Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Longing for the Farmhouse

Several years ago, when my husband was pastoring in a Very small rural community, we lived in a farmhouse.  Sounds perfect doesn't it?

Well, it sorta was.

RollingHills Vintage
We had been renting a home in town, and I use the term loosely...there was a bank, a grain elevator and a hardware store...when someone bought the rental out from under us. We still owned and were trying to sell a home in another part of the state--we couldn't buy a house, couldn't find a house to rent and had a narrow timeframe of less than three weeks to be out of the rental we were in.

Normally in situations less stressful than this one I panic.  Full blown get the bag she's hyperventilating, sing Hakuna Matata over and over to her, smack her in the face and call her Shirley panic.  This time, not so much.  I knew we would find a place. 




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So we drove. And drove.  And drove around the area.  Nothing...

Til we drove out in the country and passed (about a mile and a half from 'town') an old farmhouse that no one was living in.  I'd call it abandoned except a family still owned it, they lived two towns away and had rented it out but the renters who had lived there for years finally moved six months prior.  It was perfect for us.  We contacted the family, rolled up our sleeves and dove in.

When I say perfect it's easy to picture a whitewashed home, with a front porch and gigham curtains, isn't it?  This wasn't that farmhouse.  This was a paint is badly peeling, someone didn't care for this properly sort of farmhouse.  We removed, with the help of some friends, layers of wallpaper...more than a wedding cake--we took up cat urine soaked carpets to reveal the hardwood underneath.  Windows were replaced, holes in the basement were patched, floors were joisted up and then....

Post Road Vintage
There I was, sitting in a kitchen with creamy white cabinets, sunlight filtering through old lace curtains given to me from a farmwife down the road...and I realized I was as close to Glory as I ever was on this earth.  We had to leave that farmhouse when my husband got a post in a different church over a year later, and I think in a way I always hope underneath everything to recapture that moment in my life.

ProsperosBookshelf
I know it's just a place, but I think some places speak to us--they might be different for each person--but they sing a tune that we know too and make us feel at home somehow.

AmyKristineVintage
Sometimes I catch myself in a melancholy state, and wonder where in the world my mind is, and why I am not 'feeling' like my sunny self.  Then I remember, and I think somehow--I am longing for that farmhouse...for the way that morning felt when it came a mile and a half from town, for open windows and quiet thoughts, for entire days spent mowing acres and acres of sweet green grass and clover.  No phone ringing one house over, only a few cars passing...alone with my thoughts and a chorus of birds that only sing country songs.

I am longing for a farmhouse.


8 comments:

  1. Oh my, this post really rings nostalgia's sweet familiar bell. So often I too long for a farmhouse and those gentle country feelings that accompany it in my dreams.

    Thank you so much for including my scoop here with these wonderful and evocative images!

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  2. Beautiful story! Thanks so much for sharing it, and including my items!

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  3. Loved reading your farmhouse story. It sounds lovely and peaceful. Now, when life gets too hectic, you have this special place in your heart, where you can retreat and remember sweetly.
    Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Yes... dreamy! I would love to live in a farmhouse with tons of acreage and a huge red barn where I can roll open the barn doors and have a good ol fashioned Vintage Sale!!!
    ahhhhh... I can smell the fresh air now!
    ( oh... as long as there is no pig farm down the country road)
    :)

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  5. What a lovely post. And the photos really add to the sweet nostalgic memory this brought you.

    By the way, I received the wonderful Niftic giveaway prize last week and it was so terrific. Lovely scarf, brooch, akro agate vase and a tray, all in Japanese theme. Thank you for having the giveaway!

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  6. Lovely story, very touching indeed.

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  7. I know that feeling well. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. Wonderful story. I really could relate to "longing for that farmhouse". There was a particular ranch that I lived on about 25 years ago, and I think there is a part of me that never left it.

    Just catching up on your wonderful blog today. (note to self - get Betabons blog bookmarked right so I have access to better reading material) Your Mantiquities interview was great. Where do you find such fascinating people? Hmmmm...I wonder? And the idea of building your own boxes is genius!

    Have a great weekend!
    Rebecca of Meadowview Vintage

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