when Hubby came in one afternoon and wanted to know if I would like to check out the house.  Being in the real estate business it wasn't uncommon for Hubby to  go to auctions with the idea that he might buy "if the price was low enough".  Since we were pretty much on a very tight budget, the price was never low enough, so I never got too excited over his ideas.  After spending the past week cooped up in the house with a sick child, an excursion sounded great to me. 

After touring the farm house I was actually pretty impressed.  The owner had fixed it up cute and it was very homey.  It did have some problems, like a wall caving in in the basement and semi-finished sub-flooring for the kitchen floor, but wasn't as bad as some he had looked at.  When he left the next morning for the auction, I encouraged him to go ahead and bid if he thought it had potential.  I was thinking of a quick resale profit--he was thinking something else.  He arrived home that afternoon and announced he had bought the farm and we could have possession in 60 days.  I made him produce the papers before I really believed him!

Taking in the disbelief on my face, he put his arms around me and murmured into my ear, "I know it's not the house of your dreams, but if you'll just live there for five years I'll build you a new one."

Well, it's been 30 years and he actually has kept his promise--I do have a new house.  We have literally rebuilt the old farmhouse one project at a time!  You see, the problem with an old house is that it is old. 

After spending a week at home during Christmas, our daughter hugged us tightly as they prepared to leave the old homeplace.   "I don't want to be rude, but I figure you probably don't spend a lot of time in the upstairs.  So-o-o, you might want to consider doing some updating.  There are cracks in the bathroom wall, the window doesn't close tight, the hallway needs to have the paper stripped and painted and you need a new mattress on the bed."  I'm sure my mouth was gaping like a hooked bass. 

Hubby and I waved them out of the driveway and turned to each other in disbelief.  "I thought I taught her better manners!" I sputtered.  With a sigh, we went upstairs to take in the situation.  She was right, we did need to start the rebuilding process once again.  The front foundation of our old house is just stacked rocks, which are continually shifting ever so slightly.  Consequently, we have problems with doors that decide not to close, windows that get out of square and won't shut, and walls that develop cracks.  The hallway is the last of the old plaster and lath construction and will have to be drywalled to cover the lumps, bumps, and cracks in it.  The bed she will have to live with--the only way to get a queen sized mattress in the upstairs, due to the low clearance in the stairwell, was to take it in through the roof when we added the bathroom.  I'm not sure how we would do it now. 

So I guess this spring Hubby and I will tackle the last remnants of the old farmhouse and replace and repair.  Then I really will have a new house.  I'll bet it would have been cheaper to have built a new one to begin with. 

And lose all that farmhouse charm.....never.