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Across the Fence:  Cottages...  |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 25 2004 : 11:32:21 AM
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I just love Cheryl Anne Millsap's column in an area newspaper. Today she's dreaming about cottages and what can be done with them... and this article is about moving one in.... gets my creative juices perking!!
"A Moving Experience
There is a small cottage near my house. I drove by it at least twice a day and always wish I could buy it and move it to my house.
I would use it as a studio. No kids, television, telephone or other interruptions allowed.
Here's a story about a woman who purchased a cottage for $3000 and moved it to make an addition to her home.
I'm jealous."
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/special/homegarden/2004/fall/stories/13.htm
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2004 : 12:00:14 PM
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Clare -- You always share the coolest info! Thank you! I'm still thinking about the last one and going back to my special place . The author so succinctly captured in words the way I have felt about my Mom and grandparents for a long time! Although Kleenex was necessary, thank you! This one just made me laugh because my husband has had to move structures and it is never smooth sailing! Rewarding, most of the time but never easy! An addition would be nice....anybody got a building they want to share?! Just kidding! Bramble
with a happy heart |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Oct 27 2004 : 5:31:08 PM
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Before we moved to the country we lived in a housing development that was built right beside pastures and country. One morning we awoke to a CABOOM!! and the power went out. A house moving company was moving a house along one of the nearby streets on a downhill slope towards the main highway during the wee hours of the morning to avoid all the traffic. One of their supporting structures under the house gave way and the house went for an unscheduled ride over a bank and into the yard of the house one cul de sack away. On its way down the hill it took out our power pole. What amazed us was that the house moving people are so efficient at their job that they had the house back up the hill and on a repaired moving dolly (or whatever you call it) within about 3 hours. It took the puget power people about 12 hours to put in a new pole and restore our power!!!It was amazing that the house sustained very little damage and even the yard was not badly harmed. It did most of its ride downhill on the skidds it was mounted on. I have photos and if I can find them I will post them.
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Oct 28 2004 : 06:38:58 AM
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Mostly in our area the houses being moved are historically significant but "in the way" of developments, road improvements, etc.
My husband's company works with primarily old house restoration (think
This Old House in New Jersey!) They were working at a farm built in 1748 (the original section) when the owner learned a neighbor was planning on tearing down the fieldstone school house on their property to make way for a pool and pool house.(some people have more money than sense!) She bought the structure and the guys had it moved to the farm and it now lives as a studio for the owner. It could have been the pool house , but I think I'm glad the person who got it kept the integrity of the structure but added only heat and lighting to "update". The most interesting part of the move was that there were tons of arrow heads around the base of the structure. We are in Lenai Lenape territory, they were peaceful and co existed well with settlers so... the thought by the local historian was that maybe they came and visited at the building so often that they left some behind or came and made arrowheads there with the settlers. I guess we'll never know...something to think on!
with a happy heart |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Oct 28 2004 : 12:50:22 PM
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Bayoubunch - I loved your use of far out! I still use that term, too, and get kidded about it. But finding arrowheads is far out!
Here is our area, we can walk down just about any streambed and find arrowheads and scrapers, etc. There are so many Indian artifacts in this area that farmers will find them each year when they plow fields. Many farmers I know have their own little collection because of this - axe heads, pottery shards and all. It is fascinating!
But to the subject of cottages, I dream of living in a cottage, or at least having one that I could hide out in. Whenever i decorate the house, it seems to come out looking like a cottage. White curtains with lace edges, stencilling, wood floors, quilts and braided rugs. Cottages and farmhouses - very similar, right?
jpbluesky
Love those big blue skies and wide open spaces. |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Oct 29 2004 : 06:47:54 AM
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Bayou - yes, for the most part our small streams run clear, and our sinks are too, but when the waters roll downstream into marshes and grassy ponds, then the muddiness is more common. The marshes and ponds are like filtering systems that clean the water system out. That is an important function, as development sometimes causes run-off. But living in Louisiana, you know all of this. You are the delta state!
We have a large pond near us that is home to occasional gators, fulltime herons, ibis, wood storks, lots of small birds, turtles and snakes. The water in it is never very clear, but it seems to support a lot of life.
This has nothing to do with cottages, I am aware, but come to think of it, it would be nice to have a cottage on the edge of that pond!
jpbluesky
Love those big blue skies and wide open spaces. |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Oct 29 2004 : 09:39:46 AM
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I love all this talk of cottages! jpbluesky and lorij I envy you living near any water because it is so dry here in Kansas. We have a friend who converted a large old chicken coop into his getaway cottage. He spent months cleaning it and put new flooring in and insulation but now it has all the comforts of home. It's a guy place and utilitarian but very cozy and unique. He was able to put a small frige, stove, table, bed, and a small desk in his space. He found old antique egg and chicken feed signs at auctions, and has a few chicken statues sitting around. I love the idea of having one's own secret cottage to hide in and decorate just how you would like. And I'm with you Jeannie, the lace curtains would be a must. It would be the grown-up version of a little girl's playhouse.
Time Flies |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Oct 29 2004 : 10:21:28 AM
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Oh, Meadowlark Jenny, you brought some childhood memories springing into my mind. As a child of 10 or so, when we no longer raised chickens, in the summers I would go out to the old chicken house/coop, which was actually pretty big, and clean it up... sweep those dirt floors with a broom, and just pretend that this was my private space. I don't think I actually decorated it, as this creative thing was not exactly encouraged in the mid-60's... but in my mind, it was my space. When you have 4 brothers and you all shared a bedroom, a girl does need her private space to dream in. It would be great fun to go back there now, with the resources and creative energy and ideas to really fix it up.....
We also used to build hay and straw bale forts, but that was mainly my brother's territory. I also remember having my "house" under the lilac bushes that grew along the house. It was especially cozy in the fall and spring, because my dad would put straw around the foundation to help keep the house warmer, so that made good bedding. Ahh, yes, such memories. We were definately not rich in money, but very resourceful.
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
Edited by - Clare on Oct 29 2004 10:26:24 AM |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - Oct 29 2004 : 5:35:11 PM
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I agree, Eileen is a wealth of info and finds the neatest things to share, as well as the rest of my "homegirls" do! 
One of my fave things to do, when I am in Barnes & Noble or other large store that carries "This Old House" mag, is to look at the last page and see what home they are selling, for like....a dollar, but must be moved. If I had the land I'd have a community for all of us like minded folks to share.
farmgirl@heart
Be at peace with yourself and the rest will follow |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Oct 29 2004 : 6:19:17 PM
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Memories, Clare you brought back some of mine too. Our neighbor had a lilac hedge between her house and the next neighbor down the hill that must have been at least 20 years old by the time I was about 7 or 8. It was tall and very fragrant. I would climb inside that hedge and had a special place that I could hide away from all the neighborhood boys. There were no little girls there for me to play with so I was often the target for some rather rough teasing by all of the boys when they all got together to play cowboys and indians.
The lilac hedge was perfectly wonderful! Nobody ever found me in there so It was my secret for a long time. The other place I spent a lot of my alone time trying to escape from my little brother was in the top of an old ponderosa pine tree that grew in the backyard. It had been struck by lightning one spring afternoon and lost it's top just as I was turning on the light switch in the kitchen. I got a jolt of electricity that sent me across the room and the tree top crashed to the ground just outside the kitchen door. Anyway The side branches grew up around the top and created a kind of seat with a couple of branches that were perfect to lean on and read a book. I used to climb up there in the summer afternoons with a book and nobody ever bothered me there either.
Kim, One of My dreams with my husband was to move an old house from downtown Quilcene (108 years old, former office building for Buck Mountain Lumber)that has been abandoned due to wetlands restrictions and a new growth management program for our county, up here onto our property and turn it into a 4500 sq foot Bed And Breakfast. The owner was willing to sell it to us for a meer $1,000.00 but we had to contract to have it moved. The power company was quoating us a minimum of $90,000.00 to lower the power lines 3 times for a 1 mile move. The building is 3 stories tall. The moving company that is local here and moves houses all over Washington would not attempt it. And then we would have had to put in a new foundation and redo all the work on the interior that somebody else began but never finished.we estimated the minimum costs at around $400,000.00. I guess you gotta be rich to do these things. We even tried to get funding from the local historic society. No funds available. I was sad to have to give up on that dream but things have worked out and I have a better dream now.
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Nov 19 2004 : 11:36:01 PM
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I'm getting Cottage Living too, Lorij.... I enjoy it!
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
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Idahospud
True Blue Farmgirl
67 Posts
Nikki
Emmett
Idaho
USA
67 Posts |
Posted - Nov 20 2004 : 12:03:03 PM
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| I'm also getting Cottage Living--their first issue had an article on picket fences that I am taking some inspiration from. Hopefully I'll have my picket fence next spring! |
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Across the Fence: Cottages... |
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Cottages...
