Thursday, August 6, 2009

A LOVE STORY

I thought I'd take a second today to give tribute to
the long journey that our home has taken, since it
was built in 1893.























The only original picture that I know exists is this one.



I always wondered who's the kid that was sitting on the fence?

It was a pretty big deal to have a picture taken back in 1893.
So, maybe he was a neighbor that couldn't resist all the excitement???









Here is a closer shot of that picture.


The man who built this house, was Oscar M Booth.
And, this was his family.

Thank you Oscar. Ya done good!











Since we began with the renovation, we have
found a couple of very old marbles, some love letters
and some really old things that were stuck in nooks
and crannies in the walls...but more on that later. :0)

I don't know much of the history between that
original picture and this one.....the infamous BEFORE picture.
















After the first year of working non-stop on the
interior, I begged Pookie to please, please, PLEASE
build the porch. I couldn't take the ugly exterior
anymore.

And so he started on it.

Thank you pookie!
















It looks just as good in the winter......




















As it does in spring and summer.....























We were so busy during the last 6 years that sometimes I
forgot to stop and take pictures.
Darnnit!
I regret that now, but I
was usually covered in concrete or paint spatter,
or was otherwise occupied holding something up for Pookie
while he did the attaching part.


One very vivid memory that I will never forget happened
in the spring of 2007.

I was awakened at about 7:00 am, one Monday morning.
Ziggy was going crazy......barking, running up and down the
stairs......barking...barking....barking. (He is not a barker)

Well, if you know me, you know that I believe 7:00 only comes
once a day....at night..lol
I'm not a morning person.
So, I get up....all cranky because Ziggy woke me up...
and I hear this sound....

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...moooooooo...MOOOOOOOOOOOO MOOOOOOOOOO

moooooooooooooo.MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


I thought, what the???????
I looked out the window and there was a herd.....
and I don't mean one or two....
I mean a FREAKING herd of cows in my front yard!!!!






They were all the way over to the right,
at the end of the vinyl fence where
we also had some temporary chicken wire fencing up that ran
along the street that helped support my rose bushes.

So this herd of cows, the mamas and the babies, about 25 in all,
were wedged there and apparently didn't know how to back up.??

They were in a panic, to say the least.

There was also a crowd gathering near my front porch.

All the neighbors didn't want to miss the action.


Poor cows, they were just beside themselves. MOOOOOOOOOOOing
and MOOOOOOOOOOOOOing.....and pooping!

Another thing I learned that morning was that cows don't just poop
and it plops to the ground.

OH NO......it's liquid-sprayed-out-poop!
And, it was now covering my vinyl fence, my lawn and the other cows to the rear.

Then the police arrived...animal control and the sheriff himself.
They all tried to assess the situation, but nothing changed..

The MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOing and the fence ramming
and poop spraying continued.

Then, about 10 minutes later, up rode 2 cowboys on horseback.
Hats, boots, ropes, the whole deal.
And cell phones...lol I thought that was kinda funny.

The cowboys just calmly rode up to the poor freaked out cows,
herded them up and away they went back to their home
about a mile down the road.

True story. :0)

A unique memory for a city girl, wouldn't you say?.

I'll try and post some more tomorrow.
Have a great day everybody!

6 comments:

  1. Gayle, you are right; your house looks beautiful no matter what the season!

    I was rolling on the floor laughing reading about the herd of cows! Thanks for brightening my day. :)

    Jane

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  2. Gayle? Is this Auntie Gayle? Could this be a former RMS Auntie Gayle! I think it is!! Woo Hooness! Hi, Gayle, I was Picklepoo on RMS. My real name is Shelia and my blog is called Note Songs. Oh, welcome to Blogland! I love your olden house and remember it well from RMS!
    Oh, please come see me sometimes! I've been blogging since last year in June and let me tell you ~ I love it!
    I'll sign in to follow your blog!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia/Picklepoo :)

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  3. ooh Gayle, I just LOVED this post! Looking at the old picture of the original family was amazing. I had to enlarge the picture to even find the boy on the fence. I'd completely missed him!
    I am so proud of the way you and Pookie have restored and cared for and loved this beautiful home. I am so sad that you now have to leave it, but I'm also excited for your new adventures in the future!
    I would have been snapping pictures galore if there were a herd of cows in my yard. ::::::slap::::::: What's wrong with you woman? LOL

    I can't wait to see what else you're going to tell us about this amazing house!

    Justine :o )

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  4. I was still in my pajamas....and the sheriff was there, among other people..lol
    And, I wasn't thinking clearly because there was a freakin' herd of cows on my lawn...uh duh! lol

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  5. You are a hoot! This writing was so vivid! Love the house. TTFN~ Marydon

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  6. Oh the cow story is hysterical! Uh, I'd say those cows were just a wee bit stressed. ;)

    Gayle, you've probably heard this a million times before, but you and your husband did such an awesome job on this old home. In my "next life," I want to have a beautiful wrap-around porch just like this one. The winter photo looks just like Currier & Ives. :)

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