The woman, a recent widow, has moved into an extended care facility.
We thought the family might be putting the home on the market for sale but they have decided to rent it to the granddaughter and her boyfriend. The young couple has been outside in the garden tidying things up, pruning and weeding ever since they moved in.
They have had the windows open wide and inside we have seen step ladders and pots of paint.
The old house is getting a much needed make over.
The tiny home was constructed in the early 1920's.
Mr. and Mrs. Prescott raised 3 sons here and by todays standards it's hard to imagine where would these 3 strapping boys sleep, let alone play.
Perhaps they all shared one room and had bunk beds or a make shift room in the basement or the wee attic room.
I imagine that they would have played outdoors like I did when I was younger. All kids played outside back in the 1950's, our Mothers knew that fresh air and exercise was what young children needed to grow up healthy.
Mr. and Mrs. Prescott were avid and energetic gardeners who spent many hours outside.
They had a thriving vegetable patch, raspberry bushes and fruit trees.
Mrs. P spent many hours tending her garden and making jams and preserving fruit.
We spoke over the fence often, shared snippets of plants, and often a basket of raspberries would come our way.
I learned a lot by watching them in the garden.
Mrs. Prescott spent Mondays washing clothes in her wringer washer
and she hung the clothes out to dry, rain or shine.
I am delighted to see that her grand daughter has followed in her footsteps...
The house would probably be a tear down if it was to make it to the market as the current price of lots in our area are $500,000 and up. So naturally we are rather happy that it is currently occupied and being well looked after and appreciated by the family.
I think Mrs. Prescott would be happy knowing that someone is tending her garden and using her clothes line.
I love that they are using the old wooden wheel barrow and all the vintage garden tools too.
I think it's all lovely and quite romantic...
what is old is new again.
Monday is still laundry day on our street...
Hope that your week is off to a fabulous start.
20 comments:
New life for an old house - it just doesn't get any better than that on one's own street. Lovely words and pictures and so nice to think of this young couple's good fortune.
Leslie: The story of the little house, which is now filled with the love of a granddaughter, made my heart smile. I imagine that the house smiles too, as I think houses are happy when the residents are happy.
Isn't is wonderful to see clothes on the line and old garden tools being put to good use.
Hope you had a great Mothers Day. Peg
i sure love it when young people have the vision and desire to help an old place out. i agree, it is totally charming!
Thanks for sharing this, how wonderful! This made me so happy, especially the photo of the old wheelbarrow and the clothesline.
What a nice post. Somehow it brought back old memories. My hb and I fixed an old summer house inexpensively in the mid 70´s.
Monday is the perfect day to do the laundry. Over here, it usually is a weekend, most often every day.
How wonderful that these younger folk treasure and care for the land their grandparents put so much effort into. I'm sure the walls are laughing.
What a beautiful ode to Mrs. Prescott and her family... One of my favorite books of all time is THE LITTLE HOUSE-by Virginia Lee Burton...so this post touched my heart...and brought some tears. It is the sanctity of little houses with daily life...that has made me so content with my own 'Litttle House'. Thank you for this touching post...wishing you a lovely week.
I love this and hope they will stay.
I think it's lovely, too, that they are honoring the house and having a "slow" life instead of a hurried one. It reminds me of the 100-year old house in which my family lived in Montana: laundry hung out to dry all months except winter, the herb garden, the picket fence my brother and I painted, and 40 rose bushes my mother planted and loved. There's something about the old ways of doing things that can feel new and fresh. And alive.
What a charming story of this young couple in that house. My husband's grandfather retired to a similar house in Victoria, (long since sold and probably demolished), on a rocky hill with a long fertile lot at the back, but he (dh) remembers all of the raspberry bushes, amazing flower gardens and rose beds, and even a chicken coop at the bottom of the garden too. Thank you for reminding me of it - I'll have to go in search of some of the old family photos :)
Really lovely and charming story. Are most of the homes on your streets and nearby original, or have a lot been torn down? So sweet to live in the home that your grandparents lived in for so many years.
Peg I had a visit with my kids and darling grand daughter Isla! My sister and I took Mom out for lunch and we sat in the sun on the deck at Brentwood Inn. Hope that yours was splendid.
Oh mette if you have pictures that would be a fabulous and interesting post.
I'll have to read that book. My favourite wee book is A Gift from the Sea.
I popped over to your blog and I do love that cream outfit and the big hat and your pearls! Tres Chic!
I think they're a great addition to our neighbourhood.
We have quite a mix on the street, long time residents like us and then the new families and we do get together for block parties so we are social too.
Email me if you have an address and I'll see if I can find the house.
On our street we have 1913 homes, 1920-1950's and one or 2 new houses where 50's bungalows were torn down. We live in an older area of the city and many of the homes that have fallen into disrepair have been raized. We have an energetic heritage foundation ( I was a director for many years) and there is a focus on keeping the older homes in repair by offering grants for restoration.
It's lovely that a family member is in the house it means they will treasure it. I hope the poor lass has a modern washing machine and some other mod cons to fit in!! She probably has a job as most young couples do these days, unless there are wee babies to care for. Maybe the house restoration is her job for the time being.
A lovely story Hostess and it's so nice to see the house kept in the family and now in the process of a facelift.
xx
That's so nice to hear. And good for you for volunteering for what I know is a tough job.
Post a Comment