 Miss part one of this story? Read it here. Part two is here. Part three is here. We drove onto the driveway, climbing up a bit of hill to the house. As we got out of the car, we looked down onto an acre of over-grown green things, brightly lit and sunny. I spied a perfect place for a garden. We walked inside the cottage and fell in love. Sure, it was small, but everything was laid out perfectly. There were plenty of things that needed updating, but for now, it was turnkey. Sunlight from a skylight flooded the kitchen, flowing into the living room. A delightful eating nook seemed to be waiting for our dining table. While there was only one bathroom, it was much larger than our current one, and we could already see how we could build out the master for a half bath sometime in the future. It had a spare room that would be perfect for my Charles and my office. Perfect was the word that kept popping into my mind. We made an offer. We had to. It already felt like our place. The sellers, thank goodness, accepted. After the inspection, a few problems were found. We went back slightly lower to cover some of the costs for repair. (I’ll go into those in greater detail as we work on/hire out the different areas.) The new price was also accepted. We were good to go. After we were in contract, we were given a tour of the property. As we tramped through knee-high grasses, gazed at the raw wonder of the spring that would be ours, and located the property corners, Charles and I began to feel like we belonged to the land as much as it belonged to us. We were so grateful we had the opportunity to see and then to buy this house and land! I played around with names for our new home as we waited to sign the final documents. There were a few ideas, but nothing seemed to fit until Periwinkle Cottage stumbled into my consciousness. It fit so well, and the word periwinkle has always been one of my favorites to say. It’s such a playful, happy word bouncing around your mouth as it gets spoken. There’s also a tongue-in-cheek aspect. Periwinkle is an invasive species, and this property is packed with invasives. 71 years of different people planting what was trendy has left its mark. We’ll keep the cottage’s namesake, though cut it back to more manageable levels, but there are a lot of other species that need to be dealt with, too. While the inside needs some updating, there are going to be a lot of yard and garden posts in the blog’s future. So here it is – our new home. We love it so much and can’t wait to share new house – and land – adventures here. Now we have to get Our Little House ready and on the market! **Update** After living here for a few months, we've realized that the name, "Periwinkle Cottage" wasn't quite right. It's Foxen Cottage. :) Sometimes, you just have to live with something longer in order to really learn who/what it is. |
