All my life I dreamed of having a big old house to fix up. I loved Victorian houses. (Still do.) Through the years I have lived in some good sized homes. The house on Tuck Corner comes to mind. The problem was always not having the money needed for remodeling.
Another problem was that all the houses I lived in were rentals. The closest I came to owning a lovely old home was in '84. There was an acreage (10 acres) with a barn, machine shed, hog house and a huge house for sale in Taylor Co. I talked to my banker and he said they would loan me the money to buy it. I called the owner, offered $10,000 and he accepted. WOW!! I was so happy. Yes, the house needed work, but it would be mine and I could live there and work on it as long as it took.
The next day I went into the bank to sign the loan papers. The banker told me he had gone out to look at the property and that it needed too much work done for a woman alone to do. He wouldn't loan me the money. I had to call the owner back and call off the deal. (Too bad it didn't occur to me to go to another lender.) I am a firm believer in everything working out the way it is supposed to, i.e. I wasn't meant to have that house, but I still get mad thinking about that banker. And I still wonder what if I had moved there.......
What is it about the theme of fixing up an old house that is so appealing? It is used over and over in books and movies - a woman moves into an old house, starts cleaning and fixing it up, as she works on the house her life is transformed in some way. Is that the appeal? The idea of changing one's life? Or is it the idea of achieving some degree of perfection?
My dream of owning a big house was having enough rooms for all I imagined I needed: formal living room, dining room, den, bedrooms, bathrooms, library, kitchen, laundry room, still room, etc, etc, etc. Along with the big house I would have a huge yard and garden. Of course they would be perfect, too.
Maybe that is why I love watching HGTV. Each half hour I can see another space redone. Or I can watch someone choose between three homes, or see three outdoor spaces which have been landscaped and learn which owner got the most 'bang for their bucks'.
With the snow and cold weather, watching someone choose a vacation home in Mexico or Panama or on St. John isn't a bad way to spend some time. But I'm watching too much HGTV.
I'm not even reading! I need an intervention!
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