The story of how we got our house; seed starting; links!
We won’t discuss washers right now, because I’m actually on my way to pick up a Craigslist Speed Queen. Fingers crossed.
I hinted at the story of how we got this house and some of you kindly asked for more. I’ll give you a short version.
We were living near Boston (in my husband’s hometown, actually), and realizing how much of a premium we were paying to live 20 minutes from downtown by commuter rail, when my husband was working at home (he hadn’t been, but then he was).
With 7 kids, homeschooling, Papa working at home, grandmother in residence, could we find something with a bit more room and more land? A chance conversation at a soccer game about a neighborhood house selling for way more than we expected (we were not paying attention at all to the housing market) set us on the path to seeing what we could see.
After 18 months of driving hither and yon, as far south as Rhode Island and as far north as north of Manchester New Hampshire, we came to realize that the very first house we had glanced at (not even going inside, just driving up to it with a friend, just because it was close to the school she sent her kids to) was maybe the one.
It seemed like it was not too far from Boston, where our older kids had opportunities already in process, not so far away as to make it a definitive separation from everyone we knew. There is a nice community of like-minded people here, including a small abbey. And the house is secluded, down a dirt road (that was actually really terrible back in the day, but has improved a lot), but not isolated the way some country houses are. This is a realization I had after seeing the umpteenth wonderful old farmhouse that was a 20-minute car ride from literally anything at all.
However, it was out of our price range, even if we stretched. But at the same time, it wasn’t really sellable. In Massachusetts, you have to have your septic system up to code to make a sale, and the sweet lady living here was not able to get that done.
We asked her if we could take a look anyway. We knew it needed a lot of work. But at the same time, unlike really any other house we had seen in all that looking, we could move in and make do. It’s big but not like some we had seen, that were just huge piles with no way to make them cozy.
(I don’t think I have any real befores of this kitchen: this is after several layers of wallpaper were taken off and the walls were painted. I have lots of kitchen posts — here’s a before-and-after.)
After praying a lot (well, we had been praying for 18 months!) we decided to take one more drive out. We had a miraculous medal and a trowel. Following the practice of Mother Teresa, we decided we would place the medal on the property. We actually didn’t drive down the lane — we sent our fifth and sixth kids running down to bury it at the foot of the big maple. We prayed the Rosary on the way home, and Phil posted a letter he had prepared beforehand before we tumbled out at home.
The letter just said that we thought the house would be good for us, that we couldn’t afford more than a certain amount, but that he would help figure out the septic issue if that would be worth it to her. And here’s our phone number.
She read the letter and agreed! She had been really stuck and just wanted to go to the condo she had picked out, but didn’t know how to make it possible or who to ask. And she was wanting to help us too. We actually rented from her for a few months as the work was being done. When it was completed (after a seemingly endless procession of trucks and backhoes up and down that bumpy lane, to the great delight of the little boys), the transfer was made and we were the grateful owners of Massacre Hillside House!*
How it looked about 10 years after we moved in… still working on things…
Twenty-five years after moving in…
I know the housing market is insane right now. It was kind of bonkers then too. The houses we looked at in our price range were tiny or else cavernous — one was certainly big enough but didn’t have a kitchen — only some old appliances! I could do another post on the wacky properties we saw…
My best advice is to ask around and go to the older neighborhoods and search the real estate records to find that house that isn’t for sale (or has been on the market way too long), but has older owners who would actually like to get out. The yard is likely to need work. The house might look unoccupied. But there might be someone there who wishes to be elsewhere. A kindly worded letter could be the key to your move.
And pray. St. Joseph and Our Lady are going to help you!
*I call it Massacre Hillside House because in the 1600s there was a massacre of white settlers by Indians right on the spot.
Changing Seasons Corner
Still knitting, but also starting some seeds. I have some winter sowing going on outside, and some indoor seeds too:
It may look like the things on top are hanging on that string, but they are not. The string is for me to hang up drying ziplock bags… and I just didn’t move it when I re-arranged and put the shelf here!
You remember that big seed bench I’ve had for a few years… well, after changing the kitchen around and also feeling like I need to scale back the garden a little, I sold it off and with some of the proceeds bought a couple of lights to make this little arrangemen that fits better in the pantry — barely!
I planted some seeds (still waiting on some) and they are already sprouting!
bits & piecesThe importance of Latin — why the classical education in your homeschool could yield far greater benefits than you may realize.
A beautiful post about the importance of reading Scripture and knowing it well.
Baby formula is simply not safe. “Workers at one of the nation’s largest baby formula plants say the Abbott Laboratories facility is engaging in unsanitary practices similar to those that led it to temporarily shut down just three years ago, sparking a nationwide formula shortage.” We need to get over the society-wide imposed reluctance and be as persuasive about encouraging and helping new moms to breastfeed (and pregnant moms to plan to breastfeed) as we are about carseats and everything else having to do with baby health. If a mom has to use formula (e.g. with an adopted child), I highly recommend making it.
from the archivesEasy and Good Pot Roast. If you try this recipe (more a method) and you like the results, can you let me know? In theory I could publish a cookbook but my daughters mock me (for being so vague/imprecise/downright wrong about what I did) and it would mean going through this entire blog to find what I’ve put out there already. And add all the rest.
Pot roast season is almost behind us, so see what you think!
When you feel a bit paralyzed by things and realize it’s because you’re just surfing the internet, try surfing your house instead!liturgical living
Sitientes: Thirsting. St. Vincent Ferrer
Sunday is the Fifth Sunday of Lent or Passion Sunday in the Traditional calendar. Now is the time to do some baking and stick it in the freezer, I find…
follow us everywhere!Here is all the info:
Visit me at The School for Housewives and recommend it to your young friends!
My “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them has moved over to Substack! — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing! The old one is still up if you want to look at the comments on past posts.
There you will find the weekly podcast done by Phil and me, called On the Home Front. Do let us know what you think!
My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available from Sophia Press! Also in paperback now! All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
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