Keep Smiling

Keep Smiling

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Our Home's History

 




This is our home in October 1973

It was a parsonage in a town about 45 miles

from where we live.

We did not purchase it at this time.

We purchased it 10 years ago.




This is a photo of the day we closed

on our home 

and got the keys.



 One of our priorities was 

to get our property fenced

to protect our dog from the road.



This was the front of the house 

when we bought it.



This is it now.



This was the back of the house.

The back door was an interior 

hollow core door.



This is the back of the house now.



As you can see . . . the backdoor

is a different color in each picture.

Remember my confession of being left

alone with a can of paint, LOL 



This window in the kitchen

was probably the best 

window in the house.




Needless to say they all 
needed replacing
and needed it 
before our first winter!



This was the living room before.




And this is after :)



This was the fireplace then




And now. 



This was not the before photo,

I forgot to take one.

This is actually after a couple weeks

of working and hour or so a day

with steel wool, bleach, and 

every cleaner someone would recommend.

Our realtor said they didn't think

the tub was salvageable. 

They won't know me, LOL 



This is the tub today . . .

yes, it's the same tub, LOL.



These next few photos 

are the way the bathroom looked

when we bought it.



Under this flooring around the toilet 

there were rotten boards.

It was a mess . . .

that needed hard work and love.



After our hard work :)



Yep . . . it was a mess!




After :)

Looking back, what really

amazes me is that Steve & I

rolled up our sleeves

and did everything ourselves

except for a new roof

and electrical.

That we left to the

professionals. 


I made this post because a few

of you had asked me about 

our home after me telling 

you that it was delivered 

to this property by truck 

in 1973.



This was something that 
we got excited about!


We received this photo in the mail.
I had been doing research on our home,
but until this arrived all that 
I had were documents.
This is the first time 
that we received an actual photo.
Here it is in 1973 all jacked up
and ready to be moved to the spot 
it sits on today.

              • it was built in 1905.
              • it was the parsonage to an old Church
              • in 1973 it was moved 45 miles to where it sits today. 

We were so excited to receive this photo 
and find out about the history 
of our little home. 

That's the story behind
our cozy little home . . .
As they say,
"If walls could talk"
I'm sure our little cottage 
would have some great stories
to tell.
  
Keep Smiling!
&
Remember to Vote!
Many a young man and woman
have died for our freedom,
let's not take it for granted.





God Bless You All
&
God Bless America!
Connie :)




48 comments:

  1. Connie, this was so interesting! I love seeing all the before and afters. You and Steve did a great job of renovating and have made it so cute and cozy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This was a dream come true for us. Steve had a huge shop, I had my vintage house and it came with an acre of land. We loved our old house but not the neighborhood. It was one of those neighborhoods where you can almost stretch out and touch your neighbor's house, so having an acre of land made us feel so rich, like owning the Ponderosa Ranch on Bonanza, LOL

      Delete
  2. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the before and after pictures of your NOW lovely home ( which certainly needed a lot of work. ) Amazing that you and Steve did almost all of it yourselves. That bathtub alone would have defeated me. The formerly dark and dreary livingroom is now so bright and cheerful. Thanks for sharing the story of your house💗💗💗💗

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a story I love to tell and it shows how much value there is in sweat equity.

      Delete
  3. What a great post! I did not even notice the house was on a truck in the first photo, I was busy comparing it with how it looked when you purchased it. You did a better job of renovating than those tv show people, that is for sure. What a lovely lovely home you have created! It was so interesting to compare the pictures and admire the remarkable improvements.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. On the TV shows they do it in a weekend it took us a few years. We had such a long long list of things to do and it was such a good feeling, the day we checked the last job off our list.

      Delete
  4. I think this is wonderful Connie! I really enjoyed reading the history and seeing the before and after photos. You and Steve did a great job together and you have continued it so beautifully. He would be so proud of you continuing to fix up your beautiful home with a can of paint and a brush! :-) Maybe someday I'll be able to visit you and see it in person, although honestly, I would prefer the rapture, wouldn't you?
    I can't believe the bathtub! It was terrible. Did someone actually use it in that condition? Yikes!
    Blessings and hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh I know that bathtub was a mess and I suppose they did use it in that condition. It took years of neglect to make it that bad.

      Delete
  5. Wow, your home improvements are fantastic. The place looks so different (and so so much better!) than how it was when you bought it. I'm glad you got to do a lot of the renovations together and really create a home that belonged to you both. Mxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a lot of hard work but there's something about doing it yourself that is so rewarding.

      Delete
  6. You have made so many wonderful changes to the house. It went from being a house to being a beautiful home.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Many thanks Connie for sharing the story of your beloved home. So interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, I hope that my story shows someone that they don't have to dream big they can start small and do a lot of the work themselves and end up with the home of their dreams without breaking the bank. We did each improvement as we could afford it.

      Delete
  8. I always love when you post new pictures about your home. You and your husband were both hard workers to accomplish so much cleaning and fixing and building new buildings! May God continue his blessings on you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh you're so sweet, your comment touched my heart.

      Delete
  9. I am so glad you shared the transformation of this sweet home...such a labor of love....so interesting....thank you for sharing the history...it's a marvelous home!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much. It's a very cozy and comfortable home, I feel blessed to be living here.

      Delete
  10. Connie, You and your sweet man proved that hard work and love can make a huge difference. You can be proud. Blessings, xoxo, Love, Susie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Susie, I love every little thing about our home and can remember each project, the hard work, the laughter and the satisfaction of completing one little job at a time until our list was finished.

      Delete
  11. You two have been very handy with your home and your love of painting sure has made it a beauty! It feels good when you have put the hard work in and made it your own! The thing I love the most is what you did with the fireplace, that is gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's all credit to my Steve. I drew a picture of what I wanted and he got out in the shop and created it :)

      Delete
  12. The history of your house is so cool! I cannot believe the before and afters...wow, you and Steve were amazing with the work you did! A total transformation. A house like that would've scared me to death, lol. Brian and I are not handy in the least bit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh the first time Steve saw the house he actually said " I'm not moving into that dump", then he walked out and saw how big the shop was, LOL. His dream shop and he thought maybe we can fix it up. It took a long time and a lot of work and a lot of sweat but after a few years we checked the last job off of our very long list. We were so happy.

      Delete
  13. Connie, it's been so nice to see the changes made in your lovely home. What a lot you have done over the years! I am fascinated by the thought of a house being moved from one place to another!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That would be very hard to do in your country what with the narrow windy roads and houses that are mostly two or three floors and many made of stone :) I love watching Escape To The Country. I'm a huge fan of that show, only I wish more of the people on it had a smaller budget to work with . . . something more comparison to mine :)

      Delete
  14. Very glad that you shared the history of your house. Lots of elbow grease and hard work, a labor of love. Yes, woman and men sacrificed so we have the privilige of voting, don't take it for granted.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This was sure an interesting, fun read. Love seeing before and after shots. You sure made it into a cozy home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, I love our little home and I love the history that comes with it.

      Delete
  16. Connie, I love this post. Well, I have to go back to a time over a decade ago when I first discovered Crafty Home Cottage on the World Wide Web. From that time, I recall stopping by the blog to check out new posts and thinking, Connie truly has the gift of creativity. Now that I’ve read this story, I can confirm that you selected the perfect name for your blog. The work you and Steve have done is simply amazing. I admire the crafty, cozy home you have created! The way you put this post together with the before and after pics is brilliant. Connie, you are an inspiration. God bless you. I’m wishing you crafty, cozy, comfortable days ahead! John

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much John. I truly enjoyed tagging along on your vacation. I love that you took the cruise ship down and the train back home, you saw so much of our country that way. Your posts were so very interesting, it made me want to take a train trip :)

      Delete
  17. Connie, we moved a house too! We only had to move it about 100 yards, but it was exciting to watch as the truck balanced it and landed it just between two old trees on our property. It was actually my husband's grandparent's house and we renovated it from the studs back up. We eventually sold it, but it was quite the project. Your house has a lot of history and y'all have done a great job. I love the back door and porch!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, it's a huge undertaking to move a house. I admire those that are talented in this field, there's a lot of engineering that goes into the process.

      Delete
  18. Wow! You really did a lot of great work to the house. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Your home and it's history is so wonderful! Enjoyed reading your post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, I enjoy living in a home with a good history

      Delete
  20. Hi Connie, OH MY GOODNESS... the tub! ;-) You are AMAZING to have DONE IT... well done and it looks so NEW!!
    I grew up in a home that had the same walls as your old bathroom, that brought back memories for me.
    I enjoyed reading the history of your home and looking at the photos of before and after. Well done to make your Home Sweet Home.
    Carla

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, I appreciate the pat on the back :)

      Delete
  21. You have made a beautiful, cozy home. I think I recall (or am I having a senior moment?!) years ago when you and your beloved first moved there. The house has been well loved. It's lovely to know its history, and that photo of it being readied for the move is a wonderful think to have. Sara

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're not having a senior moment. I did have a post about moving here 10 years ago and a lot of the repairs (before and afters). I had a few comments asking me about the history of the house a while back. Because one of my posts had that picture of it being moved in the background of a photo on the post.

      Delete
  22. This is so interesting how they actually moved the house, and then all of the work you all put in to making it a cozy home. Who would have ever thought that the tub could be restored to such beauty? You did a great job on it. Everything looks so good!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, it was hard work and sometimes still is but I feel very blessed to live in this old home.

      Delete
  23. I am impressed by your hard work. My house was built in 1901 and she is dearly loved. I feel it is a constant process owning an old house.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Connie, I loved learning the history of your cozy and sweet cottage. Thank goodness it had that big shop for Steve! You and Steve truly put your love and sweat into this cottage. I can understand why you love it so much! Memories of Steve surely permeate every nook and cranny, and piece that he built. I've ALWAYS coveted that stunning fireplace mantel! I still have a picture of it printed out in my "house dreams" folder! I so wanted one like that in my prior home in Madras! You have worked your magic on your home and I feel that now it cradles you in her arms with thanks and love. Hugs, Marilyn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Marilyn, what a sweet and loving comment. There is so much of this home that is Steve and me. I look around and I see his woodworking and handiwork everywhere. It's not a fancy house but it certainly is a warm and comfortable home. I would love to have you come visit sometime:)

      Delete