If you are just joining us for the first time, you can start with
part one and
part two
When I last left you, I had just asked the dollhouse owners if the home they had for sale had maple trees. After learning that they did, I wrote down all the information to look it up when I got home. It was a “For Sale by Owner” so there was limited information, but the 50 acres was a big draw for us.
It became clear over the last few years that despite the fact that my husband was working a very stressful, high travel, “corporate” job, he craved owning land just like his dad. I am not sure if I have told you much about this, but Dana grew up on a large dairy and maple syrup farm in NH. His family still owns it today.
So, on Mother’s Day of 2013 we set out to see the house and land.
When we pulled up, this is what we saw.
You could see right away that it was a diamond in the rough. The husband told us it was an old Sears and Roebuck house. I still find it amazing that people ordered homes from a catalog back then. Of course, what do the people of that time think of the internet now?
I knew myself well enough to know that I could not walk into the house until we knew what the land held. I knew this was a no-go if there weren’t a lot of maple trees – sugar maples to be specific. The dream was a country house to get away and make our maple syrup where there were lots of maple trees.
We walked a good portion of the property. All the time, having the most delightful conversations with the couple. The husband told stories of camping in the woods when he was a kid and then showed us where he took his own children to camp.
It was all seeming like it was too good to be true. They were so nice and had such good energy you just wanted it to work.
We walked. And then we walked some more. The husband commented that he had several people walk the property before but no one had ever gone this far in before. I knew we were hunting for trees.
My husband can spot a sugar maple while driving down a road at 50 MPH in the dead of winter with no leaves. I can only find them when they have colorful leaves in the fall. I know, I should have this figure out by now.
After a while we came back through and started to go through the house.
This was the first room we walked into.
I immediately began planning which walls I was knocking down. It was many.
And the furniture was for sale too.
The upstairs was filled with nooks and crannies and lots of ceiling slants.
The kitchen was pretty rough, but filled with potential.
And the grounds around the house were filled with beautiful trees and plants and there were several out buildings filled with lots of “junk”.
We finished our time there, never speaking a word between us except for casual conversation.
Once we were in the car, I asked (because I wasn’t looking, I leave that up to him).
“So, were there a lot of sugar maples?”
His answer, “three.”
And with that, I will leave you until the next time.
Did you guess or did you think it was filled with sugar maples?
You can read part four here!
If you are just joining us for the first time, you can start with part one and part two
When I last left you, I had just asked the dollhouse owners if the home they had for sale had maple trees. After learning that they did, I wrote down all the information to look it up when I got home. It was a “For Sale by Owner” so there was limited information, but the 50 acres was a big draw for us.
It became clear over the last few years that despite the fact that my husband was working a very stressful, high travel, “corporate” job, he craved owning land just like his dad. I am not sure if I have told you much about this, but Dana grew up on a large dairy and maple syrup farm in NH. His family still owns it today.
So, on Mother’s Day of 2013 we set out to see the house and land.
When we pulled up, this is what we saw.
You could see right away that it was a diamond in the rough. The husband told us it was an old Sears and Roebuck house. I still find it amazing that people ordered homes from a catalog back then. Of course, what do the people of that time think of the internet now?
I knew myself well enough to know that I could not walk into the house until we knew what the land held. I knew this was a no-go if there weren’t a lot of maple trees – sugar maples to be specific. The dream was a country house to get away and make our maple syrup where there were lots of maple trees.
We walked a good portion of the property. All the time, having the most delightful conversations with the couple. The husband told stories of camping in the woods when he was a kid and then showed us where he took his own children to camp.
It was all seeming like it was too good to be true. They were so nice and had such good energy you just wanted it to work.
We walked. And then we walked some more. The husband commented that he had several people walk the property before but no one had ever gone this far in before. I knew we were hunting for trees.
My husband can spot a sugar maple while driving down a road at 50 MPH in the dead of winter with no leaves. I can only find them when they have colorful leaves in the fall. I know, I should have this figure out by now.
After a while we came back through and started to go through the house.
This was the first room we walked into.
I immediately began planning which walls I was knocking down. It was many.
And the furniture was for sale too.
The upstairs was filled with nooks and crannies and lots of ceiling slants.
The kitchen was pretty rough, but filled with potential.
And the grounds around the house were filled with beautiful trees and plants and there were several out buildings filled with lots of “junk”.
We finished our time there, never speaking a word between us except for casual conversation.
Once we were in the car, I asked (because I wasn’t looking, I leave that up to him).
“So, were there a lot of sugar maples?”
His answer, “three.”
And with that, I will leave you until the next time.
Did you guess or did you think it was filled with sugar maples?
You can read part four here!
